Pompeii and Naples Untold Histories

Meet your driver and guide at Naples port. In the morning, visit Pompeii, the city frozen in stone, and a time capsule of Greek and Roman culture.  Discover the ruins of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 A.D., men and women preserved forever in ashes.  Visit houses, streets and thermal baths adorned with artwork depicting explicit sex scenes and homosexual relationships.

Enjoy stories of day-to-day Roman life and its important Greek influences.  The ancient Greek’s veneration of male lovers deeply influenced life in ancient Pompeii.  Same sex love was expression of power and maleness, while marriage was often just a pretext and mechanism to have children.

Transfer back to Naples.

Lunch is not included – Street food available

In the afternoon, visit the Archeological Museum in Naples and enjoy the narration of our gay/gay-friendly guide.  Get skip-the-line tickets and discover the Greek and Roman culture of the ‘beautiful body’.

The amazing collection of frescoes and statues that were excavated in Pompeii and some nearby sites include this fresco of Sappho, the lesbian Greek poet, painted holding a stylus in deep contemplation of the viewer.

The Museum also has some fabulous homoerotic pieces, including the statue of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the male-male couple who were revered as the founders of the Athenian democracy.

Learn about the idea of love between men in the early Greek culture.  Many Greek gods and heroes had affairs with men or boys according to historical information.  Zeus, king of the gods and leader of the pantheon, was renowned for his capture of Ganymede, god of homosexuality.  Achilles and Patroclus were known by poets and dramatists for their prowess as warriors on the battlefield, and as passionate and voracious lovers.