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The House of Hero and Leander, in Regio VIII of Pompeii, takes its name from a painting of the celebrated myth of the two young lovers. The building was entered at VIII.5.5 and, together with the House of the Cockerel I at VIII.5.2, formed a large double-atrium residence comprising two interconnected sectors.
The house was explored in several campaigns, principally in 1840, 1881 and 1943. An entrance corridor led to an atrium with an impluvium, around which the living rooms were arranged.
The conventional name derives from a small painting found in a cubiculum. It showed Hero and Leander: Hero waited on the shore while Leander swam across the sea to reach her. Already deteriorating after its discovery, the painting has now disappeared completely, but its appearance is known from 19th-century drawings, including one made by Giuseppe Abbate in 1841 and now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The same cubiculum contained another mythological painting showing Ariadne abandoned as she watched Theseus’ ship sail away. This decoration has also been lost and is known through 19th-century graphic records.
The pairing of the two scenes was especially meaningful: both told stories of lovers separated by the sea, contrasting Hero’s wait for Leander with Ariadne’s abandonment by Theseus.
The House of Hero and Leander is also of interest for its relationship with the neighbouring House of the Cockerel I. The two units communicated with one another and are often studied together, showing how originally separate residences could be connected and transformed over the course of Pompeii’s architectural history.