3-036-994 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Mosaic Floor with Achilles and Briseis, A.D. 100-300. Additional Info: Although quite fragmentary, enough remains of the scene depicted in this floor mosaic to identify it as one of the earliest episodes from Homer’s Iliad (Book 1, lines 409-415): the moment when Briseis, the captive war-prize of the hero Achilles, is taken from him to be given instead to Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. This contest between two great Greek warriors set in motion the rest of Homer's epic poem. The mosaic shows Briseis being led away by two heralds on the right, Talthybios and Eurybates, who wear traveler’s hats and carry staffs. Only her face remains intact. Achilles, holding a lyre and seated next to Patroclus, watches morosely from the far left. The older, bearded man may be Achilles’s tutor, Phoenix. The scene takes place in a tent; in the background are two shields holding up a curtain.