New Frescoes Discovered in Pompeii Reveal What Romans Discussed at Parties

A work of Greek literature like Homer's The Iliad might seem like a "dull read," but in reality, it's a soap opera filled with love, heartbreak, friendship, betrayal, and war (since the book narrates the story of the Trojan War). It all begins when the prince of Troy, Paris, kidnaps Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta. Then, King Menelaus (obviously) very angry, decides to go reclaim Helen in Troy (also called Ilion, hence the book's name). In this story, Greek heroes like Achilles appear, who has his heart broken when his best friend Patroclus is murdered. There are sources that claim this friendship was a romantic relationship, as described in the TikTok hit The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. We share mythological dramas through frescoes that have recently been discovered in Pompeii.

The gods also participated in the Trojan War and took sides, as in Greek mythology, the gods interacted with humans, and even fell in love with them. One example of this is the god of sun and music: Apollo. Although his associations with light and art might make the god seem charming, the truth is he was quite the nuisance.

Cassandra was the princess of Troy, and when Apollo saw her, he fell in love with her. She thought the god was "nice," but nothing beyond that. Then, he offered her a deal: he would teach her the arts of prophecy, and when she could predict the future, she would go with him. When it came time for Cassandra to fulfill her part of the deal, she refused. Apollo, enraged, cursed the princess to see the future, but with no power to change it.

When Helen was about to enter the city and ignite a war, Cassandra warned Paris about what would happen, but no one believed her, and they thought she was insane: another woman in history who was accused of hysteria when she was right from the start.

Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Achilles' parents (yes, the Achilles who later fought in the Trojan War), and as revenge, she threw a golden apple inscribed "to the fairest" among Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena. Zeus (worse than Apollo) could not decide among the three goddesses and delegated the decision to Paris, the Trojan prince.

The goddesses bribed the human with wisdom, power... and Paris chose Aphrodite's proposal: if he chose her, he would win the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, unfortunately for him, that woman was married to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The Trojan prince visited Spartan land as Helen's husband's guest and during his stay, captivated his wife. The passion sparked by Aphrodite between the two was so strong that they decided to elope to Troy. One could say that Paris, as a guest, didn't leave a good impression. The anger that this "kidnapping" caused was the trigger for the Trojan War.

Apollo tried to woo Cassandra by offering her the power of prophecy, though this was not his only failed attempt: the god pursued the nymph Daphne until the only escape she saw was to turn into a tree.

Zeus's favorite seduction tactic was to transform into animals or elements of nature to deceive women. The king of the gods transformed into a white bull to attract the attention of the Phoenician princess Europa, and when she climbed onto the bull, he ran off to Crete, the continent now named after the princess. He also turned into golden rain to enter the tower where Danaë was locked away through the cracks.

Helen, whose abduction caused the famous war, was the daughter of Zeus. The thunder god fell in love with Queen Leda and transformed into a beautiful swan to deceive her. When Leda was walking along a riverbank, the swan pretended to be attacked by an eagle, and Leda's kindness led her to protect the swan. She placed it on her lap, and Zeus took the opportunity to conceive her. From this union, Helen of Troy was born.

The frescoes have been discovered in Pompeii, specifically in a dining room 15 meters long and 6 meters wide. It's interesting to note that the walls are painted black to prevent stains from smoke emanating from oil lamps. "People would gather for dinner after sunset; the flickering light from the lamps created an effect that made the images seem to move, especially after a few glasses of good wine from Campania," explains Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park.

The frescoes also served to propose topics for conversation during parties, and their themes revolve around fate and the consequences of decisions made by human emotions. Zuchtriegel adds: "Helen and Paris represent us all: every day we can choose whether to focus solely on our private lives or explore how our lives are intertwined with the broader spectrum of history, thinking, for instance, not only about war and politics or the environment but also about the atmosphere we are creating in our society by communicating with others in real time and on social media."

The dining room belongs to a house discovered in the 19th century, and in addition to the room, a furnace and a "fullonicae", a laundry area, have also been found. It is suspected that the insula was undergoing renovation when Pompeii was caught off guard by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.