Roman Opus Sectile Panel of Hylas

This early 4th-c. opus sectile panel—made from cut colored stone pieces—comes from the Basilica of Junius Bassus, a lavish civic complex built by a prominent Roman official. It shows the moment nymphs seize Hylas, a beloved companion of Heracles, sent to fetch water for the Argonauts. In the myth, the nymphs fall in love with his beauty and pull him into the spring forever, leaving Heracles to search in vain. The vivid inlays capture both their enchantment and Hylas’s startled resistance.