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House of C. Julius Polybius

The House of C. Julius Polybius is not the largest or most luxurious, but undoubtedly it is one of the interesting houses in Pompeii. Of all the private houses, this is most likely the most spectacular private mansion. Historians know the name of the owner, the house is named after him. We even have bodies among which archaeologists apparently found the owner's body and reproduced its appearance, and of course wooden furniture was restored here, as well as household items were preserved. Unlike other houses in Pompeii, they were not taken away to Naples. They stayed in their place and help to fill the whole house with an atmosphere of authenticity and comfort. Having been here, you will feel the pace and atmosphere of the life of the ancient Romans.

Immediately at the entrance to the House of C. Julius Polybius hangs a small square for the protection of political advertising, which was found here. It reads: "His neighbors are asking Cn. Gelvia Sabin, an honest man, for the position of Aedil." Who this man was and what role he played in the life of the family of this house we will never know. But maybe he was a friend or a business partner of C. Julius Polybius.

The House of C. Julius Polybius was excavated in 1913 and again between 1966 and 1978. The house dates back to the second century BC. It is located on the north side of Via delle Abbondanza and has two entrances (A and B on the plan), which leads to two separate hallways (C and D), which, in turn, give access to two different parts of the house. Apparently in ancient times there were two houses. The owner of one bought a nearby one and made a hole in the partition. True, he never managed to rebuild the facade.

The west side of the house, from the vestibule (d), was probably a wing for the servants. There are several on the first floor with a staircase leading to the second floor. Unlike the east side, however, it does not have direct access to the peristille (J) at the back of the mansion.

The triclinium (m) on the northwestern corner of the peristyle is decorated with frescoes in the third style with alternating red and black panels above the lower decorative black border. The central panel on the east wall consists of a large painting depicting the punishment of Dirca, but the rest of the wall was apparently not complete.

The whole House of C. Julius Polybius seems to have been in a state of restructuring possible after the earthquake of 62 years. The triclinium was crammed with things from around the house. The finds included a thin bronze statue of Apollo, the remains of three bronze lamps, and at least fifteen bronze vessels, mostly large vessels and an assortment of dishes.

In the kitchen yard (g) there is a central impluvium-indoor pool. The walls here are white with a red curb. At the northwest corner of the courtyard there is a staircase that leads to the upper floor, with a balcony overlooking the courtyard below. 

Here behind the glass are the objects of life of the ancient inhabitants of Pompeii. All these small details make the house alive.

On the west side of the courtyard there is a rather narrow kitchen. The room is illuminated by a small round window in its eastern wall. The kitchen, like the rest of the house, was recently renovated and was packed with appropriate utensils.

Near the entrance to the kitchen is a large painted Lararium, home altar, dedicated to the guardian spirits of the house. Graffiti is found on the wall in front of this chapel with a greeting by C. Julius Philippe.

The House of C. Julius Polybius is also interesting in that we not only know the owner of this house, but also can see his face. During excavations in the 1970s, archaeologists found six corpses in the far rooms of the landlord (o and p on the plan). Three corpses were found in one room and apparently they belonged to the same family that owned this building. Among the three bodies, a girl was found about 13 years old, a man about 30 years old, and another man 60-65. It is logical to assume that it was a father, son and granddaughter who tried to wait out the eruption. In view of the fact that the skeletons were found in the chambers of the owner of the house and judging by the good quality of the bones, scientists suggested that this was the owner of the house C. Julius Polybius. In the museum, by the way, busts made from skulls of skeletons found in this house are preserved. The similarity of course can be found, but this is definitely not Gerasimov.

The furniture in the house is almost authentic. That is, of course, they made it in our time, but it was made according to the drawings of those remains of ancient furniture that they found here. It is a pity that in other houses of Pompeii there is no such care to convey the entire interior of the house. Many other houses after visiting this seem robbed, empty.

In the inner garden grew fruit trees. During the excavations, many roots were found here, which are well preserved under the ground. Also found here the remains of the ladder. Apparently it was used around the house, but on that August day it was used to climb a tree and pick fruit.