Be cheerful, enjoy your life: Ultra-Soft Premium Cotton T-Shirt
This design is inspired by the famous mosaic found in Antioch (modern-day Hatay, Turkey). It says "Effrósinos"which means joyful, full of happiness, cheerful.
A single Greek word: ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΝΟΣ.
It translates to 'joyful' or 'the joyful one'. It carries a call to 'enjoy, have fun, and be cheerful'.
Our t-shirt and design project began with this mosaic in 2021. After a four-year break, it's returning and will continue to grow.
Now, let's examine the mosaic.
Euphrosyne (cheerfulness, joy), a feminine name and concept derived from the same root, is also the name of one of the Three Graces (Charites) in Greek mythology, representing joy and elegance.
Actually, this word carries much more meaning. In Greek mythology, Euphrosyne is one of the Three Charites, or the Three Graces. She's the goddess of joy and cheer. She's a companion to the goddess Aphrodite, and ancient sources often associate her with festivity, pleasantness, good cheer, and delight.
Ancient Antioch was founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC, eventually becoming one of the Eastern Mediterranean's major cultural and commercial centers during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.
The mosaic was unearthed during a rescue excavation in Antioch (modern-day Turkey) and received widespread media coverage. According to archaeologist Demet Kara of the Hatay Archaeology Museum, the piece belonged on the floor of a triclinium - the banquet or dining room - of a residence in Late Antique Antioch. Based on coin finds, the house's construction dates between 276 and 337 AD. (The 3rd-century BC dating found in many online sources is wrong.)
This is actually the final scene of a three-panel story. In the first panel, a partially preserved figure of a worker or slave holds a tool resembling double sticks or tongs. We interpret this scene in the context of bath preparation and heating. I say 'interpret' because in this section of the mosaic, we only see the worker and the object in his hand.
Moving on to the second panel: there's a sundial, and a young man stands in front of it, pointing at the time. I researched the time indicated here a while back. It points to nearly the tenth hour - the start of the banquet.
Now, the three panels together form a single sentence: First, the bath preparation; then the rush of someone running late; and finally, the call to 'enjoy' that comes with death at the table. In the third panel, there's no rush at all.
The idea of having a reminder of death at the dinner table wasn't unique to Antioch. The Greek historian Herodotus recounted that in the 5th century BC, wealthy Egyptians would show their guests a small coffin figure at the end of banquets, noting that '...the person carrying the figure reminded the guests to drink and have fun, because that's what they would look like when they died...'
Today, the mosaic is part of the collection at the Hatay Archaeology Museum.
We wish you a joyful day.