House of the Meleager, Pompei

The House of Meleager is known for its range of artworks, spanning from the first to fourth styles. Art historians have divided the frescoes and other works found in Pompei into four styles, ordered chronologically from the introduction of Roman culture in 150 BC to the destruction of the city almost 250 years later. Each era is known for different methods of painting, and identified by the objects that feature in the artwork. The House of Meleager is an excellent starting point for those learning the subtle differences between the four artistic styles of Pompei.

The house is named after Meleager, a mythical Greek hero and one of Jason’s band of Argonauts. There is a faded painting of Meleager with his lover Atalanta close to the house’s left entrance. The house is also notable for its unusual layout, featuring a perpendicular peristyle to the north of the central atrium. The peristyle houses a garden and swimming pool. At the front of the house you will find an oecus, a sort of drawing room, designed in the Corinthian style. The rooms located around the atrium still have their well preserved original white tiled floors, as well as an array of mythically themed frescoes.