Mystery Villa

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Fresco from the Mystery Hall
Floor plan of the villa
peristyle

The Mystery Villa or Villa dei Misteri (also Villa Item in older literature) is an ancient villa complex near Pompeii , which was buried when Vesuvius erupted in 79. Due to the frescoes with depictions of Dionysian mysteries found there , the villa is one of the most important sites of classical archeology .

The villa is located about 300 m north of the Porta di Ercolano . In the west one got from Via Superiore to the villa, to the east the road to Oplontis ran , but it is not known whether there was a connection path from this to the villa.

The villa suburbana (i.e. villa close to the city) had in the second century BC A clearly structured, axially symmetrical floor plan, but was later enlarged, rebuilt and extended again and again. After the earthquake of 62 AD, the agricultural part of the villa was enlarged.

The paintings contain scenes from Greek mythology . They are classified in the period of the "second style", the so-called architectural style in Roman wall painting .

The entire cycle of works of the frescoes on the walls depicts scenes from Greek mythology. The actual mystery that gives this villa its name, however, initially remains hidden from the viewer and is located in one room. The interpretation of the wall painting is very difficult. One opinion is that in the images an introductory rite into the mysteries of Dionysus - the cult is shown. The Dionysus cult was one of the most famous mystery cults .

Accordingly, one also finds satyrs or Silenians and Bacchantes who point to the Dionysus cult as external attributes . The end of this cycle is a Dionysus drinking from a clam. One of the figures around him holds a mask over his head , with which the actual mystery is indicated. At the top of the large pictures there is a double meander that is strictly drawn in all rooms of the villa . The background of the walls with the mythological scenes is made of vermilion . There is another strip above the double meander, which is also painted with decorative pictures.

Some pictures of the villa also show so-called pseudo - architecture such as B. columns, false masonry and the like, as well as views of illusionistic landscapes, which also shows typical elements of the so-called "second style". Sham architecture or illusionistic architecture means architectural elements that appear in painting, but cannot appear in real architecture, because the structural engineering alone prevents the real execution. In painting it is more of a playful approach to architectural elements. A real representation of architecture is not considered here.

The laconicum (sweat bath) of the villa is vaulted by a small dome, the wall of which is made of Roman concrete .

  • Complete picture of the eponymous fresco

  • Frescoes from the Villa dei Misteri

  • Dionysian frieze with a scourged girl and bacchante

  • Reading of the ritual of the mysteries of the bride

literature

Ordered chronologically in descending order.

  • Paul Veyne: La Villa des mystères à Pompéi. Gallimard, Paris 2016. ISBN 978-2-07-017759-2 . German edition: The secret of the frescoes. The Mystery Villa in Pompeii. Translated from the French by Anna Leube and Wolf Heinrich Leube, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft / Philipp von Zabern, Darmstadt 2018, ISBN 978-3-8053-5176-8 .
  • Antonio Virgili: Culti misterici ed orientali a Pompei . Gangemi, Rome 2008, ISBN 978-88-492-1409-3 .
  • Linda Fierz-David: Mysteries in Red. The Individuation of Women in Pompeii. Depth psychological considerations on the frescoes in the “Villa dei Misteri”. Pomaska-Brand, Schalksmühle 2007, ISBN 978-3-935937-39-9 .
  • Oliver Grau : Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion, MIT-Press, Cambridge / Mass. 2002, pp. 24-33, ISBN 9780262072410 .
  • Bernhard Gallistl: Mask and Mirror. To the mask scene of the Pompeian Mystery Frieze (= Studies on Art History. Vol. 101). Olms, Hildesheim et al. 1995, ISBN 3-487-10029-0 .
  • Hans Eschebach , Liselotte Eschebach: Pompeji. From the 7th century BC Until 79 AD. Böhlau, Cologne et al. 1995, ISBN 3-412-11594-0 .
  • JH Immo Kirsch: Villa dei Misteri. Construction survey, construction technology, construction history. Dissertation Freiburg (Breisgau) 1993. Online: [1] and [2] .
  • Burkhardt Wesenberg : On the picture presentation in the large frieze of the mystery villa. In: Cologne yearbook for prehistory and early history. Vol. 24, 1991, ISSN  0075-6512 , pp. 67-72, online (PDF; 11.12 MB) .
  • Giuseppina Cerulli Irelli et al. (Ed.): Pompeian wall painting. Belser, Stuttgart et al. 1990, ISBN 3-7630-1949-9 .
  • Otto J. Brendel : The large frieze in the Villa dei Misteri. In: Yearbook of the German Archaeological Institute . Vol. 81, 1966, ISSN  0931-7007 , pp. 206-260.
  • Günther Zuntz : On the Dionysiac fresco in the Villa dei Misteri at Pompeii. In: Proceedings of the British Academy. Vol. 49, 1964, ISSN  0068-1202 , pp. 177-201.
  • Karl Schefold : Forgotten Pompeii. Unpublished pictures of Roman wall decorations published in a historical sequence (= Swiss Spiritual Science Society. Writings. 4, ZDB -ID 1472639-7 ). Francke, Bern et al. 1962.
  • Erika Simon : To the frieze of the Mystery Villa near Pompeii. In: Yearbook of the German Archaeological Institute. Vol. 76, 1961, pp. 111-172.
  • Reinhard Herbig : New observations on the frieze of the Mysteries Villa in Pompeii. A contribution to the Roman wall painting in Campania (= German contributions to classical studies. Issue 10, ZDB -ID 525848-0 ). Grimm, Baden-Baden 1958.
  • Karl Schefold: Pompeian painting. Meaning and history of ideas. Schwabe, Basel 1952.
  • Leopold Feiler: Mysterion. Thoughts in front of the Dionysian frescoes of the Mystery Villa in Pompeii. Rohrer, Vienna 1946.
  • Amedeo Maiuri : Pompeii. The Nuovi Scavi and the Villa dei Misteri (= guide to the museums and art monuments of Italy. Vol. 3, ZDB -ID 1176769-8 ). After the 3rd, increased and improved Italian edition. Libreria dello Stato, Rome 1937.
  • Amedeo Maiuri: La Villa dei Misteri. Liberia dello Stato, Rome 1931.
  • Jocelyn Toynbee : The Villa Item and a Bride's Ordeal. In: Journal of Roman Studies . Vol. 19, 1929, pp. 67-87, JSTOR 297316 .
  • Margarete Bieber : The Mystery Hall of the Villa Item. In: Yearbook of the German Archaeological Institute. Vol. 43, 1928, pp. 298-330.

Web links

Commons : Mystery Villa in Pompeii  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Rasch: The dome in Roman architecture. Development, design, construction. In: Architectura. Vol. 15, 1985, ISSN  0044-863X , pp. 117-139, here p. 122.

Coordinates: 40 ° 45 ′ 13.3 "  N , 14 ° 28 ′ 38.8"  E