HOUSE OF MARCUS LUCRETIUS FRONTO - POMPEII

This house is situated in a side street on the Via di Nola, which has only been partly excavated and which is named after the house. The house itself is well known for the refined third style decorations, considered to be superior to those found in Rome. The juxtaposition of shiny black walls with interposed yellow bands depicting arabesques and hunting scenes, and the black floor with inlaid pieces of marble is particularly unusual. The decorations in the tablinum are worth close examination and depict landscapes with villas and gardens as well as two mythological paintings. The wall to the left illustrates the marriage of Venus ands Mars while to the right we can see the Triumph of Bacchus accompanied by Ariadne on a carriage drawn by oxen. In the yellow room to the right of the tablinum, in addition to a group of cupids, a painting with Narcissus looking at his reflection in the water (on the left) and Perona breastfeeding her old father, Myconis (on the right). In the centre of the left wall in the winter triclinium (immediately after the vestibulum) there is an illustration of a scene taken from Euripides’ tragedy “Andromache”, in which Neottoleus is killed by the sword of Orestes on the altar of Apollo. In the next cubiculum there is a ‘triumph’ of extremely small and intricate details set against a black background, while on the right wall there is a painting of Ariadne bringing Theseus the thread so that he can find his way through the labyrinth. The house extends out towards the back garden, whose walls used to be covered in frescoes depicting hunts for wild beasts and other animals.

 

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These baths were situated in Via delle Terme at the the very centre of Pompeii, in the building opposite the Temple of Fortuna Augusta. They were built in the first year of the founding of the colony with public funds and were always assiduously frequented by the town authorities. The damage suffered during the earthquake was immediately repaired, and they were in fact the only baths in use at the moment of the eruption in 79 A.D.. Although by no means a large establishment, the Forum bath were nevertheless equipped with all the bathing facilities that a Roman citizen could desire. It were subdivided into men’s and woman’s section, each with their own independent ent ... continue

(Apic. 6, 1, 1) Ingredients:

• Ostrich meat (or small guinea fowl)
• Pepper
• Mint
• Cumin
• Fennel seeds
• 100 g stoned dates
• 1 tbsp honey
• 30 ml vinegar
• 30 ml passum (or passito wine)
• Liquamen ( or 2 tsp anchovy paste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp starch

Instructions:
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Put the ostrich meat into a large stock pot, cover with water and simmer gently for 2½ hours until thoroughly cooked. Drain the bird and dry well. Grind the spices in a pestle and mortar. Add the ... continue

Love was a common topic of conversation in Pompeii. Feelings, passions, poetic love, sex, homosexuality, prostitution and so forth were all part of daily life and not a source of prejudice. The concept of “obscenity” seems to have been unknown. Love and sex were considered earthly practices of a man’s life that were encouraged by the benevolence of Venus. The thousands of examples of graffiti found on the town’s walls are unequivocal proof of what the people of Pompeii thought about love and sex.