Banqueting

View of the central frame in the lower portion of the Orpheus mosaic that depicts a banqueting scene.  It looks like four people (probably females?  note necklaces and "crowns") are reclining.  In the center is a three-legged table with some type of food on it.  On the right side of the mosaic is a large urn on a tripod on top of a table.  My guess is that this is a vessel containing wine for distribution.  By the right front of the table, a servant is offering one of the elite guests a glass with wine in it.  To the left of the table, it appears that a figure (female?) is dancing.

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This is one of the larger houses (55 x 92 feet) that was located in the Lower Eastern city of Sepphoris.   It was built in the third century and destroyed by an earthquake in AD 363.  It was rebuilt with plainer mosaics and eventually, a church was built over the structure.

The mosaic in the dining room (triclinium) of the first house is of special interest.  It features Orpheus, the mythological musician who was famous for charming anything or anyone who would listen to him: people, animals, trees, and even rocks!