HYMENAEUS, FROM THE HOUSE OF MELEAGER, POMPEII, 45-79 CE. MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE DI NAPOLI This badly-worn fresco a secco shows a casually nude young man leaning against an altar, indoors, with a window showing blue sky behind his head. He wears a pale blue shawl draped over his arms at the elbow, and a crown of flowers. In his right hand, he holds a second floral crown and in his left is a long staff ending in a candle base with a spike, which looks like a Pointy Thing from a cornucopia but which must be a sort of unlit torch. He has been identified as Hymen or Hymenaeus, one of the Erotes, a god specifically of weddings, by the crown in his hand and the torch, though I'm not entirely convinced as he has no wings. The fresco was found in 1830 in the House of Meleager in Pompeii, in a peristyle open to the elements, which explains its worn condition. Other frescoes in the same peristyle showed mythological scenes of happy and unhappy love. Depending on your mood, you could meditate on either.

#FrescoFriday carries us back into #Pompeii via #Naples to puzzle out this damaged #fresco of #Hymenaeus or #Hymen, who presided over weddings. (Freudian) Pointy Thing alert! This comes from the large domus called the House of #Meleager. #ClassicsBluesky 🏺