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The House with a Tetrastyle Atrium, also known as the House of Omphale, is a residence in Regio VIII of Pompeii on Via del Tempio d’Iside. Its principal name derives from the unusual arrangement of the atrium, where four columns stood around the impluvium.
The entrance led directly into the tetrastyle atrium, the organising centre of the residence. The tablinum stood at the rear, while cubicula and other rooms used for private life and reception opened along the sides.
The building is also known as the House of Omphale after a painting of Hercules and Omphale that decorated the tablinum. It formed part of a rich painted programme that also included personifications of the seasons, divine figures and complex architectural compositions.
A cubiculum also depicted the myth of Selene and Endymion: Endymion slept while the moon goddess descended towards him, recognisable by the crescent crowning her head. Other mythological scenes were present in the same part of the house and are now known chiefly from drawings and records made after the excavation.
The tablinum decoration also included representations of the four seasons, cupids, plant motifs, theatrical masks and winged figures. Many of the paintings were recorded in the 19th century by artists including Nicola La Volpe and Antonio Ala, and part of this documentation is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The House with a Tetrastyle Atrium is therefore an interesting example of a Pompeian residence in which the traditional architecture of the domus was combined with a rich mythological decorative programme.