In Pompeii Bedroom, 'Explicit Sensuality'

Leda is shown being impregnated by god in swan form in newly uncovered fresco
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 19, 2018 4:21 PM CST
Archaeologists Uncover Sensual Fresco in Pompeii Bedroom
The fresco ''Leda e il cigno'' (Leda and the swan) discovered last Friday in the Regio V archeological area in Pompeii, near Naples, Italy, is seen Monday, Nov. 19, 2018.   (Cesare Abbate/ANSA via AP)

Archaeologists have found a fresco in an ancient Pompeii bedroom that depicts a sensual scene of the Roman god Jupiter, disguised as a swan, and a legendary queen of Sparta from Greek mythology. The figure of Leda being impregnated by the god in swan form was a fairly common home decoration theme in Pompeii and Herculaneum, another town destroyed in AD 79 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius near present-day Naples. But Pompeii archaeological park director Massimo Osanna praised this fresco as exceptional since it was painted to make it appear Leda was looking at whoever saw the fresco upon entering the bedroom, the AP reports. "Leda watches the spectator with a sensuality that's absolutely pronounced," Osanna told Italian news agency ANSA.

The fresco's details include a depiction of Leda protecting the swan with her cloak as the bird sits on her lap. Osanna noted the fresco's context of the Greek "myth of love, with an explicit sensuality in a bedroom where, obviously beside sleep, there could be other activities." The fresco, with its colors still remarkably vivid, was discovered Friday during ongoing work to consolidate the ancient city's structures after rains and wear-and-tear in past years caused some ruins to collapse, the tourist site's officials said. Because of safety concerns, unexcavated parts of the domus will probably remain that way, ANSA said. Archaeologists are considering removing both frescos found in the home to a place where "they can be protected and shown to the public," Osanna was quoted as saying. (More Pompeii stories.)

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