An Interpretation of the Early Byzantine Martyr Inscriptions in the Mosaics of the Rotunda at Thessaloniki

The cupola of the Rotunda at Thessaloniki is decorated with mosaics of male martyrs, originally 20 in number. The over life-size portraits are accompanied by inscriptions giving names, occupation or civic status before martyrdom, and the month of celebration. The specific days of commemoration are not given, nor the places where they suffered martyrdom or were buried. The inscriptional brevity is intriguing and presents difficulties with regard to the identification of the individual historical holy men. Neither does it help us understand why these particular 20 saints were selected to appear together in the dome of the church. In this article I offer a reasoned interpretation of who these saints were, when and where they suffered martyrdom and why they were represented in the dome of the Rotunda.