Dome

Detail, Polyphemus with the panpipes and his goats; One of the most sumptuous villas along the Bay of Naples was at Boscotrecase, built by Agrippa, friend of Emperor Augustus and husband of his daughter Julia. This fresco from the Imperial villa (also known as the Villa of Agrippa Postumus) combines two separate events in the myth of the monstrous Cyclops, Polyphemus. In the foreground, he sits on a rocky outcrop tending his goats. The Cyclops holds his panpipes in his right hand as he gazes at the beautiful sea nymph Galatea, with whom he is hopelessly in love. In the upper right part of the fresco, Polyphemus is depicted hurling a boulder at Odysseus and his companions, who have just blinded the Cyclops. Odysseus' ship is seen sailing away at the far right. The fresco's blue-green background unifies the differing episodes from the myth of Polyphemus, and must have lent a sense of coolness to the room. It is a masterpieces of the Third Style of Roman wall painting, which flourished during the reign of Augustus. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art [website]; http://www.metmuseum.org (accessed 5/6/2014)