Gell, William: Pompeiana: the topography, edifices and ornaments of Pompeii ; the result of excavations since 1819 ; in two volumes (Band 2) (London, 1832)

38 POMPEIANA.

and Achilles, evidently resembling, in the
manner of treating the subject, the picture
already given of it, in the former Pom-
peiana, from the Temple of Venus. It is
much defaced. On each side are dancing
figures.

The opposite wall, however, on the right,
is most beautiful, and the best preserved
among the ruins of Pompeii. In the centre
is the picture of Achilles, 32, detected among
the females of the court of Lycomedes, King
of Scyros, by Ulysses, who, in the disguise
of a merchant, offered jewels and arms for
sale, while the natural impulse of Achilles
discovers itself by the seizing of the shield,
and the neglect of the ornaments. This pic-
ture forms the subject of our Plate LXIX.
It was imperfect when first excavated. The
pavement is white mosaic, with a slight
border of black. It is not easy to conceive,
even with the assistance of the magnificent
draperies or aulaea, how a chamber for re-
ception like this, open at each end, could
have been rendered habitable in the winter,
though nothing could be better calculated
for the summer. It may be presumed that