A spectacular banqueting room with elegant black walls, decorated with mythological characters and subjects inspired by the Trojan War, is one of the rooms recently brought to light during the excavations currently underway in insula (block) 10 of Regio IX at Pompeii and which is now completely visible in all its splendor.
It provided a refined setting for entertainment during convivial moments, whether banquets or conversations, with the clear aim of pursuing an elegant lifestyle, reflected by the size of the space, the presence of frescoes and mosaics dating to the Third Style, the artistic quality of the paintings and the choice of characters.
A House of Heroes
The dominant theme seems to be that of heroism, shown by the depictions of pairs of heroes and deities involved in the Trojan War, but also of fate and, at the same time, of the possibility, often not seized, that humans have of changing their own destiny.
As well as Helen and Paris, indicated in a Greek inscription placed between the two figures with his other name “Alexandros”, there is the figure of Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, who is depicted on the walls of the dining room together with Apollo.
God Apollo and the priestess Cassandra are depicted in one of the dining room frescoes at Pompeii. (Archaeological Park of Pompeii)
In Greek mythology Cassandra was renowned for her gift of foresight and her terrible fate which prevented her from altering the course of…
