Image Details

Israel Antiquities Authority/Israel Museum, Jerusalem

David as Orpheus. Found among the remains of a sixthcentury C.E. synagogue in Gaza, this mosaic depicts King David playing the lyre and, like Orpheus, taming wild beasts with his music. The Hebrew inscription to the right of the restored head identifies the figure as David. Just as classical pagan types or models appeared in early Christian art, so too did they invade Jewish art, as seen in this example.