A Rabbit Rises A Tank Pulled By Geese In An Old Roman Mosaic (2nd Century AD)

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A rabbit rises a tank pulled by geese in an old Roman mosaic (2nd century AD)

If you head for the Louvre, be sure to visit the Mona Lisa,, Venus de MiloAnd Liberty leading the people. But then go to the Department of Greek, the Etruscan and the Roman antiques. You could find (no guarantee!) A Roman mosaic with a rabbit leading a tank pulled by geese. Discovered at the Hadrian villa in Tivoli, Italy, the mosaic dates back to the 2nd century. On the mosaic, the History of cool children writing:

This kind of humorous scene is an example of Asária, a type of ancient visual joke where animals behave like humans (anthropomorphism). These mosaics were popular in the Roman domestic decoration, often as floor or wall panels in villas and baths.

This particular mosaic is part of the vast collection of the Louvre of Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiques. He illustrates how Roman artists loved playful or satirical imagery alongside more serious mythological and realistic scenes. The rabbit, a symbol often associated with fertility and speed, associated with the absurdity of it leading to a chariot of geese, reflects both the Roman spirit and their affection for decorative exuberance.

Some researchers believe that mosaic plays on a line in Ovide's Metamorphosis: “Cytherea (Aphrodite) rose in his delicate chariot, winged by his swans, through the air of the middle, making Cyprus, when she heard the dying groans of Adonis, and he turned her snow -capped birds there.” But it is difficult to know with certainty.