In the large room (35) opening on the south peristyle were two paintings of unusual merit, both of which were transferred to the Naples Museum. The subject of one was the finding of the deserted Ariadne by Bacchus; in the other Orestes and Pylades appear as captives before Thoas, the king of Tauris (Fig. 182). At the right of the picture sits Thoas, looking at the captives, his sword lying across his knees, his hands resting upon the end of his sceptre. Behind him stands a guard with a long spear in the right hand. Another guard with two spears stands behind Orestes and Pylades, whose hands are bound. Orestes, upon whose head is a wreath of laurel, looks downward, an expression of sadness and resignation upon his finely chiselled features. Pylades is not without anxiety, but is alert and hopeful. Between the two groups is an altar on which incense is burning. In the background Iphigenia is seen moving slowly forward; the head is entirely obliterated. It is unfortunate that the painting is so badly preserved. The faces of the two youths are individualized with remarkable skill, and the picture here used as the centre of a decorative framework of the fourth style is evidently a copy of a masterpiece. On the south side of Abbondanza Street, opposite the Stabian Baths, is the house of Cornelius Rufus (VIII. iv. 15), a view of the interior of which has already been given. The name of the proprietor is known from the dedication on the herm (seen in Fig. 121), _C. Cornelio Rufo_; the carved table supports behind the impluvium are among the finest yet discovered. In the same block is the house of Marcus Holconius (VIII. iv. 4), a good example of a house completely restored and decorated after the earthquake of 63. The right ala was fitted up with shelves, on which at the time of the eruption were kitchen vessels of bronze, iron, and terra cotta. The colonnade about the peristyle was in two stories. From the columns at the front six jets of water, at a height of about four feet, fell forward into the gutter; and there was an equal number at the rear. There was also a little fountain in the exedra at the rear of the peristyle. CHAPTER XLIV _ROMAN VILLAS.--THE VILLA OF DIOMEDES_ Two classes of villas were distinguished by the Romans,--the country seat, _villa pseudourbana_, and the farmhouse, _villa rustica_. The former was a city house, adapted to rural conditions; the arrangements of the latter were determined by the requirements of farm life.