of myths were not tied to one specific interpretation but could be interpreted in dif-
ferent ways according to the personal experiences and situations of their viewers.
Secondly, they gave their viewers the welcome occasion to display their knowledge
of mythology and to prove themselves to be educated people. Thirdly, despite the
wide range of subjects, the stress very often seems to lie not on the action of
the tale which is represented, but on a general illustration of harmony and love,
expressed usually through two protagonists. Thus, in the House of the Ephebe
(I 7.10 –12, 19), Daphne does not try to escape her pursuer Apollo but unveils her-
self in front of him (fig. 14.1a); in the House of the Colored Capitals (VII 4.31,
51) the mirror image of the Medusa’s head does not disturb the tender meeting of
Perseus and Andromeda (fig. 14.1b). Especially revealing is the fact that in some
paintings the features of the gods are contemporary portraits, or they at least have
contemporary hairstyles (e.g. the House of M. Lucretius Fronto [V 4.11]: Venus
and Mars in the tablinum; a medallion with a child’s bust as Mercury in a cubicu-
lum). This reminds us of a scene at the beginning of Trimalchio’s feast (Petronius
29.4) where Encolpius and Ascyltos are looking at the painting in the entrance hall
depicting their host Trimalchio, who carries Mercury’s staff and is guided by Minerva.
If we try to sum up what wall paintings might tell us about religion, there is
certainly not a simple, one-track relation between the two. The paintings may have
been ordered to demonstrate the culture of the owner, in other words for the190 Annemarie Kaufmann-HeinimannFigure 14.1a Wall painting of Apollo and Daphne, House of the Ephebe (I 7.10 –12, 19),
Pompeii. The nymph Daphne does not try to escape her pursuer Apollo, as she does in
mythological tradition, but rather flirts with him while unveiling herself (photo: © 2003
photo Scala, Florence/Fotografica Foglia. Courtesy of the Ministero Beni e Att. Culturali).ACTC14 26/04/2007 09:38 AM Page 190