Paestum and the sea: sandy beaches and a long coastline. But Paestum and the sea are also the two elements that characterise one of the most surprising archaeological discoveries of the last century.
Ph. Anna Monaco - Trentaremi
In 1968 the archaeologist Mario Napoli found a 5th century BC tomb. It was just outside the city, and kept images and colors with great evocative power. Like a treasure chest, it kept perfectly preserved decorations, as the one of a man, suspended between the sky and the sea, just after jumping from a trampoline. His dark body stands out against a soft background. A scene full of strength, able to describe a moment that seems eternal, as the passage from life to death.
Ph. Anna Monaco - Trentaremi
In ancient times this moment was often represented by crossing a river, with a boat that brought souls to the afterlife. Here, however, is the gesture of a man who alone faces the unknown. Since its discovery this decoration has aroused astonishment because it is difficult to interpret. Many researchers still wonder what its meaning is, getting Greek and Etruscan influences in style, without forgetting the local culture. You can read the dive as a metaphor for death, a liberation, but also as a test of courage.
Ph. Anna Monaco - Trentaremi
The diver is painted in the cover slab of the tomb, together with other men engaged in a banquet that looks like fun and enchanting. And the banquet is a subject widely used in funeral decorations, less unusual than the diver. On the other slabs of the tomb, couples of men appear involved in gestures of love and allusive looks, servants and musicians.
πώνωμεν· τί τὰ λύχν’ ὀμμένομεν; δάκτυλος ἀμέρα· κὰδ δ’ ἄερρε κυλίχναις μεγάλαις αιταποικιλλις· οἶνον γὰρ Σεμέλας καὶ Δίος υἶος λαθικάδεον ἀνθρώποισιν ἔδωκ’
“Let's drink! Why are we waiting for the lamps? Only an inch of daylight left. Lift down the large cups, my friends, the painted ones; for wine was given to men by the son of Semele and Zeus to help them forget their troubles”Alcaeus of Mytilene
It almost seems to hear the chatter of this banquet full of wine, contained in a large crater painted on one of the slabs. Full of music, coming from the lyre and the flute, also painted in the scene, and of games, such as that of the throwing of the last drop, shown by one of the participants.
Ph. Anna Monaco - Trentaremi
The sound of life and the suspension of death chase each other in this tomb and thoughts run to the dead who was buried here, to his life and to the reasons contained in that dive. The diver and his secret will challenge eternity.