Villa of the Mysteries

The Villa of the Mysteries (

Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii, the villa was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was excavated from 1909 onwards. It is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pompeii.

Location

The villa is located some 400 m northwest of the town walls, between the roads Via Delle Tombe and Via Superiore lined with funerary monuments leading to the Herculaneum Gate of Pompeii, and is near the Villa of Diomedes and the so-called Villa of Cicero. It lies on a hill with an expansive view of the current Gulf of Naples; it rests on a slope and is partly supported by a cryptoporticus formed by blind arches.

History

The villa was built in the 2nd century BC and reached its period of maximum splendor during the Augustan age when it was considerably enlarged and embellished. Recent research, however, has posited that the villa was built in the early 1st century BC around the time of

The ownership of the Villa is unknown, as is the case with many private homes in Pompeii. A bronze seal was found in the villa that names L. Istacidius Zosimus, a freedman of the powerful Istacidii family, who was either the owner of the Villa or the overseer of its reconstruction after the earthquake of 62 AD. The presence of a statue of Livia, wife of Augustus, has led some historians to suggest that she was the owner.^[3]

Discovery and excavation

The villa, initially called Villa Item, named after its discoverer, Aurelio Item,^[4][5] was uncovered between 1909 and 1910 in an excavation conducted by Giuseppe Spano; a more in-depth investigation was carried out between 1929 and 1930 by Amadeo Maiuri, following the expropriation imposed by the Italian State.^[2]

Important restoration and conservation work on the frescoes took place from 2013 to 2015.^[6]

In 2018, archaeologists discovered the unique remains of harnessed horses.^[7][8][9] The stable was excavated following the discovery in 2017 of illegal tunnels around the walls of the villa to steal artifacts, which had destroyed one of the bodies.

Description

Although covered with meters of pumice and ash, the Villa sustained only minor damage during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Most of its walls, ceilings, and particularly its frescoes survived largely intact.

The ancient entrance, which is located directly opposite the modern entrance, had benches for waiting clients and led to service rooms, including a courtyard for storing and unloading produce, servants' quarters, and rooms for agricultural equipment.^[10] A wine press discovered during excavations has been restored to its original location. It was not uncommon for the homes of the very wealthy to include areas for the production of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products, especially since many elite Romans owned farmland or orchards in the immediate vicinity of their villas. Past the entrance is the peristyle, the bathing and kitchen quarters, and the main atrium with an impluvium which leads into a triclinium with access to a portico with a view of the Gulf of Naples.^[10] Room 5, which is decorated with the famous frescoes for which the villa is named, lies to the right of Room 4, which is a cubiculum often identified as a "nuptial chamber."^[10]

Though often believed to be a triclinium, Room 5 could have been a cubiculum or, as Brenda Longfellow posits, even multifunctional and used by various family members at different times of day or on different days.^[11] Because the exact use of the room is uncertain, it is also often referred to as an oecus, but it cannot securely be characterized as such.^[11] Room 5 is located at the back of the villa off of a peristyle with only one entrance and exit, making it one of the least accessible rooms in the villa to visitors. Because of its rich decoration and relative inaccessibility, it is thought to have been used on special occasions for invited guests.^[11]

The bodies of two women and a child were found in lower pumice eruption layers of the Villa,

External videos
Dionysiac frieze, Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii, Smarthistory[13]

The villa is named for the paintings Room 5, which are in the Second Style and dated to about 70-60 BC.

The famous frescoes of the villa were first discovered in 1909, but they were soon damaged by a combination of poor protection from the elements and an earthquake that occurred in June.[6] The major problems that developed were damp and salt-residues that leached from the ground, causing white stains to appear on the surface of the paintings. To counteract this, large sections of the frescoes were removed and re-attached after the walls were rebuilt with new stone to better resist the damp and salt leaching.

According to the preservation methods prevalent at the time, coatings of wax and petroleum were applied to remove the residues and provide protection, which accounts for the glossy sheen which was characteristic of the frescoes in the 20th/early 21st centuries. These coatings proved remarkably effective in protecting the paintings from further damage, but one side effect was that they distorted the original colouring, making the red background appear darker than the original pigment.^[6] Later in 1909, a German team of archaeologists undertook further restorations onsite.

Between 2013 and 2015, restorations were undertaken on the frescoes using modern techniques. This included treatment with the antibiotic

• The first mural shows a noble Roman woman approaching a priestess or matron seated on a throne, by which stands a small boy reading a scroll – presumably the declaration of the initiation into the cult or singing a hymn.[17] On the other side of the throne a young woman is shown in a purple robe and myrtle crown, holding a sprig of laurel and a tray of cakes. She appears to be a serving girl and may be bringing an offering to the god or goddess.^[26]
• The second mural depicts another priestess (or senior initiate) and her assistants preparing the
  Bacchus, was also a general term used to describe his mythological species.^[26]
• The third mural shows a
  panpipes and a nymph suckling a goat in an Arcadian scene. To their right is a figure some have identified as the goddess Aura.^[17] Others have identified her as the initiate or bride.^[26]
• In the direction to which she stares in horror, the fourth mural shows a young satyr being offered a bowl of wine by Silenus, while behind him, another satyr holds up a frightening mask which the drinking satyr sees reflected in the bowl (this may parallel the mirror into which young Bacchus stares in the
  Orphic rites). Next to them sits a goddess, perhaps Ariadne or Semele, with Bacchus lying across her lap.^[26][17]
• The fifth mural shows a woman carrying a staff and wearing a cap, items often presented after the successful completion of an initiation. She kneels before a priestess and appears to be whipped by a winged female figure. Next to her is a dancing figure (a
  Thyiad) and a gowned figure with a thyrsus (an initiation symbol of Bacchus) made of long stalks of wrapped fennel, topped with a pine cone.^[26]
• In the sixth mural a woman is dressed by an attendant, while a
  cupid holds a mirror (or portrait) up to her.^[27] This scene is often interpreted as a bride being readied before her marriage ceremony. To the right of the bride is another image of a cupid staring up at her.^[26]
• In the seventh mural, a matron is shown enthroned and in an elaborate costume.

In light of the recent restorations, Elaine K. Gazda has reexamined the figures and their relationship to each other in the frescoes and in life.[27] Gazda argues that the restorations have made possible the identification of the women depicted in the frescoes, not as the same woman repeated throughout an initiation scene, but as portraits of different women with their own individualized features.^[27] She identifies the matron in the last mural as the domina of the villa, the bride in the sixth mural as her daughter, the Bacchus as the dominus, and the others as the men and women of the familia, such as relatives and enslaved people.^[27]

Music and mass media

in 2011 the band Corde Oblique released the track "Slide", inspired by the frescoes of the mysteries. Few ancient musical instrument reconstructions have been performed in this song, like the lyre and the Pan flute. The song is included in the album "A hail of bitter almonds".

See also

• Roman architecture
• List of Roman domes
• Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri railway station

References

1. ^
   ISBN 978-1-316-68714-7
   , retrieved 2022-12-07
2. ^
   ISBN 9780892369584
   .
3. ^ Emily Hayes (2015-03-13). "Pompeii's Villa of the Mysteries Finally Restored After 2 Years". www.iitaly.org. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
4. ^ Messina, Mario (2023-01-21). "Aurelio Item, el suizo que descubrió la Villa de los Misterios de Pompeya". SWI swissinfo.ch (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-21.
5. ^ "Saving the Villa of the Mysteries - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
6. ^ ^{a b c d} E. Bramati (2014-06-09). "The frescoes in the Villa of the Mysteries treated with antibiotics". www.arte.it. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
7. ^ "Pompeii horse found still wearing harness". BBC News. 2018-12-24. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
8. ^ "Remains of a horse still wearing a harness found in ancient Pompeii stable". Global News. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
9. ^ White, Megan (2018-12-24). "Remains of horse found still wearing harness in ancient Pompeii stable". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
10. ^
    ISBN 9780892369584
    .
11. ^
    ISBN 9781930561021
    .
12. ^ Impact of the AD 79 explosive eruption on Pompeii, II. Causes of death of the inhabitants inferred by stratigraphic analysis and areal distribution of the human casualties, Giuseppe Luongoa et al., Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 126 (2003) p 183-190
13. ^ "Dionysiac frieze, Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
14. ISBN 88-7009-454-5
15. JSTOR 24667847
    .
16. ^ Antonio Virgili, Culti misterici ed orientali a Pompei, Gangemi, Roma, 2008
17. ^
    ISBN 9780892369584
    .
18. ISBN 0-8018-5360-5
19. ^ "Villa of the Mysteries Pompeii by Raichel Le Goff". www.raichel.org. Archived from the original on 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
20. ^ "Pompeii.html". umich.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
21. JSTOR 24364039
    .
22. ^ Redazione ANSA (2015-03-20). "Pompeii's Villa dei Misteri reopens-Update 2". www.ansa.it. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
23. ^ Carol King (2013-07-25). "Laser Used to Restore Frescoes at Pompeii's Villa of Mysteries". Italy Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
24. ISBN 978-1-60606-030-8
    .
25. ISBN 9781930561021
    .
26. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Dionysian Mysteries". www.hellenica.de. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
27. ^
    ISBN 9781477323588
    .

• Converto, Claudia. Campania, civilisation and art. Milan: Kina Italia.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villa of the Mysteries (Pompeii).

• Preservation of the Villa featured on archaeology.org
• Villa of the Mysteries on www.art-and-archaeology.com
• Romano-Campanian Wall-Painting (English, Italian, Spanish and French introduction) Archived 2011-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Pompeii | Villa of Mysteries

40°45′13.3″N 14°28′38.8″E / 40.753694°N 14.477444°E / 40.753694; 14.477444