The House of Phaedra is one of the most recent discoveries in the Insula of the Chaste Lovers, in Pompeii’s Regio IX. Its rooms were uncovered during excavations begun in 2024 in the north-western part of the insula.
The house takes its name from a refined painting depicting the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra. The name remains provisional: excavation is not yet complete, and the ancient owner is unknown.
One of the dwelling’s most striking features is the absence of a traditional atrium, which had been the centre of the Roman house for centuries. The area known so far covers about 120 square metres, enough space to have accommodated a small atrium. Its absence therefore seems to reflect not only spatial constraints but also a shift in the conception of domestic architecture during the first century AD.
Facing the street is a large room, probably intended for productive or commercial activities, which rose through two storeys. A corridor led from this area to the more private rooms of the house and a small courtyard.
Despite the building’s relatively modest size, some rooms have painted decoration of considerable quality. In addition to the scene of Hippolytus and Phaedra, excavators found a painting of a satyr and nymph, a divine couple and other mythological subjects. The richness of the paintings contrasts with the simplicity of some parts of the house and provides new evidence for Pompeian society in the final decades before the eruption.
A richly decorated lararium for domestic worship was also discovered in the small courtyard. Excavations yielded an incense burner, an oil lamp and traces of the last offerings made before the eruption. These finds provide an unusually tangible picture of the religious practices carried out every day within the house.
The House of Phaedra is particularly important for what it reveals about the development of Pompeian domestic architecture: on the eve of the eruption of AD 79, even houses with prestigious decoration could dispense with the traditional atrium-centred plan.
