- [James] A house named after a Greek playwright
with a hoard of buried treasure,
frescoes from the Trojan War
and possibly owned by a former empress.
This is James, from History Victorum.
Join us as we explore the House of the Menander
in the city of Pompeii.
The house was first built in the third century B.C.,
making it already an ancient house by the time
of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D..
(slow music)
The house one of the richest houses in Pompeii,
and grew over the years to contain a private,
stable and bathhouse.
This main room, called the atrium,
was surrounded by wall paintings
which are still in their original position today.
The room is lit by an opening in the roof
and this basin would have collected rainwater.
This room is unique
in that it contains well preserved frescoes,
each showing a different scene from the Trojan War.
This would have been a public facing room
and was richly decorated.
Straight ahead we have Cassandra, daughter of King Priam,
trying to warn the Trojans not to take the wooden horse
into the city.
On the left side during the fall of Troy,
Cassandra is being dragged away by Lesser Ajax,
she clings to the wooden statue of Athena.
King Priam watches on in the center.
On the right side, we have the death of Laocoon.
Laocoon was a priest
who also tried to warn the Trojans not to take
the wooden horse into the city
and threw a spear at the horse.
In retaliation,
Minerva sent sea serpents to kill him and his sons.
The only items that were found here during excavation
was an iron hinge and a gold coin.
The purpose of this room is not known.
It's thought that the house was being refurbished
at the time of the eruption.
On the way out to the garden
would have been a table where business is conducted
and the master of the house would receive guests.
This area is called the tablinum.
The landscaping here in the garden is a modern creation.
Originally it would have had a fountain and a small pool,
with a statuette of Apollo.
On this wall there is a dining room
with two living rooms on either side.
This dining room is the largest room in the house
and one of the largest dining rooms
in all of Pompeii.
The remains of a marble table, couches,
a bronze jar for cooking, and hinges indicating
a number of folding doors were found in this room.
In this room we have a scene from a lost play,
written by Euripides, called Antiope.
Only fragments of the place survive today.
Here, Dirce has been tied to a bull
as punishment for a cruel treatment of Antiope.
In the other living room, we have a fresco
showing a satyr, playing a pan flute.
Three skeletons were also found in this room,
carrying a pick, a hoe and six beads
which were wrapped in cloth.
These could have been servants of the house.
10 additional skeletons were found in a corridor
like this one.
You could still see a breach in the wall here,
where they tried to escape the eruption.
Two more skeletons were found in a small bedroom,
not accessible to visitors today.
One of a man and of a girl.
The man had a leather purse
which contained a silver bracelet, silver rings,
a silver spoon and over 90 silver and two gold coins,
which is a considerable sum of money.
A seal was found in this room
with the name Q Poppaei.
and also the name Erotis.
Because of this it has been suggested
the villa was once owned by Quintus Poppaeus,
who may have been a relative of Poppea Sabina,
wife of Emperor Nero.
The skeleton could have been
that of a trusted freedman named Erotis.
The south wall, furthest from the entrance
contains a fresco where the house gets its name.
Menander was a Greek playwright
who was born in the fourth century B.C..
His comic plays won first place eight times
in a festival called the Lenaia, in Athens,
which would have been performed here
near the acropolis.
Only one of his works survived today in its entirety,
or almost in its entirety,
which is typically translated
as Old Cantankerous or The Grouch.
Near the fresco of Menander, we have another fresco
of a Greek playwright named Euripides,
who is famous for many tragedies
including Madea and Antiope,
which we saw earlier.
If you were to sit here near the garden,
you would've been surrounded by two playwrights,
one famous for writing comedies
and the other for tragedies.
On either side of the fresco of Menander,
there are two alcoves.
These likely would have contained benches
and used as a place to sit down by the garden.
This alcove shows an image of Venus and Cupid in a temple.
The other alcove shows a hunter named Actaeon,
who was turned into a deer by Diana
after she caught him spying on her
while she was preparing for a bath in a spring.
He was then hunted by his own dogs.
In the last room on the south wall,
we have a shrine to the household ancestors.
Excavators made casts
of the wooden statues that were once here
On the west wall,
there is an area that leads to a bath complex.
Only a portion of it is visible to tourists today,
but it contains original mosaic floors throughout.
This room, known as the green room,
was likely another dining room.
The frescoes are not as well preserved here,
but you can make out Perseus holding the head of Medusa.
On the floor we have a scene of mythical pygmies
in a boat on the Nile River.
In the basement of the house,
over 100 pieces of ornate silver
were found perfectly preserved,
along with gold jewelry and coins.
The silver contains various scenes including nature scenes,
chariot racing and some of the labors of Hercules.
Near the entrance is a well preserved lararium
which is where the Romans would say daily prayers
to the household deities.
The slab here is a plaster cast made by the excavators,
of a wooden lattice which was once here.
There was also a second story about this area
which collapsed during the eruption.
It is unclear which rooms existed on the upper floor,
but three skeletons were found wearing gold jewelry.
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