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The
house of the Genius was named after a statuette of Cupid or Genius,
that is, the patron of the family or family name of the house. The
house was excavated in 1828-1850, but only partially since the
modern buildings of the city of Ercolano do not allow further
excavations. The name comes from a fresco depicting a certain God
and possibly a genius spirit.
As a note, it is probably
important to add something about Roman theology and beliefs. The
ancient Romans believed in numerous gods and were therefore
polytheists or pagans. In addition to the official Pantheon, each
family had its own genius, a personal God - domovenka, who took care
of the house and family. Guests coming to the house had to bring a
small gift to appease the genius of the family, otherwise this lack
of respect would infuriate the little spirit. Roman society,
generally speaking, openly tolerated all religions as long as people
respected and revered the Roman gods of various levels. If they
didn't make sacrifices it could mean problems for the residents of
that particular house or the Empire as a whole. Needless to say,
this became a serious problem for Christians who did not want to
participate in idolatry. Their refusal to offer gifts or sacrifices
to the gods and spirits made them easy targets for official
authorities.
The house of Genius was excavated in 1828-1850,
but was not completed, as part of the ruins are located under the
modern city of Ercolano. Since those early excavations, little has
been done to expand our knowledge of this house or of the quarter at
all. Although it was only partially excavated, the house of Genius
seems to have been a spacious building. The main entrance to the
house was from Cardo II street, so today we see the back of the
peristyle (courtyard with garden) and rooms (C) along the back wall.
The entrance with Cardo III is actually the back entrance
(posticum). Entrance (a) opens to the back of the peristyle. In the
center of the peristyle are the remains of a pool with apses on both
sides. The rooms in the Eastern part of the peristyle are in very
poor condition and have not retained any of their original
decorations. The remainder of the plaster remains in the
South-Eastern corner of the peristyle, but everything else that was
found in early excavations is now lost.