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Archaeologists from the ancient city of Pompeii have discovered a remarkable fresco depicting a sensual scene featuring the Roman god Jupiter and Leda, a legendary Spartan queen of Greek mythology.
The fresco was discovered in a cubicle or bedroom remnants of the Roman city.
In the fresco, Jupiter is disguised as a swan. The figure of Leda impregnated by the god as a swan was a fairly common theme of house decoration in Pompeii and Herculaneum, another town destroyed from the year 79 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius near Naples today.
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After the eruption of Vesuvius, Pompeii was quickly buried under volcanic ash, killing about 2,000 people among the city's inhabitants, according to History.com.
Leda is an important figure of Greek mythology. "The scene – full of sensuality – represents the union of Jupiter, turned into a swan, and Leda, wife of King Tyndareus," says the archaeological site of Pompeii in an article on Facebook.
"From his embraces, first with Jupiter, then Tyndareus, were born the twin Castor and Pollux of an egg (the Dioscuri), Helen – the future wife of King Menelaus of Sparta and the cause of the war of Troy – and Clytemnestra, later wife (and assassin) of King Agamemnon of Argos and brother of Menelaus. "
In Greek mythology, the children of Leda were created by the god Zeus, the Greek version of Jupiter.
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The director of the archaeological park of Pompeii, Massimo Osanna, described this fresco as exceptional, as it was painted to give the impression that Leda was looking at the one who had seen the fresco on entering the room.
An archaeologist cleans the frescoes & # 39; Leda e he cigno & # 39; (Leda and the swan) (Cesare Abbate / ANSA via AP)
"Leda looks at the viewer with utter sensuality," Osanna told the Italian news agency ANSA.
The details of the mural include a representation of Leda protecting the swan with his coat while the bird is sitting on his lap.
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Osanna pointed out the Greek context of the fresco "myth of love, with explicit sensuality in a bedroom where, obviously, next to sleep, there could be other activities".
The fresco, with its still remarkably bright colors, was discovered on Friday during ongoing work to consolidate the structures of the ancient city after the rains and wear of previous years that caused the collapse of some ruins, said the officials of the tourist site.
The site of the ancient city remained intact for more than 1500 years until its rediscovery in the 18th century. In the 19th century, archaeologists used plaster to make casts in vacuum cleaners surrounding skeletons found in the compacted layer of ash. Left behind by the decomposition of organic remains, the vacuum cleaners offer a disturbing snapshot of the last moments of the victims. National Geographic notes that the realistic poses of plaster casts show some victims, for example, crawling or sitting, their heads in their hands.
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The fresco is only the latest fascinating discovery in Pompeii. A scribbled text on a wall in Pompeii, for example, is rewriting the story of the famous old eruption. The newly discovered coal listing suggests that the eruption occurred in October 79, two months later than expected.
In addition, archaeologists have recently discovered the undisturbed skeletons of a small group of people who had escaped the devastating eruption of Vesuvius. And earlier this year, images of a man's skeleton, apparently crushed by a rock during the eruption, became viral after their discovery.
Archaeologists have also recently discovered the resting place of an ancient racehorse among the ruins of Pompeii.
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A new study recently revealed that, during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the intense heat caused the explosion of the skull and the boiling of the victims' blood.
Chris Ciaccia of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
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