House Of Pompeii Flashcards
What was the Atrium?
It was the main entrance room of the house, it would be decorated to be visually impressive and would contain a hole in the roof above a well.
What were the impluvium?
The impluvium was the well in which the water from the roof would collect, it was a way in which the household could store some water
What were cubiculum and where would they typically be located?
They were small bedrooms that would be either side of the atrium with the idea guests could stay here
What was the Tablinum and what was it used for?
It was the main study or office of the paterfamilias, it was often in the center of the house and all of the houses and families business was done here
What was the Peristylium?
It was the colonnaded garden which was a private area for just the family or close friends.
What was the triclinium, what was it for and what would it contain?
It was the dining room, it would be located just off the Peristylium and would be used for dinner parties, containing three sofas for dining on
Who were the Vetti?
Two wealthy brothers who were freedmen that had acquired great wealth. They were merchants who made the wealth and used it differently to the typical wealth of Pompeii’s aristocracy.
What was unusual about the layout of the house of the vetti?
They did not have shops at the house front, or a tablinum, suggesting they had enough wealth not to need clients. They had many famous frescos and two reception rooms and two atrium
What artwork was in the house of the vetti?
A fresco of the god Priapus weighing his huge phallus (a sign of wealth), the walls of the dining room and garden had paintings of cupid doing business (a reference to themselves as businessmen)
What artwork was in the first reception room and what were its connotations?
In the first reception room is a famous painting of Pentheus. Pentheus opposed the cult of Bacchus, god of wine, and so was torn to pieces by crazed women, it was most probably a warning to people thinking of crossing them, as they were wine merchants themselves
What artwork was in the second reception room?
It contains the famous Ixion painting, it shows Ixion being typed to an ever spinning wheel as punishment for trying to rape Hera.
What was special about the Vetti’s Peristylium?
As there was no Tablinum it was the center point of the whole house. It was decorated by statues made of bronze and marble, it even had its own water supply for the fountains around the garden
What is unusual about the house of the Faun?
It had two gardens and two atriums, one atrium leading to the Tablinum for business and the other an intimate area for family.
It also had its own water supply and hypocaust
How does the house of the Faun get its name?
It takes its name from the statuette of a dancing faun found in the impluvium of the main atrium.
What separated the two Peristylia and what was in this room?
They were seperated by a summer room, this contained a huge mosaic of a battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian Emperor Darius, this would show off their culture and wealth.
