{{Short description|Element of ancient Roman private apartments}} {{Italics title}} thumb|A ''venereum'' in the House of Sallust '''''Venereum''''' (after goddess Venus) was an element of ancient Roman private apartments found particularly in Pompeii. It was originally interpreted as a specialized apartment or room dedicated to sexual activities.<ref name="Dyer">{{cite book | author=Thomas Henry Dyer| title =Pompeii: Its history, buildings, and antiquities. An account of the destruction of the city, with a full description of the remains, and of the recent excavations, and also an itinerary for visitors| publisher =Bell & Daldy| year =1871| page =69}}</ref><ref name="Eric">{{cite book | author=Eric Moormann| title =Pompeii's Ashes: The Reception of the Cities Buried by Vesuvius in Literature, Music, and Drama| publisher =Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG| year =2015| page =50| isbn =978-1614518730}}</ref> One ''venereum'' was found in the House of Julia Felix and another one in the House of Sallust, both in Pompeii.<ref name="Eric"/> In the latter house, the ''venereum'' was a garden with several separate rooms.<ref name="Eric"/>
A Latin inscription in the House of Julia Felix reports that "on the estate of Julia Felix... a venereum", among other things, was "to be let for a term of five continuous years, from the first to the sixth of the Ides of August".<ref name="Dyer"/> The accompanying abbreviation ''SQDLENC'' is conjectured to stand for "''Si quis domi lenocinium exerceat ne conducito''" ("Let no one apply who keeps a brothel").<ref name="Dyer"/> The ''venereum'' in the House of Sallustius included a bedchamber, a ''triclinium'' and a ''lararium''.
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Ancient Roman architecture Category:Latin words and phrases Category:Sexuality in ancient Rome Category:Pompeii (ancient city)