|
This spacious central area, the dining room (room 36), extends into three broad apses. The mosaics here are dedicated to the Twelve Labors of Hercules. This complicated story involves Hercules, the son of Zeus, whose wife Hera hated Hercules, so she sent snakes to kill the infant Hercules as he lay in his crib. But he had such strength that he strangled the snakes, taking one in each hand. Later, when he had become a hero, Hera drove Hercules into a fit of madness, causing him to murder his wife & children. To expiate his crime, Hercules submitted himself to Eurystheus, King of Mycenae, who required him to perform a series of nearly impossible tasks which were known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules, which included killing or capturing certain animals. The list is here: ttp://www.angelfire.com/md2/timewarp/hercules.html
|
Western Europe
