House of Julius Polybius, Pompei

The House of Julius Polybius is one of Pompeii’s notable private residences. Fully excavated only in 1978, it offers a vivid look at how a prosperous household was arranged before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house takes its name from an elaborate fresco inscription identifying C. Julius Polybius, believed to have been its owner.

The residence had two street entrances leading into separate parts of the building. The western side, once equipped with an upper floor and disconnected from the central peristyle, is thought to have served as servants’ quarters. The eastern side formed the owner’s more formal living area, with several rooms, including a master suite separate from the main triclinium.

Rooms east of the atrium preserve earlier First and Second Style paintings, though these had later been covered with plaster, suggesting that the spaces were used for storage. Around the peristyle, better-preserved Third and Fourth Style frescoes point to later phases of redevelopment. Finds from the triclinium include a bronze statue of Apollo, lamps, and bronze drinking vessels.