More Discoveries at Pompeii

The excavations at Pompeii have got to be one of the longest anywhere. They began in the 19th century, and are still going. And frankly, they are nowhere near done— only a bit over a third of the site has really been properly dug.  Stay tuned.  They may finish about the time Jesus returns.  But seriously, they are doing an excellent job as the recent excavation of another insula shows.  In particular the dining room with its wall paintings deserve close scrutiny.   The article appeared in the April 11th edition of the NY Times.

Here are some of the interesting frescoes.

Here is the main dining room…

Below is a fresco of Helen of Troy on the left, with her maid, and Paris on the right, with a sad looking dog in the middle.  It’s scene from the Trojan war.

There are mythological scenes as well, like from the story of Zeus disguising himself as a swan in order to seduce Leda…

It is not clear who this woman is below, but my best guess is it is likely to be Penelope, pining away for her Odysseus.

It must be remembered that Pompeii was a seaside resort town where many wealth people had mansions.  This particular one appears to have been in the process of restoration when Vesuvius erupted.