One of the finest and largest houses in Pompeii, covering about 1,800 square metres of a residential block. The house is named for a portrait of the Greek playwright Menander painted in one of the rooms — evidence of the owner's cultural pretensions. The atrium, peristyle, and reception rooms are well-preserved, and the private bath suite (a rare luxury in a private home) gives a sense of the household's considerable wealth.
The house was undergoing repairs at the time of the eruption, and several rooms were closed off during the restoration work. This suggests the 62 AD earthquake had caused substantial damage that the owners were still fixing 17 years later — a reminder that Pompeii in 79 AD was a city still recovering from a major disaster when a worse one struck.