The House of Apollo acquired its definitive form during Pompeii’s final phase, when the property was extended towards the city walls to create a large garden on two levels.
The garden sector is the most spectacular part of the residence. On the lower level stood a marble fountain with steps over which water flowed to form a small cascade.
A summer triclinium overlooked the garden beside a room whose exterior was decorated as an artificial grotto. The walls were embellished with mosaics made from shells and coloured glass paste.
One mosaic still preserved in situ shows Ulysses recognising Achilles, who is concealed among the daughters of the king of Skyros. Two other panels—the Three Graces and Achilles with Agamemnon—are now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The many images associated with the myth of Apollo gave the house its modern name. The discovery of a seal ring has also suggested that the residence may have belonged to Aulus Herenuleius Communis, an attribution best regarded as probable rather than certain.
