Archaeologists exploring what Pompeii was like before it was famously destroyed by Mount Vesuvius have made a huge discovery after finding evidence of secret cults and rituals. It has been almost 2,000 years that the ancient Italian city of Pompeii, near Naples in Italy, was completely destroyed after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Archaeologists in Pompeii have uncovered a series of nearly life-size frescoes spanning three walls of an ancient banquet hall. Set against a ruby-red backdrop, the wall paintings depict female followers of Dionysus—the Greek god of wine and ecstasy—engaged in secretive cult rituals.

A downright bacchanalian frieze has just been unearthed in Pompeii, one so large it spans three walls of a massive banquet room.

The narrative draws from the ancient Greek play The Bacchae, written by Euripides in 405 BCE, wherein Dionysus descends on Thebes seeking retribution for slander against him. The

The House of Thiasus got its name from the “thiasos,” or sacred procession, of Dionysus. The fresco matches the Second Style of Pompeian wall painting, which was prevalent between the 40s and 30s BC. This means the painting had already existed for over a century when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD buried it under ash and pumice.

A major new fresco has been unearthed in Pompeii depicting the procession of the god of wine Dionysus, with hunters, dancers and beautifully dressed women, site authorities announced Tuesday.

A new 50-room villa complete with stunning frescoes presenting the cult of Dionysus was found in Pompeii in what is regarded as once in a hundred years find. The discovery emerged from recent excavations at the Pompeii archaeological site.

Huge frescoes depicting the ancient god of wine Dionysus have been unearthed at Pompeii in what has been hailed as a major archaeological breakthrough. The frieze has been discovered in a spacious banqueting room in Insula 10,

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