The fresco was unearthed in a home where, last November, archaeologists excavated a bedroom fresco of Greek mythology, the rape of Leda by the god Zeus in the form of a swan. Both works survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which buried the Roman city of Pompeii in fire, pumice and ash. In the fresco, Narcissus reclines by a pool, his face damaged but looking downward toward the water, where his greenish reflection stares back. A winged figure who may be Eros, the Greek god of love, stands nearby, as does a dog — tugging in vain at Narcissus’ garment, unable to pull him away. Around the beginning of the millennium, Hay said, Greek myths were made popular by the poet Ovid.

Source: National Post February 16, 2019 03:11 UTC