Labyrinth House

House of the Labyrinth in Pompeii. Planimetry dwg scale 1:100

Built in the late 2nd century B.C., this dwelling with a double atrium and peristyle was heavily damaged during the Sillan siege of 89 B.C.; after this event, having become the property of the powerful Sextilii family, the domus underwent a major renovation, which was followed over time by further modifications and extensions that saw the addition to the original nucleus of a small thermal sector and a bakery.
Monumental in character is the tetrastyle main atrium with four tall Corinthian-Italic columns. The most noble and representative sector of the domus, however, is to be found in the rooms that open onto the northern side of the large peristyle; among them, there is a large Corinthian oecus (reception room) supported by 10 columns and decorated with paintings in the 2nd style. This room is flanked by two pairs of cubiculae, finely decorated; one of them features a splendid mosaic whose central panel, depicting the struggle between Theseus and the Minotaur, is framed by the labyrinth motif from which the house’s conventional name derives.