House of D. Octavius Quartio
House of D. Octavius Quartio (II 2, 2) (Italian: Casa di Octavius Quartio ; incorrectly also House of Loreius Tiburtinus ) is the modern name of a large atrium house in Pompeii .
Before the earthquake in AD 62, the house occupied an entire insula and had two atriums and two entrances. After the earthquake, part of the house (II 2, 4) was separated and probably sold to another owner.
At the front of the house there were two cauponae (food stalls), through which one could also get to an upper floor, where rooms were probably rented out as guest rooms. The house is close to the amphitheater and a city gate of Pompeii.
The entrance led into a rather undemanding atrium , which had been repurposed before the downfall. Flowers and other plants have been planted here. In one of the bedrooms off the atrium there was a bronze seal with the name D. Octavius Quartio. He will have been the last owner of the house. The bedroom itself had been repurposed as a workshop. Behind the atrium there was a small garden decorated with columns. The adjoining rooms are painted with the finest paintings of the 4th style. One room is particularly striking because of the quality of the paintings and shows tiny branches, figurines and slender aedicules. The room was mistaken for an Isis sanctuary because Isis priests are depicted in the fields, but this interpretation is not certain. On the other side of the small garden you will find the Oecus (dining room), which has also been richly painted. The base is marbled and above it there are depictions of Heracles in the Trojan War.
Various Egyptian statuettes were found in the small garden, including an ibis and a bes . It is believed that Isis supporters met here. At the back of the house was a long column-adorned pool of water. More Egyptian statues were found here, including a sphinx , but also a Bacchus . At the end of the water basin there was a place where you could dine outside. There was also a small aedicule here , to the left of it with a picture of Narcissus and to the right of it Pyramus , who had just killed himself after he believed that his beloved Thisbe was being torn to pieces by a lion. Thisbe is in the process of suicide out of grief (see picture).
The whole remaining part of the insula is taken up by a large garden, in the middle of which there is a small temple.
literature
- E. La Rocca, M. de Vos Raaijmakers, A. des Vos: Lübbe's archaeological guide - Pompeii . Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1979, ISBN 3-7857-0228-0 , pp. 220-243
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 6.3 " N , 14 ° 29 ′ 32.7" E