Building of Eumachia

Building of Eumachia

View looking east at the interior of the Building of Eumachia.  This is the largest building at Pompeii and was built by a patroness of Pompeii who died around A.D. 15.  She was a priestess of Venus, the chief deity of Pompeii.  She was a patron not only of the city but also the wool workers, dyers, and launderers at Pompeii.

Note the large open courtyard (green grass) and the, what were, covered porticos on the right and left sides of the image.

The building is also called the "Portico of Concordia Augusta."  "Concordia" was a Roman goddess who embodied harmony in marriage and society.  Livia, Emperor Augustus' wife, built the first temple to "Concordia Augusta" in Rome.  It seems that Eumachia was emulating her.  A statue of Livia, as Concordia Augusta," and Tiberius and Drusus were placed in the apse at the far end of the courtyard.