DESCRIPTION:

One of the most impressive mosaics of the villa depicts the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. It is located in a small apsed room at the eastern end of the southern portico, which probably functioned as a waiting room. The Minotaur was a monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, confined in the Labyrinth beneath King Minos' palace in Crete. No one could kill him, but the young hero Theseus succeeded with the help of Ariadne, the daughter of Minos. The mosaic shows Theseus at the moment he prepares to strike the Minotaur with his club. The reclining figure behind Theseus represents the personification of the Labyrinth. At the top of the mosaic, two female figures, Ariadne and the personification of Crete, watch the struggle and cheer for the hero. Particularly interesting is the fact that a significant portion of the mosaic (mainly the face of Theseus and the personification of Crete) was damaged and carefully restored in antiquity. The highly intricate geometric pattern framing the scene depicts, in an original manner, both the Labyrinth and the thread of Ariadne.