Great Mosaic

The Great Mosaic of Pompeii is a famous mosaic found in the archaeological site of Pompeii, a Roman city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. This mosaic gets its name from its incredible sizing and complexity. It is a copy of a Greek painting created by the painter Philoxenus of Eretria in the 4th century BC. The mosaic represents the battle of Issus, an epic clash between the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great and the Persian army of Darius III. With approximately 20 square meters of surface and almost 2 million tiles, the mosaic is extraordinarily detailed despite the very small size of the tiles, which amount to thirty per square centimetre. The predominant colors in the Great Mosaic of Pompeii are yellow, red, black and white, but thanks to the numerous and detailed tiles, the artists were able to create many shades that make the work as detailed as a painting. To admire the original mosaic, it is recommended to visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, where it is possible to appreciate the work and all its details. A curious feature of the Great Mosaic of Pompeii is the presence of a tree without leaves in the background, which allows us to identify the representation as the battle of Issus. Ancient texts refer to this battle as the "Battle of the Dry Tree".