Mosaics in the Orpheus House, Zippori Natinal Park, Galilee, Israel, 2009 (photo)

The ancient city of Zippori (Sepphoris) was the administrative capital of Galilee during Roman rule. Excavations have revealed a Roman theater, a Talmudic-era Jewish residential quarter, ritual baths, churches, and a Crusader fortress and an abundance of mosaics. Mosaics were found here in a Roman villa dating from the 2nd century, called 'The Orpheus House' after one of the mosaics in the dining room, depicting the mythological musician. Other panels in the same room, like the one seen here, depict scenes from daily life. Wealthy Romans used to eat their meals reclined on couches of a semicircular form, around a table of the same shape. The couch was called a lectus.