Asarotos oikos

Asàrotos òikos (Ancient Greek: ἀσάρωτος οἶκος), "the unswept floor, unswept house" - iconography of Ancient Roman mosaics depicting the dirty remnants of a banquet. ^[1]

The theme is thought to be created by Sosus of Pergamon, according to Pliny the Elder:

"In [mosaics], the highest excellence has been attained by Sosus, who laid, at Pergamus, the mosaic pavement known as the "Asarotos œcos;" from the fact that he there represented, in small squares of different colours, the remnants of a banquet lying upon the pavement, and other things which are usually swept away with the broom, they having all the appearance of being left there by accident. There is a dove also, greatly admired, in the act of drinking, and throwing the shadow of its head upon the water; while other birds are to be seen sunning and pluming themselves, on the margin of a drinking-bowl." Natural History (XXXVI.LX.184) ^[2]

One of the best examples is now in the Vatican museum, or Musei Vaticani. The mosaic at the Vatican is not the aforementioned Sosus mosaic; instead, they house an asàrotos òikos created by Heraclitus. ^[3]