With his mouth agape and eyebrows raised in a pained expression, the Greek god Oceanus, depicted in a Pompeian mosaic dating to the Augustan period (24 B.C.—14 A.D.), appears to be almost afraid of something. Could he have known that Mount Vesuvius would soon erupt, burying Pompeii under layers of sand, stone and mud in 79 A.D.? Part of a larger tapestry-like mosaic that includes flying swans and intricate border motifs, the representation of Oceanus adorns a fountain at the Casa della Fontana Grande, one of Pompeii’s most splendid mansions, thought to have been the home at one time […]
