The Rapture of Hylas mosaic

The Rapture of Hylas is the central emblem of a mosaic pavement with geometric motifs that is still preserved in situ and gives its name to the house of Italica where it was found in 1927-1928, during excavations of Andrés Parladé.

The scene belongs to the mythological cycle of the trip Jason and the Argonauts looking for the Golden Fleece. This expedition includes Heracles and his young lover Hylas. During a stopover Hylas fetches water and is kidnapped by the nymphs of the fountain, in love with him.

In the mosaic we see the moment of the rapture, with Hylas attracted to the bottom of the fountain by three nymphs which grab him by the arms and legs. Heracles, who in the myth is not present during the abduction, contemplates stunned and threatening, but without intervening.

Since 1962, it is exhibited at the Museo Arqueológico de Sevilla.