A mural to the Goddess Urania, muse of astronomy in the peristyle of the Villa of the Vettii in the Roman city of Pompeii
Image details
Contributor:
RichardBakerItaly / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
BPY936File size:
54.6 MB (4 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3580 x 5335 px | 30.3 x 45.2 cm | 11.9 x 17.8 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
1 September 1991Location:
House of the Vettii, Pompeii, Italy, EUMore information:
In the peristyle of the House of the Vettii in Pompeii we see a fresco where an ancient painted mural to the Greek Goddess Urania was unearthed from volcanic ash after 2, 000 years. In Greek mythology, Urania which stems from the Greek word for 'heavenly' or 'of heaven', was the muse of astronomy. Some accounts list her as the mother of the musician Linus. She is usually depicted as having a globe in her left hand. She is able to foretell the future by the arrangement of the stars. She is often associated with Universal Love and the Holy Spirit. She is dressed in a cloak embroidered with stars and keeps her eyes and attention focused on the Heavens. Those who are most concerned with philosophy and the heavens are dearest to her. Painted before the catastrophic eruption of Versuvius in AD79, the frescoes have been uncovered from metre-layers of ash and pumice but are now fading from moisture and cracked plaster.