GREECE MACEDONIA PIERIA DION MUSEUM

Above: Mosaic floor with the head of Medusa. - Below left: Photograph (reproduction) of the excavation of the 'Tomb of Katerini'. In 1977, two cist graves were unearthed 2 km north of Katerini with new excavations in 2010. They lack an elaborate facade and are therefore regarded as precursors of the large Macedonian tombs. - Below right: Finds from recent excavations.

Above: Vases and terracotta parts from a roof. - Below: Offerings from late antiquity graves.

Above and below: In the summer of 1987, during excavations in ancient Dion, a phantastic mosaic was discovered, showing the epiphany of the triumphant Dionysos standing in a chariot. Next to him stands a mature Silenus, while centaurs hold the reins of the two panthers drawing the carriage. - With its area of some 100 square metres, it is the largest preserved mosaic of Dion. Because of this find, the archaelogists named the building where it was found the 'Villa of Dionysos'.

The mosaic, originally protected by the covering soil layer for nearly two millennia, was now sheltered under a roof structure, but this could not stop plants growing in the cracks and the general decay. Therefore, between the fall of 2015 and June 2017, the mosaic was removed in a sophisticated process from its original place and placed in a new building next to the archaeological museum.

The panels above and below the central mosaic are of high quality and interesting. - Above: The lower (eastern) side shows a mature satyr with a snub nose on the left, Dionysos with long curls in the centre and on the right a barbarian, probably Lykurgos, king of Thracia, and an enemy of Dionysos. - Below: On the western (upper) side is a young satyr on the right and an older Silenius on the left. The figure in the middle shows the face of a woman with blue eyes and curly hair, which may be the nymph Thetis, the savior of Dionysus.