House of Jason

House of Jason Pompeii

 

House of Jason Pompeii

Location: Regio IX

Area: 400 square meters

Rooms: 14

 

House of Jason or House of the Fatal LovesHouse of Jason or House of the Fatal Loves was originally discovered in 1878. After subsequent excavation most of the frescoes were removed. After loosing the layer of stucco and decorations the building was left to the elements. Weather erosion started destroying the building. Today it is present in a fairly serious dilapidated condition. Some of the frescoes are still visible in National Archaeological Museum in Naples. They depict various scenes from the Ancient Greek mythology that include Jason, Greek hero. It is this fresco that gave this residence its name. The owner of this house apparently was also owner of a small shop that once stood here. In any case, the rear entrance to the store led it to the mansion at home.

 

The entrance hall (a) of Jason’s House opens into an unusual atrium or central living room, which has been turned into an internal garden (b). Today, the atrium is in a ruined state with a small preserved decoration in the form of frescoes on the walls. The room (c) on the west side of the hallway retains a part of its decoration, consisting of red panels with a border above the bottom black frieze. A doorway in the west wall of this room opens into room 'd'. The cubiculum is a bedroom illuminated by two corner windows. It is decorated similarly to the previous room, but with a large mythological scene in the central panel of each wall (they have long been removed to the National Museum in Naples). The scene on the north wall depicts Paris waiting for Aphrodite, while on the west wall Medea is thinking of killing her children. The scene on the south wall depicts Phaedra, who talks to her nurse, before killing herself because of an unrequited love for her stepson Hippolyte (hence second name of House of Fatal love). The triclinium or bedroom (e) occupies most of the eastern part of the atrium. There are large fragments of plaster in the room, but most of the details are lost today. The scene that occupied the empty space in the central panel of the western wall depicts Jason and Pelias. But they, too, were taken away to Naples.