The House of Meleager takes its name from a painting of Meleager and Atalanta placed near the entrance on Via di Mercurio.
The richness of its rooms and furnishings shows that the residence belonged to an owner of high social standing. The atrium contained a fine marble basin supplied with running water and a marble table supported by legs shaped as decorated griffins.
The monumental heart of the house was the large peristyle, onto which the principal reception rooms opened. Most striking among them is an exceptional Corinthian oecus, a large hall with an internal colonnade. Only a very small number of Pompeii’s grand residences contain a room of this type.
At the centre of the garden was a large blue-painted basin with a stepped fountain that produced water displays. Curtains fixed to the columns could shade the porticoes and surrounding rooms from the sun.
The house is therefore one of the clearest examples of how architecture, water and planting were combined in Pompeii’s grand residences to create visually impressive reception spaces.
