A banquet hall filled with well-preserved frescoes depicting characters inspired by the Trojan War has been unearthed among the ruins of Pompeii, in one of the most impressive discoveries ever made at an archaeological site in southern Italy.
The 15-meter-long and six-meter-wide room was found in a former private residence on the Via di Nola, which was ancient Pompeii’s longest street, during excavations in the Regio IX area of the site.
The “black room”, so named because of the color of its walls, which was probably intended to cover the smoke from burning oil lamps, was a “sophisticated setting for entertaining during merry moments”, experts said .
Its walls are decorated with works of art depicting mythical Greek characters, including one of Helen of Troy meeting Paris, the prince of Troy, for the first time. The mural includes a dog and a Greek inscription that reads “Alexander”, another name for Paris. According to Greek legend, the pair’s “stealing” sparked the Trojan War.
Another fresco depicts the Greek god Apollo trying to woo the priestess Cassandra. In his attempt to seduce her, Apollo had given her the power to predict the future, but when she rejected him he cursed her so that no one would believe her predictions. As a result, he was unable to thwart the tragic events of a battle he had prophesied. After being raped during the capture of Troy, Cassandra ended up as a slave.
As the Guardian reports, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of Pompeii’s archaeological park, said the mythological figures were clearly intended to entertain visitors and provide topics of conversation during the festivities.
“Mythological couples provided ideas for conversations about the past and life and were only ostensibly romantic,” he said. “In fact, they refer to the relationship between the individual and fate: Cassandra who can see the future but no one believes her, Apollo who sides with the Trojans against the Greek invaders but as a god cannot ensure victory , Helen and Paris who, despite their politically incorrect love affair, are the cause of the war or perhaps just a pretext”.
As he added: “People would meet for dinner after sunset – the flickering light from the lamps made the images seem to move, especially after a few glasses of good Campania wine.”
Photos: PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI PRESS OFFICE
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