Frescoes inspired by the Trojan War were discovered in Pompeii, the archaeological site located near Naples, in southern Italy. A third of the Italian city is still buried following the eruption of Vesuvius.
The dominant theme of the cycle of frescoes is heroism, but these paintings also evoke destiny and the ways in which humans can modify it. Among the characters represented are Helen and Paris, the Trojan prince who kidnapped the latter, wife of the king of Sparta, Menelaus, triggering the Trojan war. We also discover Cassandra, sister of Paris, and the god Apollo, from whom she received the gift of telling the future even if her predictions will never be believed, including by her family. The walls were painted black to prevent traces of smoke from the lanterns from being seen, the director of Pompeii noted the Italian-German Gabriel Zuchtriegel.. Pompeii is the second most visited tourist site in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome, covering a total area of approximately 22 hectares.