# Centaur mosaic

- By: Unknown
- Date: (120 - 130)
- Classification: Painting
- Credit line: SwHAQhNGz6l7_Q at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level
- Museum: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Centaur_mosaic_-_Google_Art_Project_-_CropFrame_-_Plus1ev.jpg)
- Rights: Public domain
- Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Centaur_mosaic_-_Google_Art_Project_-_CropFrame_-_Plus1ev.jpg/1920px-Centaur_mosaic_-_Google_Art_Project_-_CropFrame_-_Plus1ev.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The centaur mosaic was found in the 18th century on the site of the sprawling, luxurious villa complex near Tivoli that once belonged to the Roman emperor Hadrian. The mosaic was found in situ along with other smaller ones that bore depictions of landscapes, animals and masks. The relatively small central panel (emblema) formed part of the floor decoration for the dining room (triclinium) in the main palace. The various individual scenes of these mosaic pictures bear depictions of wild, inhospitable landscapes that deliberately contrast with idyllic ones featuring animals living in harmony with each other. The dangers of the wild are portrayed in this mosaic in the dramatic struggle between great cats and a pair of centaurs, mythological creatures with the head, arms, and torso of a man and the body and legs of a horse. On a rocky outcrop that hangs over a terrific chasm that runs parallel to the bottom of the picture, a pair of centaurs have been pounced on by great cats. While the male centaur has been able to defend itself successfully from the lion, the tiger has managed to bring the female centaur to the ground and is clawing her side. The male centaur rushes to his…