DESCRIPTION:

At the center of the southern wing is the main hall of the "Villa of Theseus," which served as a reception and audience room. It is a rectangular space that ends in a semicircular apse on the southern side, with a slightly raised floor. The floor and the lower part of the wall of the raised area were covered with marble slabs, while the upper part of the wall was decorated with wall paintings. The floor of the lower rectangular section of the room was paved with mosaics. The wide geometric frame in the Greek letter "Π" shape, where the couches were placed, framed four panels with figurative scenes, of which only one remains in a recognizable condition. It depicts the first bath of the newborn Achilles, the epic hero who was killed in the Trojan War. At the center of the scene, his mother Thetis and father Peleus watch as Anatrofi (Personification of Education) and Ambrosia (Personification of the food of the gods) prepare the infant's first bath. Behind Peleus stand the three Fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. The choice of these personifications was not accidental. Ambrosia and Anatrofi symbolized the divine and mortal aspects of Achilles, while the three Fates represented the course of his life. The mosaic has been dated to the 5th century AD and is the last mosaic addition to the villa.