House of the Tragic Poet

The house is famous for its elaborate mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology.

Discovered in November 1824 by the archaeologist Antonio Bonucci, the House of the Tragic Poet has interested scholars and writers for generations.

Although the size of the house itself is in no way remarkable, its interior decorations are not only numerous but of the highest quality among other frescoes and mosaics from ancient Pompeii.

Here, two large rooms with outward-opening walls serve as shops run by the homeowners, or, less likely, as servants quarters.

To the right of the peristyle sits the drawing room, which, in the House of the Tragic Poet, is believed to have been used as the main dining salon.

Finally, into north-western corner of the peristyle is built a small lararium, or shrine to be used in worshipping the Lares Familiares, or family gods.

[1] Although records and archaeological experts have confidently confirmed the existence of an upper story in the House of the Tragic Poet, little is known about its specific layout, as it was most likely destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

The house originally contained more than twenty painted and mosaic panels, six of which have been relocated to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy.

[2] The vestibule floor was decorated with a mosaic picture of a domesticated dog leashed and chained to an arbitrary point.

[1] These words, much like similar signs today, warned visitors to enter at their own risk and served as protection over the more private quarters of the home.

The image of Aphrodite is now almost entirely destroyed, but what remained of the painting when it was discovered was copied in tempera by the artist Francesco Morelli.

[2] Although a large portion of this panel is destroyed, the same composition is seen in a painting from the Villa di Carmiano in Stabiae.

The bottom half of the painting was found intact in the House of the Tragic Poet, and depicts Eros as he rides a dolphin and carries a trident.

The missing portion, visible in Stabiae, shows that the painting originally depicted Poseidon on his sea horse as he abducted Amphitrite.

Almost none of this panel has survived, but the composition, stance of the feet, and red cloth seem to match others which depict the Wrath of Achilles.

Among the more famous works is Lord Edward Bulwer Lytton's The Last Days of Pompeii, in which the author invents the personal life of the owner, Glaucus, but accurately describes the house's details.

In the Redness of Dawn by author Waldemar Kaden depicts the house as being inhabited by a Christian man named Gaius Sabinus.

The house is also featured in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, where the Boss of the gang Passione hides a key near the dog mosaic.

Art historians and Classics scholars have long been fascinated by the House of the Tragic Poet because of the unique way in which it juxtaposes images from different periods and locations throughout mythological Greece.

This logistical fact allows viewers to draw on larger themes of Greek mythology, especially on the relationships between the powerful men and women and also the deities of ancient Greece.