Already a subscriber? Sign in here
Read this article now for free!
Enter your email below to read the full article, and to receive our weekly newsletter with a round-up of The Past's top stories.
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
opposite The first or bottom panel of the mosaic, showing Achilles (on the left) and Hector duelling on chariots. Achilles, the victor, appears larger than his opponent, whose horses are also smaller. Lines can be seen under the horses’ front feet, added to indicate movement, ULAS’ John Thomas said.
Greek myth in Roman Rutland: unearthing scenes from the Trojan War
An intricate Roman mosaic depicting the triumph of the Greek warrior Achilles over Hector of Troy, recently unearthed in Rutland, has been hailed as the region’s most stunning archaeological discovery to-date. Hazel Blair spoke to John Thomas, Anthony Beeson, David Neal, and Peter Kruschwitz to find out more about the meaning behind its motifs.
According to Greek legend, the city of Troy (in modern Turkey) was besieged for ten years by the Achaeans, a coalition of Mycenaean Greeks fighting to recover Helen of Sparta, who had been led away from her husband by the Trojan prince Paris. This war has inspired countless retellings, including Homer’s 8th-century BC Iliad, an epic poem focusing on a period of a few weeks in the final year of the conflict. How far did Homer’s version influence later representations of the Trojan War and its protagonists? A mosaic recently excavated in Rutland offers tantalising clues about the myth’s reception in Roman Britain.
The first or bottom panel of the mosaic, showing Achilles (on the left
-- or --
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Or, subscribe for unlimited access
Latest from Current Archaeology
