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Archaeologists working at Pompeii have uncovered a spectacular banquet hall decorated with mythological images connected to the Trojan War.
This luxurious space, once used for feasting and entertaining, was part of a grand private residence located in Insula 10 of Regio IX, behind a laundry discovered in the 19th century, and a small atrium house and bakery discovered during recent excavations in this area.
The banquet hall measures c.15m long by 6m wide and is decorated in the Third Style, which was popular in the first half of the 1st century AD. On black walls – perhaps intended to disguise stains from lamp smoke – are several intricate frescoes, described by experts as some of the finest ever found at Pompeii. The white mosaic floor is made up of over a million tesserae.
Many of the figures depicted in the room’s frescoes are related to stories from the Trojan War, and, more specifically, to themes of fate and destiny. One of the most prominent scenes depicts Cassandra, daughter of Priam, who was famous in Greek mythology for her gift of foresight and the curse that prevented anyone from believing her prophesies. Here, Cassandra is shown opposite the god Apollo, whose advances she seems to be spurning; Apollo would place the curse on her as retribution for this rejection. The second eye-catching scene in the hall depicts Helen and Paris, whose relationship played a central role in the start of the Trojan War. A Greek inscription between the figures identifies them both, referring to Paris by his other name: Alexandros. In another fresco, the Aetolian princess Leda is shown with Zeus in the form of a swan, in the union that led to Helen’s birth.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Images: courtesy of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii
