The House of M. Aemilius Scaurus

The house was originally constructed in 74BC by Marcus Aemilius Scaurus (son of a famous leader of the Senate). During 58BC he held the post of Aedile and had the house decorated with 360 marble columns, each 40 feet high, that he previously had erected to decorate a temporary theatre . He sold the house to Publius Clodius (one of the least attractive characters in Roman history) for 15 million sesterces. Scaurus was killed fighting against the king of Petra on behalf of Pompey the Great.

During the shows mentioned by the elder Pliny, he became the first person to exhibit a hippopotamus in Rome. Pliny also holds him up as an example of excess, as the shows for which the columns were imported lasted less than a month. A sewerage contractor compelled Scaurus to indemnify him against liability for damage to the drains while the columns were being transported to the house.

scaurtodt.jpg	scaurtotab.jpg	scaurus1.jpg	scaurus2.jpg	scaurus4.jpg
scaurus5.jpg	scaurus6.jpg		scaurustotitus.jpg	scaurustotitus2.jpg