tions revealed the remains of a Roman villa, a Roman mosaics, and other artifacts from ancient times. The most significant finding was a relief of the goddess Isis, which suggests that Risan was an important center of the Illyrian cult of Isis. These discoveries have shed light on the rich cultural and historical heritage of Risan and have made it a popular destination for tourists interested in ancient civilizations. recently yielded very interesting artifacts from ancient times.
A house from the 2nd century was discovered, with the only Hellenic bath found in Europe outside of Greek territory; rare Illyrian coins from the little-known King Ballaios, presumed to have lived in the 3rd century BC and to have been very wealthy, were found, along with a collection of 4656 ancient coins discovered in 2010.
In the area of the former agora, a fragment of a marble female head was found, identified as belonging to a life-size caryatid. This risan head of a caryatid is the thirty-fifth one discovered from the entire ancient era.
Perhaps the most interesting discovery is an urban Roman villa from the late 2nd century, with mosaic pavements, featuring a unique depiction of the god Hypnos on the floor of the dormitory.
Villa Hypnos
This Roman villa in Risno, later named Villa Hypnos, consists of seven rooms covered in mosaics, as well as three rooms for servants with earthen floors. The villa also includes a courtyard and a garden. A courtyard immersed in greenery.
The mosaics, still undergoing restoration, were damaged during the construction of the road and the earthquake in 1979. They depict mostly geometric and plant and animal forms, such as chess fields, grapevines, fish, octopuses… A careful observer will notice other motifs from Roman symbolism and mythology – the sun, wolf teeth, and a double-bladed axe, an even older symbol of human will and internal struggle.
In the center is depicted the god of sleep, Hypnos. This mosaic is composed of colorful tiles, while all the others are black and white. The god of sleep is portrayed as a young man with wings, resting with one hand on a pillow. Next to the medallion with Hypnos, the symbol of a bow and arrow can be seen. Each arrow contains a flower. A noticeable and richly decorated rosette in white and red, with eight leaves, is also present. In front of the room’s entrance are two swords.
Hypnos – the god of sleep
The Greek god of sleep, Hypnos, known as Somnus in Roman mythology. son of the goddess of the night Nyx and the god of the Underworld Tartarus. Every night, Hypnos comes into the world with his mother from a cave from which the river of forgetfulness Lethe springs, quietly moving through the land and sea, bringing sleep to all living beings. His brother is Thanatos, the god of death.
Hypnos is depicted as a beautiful, naked young man, sometimes bearded, with wings on his head or shoulders. He used the sound of his wings to lull people to sleep as he passed above them. He appears on numerous artistic objects, most of which are vases.
Like other ancient civilizations, the Romans paid great attention to sleep and dreaming as a counterbalance to our many activities during wakefulness and as a bridge to a mysterious world in which the subtler, invisible aspects of humans experience other planes of existence.
Sleep is a blessing for the tired, a remedy for the sick, and can also be a guide for those seeking a way out of the intricate labyrinth of the psyche… While awake, our often slumbering consciousness collects various impressions from the environment that exhaust us. Sleep is like a heavy burden. Dream is a cleansing of various experiences that our body, thoughts, and emotions have gone through during the day.
While I sleep, I don’t feel anything: no fear, no hope, no pain, no glory. Glory to the one who has mastered sleep, for it is the cover that covers all human thoughts, the food that satisfies hunger, the water that quenches thirst, the fire that warms the cold, the cold that soothes the heat, and finally the universal currency that buys everything, the balance that equalizes the shepherd with the king and the fool with the wise.
Dream is the mirror of our inner life – a reflection of the psychological states we are currently going through, the understanding of which depends on our self-knowledge – what motivates us, drives us to act, and inspires us. What we do, think, and feel during the day and our last thought before sleep opens the door to what we dream under the protection of Hypnos.