Herculaneum: House of the Relief of Telephus

 The first home we entered upon entering Herculaneum from the boat houses was the House of the Relief of Telephus. The relationship of this home to the sites we have already viewed can be determined by looking at the map here. This home is actually the second home on the right side of the street, the first one being the House of the Gem which we did not enter. This first photo is of the atrium which is at street level.

 It is theorized that the HotRoT (what an abbreviation!) owner had wanted to purchase the HotG for it's oceanfront view but was unable to do so. The HotRoT owner proceeded to expand his home around the HotG house on the backside, which probably did not make for a friendly neighbor situation. This HotRot expansion was then connected to the Suburban Baths on the waterfront below - the only home in Herculaneum with a hallway that led directly into the baths.

 HotRoT is named after this marble relief. This home sat on the hillside above the Suburban Baths and took the full brunt of the eruption's flows, completely destroying the second floor and protecting the Suburban Baths below.

 Here is a closeup of that same marble relief showing Achilles consulting an oracle on the left, and Achilles scraping rust from his spearpoint to heal Telephus' wound on the right.

 This is a close-up of a portion of the structure behind the columns in the first photo. The deep rich reds are still eye catching.

 At the center of the atrium is this square fountain. Joseph Deiss' book on Herculaneum describes beautiful black and white mosaic pavement around this fountain, which is now clearly missing. Perhaps it was moved to a museum for protection.

 The trough along the edge of the fountain was likely used for a bed of flowers. It is also likely there was a statue in the fountain though it has not been found. There were a number of other objects found in the atrium, however, including bread, cakes, eggs, and a necklace.

 These three round marble oscillas have survived and are still mounted in their original locations. They are carved on both sides and depict scenes of Bacchic revels.

 The HotRoT is among the most sumptuous house inside of Herculaneum proper. Outside of the atrium area, most of the rest of the home was destroyed by the eruption, with only the bottom portions of walls and columns remaining.

 Because of its location and grandeur, it is considered likely that this home was owned by the family of Marco Nonio Balbo though no proof has been found. Balbo died a few years before the eruption, but his young son Marco Nonio Balbo Junior became head of the clan at that point.

 Doors opened out the backside of the atrium into other rooms that were also at street level, including a drawing room. The drawing room is 22x30 feet and included walls and floor of polychrome marble decorated with bands of very rare marbles such as African, purple, cipolin, black and green serpentine. I have no photos of that room because we must have missed it. It is likely that bedrooms and a dining room were also at this level and may yet to be excavated, as the back side of this home is still a mountain of unexcavated volcanic hillside.

 On the opposite side of the home from the House of the Gem were stables that also bordered the street, demonstrating the wealth the home's owners.

 This is a small sidestreet or alley in that same area.

And finally, this photo demonstrates a reason why you should probably think twice about vacationing with me. I set a very aggressive schedule, as my wife's face shows. It is relatively early in the day, yet the prior days' hectic schedule running around Paris for a week have clearly taken their toll.