A stunning fresco of Helen of Troy and several other impressive artworks depicting scenes from Greek mythology were uncovered this week in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Archaeologists say the frescos are among the finest to be found in the ruins of the ancient site.
Mythical Greek figures such as Helen of Troy are depicted on the high black walls of a large banqueting hall.
Pompeii’s most stunning secret: pristine Helen of Troy frescohttps://t.co/0KnnhjLMkI
— Àrchie Leishmàn 🏴🥃👍 (@ognittis37) April 11, 2024
In one, 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.
🚨NEW 🚨
I was on site at Pompeii shortly after they made the stunning discovery of exquisite frescoes of figures from the Trojan War in a newly uncovered winter dining room.
Story from the site is here:https://t.co/yytoJLDIs5 pic.twitter.com/BBFJw6WnAa
— Jack Blackburn 🇺🇦 (@HackBlackburn) April 11, 2024
Frescoes discovered in Pompeii are in exceptional condition
The Times reports that the frescoes are beautiful but what makes them so unusual is their extraordinary condition.
“It seems that the room had been decorated shortly before Vesuvius erupted. The frescoes appear to be some of the last works of art to be made in the doomed city,” The Times reports.
Amazing new discoveries from #Pompeii. This and many others will be featured in the new series starting on Monday pic.twitter.com/MlQ4ybwCJf
— Daniel Pearl (@DanielPearl_TV) April 11, 2024
The frescoes, it transpires, are not in the traditional style and it seems that the painters were “doing something new”. Perhaps this was the very latest and very last artistic fashion in Pompeii, as they stand in an active building site that was permanently arrested when Vesuvius intervened, the British newspaper adds.
The room’s near-complete mosaic floor incorporates more than a million individual white tiles, the BBC says.
It adds that the current dig, the biggest in a generation, is underlining Pompeii’s position as the world’s premier window on the people and culture of the Roman empire.
Pompeii: Breathtaking new paintings found at ancient city https://t.co/VQvDbqDnZm
— James William Jacobs (@jameswjacobs) April 11, 2024
Fesco of Greek siblings uncovered in Pompeii
Greek influence was strong in Pompeii, leaving its mark on the city’s art, architecture, and even religion. The Romans adopted the Greek pantheon of gods, and Pompeii was no exception. Residents worshipped Zeus, Hera, Athena, and other Greek deities alongside their Roman counterparts.
Recently a lavish fresco depicting mythological Greek siblings has been unearthed during an excavation in the ruins of Pompeii.
Still colorful after more than 2,000 years, the painting was among several frescoes found during restoration work around the mansion of the House of Leda.
“Among the IV Style decorations that cover the back walls, the mythological painting depicting Phrixus and Helle fleeing on the ram of the Golden Fleece stands out,” the Pompeii Archaeological Park wrote in a statement on its website.
Related: Pompeii Skeleton Proves Greek Culture Thrived in Ancient Rome
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