A Small Home Filled With Steamy Frescos Was Found In The Ancient City Of Pompeii And Coined The House Of Phaedra
In the ancient city of Pompeii, a small house filled with elaborate frescos was discovered. Its decorations feature suggestive scenes involving a satyr and a nymph, as well as a scantily clad Phaedra, who was the mythological queen of Athens.
Archaeologists have nicknamed the building “the House of Phaedra.” Despite its modest size, the house’s decorations rival those in much larger residences nearby.
The dwelling was found during excavations in the central district of the city. It represents a transition in Roman building styles. According to the Pompeii Archaeological Park, it does not include an atrium, which was common in wealthy Pompeian homes.
“The atrium was associated with rich Romans receiving their clients and supporters and as a place to display family heirlooms,” said park director Gabriel Zuchtriegel.
As Roman interior design evolved, elite families began to opt out of including an expensive atrium in their homes. Instead, they decided to display their wealth on their walls and in other ways.
“As Rome entered the second century C.E., many freed slaves and merchants of humble origin were achieving social status, while old money was slipping,” Zuchtriegel said.
“More than an atrium, it was clothes and jewels that were beginning to show status. Having no atrium was starting to be a choice, and we see that trend emerging at Pompeii.”
The newly unearthed structure is called the House of Phaedra, named after a well-preserved painting of Phaedra and Hippolytus found on one of its walls.
In Hippolytus, the ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides, Phaedra is the wife of a hero named Theseus, but she falls in love with her stepson Hippolytus. In the fresco, Hippolytus stands before a seated Phaedra, who is draped in cloth.
lara-sh – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
Some frescos depict a satyr, a half-man and half-goat creature, and a nymph, which is a maiden goddess, embracing in a sensual manner.
Another wall painting may show the goddess Venus and her lover Adonis. Additionally, one damaged scene appears to portray the Judgment of Paris.
The researchers also uncovered a small altar containing multiple ritual objects within the house. Among the items were a lamp, an iron knife, parts of a dried fig, and a ceramic vessel for burning incense, which still held material from two millennia ago.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., Pompeii and other nearby Roman towns were buried in volcanic ash.
Ever since Pompeii was rediscovered in the late 16th century, archaeologists have been investigating its preserved ruins. About a third of the site is still unexplored.
The house was located in Pompeii’s Insula dei Casti Amanti site. Other recent finds from the surrounding area include a blue-painted shrine, a pregnant tortoise, a painting of a circular flatbread resembling pizza, and children’s graffiti illustrating a gladiator fight in a nearby house.
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