House of the Tragic Poet House of the Tragic Poet The House of the Tragic Poet (also called "The Homeric House" or "The Iliadic House") is a Roman house in Pompeii, Italy dating to the 2nd century BCE. The house, or villa, is famous for its elaborate mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology. Discovered in November 1824 by the archaeologist Antonio Bonucci, the House of the Tragic Poet has interested scholars and writers for generations. Although the size of the house itself is in no way remarkable, its interior decorations are not only numerous but of the highest quality among other frescoes
The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses excerpted and reproduced, sometimes under the title of "Death the Leveller." Included in collections of familiar quotations, the poem is the most famous and popular work in Shirley's canon; Louisa May Alcott quotes its concluding line in "Little Women." The poem was set to music, and was well known as a song — King Charles II was reportedly fond of it. The play is set in the Grecian camp outside the walls of Troy, during the Trojan War; it opens soon after the death of Achilles, with the pages of Ajax and Ulysses disputing the relative worths of their masters.