- Imagine seeing the face of Helen of Troy staring back at you, from within the ashes of a 2,000-year-old city.
- And these ashes aren’t the scars of a city burned down for the sake of “the face that launch’d a thousand ships”.
- Helen is depicted in stunning detail (alongside Paris, the prince of Troy) in one of the paintings on the recently discovered fresco wall of the winter dining room of a Pompeian villa.
- Read more:
Pompeii’s House of the Vettii reopens: a reminder that Roman sexuality was far more complex than simply gay or straight
The women of Troy
- It’s not just their unusual style, which shows the painters experimenting with new techniques and representing the latest artistic fashions.
- It’s the trio of women from Greek myth collected together in a way that makes us see the Trojan war myth anew – and puts the stories of women at the forefront.
- It shows that, just like us, Pompeii’s elite were well versed in – and eager for – stories of the women of ancient Greek myth.
The role of the fresco
- Sit on one side, and you’d be faced with the image of Helen’s very first encounter with Paris.
- Is there a sense that Helen is lingering, uncertain, with that back foot scraping behind her?
- You can just imagine the Pompeian literati quaffing glasses of expensive wine as they gazed at Helen’s face and debated the subject.
- This is the price of ownership over your body as a woman in Greek myth – the loss of your voice.
- As the grim skeletons discovered in the villa show, just like the Trojans, Verus and his guests didn’t listen to Cassandra either.
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Emily Hauser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
