Peacocks were bred by the Greeks and the Romans and their delicious
meat was enjoyed at lavish banquets. Saint Augustine liked to recall
having eaten peacock meat, in Carthage, that had been stored for a
long time. Because of its meat, considered non-perishable, and due to
the belief that the animal shed its feathers to renew them in spring, the
peacock was adopted as a symbol of the resurrection of the flesh, of
the glorified soul and immortality. In Ravenna, it is featured in wall and
floor mosaics, marble transennas, and sarcophagi.
In this mosaic, reproducing a portion of the decoration, the peacock
is perched on a lush branch with fruits and leaves against an indigo
background. The black enamel tesserae, arranged in curved lines, define
its chest, neck and back. Light-blue and blue tesserae form the body.
Others, in various tones of greens, render the iridescent feathering of
its wings and tail. This features the typical eye-shaped spots, symbol of
divine omniscience – surrounded by golden tesserae and with a light￾blue core, they are set in the long green, white, red and orange feathers.