Fig. 82.—Jonah, Moses, and Oranti.
In some instances the “ship” is reduced to a mere boat, and the “mariners” to a single individual, as in [Fig. 83], from the cemetery of St. Priscilla.
Fig. 83.—Jonah Swallowed by the “Great Fish.”
In the following sarcophagal example, ([Fig. 84],) the somewhat startling anachronism of Noah receiving the dove from the prow of Jonah’s vessel appears in the background. The “sea” is here a narrow stream; and the “fish,” a monster with the head and paws of a
quadruped, on one side of the boat is swallowing the disobedient prophet, and on the other is casting him forth upon the rocky shores. Such solecisms are by no means uncommon in these groups.
