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House of Epidius Sabinus

The House of Epidius Sabinus (in) is adjacent to the House of Diadumeni (a)

The House of Epidius Sabinus is located on the north side of Via delle Abbondanza between Via Stabiana and Vikolodi Tesmo. The house was first excavated in 1858 and again in 1866. It is located between two small shops, with the entrance a hidden in an narrow entrance that leads to a posh private house behind commercial display cases.

A narrow long corridor leads to the atrium with a small pool in the middle. In ancient times, the roof covered the entire atrium with a small square hole in the center. On the one hand, this hole illuminated a large hall, and on the other hand, rainwater fell through this hole  and filled the pool below. In the southeast side of the atrium is the Lararium, a small altar for the house gods, like our little house. The lower part, the podium is covered with plaster with painted relief. True, most of the drawing was lost. A single Doric column with two corner pilasters supports the roof of the altar.

In ancient times the walls of the house were covered with bright scenes and paintings. Today, most of these frescoes are destroyed. The only fresco that was well preserved was removed by archaeologists and can now be found in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. It depicts the mythological scene of Hermaphrodite and Silena. To the right of the pair is Menad with a tirse in his left hand.

On the left is a corridor that leads to the atrium. Right peristyle had an internal garden

In the center of the peristyle a small garden once was located. It was located below the ground level. In the garden there were two ponds. The western pond was larger. Its walls were decorated with drawings of fishes on a blue background. Those frescoes are lost.

The House of Epidius Sabinus has a second entrance at the back. There you can find those parts of the house in which the servants lived. Here they cooked food in the large kitchen. By the way, here they grounded the grain and made bread. The remains of the Catullus (rotating upper part of the millstone) can be seen in the next room.