"Volubilis Mosaics Travelogue" Top 5 Page for this destination Volubilis Travelogue by amsterdam_vallon

This mosaic represent the four seasons:

- Winter : the second circle from the top in left
- Autumn : in the bottom right circle
- Summer : the second circle from the top in right
- Spring : in the bottom left circle

The Bath of the Nymph mosaic

This mosaic is not complete. It's probably the mosaic in the worse condition on the entire site of Volubilis.

The Heracles twelve labors mosaic

In this mosaic, you can see the twelve labor that Hercule (Heracles) did to find his liberty.

In this mosaic you can see clearly 10 of the 12 labors.

Heracles' first labor was to kill the menacing Nemea Lion; Heracles strangled the creature and carried it back to Mycenae.

The second task was to overcome the nine-headed snake known as the Hydra (Lernea Hydra in Greek); Heracles' cousin Iolaos helped him out by burning the stumps of the heads after Heracles cut off the heads; since the ninth head was immortal, Heracles rolled a rock over it.

The third task was to find the golden-horned stag and bring it back alive; Heracles followed the stag around for one full year; he finally captured the stag and took it back alive.

The fourth labor was to capture a wild boar that terrorized Mycenae's people; Heracles chased the boar up a mountain where the boar fell in to a snow drift, where Hercules subdued it.

The fifth task of Heracles was to clean the Augean stables, where thousands of cattle were housed, in a single day; Heracles diverted two rivers so that they would flow into the Augean stables.

The sixth labor was to destroy the man-eating Stymphalian birds; Heracles drove them out of their hiding places with a rattle and shot them with poison-tipped arrows.

The sixth task was for Heracles to capture a Cretean savage bull; Heracles wrestled it to the ground and took it back to King Eurystheus.

The eighth labor was to capture the four man-eating mares of Thrace; Heracles threw the master of the mares to them; the horses became very tame, so Heracles safely led them back to Mycenae.

Heracles' ninth labor was to obtain the girdle of the fierce Amazon warrior queen, Hippolyta; Hippolyta willingly gave her girdle to Hercules, but Hera convinced the Amazons that Heracles was trying to take Hippolyta from them, so Heracles fought them off and returned to his master with the girdle.

The tenth labor was to capture the cattle of the monster, Geryon; Heracles killed Geryon, claimed the cattle, and took them back to the king.

The eleventh task was to get the golden-apples of the Hesperides; Heracles told Atlas that if he would get the apples for him, he (Heracles) would carry the heavens for him; when Atlas returned from his task he didn't want to take the heavens back from Heracles but Heracles tricked him into taking back the heavens.

The final (twelfth) labor of Heracles was to bring the three-headed watchdog of the underworld, Cerberus, to the surface without using any weapons; Heracles seized two of Cerberus' heads and the dog gave in. Heracles took the dog to his master, who ordered him to take it back. Finally, after twelve years and twelve tasks, Heracles was a free man.

The Desultor Mosaic

The Desultor was an athlete of a sport included by the Greek in the Olympic Games. In this event, the Desultor must jump from his horse or car and get back on it immediatly.

This mosaic is a parody of this event. The athlete is naked, he riding backside a donkey, he is holding a cathare, drinking glass received for honnor. Another victory sign is the scarf, in the wind behind the athlete.

The Orphea House Mosaic

This mosaic is one of the most important one you can found in Volubilis. By is situation in the fabolous Orphea house.

Unknown Mosaic I

This is another well preserved mosaic.

Unknwon Mosaic II

This is another well preserved mosaic.

Unknown Mosaic III

This is another mosaic that you can see in Volubilis.