Paintings from Pompeii

fresco from Pompeii

In A.D. 79, the volcano Vesuvius violently erupted and covered Pompeii and Herculaneum with suffocating ash, killing many people. Philip M. Soergel wrote: While the eruption was a terrible tragedy in the ancient world, it was a boon for modern art historians, for the lava preserved the wall decorations of the houses and the mosaics on their floors for modern excavators to discover. While wall-paintings from other sites are only isolated finds, the art from Pompeii and Herculaneum show the changes in Roman taste over three centuries. Even though Pompeii, a town of some twenty thousand inhabitants, was already past the peak of its prosperity when it was buried under the ash from Mt. Vesuvius, and so did not attract the Roman Empire's best painters, its houses present a vivid record of changing fashions. [Source: Philip M. Soergel, “Arts and Humanities Through the Eras” (2004), Encyclopedia.com]

Dr Joanne Berry wrote for the BBC: “ House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto contains some of the finest 'Third Style' wall-paintings yet to be uncovered in Pompeii.Third Style paintings are characterised by ornate frameworks of pseudo-architectural elements, such as columns, which enclose central panel paintings. These central panels often depict mythological scenes, and in this house there are panels illustrating stories such as that of Narcissus, Theseus in the Labyrinth, and the love between Mars and Venus. “The sheer number and quality of the wall-paintings is this house is somewhat unexpected, since the house is of only modest size. [Source: Dr Joanne Berry, Pompeii Images, BBC, February 17, 2011 |::|]

One fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries “runs round all four walls of a room....The fresco is a megalographia (a depiction of life-size figures), and is unique in Pompeii. The panels of the fresco appear to show a series of consecutive events, and their interpretation is much debated. Most commonly, it is thought that the fresco illustrates the initiation of a woman into the secret rites of Dionysus, and it is this theory that gave rise to the name of the Villa of the Mysteries. In the scene pictured here, the initiate is flogged, while another woman dances beside her. |::|

“Lararia are shrines to the gods of the household, and are found in different shapes and forms in many Pompeian houses, ranging from simple wall-paintings to large and elaborate shrines. A lararium in the House of the Vetti imitates the form of a temple. Columns support a pediment, and frame a central painting. Two dancing lares (guardians of the family, who protect the household from external threats) hold raised drinking horns. They are positioned on either side of the genius (who represents the spirit of the male head of the household), who is dressed in a toga and making a sacrifice. Beneath them all is a serpent. Snakes are often depicted in lararia, and were considered guardian spirits of the family.”

Frescoes in the Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii

Villa of Mysteries

The Villa of Mysteries (outside of Pompeii) is regarded as the best preserved villa from the ancient world. Ashley Strickland of CNN wrote: The Villa of the Mysteries gets its name from a series of frescoes, dating back to the first century B.C., that depict a ritual dedicated to Bacchus, the god of wine, fertility and religious ecstasy. [Source Ashley Strickland, CNN, November 9, 2024]

The best-preserved frescoes show a bride's initiation into the forbidden cult of Dionysus. The magnificent work of art features satyrs and Silenis honoring Dionysus and naked, flute-playing little girls entertaining a young man and a demon hiding in the closet. The magnificent painting is alive with color. There is also a checkered tile floor and layers of colored marble underneath the painting. The villa is often roped and a separate admission has to be paid to get in.

James W. Jackson wrote in the Villa of Mysteries website: “This villa, built around a central peristyle court and surrounded by terraces, is much like other large villas of Pompeii. However, it contains one very unusual feature; a room decorated with beautiful and strange scenes. This room, known to us as "The Initiation Chamber," measures 15 by 25 feet and is located in the front right portion of the villa. [Source: James W. Jackson, Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii website]

“The chamber is entered through an opening located between the first and last scenes of the fresco The fresco images seem to part of a ritual ceremony aimed at preparing privileged, protected girls for the psychological transition to life as married women. The frescoes in the Villa of Mysteries provide us the opportunity to glimpse something important about the rites of passage for the women of Pompeii. But as there are few written records about mystery religions and initiation rites, any iconographic interpretation is bound to be flawed. In the end we are left with the wonderful frescoes and the mystery. Nevertheless, an interpretation is offered, see if you agree or disagree.

“At the center of the frescoes are the figures of Dionysus, the one certain identification agreed upon by scholars, and his mother Semele (other interpretations have the figure as Ariadne). As he had been for Greek women, Dionysus was the most popular god for Roman women. He was the source of both their sensual and their spiritual hopes.

Jarrett A. Lobell wrote in Archaeology magazine: “Although frescoes appear to exist as a single layer on a wall, they are actually created in multiple layers in a way that makes the artwork part of the wall itself. True fresco is made by beginning with several coats of plaster — usually two rough coats that are allowed to dry and harden, and a third, smooth one. Dry pigments mixed with water are painted on while the third coat is still wet. As this uppermost layer dries, the painting becomes part of the wall, creating a durable surface that can last for hundreds, indeed thousands, of years, unlike an oil painting on canvas, for example, which can easily peel or chip. The Villa of the Mysteries has dozens of frescoed walls, almost all of which need attention, according to project director Stefano Vanacore. [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, March-April 2014]

Scenes in Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii

James W. Jackson wrote in the Villa of Mysteries website: “Scene 1: The action of the rite begins with the initiate or bride crossing the threshold as the preparations for the rites to begin. Her wrist is cocked against her hip. Is she removing her scarf? Is she listening to the boy read from the scroll? Is she pregnant? The nudity of the boy may signify that he is divine. Is he reading rules of the rite? He wears actor's boots, perhaps indicating the dramatic aspect of the rites. The officiating priestess (behind the boy) holds another scroll in her left hand and a stylus in her right hand. Is she prepared to add the initiate's name to a list of successful initiates?” Later, “The initiate, now more lightly clad, carries an offering tray of sacramental cake. She wears a myrtle wreath. In her right hand she holds a laurel sprig. [Source: James W. Jackson, Villa of Mysteries at Pompeii website]

“Scene 2: A priestess, wearing a head covering and a wreath of myrtle removes a covering from a ceremonial basket held by a female attendant. Speculations about the contents of the basket include: more laurel, a snake, or flower petals. A second female attendant wearing a wreath, pours purifying water into a basin in which the priestess is about to dip a sprig of laurel. Mythological characters and music are introduced into the narrative. An aging Silenus plays a ten-string lyre resting on a column.

The first fresco at the Villa of Mysteries, depicting the reading of the rituals of the bridal mysteries

“Scene 3: A young male satyr plays pan pipes, while a nymph suckles a goat. The initiate is being made aware of her close connection with nature. This move from human to nature represents a shift away from the conscious human world to our preconscious animal state. In many rituals, this regression, assisted by music, is requisite to achieving a psychological state necessary for rebirth and regeneration. The startled initiate has a glimpse of what awaits her in the inner sanctuary where the katabasis will take place. This is her last chance to save herself by running away. Perhaps some initiates did just that. The next scene provides hints about what both frightens and awaits the initiate.

“Scene 4: “The Silenus looks disapprovingly at the startled initiate as he holds up an empty silver bowl. A young satyr gazes into the bowl, as if mesmerized. Another young satyr holds a theatrical mask (resembling the Silenus) aloft and looks off to his left. Some speculate that the mask rather than the satyr's face is reflected in the silver bowl. So, looking into the vessel is an act of divination: the young satyr sees himself in the future, a dead satyr. The young satyr and the young initiate are coming to terms with their own deaths. In this case the death of childhood and innocence. The bowl may have held Kykeon, the intoxicating drink of participants in Orphic-Dionysian mysteries, intended for the frightened initiate.

“Scene 5: This scene is at the center of both the room and the ritual. Dionysus sprawls in the arms of his mother Semele. Dionysus wears a wreath of ivy, his thyrsus tied with a yellow ribbon lies across his body, and one sandal is off his foot. Even though the fresco is badly damaged, we can see that Semele sits on a throne with Dionysus leaning on her. Semele, the queen, the great mother is supreme.

“Scene 6: The initiate, carrying a staff and wearing a cap, returns from the night journey. What has happened is a mystery to us. But in similar rituals the confused, and sometimes drugged initiate emerges like an infant at birth, from a dark place to a lighted place. She reaches for a covered object sitting in a winnowing basket, the liknon. The covered object is taken by many to be a phallus, or a herm. To the right is a winged divinity, perhaps Aidos. Her raised hand is rejecting or warding off something. She is looking to the left and is prepared to strike with a whip. Standing behind the initiate are two figures of women, unfortunately badly damaged. One woman (far left) holds a plate with what appear to be pine needles above the initiate's head. The apprehensive second figure is drawing back.

“Scene 7: The two themes of this scene are torture and transfiguration, the evocative climax of the rite. Notice the complete abandonment to agony on the face of the initiate and the lash across her back. She is consoled by a woman identified as a nurse. To the right a nude women clashes celebratory cymbals and another woman is about to give to the initiate a thyrsus, symbolizing the successful completion of the rite.

scene 2 at the Villa de Misteri

“Scene 8: This scene represents an event after the completion of the ritual drama. The transformed initiate or bride prepares, with the help of an attendant, for marriage. A young Eros figure holds a mirror which reflects the image of the bride. Both the bride and her reflected image stare out inquiringly at us, the observers.

“Scene 9: The figure above has been identified as: the mother of the bride, the mistress of the villa, or the bride herself. Notice that she does wear a ring on her finger. If she is the same female who began the dramatic ritual as a headstrong girl, she has certainly matured psychologically. Scene 10: Eros, a son of Chronos or Saturn, god of Love, is the final figure in the narrative.”

Conservation Work at the Villa of the Mysteries

After being closed for two years, all 70 rooms of the Villa of the Mysteries, reopened in 2015, revealing to the public for the first time the astonishing results of an extensive restoration and conservation project. Jarrett A. Lobell wrote in Archaeology magazine: Much of the most recent work focused on removing the layer of wax that had been used to protect the frescoes in the 1930s. However, it was discovered that the wax had damaged and faded the paintings’ once-vibrant colors. With the wax eradicated and the frescoes cleaned using chemical solutions and lasers, it is now possible to see, for the first time since they were buried by the A.D. 79 eruption just how remarkable the paintings are. In addition to conserving the frescoes, the researchers also cleaned, repaired, and consolidated the luxurious villa’s walls and floors, both to restore their appearance and to improve the stability of the building from top to bottom. [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, July-August 2015]

The villa stands in high contrast to many of the city’s homes where lavish decoration was lost to looters or removed to private collections and museums across the world beginning soon after the city’s mid-eighteenth-century discovery. But when the decision was made very early on to leave the paintings in place, the challenges of how to protect the villa began immediately — as did the multitude of factors that have affected its original appearance. Thus, what can be seen today in Pompeii is not only the result of having been buried by volcanic debris, but also the work of centuries of private excavators and professional archaeologists — and even the misdeeds of treasure hunters — who have plundered, excavated, rebuilt, and conserved the ancient city and its most remarkable private house. [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, March-April 2014]

By using thermography, which detects small changes in the surface temperature of the walls, researchers can spot cracks and places where the paintings have become detached, without ever touching the wall.Though these walls are durable, they still must be handled carefully. “We felt that lasers were a good method to clean the frescoes because they allow for the gentle cleaning of hard surfaces, and there is minimal impact on the work of art,” says Project director Stefano Vanacore. Although lasers are generally used for cleaning stone, they have been tested on metals and pottery as well to great success. The process by which the lasers clean the frescoes — a few microns at a time — is called photoablation, a sort of vaporization of what can appear as a layer of black crust. “This allows for precise cleaning of very delicate surfaces, and it’s also much less time consuming than using a scalpel or chemicals,” Vanacore adds. Even where the surface is very degraded, lasers can remove minuscule amounts of dirt without affecting the layer underneath, revealing as much of the ancient painting as possible without putting it at risk.

cubiculum from the Villa of P Fannius Synistor

As part of the overall examination of the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii’s archaeological superintendency, which oversees all work in the ancient city, also invited a team from the University of Kiel in Germany to investigate the house also using some of the latest technology available to archaeologists and conservators. Since it is no longer accepted practice to detach the paintings from the walls as the first conservators did, the Kiel team had to look to other techniques, such as those they used during a 2012 research project in the House of the Tragic Poet — another of Pompeii’s well decorated properties and home to the beloved “Beware of the Dog” mosaic — to investigate the damage to both the paintings and the underlying walls. “We wanted to employ nondestructive techniques to quantify the properties of the villa’s ancient painting and walls in order to identify the level of decay,” says Luigia Cristiano, a team member and researcher at Kiel’s Institute of Geoscience. Using a combination of these sophisticated methods, the Kiel team has been able to create precise maps that can be used to better direct the restoration of the villa.

“Ultrasound is best suited to study the walls’ outermost layer, which includes the paintings and the plaster just beneath it, Cristiano explains. This technique measures the speed of ultrasonic waves propagating along the walls’ surfaces — variations in speed can help scientists and conservators to detect cracks, water saturation, or salt intrusions. Images of the wall can also be created using both active and passive thermography to detect and record very small changes in temperature across the walls’ surfaces and document damage. Passive thermography takes temperature measurements without altering the surface in any way, while active thermography heats the wall very slightly — just two degrees — in order to investigate the response of the walls to heating. “Both cracks in, and fresco detachment from, the walls can be identified in places where the temperature is higher than the surrounding area during active heating and faster cooldown,” explains Cristiano. Water intrusions usually behave in exactly the opposite way.

Other methods can go even deeper below the surface. Using devices that emit and sense returning electromagnetic waves, which scatter differently depending on the materials they pass through and the depth they reach, the Kiel team was able to create images of the internal structure of the walls. The scattering properties of electromagnetic waves depend on the walls’ material composition and level of water saturation. “All the images arrived at using these technologies will help to devise an effective plan for future conservation,” says Cristiano.

Erotic Art in Pompeii and Herculaneum

The first archaeologists to excavate Pompeii were surprised by some of the obscene things they found and hid them from public view. Mark Oliver wrote for Listverse: “ “Pompeii was filled with art that was so filthy that it was locked in a secret room for hundreds of years before anyone was allowed to look at it. The town was full of the craziest erotic artwork you’ll ever see—for example, the statue of Pan sexually assaulting a goat. On top of that, the town was filled with prostitutes, which gave even the street tiles their own special little touch of obscenity. To this day, you can walk through Pompeii and see a sight Romans would enjoy every day—a penis carved into the road with the tip pointing the way to the nearest brothel.” [Source: Mark Oliver, Listverse, August 23, 2016]

Steve Coates wrote in the New York Times, “Much of the art” in Pompeii is “highly eroticized, even when not bluntly pornographic. Much else can striker the modern viewer as bizarre — something out of Petronius or Apuleius rather than Cicero or Horace — like a fresco of the judgment of Solomon story enacted by pygmies."

Mural of Venus, the Wikipedia article on erotic art from Pompeii has a lot more more explicit examples

Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: Some of the gardens of houses in Pompeii were decorated with bronze tintinnabula (wind chimes) sculpted in the form of the penis. Sexual imagery was so prevalent in Pompeii that sexually explicit art and objects were kept — at the instructions of Francis I, king of Naples — in a special “Secret Cabinet” (Gabinetto Segreto) at the Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. But it wasn’t just Pompeii (which has a reputation for sexually licentious behaviour because so much of its artwork was preserved). To name just a few examples: wine cups often depict what we might call ‘pornographic scenes’; the deity Priapus is always shown with an oversized penis; and a statue of Pan engaged in sexual congress with a goat (to be fair to Pan he was half-goat himself) was found in the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum. [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, November 22, 2018]

Boscoreale: Frescoes from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor

According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “Boscoreale, an area about a mile north of Pompeii, was notable in antiquity for having numerous aristocratic country villas. This tradition endured into the time of the Bourbon kings, as is attested by the region's name, the "Royal Forest," which implies that Boscoreale was a hunting preserve. Some of the most important wall paintings surviving from antiquity come from a Roman villa at Boscoreale built shortly after the middle of the first century B.C. The villa, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., is referred to as the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, one of its owners during the first half part of the first century A.D. Excavated in the early 1900s, the villa's frescoes are among the most important to be found anywhere in the Roman world. [Source: Department of Greek and Roman Art, Boscoreale: Frescoes from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor", The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2004, metmuseum.org \^/]

“The villa at Boscoreale is a variant of the so-called villa rustica, a country house of which only a small part functioned as a farmhouse (pars rustica). The majority of the villa served as a residence for the owner, a member of that class of wealthy Roman citizens who owned more properties of this kind and used them as country houses. The painted decoration of the villa at Boscoreale, which was executed sometime around 40–30 B.C., attests to the original owner as a rich man with exquisite taste. The fact that the mid-first-century B.C. decoration was not replaced by another, more contemporary, decoration in the first century A.D. is a clear indication that there was already an awareness of the quality of the frescoes in antiquity. \^/

wall painting from the from the Villa of P Fannius Synistor

“The surviving paintings are extremely fine examples of the late Second Style, the most renowned style in Roman wall painting. Throughout the frescoes from the villa at Boscoreale there are visual ambiguities to tease the eye, including architectural details painted to resemble real ones, such as rusticated masonry, pillars, and columns that cast shadows into the viewer's space, and more conventional trompe l'oeil devices, such as three-dimensional meanders. Objects of daily life were depicted in such a way as to seem real, with metal and glass vases on shelves and tables appearing to project out from the wall. Cumulatively, these trompe l'oeil devices reveal the Republican owner's evident pleasure in impressing guests at his comfortable summer retreat. \^/

“Luxury villas, like the one at Boscoreale, were often the setting for conspicuous consumption of Hellenistic art and culture by the Roman aristocracy. Although in public life, a senator aimed to cut a severe figure of traditional Roman values—austere, practical, conservative—his household and his villas were the settings for extravagant displays of refined living—of building, decorating, eating, and philosophizing. The inspiration for this came from the Greeks in the east, including the repertoire of ideas and the artists, decorators, and intellectuals. Roman villa architecture combined the core of a Roman house with peristyles and gardens borrowed from Greek gymnasia, palaces, and sanctuaries. The Roman aristocracy aimed to evoke the culture of Athenian academies, the charmed world of the Hellenistic pastoral, and the magnificence of Alexandrian palaces. Portraits of Greek philosophers and writers represented learning; statues of satyrs and nymphs re-created an idyllic Dionysian landscape; and wall paintings, rich in Greek myth and dynastic portraiture, provided majestic interiors. \^/

Positano Villa Frescoes

Marco Merola wrote in Archaeology magazine Archaeologist Luciana Jacobelli of the University of Molise as she opens a small door to the crypt of the church of Santa Maria Assunta in the center of town. It’s very dim inside, and she has to use a flashlight as we make our way. We slowly climb down a series of ladders through a forest of iron scaffolding toward what seems to be the only well-lit area, nearly 30 feet under the church. Jacobelli then leads me into a room and, as promised, frescoes in dazzling green, yellow, red, and blue seem to illuminate the space on their own. We have arrived at the extraordinarily well-preserved remains of a lavish villa marittima, or seaside villa, once a luxurious retreat for the rich of ancient Rome to escape the summer heat and the hustle and bustle of city life in the first centuries B.C. and A.D. [Source:Marco Merola, Archaeology magazine, September-October 2016]

Positano Villa Frescoes

“It was only during restoration work on the crypt in 2003 that archaeologists had a chance to enter the villa’s stunning triclinium, or dining room, for the first time. A team of archaeologists and conservators worked to remove mud and lapilli (small stones ejected by a volcanic eruption) and to expose and clean the stunning wall paintings emerging from the debris.

The villa’s owner commissioned the finest artists to create expertly painted images of fantastical architecture.Thanks to an ancient system of artificial terraces cut into the hillside on which Positano sits, the villa may have sprawled across more than 2.25 acres. “The quality of the wall paintings is very high, and the triclinium’s decorative program seems unique,” says Zarmakoupi. “The combination of frescoes with stucco is rare and remarkable. The rendering of details in stucco, for example in the figures both holding and decorating the drapery, accentuates the feeling that the cloth is actually pliable.”

The images include cupids riding sea monsters and dolphins, rendered in stucco. They pull an elegant green drape on the frescoed wall. The use of figural stucco is rare in domestic contexts, appearing more commonly in public spaces such as baths.

Frescoes in the House of the Vettii

The Ixion Room in the House of the Vetti looks a small art gallery. There are delightful murals with cherubs performing tasks like forging, goldsmithing and making weapons. The biggest draw are the erotic frescoes and statues. A fresco beside the entrance to the villa shows the god of fertility Priapus, whose penis is so large it is held up by a string. Off in a side room to the right of the Priapus entrance is statue of Priapus with his penis erect and erotic frescoes of couples having sexual intercourse sitting down and in other positions.

In Roman times, rooms with erotic art were generally only for men and their concubines. This was also true in modern times until recently when the frescoes used to be shown only to men tourists. Women and children needed to bribe a guard to get let in. In the early 1800s, the outcry over the finding of erotic art at Pompeii led to the "excommunication" of Pompeii.

Francesco Sportelli of Associated Press wrote: Previous restoration work, which involved repeated application of paraffin over the frescoed walls in hopes of preserving them, “resulted in them becoming very blurred over time, because very thick and opaque layers formed, making it difficult to ‘read’ the fresco," said Stefania Giudice, director of fresco restoration.v But the wax did serve to preserve them remarkably. Zuchtriegel ventured that the fresh “readings” of the revived fresco painting “reflect the dreams and imagination and anxieties of the owners because they lived between these images,’’ which include Greek mythological figures.[Source: Francesco Sportelli, Associated Press, January 10, 2023]

Punishment of Ixion in the House of the Vettii

In the living room, known as the Hall of Pentheus, a fresco depicts Hercules as a child, crushing two snakes, in an illustration of an episode from the Greek hero’s life. According to mythology, Hera, the goddess wife of Zeus, sent snakes to kill Hercules because she was furious that he was born from the union of Zeus with a mortal woman, Alcmena.

Might Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus have recognized their own life story in some way in the figure of Hercules who overcame challenge after challenge in his life? That's a question that intrigues Zuchtriegel. After years in slavery, the men “then had an incredible career after that and reached the highest ranks of local society, at least economically,’’ judging by their upscale domus and garden, Zuchtriegel said. “They evidently tried to show their new status also through culture and through Greek mythological paintings, and it’s all about saying, ‘We’ve made it and so we are part of this elite’” of the Roman world.

New Pompeii Frescoes Unveiling in 2024

In February 2024, archaeologist unveiled a lavish painting of a mythological scene and other newly discovered frescoes from Pompeii. AFP reported: Still astonishingly colorful some 2,000 years after the city was wiped out by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the frescoes were unearthed during restoration work around the mansion of the House of Leda. [Source: AFP, March 2, 2024]

The most striking depicts a scene from the Greek myth of Phrixus and his twin sister Helle, as they fled their stepmother Ino on the magical ram with the Golden Fleece. Phrixus sits astride the ram while his sister is seen falling into the water, "two refugees at sea from ancient Greece", noted Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii archaeological park. The fresco is painted as if it were a framed picture, hung on a yellow wall. Others depicting still life images and several portraits of women have also been newly revealed.

The artwork, which is more or less intact except for the top right edge, depicts Phrixus and Helle, two twins from Greek mythology. According to the story, a magical flying ram with a golden fleece saved the twins from their stepmother, who was plotting their assassination. Though Phrixus is able to escape, Helle falls into the sea and drowns. The portrait shows this moment, as Helle reaches up toward Phrixus as she makes her fatal descent into the strait between Europe and Asia. [Source: Declan Gallagher, Men's Journal, March 9, 2024]

fresco of Prhixus on the ram as Helle is drowning, revealed in 2024, from the Archaeological Park of Pompeii

Helen of Troy Paintings in Pompeii’s Black Room

In April 2024, in what was described as one of the most important in years, archaeologists revealed a series of striking paintings showing Helen of Troy and other Greek heroes to the public for the first time. Discovered inside what archaeologists described as a “spectacular dining room” with unusual black walls, the remarkably well-preserved frescoes were inspired by the Trojan War. Gabriel Zuchtriegel is Director General of the archaeological park in Pompeii, said at least 20 or 30 guests could easily have fit into the room for lavish banquets and discussion about “culture, gossip and politics.” He added that the paintings “were almost like invitations to discuss Greek myths.” [Source: Kelly Cobiella and Laura Saravia, NBC News, June 12, 2024]

According to the The Telegraph: One fresco depicts Paris about to elope with, or perhaps abduct, Helen of Troy, the event which, according to legend, triggered the Trojan War. A large, baleful looking mastiff stares out of the painting as Paris approaches the princess, whose beauty was legendary. Paris is identified by his other name, Alexandros, which is written in Greek. Another image shows the god Apollo, largely naked but with a blue cloak draped over his shoulder, leaning on a lyre and attempting to seduce Cassandra, the Trojan princess. There is also a depiction of a famous mythological story in which Zeus, in the form of a swan, rapes the Spartan queen Leda. She became pregnant and gave birth to Helen of Troy. The banqueting hall was accessed by a long staircase, where experts found more remarkable discoveries including two pairs of fighting gladiators and “what appears to be an enormous, stylised phallus,” the archaeologists said. [Source: Nick Squires, The Telegraph, April 11, 2024]

The 15-meter (50-foot) -long “black room” where the paintings are located, has near-complete mosaic floor with more than a million individual white tiles. It was likely the room’s black walls' stark color was chosen to hide the smoke deposits from lamps used during entertaining after sunset. In the Apollo painting the god Apollo is seen trying to seduce the priestess Cassandra. Her rejection of him, according to legend, resulted in her prophecies being ignored. The tragic consequence is told in the second painting, in which Prince Paris meets the beautiful Helen — a union Cassandra knows will doom them all in the resulting Trojan War. [Source: Jonathan Amos, Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis, BBC, April 11, 2024]

The identity of of owner of the villa is hinted at in numerous inscriptions with the initials "ARV". The letters appear on walls and even on the bakery's millstones. "We know who ARV is: he's Aulus Rustius Verus," explained park archaeologist Dr Sophie Hay. "We know him from other political propaganda in Pompeii. He's a politician. He's super-rich. We think he may be the one who owns the posh house behind the bakery and the laundry."

black room where the paintings described above were found

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Rome sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Late Antiquity sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “Outlines of Roman History” by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L. New York, American Book Company (1901) ; “The Private Life of the Romans” by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston, Scott, Foresman and Company (1903, 1932); BBC Ancient Rome bbc.co.uk/history/ ; Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org ; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Live Science, Discover magazine, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, The New Yorker, Wikipedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia.com and various other books, websites and publications.

Last updated November 2024