House of Menander
Encyclopedia
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is located in the southern half of the town, just northeast of the Little and Large Theaters, as well as the Gladiators’ barracks. An unknown architect constructed it in the late 1st century BC.
Speculations about the owner
The name of the owner of the House of Menander is unknown, but due to the villaVilla
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
’s impressive size and intricate structure, as well as the numerous decorative touches such as fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es, it has been concluded that a well-to-do merchant owned the house when Vesuvius erupted. This view is also supported by the house’s location near the center of town, only two blocks from the lavish Stabian Baths. Use of this bath-house, a public washhouse and brothel with walls covered in erotic art, was thought of as a sign of luxury.
The nationality of the owner is more in dispute than his economic status. Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
’s Mediterranean climate enticed many Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
to invest in holiday villas
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
there, so it is possible that the owner at the time of Vesuvius’ eruption was a wealthy tourist, not a local.
Fresco
The estate is referred to as “The House of Menander” because there is a well-preserved frescoFresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
of the ancient Greek Dramatist Menander
Menander
Menander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
in a niche in the peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
. The fresco is now commonly referred to as “Painting of the Poet,” and has bold yellow and red coloring, a sign of wealth. The colors, coupled with a background that lacks either linear or implied perspective, place the fresco firmly in the First of the Pompeian Fresco Styles that the German archaeologist August Mau
August Mau
August Mau was a prominent German art historian and archaeologist who worked with the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut while studying and classifying the Roman paintings at Pompeii, which was destroyed with the town of Herculaneum by volcanic eruption in 79 AD...
discerned while excavating Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
. Some speculate the painting is not actually of Menander but rather of the owner of the house or another person reading works by Menander.
Menander
MenanderMenander
Menander , Greek dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son of well-to-do parents; his father Diopeithes is identified by some with the Athenian general and governor of the Thracian Chersonese known from the speech of Demosthenes De Chersoneso...
was known for often employing maxims to sum up the most practical way to live. His tradition, if not his image, is further displayed by the wit of two local merchants, Sirico and Nummianus, who had the phrase “Salve, lucru” (Welcome, money) inscribed in their atrium.
Classical style and Hellenism
The large columns in the peristylePeristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
at the House of Menander are representative of the Doric style of architecture, an offshoot of the Classical Style, which also stems from Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. The emphasis on Greek culture in Pompeian architecture is not surprising since Greek sailors had been using the port as a trading post before the Oscans founded the city in the 6th century BC.