Mosaic The Punishment of Dirce — Attraction in Grad Pula

Pula is the only place in the world that doesn't appreciate her own history, the area is a back entrance in a building, no lights, no nothing, very, very bad. "The most impressive one is surely the floor mosaic with the central field presenting the mythological scene of the “Punishment of Dirce”(Amphion and Zethus are tying Dirce to an enraged bull, since out of envy Dirce had been cruel to their mother Antiope.) This figural scene presents the central field of a large floor mosaic composition (12 m x 6 m). The entire mosaic composition is divided into two equal sections with altogether 40 decorated areas dominated by geometrical patterns with animal details (fish and bird). The mosaic covered the floor of a central room of a Roman house, probably from the 3rd century. It has been preserved at the site where it was found, so that the level of house floors in the Roman times, which is 2 m below today’s level, is...

This well-hidden site, tucked in a tiny location surrounded by residential homes, stores, and a parking lot, adds more to experiencing Roman Pula, than the more notable amphitheater, arch, and temple. This mosaic, very well executed and excavated, shows the punishment of Dirce, a Queen of a Grecian Region [perhaps Thebes?] being tied to a bull's horns as to be dragged to death, by two sons of Zeus whose mother she ordered killed. The mosaic itself is mainly geometric, but there are some scenes with animal and plant life in them. There is no admission, as the mosaic is practically in someone's backyard, and there is nothing between you and the mosaic besides metal bars, so don't lose you hat. Certainly...

The Mosaic of the Punishment of Dirce is a rare and magnificent Roman floor mosaic dating from the 2nd or 3rd century AD. It was discovered near the Church of St. Mary Formosa, about two meters below ground after WWII bomb debris was cleared. The mosaic covers about 65 square meters and is divided into two parts: one with geometric and animal motifs, and the other featuring the central mythological scene of Amphion and Zethus bringing a bull to Dirce, who is tied and about to be punished. This depiction is extremely rare in art and relates to the myth where Dirce is punished by being tied to a bull as retribution for her cruelty to Antiope, the mother...