Magical Pictures & Patterns give a Window on the Past Just like us, the Romans liked to decorate their homes. They painted pictures on their walls. They also liked to make their floors pretty, but they did not have carpets. The ultimate way to show off how rich you were was to have a beautiful mosaic floor laid in your house, especially in the triclinium (dining room) where you would entertain your guests. Mosaics were made from tiny cubes of coloured stone (each side about 1cm across) called 'tesserae' (plural of 'tessera'). They were put together like a puzzle to form patterns and pictures covering the whole floor in a room.  Black and white patterns were popular in the 1st century. These became multi-coloured in the 2nd century. The common colours of stone used were: White, black, orange, yellow, cream, grey and blue Red was made from earthenware tiles Green was rarer and made from glass Geometric patterns were very popular on mosaics. So were pictures of the gods: The four seasons Orpheus playing his harp to lots of animals Venus 'at her toilet' (having a wash) Bellerophon fighting the Chimera The snake-haired gorgon called Medusa Bacchus on his tiger was popular for dining rooms Neptune, fish and sea-creatures were popular in Bath houses Big town houses and country villas might have lots of mosaics, including in the corridors. Less important rooms might have plain 'tesselated pavements'.
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