Daniele's Blog

The Alexander Mosaic is a Roman floor mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It was made in 100 BC and the author is anonymous. It shows a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. It measures 2.72 x 5.13m. The originalm is at the Naples National Archeological Museum. The mosaic is based on a 3rd-century BC Hellenistic painting, by Philoxenos of Eretria. The mosaic shows a battle between Alexander and Darius. Alexander won the Battle of Issus. Alexander won again two years later at the Battle of Gaugamela. The work shows the Battle of Issus. The two main figures are easy to see. Darius has a worried expression on his face. The Persian soldiers have a stem look. The mosaic was found again on October 24, 1831 in Pompeii. It was moved to Naples in Septmber 1843. It is in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale.

The Duke of Edinburgh is retiring from royal duties this autumn, Buckingham Palace has announced. The decision was made by Prince Philip himself and is supported by the Queen, a palace spokesman said. The duke, who turns 96 next month, will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August but will not accept new invitations. The Queen "will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements", the palace said. The duke carried out 110 days of engagements in 2016, making him the fifth busiest member of the royal family, according to Court Circular listings. He is patron, president or a member of more than 780 organisations and will continue to be associated with them, but "will no longer play an active role by attending engagements", Buckingham Palace said. In the statement, the spokesman said the duke "may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time".