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Villa of the Mysteries

Ancient Roman religionCult of DionysusGreco-Roman mysteriesVillas of Pompeii
Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii
Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii

The Villa of the Mysteries (Italian: Villa dei Misteri) is a well-preserved suburban ancient Roman villa on the outskirts of Pompeii, southern Italy. It is famous for the series of exquisite frescos in Room 5, which are usually interpreted as showing the initiation of a bride into a Greco-Roman mystery cult. These are now among the best known of the relatively rare survivals of Ancient Roman painting from the 1st century BC. Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii, the villa was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was excavated from 1909 onwards. It is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pompeii.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Villa of the Mysteries (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Villa of the Mysteries
Percorso Villa dei Misteri,

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N 40.753694444444 ° E 14.477444444444 °
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Villa dei Misteri

Percorso Villa dei Misteri
80045
Campania, Italy
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Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii
Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii
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House of the Surgeon
House of the Surgeon

The House of the Surgeon is one of the most famous houses in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and is named after ancient surgical instruments that were found there. Along with the rest of the city, it was buried and largely preserved under 4 to 6 m of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. It was excavated in 1770 by Francesco La Vega. It is modest in size and has little ornament or decoration externally but is strong and sturdy in build with its opus quadratum ashlar façade in Sarno stone, and opus africanum construction of the atrium courtyard. It was an elite residence as evidenced by the atrium being surrounded by rooms on all four sides and its rather exclusive vestibulum.For a long time, the house was thought to be one of the oldest examples in Pompeii with a date of the fourth–third century BC derived from the wall construction. However, in 1926 A. Maiuri made some excavations beneath the atrium which revealed an earlier layer of building rubble in which a late third century BC (214/212 BC) coin was found, which with the third–second century BC date of the earlier wall beneath the tablinum, suggests that the house is dated to no earlier than c.200 BC. However, the results were never published. In 2005, a further sub-79 AD-level excavation was made of the whole insula VI 1. It was shown that the atrium was modified in the 2nd century BC to provide more light to the interior, by adding a compluvium and accompanying impluvium to the previously full roof covering. The remainder of the house, however, was left mostly as it was, so it was indeed one of the earliest Italic-style houses found so far in Campania. In the final years of Pompeii, unlike its neighbour, the House of the Vestals, which had blossomed into one of the more luxurious homes in the area. the house seems to have been allowed to fall derelict as the floor between the atrium and tablinum had fallen into a large cistern below, wooden posts were inserted into the floors of many rooms to support a damaged roof, and one room was used as a lime-storage tank.

Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)
Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)

The Temple of Jupiter, Capitolium, or Temple of the Capitoline Triad, was a temple in Roman Pompeii, at the north end of its forum. Initially dedicated to Jupiter alone, it was built in the mid-2nd century BC at the same time as the Temple of Apollo was being renovated – this was the area at which Roman influence over Pompeii increased and so Roman Jupiter superseded the Greek Apollo as the town's highest god. Jupiter was the ruler of the gods and the protector of Rome, where his temple was the center of Roman religion and of the cult of state. As the most important divinity in Ancient Rome, many temples were built to honor Jupiter or the entire Capitoline Triad (consisting of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) in towns newly conquered by the Romans. This held true for Pompeii, where the previously existing Temple of Jupiter was enlarged and altered after conquest. Pompeii was occupied by the Romans beginning in 310 BC. It maintained much of its autonomy, however, until the Italic Revolt against Rome at the beginning of the 1st century BC. In 89, the town was besieged by Sulla. Roman language, culture, and law would soon come to dominate the city. The architecture of the town had been largely changed by the Greeks, but Roman rule would soon lead to alterations in this style. In contrast to the previous Samnite occupiers, the Romans very much believed in the importance of architecture in religious and civic life. Pompeii was transformed into a much more public and open place. Public buildings and spaces would come to dominate the city. The temple structure was built in 150 BC to dominate the forum, and it became Pompeii's main temple after the Roman conquest. Pure Italic style characterized the capitolium style, which sat atop a base measuring 121 x 56 x 10 feet. The interior of the temple contained the cella, which held the statues of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, and which only the priests were permitted to enter. There was a chamber below the main hall which was used to store sacrificial offerings and the treasury of the city. In 62 AD, an earthquake shook the city of Pompeii, destroying much of the Temple of Jupiter. After this, the much smaller Temple of Jupiter Meilichios became the main seat of worship to Jupiter and the Capitoline Triad. The original Temple of Jupiter was still awaiting restoration when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79.