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Path: Photos > Photos > The Ruins of Pompeii > Pompeii: our favourite Villas
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Pompeii: our favourite Villas

 

(vero;2025-Feb-12)

From all villas we saw, those three with their frescoes, relatively well preserved and still in-situ, were the most impressive.

The House of Vettii

This house, one of the richest and most famous in Pompeii, is under the protection of Priapus, the god of prosperity, symbolising the economic prosperity of the owners: Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, two former slaves who gained their freedom and amassed considerable wealth as wine traders. This house has just been restored and reopened to the public in January 2023 (Regio VI Insula: 15.1).

I have chosen to use the Greek names of the gods and goddesses featured on the frescoes of this villa, as they are the ones under which most paintings are known. A small reminder:

Zeus = Jupiter Hera = Juno Dionysus = Bacchus Poseidon = Neptune Artemis = Diana Heracles = Hercules

Click on the thumbnail on the left to see a plan of the House of Vettii.



North east exedra (see plan): exedras are sitting and chatting rooms accessible from the peristyle.
North east exedra: frontal painting depicting the torture of Ixion on the wheel. Ixion was a king in ancient Greece and a bit of a villain: when he refused to pay the bride gift to his father-in-law Deioneus, a row ensued between the two and culminated with Ixion inviting Deioneus to his place and killing him. Having broken the guest-host rules as well as committed kinslaying he became an outcast until Zeus had pity and brought him to Olympus. But Ixion tried to seduce Hera, the wife of Zeus. When Zeus realised this he created Nephele, a cloud in the shape of Hera, to deceive him. When Ixion eventually made love to Nephele, Zeus grew enraged, hurled a thunderbolt against him and threw him out of Olympus, ordering Hermes to bound him to a spinning fiery wheel for eternity. Back to the painting: on the left, Ixion can be seen attached to the wheel manned by Hephaestus who is standing behind it with a hand ready to start the spin. Hermes stands in the centre holding his caduceus and wearing sandals, his left hand is also on the wheel. Hera is seated on her throne with her servant Iris standing to her left and drawing her attention to the scene. The figure seated on the floor is the cloud nymph Nephele. North east exedra: Nephele (see previous painting). She was created by Zeus as a cloud in the shape of his wife Hera to deceive Ixion who was trying to seduce Hera. The unaware Ixion assaulted Nephele and made love to her, engendering Centaurus, a child born deformed with a humpback. Fleeing other humans, Centaurus escaped into the mountains where he settled and mated with some mares who lived there. Their union created the race of the Centaurs, horses with a human head. North east exedra: painting on the left wall depicting Daedalus showing the wooden cow to Pasiphaë. She was the wife of Minos, king of Crete who was required to sacrifice "the fairest bull born in its herd" to Poseidon each year. One year Minos refused to sacrifice an extremely beautiful bull and sacrificed an inferior one instead. As punishment, Poseidon put a curse on Pasiphaë to experience lust for the spared bull. In need of help to be able to mate with the bull, Pasiphaë eventually asked the Athenian inventor Daedalus (father of Icarus) for a solution. He built a hollow wooden cow covered with real cow-skin in which she hid and fooled the bull. She fell pregnant and gave birth to a half-human half-bull creature that fed solely on human flesh: the Minotaur. Oecus (see plan): this is an important room often used as a triclinium (formal dining room) for banquets. Wall decoration of the Oecus. Oecus: painting depicting a young half-naked Dionysus in the company of Ariadne watching the fight between Eros and Pan with Silenus (a companion of Dionysus) standing on the right. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and was in charge of the famous labyrinth where sacrifices of youth to the Minotaur were taking place. She fell in love with Theseus, one of the boys to be sacrificed, and betraying her father and her country, helped him to kill the Minotaur and find his way out of the labyrinth. They eloped to the island of Naxos. Theseus eventually left her and Dionysus discovered her sleeping on the island; he fell promptly in love with her and claimed her as his wife. The fight between Eros and Pan is seen as a fight between love and desire. Oecus: central wall painting depicting the metamorphosis of Cyparissus. Cyparissus was a handsome youth loved by Apollo who gave him a magnificent stag as a sign of his affection. Cyparissus grew very fond of the stag and took the animal everywhere he went until one day, when partaking in a hunt he accidentally killed it with his javelin. The boy's grief was such that he wished he had died in place of his pet. Apollo tried consoling his young lover but to no avail: Cyparissus wanted to do nothing else but mourn. Apollo eventually granted his wishes and turned the boy into a cypress tree, which became a classical symbol of mourning. A small stag can be seen standing on the floor. Main entrance vestibule (see plan): painting of Priapus, a rural god of livestock, vegetable gardens and orchards, represented in a human form with an enormous phallus. In this painting, the god is shown weighing his phallus against a bag of money. He is crowned with a peaked Phrygian cap and wears Phrygian boots. A large basket of fruit at his feet represents the abundance of the house. Bedroom 1 (see plan): painting depicting Ariadne being abandoned by Theseus. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and was in charge of the famous labyrinth where sacrifices of children to the Minotaur were taking place. She fell in love with Theseus, one of the boys to be sacrificed, and betraying her father and her country, helped him to kill the Minotaur and find his way out of the labyrinth. They eloped to the island of Naxos. Theseus eventually left her and Dionysus discovered her sleeping on the island; he fell promptly in love with her and claimed her as his wife. South east exedra: exedras are sitting and chatting rooms accessible from the peristyle. South east exedra: frontal painting depicting the death of Pentheus, about to be killed by the Maenads (female followers of Dionysus). Pentheus was a king of Thebes who ordered to ban the worship of the god Dionysus, his cousin and forbade women to partake in his rites. Dionysus, enraged took the Theban women (including Pentheus' mother and aunts) to Mount Cithaeron where they engaged in a Bacchic frenzy. Pentheus captured Dionysus and failing to keep him imprisoned, was eventually persuaded by him to go to Cithaeron, in order to see the frenzied women engage in sexual activities. He climbed on a tree to see better, but in their madness, the women thought he was a wild animal, pulled him off the tree and tore him apart limb from limb. South east exedra: painting on the left wall of the room depicting Heracles strangling the serpents. Heracles was born from the union of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena, wife of Amphitryon. To seduce her, Zeus disguised himself as her husband and made love to her. She was already pregnant and bore two sons, Heracles, son of Zeus and Iphicles, son of Amphitryon. Hera, Zeus' wife, tried everything she could to suppress the birth of the boys and was a constant threat to Heracles. He and his twin were just eight months old when Hera sent two giant snakes into the children's chamber. Iphicles cried from fear, but his brother grabbed a snake in each hand and strangled them. He was found by his nurse playing with them as if they were toys. The painting shows baby Heracles strangling the snakes, with the nurse rushing to help, Zeus is pictured as an eagle with Alcmena fleeing to the right. A seated Amphitryon seems to wonder, maybe anticipating the future labours of Heracles. Peristyle (see plan): statue of Dionysus in the south portico. Painting of a goat on the back walls of the peristyle. The household lararium in the service area (see plan). A lararium is an altar where the gods of the household are worshipped. The character represented in the centre is the Genius, symbol of the male head of the household, dressed in a toga pulled over his head and scattering incense from a box in his left hand. He is framed by two wreathed dancing Lares (guardians of the family), each holding a rhyton (a drinking horn) and a situla (a wine bucket). The lower end of the rhytons have the shape of a goat. The group is pictured above a bearded serpent gliding through plants towards the altar. Snakes were a symbol of prosperity, fertility and were considered guardian spirits of the family. Enter the Room of the Cupids (see plan), a living room opening on the peristyle and mostly used for private use or to host intimate guests. It is striking for its vermilion wall panels framed by black friezes. As shown on the picture, each wall featured a central painting (all disappeared) with one red panel on either side depicting floating couples of gods and goddesses. The lower black friezes portray cupids and their female equivalents (psyches) engaged in a number of different activities. All remaining photos in this gallery (18 to 33) have been taken in this room. Room of the Cupids: floating couples. Dionysus and Ariadne on the left, Perseus and Andromeda on the right. Room of the Cupids: one of the black friezes of cupids skirting the lower side of the vermilion panels. Check the previous picture to gain an idea of their height: around 30cm. This particular frieze shows cupids arranging flowers and making floral garlands with roses carried by a billy goat. This photo is a panorama, click the cross on the right below the photo (or press F if viewing on a desktop) to expand it to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it. Detail of the frieze in frame 19. Two cupids are bringing roses to the others, one of them is carrying a basket full of roses, the rest is loaded on the back of a billy goat. Detail of the frieze in frame 19. The cupids are making floral garlands with the roses brought by the two cupids pictured on the previous photo. Cupids buying and selling wine. The cupids on the right are pouring out a sample of wine from an amphora. The cupid on the left is handing over a sample to be tested. Room of the Cupids: Amazon adorned with earrings, holding an axe in the right hand (not visible) and a shield in her left hand. She is wearing a red Phrygian cap on her head and a short robe. Room of the Cupids: floating couples. Dionysus and Ariadne on the left, Perseus and Andromeda on the right. Room of the Cupids: floating couples. Those two are Perseus and Andromeda. Andromeda was the beautiful daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiope who offended the Nereids (sea nymphs) by boasting that Andromeda was more beautiful than they. Poseidon in revenge sent a sea monster to devastate Cepheus' kingdom and said that only Andromeda's sacrifice would appease the gods. Her father relented, chained her to a rock and left her to be devoured by the monster. Fortunately, she was spotted on her rock by Perseus who was on his way back (riding Pegasus) from slaying the Gorgon Medusa (which severed head he was carrying). He fell in love with her and asked Cepheus for her hand. Cepheus agreed under the condition that he slew the monster first. Room of the Cupids: floating couples. Poseidon and Amymone on the left, Apollo and Daphne on the right. Room of the Cupids: figure of a Bacchante (female follower of Dionysus/Bacchus) pictured on a plinth of the north wall. Room of the Cupids: Apollo and Artemis after the killing of the Python. The story starts when Zeus and the goddess Leto are expecting twins: Artemis and Apollo. Zeus' wife Hera, jealous as ever (see legends of previous paintings), vowed revenge and commanded Python (a serpent who lived in the centre of the earth near Delphi) to chase after Leto, ordering all lands to shun her and deny her shelter. Constantly on the run from the creature, Leto was prevented from delivering her children until she escaped on the island of Delos where the serpent could not reach her and where she gave birth to her twins. When an older Apollo learnt what had happened, he vowed to avenge his mother, went to Mount Parnassus where he fought and killed the Python. Cupids smithing gold. To the left of the picture two cupids are cutting up stone in order to find gold. Next to these is a cupid weighing out gold on a scale for a seated customer. To the right of this cupid are some further scales and a seated cupid is hammering carefully on some gold. To the far right, two other cupids are in the process of making gold. One of them is using bellows to make the fire hot and the other is holding the gold which is becoming molten. This photo is a panorama, click the cross on the right below the photo (or press F if viewing on a desktop) to expand it to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it. Cupids smithing gold. Detail of the frieze in frame 29. The cupid in the centre is blowing through a pipe in the furnace to stimulate the fire in order to help soften the piece of metal which he is holding with the tongs in his right hand. Cupids smithing gold. Detail of the frieze in frame 29. To the left of the picture two cupids are hammering and cutting up stone in search of gold. Next to them on the right is a cupid weighing out gold on a scale for a seated customer. Cupids smithing gold. Detail of the frieze in frame 29. Two cupids are hammering and cutting up stone in search of gold. Cupids smithing gold. Detail of the frieze in frame 29. Detail of the hammering cupid.




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The House of Venus in the Shell and the House of Marco Lucretius Frontone

For some reason, the gods and goddesses painted in those villas are known under their Roman name.

Venus = Aphrodite Bacchus = Dionysus
House of Venus in the shell (Regio II Insula: 11.6): well, that's her… The goddess, completely naked, wears only a tiara on her head and jewellery around her neck, wrists and ankles. This painting is the middle part of a composition decorating the back wall of the peristyle.
House of Venus in the shell: close-up of Venus' head. Note the jewellery. House of Venus in the shell: fresco attached to the right of the main Venus painting representing a garden with birds, some of them drinking from a basin, and some delicate plants. House of Venus in the shell: fresco attached to the left of the main Venus painting representing a statue of Mars, the god of war, holding a spear and a shield on a pedestal in a garden with plants and birds. House of Venus in the shell: architectural landscape on a painted panel in one of the rooms. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone (Regio V Insula: 4.10): it is one of the most elegant homes of Pompeii and has been richly decorated. This is the decoration of a typical room, with a central painting on a red background complemented on both sides by pictures of seaside villas painted on a black background. A similar set-up was decorating the opposite wall (see picture number 9 of this gallery). House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: close-up of the main painting featured on the previous picture. It shows the festival procession of Bacchus and Ariadne riding on a chariot drawn by two oxen. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and was in charge of the famous labyrinth where sacrifices of children to the Minotaur were taking place. She fell in love with Theseus, one of the boys to be sacrificed, and betraying her father and her country, helped him to kill the Minotaur and find his way out of the labyrinth. They eloped to the island of Naxos. Theseus eventually left her and Bacchus discovered her sleeping on the island; he fell promptly in love with her and claimed her as his wife. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: close-up of one of the paintings of a seaside villa. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: same room as in the previous pictures but on the opposite wall. Same design and magnificence. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: close-up of the main painting featured on the previous picture. When Love conquers War: it shows the wedding of Mars, god of war and Venus, goddess of love and beauty. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: detail of a hunting fresco in the garden. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: detail of a hunting fresco in the garden. House of Marco Lucretius Frontone: detail of a frieze below a big painting in one of the bedrooms featuring a bird with a human head.


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Want to read more? Go back to A Day in Pompeii or go on to Mad about Diego or go up to Photos

$ updated from: Photos.htxt Mon 03 Mar 2025 16:11:12 trvl2 — Copyright © 2025 Vero and Thomas Lauer unless otherwise stated | All rights reserved $