DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61387#0129
THE RUINS OF POMPEII.
77
welcome, and bespeaks, as it were, beforehand the hospitality of the owner.
Some of the devices met with, however, are not of so inviting a character.
Thus in that of the Tragic Poet, the first thing which meets the eye of the
visitor on entering is a large fierce dog, executed in mosaic, in the act appa-
rently of springing upon him, though he is secured with a collar and chain.
The animal is well executed; he is black, spotted with white, and the collar
is red. Beneath is written in large letters Cave Ganem, “ Beware the dog.”
This mosaic has been removed
to the entrance of one of the
rooms in the National Museum.
In some cases a bear, dolphin,
or other animal is represented;
in others some emblem, as an
anchor or a rudder, which may
typify, perhaps, the profession
of the owner.
On passing the prothyrum
and entering the atrium of a
first class house, the coup-
(Tceil is very striking; and with-
out examining whether all the
details are in the best taste,
it must of course have been
more so when everything was
MOSAIC AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PROTHYRUM OF THE TRAGIC
poets’ HOUSE.
in a perfect state. The large array of columns that meets the eye, the
fountains that played in the middle of those extensive courts are calculated
to impress the modern visitor with the idea that he is entering a public
building rather than a private residence. Hence the most splendid and
luxurious modern capitals, such as London or Paris, if buried to-morrow
by a volcanic eruption from Primrose Hill or Montmartre, would not-
setting aside their public buildings—convey the idea of so much mag-
nificence as this small provincial town. The difference is to be explained by the
different habits of ancient and modern life, and the different building arrange-
ments which were in consequence adopted. The ancient Romans, from their
republican habits, which being once fixed were not easily changed under the
empire, lived more in public than we do. A man of the higher class had not
only to receive and entertain his acquaintance and private friends, but also a
77
welcome, and bespeaks, as it were, beforehand the hospitality of the owner.
Some of the devices met with, however, are not of so inviting a character.
Thus in that of the Tragic Poet, the first thing which meets the eye of the
visitor on entering is a large fierce dog, executed in mosaic, in the act appa-
rently of springing upon him, though he is secured with a collar and chain.
The animal is well executed; he is black, spotted with white, and the collar
is red. Beneath is written in large letters Cave Ganem, “ Beware the dog.”
This mosaic has been removed
to the entrance of one of the
rooms in the National Museum.
In some cases a bear, dolphin,
or other animal is represented;
in others some emblem, as an
anchor or a rudder, which may
typify, perhaps, the profession
of the owner.
On passing the prothyrum
and entering the atrium of a
first class house, the coup-
(Tceil is very striking; and with-
out examining whether all the
details are in the best taste,
it must of course have been
more so when everything was
MOSAIC AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE PROTHYRUM OF THE TRAGIC
poets’ HOUSE.
in a perfect state. The large array of columns that meets the eye, the
fountains that played in the middle of those extensive courts are calculated
to impress the modern visitor with the idea that he is entering a public
building rather than a private residence. Hence the most splendid and
luxurious modern capitals, such as London or Paris, if buried to-morrow
by a volcanic eruption from Primrose Hill or Montmartre, would not-
setting aside their public buildings—convey the idea of so much mag-
nificence as this small provincial town. The difference is to be explained by the
different habits of ancient and modern life, and the different building arrange-
ments which were in consequence adopted. The ancient Romans, from their
republican habits, which being once fixed were not easily changed under the
empire, lived more in public than we do. A man of the higher class had not
only to receive and entertain his acquaintance and private friends, but also a