the type of its great patron goddess and civic symbol, the Tyche (Fortune) of Antioch – a majestic seated figure, crowned with the ramparts of Antioch's walls and holding wheat stalks in her right hand, with the river Orontes as a youth swimming under her feet. According to William Robertson Smith the Tyche of Antioch was originally a young virgin sacrificed at the time of the founding of the city to ensure its continued prosperity and good fortune. The northern edge of Antakya has been growing rapidly over recent years, and this construction has begun to expose large portions of the ancient city, which are frequently bulldozed and rarely protected by the local museum. In April 2016, archaeologists discovered a Greek mosaic showing a skeleton lying down with a wine pitcher and loaf of bread alongside a text that reads: "Be cheerful, enjoy your life", it is reportedly from the 3rd century BC. Described as the "reckless skeleton" or "skeleton mosaic", the mosaic is once thought to have belonged in the dining room of an upper-class home. Notable people Abba Judan, philanthropist Arcadius of Antioch, Greek grammarian Asclepiades of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch Saint Barnabas, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem Saint Domnius, Bishop of Salona and patron saint of Split George of Antioch, the first to hold the office of ammiratus ammiratorum Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch John Malalas, a Greek chronicler John Chrysostom, (349–407) Patriarch of Constantinople Libanius, 4th century AD, pagan sophist and confidant of Emperor Julian Saint Luke, 1st century AD, Christian evangelist and author of the Gospel of St. Luke and Acts of the Apostles Severus of Antioch, was the Patriarch of Antioch, and the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church Aulus Licinius Archias, Greek poet Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, Roman politician and general Saint Maron, Patriarch of the Maronite Church See also Antiochene Rite Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch from Monty Python List of Greek place names The Martyr of Antioch Theophilus of Antioch References and sources Notes References Sources Müller, Karl Otfried (1839). Antiquitates Antiochenae Freund, Albin (1882). Beiträge zur antiochenischen und zur konstantinopolitanischen Stadtchronik R. Forster (1897). in Jahrbuch of Berlin Arch. Institute, xii. Wickert, Ulrich (1999). "Antioch." In The Encyclopedia of Christianity, edited by Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, 81–82. Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, External links The Ancient City of Antioch Map Richard Stillwell, ed.