Artists - Part 72

Pompeii

The Roman city of Pompeii, along with the neighboring town of Herculaneum, was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, burying the city under 20 feet of volcanic ash.

When Pompeii was rediscovered and houses were uncovered, many works of art were found, including the charming mosaic above in the House of the Faun, showing animals of the Nile.

Statues were also found, including this Roman copy of a Greek original depicting the god Pan teaching Daphnis how to play the panpipes.

Another statue shows a youth as a lamp-bearer.  Nude statues were perfectly normal in Greek and Roman times and were not considered shocking or shameful.

We expect mosaics and statues to survive through the ages.  What is remarkable about Pompeii are the paintings that have survived for 2000 years, mostly frescoes painted on the walls.  Above, a painting of Theseus, the Greek mythological hero who killed the Minotaur, in the House of Marcus Gavius Rufus, Pompeii.

A fresco in the House of the Epigrams showing a satyr and a nymph.  Note that the satyr has an erection.

A fresco in the House of the Vettii, showing the god Priapus weighing his huge penis on a scale.  Priapus was the god of male fertility.  Imagine having this painted on the wall inside your house for everyone to see.  That's what the upper-class owners of the House of the Vettii did.

Another fresco of Priapus and his enormous penis, depicted with attributes of the god Mercury.

This fresco from the Casa del Medico (House of the Physician) depicts a scene along the Nile with pygmies, and some of them are fucking.

We end with this sculpture from Herculaneum, the neighboring town also destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash, but Herculaneum was buried by a lava flow, so it was more difficult to excavate.

Art was also found there, including this exquisitely crafted statue of the god Pan fucking a goat, found in the Villa of the Papyri.  The wealthy owner of the house had a library of hundreds of scrolls.

This statue and the frescoes suggest that our attitude about what is porn is quite different from the ancient Roman attitude.  For the Romans, this was not porn – these were artworks that were proudly displayed.