Visual analysis of the villa of the Mysteries

The villa of the mysteries- Pompeii- 40 B.C.E is a wall painting just built outside the

main gate of Pompeii. The image painting covers the walls of the reception’s rooms. The

stunning frescoes of the Villa of the Mysteries include one room with a painted frieze widely

considered to depict an initiation rite into the cult of Dionysus, the god of wine, pictured at

the center of this panel. Aurelio Item discovered the villa during the spring of 1909, which

was at higher risk of falling. The excavations began one month before the excavator saved the

stunning image to the dangers of an earthquake and potential elements since the villa images

were covered with layers of almost 30 feet of the soil and volcanic ashes that had fallen on

Pompeii in A.D 79.

The villa of the Mysteries covers about 40,000 square feet and almost 60 rooms of

the building. It estimated in A.D 79 the creation and the building were already in more than

200 years with likely wood of having several owners who tried to redecorate the painting and

repair it due to the earthquake’s occurrence. Mostly the villa served as many ancient Roman

estates did that is a luxury home and working farm. The villa of mysteries scene has life-size

figures with the second Pompeian style on the fifth mural seems to depict the initiation of a

young girl into the Dionysian mysteries. It’s composed of female figures and fauns and

maenads, which are seen as the sidewalls used for various ritual activities. There is also a god

Dionysus appearance on the center wall with his wife, Ariadne. The image current shape was

built in 80-70 B.C.E.

The visual image was made up of mural figures that elaborate and portray the

initiation rites of religious culture that was very mysterious to women. The mural was painted

on a plaster wall with a fake marble-like substance. It’s also composed of the dado that is

supported by freeze with some plaster painted strips. The color Pompeii red was believed to
originate from the mural painting red color, which has fainted following the harsh climatic

conditions in Pompeii. It’s somehow amazing how the mural gave way to its red color. The

image was created on a smooth plaster, which the artist used as shading techniques to make a

depth inside the mural. In this case, the viewer can see more detail since it was created on

smooth plaster, than being on a texture.

The painting has a frieze wrap in the entire room that depicts a strange scene occupied

with color and pageantry. It’s a fit mural show image that is translated to initiation returning.

The image shows a woman who carries a staff with her hand up and wears a cap on her head.

The items were often given to the girl kneeling as a present after a successful initiation

completion ordeal. The image shows how the girl kneels before the priestess and a winged

female figure whips her. They’re also a dancing figure next to her that is a maenad, and an

initiation symbol of thyrsus’s gowned figure. It’s recognized as a symbol of Bacchus. It was

made up of wrapped fennel with long stalks and a cone piece on top of it.

To conclude, the villa of the mysteries- Pompeii 40 B.C.E is a cycle of frescoes in the

outskirts of Pompeii. The first person saw the image as painted pictures in 60BC, which

shows stages that women passed through for marriage preparations. The people in the modern

world might interpret the image in other meaning like a dancing ceremony. The artist wanted

to convey a message of the Pompeii culture that oppressed women’s free-living style. It’s

well evident since he has shown several stages passed in the initiation process. This is one

way to show fighting genital mutation on women began a long time ago.
 Reference

Monteoliva, J. M., Bellia, L., Fragliasso, F., & Pattini, A. (2020). Ancient Romans and

daylighting: the case of Villa of the mysteries in Pompeii. Journal of Cultural Heritage.