Hunting Mosaic

This mosaic in the Nile Festival House "... depicts two figures riding on galloping horses—a huntress, probably an Amazon, and a male warrior. The two appear to have killed a lion and are attacking panther chased by a hunting dog." (Weiss, p. 2033)

On the left side of the mosaic is an unnamed city.

The Amazons are a mythical people of female warriors, who spent their time in hunting and warfare. Originating in the Caucasus, they settled in Cappadocia (today's Turkey). They mated with the Gargarensians (men from a neighboring village), and of the children born, they kept only the girls.

Weiss, Zeev. "Sepphoris." Pages 2029-35 in The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land — Vol. 5 — Supplementary Volume. Edited by Ephraim Stern, Hillel Geva, Alan Paris, and Joseph Aviram. Jerusalem and Washington, DC: Israel Exploration Society and Biblical Archaeology Society, 2008.