Religion, amazingly to the modern eye, was present everywhere in the Roman house. For some media - namely sculpture - we can fall back upon information given by ancient writers like Pliny the Elder or Cicero, whereas there is hardly any commentary by a contemporary author which might help us to understand the underlying meaning of the myths painted on the walls of Pompeian houses or displayed on mosaic floors of the later empire.
Our best source of archaeological information for getting an insight into a multitude of media, all present together, is the house interiors in the cities buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79. There a large quantity of the original furnishings has been preserved. If for instance we look at the small House of the Ara Massima in Pompeii (VI 16.15-17) (Stemmer 1992), owned by people of the lower middle class, the mass of religious and mythological motifs is baffling: Narcissus and the couples of Bacchus and Ariadne, Luna and Endymion, Mars and Venus represented in the wall paintings of the dwelling rooms, the Lares and the Genius painted on the lararium wall, Eros depicted on the handles of two bronze vessels, a sphinx used as a table foot. Evidence from other houses, such as lampstands, fountains, decorated couches, and garden sculpture, adds to the picture - not to mention small items like jewelry, often decorated with religious subjects. What was the meaning of all this? Were the Pompeians particularly pious people? Were any cult activities going on in their houses?
The phenomenon of religious subjects in a domestic context is, of course, not restricted to the cities near Vesuvius. There is evidence for it in all parts of the Roman empire and down to the late Roman period, for instance the mythological mosaics adorning sumptuous villas in north Africa (Dunbabin 1978), or the great dish decorated with Dionysiac scenes which forms part of the late Roman silver treasure from Mildenhall (Painter 1977). By studying some specific examples of interior decoration, therefore, we can try to discover what they meant to Roman imperial society. First, however, it is important to know where this style of life had its roots.
World History
