Villa of the Mysteries

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The Villa of the Mysteries or Villa dei Misteri is a well preserved ruin of a Roman Villa which lies some 800 metres north-west of Pompeii.

The ownership of the Villa is unknown, as is the case with many private homes in the city of Pompeii. However, certain artefacts give tantalising clues; a bronze seal of L. Istacidius Zosimus, a freedman of the powerful Istacidii family, has been found in the villa (he has been variously interpreted as either the owner of the villa or the overseer of reconstructions after the earthquake of 62); additionally, a statue of Livia, wife of Augustus, found within the villa, has caused some historians to declare her to be the owner. The villa is outside the main town, separated from it by a road with funerary monuments on either side (a necropolis) as well as the city walls. The Villa of the Mysteries is considered a suburban villa--one with a close relationship to the city, but outside the town.

Although covered with metres of ash and other volcanic material, the villa sustained only minor damage in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, and the majority of its walls, ceilings, and most particularly its frescoes survived largely undamaged.

One of the walls in the triclinium, which, according to the traditional interpretation, represents the various stages in the initiation to the cult.

The Villa is named for the paintings in one room of the residence. This space may have been a triclinium, and is decorated with very fine frescoes. Although the actual subject of the frescoes is hotly debated, the most common interpretation of the images is that of scenes of the initiation of a woman to a special cult of Dionysus, a mystery cult that required specific rites and rituals to become a member. Of all other interpretations, the most notable is that of Paul Veyne, who believes that it depicts a young woman undergoing the rites of marriage.

The Villa had both very fine rooms for dining and entertaining and more functional spaces. A wine-press was discovered when the Villa was excavated and has been restored in its original location. It was not uncommon for the homes of the very wealthy to include areas for the production of wine, olive oil, or other agricultural products, especially since many elite Romans owned farmland or orchards in the immediate vicinity of their villas.

As in other areas of Pompeii and Herculaneum, a number of bodies were found in this villa, and plaster-of-paris casts were made of them. The villa may be accessed at no additional charge from Pompeii.