Tristan Hughes

Made in the classically Greek red-figure style, more than 2,000 of these Peston vases have been discovered.

Many depict scenes of Greek mythology,

There's one that depicts the wondrous birth of Helen of Troy, who hatched from an egg after Helen's mother, Queen Leda of Sparta, had been seduced by Zeus, king of the gods, in the guise of a swan.

Another shows the Phoenician princess Europa being abducted from her homeland in the eastern Mediterranean by Zeus in the guise of a bull.

We even have the names of vase makers surviving.

Acetas was one celebrity name.

Python was another.

Both left their signatures on their vases, ensuring their names have survived to the present day.

The archaeology shows just how wrong Aristoxenus was.

Greek culture was flourishing at Pestum.

The Lucanian elites admired it.

Many of these elaborate vases were found in Lucanian tombs.

But the Lucanians also had their own rich culture, with a big emphasis on the warrior.

And it's at Pestum that we see a fascinating blend of the two in some stunning wall paintings.

More than 400 wall paintings dating to the Lucanian period have been found from tombs around Pestum.

Many are stored in the museum's storerooms, a Sistine Chapel of ancient Lucanian art.

Whoa!

No way!

This is an archaeologist's dream, isn't it?

Look at this!