Photo: Tony Jolliffe/ BBC.
Newly uncovered frescoes in Pompeii depict Paris (of Troy) and his surprisingly peaceful kidnapping of Helen (of Greece) — the act that triggered the Trojan War.
Art from the ancient world can make you think twice about what you know. When you picture the Greek myth in which Paris steals the most beautiful woman in the world from her husband Menelaus, do you ever imagine her going quietly? I don’t. But judging from newly uncovered frescoes, people in Pompeii did. It puts a whole different cast on the Trojan Wars.
Jonathan Amos, Rebecca Morelle, and Alison Francis report at the BBC, “Stunning artworks have been uncovered in a new excavation at Pompeii, the ancient Roman city buried in an eruption from Mount Vesuvius in AD79.
“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. …
“A third of the lost city has still to be cleared of volcanic debris. 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. …
“It was likely the walls’ stark color was chosen to hide the smoke deposits from lamps used during entertaining after sunset. ‘In the shimmering light, the paintings would have almost come to life,’ [Park director Dr Gabriel Zuchtriegel] said.
“Two set-piece frescos dominate. 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.
“The black room is the latest treasure to emerge from the excavation, which started 12 months ago – an investigation [featured] in a documentary series from the BBC and Lion TV … in April. …
“Staff are having to move quickly to protect new finds, removing what they can to a storeroom. For the frescos that must stay in position, a plaster glue is injected to their rear to prevent them coming away from the walls. Masonry is being shored up with scaffolding and temporary roofing is going over the top. …
“Excavations in the late 19th Century uncovered a laundry in one corner. The latest work has now revealed a wholesale bakery next door, as well as the grand residence with its black room. The team is confident the three areas can be connected, physically via the plumbing and by particular passageways, but also in terms of their ownership. The identity of this individual 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.’
“What’s clear, however, is that all the properties were undergoing renovation at the time of the eruption. Escaping workers left roof tiles neatly stacked; their pots of lime mortar are still filled, waiting to be used; their trowels and pickaxes remain, although the wooden handles have long since rotted away.
“Dr Lia Trapani catalogues everything from the dig. She reaches for one of the thousand or more boxes of artifacts in her storeroom and pulls out a squat, turquoise cone. ‘It’s the lead weight from a plumb line.’ Just like today’s builders, the Roman workers would have used it to align vertical surfaces.
“She holds the cone between her fingers: ‘If you look closely you can see a little piece of Roman string is still attached.’
“Dr Alessandro Russo has been the other co-lead archaeologist on the dig. He wants to show us a ceiling fresco recovered from one room. Smashed during the eruption, its recovered pieces have been laid out, jigsaw-style, on a large table.
“He’s sprayed the chunks of plaster with a mist of water, which makes the detail and vivid colours jump out. You can see landscapes with Egyptian characters; foods and flowers; and some imposing theatrical masks.
” ‘This is my favorite discovery in this excavation because it is complex and rare. It is high-quality for a high-status individual,’ he explained.”
At the BBC, here, read that there’s a dark side to what they’re finding. No paywall.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
The mosaics sound fabulous. When we visited Montreal a few years ago we saw a visiting Pompeii exhibit that was interesting but a bit harrowing to see the casts of the people caught in the ash.
Yeah. I was uncomfortable explaining that to my 9 year old granddaughter.
Yes, our child was young at the time as well.