Bus&Train

Roman Holiday

Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius, Ostia Antica & Various Ruins

Villa of the Mysteries

Plan,Villa of the Mysteries Original Entrance[1]
Wine-press room[2]
The Garden with Peristyle[3]
Kitchen[4]
Latrine[5]
Small Atrium[6]
Large Atrium[7]
Tablinum[8]
Cubicle[9]
Triclinium[10]

The bridge you enter on is marked with the red square on the right of the plan.

The living quarters are situated on a three sided portico that conceals the sloping terrain and goes around the atrium(the lighter orange part of the map)

The original entrance is situated on the East end of the property (the darker orange on the map)


Bodycast in Wine-press Room

The wine-press room houses a couple of bodies, one of which is pictured left.

Note the wine-press in the right-hand part of the picture, slightly behind the case.

Garden with Peristyle

The garden with peristyle has been planted with flowers to give an impression of how it may have looked. There is a covered doorway in the centre which leads down some steps into a surprisingly cold cellar space, probably used for wine or food storage.

Bodycast in the Room off the Garden

The other bodycast on this site, pictured left, is in the room on the other side of this corner.


The Tablinum houses a decoration of Egyptian figures against a black background and is linked to the Dionysian cult.

In the Triclinium(dining room) is a cycle of frescoes which covers all the walls, consisting of 29 life-size figures against a red background. It is believed that the owner of the villa may have been a priestess in the Dionysian cult prevelant in the 1st century B.C. and that the fresco depicts the initiation of a young woman into the cult.


Fresco, Part1 Fresco, Part2 Fresco, Part3 Fresco, Part4 Triclinium Plan
Possibly the Owner

The following is a description of the "story" in the frescoes.
[a]A boy reads the ritual watched by the matron...A young woman carries the vase of offerings to the priestess...The priestess, between two hand-maids, prepares the sacrifice...Silenus plays the lyre...Pastoral group with a woman feeding a goat...An initiate moving back in fear...[b]Silenus offering a drink to a satyr whilst another stands behind with a mask...Dionysus leaning on Adriane's legs...The initiate holding the symbol of fertility...Winged figure about to flog a girl...[c]The flogged girl seeking comfort from another woman...A Bacchante dances...[d]Postulant preparing for the mystery,or a bride preparing for wedding whilst [e]cupid watches on the right.