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Similar House of the Faun, House of the Vettii, House of the Tragic Poet, House of Loreius Tiburtinus, Villa of the Mysteries | ||
Casa del menandro
The Casa del Menandro (House of Menander) is a house in Pompeii, Italy. It is located in Region I, Insula 10, Entrance 4 (I.10.4). It covers an area of about 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft). The house was excavated between November 1926 and June 1932.
Contents
- Casa del menandro
- Pompei la casa del menandro
- Ownership of the house
- Fresco
- Classical style and Hellenism
- Graffiti
- References
Pompei la casa del menandro
Ownership of the house
Della Corte thought the owner could be Quintus Poppaeus Sabinus due to a seal and a graffito in the entrance corridor mentioning 'Quintus' and other graffiti in the house referring to 'Sabinus'. The house may have belonged to a local magistrate.
The nationality of the owner is more in dispute than their economic status. Pompeii’s Mediterranean climate enticed many Romans to invest in holiday villas there, so it is possible that the owner at the time of Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 AD was a wealthy tourist, not a local.
Fresco
The estate is referred to as “The House of Menander” because there is a well-preserved fresco of the ancient Greek Dramatist Menander in a small room off the peristyle. Some speculate the painting is not actually of Menander but rather of the owner of the house or another person reading works by Menander.
The house included other frescoes, including one depicting the death of Laocoon.
Classical style and Hellenism
The large columns in the peristyle of the Casa del Menandro are representative of the Doric style of architecture, an offshoot of the Classical Style, which also stems from Greece. 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.
Graffiti
Numerous examples of Roman graffiti can be observed on the exterior walls of the house.
