The past is never dead. It’s not even past. William Faulkner
On Wednesday, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii and the Italian Ministry of Culture released photographs of the latest discovery in the ancient Roman city, buried in 79 AD by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The find consists of a banquet hall dating back to the first century BC, adorned with a “megalography”—a large fresco featuring nearly life-sized figures—depicting the procession of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. The artwork showcases huntresses, dancers, and young satyrs—mythological creatures with human torsos and goat-like legs.
The megalography spans three walls of the room, with the fourth opening onto a garden. It is located in Regio IX, Insula 10, a central area of the park where excavation efforts have been ongoing since 2023 to secure and explore previously uncharted sections of the city.
Archaeologists have named the hall the “House of the Thiasos,” referencing the term used in Ancient Greece for Dionysian processions. It has also been nicknamed the “New Villa of the Mysteries,” after one of Pompeii’s most renowned sites, where another megalography was discovered in 1909.
La “Casa del Thiasos” sarà aperta alle visite guidate dal lunedì al venerdì alle ore 11:00, con un massimo di 15 visitatori per gruppo. Mercoledì sera, il divulgatore scientifico Alberto Angela dedicherà una puntata della sua trasmissione Ulisse, il piacere della scoperta , in onda su Rai Uno, a questo straordinario ritrovamento.
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Author: mediastaff
- Ancient Greece
- Ancient Paintings
- ancient Rome
- Ancient World
- Antiquity
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- Archaeology
- art history
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- Dionysus
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