The Achilles Mosaic of Prusias ad Hypium

The Mosaic of Achilles was discovered coincidentally in a field in the southern region of Prusias ad Hypium in the 1950s. It is a floor mosaic situated on the ground of a Roman villa in the city. Only a very small part of the mosaic remains on which there are three inscriptions. These inscriptions involve words Young Girls (παρθ？νοι) on the left, Deidameia (Δηιδαμε？α) in the middle and Pyrrhus (Π？ρρ？ο[？]) on the right. As understood from the inscriptions, this mosaic depicts the discovery of Achilles by Odysseus in King Lycomedes’ palace in Skyros Island. The word Parthenoi meaning Young Girls in ancient Greek written at the top of the upper right corner of the scene implies the young daughters of Lycomedes at the background of the mosaic in Lycomedes’ palace where the story takes place, however it in fact shows the title of a lost literary drama written about this theme for tragedy or pantomime which did not reach the present day. The same situation applies to the Zeugma Achilles Mosaic (at the house of Quintus Calpurnius Eutykhes). The scene is surrounded by a wavy ribbon band. This is followed by hunting and feast scenes both from daily life. Finally, the outermost border is a geometric one. Due to its stylistic and iconographic characteristics, the Prusias ad Hypium Achilles mosaic is estimated to date back to mid-third century AD