Roman fresco of a discus thrower, from Villa Arianna, from the archaeological excavations of ancient Stabiae, now Castellammare di Stabia, now part of the collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The fresco, dating to approximately 60 AD, almost two decades before the terrible eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, which destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, depicts, in bright colors against a dark background, a discus thrower captured in the moment before throwing the discus. This discipline, known in antiquity as diskos, was part of the ancient pentathlon, and had different techniques and phases from the modern discus throw. The thrower positioned himself on the throwing platform called the balbis, and, taking hold of the discus, threw it after only a half-turn of rotation, almost from a standstill, unlike the simultaneous throw which requires a turn and a half of rotation. The competition was a best of five throws, and the distances achieved varied depending on the weight of the discus: we know that a certain Faillo of Rhodes threw the discus 95 feet, approximately 28 meters. The athlete in the fresco looks into the distance, concentrating on focusing on the distance, holding the discus in his right hand, which in ancient competitions was made of bronze but sometimes of stone and weighed approximately 2.5 kg, more than the discus throwers used in modern competitions.