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A newly excavated house decorated with frisky frescoes depicting erotic scenes has shed new light on life in Ancient Pompeii.

The ‘House of Phaedra’ continues to reveal the cultural shifts and intricate artistic tastes of Pompeii’s residents just before the city was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The home’s richly painted walls rival those of nearby grander houses, including the House of the Painters at Work. Archaeologists named it after a well-preserved fresco of Phaedra, from Greek legend, who appears in a scene with Hippolytus.

Phaedra is famously depicted in the myth as falling in unrequited love for her stepson, Hippolytus, after he refuses to honour Aphrodite. Her unresolved passion led her to kill herself and falsely accuse Hippolytus of rape in her suicide note, resulting in Hippolytus’ father Theseus asking the god Poseidon to kill Hippolytus.
In addition to Phaedra, the home’s frescoes include a saucy symplegma (an embrace) between a satyr and a nymph, as well as other mythological scenes, some of which have been damaged over time.

The House of Phaedra adds to a long history of erotic and mythological art in Pompeii, where phallic symbols, fertility motifs, and elaborate frescoes were often incorporated into daily life.
Unlike traditional Roman homes, which featured a central atrium with a rainwater pool, or impluvium, the House of Phaedra lacks this typical architectural element.

The choice to omit the atrium may reflect societal changes underway in first-century AD Roman society, as the city’s social fabric became more complex.

Excavations have also revealed a small courtyard shrine, or lararium, where residents made offerings to household deities. The lararium includes vibrant frescoes of birds, serpents, and an altar surrounded by symbolic foods, such as pine cones, eggs, and figs, as well as a detailed image of an eagle bearing a palm branch. The area’s walls and a red-painted water basin suggest that rainwater was collected here, while within the shrine, artefacts include a burnt incense burner, a lamp, and traces of aromatic plants—possibly remnants of the last offering before the city was engulfed.

This discovery comes as part of an extensive restoration and research project within the Insula dei Casti Amanti, which aims to preserve and document Pompeii’s ancient structures. Recent excavation efforts, supported by new walkways and protective coverings, allow the public to view the ongoing work, offering transparency and insight into the park’s preservation efforts.

“It is an example of public archeology or, as I prefer to call it, circular archaeology: conservation, research, management, accessibility and use form a virtuous circle - declares the Park Director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel - Excavating and restoring under the eyes of visitors, but also publishing the data online on our e-journal and on the open.pompeiisites.org platform means giving back to the company that finances our activities through tickets, taxes and sponsorships the full transparency of what we do, not for the good of a narrow circle of scholars , but for everyone. Archeology must be for everyone because only in this way will we create understanding towards the archaeologists who work throughout Italy on construction sites as part of the so-called preventive archaeology. If the construction of the metro or a road is delayed due to archaeological discoveries, visiting Pompeii and observing the work of archaeologists and restorers can help us understand why it is worth documenting and safeguarding the traces of the generations who lived before us.”