House of the Faun
The House of the Faun was built around 180 BC and belonged to members of the Cassius family. The house was a large upper class house filled with beautiful paintings and Mosaics, a clear sign of wealthy owners. This house was very distinctive as it contained two sets of Ianua -entrances- , two Atriums, two Peristylium and two Triclinium. The double up of main parts of this Domus, it meant that one could be used domestically, and the other to entertain friends or the public. The house is nearly 3000 square meters and takes up an entire block - Insulae - and can be divided into five main parts. Tuscan Atrium, Tetrastyle Atrium, Service rooms and corridors, Ionic Peristylium and surrounding rooms, and Doric Peristylium and surrounding rooms. In front of the main entrance is the word 'HAVE', meaning welcome, is spelled out in the foot way with fragments of coloured marble. [1]
A small Vestibule -Porch- opens into a richly decorated Fauces consisting of small pieces of marble and slate fragments. A beautiful mosaic strip separates the first style Fauces from the Atrium. This mosaic depicts two tragic masks amongst fruit and flowers [2] . The atrium is a large rectangle shape with dark slate floors, edged with light coloured limestone paving.
On either side of the atrium are Cubicula - bedrooms - and behind, the Tablinium - living room- which are decorated in opus tessellatum style tiles [3] .
The Atrium leads into the Impluvium which holds the iconic statue of a small faun of which the house is named after [4] . The basin of the Impluvium is decorated with 'rhomb's' of yellow, blue white red and black slate mosaic and pattern. Going through a passage between the Triclinium and the Tablinium, the first Peristylium is located. This open courtyard with single story colonnade is the width of an average sized atrium. It contained a marble fountain and a pool in its centre, decorated in the first style. The garden was surrounded by 28 iconic columns made of stuccoed tufa.
In front of the Peristyle is the Exedra - outdoor rooms - separating the two Peristylium. The entrance has two red fluted columns with Corinthian capitals on either side. In the exedra, filling almost the entire floor was the most famous of all ancient mosaic art, The Alexander Mosaic [5] . Only part of the left side remains but still carries a detailed brilliance, depicting the famous battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III, King of Persia in 333 BC. This mosaic takes up 80% of the floor space and uses around 2 million tesserae pieces.
A brick columned corridor leads from the first to the second Peristyle. This Peristylium is much larger then the first at 20 by 25 meters and has 44 surrounding columns made of brick, then stucco was placed afterwards to give a fluted effect. This part of the house was built later on in 110 BC and by adding on a second Peristylium it represents the owners wealth and social status.
There are actually four Triclinium - dinning rooms - in the House of the Faun. One for each season in the year, the two south facing used for cooler months, north facing for the warmer months. Each Triclinia contained an elaborate mosaic of the floor using the style of opus vermiculatum which made these artworks very detailed.
The house of the Faun had many different influences for its architecture and decorating. It held both typical Greek and Roma aspects, but also contained a Tuscan-style Atrium and Egyptian influences as well. These aspects were unique and created an atmosphere of wealth, business and prosperity. The House of the Faun is extremely significant as it presents an insight into daily living of an upper class family. Because of various graffiti and slogans, we are able to confirm that the owners were political, therefore gave a further understanding of the everyday living of those with political status. From this house we are able to conclude that the wealthier people in ancient Pompeii lived luxurious lives. It is definitely shown through this house as it is lavishly decorated with mosaics, artwork pillars as well as the fact it had double ups of some parts of the building.
A small Vestibule -Porch- opens into a richly decorated Fauces consisting of small pieces of marble and slate fragments. A beautiful mosaic strip separates the first style Fauces from the Atrium. This mosaic depicts two tragic masks amongst fruit and flowers [2] . The atrium is a large rectangle shape with dark slate floors, edged with light coloured limestone paving.
On either side of the atrium are Cubicula - bedrooms - and behind, the Tablinium - living room- which are decorated in opus tessellatum style tiles [3] .
The Atrium leads into the Impluvium which holds the iconic statue of a small faun of which the house is named after [4] . The basin of the Impluvium is decorated with 'rhomb's' of yellow, blue white red and black slate mosaic and pattern. Going through a passage between the Triclinium and the Tablinium, the first Peristylium is located. This open courtyard with single story colonnade is the width of an average sized atrium. It contained a marble fountain and a pool in its centre, decorated in the first style. The garden was surrounded by 28 iconic columns made of stuccoed tufa.
In front of the Peristyle is the Exedra - outdoor rooms - separating the two Peristylium. The entrance has two red fluted columns with Corinthian capitals on either side. In the exedra, filling almost the entire floor was the most famous of all ancient mosaic art, The Alexander Mosaic [5] . Only part of the left side remains but still carries a detailed brilliance, depicting the famous battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III, King of Persia in 333 BC. This mosaic takes up 80% of the floor space and uses around 2 million tesserae pieces.
A brick columned corridor leads from the first to the second Peristyle. This Peristylium is much larger then the first at 20 by 25 meters and has 44 surrounding columns made of brick, then stucco was placed afterwards to give a fluted effect. This part of the house was built later on in 110 BC and by adding on a second Peristylium it represents the owners wealth and social status.
There are actually four Triclinium - dinning rooms - in the House of the Faun. One for each season in the year, the two south facing used for cooler months, north facing for the warmer months. Each Triclinia contained an elaborate mosaic of the floor using the style of opus vermiculatum which made these artworks very detailed.
The house of the Faun had many different influences for its architecture and decorating. It held both typical Greek and Roma aspects, but also contained a Tuscan-style Atrium and Egyptian influences as well. These aspects were unique and created an atmosphere of wealth, business and prosperity. The House of the Faun is extremely significant as it presents an insight into daily living of an upper class family. Because of various graffiti and slogans, we are able to confirm that the owners were political, therefore gave a further understanding of the everyday living of those with political status. From this house we are able to conclude that the wealthier people in ancient Pompeii lived luxurious lives. It is definitely shown through this house as it is lavishly decorated with mosaics, artwork pillars as well as the fact it had double ups of some parts of the building.