The statue of Mars in the mural of Venus Marina at Pompeii

Authors

  • Daniel Moore Indiana State University

Abstract

In Campanian wall painting, the depiction of Venus and Mars as lovers was a popular subject. These two gods also appear in a different context on a first century AD mural in the House of Venus Marina (II.3.3). Three panels decorated the rear wall of the peristyle of the house: in the centre, a naked Venus lies on a conch shell surrounded by cupids, bracketed to the left and right by panels displaying garden scenes. In these murals, Mars only appears as a statue in one of the garden panels. Jashemski speculated that the inclusion of Mars as a statue alluded to his role as an agricultural deity1while Bergmann suggested that the juxtaposition of a statue of Mars on a pedestal next to the vibrant painting of Venus amounted to a ‘visual joke on their famous extramarital affair.’2 I will argue that characterisation of the statue of Mars in this painting as an agricultural deity or ‘visual joke’ are mistaken. Instead, the inclusion of the marble statue of Mars in a panel painting adjacent to the goddess Venus should be perceived as an effort to preserve the memory of the owner of the house and to commemorate the bond that he shared with his wife.

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Published

2023-06-05

Issue

Vol. 10 (2023): CLARA Special issue no 3: Pompeii from the Real to the Ideal

Section

Articles

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