Mosaic of Poseidon, Oceanus, and Tethys in Zeugma Mosaic Museum, in the town of Gaziantep, Turkey.
Image details
Contributor:
Ayhan Altun / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
D7DYP9File size:
28.4 MB (2.2 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
4243 x 2342 px | 35.9 x 19.8 cm | 14.1 x 7.8 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
3 December 2011Location:
Gaziantpe,TurkeyMore information:
Poseidon, Oceanus, and Tethys: Poseidon, chief of the water deities and second in power only to Zeus, carried a trident, with which he could shake the earth, call forth or dissipate storms, and the like. To impress Demeter, who urged him to create the world's most beautiful animal, Poseidon invented the horse. Horses with brass hoofs and golden manes drew his chariot across the seas, which became calm before him.Homer claims Oceanus and Tethys, pictured in the lower half of this mosaic, were responsible for the birth of the gods, but Hesiod's version of the origins is generally accepted. Gods of the sea, Oceanus and his wife Tethys bore 3, 000 daughters and 3, 000 sons. Known as the Oceanids, these children were spirits of rivers, waters, and springs. Zeugma Mosaic Museum, in the town of Gaziantep, Turkey, is the biggest mosaic museum on the world, containing 1700m2 of mosaics. The museum's mosaics are focused on Zeugma, thought to have been founded by a general in Alexander the Great’s army. The treasures, including the mosaics, remained relatively unknown until 2000 when artifacts appeared in museums and when plans for new dams on the Euphrates meant that much of Zeugma would be forever flooded. A large number of the mosaics still remain uncovered and teams of researchers continue to work on the project.