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The House of L. Caecilius Phoebus is a large residence in Regio VIII of Pompeii, on Via della Regina in the southern part of the city. The complex visible in AD 79 resulted from joining two houses, corresponding to civic numbers VIII.2.36 and VIII.2.37, and has the distinctive form of a double-atrium house.

The property at civic number 36 had an atrium with an impluvium, while number 37 included a second atrium and a peristyle area. Studies indicate that house VIII.2.36 was extended southwards during the Sullan period and joined to neighbouring VIII.2.37 around the middle of the 1st century BC.

Its position on the southern edge of the plateau allowed the house to extend over lower levels. Passages led from the atrium area to the floors below and to panoramic terraces overlooking the surrounding landscape. Archaeological remains still include traces of the porticoes that preceded some of these terraces.

The sector at VIII.2.37 contained a peristyle with porticoes on three sides and stuccoed columns. The central space was paved and included a narrow masonry basin, probably part of the garden arrangement.

The name House of L. Caecilius Phoebus is conventional. Numerous graffiti were found inside the building, including inscriptions mentioning Phoebus; one contains the greeting Anaristus Phoebo salutem. These texts explain the association of the name with the house, but do not establish with absolute certainty that Lucius Caecilius Phoebus was its owner.

The house was explored chiefly during the campaigns of 1884–1885 and 1928. It is now a particularly interesting example of the great residences of the Insula Meridionalis, where earlier atrium houses were gradually joined and extended down the slope to create rooms on several levels and panoramic terraces.

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