The House of Menander is one of the most spectacular of all of the many historical treasures of Pompeii. Owing its name to the Ancient Greek comedic playwright, it is one of the many splendid structures in the city by the sea that is renowned for the lavish lifestyle its residents enjoyed before the cataclysmic eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius in 79 AD.

And its name appears to be in line with the pleasure-loving ways of the Pompeiians before the destruction of their city. A fresco on its walls, in nearly perfect condition despite the devastation of the volcano– and the passing of almost 2,000 years — purportedly shows the playwright reading from one of his comedic works.