Pompeii: An Archaeological Guide 9781350987555, 9781786732699

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‘This book, written by an archaeologist with years of experience of showing visitors around one of the most visited (but often misunderstood) sites in the world, will be warmly welcomed by those who need an up-todate and reliable guide.’ – Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, OBE, FBA, Honorary Professor of Roman Studies and Emeritus Director of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, University of Cambridge

‘This guide is important as a bridge between the popular guide books and the specialised academic studies that are available to visitors to Pompeii. Paul Wilkinson is an archaeologist who specialises in Roman archaeology and recording historic buildings. In his lively introduction he explains in understandable terms how these world-famous buildings functioned and how people lived and worked in the city of Pompeii. The guidebook itself follows, illustrated with numerous new plans, allowing the visitor to explore the most important buildings in Pompeii following Wilkinson’s clear room-by-room descriptions. This new guidebook, with its clear and concise explanations, will greatly enhance a viewer’s experience of this fascinating UNESCO World Heritage site.’ – John R. Clarke, Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor of Fine Arts, University of Texas at Austin, author of The Houses of Roman Italy, 100 bc–ad 250: Ritual, Space, and Decoration and of Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 bc–ad 250

Pompeii An Archaeological Guide

Paul Wilkinson

Published in 2017 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd London • New York www.ibtauris.com Copyright © 2017 Paul Wilkinson The right of Paul Wilkinson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions. References to websites were correct at the time of writing. ISBN: 978 1 78453 928 3 eISBN: 978 1 78672 269 0 ePDF: 978 1 78673 269 9 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Typeset by Free Range Book Design & Production Limited

Contents

How to Use this Guide vii Visiting Pompeii x

A Brief History

Timeline 3 Introduction 7 1 The Fateful Day 21 2 The Eruption 47 3 The Story Unfolds 63

THe Guide

Suburban Baths 87 Imperial Villa / Marine Gate 90 Temple of Venus 92 Temple of Apollo 94 Forum 98 Basilica 101 Civil Offices 102 Temple of Jupiter 103 Temple of Vespasian 106 Sanctuary of City Lares 109 Macellum 110 Building of Eumachia 112

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Pompeii

Forum Holitorium 115 Temple of Fortuna Augusta 116 Baths of Pompeii 118 Forum Baths 120 House of the Faun 125 House of the Vettii 134 Central Baths 138 Bakery of Popidius Priscus 139 Brothel 141 Stabian Baths 143 Theatre District 148 Samnite Gymnasium 151 Temple of Isis 152 Temple of Jupiter Meilichios 154 Theatres 154 Fullery of Stephanus 159 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 164 Palaestra 169 Amphitheatre 169 Nuceria Gate Tombs 173 Villa of the Mysteries 175 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 179 Villa of Diomedes 188 House of Menander 192 House of the Tragic Poet 196 House of the Silver Wedding 200 Praedia of Julia Felix 204 Glossary 209 Further Reading 218 Bibliography 219 List of Illustrations 224 Index 227

How to Use this Guide

T

his book is intended to bridge the gap between the popular guidebooks and the more specialist academic studies of Pompeii.

The author is an archaeologist who is Director of the Kent Archaeological Field School and has for many years guided groups around some of the most important Roman sites in Europe and North Africa. This book is structured to place the site of Pompeii in its historic setting and as a companion for the visitor as they explore the impressive ruins of Pompeii. As a specialist on Roman archaeology and an expert on recording historic buildings, Dr Paul Wilkinson has used his extensive knowledge of Roman history and archaeology to explain in understandable terms the chronology and function of most of the buildings of Pompeii. In his ‘Brief History’ section he explores the lives of those who lived and worked in Pompeii, and how the buildings of the city functioned. What follows is the story of the eruption of ad 79, and the later archaeological revelations around the site. The guidebook itself, illustrated with 37 new plans, guides the visitor through the most important buildings in Pompeii. The immersive room-by-room descriptions are designed to enhance the experience of the traveller, allowing them to more fully enjoy this fascinating historic site.

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House Numbering System This book is designed to follow the guidelines set out by Fiorelli, director of Pompeii from 1863 to 1875, who introduced order to the excavation by dividing the town into Regions, Insulae and Houses. Wherever possible all houses in Pompeii are still identified by this system – thus the House of the Vettii is VI.15.1. The Region is the Roman numeral VI. The Insula is 15, and the House number is 1. The House number is usually found on a plaque attached to the front of the building.

Plans The Guide is designed to be used in conjunction with the 37 new plans included in the book. Letter and number references to these plans are used throughout, so that the traveller can read the explanatory text about a room, note the number/letter reference, and find that room or feature on the accompanying plan. Three key plans – Figures 21, 24 and 40 – are of wider areas in the Pompeii site, and indicate the most important rooms with letter references. These references are included in bold throughout the Guide. For instance, the discussion of the Suburban Baths (here) includes the reference (21B) – meaning that the reader should use Figure 21, Letter B, to find this room’s location. The remainder of the plans are of specific rooms, with numbers marking particular features. Within the discussion of each room, bracketed number references are used – for example, in the Suburban Baths entry: The main entrance (1) is located to the north of the porticoed road leading uphill to the Marine Gate. Comprising a gated vestibule with a façade framed by two half columns, walk through and you are in a porticoed (2) triangular area paved with creamy white slabs of tufa stone. The entrance to the baths is on the right through the changing room (4).

How to Use this Guide

The relevant number plan for each room is indicated in the heading – so for instance, the heading for the Suburban Baths refers to Figure 20. Readers should therefore use Figure 20 to understand the number references used within this section of text. Each site in this book has been visited, and measurements were checked against the original published excavation plans and drawings. The resulting plans were digitised by Bartosz Cichy.

ix

Visiting Pompeii

Practical Information

F

rom April to October, Pompeii is open daily from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm (last admission 6 pm). From November to March, the site closes at 5 pm (last admission 3.30 pm). Pompeii is closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. The cost of a ticket is €11 and concessionary tickets are available. There is also the Campania ArteCard which allows entrance to Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and Boscoreale which costs €20. Prices correct as of August 2017. If travelling from Naples the best and cheapest way to get to Pompeii is by train. From the Naples main railway station at Piazza Garibaldi get the Circumvesuviana line to Sorrento – or if travelling from Sorrento to Naples alight at ‘Pompeii Scavi – Villa Dei Misteri’, turn right and the entrance to Pompeii is on the left through the ‘Porta Marina’ (Marine Gate).

Tour Visit: From the Marine Gate Ask for a free map of Pompeii when buying your ticket and don’t queue with the tour groups – use the lane on the far left for fast tracking. Best not to use the services of a local guide as some are very good and some are not. Audio guides are available if you have forgotten your guide book! If funds are running low there is a cash machine inside on the left of the Marine Gate entrance.

Visiting Pompeii

Lunch can be taken at the restaurant by the Forum Baths, which is at the far end of the Forum and on the left. For a good local lunch try the snack bar just outside the gate at the Villa of the Mysteries – you can show your ticket for re-entry. It can be hot and Pompeii is a very large site, so keep to the shade and take at the very least a bottle of water which you can refill at the numerous fountains. You will not be able to see Pompeii in one day so best to plan your itinerary for the main sites and then come back for the other sites which are off the beaten track. Around the Marine Gate and Forum: Visit the Suburban Baths (here) if open and then enter the Marine Gate, passing the Temple of Venus (here) and the Temple of Apollo (here), then turn right into the Basilica (here) and then into the Forum (here). The major buildings here include the Temple of Jupiter (here); the Macellum (here); the Sanctuary of City Lares (here); the Temple of Vespasian (here); the Building of Eumachia (here); and to the north of the Forum on the left and just beyond the restaurant is the Forum Baths (here). On leaving the Forum Baths turn left and on the right hand side in the corner plot is the Temple of Fortuna Augusta (here). Turn right into the Via della Fortuna and on your left is the House of the Faun (here). When leaving the House of the Faun by the main entrance turn left and left again down the narrow Vicolo di Mercurio and the House of the Vettii (here) is in front of you. If the alley is closed try the next turning on the left. Turn left when leaving the House of the Vettii, or if it is closed and you are facing the entrance turn right and take the first right into the Vicolo Storto to the Bakery of Popidius Priscus (here). On leaving the Bakery turn left down the Vicolo Storto, and left again into the Via degli Augustali and take the first turning on the right along the Via degli Augustali to the Vicolo del Lupanare which leads to the Brothel (here). Leaving the Brothel turn right into the Vicolo del Lupanare and the Stabian Baths are on your left (here).

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Turn left when you leave the baths, then right into the Via Stabiana which will lead you to the Theatre District (here) to visit the Large Theatre and theatre portico, the Covered Theatre, the Temple of Isis and the Triangular Forum and Doric Temple. Walk along the Via dell’Abbondanza to see its bars and shops, such as the Fullery of Stephanus (here). The main entrances of some beautiful and interesting houses were also on this important thoroughfare. Particularly worthy of a visit are the Houses of Venus in the Sea Shell (here), Loreius Tiburtinus (here) and Julius Polybius (here). A brief detour to the south will also take you to the House of Menander (here). On leaving the House of Venus in the Sea Shell turn right and right again. At the bottom of the alley you will see the Amphitheatre on your left (here) and the Palaestra on your right (here). Walk towards the Nuceria Gate after leaving the Amphitheatre and beyond is the Nuceria Gate Necropolis (here).

Other sites in the region Herculaneum Herculaneum opens at 8.30 am each day. From November to March the site closes at 5 pm (last admission 3.30 pm). From April to October the site closes at 7.30 pm (last admission 6 pm). The cost of a ticket is €11 and concessionary tickets are available. From Naples, take any Circumvesuviana train – they all stop at ‘Ercolano’ – then walk straight downhill to the entrance of the excavations (five minutes). Many of the houses and buildings are now open after restoration, and it is sometimes possible to book visits online to the Villa of the Papyri. The most important buildings to see include the Houses of the Stags (IV.21); the Relief of Telephus (I.2); the Wooden Partition (III.11); the Mosaic Atrium (IV.2); Neptune and Amphitrite; the Samnite House (V.1); and also the Suburban Baths and the Hall of the Augustales (VI.21/24).

Visiting Pompeii

Naples Museum (Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Napoli) This is a world-famous museum, home to galleries of antiquities from Pompeii and Herculaneum, which include wall paintings and mosaics (including a room devoted to the House of the Faun); sculptures from the Villa of the Papyri; gladiatorial armour; collections of silver plate and jewellery; and frescoes from the Temple of Isis. The museum is located at Piazza Museo 19 (80135 Napoli). Buses from the main train station (Piazza Garibaldi) pass the museum; the nearest underground stops are Piazza Cavour and Museo. It is open daily (except Tuesdays, or Wednesday if Tuesday coincides with a national holiday), 9 am–7.30 pm. The museum is shut on 1 January and 25 December. Tickets cost €12 with reduced tickets at €6 and evening entrance €2.

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A Brief History

Timeline

10th–8th century bc It is thought that a small prehistoric settlement may have been established at Pompeii. 6th century bc

An Etruscan religious sanctuary is built (later found by archaeologists under the House of the Etruscan Column), the city walls are built and a street grid is planned.

5th century bc

The Samnites invade Campania and take control of many towns and villages, including Pompeii.

4th century bc

A confederation of Samnite settlements is established along the Sarno Valley which include Pompeii, Nuceria and Herculaneum.

Late 4th and early 3rd centuries bc

The Roman army conquers the land around the Bay of Naples and the towns, including Pompeii, come under Roman rule as allies.

218–210 bc

The Second Punic War is fought and ends with the defeat of Hannibal who had crossed the Alps into Italy with elephants. Pompeii is thriving as a market town and most of the city is now built.

90–88 bc

Pompeii demands full citizenship with Rome and when refused rebels with other cities in the Social War.

89 bc

The Roman army under the leadership of Sulla lays siege to Pompeii.

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Pompeii

80 bc

Pompeii is turned into a Roman colony with army veterans settled and the city renamed ‘Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum’.

ad 62

A series of earthquakes in the hinterland of Pompeii causes massive damage to houses and buildings in and around Pompeii.

ad 79

The volcano of Vesuvius erupts and buries Pompeii, Herculaneum and other towns, villages and farms in the Sarno district.

ad 1592

The town of Pompeii is rediscovered by the Roman architect Domenico Fontana, who built a canal from the River Sarno to a munitions factory in Torre Annunziata, cutting through part of the city of Pompeii.

ad 1689

Whilst a well is being dug in the vicinity a stone inscription is recovered with the word ‘POMPEI’, but is thought not to be the city but from a statue of the Roman general Pompey the Great.

ad 1699

Giuseppe Macrini writes in his book on Vesuvius that Pompeii lay where the canal and inscription had been found.

ad 1763

The first excavations started in 1748, but in 1763 the discovery of another inscription identifies the place as the buried Roman city of Pompeii.

ad 1806

France invades and occupies the Kingdom of Naples. Excavations start in earnest at Pompeii.

ad 1860

Italy is unified and Pompeii becomes a major tourist attraction as part of the ‘Grand Tour’.

ad 1924

The Fascist era in Italy, with funds spent on national ‘showpiece monuments’.

ad 1939

World War II starts and all excavation stops at Pompeii.

ad 1943

At least 150 bombs are dropped on Pompeii by the allied air forces in the mistaken belief that German tanks were hiding in the ruins.

Timeline

ad 1945

Excavations start again as part of a programme of public works.

ad 1980

A major earthquake causes serious damage to Pompeii and most of the town is closed.

ad 1997

A Special Law passes allowing the Soprintendenza di Pompei to keep all the gate money for conservation and upgrading facilities for tourists, who in recent years have numbered about 2.6 million.

5

Introduction

T

he names of Pompeii and Herculaneum are known throughout Europe and beyond. Since the eighteenth century ad the discoveries have excited scholar and tourist alike with more than one million people visiting Pompeii every year. The ruins of Herculaneum were first noted by Sannazzaro in 1504 and from 1709 to 1716 the Austrian Prince d’Elboeuf removed precious marble from the scaena of the theatre to decorate his villa being built nearby. Access to the site was through a well the prince had built. He enlarged the well and had exploratory tunnels built. Excavation continued for seven years, and when the prince’s villa was finished he gave up work on the site, not realising he had made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of all time. He did not realise he had been looting the theatre of the lost Roman town of Herculaneum. Pompeii was discovered, again by chance, in 1592 when the architect Fontana oversaw the construction of an underground irrigation canal from the River Sarno and cut through numerous buried Roman buildings whose walls were decorated with frescoes. An inscription recovered in 1689 from the digging of a well by another, unknown, discoverer in the same vicinity had the name ‘Pompeii’ on it and he thought that he had stumbled on a villa belonging to Pompeius. Both had in fact rediscovered Pompeii. Other finds followed throughout the next decades. In 1748 Charles III, the King of Spain and Naples, began excavating close to the Temple of Fortuna Augusta at Pompeii. His aim was to loot statues and precious objects to be sent back to the Spanish Court.

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Pompeii and Herculaneum had been discovered after 17 centuries of being buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on 24 August ad 79. Pompeii and Herculaneum are two of several Roman towns scattered along the coast of Naples, all living under the shadow of an active volcano. Both towns have a much earlier foundation. Herculaneum was established in about 700 bc, whilst Pompeii is thought to date back to the tenth century bc. Both towns were established by an Italic tribe called the Oscans.

Figure 1: Early map of Campania

At Herculaneum the Oscans established a small fishing village on the high ground between two streams that flowed from the slopes of Mount Vesuvius to the sea. At Pompeii the Oscans built their village on an ancient volcanic lava ridge just behind the later Roman Forum in the Regions VII and VIII. The Oscans were probably descended from the prehistoric tribes that hunted and fished in this part of Italy. Their language was utilised by later peoples and elements of the Oscan language can still be seen as graffiti on the walls of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Introduction

In the sixth century bc Greek traders settled at Pompeii and Herculaneum, taking advantage of the strategic position of both maritime towns on their important trade route from Paestum to Cumae and beyond. Greek culture and commerce gradually assimilated and replaced the original Oscan communities of both towns. Legend does suggest that Herculaneum was founded by the Greek god Hercules. Hercules is a demi-god – half-human, half-god – and the son of Jupiter and Alcmene. Alcmene was mortal and the goddess Juno, Jupiter’s jealous wife, enraged at the birth of Hercules, sent two mythical snakes to kill him as he lay sleeping in his cradle. The infant Hercules woke and strangled both snakes, thus thwarting Juno’s plans. When Hercules was a young man Juno schemed to send him off on a series of life-threatening tasks known in legend as the Twelve Labours of Hercules. His first labour was to kill a fearsome lion that was terrorising the people of Nemea. The lion could not be killed by any conventional weapon so Hercules killed the lion with his bare hands and skinned the animal using the lion’s own claws. From then on he wore the pelt of the lion and is shown this way in many statues. Having successfully completed all Twelve Labours, Hercules was allowed to enter the Pantheon of Greek gods as a demi-god: half-god, half-human. Whilst originally a Greek myth, Hercules was later adopted by the Romans who had a different view of the character. The Greeks portray Hercules as a fit young man, holding his weapon of choice, a club and the skinned pelt of the lion of Nemea. The Romans tended to portray Hercules as a bearded, middle-aged prizefighter with more of his fair share of human foibles. The name of Pompeii is more prosaic and is probably derived from the Oscan word pompe. By the sixth century bc the Greeks ruled the entire Gulf of Naples from the fortified acropolis of Cumae. Pompeii was a maritime outpost, allowing the Greeks to utilise the site’s excellent strategic position on a spur of land overlooking the River Sarno and the landing place by the sea. It was here that the Greeks built the Temple of Apollo on a mound overlooking the main routes into the city. Another Greek shrine is located on the settlement’s south-eastern slopes surrounded by a wall built out of volcanic rock blocks. This shrine, later known as the ‘Triangular Forum’, was dedicated to Hercules who can be found presiding over shrines erected in areas of exchange outside the main settlement.

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Pompeii

It is not known who actually controlled sixth-century Pompeii, as both Greek and Etruscan artefacts have been found in excavation. It is possible that neither did, although Strabo, the first-century bc Roman geographer, wrote: The Oscans held Herculaneum and the neighbouring Pompeii, in the vicinity of the Sarno River, after them it was held by the Etruscans and the Pelasgians, and later still by the Samnites, who were finally driven out by the Romans. (Strabo 5.4, 8) The Pelasgians were a mythical tribe of the area, and their name might have been given to all the ethnic people in the vicinity of Pompeii. The Oscan word pompe found in the name Pompeii can be interpreted as the number five, which could mean five different ethnic groups could be found at Pompeii, or it could have the more mundane meaning of a hand offered in friendship and trade. Between 524 and 474 bc the Etruscans occupied Pompeii but have left no trace of any buildings. In 474 bc the Etruscan navy was destroyed by a Greek fleet from Syracuse in a decisive naval battle, which opened the way for Greek expansion in the area. At Pompeii temples were restored

Figure 2: Oscan text

Introduction

and the town was refortified by a wall rebuilt of lava blocks sheathed with blocks of limestone from the Sarno Valley. Square towers and gateways were constructed along the wall where appropriate. The town expanded under Greek influence and construction of buildings started in Region VI. The town was laid out according to the principles of the Greek architect Hippodamus of Miletus, with a regular geometric grid with two access points on the north side. One was to become the Vesuvius Gate, and the other the Herculaneum Gate. The road through the Vesuvius Gate skirted Mont Vesuvius and headed inland, whilst the road through the Herculaneum Gate followed the coast to Herculaneum and onwards to Naples. On the southern side of the city the internal road from the Vesuvius Gate exited at the Stabian Gate and continued to Stabia, whilst the road to Nocera passed through the city walls at the Nuceria Gate. This road seems to have been a spur from the main Stabia road. Later buildings in the eastern quarter of the city seem to have destroyed all traces of the early road to Nocera. This internal layout by the Greeks persisted right through to ad 79. The intervening period was marred by the Osco-Greek town being conquered by the Samnites, who in 424 bc swept down from the mountains of Abruzzi and Calabria and conquered most of the Greek colonies around the Bay of Naples. The Samnites settled on the coastal plains and became known as the Campani. The Samnite Wars went through alternating phases with first the Romans being defeated and then the Samnites. Livy, writing about the Samnite War, describes how in 310 bc: A Roman fleet descended on Compania under Publius Cornelius, whom the Senate had put in command of the coastal defences; dropping anchor off Pompeii, the allied forces [comprising Romans and allies from other cities in Latium] divided up to sack the countryside around Nuceria. They had soon dealt with the coastal region, so as to be able to regain their ships, but, as happens all too often, they were seized by greed for still more booty and pressed forward, provoking the enemy forces. Yet these did nothing to hamper them, even though with the Romans widely scattered, they could have wiped them out. However, as the Romans were returning to their ships without any care of security, the peasants fell on them not far from the ships, seizing all the booty and killing a

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Pompeii

number of them. Those who escaped the massacre took refuge in the ships, shaking with fear. (Livy 9. 38, 2–3) The excerpt from Livy emphasises the importance of the landing place at the mouth of the River Sarno. The fortifications of Pompeii saved the city from sack and also gave refuge to the surrounding population who sallied forth to engage the booty from the Samnite farms of Campania. The agricultural boundaries to the north of Pompeii and as far as Boscoreale seem to have been laid out in a grid-like regularity from this period. Burial grounds of the Samnites dating from the fourth and third centuries bc have been found alongside the roads leading out from Pompeii at the Herculaneum and Stabian Gates.

Figure 3: Section through city walls

The walls of Pompeii, faced with rectangular blocks of Sarno limestone, subsequently reinforced with square towers and strengthened again in

Introduction

the third century bc, probably because of the threat of Hannibal, defined the extent of the town of Pompeii in the Samnite period. However, little of the Samnite period has been found whilst excavating Pompeii. The one notable exception is a Samnite public banqueting hall found under a house dating from the second century bc in Region VII. The rooms of the banqueting hall contain ledges on which couches for guests could have been placed. Two other examples of banqueting halls are known; one at Buccino, the other at Capua, the principal Samnite town in Campania. These banqueting halls were used by guilds or colleges whose Oscan name is vereiia, and were the backbone of Samnite social organisation. The Romans formed an alliance with the Samnites in Campania but continued to fight the Samnites in their mountain homelands until they were defeated in 202 bc. The Roman Republic was now able to extend its influence in Campania and around the coast it founded numerous colonies, which strengthened its control on the area previously maintained by the cities of Venosa and Paestum. Maritime trade revolved around the free port of Delos situated in the middle of the Aegean Sea. Delos was strategically placed for trade with the newly emerging cities of Italy and the rich and exotic cities of Asia Minor. Pompeii, being situated close to the important port of Puteoli, no doubt took advantage of this to send its products and produce on trading voyages to the East. The East was an important market for Pompeii. Its wheat was sold in Greek units of measurement, probably due to the importance of Alexandria. The house furnishings of Pompeii show Eastern influence and Eastern religions like the cult of Isis were established at Pompeii and elsewhere in the Campania. Despite this thriving Eastern trade, Pompeii’s allegiance to the Roman Republic was never in doubt. The owner of the so-called House of the Faun had a Latin greeting inscribed on the threshold of the house, whilst decorating the interior with a scheme which is clearly Egyptian and Greek in taste and style. The most spectacular example of this is the floor mosaic situated in the second tablinum. Based possibly on the now lost painting by Philoxenos of Eratria, it shows Alexander the Great bearing down on the Persian ruler Darius during the battle of Issus. The House of the Faun is an excellent example of a Pompeii town house popular in the third and second centuries bc. Its elegant façade built in Sarno limestone, the symmetrical layout of the rooms around the atrium, the surviving First Style frescoes have enabled archaeologists to reconstruct the type of town house popular in this period.

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Pompeii

Throughout this period Pompeii remained a fortified city and between 424 and 89 bc the walls were rebuilt buttressed by an agger or earth mound on the city side of the walls. Pompeii respected its treaty with Rome and resisted Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, in c.280 bc and also Hannibal in 216 bc when most of the other cities of Campania went over to him.

Figure 4: Section through the atrium of the House of the Faun

However, in March 90 bc the Samnite towns of Campania rebelled against Rome and Pompeii joined the fight. The Roman armies were led by Sulla, Pompeii was besieged, and its walls battered with huge stone balls which have left their mark up to today. By the autumn of 89 bc the city had been taken by Sulla’s Roman troops and Sulla’s nephew Publius was given the task of founding a Roman colony at Pompeii called Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. The event was commemorated by the construction of the Temple of Venus on the south-eastern spur of the city. Constructed of white Luna marble, it overlooked and dominated the road leading into the city from the landing place at the mouth of the River Sarno. Built in the Roman Corinthian style it heralds a new taste in building techniques and decoration at Pompeii. Two thousand Roman soldiers from Sulla’s army were given the agricultural land of the old nobility of Pompeii. The planting of the colony at Pompeii must have transformed every aspect of Pompeii society; certainly houses like the Villa of the Mysteries, the Villa of Cicero and the Villa of Diomedes were rebuilt and decorated with frescoes in the Second Style which dates to the years immediately after

Introduction

80 bc. The houses which retained decorations in the First Style, such as the House of the Faun, may indicate that Samnite ownership continued after the Roman conquest. Radical changes to the layout of public buildings indicate the new tastes and requirements of the newly established Roman colony. The old Triangular Forum became part of the new theatre complex. A covered theatre or odeon was built and plays in Latin performed there, whilst the larger open-air theatre still put on plays in Oscan. The establishment of public baths was high on the agenda. The Forum Baths were built and the Stabian Baths, although dating from the Samnite period, were refurbished. Temples were built (the Temple of Jupiter Meilichios dates from this period) and there were additions to the Temple of Apollo, but the grandest building scheme was the rebuilding of the Temple of Jupiter.

Figure 5: The Forum in 1902 looking north to the Temple of Jupiter and beyond to Vesuvius

Situated on the northern side of the Forum, the political and civil centre of Roman cities, the temple was rebuilt to accommodate the cult of the Capitoline triad: Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The Capitolium was present in all Roman colonies because it was considered to be the transposition of the main state cult, to whom Rome’s Capitoline temple was dedicated.

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The Forum was restructured from the old market square of the Samnite city and in Roman cities the Forum was always the political and civil centre of Roman life. At Pompeii the temples of Apollo and Jupiter were set up on the western and northern sides of the square, the latter being embellished with equestrian statues and triumphal arches to celebrate successive emperors. The eastern side of the Forum continued the Pax Romana theme with temples to Vespasian, the City Lares and the Eumachia, an enigmatic building whose function was no doubt connected with the imperial family. It has been suggested that the building was used as the wool and cloth market or even for the selling of slaves. Imperial connections are verified by the statue of Concordia with the face of Livia, wife of Augustus and the mother of Tiberius. Also recovered was epigraphic evidence celebrating Romulus, the mythical founder of Rome, and Aeneas who is reputed to be the founder of the Julius family to which the Emperor Augustus belonged. The Roman Forum was extended north as far as the junction between the Road of Fortune and the Road of Mercury where another triumphal arch, probably dedicated to Caligula, is to be found. Located here was the Temple of Fortuna Redux, built by Marcus Tullius on land his family owned. He belonged to the famous Tullia family and one of his relatives was Cicero, who was assassinated without intervention on the part of Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus. The building of the temple so close to the Roman Forum strongly suggests that the Tullia family had been reconciled with the Emperor. The main square of the city was repaved and rebuilt in white limestone and was closed to wheeled traffic and lined with the most important

Introduction

Figure 6: Sculpture from Pompeii thought to show the earthquake

religious, political and commercial buildings. Numerous pedestals which have survived were no doubt the bases of statues of the leading citizens of Pompeii, whilst the monumental plinths ranged along the south side of the Forum in front of the municipal offices displayed statues of the Emperor riding in a quadriga and other members of the imperial family. In the centre of the western side there is a raised dais for orators. None of these statues have been found, suggesting they were salvaged by the Romans soon after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ad 79 or had been removed earlier. Water – and lots of it – was an essential ingredient of Roman urban life. At Pompeii a new aqueduct was built joining the earlier aqueduct, which carried water from the Sarno River to the Roman imperial fleet port at Misenum. The castellum aquae or water tower was built near the Vesuvius Gate, the highest part of the city. From here lead pipes ran to 43 public fountains situated at street corners throughout the city. The thermal baths of Pompeii were rejuvenated by this abundance of water. The oldest of these, the Stabian Baths which had been built in the Samnite period, had new stucco decorations added. The Forum Baths, built in the early years of the Roman colony, were redecorated and new baths were built outside the Maritime Gate. Numerous homeowners took advantage of the new water supply and built suites of private baths; some, such as those at the Praedia of Julia Felix, were occasionally opened to the public. Other houses utilised the water supply to adorn their gardens with wonderful fountains and waterfalls. On 5 February ad 62 disaster struck Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Roman philosopher Seneca describes the event:

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Pompeii, the famous city in Campania has been laid low by an earthquake which also disturbed all the adjacent districts. The city is in a pleasant bay, some distance from the open sea, and bounded by the shores of Surrentum [Sorrento] and Stabiae on one side and of Herculaneum on the other; the shores meet there. In fact it occurred in days of winter, a season which our ancestors used to claim was free from such disaster. This earthquake was on the Nones of February, in the consulship of Regulus and Verginius. It caused great destruction in Campania, which had never been safe from this danger but had never been damaged, and time and again had got off with a fright. Also, part of the town of Herculaneum is in ruins, and even the structures which are left are shaky. The colony of Nuceria escaped destruction but still has much to complain about. Naples also lost many private dwellings but no public buildings, and was only mildly grazed by the great disaster, but some villas collapsed, others here and there shook without damage. To these calamities others were added: they say that a flock of hundreds of sheep was killed, statues were cracked, and some people were so shocked that they wondered about as if deprived of their wits. (Seneca, Naturales Quaestiones, VI) Herculaneum had been almost completely destroyed, Pompeii badly damaged, and the most urgent task was to rebuild the cities. The export of wine, woollen goods and garum was increased. Pompeii and Herculaneum were both situated in the agricultural paradise of Campania. The fertile slopes of Vesuvius were covered with rows of vines and olive trees. The cultivation of spelt, a variety of durum wheat, and the excellent climate, meant that farmers obtained at least two harvests a year which enriched the numerous villa estates. Sheep breeding was flourishing, and the elite families of Pompeii employed hundreds of craftsmen to turn the raw wool into fine cloth. As mentioned above, the Eumachia, situated in the Forum at Pompeii, was probably where raw wool and fine cloth was sold (and maybe slaves). ‘Lucrum gaudium’, profit is joy; so runs the motto inscribed around the edge of the impluvium in a house at Pompeii. Other entrance halls have a mosaic inscription which pays tribute to profit: ‘Salve lucru’ (Welcome, gain), and statues of Mercury, the god of commerce, abound.

Introduction

Another lucrative export was garum, an evil-smelling fish sauce which was in the hands of prosperous Pompeian families, such as the Umbricii. The quality of the sauce depended on the type of fish used; tuna, mackerel and moray eel for the more expensive varieties, and anchovies for a coarser type sold in the bars of Roman towns. For the leading Pompeian families trade was booming. Wool, garum, grain, and market garden produce generated tremendous wealth whilst imports arrived daily from overseas via the River Sarno. Because of its port Pompeii was classified as an emporium, or entrepôt. Wine had been shipped from here to Gaul and other areas of the Mediterranean from the first century bc. The traders of Pompeii had built a complex network of agents throughout the Roman world and beyond, reaching as far as the Orient, Egypt, Africa, Asia and even India. The extent of this trade can be gauged from the survival of over 150 writing tablets from the house of the Pompeian banker L Caecilius Jucundus. The house was damaged in the earthquake of ad 62 and the financial lists were receipts for the years ad 52–62. The wooden tablets had originally been covered with a thin film of wax but the stylus had scored the wooden base, thus preserving for posterity the written business accounts on them. The receipts were drawn up by either Jucundus himself or his secretary and occasionally signed by the person who had received the loan. Jucundus acted just like a modern merchant bank, lending money to merchants in return for a fee and no doubt interest on the loan. Prior to the earthquake of ad 62 the population of Pompeii has been estimated at 20,000 people, made up of about 8,000 slaves and 12,000 freedmen, of whom 4,200 were adults. The rich and poor lived in harmony with each other just as the Greeks, Etruscans, Oscans and Latins had done in previous centuries. The city had experienced no inter-class strife or racial discrimination. Slave and master lived in social harmony. The town seemed untouched by the political power struggles that preceded the reign of Augustus. The town was prosperous and gradually the town walls lost their importance and other structures were built over them. Although the earthquake of ad 62 left many of the buildings in ruins, restoration work started almost immediately and much was accomplished, especially in private homes. Unfortunately around ad 70 a new series of earthquakes brought Pompeii and Herculaneum even closer to total collapse. Some of its

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leading citizens left the towns for safer areas. Property lost its value and was sold at very low prices to the brave souls who remained. It was economic to buy a house, demolish it and turn it into gardens. A period of social unrest followed these latest earthquakes to the extent that the Emperor Vespasian sent one of his magistrates, Suedius Clemens, from Rome to restore order to Pompeii’s property register. Those who had occupied public property were punished and their land confiscated. Pompeii became a huge building site. Many of the larger houses were sub-divided and roughly repaired. Some were converted for commercial or industrial uses, such as the change of a house into a fuller’s workshop, the Fullonica Stephani (Fullery of Stephanus). In addition the water supply was repaired and reconstruction work started on public buildings such as the Capitolium and the Temple of Vespasian. Houses that were restored were decorated by a new style of wall decoration, the so-called Fourth Style. The new-found enthusiasm was cut short by the final, disastrous eruption of Vesuvius on 24 August ad 79. The town was buried under 6 metres of volcanic debris, never recovered, and became a tomb and much later an archaeological site and wonder of the modern world.

1 The Fateful Day

S

unrise on 24 August in the year ad 79 was no different from any other hot summer’s day in Campania. The Bay of Naples was blue and glassy calm. Mount Vesuvius was clothed with the greenery of olive trees and vineyards. The citizens of Pompeii and Herculaneum woke early to make the most of the daylight. They were attended by servants and slaves who had awoken even earlier to clean and make ready for the day. The rooms were scattered with sawdust and then brooms made of palm leaves, or heather and myrtle twisted together, were used to sweep up the sawdust with the accumulated dirt. The master of the house or his steward would stir the slaves into action, as, whip in hand, he shouted: ‘Sweep the pavement! Polish up the pillars! Down with that dusty spider, web and all! One of you clean the flat silver, another the embossed vessels!’ (Pliny, Ep 11, 17, 9). Romans were early risers and, even if a person did not get up straight away, he would attend to writing or correspondence. For the Roman male getting up was usually a speedy and simple task and there was very little luxury in the bedchamber. Furniture was kept to a minimum, usually just the couch that gave the bedroom its name, the cubiculum, a chest in which to store clothes, a chair for visitors or secretaries to sit on and of course the bed. However sumptuous it looked, the bed was not comfortable. The sprung base was made of rope woven into webbing. On top of this was placed a mattress and a bolster, which served as a pillow. In poorer houses both were stuffed with straw whilst in the more opulent establishments wool or even swans’ down were used. On top of the mattress were two sheets, between which the Roman slept,

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and on top of the sheets would be spread a rich counterpane or quilt. Again, the quality and wealth of the house would be reflected in the costly materials used; the most expensive would be multi-coloured silk from the East threaded or embroidered with gold. Beside the bed would be a mat, with the quality of the materials again reflecting the status of the household, and under the bed would be found the chamber pot or urinal vessel. The Roman male did not undress to go to bed; he removed his cloak or toga, putting it either on the bed or throwing it over the chair, and removed his sandals. He kept the rest of his clothes on. These consisted of a loincloth knotted around the waist and a tunic that consisted of two widths of linen or wool sewn together to make a shirt. It was put on over the head and fastened around the waist with a belt. Different social classes had different styles of tunic. The military tunic was somewhat shorter than that of civilians, whilst the women’s tunic was longer than the man’s, sometimes reaching almost to the heels. A Roman senator’s tunic was edged with purple. Occasionally, if it was cold, two tunics would be worn, one on top of the other and if, like Augustus, you felt the cold you could wear up to four tunics. On top of the tunic was worn the toga – a name derived from the Latin tegere meaning to cover. The toga developed from the cloak, which at the time of the Republic had been the national garment, and in the early Empire became the ceremonial dress of the upper classes. Woven out of white wool, the toga comprised a semi-circle of cloth with a diameter of 5.5 m (18.5 ft). About 2 m (6.5 ft) of the straight edge was placed over the left shoulder, the curved side being outside; the remaining part of the toga was passed round the body, under the right arm, and then thrown over the left shoulder. The part that hung down in front from the left shoulder was then pulled up under the fold across the body. The toga was a worthy ceremonial garment for the masters of the world, but it required skill to wear it properly. It was heavy, required frequent washing, and it was expensive. The toga was not a popular garment to wear, especially in provincial cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Emperors were constantly signing decrees enforcing the wearing of the toga for certain occasions: Domitian for the theatre; Commodus for the amphitheatre; and Claudius for tribunals. At Pompeii, as elsewhere in Campania, the favourite dress was the pallium, a simpler form of Greek garment. In some cases, particularly for those living in the countryside, the only time a Roman citizen wore

The Fateful Day

the toga was on his deathbed. It is said that Vespasian could put on his toga unaided in less than a minute and be ready for his imperial duties. Roman men seldom washed in the morning, but attended the baths in the early afternoon after business had finished. Breakfast was a simple affair, occasionally just a glass of water, but more usually fruit, freshly baked bread, honey or cereal. After cleaning his teeth the Roman male was ready for his day. If married, the Roman woman either slept in a room on her own or shared a room with her husband. This seems to have been a matter of choice or social status; the married couple made their choice depending on their inclination and the bedroom space available. Roman aristocrats could organise their sleeping arrangements in such a way that man and wife could sleep apart and be attended by their own slaves. Pliny the Younger, although married to his beloved Calpurnia, always slept alone and woke ‘round about the first hour, rarely earlier, rarely later’, and found himself ‘wonderfully free and abstracted from those outward objects that dissipate attention and left to my own thoughts’ (Pliny, Ep 1 X 36). A Roman wife, like her husband, kept on her undergarments at night: ‘Her loin cloth, brassiere, corset, tunic and occasionally to the annoyance of her husband a mantle over all’ (Petronius, 77). As with her husband, bathing was left to the afternoon. She would dress in a long dress called a stola. When she went out later she might add a shawl called a palla, and have a slave in attendance holding a parasol above her head as protection against the sun. She might also avail herself of a fan to keep away the summer flies. The most important task for the Roman woman was dressing her hair. A special slave called the tonstrix was trained in the hairstyle of the day. All over the Empire Roman women emulated the coiffures of the Roman imperial family. Even on the very edge of the Empire, at Vindolanda in northern Britain, the commander’s wife wrote in a letter: ‘I enclose a coin that shows the latest coiffure of our beloved Empress. I have had my hair done like it and pass it on to you’ (Vindolanda, Letters IV). By ad 79 the simplicity of the Republican hairstyle had disappeared to be replaced on occasion by complicated high-piled coiffures. Juvenal writes sarcastically on how extravagant women’s hairstyles could be: ‘So numerous are the tiers and storeys piled one upon another on her head! In front you would take her for an Andromache; she is not so tall behind; you would not think it was the same person’ (Juvenal, 6, 501–4).

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Once the hair was dressed, the slave then applied make-up to her mistress. This would consist of white chalk powder to the forehead and arms, red ochre powder to the cheeks, black charcoal powder rubbed into the eyebrows and eyelids, and finally a selection of perfumes to complete the ‘toilet’. A number of make-up cases have survived from Pompeii and Herculaneum and are on display in the Archaeological Museum in Naples. These little boxes would accompany a Roman woman throughout the day, for making up in the morning, again after bathing and finally removing make-up prior to retiring for the night. Once made up, the Roman woman would choose elaborate jewellery. Again, many examples have survived and are on display in Naples. Multiple earrings could be worn, a jewelled collar or necklace, bracelets, and a variety of brooches and finger rings. If the woman was of high rank the hem of her stola would be embroidered with gold. The stola was gathered in at the waist by a belt. A large shawl would be draped over her shoulders and held in place with a fibula, a brooch shaped like a safety pin, which was both ornament and fastener. Women’s dress in Pompeii and Herculaneum would be distinguished by the brilliance of the colours. The preferred material was silk, imported annually from India. Romans were obsessed with the East and, with the successful conquests in the East under Augustus, the Silk Road was now open to India. Pompeii merchants knew how to dye silk. They used a variety of natural dyes to enhance the original colours; saffron for yellow, woad for blue, madder for red, oak gallnuts for black, salt of tartar for white. The ladies of Pompeii and Herculaneum would have taken advantage of these multi-coloured robes and shawls and literally shone quite brilliantly in the bright Mediterranean sunshine, as seen in the fresco from the north wall of the House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto (IX.3.5/24). In her Campanian household a married Roman woman held the respected position of mistress. Whilst servants and slaves handled most of the chores, they, in turn, were managed by the mistress of the house. The husband’s patria potestas (paternal authority), or that of his father if still head of the family, gave him life-or-death authority over his children. It was still lawful, although unlikely, for unwanted newborn children to at worst be thrown on the public rubbish dumps, or at best sold into slavery. The practice remained lawful until ad 317, based on the absolute family authority of patria potestas.

The Fateful Day

Roman women usually married between the ages of 13 and 17. Up as far as the late Republic, most marriages were of the so-called cum manu type. This entailed the women leaving the patria potestas of her own family and transferring herself and her property to her husband’s patria potestas. There were serious disadvantages in this system, both to herself and to her family. She would no longer have access to her own wealth but, if she died, her own family would be excluded from any inheritance. The more typical type of marriage to be found at Pompeii and Herculaneum excluded manus and was a marriage by contract before witnesses. This allowed the woman to retain her property but, more importantly, allowed her, by a declaration of will, to divorce her husband. This new type of marriage destroyed the old concept of Roman patriarchal marriage and marrying a rich woman could lead to problems as explained by Martial: ‘Why I don’t want to marry a richer wife, you ask? Well, I don’t want to be wife to my wife, but husband. The married woman, my dear Priscus, must always be subordinate to her man. Else man and wife can never be a match’ (Martial, Epigrams VIII, 12). As well as legal marriage, there also existed in Pompeii and Herculaneum a form of living together without legal bonds, the concubinatus, which gained in popularity from the time of Augustus. Yet Tacitus and other Roman writers still extolled the Roman ideal of womanhood, the chaste and obedient wife and mother who would bring up the children and be a loyal companion in good times and bad. Tacitus idealised the ancient principles of motherhood: Once upon a time every man’s son, born of a chaste mother, was reared not by a bought nurse in her den but at his mother’s breast and on her lap. And for her the highest merit was to keep house and look after the children. Moreover, they also chose out an older female relative to whose tried and proven character all the children of a single family could be entrusted. In her presence nobody dared to say what it was not nice to say, or do what it was wrong to do. And she governed not only the lessons and tasks but also the recreation and play of the children with a certain sanctity and reverence […] But now the newborn baby is handed over to some little Greek nursemaid, with a man slave for assistant, just picked out of the house mob and often the lowest of the low, fit for no serious duties. From that moment the raw and tender

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minds are soaked in their fables and superstitions. And not a member of the household minds a bit what he or she says or does in front of the infant master. On the contrary the parents themselves, far from imbuing the little ones with habits of honour and modesty, encourage them in skittishness and frivolity, so that they became gradually filled with impudence and contempt for themselves and others. (Tacitus, Dialogus de Oratoribus, 28–9) At Pompeii and Herculaneum, Roman mothers played a small part in bringing up their children. The education of children was also delegated to slaves. There was no state schooling as such, although in Campania Pliny the Younger endeavoured to found a council of elders that would organise city schools. Everyday life outside the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum can be gauged by extracts from Pliny the Younger’s letters: You ask how I divide up my day on my country estate in summer. I wake up when I like, mostly at six, often earlier, seldom later […] About ten or eleven – I don’t keep a strict timetable – I go out to the flower garden or the covered walk to think […] Then I go for a drive. After that I read a Greek or Latin speech, aloud and with emphasis, not so much to exercise my voice as to improve my digestion. Once more I take the air, the oiling, gymnastics, and bath. At table when I’m alone with my wife or with a few friends, I have a book read to me. After the meal there’s a comedy played or a lyrist performs. Finally I walk in the open air with my people, some of whom are educated. In such a manner, with all kinds of conversations, we pass the evening, and even the longest day draws quickly to a close. (Pliny the Younger, Letters IX, 36) That fateful day of 24 August, the ninth day before the Calends of September, was a busy day for both Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was during the festival of the divine Augustus. Augustus had died some 60 years earlier and had been deified. The month of August was named for him and for some days there had been public celebrations. The day before had also been special. It was the feast day in honour of Vulcan, the god of fire and metal-working. Volcanoes, it was believed, were

The Fateful Day

where Vulcan kept his forge. Rumbling from the volcano Vesuvius the previous day would have been looked upon as a good omen, but the rumbling was still there and getting louder. The excitement and activity of the Augustan celebrations had started early; booths lined the entrance roads to Pompeii and Herculaneum. Townspeople were already enjoying the spectacles of jugglers, fortune-tellers, street musicians and acrobats. In Herculaneum plays were advertised and players were rehearsing. In the sports arenas of both towns, athletic events were starting and would continue throughout the morning. In the grand houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the patronus would open his office to receive the first of his clients. Patronage was how business worked. Men with ambition would be obliged to seek a patron who could further their career or enhance their social standing. A regular courtesy call to your patron was essential; the patronus was honour-bound to welcome his client to his house, to give advice and make small gifts. There was a strict code of etiquette on such occasions. In Rome it was imperative to wear a toga, although in the provincial cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum this rule would have been relaxed. Clients had to wait their turn; access to the patron was not based on order of arrival but on their social status. When entrance was finally granted it was essential to show due respect and correctly address your patron. Requests could then be made, business introductions facilitated and advice given. The homage offered had strings: loyalty on both sides was the cornerstone of the arrangement. Neither party could appear in court against each other and support for each other in public life was paramount. During working hours the courts of justice would be in session, town councils would be meeting and priestly colleges preparing for the day’s activities. It was essential to be involved in these activities, to be informed, to look after the interests of your own friends and clients in order to gain the respect of your peers and neighbours. The Basilica at Pompeii was one of the most important public buildings in the city. It was where the administration of justice was conducted by the court, presided over by the duumviri. The political and administrative institutions were the ordo decurionum, the magistrates of the city and the populus. The supreme power lay with the two duumviri who were aided and assisted by two further magistrates, the aediles. The two senior magistrates, the duumviri, presided over town council meetings, made legal pronouncements, managed the finances

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Figure 7: View of the Forum (looking north-east)

of the city and above all administered justice in the courts held in the Basilica. Their two colleagues, the aediles, were usually younger men given their first opportunity in public life. Hoping to make a good impression, they would zealously administer the water supply, the markets and the police force and see to the general needs of the city. All four magistrates were elected annually in July and election fever would start early. We are fortunate that election notices and slogans have survived in some abundance on the walls of Pompeii. It was not considered good form for the candidate to promote himself; this was left to his circle of clients and patrons. Unlike modern politics, there would be no election promises of works to be done; the only attribute promoted was the aptitude and good moral character of the proposed candidate. It is therefore understandable that in ad 79 one of Pompeii’s leading citizens, C Julius Polybius, was outraged that Cuculla and Zmyrina, two prostitutes at his local taverna, had shown their support by painting an election poster on the wall of his street. He demanded that the inscription be erased. Once the magistrates had finished their year in office they became life members of the Council of the Decurions (ordo decurionum). The Council was usually comprised of the aristocratic elite and numbered

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about 100 members. The duumviri, elected every five years, had the right to investigate the financial status and moral aptitude of the members of the Council. If found wanting, the duumviri could recommend dismissal. The populus was the citizens who had the right to vote, and this included all adult male citizens, but excluded women, slaves, gladiators and Jews. They elected the magistrates every March, ready for them to take office on 1 July the following year. Cicero remarked that it was more difficult to get into the Pompeii city council than the Senate of Rome itself and Petronius, in his story about Trimalchio at nearby Puteoli, says: ‘No one, says this man, gives a damn about the way we’re hit by the grain situation. To hell with the aediles! They’re in with the bakers – you be nice to me and I’ll be nice to you. So the little man suffers … This place is going down like a calf ’s tail!’ (Petronius 118) Almost 3,000 election notices have survived on the walls of Pompeii, more than half of them for the election in the last year of the town’s existence. All of the trades and industries of Pompeii are represented. These include the guilds of porters, bath-stokers, muleteers, and even schoolchildren: ‘Teacher Sema with his boys recommends Julius Simplex for the Job.’ The vibrancy and number of election notices show a town alive and well, coping with the earthquake disaster of ad 62 and rebuilding for the future. The candidates themselves had the opportunity to expound their political programme whilst standing on the suggestum, the orator’s platform situated in the Forum. The winners of the elections had to sponsor public building works and gladiatorial games. Although gladiator helmets have been found at Herculaneum, the amphitheatre has not yet been found. At Pompeii the amphitheatre dates from the early years of the colony, the first half of the first century bc. An inscription found in situ records: ‘Paid for by the two quinquennial duumviri, Q Valgus and M Porcius’, whose inscription found at the amphitheatre reads: ‘Caius Quintus Valgus, son of Caius, and Marcus Porcius, son of Marcus, in their capacity as quinquennial duumviri, to demonstrate the honour of the colony, erected this sports complex at their own expense and donated it to the colonists for their perpetual use.’ It was built in the shape of an ellipse and backed onto a stretch of the city wall. Thirty-five rows of seats accommodated 20,000 spectators, who were segregated according to social status. The design evolved from placing two elongated wooden theatre sets around an oval arena. There are more known amphitheatres in Campania than in any other comparable district in the Roman Empire.

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Figure 8: A fresco now faded of gladiators about to start combat, seen on the arena wall of the amphitheatre at Pompeii

One of the duties of the two aediles was to rent the concessions in the square around the amphitheatre to vendors selling souvenirs, food and drink. Painted signs mark the rented areas: ‘Cnaeus Aninius Fortunatus occupies this position with permission of the aediles.’ Other epigraphic evidence of daily life at the amphitheatre is carved on the parapet opposite the wedges of store seats. Magistrates, who had donated the seats to the people of Pompeii, had their names carved for posterity on the parapet of the arena facing the seats they had paid for. In the lower terrace, where the town aristocrats sat, the seats were numbered and separated by a red line from other social classes. The games could also be watched from the porticoes in the attic story, where there was standing room only. Normally this area would be reserved exclusively for women and slaves. Support for the gladiators verged on fanatical. Tacitus recounts that in ad 59 a fracas broke out between the citizens of Pompeii and Nuceria, leaving some of the Nucerians killed and badly injured. This was during the games organised by Livineius Regulus, who had already been expelled by the Senate in Rome for similar misdemeanours. The Emperor Nero, patron of Nuceria, reported the incident to the Senate, which resolved to close the amphitheatre for ten years and exile Livineius and his fellow instigators. The ten-year ban was later lifted, either because of the earthquake in ad 62 or possibly due to the intercession of Nero’s wife Poppaea, whose family were important citizens of Pompeii, owning the Houses of the Golden Cupid and Menander.

The Fateful Day

Enthusiasm for gladiatorial combat increased and, at Pompeii in around ad 62, the quadriporticus of the theatre was rebuilt as barracks for the gladiators. Individual cells were built over two floors, while the courtyard was used for daily training. Thousands enjoyed the horrible spectacle of gladiatorial combat in the arena. There were few objectors, one of the most notable being Seneca, the philosopher, who was a minister at the Court of Nero. His objections did not pass unremarked; on the mess hall wall of the gladiators at Pompeii is written, ‘The philosopher Annaeus Seneca is the only Roman writer to condemn the bloody Games.’ (Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum IV, 4418)

Figure 9: The gladiators’ training ground or ‘ludus’

The historian Nicolaus of Damascus wrote that he believed that Rome inherited gladiatorial contests from the Etruscans as part of their funerary rites. Certainly in Rome, prior to the building of the Coliseum by Vespasian, gladiators would fight to the death in the Forum as part of the funerary rites for major public figures. In Campania the spectacle was established very early on and could be one of the legacies of the Samnites. Indeed, down to the first century bc the terms gladiator and Samnite were synonymous and Samnite later became the name of a particular type of gladiator.

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Gladiators, named after the sword, the gladius, that they carried, were a mixture of condemned criminals and prisoners of war. There were also career professionals, slaves, freedmen or volunteers. Mostly men, but occasionally women, they were trained in professional schools. The most famous school was at Capua in Campania, immortalised by the exploits of Spartacus who escaped from the school and defeated a Roman army on the slopes at Mount Vesuvius in 73 bc. Gladiators specialised in different types of armour and weaponry; the heavily armed ‘Myrmillo’, named after the fish on his helmet, and the ‘Samnite’ both had large oblong shields and swords. The so-called ‘Thracian’ had a round shield and curved scimitar sword and the ‘Retiarius’ a net and trident. Fights were often staged on elaborate sets re-enacting famous military episodes from Roman history. Animal shows were staged in the afternoon by the ‘Venations’, who came mainly from Africa. Animals might include hippos, elephants, giraffes, lions and panthers; some graffiti at Pompeii indicates that ‘Felix will fight bears’. Next door to the amphitheatre at Pompeii is the large open-air sports ground or Palaestra. There are two palaestra at Pompeii; the smaller is behind the large theatre. The large one is almost square and contains a swimming pool in the centre of the sports ground. It was built, at public expense, during the reign of Augustus as part of his Youth Movement, the Juventus, to provide them with a campus where they could train and meet. The collegium juvenum was organised to train young men for service in the Roman army. Every year the youth of Pompeii demonstrated their equestrian skills in front of their elders at the probation equitum. The degree of importance that was attached to the Youth Movement can be gauged from the fact that a densely builtup area was demolished to make way for the Palaestra. The Palaestra had three porticoed sides with an earth floor suitable for the bare feet of the athletes. The earthquake of ad 62 had caused serious damage to the Palaestra and in ad 79 numerous columns were yet to be raised back into position. But on the morning of 24 August ad 79 training was interrupted as the youth of Pompeii sought shelter from the eruption in a room situated at the centre of the western portico. Unfortunately, few escaped. Although both the amphitheatre and parts of the Palaestra had been rebuilt after the earthquake of ad 62, it seems that, whilst the theatre at Herculaneum was fully functioning, the two theatres at Pompeii may not have been fully restored. The large theatre at Pompeii probably dates back to the second century bc. Greek in character, if not construction,

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the seating utilises the natural slope of the hill. In about 70 bc a large ornate back wall was added to the complex allowing plays to be acted in the Roman manner, with players on the stage in front of the wall and not in the orchestra area as before. The theatre as seen on the morning of the eruption is the result of restoration work paid for by the Holconius family. Apart from inscriptions, the generosity of the Holconius family was commemorated by a statue on the stage dedicated to Marcus Holconius Refus and by a bisellium, a two-person bronze seat placed at the centre on the bottom row of seats – literally the best seats in the house. Like the amphitheatre, the seating was segregated, but whilst the amphitheatre could hold about 20,000 people, the large theatre could only hold about 5,000 people. The theatre seating was separated into three sections: the front terraces where the town council sat, the middle terraces designated for the wealthier classes, and the upper terraces for everybody else. The magistrates sat in ornate boxes on raised platforms above the exit tunnels left and right of the stage. The stage itself was backed by the scaenae, a stage set usually designed to mimic three highly ornate houses, each with its own door. The door could be constructed as a hollow box and, if the actor stood close to it, the door would act like a sounding box and project the actor’s voice. The front or scaenae frons became a highly decorated permanent backcloth embellished with polychrome marbles and statuary. Literary evidence from Rome suggests that during the early and late Empire classical drama existed simply in the form of occasional revivals and productions of great scenes or speeches. The flowering of Roman plays took place in the second century bc, based on the forms, story lines and costumes of Greek drama. Seneca’s ‘plays’ of the ad 60s were written to be read in the smaller odeon theatres. Tragic acting divided into two literary paths. Some acting companies went in for rhetoric and emotion whilst others developed pantomime. By the Augustan period, pantomime was well established. It involved an actor miming tragedy or mythological stories accompanied by musicians and a chorus kept out of sight behind the scaenae. In the absence of words, theatrical masks developed to portray grief, joy, fear, and so forth. Stage comedy in Campania was based on two rustic themes: tabula atellana and tabula togata. The former portrayed traditional characters from Campania wearing theatrical masks, such as Bucco ‘the fool’, Pappus ‘the granddad’ and Manducus ‘the guzzler’.

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Figure 10: Theatrical masks in mosaic

The tabula togata used traditional Campanian clothes and dispensed with the theatrical masks. The plays depicted adultery, lost children, the pampered slave, the sly lady’s maid – in fact all Campanian life was there. Later, during the imperial era, these were increasingly replaced by cruder farce appealing to a wider audience. There is no doubt that theatrical drama was popular at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The graffiti on the walls at Pompeii extol the virtues of one actor, Paris, probably Lucius Domitius Paris, friend of Nero and the darling of Roman society. ‘Comrade of the Paris Club’ writes one fan; ‘Paris pearl of the stage’ writes another, and written in the red paint on another’s tomb, ‘Paris the sweet darling’. Another actor, Norbanus Sorex, is the subject of a stunning bronze head found in the Temple of Isis. Dating from the late first century bc, the head exudes character and theatrical personality. Theatregoers would also take the play home with them, instructing the fresco painters of Pompeii and Herculaneum to paint their rooms with well-known theatrical scenes. Just next door to the large theatre is to be found a smaller theatre called the Odeon. It was built after 80 bc by the decurions Cais Quintus Valgus and Marcus Porcius. Their inscription over the Via di Stabia entrance reads: ‘By decree of the decurions, Caius Quintus Valgus, son

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Figure 11: Small Theatre or Odeon

of Caius, and Marcus Porcius, son of Marcus, duumviri, put out to tender the construction of the roofed theatre and tested it themselves.’ The two duumvir are also the ones who sponsored the construction of the amphitheatre and donated a new altar in the Temple of Apollo. The Odeon building, seating between 1,000 and 1,500, was roofed – unlike the large theatre, which only had a canvas awning – and connected to it by a porticoed entrance. It has been suggested that the building may have been built as a meeting place for the Roman settlers who colonised the area under Sulla. However, most researchers regard the Odeon as a small theatre for singing and the reading of poetry. The roof, possibly of a timber construction, would have improved the acoustics. The juxtaposition of the two theatres – the larger utilised for theatrical performances of tragedies and comedies, the smaller as an auditorium – is well known in the ancient world. The nearest example to the theatre at Pompeii is at Neapolis (Naples). On the left wall of the Odeon much graffiti could be read in the nineteenth century, including two epigrams signed by a certain Tiburtinus, which can be dated between 80 and 70 bc. One reads: ‘What is going on? Oh eyes, that drew me by force into the fire, do not force tears onto my cheeks. Sure, tears cannot put the flames out. Such things set one’s face on fire and wear out the soul.’

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Emmanuel Maurice of Lorraine, Prince d’Elboeuf, ransacked the theatre at Herculaneum between the years 1709 and 1716. The prince, an Austrian general in the service of the King of Naples, sent tunnelling gangs deep into the ground to loot the stage of its precious marble and statuary. Deiss, in his book on Herculaneum, wrote that: ‘This was perhaps the greatest tragedy of the theatre.’ After the morning’s entertainment at the various theatres it was possible to relax at the four public baths known at Pompeii and the two at Herculaneum. The public baths at Pompeii are the Stabian, Forum, Central and Amphitheatre Baths. At Herculaneum they are the Forum and Suburban Baths. Few houses needed private baths; a rare example at Pompeii was the bathing establishment of M Crassus Frugi, which even offered salt-water baths and was also open to the public. Many of the baths were owned and run by the community, others were built and paid for by the Emperor. Public baths were noisy and overcrowded, but cheap. The entrance fee was usually about half an as, the same price as a glass of wine, although in some years the magistrates as an inducement to voters would offer free entry, covering the running costs of the baths themselves. Most baths opened at midday with slaves ringing bells in the adjoining streets to drum up trade. By ad 79 it was forbidden for men and women to bathe together; there were either separate sections for men and women or different opening times. Rich and poor jostled for space, and the rich brought their own slaves to help with the facilities. All Roman baths were designed to the same pattern. They comprised a dressing (or undressing) room, and then a series of chambers getting progressively hotter. Most baths were equipped with a gymnasium with ball courts and a swimming pool. Before bathing, the citizens would undress in the changing room (apodyterium). The changing room at the Stabian Baths had a marble bench running around the walls. Clothes could be left in a series of alcoves around the room. The changing room was decorated with wonderful stucco reliefs of cupids, nymphs and floral patterns. Once undressed, the bathers could either partake of the gymnasium or move through to the warm room (tepidarium). The floor, supported on pillars, had hollow spaces beneath it to allow the passage of hot air. Once they had become accustomed to the temperature they could take a lukewarm bath. Next, they went into the hot room (caldarium), which was filled with hot, damp steam. The floor, decorated with white mosaic tiles framed by a black strip, would be so hot from the underfloor heating that it was essential to wear wooden sandals. The central heating used in the baths of Pompeii and Herculaneum is said to have been invented early in the first

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century bc by Gaius Sergius Orata, although there are earlier examples of central heating to be found in Greece. The hot air, from furnaces fuelled by wood or charcoal, was channelled by underfloor passages to the cavities under the floors of the caldaria and tepidaria. The air temperature would be about 30oC, but this could be doubled to about 60oC in the sweating room (laconicum) by extending the hot air upwards into similar cavities in the walls. In the hotroom at the Stabian Baths there was a rectangular marble pool for hot baths. To increase sweating, which was the object of the exercise, cool water could be drunk from a marble basin (labrum) situated in the apse. The room was lit by a swivelling bronze skylight that also acted as a hot-air valve. If the temperature was too hot, the window could be opened. After the hot room bathers returned to the warm room to be dried, covered in oil, massaged and finally scraped with a strigil by slaves. The last room that bathers entered was the cold room (frigidarium), where they took a cold plunge in the bath (balneum). Soap was not available in the baths. It was not in common use, being used to treat sores and as a hair dye. Pliny the Elder describes it as ‘an invention of the Gauls for giving a reddish tint to the hair’ (Pliny, Natural History, XXVIII, 191). Bathers were expected to bring or purchase oil and soda, scrapers (strigils) and towels. After bathing, the visitors could take a walk under the porticoes and purchase hot drinks to replenish some of their lost fluids. Whilst relaxing they could enjoy watching other clients playing trigon, a ball game for three in which the players, each posted at the corner of a triangle, threw balls at each other without warning, catching with one hand and throwing with the other. A kind of volleyball was also played with two or four players knocking a ball over a net with the palm of their hand. Other ball games played include ‘hop-ball’ and ‘ball against the wall’. All these games were a prelude to the bath. Martial alludes to these pre-bathing games in an epigram sent to a philosopher friend who disdained them: ‘No hand-ball, no bladder ball, no feather stuffed ball makes you ready for the warm bath; nor do you stretch forth squared arms besmeared with sticky ointment, darting to and fro, snatch the dusty scrimmage-ball’ (Martial, VII, 32). At home or in the street, in private or in public, the lives of the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum were inextricably bound up with religion of various kinds. Although no temples have yet been uncovered at Herculaneum, at least ten are known from Pompeii. One of the most spectacular is the temple to the supreme Roman god Jupiter, located in the Capitolium, which dominated the north end of the Forum. The temple was dedicated to the sacred triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. At the other end

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of the spectrum are the small shrines found in every household dedicated to a variety of gods. At Herculaneum they tend to feature paintings of Hercules, the legendary founder of Herculaneum and, incidentally, the only man (apart from the emperors) who was given the status of a god.

Figure 12: Temple of Jupiter (looking south-west)

At Pompeii the choice of gods in the lararium, the household shrine, tends to be more prosaic: Bacchus, the god of wine and good living; Venus Pompeiana, the city’s official goddess to bring good luck and prosperity; and Fortuna, mistress of the world holding the cornucopia, the horn of plenty. Romans believed that any activity or action was the result of divine intervention: that all the important events in life were divinely activated and that different gods were in charge of particular functions and activities. The worship of particular gods for particular purposes was so obscure that by the time of Augustus some of the meanings were no longer remembered. One of the most venerated goddesses was Vesta, keeper of the eternal fire. Other early gods are Ceres, to be appealed to for the process of growth; Mercury for the success of business transactions; and Apollo for the power of healing. The most important god to the Romans was Jupiter Best and Greatest (Optimus Maximus). Rome’s destiny and success were embodied in Jupiter Optimus Maximus who resided in the Capitoline temple in Rome.

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Figure 13: Bronze statue of Apollo

Roman religion was concerned with success and not with sin. ‘Jupiter is called Best and Greatest’, Cicero comments, ‘because he does not make us just or sober or wise but healthy and rich and prosperous’ (Cicero, On the nature of the gods, III.87). Pompeii’s two patron divinities, Apollo and Venus, both have splendid temples. The Temple of Apollo stands within its own precinct adjacent to the Forum. It can be traced back to the sixth century bc, although the present building was constructed during the reorganisation of the area in the second century bc. The cult of Apollo was the most important in Pompeii, and only relegated when the Roman colonists of Sulla imposed the cult of the Capitoline

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Triad – Jupiter, Juno and Minerva – in 80 bc. The temple was seriously damaged in the earthquake of ad 62, but rebuilding had started again before the final volcanic eruption of ad 79. But by then Pompeii had passed into the patronage of Venus. Her temple must have been one of the loveliest in Pompeii. Situated on a terrace overlooking the Marine Gate, the temple could be seen by anybody approaching the city from the south-west; in particular, traders and sailors in the port or on the River Sarno just below. The cult of Venus had ancient and obscure origins in Pompeii. It was originally related to Venus Physica, the goddess of health and sickness, of life and death. Sulla introduced the cult of Venus as the goddess of love and beauty. The name of the colony founded for his Roman army veterans incorporated the goddess’s name, Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum, but she was always more to the Pompeians than the goddess of love. She can be found everywhere in the town, occasionally described on inscriptions as Venus fisica, possibly referring to the Greek word for nature, physis. Venus was the good luck charm of the Pompeians. She can be found on election posters: ‘Vote for me, and the Venus of Pompeii will bring success to everything you undertake.’ A poster in a shop selling wool shows her on a pillar, untouchable by all, a feeling noted in graffiti scrawled on a wall: ‘What is the use of having a Venus if she’s made of marble.’ She can be found adorning a wall in the recently excavated House of Venus in the Sea Shell where she floats in a scallop shell escorted, as always, by her two cupids, a scenario painted with dazzling effect by later Renaissance artists.

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Another female deity to be found in Pompeii is the Egyptian goddess Isis. The cult probably appeared around 100 bc and its nearest temple outside Pompeii was at Puteoli. It offered life after death to its converts and, although the temple was situated in an out-of-theway area close to the theatre district, it gained many converts from the slaves and families of freedmen and eventually took hold in the aristocratic classes of Pompeii. Very little remains of the original temple which was destroyed by the earthquake of ad 62. It was rebuilt by Numerius Popidius Celsinus, a member of a leading Pompeian family, but only six years old. The inscription over the door reads: ‘Numerius Popidius Celsinus, son of Numerius, paid for the Temple of Isis to be rebuilt from its foundations, which had collapsed as a result of the earthquakes. To repay his generosity, the decurions accepted him into their order free of charge, although he was only six years old.’ The inscription informs us that the father of the six-year-old, unable to hold the highest office in Pompeii, is willing to fund his son to become what he can never be. It also confirms that the building was so badly damaged that it had to be completely rebuilt and that the focus of religious life was now on the ‘fringe’ religions rather than the traditional deities. It is also of interest that the decurions were willing to allow a minor to join the curia, or ruling body, to enable the temple to be rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of ad 62.

Figure 14: Fresco in the House of Venus in the Sea Shell

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Figure 15: Temple of Isis being excavated in the eighteenth century

The worship of Isis was treated with suspicion in official circles because of its associations with Ptolemaic Egypt. After the annexation of Egypt by Augustus in 30 bc, however, attitudes relaxed and by ad 38 Rome itself had a Temple of Isis. The cult of Isis had its own full-time priest, whereas the more official Roman religions did not. The priest held daily ceremonies. Before sunrise the statue of Isis was presented to her seated followers who had gathered outside shaking the rattle (sistrum) in her honour. They remained deep in prayer and contemplation until the sun had risen to be blessed by the gathered worshippers who also celebrated the resurrection of Osiris, god of the underworld, at the daily rebirth of the sun. At 2 pm a second ceremony was held for the adoration of sacred water from the Nile. Both ceremonies were dazzling, elaborate rituals accompanied by music, chanting and the burning of incense. Unfortunately, on Pompeii’s final day the priests’ lunch hour was disturbed by the eruption of Vesuvius. They fled, leaving their lunch behind, but taking the temple treasure with them. One of the priests, carrying a bag full of gold coins, died at the corner of the Via dell’Abbondanza. The survivors fled to the Triangular Forum, where two were killed by falling masonry and their sacred emblems and regalia scattered. Those who were left took shelter in a house where one by one they died. The last priest died, axe in hand, as he was attempting to cut through the wall of the house, no doubt after the doors were blocked with falling debris.

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One of the cults to be found at Pompeii was to the Emperor himself. The imperial cult was the most important cult to Romans as it proclaimed that the Emperor was descended from Venus, the lover of Mars and the mother of Romulus. The age of Augustus was the age of revival of Roman religion. The Augustan peace was the sign of a new age: religion was revived, temples newly built and the concept of the emperor as a god on earth first mooted. Augustus did not go as far as his predecessor, Julius Caesar, who was determined to claim divine status for himself, only to be thwarted by his assassination. Augustus reasserted the divinity of Julius Caesar and reaffirmed that he was Caesar’s legitimate successor and heir, and styled himself as Divi Filius, the Son of God, and as Augustus (the reverend). He left the possibility that he was indeed divine to posterity, to be decided after his death in the light of his earthly achievements. In Rome, Augustus ensured that, rather than direct worship to himself, indirect worship could be promoted if his title ‘Augustus’ was added to divinities who had virtues that he wished to be associated with. The concept was copied throughout the towns, small and large, of the Empire. At Pompeii the first temple in this manner is the Temple of Fortuna Augusta. Built by Marcus Tullius, the following inscription can be found on the architrave: ‘Marcus Tullius, son of Marcus, duumvir, and three times judge, quinquennial, auger and military officer elected by the people, erected the Temple of Fortuna Augusta on his land at his own expense.’ The Tullia family, to which Cicero belonged, followed Sulla to Pompeii and frequently held high office in the town. Marcus Tullius was obviously patria potestas, head of the family. He was duumvir three times and quinquennial once. The office of military officer could only be awarded by the Emperor, enabling the recipient to attain the rank of knight. After the temple was built, Marcus Tullius would have formed the College of Priests for the cult. The College of Priests (Ministry Fortuna Augusta) with proper authorisation would donate a statue of Fortune and a statue to every new emperor. Inscriptions in the temple refer to Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. No inscriptions to new emperors postdate the earthquake of ad 62 when the temple was badly damaged. The temple was built in the last years of the first century bc at the busy crossroads between the modern-named streets, the Via del Foro and Via di Nola. Anybody arriving from Naples or Herculaneum along the main streets would suddenly have been confronted by the magnificent white marble-faced temple decorated with Corinthian columns and capitals.

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Figure 16: Temple of Fortuna Augusta

The earthquake destroyed most of the building and very little repair work was carried out. It is believed that architectural material from the temple was used for repairs elsewhere; in particular, decorative marble slabs found their way to the Temple of Vespasian. Construction of new temples for the cult of Emperor brought advancement opportunities to the local officials; by associating themselves with the imperial cult some of that glory would reflect on them. Other buildings facing the Forum square had links with the cult of the Emperor. A statue of the seated Emperor modelled as Jupiter was located on a plinth in the centre of the exedra in the covered market. To the south of the market, old shops were demolished to enable two new buildings to be constructed. Both were associated with the cult of the Emperor. The Sanctuary of City Lares (Lares Publici) was dedicated to the protectors of the town, identified with the deified spirits of dead ancestors, again infiltrated by Augustus with the imperial cult. It was thought that the sanctuary was badly damaged by the earthquake, and its valuable marble stripped for work elsewhere, but recent work by archaeologist John Dobbins suggests that the sanctuary was not designed and built until after the earthquake in ad 62. To the right of the Sanctuary of City Lares is the so-called Temple of Vespasian whose namesake died only one month before the final eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79. The magnificent

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altar in the centre of the unroofed area of the temple is carved on all four sides with relief decorations. The face one sees on entering represents an imperial sacrifice, a veiled priest and his assistant, an attendant, flute player and other spectators. Oak wreaths and laurel branches decreed by the Senate to Augustus are also portrayed on the altar.

Figure 17: Temple of Vespasian, with the altar showing an imperial sacrifice of a bull

On that final day in August ad 79 both Pompeii and Herculaneum were busy, functioning towns. The baths were packed, the snack bars were open, athletic events were taking place. Players were rehearsing in the theatres, town council business was being attended to, religious ceremonies were happening, bars, brothels and baker shops were all busy with customers. In the grand houses lunch was being prepared. Tables were set in shaded courtyards or gardens with fountains splashing. In one house overlooking the harbour slaves were about to serve hardboiled eggs, bread, salad, small cakes and fruit. Suddenly their world was transformed. The earth shook, the daylight disappeared to be replaced by a night blacker and thicker than any ordinary night. It was the end of their world.

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2 The Eruption

M

ount Vesuvius is about 6.21 miles (10 km) from Pompeii and 4.35 miles (7 km) from Herculaneum. Vesuvius is part of a great chain of volcanoes stretching along Italy from Tuscany down to Sicily and the nearby Lipari Islands. These islands were known in the Roman period as the Aeolian or Volcanion Islands. The active volcanoes in the group include Vesuvius, Epomeo, Stromboli, Vulcano and Etna. In 1883 Mount Epomeo on the island of Ischia erupted and destroyed the neighbouring towns and villages. Ischia is situated in the Bay of Naples and on the mainland opposite behind the city of Pozzuoli are the Phlegraeon Fields, an area of volcanic activity with bubbling, steaming springs and the occasional blast of steam. The whole area around Pozzuoli is on the move through a process of ‘Bradyseism’, where the volcanic activity is lifting or sinking into the ground. Just off the Naples coast can be seen extensive remains of Roman buildings that once used to stand on dry land. Vesuvius, the only active volcano on mainland Europe, is just to the east of Pozzuoli. Its height is about 1,200 m (3,937 ft) and the mountain is divided into two peaks, Monte Vesuvio and Monte Somma. Strabo, the geographer writing early in the first century ad, was probably the first person to record that he thought Vesuvius was an extinct volcano: Above these places, towers Mount Vesuvius, wholly occupied by beautiful fields all around, except on the summit, the summit itself is mainly flat but wholly sterile,

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with an ashy appearance; it has cavities with cracks opening in the rocks, which are sooty on the surface as it was devoured by flames. Thus some may suppose that this place once burned and had craters of fire that later died out when the combustible material was used up. This may be the reason for the fertility of the surrounding land as in the case of Catania, where it is said that the soil covered with ash thrown out by the fire of Etna is particularly suitable for vine growing. (Strabo, Geographica, V.4, 8) Virgil mentions the excellent wine produced by the vines on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, as well as olive trees, good plough land and grazing for sheep (Virgil, Georgics, 11, 224). A painting that may portray Vesuvius was found in the shrine (lararium) of the House of the Centenary (IX.8.6). It portrays the god Bacchus, encapsulated in a luxuriant cluster of grapes with his thyrsus (staff) and panther next to a mountain covered in trellised vineyards (Figure 18). Further up the slope is grazing and woodland. A large serpent painted in front of the mountain represents the fertility of the soil. On 5 February ad 62 a serious earthquake shook the entire region with damage reported far and wide. Pompeii and Herculaneum were both severely damaged, the moment of destruction being shown dramatically on two stone reliefs which Luius Caecilius Jucundus put up on his house shrine at Pompeii (V.1.26). The reliefs portray the public buildings on the north side of the Forum at Pompeii during the earthquake. The Temple of Jupiter is shown collapsing in the middle, while a sacrifice is being offered on the right, no doubt to avert further tremors (Figure 6). Repair work started almost immediately in both cities, but there may have been further tremors in the following years, and 16 years later, on 24 August ad 79, the mountain burst into eruption. According to Pliny the Younger, there had been several small earthquakes in the days before the eruption, but the eruption on 24 August was heralded by a single small blast in the early hours of the morning. It is likely that people would have heard it and wondered – especially if, as is likely, it was accompanied by a small earthquake which would have rattled windows and doors. The explosion, deep

The Eruption

Figure 18: Fresco of Vesuvius found in a shrine in the House of the Centenary (IX.8.6)

inside Vesuvius, would have disgorged a dark column of ash, which would have climbed upwards above the crater to a height of almost 2 km. It created a billowing cloud that began to fall as fine ash on the east side of Vesuvius. The erupted ash would not have been fresh hot magma, but the remains of the old magma blocking the vent. The explosion was caused by the hot magma rising deep inside the volcano and turning the water-filled rock to super-heated steam. The effect, not unlike a cork escaping from a champagne bottle, created a cloud of condensed steam, mixed with ash, which lingered until the main eruption some hours later.

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At 1 pm the main eruption started. It has been described in some detail by Pliny the Younger, a friend of the Emperor Trajan and the nephew of Pliny the Elder, admiral of the Roman fleet based at the port of Misenum. In ad 104 he wrote two letters to the historian Tacitus describing what he saw and what happened: My uncle was stationed at Misenum in active command of the fleet. The ninth day before the Calends of September [24 August], in the early afternoon, my mother drew to his attention a cloud of unusual size and appearance. He had been out in the sun, had taken a cold bath, eaten a light lunch while lying down, and was then working at his books. He called for his shoes and climbed up to a place that would give him the best view of the phenomenon. It was not clear at that distance from which mountain the cloud was rising (it was afterwards known to be Vesuvius). Its general appearance can best be expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches. I imagine because it was thrust upwards by the first blast and then left unsupported as the pressure subsided, or else it was borne down by its own weight so that it spread out and gradually dispersed. In places it looked white, elsewhere blotched and dirty, according to the amount of soil and ashes it carried with it. My uncle’s scholarly acumen saw at once that it was important enough for a closer inspection, and he ordered a boat to be made ready, telling me I could come with him if I wished. I replied that I preferred to go on with my studies and as it happened he had himself given me some writing to do. As he was leaving the house he was handed a message from Rectina, wife of Cascus, whose house was at the foot of the mountain, so that escape was impossible except by boat. She was terrified by the danger threatening her and implored him to rescue her from her fate. He changed his plans, and what he had begun in a spirit of enquiry he completed as a hero. He gave orders for the warships to be launched and went on board himself with the intention of bringing help to many more people beside Rectina, for this lovely stretch of coast was thickly populated. He hurried to the place which everyone else was hastily leaving, steering his course straight for the danger zone.

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He was entirely fearless, describing each new movement and phase of the portent to be noted down exactly as he observed them. Ashes were already falling, hotter and thicker as the ships drew near, followed by bits of pumice and blackened stones, charred and cracked by the flames: then suddenly they were in shallow water, and the shore was blocked by the debris from the mountain. For a moment my uncle wondered whether to turn back, but when the helmsman advised this he refused, telling him that Fortune stood by the courageous and they must make for the home of Pomponianus at Stabiae. He was cut off there by the breadth of the bay (for the shore gradually curves round a basin filled by the sea) so that he was not as yet in danger, though it was clear that this would come nearer as it spread. Pomponianus had therefore already put his belongings on board ship, intending to escape if the contrary wind fell. The wind was of course full in my uncle’s favour, and he was able to bring his ship in. He embraced his terrified friend, cheered and encouraged him, and thinking he could calm his fears by showing his own composure, gave order that he was to be carried to the bathroom. After his bath he lay down and dined; he was quite cheerful, or at any rate he pretended he was, which was no less courageous. Meanwhile on Mount Vesuvius broad sheets of fire and leaping flames blazed at several points, their bright glare emphasized by the darkness of night. My uncle tried to allay the fears of his companions by repeatedly declaring that these were nothing but bonfires left by the peasants in their terror, or else empty houses on fire in the districts they had abandoned. Then he went to rest and certainly slept, for as he was a stout man his breathing was rather loud and heavy and could be heard by people coming and going outside his door. By this time the courtyard giving access to his room was full of ashes mixed with pumice-stones, so that its level had risen, and if he had stayed in the room any longer he would never have got out. He was wakened, came out and joined Pomponianus and the rest of the household, who had stayed up all night. They debated whether to stay indoors or take their chance in the open,

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for the buildings were now shaking with violent shocks, and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. Outside, on the other hand, there was the danger of falling pumice-stones, even though these were light and porous; however after comparing the risks they chose the latter. In my uncle’s case one reason outweighed the other, but for the others it was a choice of fears. As a protection against falling objects they put pillows on their heads tied down with cloths. Elsewhere there was daylight by this time, but they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, which they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds of lamps. My uncle decided to go down to the shore, to see at first hand whether it was possible to escape by sea; but they found the waves still wild and dangerous. There a sheet was spread on the ground for my uncle to lie down, and he called repeatedly for cold water, which he drank. Then the flames and smell of sulphur which heralded the approaching fire drove the others to take flight. Aroused, my uncle struggled to his feet, leaning on two slaves, but immediately collapsed. I assume that his breathing was impeded by the dense fumes, which blocked his windpipe – for it was constitutionally weak and narrow, and often inflamed. When daylight returned – two days after the last time he had seen it – his body was found intact and uninjured, still fully clothed as in life. He looked more like a sleeper than a dead man. (Pliny the Younger, Letter to Tacitus VI, 16)

Start of Eruption – 1 pm, 24 August ad 79 In the early afternoon Pliny the Younger’s mother draws the attention of his uncle, Pliny the Elder, to a ‘cloud of unusual size and appearance […] like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches’. She was looking at molten ash and pumice being ejected from the crater at almost the speed of sound (1,000 kph). The amount of ash and pumice being emitted was incredible, about 10,000 tonnes every second, equivalent to 300 juggernauts. Some of this material, the white pumice, started to fall on the area to the south of the volcano. The larger pieces were as big as a small melon and one fragment per second with a diameter of 1.5 cm or greater

The Eruption

landed in every square metre. Overall 10 cm of pumice accumulated on the ground and roofs of Pompeii. The town was bombarded with the pumice for the next 19 hours. Just minutes after the eruption, the column of material had climbed 15 km into the sky. It was visible 30 km away, across the bay in Misenum, where the Roman Navy was based. The pumice was less dense than water, and would have floated in the sea, but mixed in with the pumice were volcanic rock fragments, dense chunks of dark grey rock torn from the inside of the volcano by the pressure of the erupting magma. These landed with great force, breaking through tiles, smashing windows, and causing serious injury to the people escaping. Nothing landed on Herculaneum; usually at that time of year the wind blew from the north-east, which would have taken the falling volcanic material out over the sea and Herculaneum. But the wind on the day of the eruption was blowing from the north-west, taking the fallout directly over Pompeii to the south-east. The people of Herculaneum had a clear view of the volcano and the grey eruption column was poised almost directly above them. They would have felt the continuous tremors of the volcano as it shook walls and brought down buildings still under repair.

The Eruption Continues – Early Afternoon, 24 August ad 79 By 1.30 pm the sky above Pompeii was almost completely dark, obscured by the grey eruption cloud and the ton of ash and pumice falling. To the south and west a line of light could be seen on the horizon, just like sunrise or sunset, but it was the middle of the day. All over Pompeii people would have been lighting lamps, and getting seriously worried. The pumice layers were building up, roots starting to creak and occasionally a large fragment of stone would come crashing through the roof. The buildings by this point were shaking through the constant earth tremors, with furniture and fittings being smashed. There were sounds of panic all over the city. Millions of tons of pumice were now floating on the sea, and the wind, rather than dispersing it, blew the floating pumice onto the shore where it hindered rescue attempts.

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Pliny the Elder left on his rescue mission at about 2 pm: ‘He gave orders for the warships to be launched and went on board himself with the intention of bringing help […] for this lovely stretch of coast was thickly populated.’ Pliny the Elder then ‘hurried to the place which everyone else was hastily leaving’, but could not get in close because of the heavy ash fall and the sea being covered with a thick mantle of floating pumice: ‘Ashes were already falling, hotter and thicker as the ships drew near, followed by bits of pumice and blackened stones, charred and cracked by the flames: then suddenly they were in shallow water, and the shore was blocked by the debris from the mountain.’ Vesuvius was now getting into its stride. Magma was ejected at an even greater rate, and the column of material over Vesuvius grew to 17 km (10.56 miles). Climbing up into the stratosphere – twice the height at which most airliners fly – it earthed the static in the air, triggering spectacular lightning strikes. Over 100 million tonnes of material had already been ejected and the streets of Pompeii were half a metre (19.69 in) deep in ash and pumice. As the rate of ash fall increased, so did the size of the particles. Ash accumulated at a rate of 12–15 cm (5 in) per hour; it would have been difficult to walk on, impeding escape. Pliny reluctantly gave up his rescue mission and made for Stabiae.

Late Afternoon, 24 August ad 79 By five or six o’clock over half a metre (19.69 in) of pumice stone had accumulated on the roofs of Pompeii. Roofs would have been collapsing all over Pompeii from the weight of the material on them. The eruption column had risen steadily to 27 km (16.78 miles) and the volcano was throwing out an astonishing 40,000 tonnes of ash per second, spreading inexorably over a much larger area. The cloud of debris over Vesuvius had a slight mushroom shape so that although the winds were carrying the ash away from Herculaneum, as the ash cloud climbed higher the leading edge of the mushroom ended up right over Herculaneum. Herculaneum was being constantly shaken by earth tremors; in the House of Papyri just outside Herculaneum the excavators found large pieces of wall plaster on the floor as a direct result of the building being shaken. The vibration would have been continuous with rumbling and occasional larger shocks. Serious damage would have been caused to the building, with roofs caving in. The people of Herculaneum would

The Eruption

have been trying to escape, with crowds congregating on the beach, waiting for rescue. Pliny made for the home of his friend Pomponianus at Stabiae where he bathed and dined.

Darkness – 7.30–8 pm, 24 August ad 79 The pressure of the eruption had opened up the volcano’s cone. Now a staggering 100,000 tonnes of material was being ejected every second. It reached 30 km (18.64 miles) into the sky – that’s almost three and a half times the height of Everest. The eruption pattern was changing; the magma now came from much deeper inside the chamber. It was hotter, heavier, and not so rich in gas. As the column became denser it also became less stable, and more likely to collapse. In Pompeii this was the last chance to escape. At Herculaneum people would have seen a red jet coming up from the summit of the volcano; it was about 3 km (1.86 miles) high but the dark billowing clouds of ash obscured most of it. Lightning was generated in the ash cloud, as Pliny the Younger recounts: ‘Meanwhile on Mount Vesuvius broad sheets of fire and leaping flames blazed at several points, their bright glare emphasized by the darkness of night.’

Overnight Terror – 1–2 am, 25 August ad 79 At around 1 am the first of six pyroclastic surges occurred. The people of Herculaneum had been watching the eruption for hours, very little ash had fallen on them, and the optimistic were not unduly concerned. Suddenly, they spotted something different happening to the mountain: a huge glowing red fountain shape emerged from the column of ash and fell down onto the sides of the volcano. The volcano mouth had collapsed and the amount of material being ejected increased to 150,000 tonnes per second. The ash cloud had reached its peak, 33 km (20.51 miles) above the crater. The column was now so dense that it didn’t mix properly with the air that carried it upwards, and it started to collapse. The glowing red cloud started to flow down the slope of the volcano towards Herculaneum. This avalanche of dry, hot ash, rock fragments and gas travelled at a speed of 100 kph (62 mph) with a temperature in excess of 300–400°C (1500°F). The surge was impossible to outrun, and panic struck the watching populace of Herculaneum; there was

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pandemonium, with people running towards the beach, flinging themselves into the water, or hiding in the boathouses that bordered the beach. As they cringed in terror they would have heard a dull rustling sound as the surge got closer. Suddenly the billowing, glowing, hot, dry surge cloud was tunnelling down the streets of Herculaneum. It spilled like dry ice over the city walls and buildings. In three to four minutes the surge had overrun everyone in Herculaneum. It ran up the surrounding hills, over buildings and across the sea. There was no escape; everybody was dead. The people on the beach died of thermal shock. At such high temperatures, their skin vaporised and their bones were incinerated. Their brains boiled, then exploded. Even today, their skulls are still stained from the red cerebral matter that poured out. Like glass that shatters under boiling water, their bones snapped in half and their teeth broke. Archaeologists have found over 250 bodies on the beach at Herculaneum. The surge collapsed, leaving behind a relatively thin layer of ash, just a few centimetres in most places, and bodies were not completely buried. Minutes later, the surge was followed by a pyroclastic flow of heavier material – volcanic fragments, ash, pumice, tiles, building blocks and bits of wood – that destroyed the remains of the buildings and buried everybody and everything in just a few seconds. At 2 am the second surge overran the small town of Terzigno and again Herculaneum and Oplontis. At Stabiae, Pliny the Younger described the heavy ash fall and the strong earthquakes: By this time the courtyard giving access to his room [Pliny the Elder] was full of ashes mixed with pumice-stones, so that its level had risen, and if he had stayed in the room any longer he would never have got out […] They debated whether to stay indoors or take their chance in the open, for the buildings were now shaking with violent shocks, and seemed to be swaying to and fro as if they were torn from their foundations. At Herculaneum the city had started to disappear. By sunrise it would be buried under 25 m (82 ft) of debris.

The Eruption

A Final Warning for Pompeii – 6.30–7 am, 25 August ad 79 The third surge at 6.30–7 am reached the north wall of Pompeii. It was still very dark at Pompeii; even though the sun had risen the only light would have been a glimmer on the horizon under the ash cloud to the west. With visibility so poor, few would have seen the surge coming. But they would have heard it and felt its burning 100-degree heat. Those outside would have fallen victim to the choking, foul cloud of gases (carbon dioxide, foul-smelling hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen chloride and sulphur dioxide) that followed. It quickly spread throughout Pompeii. The gas cloud put the weakest out of their misery. In Stabiae, by the time it was daylight elsewhere, Pliny the Elder was ‘still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, which they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds of lamps.’ In Misenum it was not that bad, but by dawn Pliny the Younger noted, ‘the light was still dim and faint’, and the earthquakes were so severe that ‘the buildings around us were already tottering’.

The End of Pompeii – 7.30–7.45 am, 25 August ad 79 The eruption column had reduced in height to 11 miles (17 km). After 15 hours, it had finally run out of steam. The eruption column now collapsed with a pyroclastic surge far bigger than before. Travelling at 100 kph (62 mph), the surge took only a few minutes to reach the town. Hot ash blasted in through chinks in doors and windows, holes in roofs. But death was not instantaneous. With the first breath, hot gas and ash was inhaled, causing the lungs to fill with fluid. It would have been like swallowing fire. The second breath inhaled more ash, which mixed with the fluid to create a hot wet cement in the lungs and windpipe. The third inhalation thickened the cement, causing the victims to gasp for breath – and suffocate. The surge was at around 350–400oC, enough to carbonise any dry organic material, including wood, curtains, clothes, trees and bushes. All of Pompeii was on fire, with its inhabitants lying in the death throes of an unimaginable disaster and covered in a thin shroud of fine ash.

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The fifth surge came a few minutes later, covering much the same area as surge four, further terrorising the people fleeing the earlier surge.

Armageddon – 8 am, 25 August ad 79 Within minutes, the fate that had befallen Pompeii would be visited on the whole of the Bay of Naples. After almost 24 hours of continuous eruption, Vesuvius delivered its final blow. The pressure subsided in the eruption column and all of its 15 km (9 miles) high eruption column finally collapsed. The sixth surge at 8 am was enormous. It reached many kilometres further than the previous flows, particularly to the south of the volcano, and probably killed everyone who fled Pompeii in the early morning following the fourth and fifth surges. The surge went right across the Bay of Naples in both directions, the edge of the cloud just reaching Pliny the Younger in Misenum and Pliny the Elder in Stabiae, where the flames and smell of sulphur which heralded the approaching fire drove the others to take flight. Aroused, my uncle struggled to his feet, leaning on two slaves, but immediately collapsed. I assume that his breathing was impeded by the dense fumes, which blocked his windpipe – for it was constitutionally weak and narrow, and often inflamed. The surge cloud devastated Campania, killing many thousands who had fled into the countryside around Vesuvius – but not the only eyewitness, who recorded the sixth surge in a letter to Tacitus written 20 years later: You tell me that the letter in which, at your request, I described the death of my uncle has made you want to know what fears and even what dangers I myself experience, having been left behind at Misenum (in fact, I had reached this point when I interrupted myself). Although I tremble at the very memory, I will begin. After my uncle’s departure, I gave the rest of the day to study – the object which had kept me at home. Afterward I bathed, dined and retired to short and broken sleep. For several days we had experienced earth shocks, which hardly alarmed us, as they are frequent in Campania.

The Eruption

But that night they became so violent that it seemed the world was not only being shaken, but turned upside down. My mother rushed to my bedroom – I was just rising, as I intended to wake her if she was asleep. We sat down in the courtyard of the house, which separated it by a short distance from the sea. Whether from courage or inexperience (I was eighteen at the time), I called for a volume of Titus Livius and began to read, and even continued my notations from it, as if nothing were the matter. At this moment a friend of my uncle’s arrived; he had just returned from Spain to see him. When he saw me sitting there, with my mother, when he saw me reading, he criticized me for my passivity and lack of concern; I continued to pay just as much enthusiastic attention to my book. Though it was the first hour of the day, the light appeared to us still faint and uncertain. And though we were in an open place, it was narrow, and the buildings around us were so unsettled that the collapse of walls seemed a certainty. We decided to get out of town to escape this menace. The panic-stricken crowds followed us, in response to that instinct of fear, which causes people to follow where others lead. In a long close tide they harrassed and jostled us. When we were clear of the houses, we stopped, as we encountered fresh prodigies and terrors. Though our carts were on level ground, they were tossed about in every direction, and even when weighted with stones could not be kept steady. The sea appeared to have shrunk, as if withdrawn by the tremors of the earth. In any event, the shore had widened, and many seacreatures were beached on the sand. In the other direction loomed a horrible black cloud ripped by sudden burst of fire, writhing snake-like and revealing sudden flashes larger than lightning. Then my uncle’s friend from Spain began to argue with great energy and urgency. ‘If your brother’, he said, ‘If your uncle is alive, he would want you to be saved; if he has perished, he would have wanted you to survive. Why, then, do you delay your escape?’ We replied that we could not think of our own safety before finding out what had happened to him. Without a moment’s further delay, he left us abruptly and escaped the danger in a

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frantic headlong rush. Soon after, the cloud began to descend upon the earth and cover the sea. It had already surrounded and obscured Capreae [Capri], and blotted out Cape Misenum. My mother now began to beg, urge and command me to escape as best I could. A young man could do it; she, burdened with age and corpulence, would die easy if only she had not caused my death. I replied that I would not be saved without her. Taking her hand, I hurried her along. She complied reluctantly, and not without self-reproach for hindering me. And now came the ashes, but at first sparsely. I turned around. Behind us, an ominous thick smoke, spreading over the earth like a flood, followed us. ‘Let’s go into the fields while we can still see the way’, I told my mother – for I was afraid that we might be crushed by the mob on the road in the midst of the darkness. We had scarcely agreed when we were enveloped in night – not a moonless night or one dimmed by cloud, but the darkness of a sealed room without lights. To be heard were only the shrill cries of women, the wailing of children, the shouting of men. Some were calling to their parents, others to their children, and others to their wives – knowing one another only by voice. Some wept for themselves, others for their relations. There were those who, in their very fear of death, invoked it. Many lifted up their hands to the gods, but a great number believed there were no gods, and that this was to be the world’s last, eternal night. Some added to the real danger with false or illusory terrors: ‘In Misenum’ they would say, ‘such and such a building has collapsed, and some other is in flames.’ This might not be true, but it was believed. A curious brightness revealed itself to us not as daylight but as approaching fire; but it stopped some distance from us. Once more, darkness and ashes, thick and heavy. From time to time we had to get up and shake them off for fear of being actually buried and crushed under their weight. I can boast that in so great a danger, I did not utter a single word or a single lamentation that could have been construed as weakness. I believed that one and all of us would perish – a wretched but strong consolation in my dying. But the darkness lightened, and then like smoke or cloud dissolved away. Finally a

The Eruption

genuine daylight came; the sun shone, but pallidly, as in an eclipse. And then, before our terror-stricken gaze everything appeared changed – covered by a thick layer of ashes like an abundant snowfall. We returned to Misenum, where we refreshed ourselves as best we could. We passed an anxious night between hope and fear – though chiefly the latter, for the earthquakes continued, and some pessimistic people were giving a ghoulish turn to their own and their neighbours’ calamities by horrifying predictions. Even so, my mother and I – despite the danger we had experienced and the danger which still threatened – had no thought of leaving until we should receive some word of my uncle. Such were the events; and you will read about them without the slightest intention of including the information in your works, as they are unworthy of history…Adieu! (Pliny the Younger, Letters to Tactitus VI, 20)

Aftermath Herculaneum lay buried under 25 m (82 ft) of volcanic material, Pompeii some 3–5 m (16 ft). When the flows were moving they would have been full of extremely hot gas and air and highly inflated, to several metres. But when it settled, it was only about a metre deep. The later surges were much denser. The eruption produced 9 billion tonnes of volcanic material; in addition, other ash added a further 1 billion tonnes to the erupted material. The ash fall was traced as far away as Egypt and North Africa. Mud rain started falling after the final surge at 8 am. After a while the rain would have caused mud floods (lahars). It took several hours for the ash to clear from the atmosphere: ‘But the darkness lightened, and then like smoke or cloud dissolved away. Finally a genuine daylight came; the sun shone, but pallidly, as in an eclipse. And then, before our terrorstricken gaze everything appeared changed – covered by a thick layer of ashes like an abundant snowfall’ (Pliny the Younger). Everything was grey because of the ash; familiar landmarks had disappeared. Herculaneum had disappeared, buried under 25 m (82 ft) of pyroclastic surges and flows. The shoreline had moved out by several hundred metres and the area was completely unrecognisable. Pompeii was buried with probably some of the tallest buildings and gates still showing.

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The volcanic material covering Pompeii and Herculaneum was extraordinary in its properties of preservation. When the Temple of Isis was discovered by archaeologists, eggs and fish were still on its dining-room table; in the kitchen of the House of the Vettii, pots still standing on the kitchen tripods contained perfectly preserved cuts of meat. In the Bakery of Modestus 81 loaves were still in the oven; in the Macellum, the market building in Pompeii’s Forum, there was fruit in glass containers. At Herculaneum, the preservation is just as amazing. On the diningroom table in the House of the Relief of Telephus lunch had been set out – bread, salad, cakes and fruit. In the shop of the Drinking Priapus three large jars of nuts were still preserved under the counter, with a few set out in dishes on the counter as nibbles. Vesuvius has erupted many times since Pompeii was buried, most recently in 1944. But never again with the same annihilating, apocalyptic force as on that bright August day in ad 79.

3 The Story Unfolds

S

ince the 1970s the practice of archaeology and the investigation of sites has changed beyond recognition. Earlier investigators were primarily concerned with the retrieval of works of art, which encompassed statues, gold and silver items, mosaics and wall paintings. In some circumstances impressive examples of ancient architecture were recognised as such, and efforts made to preserve the structure for posterity. Nowadays, archaeological techniques are so refined that an army of specialists is required before an excavation can begin. The costs of excavations are now enormous; the cost of analysis, recording, and preservation of the site even more so. The other factor that needs to be taken into account is that at Pompeii and Herculaneum there is, and quite rightly so, a demand to reinstate the buildings so they can be visited by tourists. The focus of archaeological work in the last few decades at Pompeii and Herculaneum has been on recording and publication. Some excavation has been undertaken by following in the footsteps of Italian archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri, investigating the archaeology below the ad 79 levels to obtain a further understanding of the pre-Roman town. But the future of Pompeii, with its millions of visitors, is to preserve and consolidate. Already far too much has been lost, stolen, or destroyed, whilst at Herculaneum again, the temptation to excavate even more wonderful buildings must be resisted and the focus, as at Pompeii, must be on preservation. The work done by archaeologists over the centuries has exposed at Pompeii about three-fifths of the town, and although they have focused on the houses and the treasures inside, it has given modern

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archaeologists the opportunity to study and try to understand the town itself: ‘The public buildings, squares, streets and monuments together with dwellings, cemeteries and their decorative art, represent one key way in which the inhabitants could express who they were: the city as a combination of public stage and private living space’ (Zanker, Pompeii, Public and Private Life, 1998).

Townscape The town of Pompeii covered an area of about 66 hectares enclosed in a stone defensive wall of some 3 km in length. The shape of the town was an irregular oval with the terrain inside the walls sloping from a height of 40 to 10 m above sea level. The highest part of the town is to the north-east in the area of Region VI. The ground slopes down to the south-east where there is a steep drop onto the edge of the ancient lava flow where Pompeii is built. This regular slope is bisected by a deep depression running north to south, which was later utilised by the town planners as a road, now called the Via Stabiana. Two small hills were built on at a very early date; the one to the west was occupied by the Temple of Apollo, and the hill to the south by the Temple of Hercules and Minerva. The temples precede the establishment of the town and a market-place, which eventually became the Forum, grew up in the flat area between the two temples and probably served both. Regular blocks of urban housing called insulae were built around the market-place and the road now called Via Stabiana. Four separate areas seem to have been developed: the Forum area; the insulae fronting Via Stabiana; Region VI; and the eastern area. The Forum area and the insulae fronting onto Via Stabiana seem to be earlier, whilst the two other areas may have been planned incorporating the geometric principles of the Greek architect and urban planner Hippodamus of Miletus. Hippodamus planned Thurii in the south-east of Italy in about 443 bc. The principles of town planning derived from this town filtered through Italy into Campania where Capua was renowned for its town layout. At Pompeii some of Hippodamus’s principles seem to have been lost. The grid of the town is not so precise as other planned towns, but Pompeii does represent one of the earliest known planned cities in Italy.

The Story Unfolds

The Roads Two main roads cross Roman Pompeii: the Via Stabiana and the Via dell’Abbondanza. These are, of course, the modern Italian names. In most cases the Roman names for the roads are unknown, although it is possible that the Via Stabiana could have been named the ‘Via Pompeiona’ as an inscription found at one of the gates calls it so. The internal road of importance is the Via di Nola which runs westwards from the Nola Gate. The roads are narrow, averaging about 3 m (9 ft) wide, the narrowest 2.5 m (8 ft) and the widest 7 m (22 ft). At Herculaneum, the roads are much wider. The narrowness of the roads at Pompeii would have provided good protection from the sun and at night would have been illuminated by torches. One of the posters mentions a lamp lighter (lanternarius). At Pompeii and Herculaneum on either side of the road were raised pavements. At Herculaneum the Romans had constructed an efficient drainage and sewage system that ran under the street, but at Pompeii this effluent ran down the street, being periodically flushed away by water from the aqueduct. It was necessary for pedestrians crossing the road to use the stepping-stones placed across the road at numerous points to enable them to avoid the sewage. Of course, the smell to modern noses must have been horrific, but apparently not to the Romans. Numerous travellers, and tourists today, remark on the deep ruts scored into the thick flagstones of the road. The road surface is constructed of a grey, hard-wearing Vesuvian lava stone still used in the streets of Naples. The oft-asked question is ‘How did the Roman carts and wagons negotiate the obstacle of the large stepping stones?’ The axles of the carts were high enough to miss the stones, and the horses or oxen were attached to the carts only by a yoke. The freedom of the animals to move sideways was much greater than is the norm nowadays. Nevertheless some of the stepping-stones had to be removed in 1815 to allow passage to the coach of the Queen of Naples.

The Gates At the end of the principal roads are the city gates. The Marine Gate is located at the western end of Via dell’Abbondanza, while at the eastern end of the road is the Sarno Gate. The Marine Gate, which allowed access to the harbour, was originally constructed with two arches: one for pedestrians; the other, much larger, for goods traffic. Subsequently the gate was rebuilt in mortar and stone (opus caementicium). The Sarno

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Gate, 1,080 m (3,543 ft) from the Marine Gate, comprises of a single archway that led to the countryside near the River Sarno. It is the least well-preserved gate, having been robbed of its stone, but enough remains to suggest that the gate was originally built during the Samnite period of the city. The Via Stabiana running from north to south along the steep prehistoric lava slope represents the cardo maximus of Pompeii and starts and ends at the Vesuvius Gate to the north and the Stabian Gate to the south. Both gates have a single gateway. The Vesuvius Gate was badly damaged by the earthquake of ad 62 and was still under repair in ad 79. Next to the gate stands the water tower (castellum aquae), which distributed the water to Pompeii from an aqueduct. Outside the gate there is a group of tombs, including that of the aedile Vestorius Priscus with its fine paintings. The Stabian Gate, built of limestone blocks (opus quadratum), is one of the earlier gates of the city. Only the arch and parapet are Roman. Inside the archway can be found an Oscan road-building inscription, whilst outside another inscription in Latin records that the road was paved by the duumviri L Avianus and O Spedius. Again, like the Vesuvius Gate, there are tombs immediately outside the gate. One is the tomb of Marcus Tullius, the benefactor of the Temple Fortuna Augusta, mother of the duumvir M Alledius Minius. The roadway is deeply rutted at this point, indicating heavy traffic from the nearby port. At either end of the upper decumanus are the roads the Via della Fortuna, the Via di Nola, and the Via Consolare, which lead to the Nola Gate to the east and the Herculaneum Gate to the west. The Nola Gate built in the late third century bc has a single tall archway with the keystone of the arch on the city side, decorated with a carving of the head of Minerva. Minerva was the Roman goddess of crafts and trade guilds. The Herculaneum Gate, with its three arches, is one of the most impressive in the city. Called the Porta Saliniensis in the Roman period, it led to the saltpans where seawater was evaporated in shallow pools to make salt. Although the present structure dates from the Roman period and is not defensive in construction, it sits on the foundations of an earlier fortified gate. The gate is constructed of small blocks of stone alternating with bands of brick. The core is mortar and crushed stone (opera vittata mista). However, it must be remembered that most of the walls would be plastered on top of the initial construction work. The Herculaneum Gate leads to one of the most important extra mural cemeteries bordering the road to Herculaneum and Naples.

The Story Unfolds

Pompeii had seven gates. The last one, the Nuceria Gate, serves the Via di Nocera. Impressively high, it is likely that the original steep access road was cut away over time. The gate, with the adjacent Sarno Gate, allowed access to the nearby amphitheatre for the crowds from the surrounding district attending the games.

The Walls Joining the gates of Pompeii were the walls. The earliest were an earthwork and palisade. By the sixth century bc a low wall built of stone (pappamonte) was added, followed by a double curtain wall built of square blocks of Sarnus stone. This was later replaced by a single wall with a ditch and bank (vallum and agger). On the top, a sentry walk was constructed, protected by a crenulated outer wall. Finally the wall was built in its present form. In about 100 bc 12 towers were built. The towers are spaced at irregular intervals, most in the northern sector, where the ground is flat and there is more likelihood of an attack. Although Vitruvius, the Roman architect and engineer, writes that round towers are less prone to damage than square towers, the towers at Pompeii are quadrangular and built on three levels. The first level was built into the thickness of the city walls, the second was level with the sentry walk on top of the wall and the third gave access to a viewing and fighting platform. Access to the towers was via a small doorway at the foot of the tower or an external staircase to the middle level. All 12 towers were self-sufficient, containing barracks for soldiers, food stores and water tanks and could fight on even if the city had fallen. Painted in large red letters at various locations in the city are six inscriptions in Oscan, which give instructions and directions to the soldiers manning the walls. They are known as the eituns and apart from the directions to the troops give valuable topographic information on the city: ‘ for the next crossing the detached soldiers must go between tower 12 and the salt gate, where Maraius Atrius son of Vibius is commander.’ From the remains of these inscriptions it is possible to tell there were 12 towers and that the Herculaneum Gate was originally called the ‘Salt Gate’. After the conquest of Pompeii in 89 bc by Sulla, the towers and walls lost their importance, although two towers (II and III) on the southern side can still be seen intact in the contemporary painting of the riot at the amphitheatre in ad 59. Large stretches of wall were demolished to facilitate the building of houses on either side of the Marine Gate.

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This was an illegal act and Vespasian (ad 69–79) sent Suedius Clemens, his envoy, to enforce the act. Although some buildings on the inside of the walls were removed, the sumptuous houses overlooking the Sarno Valley were not.

Water Supply Pompeii sits on a high, hard, dry plateau of prehistoric volcanic lava. In the early years of the settlement the only water supply would have been from the River Sarno, wells or the water storage tanks (impluvia) built under the floors of the houses. The groundwater at Pompeii is about 20 m (65 ft) under the surface. Wells were dug for public and private use. The public wells were situated in Via Consolare at the corner with Vico di Narciso, two in Via del Foro, one in the Forum and Stabian Baths, one by the Triangular Forum, and one by the Vesuvius Gate. Archaeologists have also discovered a number of private wells in homes. It seems when the public wells were dug some of these were capped with an amphora utilised as a pottery plug. An important source of water for the Pompeian household was the rainwater collected off the atrium roofs. The roofs sloped inwards and the rain was shed off the roof through the compluvium opening into the central ornamental pool where it would overflow into large storage cisterns underneath. Access to the water collected would be with a small bucket dropped through the ubiquitous marble wellhead. A constant supply of water to Pompeii was available from the early first century ad. The people have the Emperor Augustus to thank for authorising the diversion to Pompeii as part of the water supply to the Roman naval base at Misenum. The imperial aqueduct branched off at Palma Campania and again divided, one part going to Naples, the other to Pompeii. The water was received at a water tower (castellum aquae) specifically built for the purpose close to the Vesuvius Gate, the highest point in the city. The water was channelled through a series of sluices and settling tanks and then the water supplied three pipes at different heights with separate priorities. The first pipe supplied a large public fountain built onto the water tower and then these pipes ran a few centimetres under the pavement along the Via di Stabia and Via dei Vetti, branching off into all areas of the town. The slope built up the water pressure, and to ensure equal pressure throughout the

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town 14 secondary water towers (castella secundaria) were built with a lead tank at the top that could be used to regularise the pressure (castellum plumbeum). From these secondary water towers running water was available through pipes on tap to all the fountains, public baths and private households. It is quite amazing how much of the population benefited from the availability of this fresh, clean, running water. There are 42 public fountains all over town, all connected to the secondary water towers by lead pipes. Most of these fountains are of a standard shape and consisted of large blocks of stone cramped together. On the side of the basin closest to the pavement there is usually a post decorated by ornate carvings of gargoyles, water deities or animals. The water spout, usually a bronze pipe and located in the centre of the carving, was connected to the under-pavement lead pipe (fistulae), typically pear-shaped and cramped with an overlap stripe welded at the top. The water ran into a public fountain continuously and overflowed through a drainage hole into the street. Consequently the water in the 42 fountains was always abundant. In the houses of the rich we can see decorative basins (nymphaea) and gardens full of fountains and water features. All of Pompeii had access to running water. The earthquake of ad 62 severely damaged the entire system; repairs were rapidly completed but it seems that further damage was done to the network of lead pipes prior to ad 79, which may suggest severe earthquake damage in the years or even months leading up to ad 79. Recent archaeological surveys have indicated that there were many deep trenches in most of the pavements still open on the day of the eruption, no doubt awaiting replacement and repairs to the water system.

Building Materials No good local building store was available to the craftsmen of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Consequently various types of stone were bought in at different periods and can be used to date the various phases of construction. In the House of the Faun there are at least five different phases of construction; at the Villa of the Mysteries, six. Up to the third century bc the larger houses of Pompeii were constructed out of blocks of Sarnus Stone, a travertine, rather than limestone, found in the Sarno Valley. It was pale beige in colour, very porous and quite difficult to work but excellent for building works. Grand houses in the late third and early second century bc utilised Vesuvius lava stone in their construction. The stone was dark grey, heavy and basaltic in character. Yellow tuff was

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quarried from the Phlegraean fields, just north of Naples. It was soft, porous and did not weather well. Grey tuff from Nuceria and Samus was less friable, fine-grained, strong and easy to work. Terracotta bricks were made in different sizes and shapes, and were used in numerous applications. Crushed brick was sometimes used as aggregate in mortar. Sarno stone was used in rubblework walls from the third and into the early second century bc. Opus incertum, incorporating Sarno stone and lava rock, was a building technique used in the second century bc, whilst for carving architectural details and ashlar façades Nuceria tuff was the preferred material. Opus reticulatum was introduced as a building method after the Roman colony was established in 80 bc. The construction utilised pyramid-shaped blocks of lava, then later Nuceria tuff, laid diagonally in a lattice pattern. The latest building technique opus listatum (opus vittatum mixtum) used courses of bricks which alternated with small blocks of Sarno stone or Nuceria tuff. It seems to have been used mainly after the earthquake of ad 62. After the earthquake a variety of cheap and cheerful building construction methods came into use. One, opus craticium, utilises a crude lattice framework of timber infilled with roughly laid masonry that used all sorts of building material that was at hand. The Trellis House at Herculaneum is a good example, whilst at Pompeii numerous internal partitions used the same method. Although building construction techniques can be used as a dating method, the analysis is complicated by the continuing use of opus incertum as a building method throughout the period. There are, however, two other building techniques that can aid in dating the various phases of construction. The first is the interior decoration; once the walls were built the building was usually decorated both vertically (wall paintings) and horizontally (floor finishes and mosaics). The first Pompeian style of wall painting starts from the second and runs to the early first century bc; the second from about 80 bc to the last years of the first century bc; the third from the late first century bc to the mid-first century ad; and the fourth during the last 30 years of the city. The horizontal surfaces of the buildings of Pompeii and Herculaneum are less easy to date. Some floor surfaces are opus signinum, a waterproof mixture of crushed tile and mortar or lava pesta, mortar and crushed lava decorated on the surface by spaced marble tesserae. Both can be dated to the second and first centuries bc. Grid patterns of single marble tesserae (punteggiato regolare) are usually associated with the First Style of painting whilst

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true mosaics with coloured emblems belong to the First and Second Style of painting. True mosaic floors comprised thousands of small cubes of stone, glass and marble, called tesserae. The tesserae were laid on a bed of mortar and tamped down with a flat piece of wood to produce a horizontal surface. Once dry the tesserae would be grouted with a slurry of mortar in an appropriate colour, cleaned off and then ‘waxed’ with a coating of olive oil. This had the effect of sealing the floor from staining and also enhancing the colours of the mosaic. The finest mosaics looked more like Eastern carpets than floor tiles. The simplest style of mosaic, opus tessellatum, usually featured geometrical patterns and used larger tesserae. Mosaics with pictorial scenes were made of much smaller tesserae, occasionally less than one centimetre square; this technique was called opus vermiculatum and the pictorial scene normally in the middle of the mosaic floor was known as an emblema. Black and white mosaics begin late in the Second Style and finally the use of fragments of coloured marble set into the pavement indicates a date of the late first century bc. The second method of dating the building of walls, and much neglected by archaeologists in the past, is the use of pottery in dating. Pottery has been found embedded in the fabric of the walls and floors, and it has been proved by modern excavators that most walls, to a greater or lesser degree, contain fragments of pottery that can be dated and can therefore date construction.

Housing Pompeii and Herculaneum provide the best and most complete picture of how people lived, and in what sort of houses, from the fourth century bc to the time of the eruption in ad 79. Houses in both cities had been badly damaged by the earthquake of ad 62, but many had been rebuilt and embellished by their owners with the most up-to-date decoration. The houses were designed to look inwards; like most housing today in the eastern Mediterranean there were few windows on the outside. The light to illuminate the interior of the building came from internal courtyards with fountains playing, and formal gardens embellished with fine statues. The interior of the house was cool and peaceful. The basic floor plan of a Roman house can be understood from Vitruvius’s manual of architecture dating from the first century bc. Although the measurements and proportions of Pompeian houses often differ from Vitruvius, the principles are worth taking note of:

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Winter dining rooms and bathrooms should have a southwestern exposure, for the reason that they need the evening light, and also because the setting sun, facing them in all its splendour but with abated heat, lends a gentler warmth to that quarter in the evening. Bedrooms and libraries ought to have an eastern exposure, because their purposes require the morning light. (Vitruvius, The Ten Books of Architecture, Book VI, Ch IV, 1–2) On entering between the front door and the street, houses often provided a vestibulum, a public area where clients could await the call to the morning salutatio, where they would offer their requests or congratulations to their patron. The passage leading from the front entrance, the fauces or ‘throat’ of the house, led into the main reception room (atrium). Vitruvius notes that the atrium is a public area, ‘which any of the people have a perfect right to enter, even without an invitation.’ The atrium was only necessary if the household was important, for ‘men of everyday fortune do not need entrance courts, or atriums built in grand style, because such men are more apt to discharge their social obligations by going round to others than to have others come to them’ (Vitruvius Ch V.2). The atrium courtyard may be covered, as the House of the Stags at Herculaneum and the House of the Ephebe at Pompeii are equipped with a central skylight, gutters and drainpipes which routed the rainwater from the roof to the basin below (compluvium–impluvium). Vitruvius wrote that the atrium had originally been the principal room of the house and an appropriate area to locate the shrine to the household gods (lararium). Occasionally the atrium was adorned with the smokeblackened portrait busts of the owners’ ancestors, suggesting that the atrium was an enclosed space and the soot from lamps had blackened the portrait busts. However, the origins of the atrium may have been as an open courtyard in front of the house as found in Mediterranean houses as early as 2000 bc. Either side of the atrium and at the end furthest from the entrance were rooms called alae which may have originally contained the portrait busts of the ancestors, but more usually were waiting rooms for clients or offices for secretaries, sometimes with an exterior window to let in extra light to the atrium, or occasionally access to an exterior doorway.

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The tablinum, usually located on the main axis of the building, was a large room opening onto the rear of the atrium. The tablinum was architecturally the most impressive room in the atrium complex and considered the central room of the house. Originally the master bedroom, it was also used as a reception room, study, office and dining room. Wooden screens, folding doors or curtains ensured privacy when required by the patronus. This was where the patron was saluted (salutatio) by his clients, parasites and camp followers who asked for either presents and handouts or support for their plans, dreams and aspirations. Off the atrium there opened a number of cubicula or sleeping chambers. These could be used for private interviews between patron and client, or as guest bedrooms. Pliny the Younger notes that his uncle, Pliny the Elder, slept in a cubicula in Pomponius’ house at Stabiae on the night of Vesuvius’ eruption. The dining room (triclinium) or dining rooms could be situated in various areas of the house depending on the season. In the summer, meals could be eaten in the garden room, and for the other seasons the rooms either side of the tablinum could be used. Meals were an important event for the Roman household. The word triclinium literally means ‘three couches’. Each couch held three people and the placing of guests was important, as indeed it is today. The dining rooms were small and it was certainly a squeeze to fit in three couches, let alone the attendant slaves. Prior to dining, guests would be received by slaves; the owner of the House of the Moralist had inscribed on the wall of his winter dining room the following instruction: The slave shall wash and dry the feet of the guest; and let him be sure to spread a linen cloth on the cushions of the couches. Don’t cast lustful glances or make eyes at another man’s wife. Don’t be coarse in your conversation. Restrain yourself from getting angry or using offensive language. If you cannot, go back to your own house! Diners reclined on richly embroidered cushions whilst enjoying meals comprising of many courses. The three couches were usually arranged in a U-shape with a low table in the centre. Both men and women ate together, although earlier in the Roman period women sat at the table while the men reclined. For extra comfort, some dining couches sloped upward at one end. The late afternoon meal was usually a leisurely

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social occasion with entertainment being provided by musicians, poets, dancers and tumbling dwarfs. Houses at Pompeii and Herculaneum could be extended by building a second atrium that would allow more room for the domestic activities of the household. The second atrium was normally smaller than the original atrium and the inward sloping roof was supported by columns (tetrastyle) whereas its predecessor lacked columns and was more open (Tuscan). The second atrium did not have a tablinum and the rooms opening onto it were cubicula and alae, often used as reception rooms or additional bedrooms. The final development of the town house at Pompeii and Herculaneum was the addition of an internal courtyard flanked on its sides by a colonnade or a row of piers that looked out over an ornamental garden (peristyle). The peristyle became so fashionable that owners of houses with insufficient space for a complete peristyle would build a pseudo-peristyle of one or two porticos (a roof supported by columns). The remaining solid walls would be decorated with a painted or stucco colonnade with a painted garden scene in the intervening spaces which would give the illusion of a garden beyond. The atrium and peristyle were arranged along the central axis of the house and sometimes the architect would alter the distances between columns to create false perspectives, which would seem to make the peristyle larger than it actually was. The peristyle was the most private part of the house, and whilst the Greeks had decorated their peristyle courtyards with mosaics, in Pompeii and Herculaneum the garden was an essential feature of the peristyle. The amalgam of water and plants was very high on the Roman householder’s agenda. Greek horticulturalists (horti) had been at work in Italy from the second century bc creating magnificent gardens on the estates of Scipio Africanus and Decimus Junius Brutus. Formal flowerbeds were enclosed in beaten earth paths, medicinal plants and vegetables were grown, vines on trellises intermingled with ponds, fountains and running water enhanced with statues, sundials, masks and discs tinkling in the wind. The garden was a place for contemplation and retreat. Also found in some gardens was a shrine (lararium) dedicated to the god Bacchus who was also the god of plants. Bacchus promised his followers paradise after death, and the symbol of earthly paradise was the garden.

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The garden room (exedra) usually found adjoining the peristyle garden was a large room used for entertaining and dining. The room was often decorated with paintings of animals, birds and plants, continuing and extending the ‘hortus’ theme from the adjoining garden. With the building of the peristyle there was even less room for service areas and slave quarters, and some of these areas were relegated to the upper floors of the house. The kitchen (culina), found at the back of the house, was small and within this cramped area would be found a raised hearth with a wood or charcoal fire surmounted by metal trivets where cooking pots and pans could be placed. Occasionally a small oven for baking bread was also provided, and also piped water from the town aqueduct and a sink. Behind a partition wall, but in the same room could be found a private toilet, unfortunately nonflushing, but useful for the additional task of disposal of kitchen waste into the trench or sewer below. Goethe said that the death of the two cities was significant not for the brevity of life but for the perpetuity of art. Art played an important part in the daily lives of the inhabitants of Pompeii. Although only a provincial country town, the people were surrounded by decoration with meaning. The architecture complements the frescoes, mosaics, stucco reliefs and sculptures in such a way that it can give us an understanding of how the Romans lived. We can see the cruelty of the gladiatorial contests, see human desires and fantasies at the brothels and try to understand the secret rites of initiation into the cult of Dionysus at the Villa of the Mysteries. But the most exciting experience is seeing the frescoes, mosaics, stucco reliefs and sculptures in the rooms or buildings where the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum had wished to see and enjoy them. For a sense of understanding the chronological development of Pompeian wall painting, August Mau established in 1882 that there were Four Styles of wall painting that are still in use today. The name of one painter has survived from the many that must have painted at Pompeii. Pliny the Younger wrote that a painter called Studius who lived at the time of Augustus introduced to Pompeii ‘the delightful style of decorating walls with representations of villas, harbours, landscape gardens, sacred groves, woods, hills, fish ponds, straits, streams and shores, any scene in short that took his fancy’ (Pliny, Natural History, Vol IX, books 33–5).

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To create these wonderful paintings the wall had to be prepared with up to three coats of fine plaster. The background of the picture was painted first, and left to dry. The figures and decoration were then added; the paint mixture probably included glue and wax to give a shine to the surface that was also polished. The subject matter was seldom original – there were no copyright laws in ancient Rome and most Roman paintings (and some sculptures) were derived from Greek originals. The more famous the original Greek artist, the more he seems to have been copied, and occasionally, emulated. The First Style (according to Mau in 1882) of painting dates from the late third century to the early first century bc. It imitates variegated marble, porphyry or alabaster relief marble walls. Occasionally called the Incrustation Style, from crusta, a slab of marble, it was executed in stucco relief and then painted and polished to resemble colourful marble walling. The best examples can be found in the Basilica, the House of the Faun and the Temple of Jupiter at Pompeii. Paintings in this style occasionally display small architectural features which became more widespread and evolved into the Second Style of painting – also known as the Architectural Style and dating from the end of the second century to the beginning of the first century bc. These wall paintings were much more theatrical with the painting frequently divided into three areas: top, middle and bottom. The middle area again divided, but vertically with columns. Vitruvius wrote that theatrical scaenae influenced Roman interiors: ‘Tragic scenes are delineated with columns, pediments, statues’ (Vitruvius V8). The use of such architectural motifs made the wall three-dimensional and painted windows seem to open onto vistas made distant by the use of misty contours and diminishing colours. The best example is probably the wonderful series of paintings from a room at the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, a country villa located just to the north of Pompeii near Boscoreale. The pictures are divided off from one another by thin columns, which give the room the appearance of a pergola looking out onto the vistas of other columned halls, streets and houses. The Boscoreale paintings introduce another element of the Second Style, which is the vista of rural arcadia shown through an illusionary opening painted into the architectural framework. Subject matter ranges from flocks and herds shepherded by rustics in a timeless landscape to formal parks with pavilions and shrines. Clients

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sometimes wished their own garden to be painted either as it was or more often how it should be. Paintings of flowers, shrubs and birds on the surrounding garden walls gave the illusion of extending the garden outwards and making it larger than it was. The idea was not new: Greek painters had been warming to the theme from at least the second century bc. The first landscape painter whose name is known – Demetrius, the son of Seleucus – had been painting in Rome from 164 bc, and was called a topograpos, or landscape painter. Some of the best examples are in the atrium of the House of Fabius Amandio (1.7, 2–3) where a group of three birds sit on the rim of a marble birdbath, and a little further afield is the Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis. Another new pictorial element introduced in the Second Style is the representation of monumental figures within architectural frameworks – called megalography by historians – the best example being the stunning series of paintings found in the triclinium (dining room) of the Villa of the Mysteries, just outside the Herculaneum Gate at Pompeii. The villa, a huge 90-room mansion, contains the most famous of all Pompeian paintings. The decoration consists of 29 life-size figures seemingly involved in rites associated with Bacchus. They show the preparations for a wedding, the scourging of a woman, the playing of a lyre and women dancing; the figures seem totally preoccupied and in almost a spiritual trance, completely oblivious to the outside world. It has been said that the people in the paintings seem entirely absorbed in their own existence, engrossed in their pursuits and abiding completely unconcerned about us, in a world apart from ours. It seems that the bride-to-be has to undergo terrible torments of a physical and sexual nature to win salvation with the cult of Bacchus. The date of the painting has yet to be resolved; it could be from the time of Caesar, or from the early part of the reign of Augustus. It is likely that the Third Style of painting – also known as ‘Ornamental’ – developed under Augustus and continued under Claudius (20 bc–ad 40–60). The style is simpler and more organised than the Second Style. The walls are more solid, with much less dramatic architectural motifs. The central panel is usually painted quite dark, occasionally black, and the painting in the centre of the panel has become much smaller and is usually mounted on ornate and intricate painted candelabras. The borders to the panels are delicate frames of foliage arabesques, candelabras, masks and ribbons. One of the best examples is in the tablinum of the House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto (IX.3.5/24) where the top part of the wall is painted in a delicate architectural fantasy

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similar to the backdrop (scaenae frons) of a theatre. Below the central panels the dado painting shows a marvellous garden complete with garden walls in white marble and embellished with an urn fountain with white marble benches awaiting prospective visitors. The Fourth Style of painting covers a whole host of different styles and types of paintings and is occasionally called the ‘fantastic’ or ‘illusionist’ style. There are numerous examples in Pompeii and Herculaneum because of the extensive restoration and re-painting that happened following the serious damage inflicted to the houses by the earthquake of ad 62. It has been said that up to 17 painters were at work in Pompeii following the earthquake. The style is a potpourri of elements from the Second Style, the Third Style and the inclusion of stucco reliefs into the paintings as seen in the Stabian and Forum Baths at Pompeii. The architectural structures of the paintings appear unreal and the decoration fussy. Some of the better examples of this style of painting can be found in the House of the Tragic Poet (VI.8.5), the House of Loreius Tiburtinus (II.8.5) and the House of the Vettii (VI.15.1), which has a wonderful painting on the east wall of the dining room (triclinium) depicting the punishment of Ixion, a story of infidelity, betrayal and punishment. The dates given for the four styles of painting can only be approximate. Clients’ tastes must have changed slowly and painters no doubt were reluctant to discard a style of painting they were adroit in. There has been much discussion whether the wall paintings of Pompeii are true ‘frescoes’, that is to say, painted rapidly onto recently laid damp plaster. A large room, recently excavated at the House of the Chaste Lovers (IX.12.6), was found to be in the process of being painted at the time of the eruption. The technique being used was definitely fresco. It was obviously the aim of the architect to cover the floors of Pompeian houses with decoration that complemented the wall paintings and emphasised the status of the house owner. The medium used was the mosaic that has become synonymous with Roman floors throughout the Empire. The earliest mosaics at Pompeii and Herculaneum are to be found in the atria of the large Samnite houses such as the House of the Faun (VI.12.2–5) and the House of the Mosaic Atrium at Herculaneum.

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These mosaics are usually a simple geometric pattern of black and white marble cubes (tesserae). Occasionally to be found are remarkable examples of the older Greek carpet technique, where the mosaic is in the form of a picture rather than an overall decorative pattern. One of the best examples is the famous mosaic floor depicting Alexander the Great in battle found in 1831 in the House of the Faun (VI.12.2–5). The year after the discovery of the mosaic, Goethe wrote: ‘The present and the future will not succeed in commenting correctly on this artistic marvel, and we must always return, after having studied and explained it, to simple, pure wonder.’ The battle portrayed is not that of Issus in 333 bc, but the rout of the Persians at Gaugamela in 331 bc. It is thought that the mosaic is based on a Greek painting by Philoxenus of Eretria for King Cassander (305–297 bc), but recently the suggestion has been mooted that the painting might be the work of Apelles, the most famous painter from antiquity. The House of the Faun is one of the most magnificent residences in Pompeii, covering a whole block; its ground area is some 3,000 sq m, making it the largest house in Pompeii. The mosaic was found in the exedra, a room with a view out into the peristyle garden, and used for entertaining guests. The walls of the exedra were decorated in the architectural First Style with a stucco frieze portraying the centaurs at Pirithou’s wedding feast and can be dated to the fourth century bc. Two Corinthian columns flanked the doorway and the floor is decorated in mosaic with scenes from the Nile. The mosaic floor of the exedra was executed in two types of mosaic: the border to the pictorial mosaic was laid in white marble cubes of about a centimetre square and the same large tesserae were used in the frame surrounding the pictorial mosaic. The battle scene and the four floral corner motifs are executed with extremely small tesserae – on average, each one is 3 sq mm – and there are over four million individual cubes in the mosaic. The colouring is the natural colour found in the type of limestone used. Close examination of the mosaic has revealed that some time in antiquity it had been cut into two parts and transported to Pompeii, possibly from an area recently conquered by the Romans. It is all too apparent that the exedra where it was located is far too small to contain it. Guests standing at the doorway on the mosaic decorated with a Nile landscape would not have been able to see the whole battle scene and stepping back to get a better view would have found the Corinthian columns in the way.

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The damage to the left half of the mosaic may have been caused by the eruption of ad 79, or possibly by the lifting of the mosaic in the nineteenth century to transport it to the archaeological museum in Naples. Wall paintings and mosaics completely covered and decorated the interiors of Pompeian houses. Furniture was sparse and would have distracted attention from the grand internal designs, but the furniture used – couches, tables, lamp stands, folding chairs – is magnificent. Bronze mountings chased with gold and silver inlay, precious woods, ivory, tortoiseshell and coral show that the craftsmen who made such objects were imbued with skill and ability. Goethe, when visiting Pompeii, was enthralled with the ‘high, slender bronze pedestals, evidently intended as lamp stands’, with feet shaped into claws or hooves and sometimes adjustable sliding upper parts. Silverware was also magnificent and has been found in many of the grand houses. In 1895 at a country villa called La Pisanella, Boscoreale, 108 embossed silver vessels were found, and in 1930 a small boy exploring at the House of Menander at Pompeii (1.10.4) found hidden in a half-buried chest 118 silver vessels and objects all carefully wrapped in canvas. Recent research indicates that the collection came from far and wide. Pliny remarked that silver was the preferred medium for famous artists to show their ability; certainly the silverware found at Pompeii shows extraordinary skill, with the subject matter ranging from cups decorated with skeletons to quite intricate pastoral scenes. To entertain well it was important to have good silverware, glasses for drinking, bone-handled knives, good pottery, good food and live entertainment. The people of Pompeii and Herculaneum had developed a rich and diverse world of work and play used to the full by its doomed population. A contemporary poet wrote: Now the crickets pierce the thickets with their repetitive cry, now even the speckled lizard takes shelter in the coolness of the garden. If you are wise, lie back and make a libation with summer weight glassware, or if you wish, we will bring out the new goblets of crystal. Come, you are weary, rest in the grape arbour and bind your heavy head with a chaplet of roses. Cull kisses from a tender maidservant. Forget about those who raise old-fashioned eyebrows! Why keep fragrant

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garlands for ungrateful ashes? Do you want your bones to lie under a garland-carved stone? Set out the wine and the dice. To hell with him who cares for the morrow. Death plucks your ear and says ‘Live now, for I am on my way!’ (Appendix Vergiliana Copa 35–51) And death was on its way. In the Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii’s main shopping street, stands one of the biggest houses, covering an area of 992 sq m (10,600 sq ft). Now called the House of Julius Polybius (IX.13.3, Figure 19) it is named after the numerous election graffiti on its façade promoting the virtues of the duumvir Julius Polybius. The house was built on two levels, 37 rooms on the ground floor and 19 on the first floor, and is a combination of at least two older houses. An atrium was built where there used to be the peristyle garden (viridarium) giving an unusual sequence of rooms. The main entrance (1) is on the east side of the austere frontage adjacent to the shop. The vestibule leads to a covered courtyard (2) ornamented with wonderful First Style architectural decorations including a painted, imitation door. The original tablinum (3) to the north of the covered courtyard was converted to an antechamber. The atrium is paved with a cobbled floor; the impluvium has a base of coloured marble pieces enhanced with a diamond pattern made out of white marble tesserae. On the west side of the atrium is a series of cubicula (4) separated by a corridor that leads to the kitchen (5) and a staircase to the upper floors. On the north side of the atrium is the tablinum (6) with views through to the peristyle (7) with its three porticoed sides and garden (8). Beyond the garden, planted with fruit trees, is a further set of rooms including a triclinium (9) and another cubiculum (10). The decoration of these rooms is in the Third Style. Of particular interest is that the ceiling decorations have also survived. Numerous items of household furniture were found stored here whilst the house was undergoing restoration. These include a set of clothes chests found under the east portico and the bronze statue of a youth that was used as a lamp holder. In the triclinium the remains of the bronze dining couches and banqueting service were found scattered on the floor. In one of the clothes chests put out in the peristyle, probably to make room for the restoration work indoors, was found a bronze signet ring inscribed

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Figure 19: Plan of House of Julius Polybius

The Story Unfolds

‘C. IULI PHILIPPI’, suggesting that a relative called Caius Julius Philippus was staying with the family at the time of the eruption of ad 79. Also found by the excavators were 13 human skeletons, all of them gathered in two rooms, on the ground floor at the back of the house (11 and 12). In the first room six adults and one foetus were found in the ash. One of them is a woman clasping a valuable bronze vase and a cloth bag full of silver and bronze coins; she is wearing a pair of gold earrings and two gold bracelets, one on either arm. She is also wearing two gold rings, one with a brown and one with a violet stone. She is aged between 45 and 50 years old, her height is 158 cm (5 ft), her teeth are worn with some lost and she shows signs of arthritis. It is likely that she is Polybius’ wife. Next to her lay her daughter, aged between 16–18 years, her graceful bones heavily stained green, indicating contact with lots of jewels. Her height is 145 cm (4 ft 9 in) and she is suffering from spinabifida, a genetic malformation. She was also heavily pregnant, the skeleton of her baby found in her abdomen. The baby was in its ninth or tenth month since conception. Close by another skeleton, a male, lay with his mouth open, slumped with his head leaning close to the wall; the right arm is bent with the hand on the chest and left arm outstretched with a little glass bottle close by. It is possible that the glass bottle held poison. The rest of the family group lay nearby, or in the other room. A pet turtle lay dead in the garden outside. On the day of the eruption the household waited for the pumice fallout to stop. It didn’t, and as the roofs started to collapse they retired to the strongest rooms at the back of the house. By the morning nearly 3 m (10 ft) of pumice had accumulated outside in the garden and it was too late to escape. At around 7.30 am on 25 August ad 79 the fourth surge of hot volcanic material hit Pompeii, killing everything in its path. Julius Polybius, his wife, his daughter, his son-in-law, his unborn grandchild and the rest of his family and thousands of unnamed and unknown people in Pompeii and Herculaneum had suffered dreadfully and were now dead.

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The Guide

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ee the ‘Visiting Pompeii’ section at the start of this book for an overview of the recommended route to take while using this guide. Entry is via the Marine Gate.

To the left, and before entering the gate, are the remains of the Suburban Baths. To the right is the so-called Imperial Villa built against the city walls. The road to the gate is steep and would have been unsuitable for Roman wheeled traffic. There are two entrances through the gate; the one on the left was for pedestrians, the larger one on the right for pack animals. Both entrances could be closed off by double doors. The entrance to the Suburban Baths is on the left, through a low, iron gate and down some steps.

Suburban Baths (Figure 20)

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he excavation of the Suburban Baths (21B) was finally finished in 1986, in the aftermath of the earthquake of 1980, by Fausto Zevi and Giuseppina Cerulli Ivelli. Dating from the early imperial period – possibly Tiberian – and although publicly owned, it seems to have been reserved for private clients.

August Mau records an inscription discovered in 1749, close to the Herculaneum gate, which advertised: THERMAE M CRASSI FRVGI AQVA MARINA ET BALN AQVA DVLCI IANVARIVS L – ‘the bathing house of Marcus Crassus Frugi. In charge (superintendent) the freedman Januarius’ (Mau, Pompeii: Its Life and Art, p. 400). Pliny the Elder wrote

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Figure 20: Plan of Suburban Baths

that M Licinius Crassus Frugi was consul in 64 ad and, put to death by Nero in 68 ad, owned a hot spring which gushed out of the sea at Pompeii (Pliny HN 31.5). The baths are built on a single axis, almost north–south alignment, on a difficult triangular site, steeply sloped and located just to the north of the road leading to the Marine Gate. It may be the case that the baths were located just here to take advantage of the passing trade from a possible basin or canal for shipping, situated to the west of the baths. The main entrance (1) is located to the north of the porticoed road leading uphill to the Marine Gate. This comprises a gated vestibule with a façade framed by two half columns; walk through and you are in a porticoed (2) triangular area paved with creamy white slabs of tufa stone.

Suburban Baths

The entrance to the baths is on the right through the changing room (4), frescoed in the Fourth Style, with eight numbered erotic scenes on the upper part of one wall. We have entered a world of unbridled sexuality where various positions and pleasures are numbered, presumably so the male (or female) clientele could, if they wished, after their bath, retire upstairs to the three flats and enjoy from prostitutes ‘number 5 or number 7’. The staircase to this sexual heaven is located internally, in the south corner of the complex (3). The scenes are half of the original number to have survived, and frescoed just beneath the erotic scenes are painted numbered cupboards, probably just like the remains of red cupboards that were found below by archaeologists. From the changing room (apodyterium) we enter the cold room (5), with its cold plunge pool on the right (6). The changing room is floored with marble slabs, Fourth Style stucco, and the pilaster columns supported a corbel and a barrel-vaulted roof, whose ceiling is panelled with stucco reliefs, which include cherubs riding tritons, with others showing chariots drawn by billy goats. The chariots are filled with various objects, including cornucopias, thyrsus and theatrical masks. The wall panels are framed by fluted pillars capped by an ovolo, an arched cornice with egg and dart decoration. The subject matter of the panels ranges from cherubs to flying storks. Leading off from the cold room (frigidarium) is the cold plunge pool (6), with its walls frescoed with seascapes and Nilotic scenes. The pool (balneum) was filled by a cascade of water from a highly decorated nymphaeum, framed in a mosaic-covered alcove arch, with two columns holding up a mosaic-covered architrave topped by triangular pediments. The central wall mosaic in the niche portrays Mars and two cherubs holding his weapons. The next room is the warm room (7) with its hypocaust heating of the floor and walls and in the corner of the room is a door to the sauna (8), with its four apses set into its wall. The circular laconicum was used for dry sweat baths. The circular shape is a standard design for this type of room – a small round space, where high heat could be produced (Vitruvius 5.10.5). The room is roofed with a masonry cone that springs just above the crown of the four apses set into its walls. The fresco decoration is blue on blue seascapes.

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The next room to your left is the large apsed hot room (9) (caldarium), the floor heated by underfloor hot air from the adjacent furnaces (10) (praefurnium). The walls are also hollow with tegula mammatae tiles (tiles with dimples to enable a heated air space behind the frescoes), which are ornamented by seven niches and apses, which no doubt would have housed marble statues. The large apse, with its picture windows that overlooked the Bay of Naples, contained a circular marble basin (labrum) on a stucco-decorated brick pedestal. The cold water it contained would have enabled the bathers to cool themselves down or, if thrown on the floor, would have created copious amounts of steam. Leaving the hot room one enters another heated antechamber (11), frescoed in the Fourth Style with stucco relief decorations, which leads on to a magnificent heated swimming pool (12) with tiers of marble steps leading down into the pool. The walls again are decorated with four niches, again no doubt to hold marble statues; the opposite wall has two large picture windows overlooking the Bay of Naples. The baths are devoid of statues and furniture and it seems the bathhouse was badly damaged in the earthquake of 62 ad and was still undergoing repair at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 ad. After the eruption it seems salvage work by the Romans took place, which continued throughout the Middle Ages to modern times. Archaeologists have found both medieval and eighteenth-century pottery sherds in secure contexts and, although known about in the nineteenth century, it was not completely excavated until the excavation campaign of 1987–92. Even in its sorry state, the magnificence of the decoration, the beauty of the rooms and the sheer thrill of stepping back into an almost complete, state-of-the-art first-century bc Roman bath-house is an experience not forgotten.

Imperial Villa / Marine Gate (Figure 21)

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eaving the bath-house, turn left and ascend the original Roman road, with its basalt rock surface, to the Marine Gate (21A). On your right you will see the imposing remains of the Imperial Villa (21C), built at the end of the first century bc against the city walls. A portico, supported by 41 fluted stucco columns, supported the roof and protected the rear wall of the portico, which was decorated in the Third

Imperial Villa / Marine Gate

Figure 21: Plan of Marine Gate, Imperial Villa

Style with a black fresco background, framed by slender aedicules and embellished by figurative medallions and small ‘emblem’ paintings, most of which were removed by the eighteenth-century excavations. Midway along the portico, and its architectural focus, is an imposing structure, interpreted as a dining or entertainment room. The fresco decoration is in the Fourth Style and shows scenes from mythology, including Theseus slaying the Minotaur, Daedalus flying and Icarus, having fallen from the air, dead on the ground. We enter Pompeii by one of the original gates, now called the Marine Gate (21A). The road to the gate is too steep for carts and it is likely that goods and cargo from the nearby harbour would have been carried by mule or porter. The gate originally had two arches, one for pedestrians only, and was subsequently rebuilt as one entrance, with a barrel-vaulted roof in opus caementicium (mix of mortar and stone). Both entrances were closed with sets of double doors, as can be seen by marks left by the doors on the basalt rock road surface.

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Once inside the town we pass shops on the left, which have a portico in front of them (21D), past the closed museum building (21E) on the right and enter on the right the terrace on which stands the remains of the Temple of Venus.

Temple of Venus (Figure 22)

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ou will note that the paving blocks of the Via Marina from the Forum to the precinct of the Temple of Venus (21F) are specked with bits of white limestone. This is not, as local guides will tell you, ‘to allow you to find your way in the dark’, but denotes a processional way from the Forum to the Temple of Venus.

Figure 22: Plan of Temple of Venus

Temple of Venus

The temple was built originally in the second quarter of the first century bc, probably by the dictator Sulla, who had laid siege to the city, conquered it, then installed his nephew Publius in charge of founding a colony of retired Roman veterans and renamed the city Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. The cult of Venus Fisca, which predated the Roman conquest of the Samnite city of Pompeii, was continued in spirit, but the new temple was dedicated to Venus Pompeiana, the new patroness of the city. The temple was built in dazzling white Luna marble and, probably embellished with colour, it became a landmark at the entrance of the city from the harbour and the main approach road from the mouth of the River Sarno. The temple was excavated by August Mau from 1898 to 1900, who postulated three building phases, the first being the original construction by Sulla in 80 bc, when the area was cleared of buildings, presumably houses and shops and a temple in a sacred precinct with colonnades. The second phase was a partial rebuild at the time of Claudius and this work had not been completed by the time of the earthquake of 62 ad. The third phase was post-earthquake, when the debris was cleared away and rebuilding started, only to be halted by the eruption of 79 ad. Today, enough remains to be able to reconstruct it by survey. The temple sat on a podium (1) with the frontage probably of the Corinthian order, facing south. The temple stood in the centre of the site and was porticoed on three sides (2). The south side is left open to view for miles around. The temple itself was prostyle, with a deep pronaos preceded by a staircase across the front façade. It is likely that there were six Corinthian columns across the front of the pronaos, with four down each side. The cella was square (3), with a single entrance with a door, and against the back wall stood the base for the statue of Venus. The temple, built of white Luna marble with columns in the same material – of which one has been re-erected, but not in its correct location – was one of the finest monuments in the city. Unfortunately, after the eruption of 79 ad the temple could still be seen and was pillaged by the surviving Romans for its marble and statues. However, enough survives to enable you to imagine the effect this great temple would have had on the surrounding countryside and its people.

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Temple of Apollo (Figure 23)

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etrace your steps, and further ahead on your left is the Temple of Apollo (24B) situated in an area enclosed by a portico of 48 columns (1). The cella (2) or shrine sits on a high podium (3) surrounded by a Corinthian colonnade (4), with six columns to the front. The earliest building on the site dates from 575–550 bc. Two bronze statues flank the façade of the temple; Apollo to the right (5) and a bust of Diana to the left (6), both deities portrayed as archers. The temple’s altar (7) is situated in front of the staircase (8) leading up to the temple and on the left the column with the sundial was added in the time of Augustus (9).

The cult of Apollo was the most prestigious in pre-Roman Pompeii and occupied the most important spot in the town. The earlier temple was constructed of wood and embellished with terracotta panels, fragments of which were retrieved by archaeologists from trenches inside the temple area. Opinion is divided about whether this first building indicates that the early town was of Greek or Etruscan origin, as items from both cultures have been found on the site. The site was reorganised and the area reduced in the second century bc, when the adjacent Forum and public buildings were built, but even then the cult of Apollo still played an important role in the lives of the citizens, with 11 entrances through the portico to the Forum. This only changed after Sulla conquered the city in 80 bc and installed Rome’s gods – the Temple of Apollo was blocked off but not destroyed. At this time a new floor was laid in the rebuilt cella (2) of black and white mosaic border, with lozenge-shaped pieces of stone, white marble and a slate strip. In the slate strip was an Oscan inscription, the letters outlined by small holes filled with lead. The inscription read: ‘Ovius Cam [panius, son of?] quastor, by decree of the assembly, with the money of Apollo [......] issued a contract and approved it’ (Vetter, 1953: 18). It is presumed that the contract was for the floor. This interpretation of a temple of Apollo is reinforced by the discovery in the cella of a block of stone shaped like half an egg; this is the omphalos, the symbol of Apollo. The temple was badly damaged by the earthquake of 62 ad and, according to August Mau: ‘The building had been completely restored after the earthquake of 63, and was in good order at the time of its destruction’ (Mau, 1899: 80). The building was pillaged by the Romans after the eruption, as shown by the absence of important items usually

Temple of Apollo

Figure 23: Plan of Temple of Apollo

associated with a temple. Archaeological excavation began in 1816 and continued for ten years. The temple is orientated north–south and sits in an oblong court with a continuous colonnade around the side. The peristyle (1) was thought by Mau to be two storeys high and is thus shown in illustrations. The peristyle consisted of 17 columns on the longest side and nine columns on the two shorter sides. When built of grey Nuceria tuff stone, the columns were of the Ionic order and the column shafts fluted. The Doric

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entablature features triglyphs and metopes sitting on an Ionic four-sided capital. On the inside of the blocks are sockets, interpreted by Mau as joists for the second storey. Another interpretation, however, is that the roof beams are for the sloped roof of a single-storey portico. After the earthquake of 62 ad the rebuild of the portico was an architectural reflection of the times. The projecting portions of the capitals were cut back, then the column shaft and capital were covered by a thick layer of stucco and new capitals moulded in stucco to a Corinthian design and painted red, blue and yellow. The shafts were modelled with bean-shaped patterns and also painted yellow. The entablature was covered with a layer of stucco, concealing the triglyphs and metopes and decorated with garlands and griffins. The griffin was, of course, sacred to Apollo and is no doubt a reference to the divinity of the temple. The wall decoration of the colonnade and indeed the temple itself was in the First Style and some of it survives inside the cella (2). However, in the restoration of 62 ad the temple, both inside and out, as well as the internal walls of the colonnade were covered in stucco, imitating ashlar blocks of white marble. The archaeological records of the excavation indicate that the colonnade back walls were frescoed, with panels separated by architectural landscapes, and a central picture representing scenes from the Trojan Wars. Numerous statues (now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Naples) stood on pedestals outside the portico. These included bronze statues of Apollo and Diana, shown as archers. These statues you see on site are copies. The temple stands in the north end of the sacred area and faces the entrance. In front of the temple steps stands a large altar of travertine marble (7), inscribed in Latin on both sides with the legend: ‘Marcus Porcius the son of Marcus, Lucius Sextilius the son of Lucius, Gnaeus Cornelius the son of Gnaeus and Aulus Cornelius the son of Aulus, the Board of Four in accordance with the vote of the city council let the contract [for building this altar]’. These are the names of the four Roman officials, two duumvirs and the two aediles, who donated this altar in about 80 bc.

Temple of Apollo

At the left of the temple steps (8) stands a white marble Ionic column, surmounted by a sundial (9). An inscription states that the sundial, a most appropriate gift to the sun god Apollo, was given by the duumviri Lucius Sepunius Sandilianus and Marcus Erennius Epidianus. To the right of the steps are some blocks of stone, containing holes which secured a votive offering, of what we cannot guess (10). The long, wide staircase of 14 steps (8), which lead up to the temple pronaos and to the rear of the shrine, housed in the cella building (2), are surrounded by a peristyle comprising nine columns on the long sides and six columns on the shorter sides. The Corinthian columns supported an entablature with a figured tympanum. A fragment of the missing pediment from the entablature was found by the excavators in house VI.17.41 which was illustrated with the myth of Apollo. At the back wall of the cella a pedestal (11) for the statue of Apollo is located, but the statue was not found when the building was excavated. The Temple of Apollo shows the religious and cultural changes undergone by the town of Pompeii over the three centuries of its existence. The cult of Apollo was initially one of the most important in Pompeii; indeed the god was worshipped as the protector of Pompeii up to the time of Sulla. Located to the west of the main Forum and built in such a position that the temple could be seen for miles around, it established very early on the domination of the area by the cult of Apollo. On the shrine floor can be found an omphalos or ‘navel’, the symbolic centre of the world, no doubt referring to the Apollo cult at Delphi. The cult was obviously of Greek origin. There are Greek temples of Apollo at both Cumae and Naples but the Etruscans adopted the cult very early on as seen in the Etruscan Temple of Apollo at Veii. Greek and Etruscan pottery has been found by archaeologists in trenches around the site of the temple. The earliest temple covered a much larger area but the entire area was reorganised in the second century bc when the Forum and most of its associated buildings were erected. The religious and political focus was now on the Capitolium or Temple of Jupiter that dominated the northern end of the Forum. On leaving the Temple of Apollo turn left and enter the Forum.

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Forum (Figure 24)

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s in all Roman cities the Forum was the heartbeat of the community. It was here that the administrative and legal business of the city was conducted. It was here that magistrates were elected to take part in religious ceremonies under the watchful eye of the Emperor. There were plazas where townspeople met the country people, where markets were set up for vegetables, fish, meat, and the sale and exchange of bulk commodities like grain, cloth and wool. All controlled, measured and regulated by elected representatives of the people.

All this activity is illustrated on the painted frieze, some 31 m (101 ft) long, which was found in the Praedia of Julia Felix (II.4.2). It shows a large crowd of shopkeepers, tradesmen, cattle merchants, vegetable sellers, bronze workers, cloth merchants, hauliers and shoemakers, thronging around the porticoes of the Forum. The political life of the Forum was dominated by the annual elections of the two duumviri iure dicundo, the highest legal authority in the city and the duumviri aediles. The former were responsible for law and administration and presidency of the Pompeii senate, which was an assembly of local council members, the decurions. Like the aediles the decurions were responsible for the maintenance of the roads, public buildings and temples and for the supervision of the markets and the organisation of games. Every five years the duumviri iure dicundo assumed the title of quinquennales and as censors had to conduct the census and revise the list of decurions who had to number one hundred. The Forum we see today dates back to the second century bc. Earlier in the sixth century bc it was a market-place that grew up at the crossroads close to the Temple of Apollo. At the end of the second Punic War the population of Pompeii expanded considerably and as trade increased the wealth generated was invested in the monumental building of the Forum. The old market-place was rebuilt as an elongated rectangle some 137 m (450 ft) by 47 m (156 ft). Colonnaded porticoes of two stories built of Doric columns surrounded the south and two long sides (1). The paving along the edges was of tuff slabs whilst the rest was surfaced in concrete. Later, possibly in the Augustine period, new paving was laid in travertine stone. The paving was incised with large letters filled with lead. That gave the name of the magistrate responsible for the work. Very little of this paving survives and may indicate its salvage by the Romans immediately after

Forum

the eruption in ad 79. Its most important buildings surrounded the Forum, as befitting its importance in the life of the city. Contemporary illustrations indicate the probable appearance of these buildings. The most important are the Fourth Style paintings in the atrium of the Praedia of Julia Felix that show a fleeting glimpse of everyday life in the Forum. Also shown painted are the porticoes hung with garlands and a number of equestrian statues sitting on plinths and arranged around the sides of the Forum. A relief cut slab from the House of Caecilius Jucandus (V.1.26) portrays the buildings on the north side of the Forum during the earthquake of ad 62. The Temple of Jupiter (24A) is shown leaning with statues being tumbled from their plinths. The temple, dedicated to the Capitoline triad – Jupiter, Juno and Minerva – was built in the middle of the north side. Its functions, as guardian god of all political activity, superseded the ancient Temple of Apollo (24B) which was separated from the Forum and given its own separate space enclosed by a four-sided Hellenistic style portico. On the opposite side of the Forum, the south side, were grouped the buildings designed for the political and legal functioning of the city. They include the Hall of the Duumviri (24C), the Curia (24D) and the Hall of the Aediles (24E). To the east is the so-called Comitium (24F) where the town magistrates were elected, and to the west is the Basilica (24G). The meat and fish market, Macellum (24H), is located on the east side, and south of it are the Sanctuary of City Lares (24I), the Temple of Vespasian (24J) and the Building of Eumachia (24K). On the west side of the Forum, the Holitorium (24L), where cereals were sold, is located just to the south of the public latrines (24N), and further south on the west side is found the Mensa Ponderaria (24M), where weights and measures were checked. It is currently used as an archaeological store. The large paved area of the Forum was embellished with numerous statues, unfortunately removed either before or immediately after the eruption of ad 79. In the centre of the western side can be found the platform (2) (suggestum) from which candidates for election would state why citizens should vote for them (similar to Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London). Vehicular traffic was banned from the Forum, and access for pedestrians and litters, the ubiquitous ‘taxi’ of Roman towns, was by two monumental staircases leading from the Via Marina (24O) or Via dell’Abbondanza (24P).

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Key A - Temple of Jupiter/Capitolium B - Temple of Apollo C - Hall of the Duumviri D - Curia E - Hall of the Aediles

F - Comitium G - Basilica H - Macellum I - Sanctuary of the City Lares J - Temple of Vespasian K - Building of Eumachia

Figure 24: Plan of Forum

L - Holitorium M - Mensa Ponderaria N - public latrines O - Via Marina P - Via dell’Abbondanza

Forum / Basilica

The Forum in its final stage of development represents an architectural statement of public space that displays for all to see the cultural and economic strength of the community. It is unfortunate that the Forum was so badly damaged during the earthquake of ad 62. Seventeen years later, at the time of the eruption, little restoration work had started. The two largest structures in the Forum, the Capitolium (24A) and the Basilica (24G), had undergone no renovation at all.

Basilica (Figure 25)

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ow turn right and right again to enter the Basilica (24G) by the main entrance. Facing onto the south-west side of the Forum, the building is orientated east to west with the façade opening on the east side. It is the most important and monumental building in Pompeii and is one of the oldest preserved examples of a basilica in the Roman world. Its function was as a covered forum. It is the place where business transactions would take place and be recorded, where the courts would meet, and the location of the town council officials.

The building of about 16,000 sq ft was constructed in the last decades of the second century bc. A graffiti inscription in Latin on the building contains the names of the two Roman Consuls of 78 bc. The building follows the pattern of other basilicas, although the main entrance (1) is on the short side overlooking the Forum, rather than the more usual longer side. There are two small entrances (2 and 3) on the longer sides; access was from Via Mariana (2) on the north side and Vico de Chiampionnet on the south side (3). The main entrance (1) was through an unroofed vestibule (4) (chalcidicum) to four entrances that were fitted with metal gates (5). The entrance frontage is magnificent: four Ionic columns frame the façade with the capitals carved in grey tuff. The columns stand on basalt plinths that divide a flight of stairs into the four entrances. The inside of the huge roofed hall contains a two-storey four-sided portico with 28 fluted Ionic columns. The columns are 11 m (38 ft) high and built of brick. The sidewalls have 24 Ionic engaged fluted columns. The structure creates a nave (6) and two aisles (7), the nave being about twice the width of the aisles. The shafts of the columns are finished in shaped bricks that would have been decorated with painted stucco. The 52 columns would most likely have held up a huge single-truss double pitched roof covered with quite large tiling. The largest found is 1.37 x 91 cm (4.5 x 3 ft) and stamped with the name Numerius Popidius, a tilemaker and former magistrate. At the back of the central nave stood the

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Figure 25: Plan of Basilica

tribunal (8), with rooms below it for the storage of archives. The tribunal was decorated with a stage-like façade with two levels of Corinthian and Ionic columns. This was obviously the platform for the judges; there are no staircases and access may have been by a wooden ladder easily removed, which assured the safety of the judges. We know from the speeches of Cicero how dangerous the reactions of the crowd could be during a trial. In front of the tribunal was located a large pedestal (9) for an equestrian statue, possibly of the Emperor Augustus.

Civil Offices

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n leaving the Basilica turn right and immediately in front and to the right of the Basilica are three conjoined buildings, which held all the important Civil Offices of the town.

Maiuri excavated here in the 1950s and showed that the buildings date from the second century bc and when the structures were badly damaged in the earthquake of ad 62 they were rebuilt and extended

Civil Offices / Temple of Jupiter

onto the edge of the Forum. The three buildings that make up the municipal offices obviously had different functions. Unfortunately, it is not possible to be absolutely sure which was which. The central building is probably the most important and could be the curia where the town senate met, or it could be the tabularium where the town archives were kept, or it could be the office of the duumviri or the two aediles. All that can be said is that the three buildings as a group housed the administration of the town (24C, D, E). The building just to the east of the municipal offices, and situated in the south-eastern corner of the Forum, is often recognised as the area where the town magistrates were elected (24F). The unroofed, almost square building was surrounded by high walls pierced by five entrances on the north and west sides. The earthquake of ad 62 severely damaged the walls, and apparently in an effort to stabilise the structure most of the entrances were bricked up with opus incertum. The south and east walls are decorated with marble and the floor was paved with marble slabs. Built against the south wall is a rostrum with an access staircase. If the building functioned as a comitium, voters would enter the building, show their tesserula, a voting artefact, and inscribe their name on a wax tablet, which was folded and placed inside a ballot box. From the rostrum the magistrate would announce the count of the vote on the election of the two duumviri and the two aediles. However, if the building functioned only as a vote-counting house (diribitorium) with the main activity in the Forum or Basilica, then the votes would be counted and announced from the rostrum by the outgoing magistrate. Leave the Comitium, look to the right and ponder that this Forum was the very heart of the community of Pompeii. It formed one of the most elegant Roman forums to be found in Italy.

Temple of Jupiter (Figure 26)

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he building at the far end is the Temple of Jupiter (24A) which is situated on the north side of the square and dominates the Forum, as indeed it did the political and religious life of the city. The temple is flanked by two triumphal arches; the one on the west side possibly dedicated to Augustus (1), whilst the other, on the east

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side (2), probably dedicated to Germanicus. Both are constructed of opus latercium and faced with white marble slabs with water features and were probably surmounted by bronze equestrian groups of statues. The temple itself replaced the Temple of Apollo as the epicentre of political and religious life. The Temple of Apollo (24B) was given a separate porticoed plaza on the margins of the Forum. The Temple of Jupiter was built in the second century bc as a large Tuscan temple about 17 m (56 ft) by 34 m (121 ft) and had six Corinthian columns along the front of the building and four along the sides. The cella (3), which covered three-fifths of the surface of the podium (4), was utilised as a base for the statue of the deity, Jupiter. The rooms reached by a rear staircase under the podium were used for the storage of offerings and temple regalia (5). A large altar (6) has been found by archaeologists 3 m (9 ft) in front of the podium. The temple was completely reorganised immediately after 80 bc when the Roman colonists of Sulla took over the town. The temple was transformed into a capitolium dedicated to the sacred triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the joint protectors of the Roman state and the most important gods in the Roman pantheon, venerated on the Capitol Hill in Rome. The podium base inside the cella was rebuilt and lengthened as a triple base to house the statues, but only two fragments survive in situ, the head of Juno and the torso of Jupiter. The temple had two access staircases (7) built into the podium and a new altar built on the central platform (8). On either side were two smaller platforms mounted by bronze equestrian statues (9). The entrance door of the cella led into a large room divided into a nave and two aisles by two colonnades: the lower storey is Ionic whilst the upper storey is Corinthian. At the end of the room was the podium (10), which would have supported the statues of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Inside the podium there were three small rooms found stacked with precious marble sheeting by the Roman excavators. It has been suggested that the area was being used as a marble workshop after the earthquake of ad 62, and up to the eruption in ad 79. The interior of the temple is decorated in the Second Style with red orthostates divided by painted marble pilaster strips, framed top and bottom by multicoloured rustication with a painted corbel containing the decorative paintwork at the top. The floor in the shrine is made

Temple of Jupiter

Figure 26: Plan of Temple of Jupiter and two triumphal arches

of cut marble pieces called opus sectile, using diamond-shaped pieces laid in a pattern to create the illusion of three-dimensional cubes. This fine pavement is contained in an outer banding of black and white mosaic.

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Figure 27: Plan of Temple of Vespasian

Temple of Vespasian (Figure 27)

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he surviving evidence of the imperial cult in Pompeii can be found concentrated on the east side of the Forum. These include the public buildings of the Temple of Vespasian (24J), the Sanctuary of City Lares (24I) and just outside the Forum proper the Temple of Fortuna Augusta. The imperial cult was also included in buildings of a commercial character. These include the Building of Eumachia (24K) and the Macellum (24H).

Temple of Vespasian

To the right of the Temple of Jupiter is the so-called Temple of Vespasian (24J), just north of the Building of Eumachia, with a façade of opus latericium probably originally faced with marble sheets. The entrance (1) that leads through into the temple portico comprises four columns, which seems to have held up a roofed vestibule. The temple area (2) inside is totally enclosed by a high wall, which is pierced by a small door (3) on the south side of the back wall, which led to three rear rooms (4, 5, 6). The shrine (7) abuts the back (east) wall and has two flights of steps (8, 9) on either side for access to the podium (10). The magnificent altar (11) in the centre of the unroofed area is faced with four white marble slabs with relief decorations and surmounted by a white marble slab. The face of the altar one sees first on entering the temple shows in some detail a sacrifice of a sacred bull. A veiled priest – who could be the Emperor, as the sacrifice of a bull was the exclusive right of the Emperor – is attended by various personages, all of whom have a particular role to play in the ceremony. The sacrifice, as all pagan sacrifices were, is being performed in the open. The ritual is unlike anything practised in the Christian faith. The first requirement is that there is nobody there that would contaminate the proceedings. Women, for instance, were excluded from sacrifices to Hercules and Mars. Next the priest and those who are involved in the sacrifice washed their hands in holy water. Silence was then called for by the herald (farete linguis), who declared ‘check your tongues’. The flute player started to play; he was employed to drown out any extraneous noises. The priests covered their heads with the folds of their togas, again to muffle any noise that might intrude on their thoughts, and taking up a platter heaped with sacred flour mixed with salt (mola salsa), they sprinkled the mixture between the horns of the animal held firm by the attendants and over the sacrificial knife. The bull now had all its decorations removed whilst an attendant symbolically drew a knife along its back from head to tail. It was at this point in the service that the prayer was made. The prayer had to be carefully written and memorised; any mistake at this point invalidated the entire ceremony. The suppliant, standing, turned towards the cult statue within the temple. The climax of the ceremony had now been reached. The popa, standing on the right of the animal, asked: ‘Do I strike?’ (agone) and, on being told yes, struck the animal’s head with his hammer.

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The stunned animal sank to its knees; the knife-man (cultravius) stepped forward, lifted the animal’s head to the gods and slit its throat. Blood spurted everywhere. The moment of death was important; it had to be a clean death without incident. The animal was now dismembered and the internal organs removed for inspection. These had to be perfect, as the inside of the animal was as important as the outside. These organs, called exta, were cut into small pieces (prosecta) and put on the altar for the gods to consume as they were burnt in the flames. The whole procedure was detailed and exact, perfected by generations of tradition. In the hands of skilled priests a sacrifice was probably both devout and moving. On the other faces of the altar in the Temple of Vespasian can be seen the various instruments used in the sacrifice ceremony. The northfacing marble slab shows the long outer garment (stola) worn by the priest, the sacrificial rod (lituus) and the incense box (acerra). The south slab shows the platter (patera) to hold the sacred flour and salt, and the ladle (simpulum). The east side of the altar, which faces the temple, is decorated with a crown of oak leaves between two laurel branches. It is likely that the temple was dedicated to the tutelary deity of Augustus. An inscription found at Pompeii reads: ‘Mamia, daughter of Publius, public priestess, on her own land and at her own expense dedicated to the Genius of Augustus.’ The inscription is likely to have come from the temple; certainly all of the portrayals on the main altar reflect the cult of the Genius of Augustus, which dates from 7 bc. The oak-leaf crown is the prerogative of the Emperor and was awarded to Augustus by the Senate of Rome for bringing peace to the Empire. The scene on the main altar showing the sacrifice of a bull was also the prerogative of the Emperor. It is likely that the temple was originally dedicated to Augustus, and later adapted to the imperial cult of Vespasian. Interestingly the temple is one of the few temples to undergo restoration after the earthquake of 69 ad. It is likely that it was quickly restored so that the townspeople of Pompeii could appeal to the Emperor directly for funds to restore the public areas of the town devastated by the earthquake.

Sanctuary of City Lares

Figure 28: Plan of Sanctuary of City Lares

Sanctuary of City Lares (Figure 28)

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mmediately to the north of the Temple of Vespasian, and on the east side of the Forum, stands the Sanctuary of City Lares (24I), one of the most unusual and little-understood buildings in Pompeii. It was originally thought to be built after the age of Augustus but before the earthquake of ad 62. However, recent research has suggested

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that it was built after the earthquake. The building was built almost square, with an open area surfaced with a pavement of opus sectile, cut marble pieces in a geometric pattern of framed squares and circles (1). In the centre of the pavement stood an altar (2). Entrance to the building (3) was through eight columns set on to basalt bases. On the back wall is a large apse (4) flanked by two small niches. The apse has a low podium (5) running round the semi-circular side; the podium supported a row of columns with a projecting cornia and architrave. The apse was roofed with a dome, probably coffered. On either side of the apse were two large rectangular niches with a pedestal for statues (6, 7). Theories abound on the function of the building. It was thought that the town lares or gods were worshipped here, but given that the building was designed to hold statues, possibly of the Emperor, it is possible that the imperial cult, associated with the gods of Pompeii, was the focus of worship, or it might have been Pompeii’s Augusteum (Augustus had been removed from the Forum and replaced by Vespasian; a smaller place of veneration was usually found and this building could be it).

Macellum (Figure 29)

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o the north of the Temple of Vespasian is situated the Macellum (24H) which was the public fish and meat market situated on the north-east side of the Forum. This location, which dates back to some time in the second century bc, is in keeping with the town planning of the period when such activities were removed from the Forum proper and re-established on the periphery.

The area in front of the Macellum (1) is organised on the same lines as the vestibule (chalcidicum) of the Building of Eumachia, but embellished with at least five pediments on which once stood honorary statues. At least five shops have been recognised built into the front façade of the building (2). It has been suggested that these were for the moneychangers. The monumental entrance to the market proper is through a central doorway (3), which housed two marble pedestals. These may have been for statues or two columns that may have supported an entablature that was built into the side walls. The large internal area of the market had a portico on all four sides (4) and in the middle of the uncovered market stood a circular pavilion, a sort of tholos held up by 12 poles resting on

Macellum

Figure 29: Plan of Macellum

stone bases (5). Inside this structure was a large marble counter for the display of fish. A large fountain in the middle kept the fish cool. A stone gutter surrounded the cobbled floor of the tholos and when the drain was excavated it was found to be full of fish scales and bones. Once the fish was cleaned it was offered for sale in a room in the southeast corner of the building (6). A large marble counter was connected to a small drain in the floor to drain the water away from the fish on display. The south side of the courtyard was divided into 11 shops, with their counters facing north to keep them in the shade so that the sun did not

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deteriorate the food stuffs on sale (7). For the same reason, another 12 shops can be found on the north side of the market, but rather than facing inwards and south and being in direct sunlight they face north from the courtyard but away from the market (8). Archaeologists have found here the remains of grapes, plums, lentils, chestnuts, figs, wheat, bread as well as sheep and goat bones. The Fourth Style paintings located on the inside walls of the market are now unfortunately faded and portrayed poultry, fish and vessels to hold food and wine. Also painted are scenes from the festivals in honour of Vesta, the goddess who protected millers and bakers, whose products were evidently also sold in the market. Other scenes showed the fields and the sea around Pompeii. In addition there was a room in the market for a sacred space dedicated to the imperial cult. On the eastern side a marble staircase flanked by two podia leads into a room with a small temple (aedicule) at the end (9). It would have housed the statue of an emperor, and during excavation part of an arm holding an orb was found. On the side walls were four niches that would have contained honorary statues. Two of the statues were found by the excavators and thought to portray Marcellus and Octavia, the nephew and sister of Augustus. However, it is likely that the two statues portray leading citizens involved in either the running or restoration of the market. Next door to the imperial shrine (9) is a large room with a small temple (aedicule) in the south-east corner (10). It probably held a religious statue since there is a small altar built of marble in front of it. The room was painted with colonnades with garlands and cupids between the columns; unfortunately very little has survived apart from the nineteenth-century descriptions by the excavators. It is likely that the room was used by a religious college for meetings and feasts. The market was badly damaged in the earthquake of ad 62 and was still undergoing restoration at the time of the eruption in ad 79.

Building of Eumachia (Figure 30)

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ext door to the Temple of Vespasian on the south end of the east side of the Forum is a large building (24K) that has been identified as being associated with the guild of fullers (fullones), the

Figure 30: Plan of Building of Eumachia

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wool merchants, dyers and launderers. It has been suggested that the building might have been a sort of wholesale wool market, but recent academic research points to the building being used as a slave market. However, what is certain is that it was built by the priestess Eumachia. Two inscriptions have been found in the building. The one carved on the architrave of the Forum Portico reads: ‘Eumachia, public priestess, had the chalcidicum, crypta and portico built in her name and that of her son Marcus Numistrius Fronto and dedicated its construction to the Pietas Concordia Augusta.’ The chalcidicum or vestibule (1) is the area between the colonnade fronting the Forum and the front of the main building. It could be closed at either end by metal gates. The chalcidicum was roofed over with a saddle roof built out of timber trusses. The front of the building was faced with white marble and is aligned with the Forum and not with the building itself, which is oriented on an axis parallel to Via dell’Abbondanza, situated on the south side of the building. The central entrance (2) has a marble portal decorated in relief with acanthus volutes and fauna. The quality of the work suggests Roman rather than provincial craftsmen were involved in the carving. Stylistically it is comparable with the quality of work to be found on the Ara Pacis in Rome. Either side of the entrance are niches (3) with inscriptions in praise of Romulus and Aeneas next to large apses (4), which probably contained statues of the Emperors’ ancestors. At the far end of the front wall were two rectangular galleries reached by staircases (5). If the building was a wool market, these rostras could have been used by auctioneers to sell the wool, or they could be for the auctioning of slaves if it was a slave market. The front wall contains various rooms behind it, those to the north for storage (6) and the room to the south (7) containing a low platform with a large terracotta pot built into it. It may be for the collection of urine. Passersby were invited to contribute to it and the collected urine that was taxed by the Emperor would be used in the bleaching of cloth. The large inner courtyard was surrounded by a four-sided portico built of white marble columns carved in the Corinthian style (8). It is thought that the portico may have had two storeys. At the east end there is a large apse (9), which contained a large pedestal, a white marble statue of Livia, the Emperor Augustus’ wife (10). She is represented as a richly decorated deity holding the horn of plenty (cornucopia) in her arms. The apse was flanked by two gardens (11) that could have been seen from the windows of the apse and from the two niches at either end. Behind the portico there runs on three sides a large covered gallery (crypta) with ten

Building of Eumachia / Forum Holitorium

windows to illuminate the interior (12). In the middle of the east side of the crypta behind the apse (9) that contained the statue of Livia is a niche where a white marble statue of Eumachia with traces of the original polychrome colouring was found. The inscription of the pedestal reads: ‘Dedicated by the fullers to Eumachia, daughter of Lucius.’ That the statue of Eumachia stands in a secluded area, but immediately behind the apse containing the statue of the Empress Livia (13), suggests an association with and support of the policies of Augustus. Eumachia, who was a priestess of Venus and member of a local aristocratic family involved in lucrative trading, had dedicated all of the building to the Concordia Augusta.

Forum Holitorium

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ituated on the west side of the Forum in the north-west corner is a large rectangular building (24L) used for the selling of grain and pulses. The front of the building is divided into eight large openings by nine monumental pillars built of opus latericium. The floor was originally laid with opus signinum decorated with a colourful array of marble crustae. The Holitorium was badly damaged in the earthquake of ad 62, and at the time of the eruption the roof and internal plasterwork had not been replaced. A few metres away to the south there is a rectangular alcove built into the boundary wall of the Temple of Apollo.

This housed the Mensa Ponderaria (24M), where the weights and measures used in the various shops and markets of Pompeii were checked by public officials. The weighing tables consisted of two stone counters, one above the other, of which the lower one is preserved. The lower one has nine circular cavities of different capacities equal to a standard measure. The cavities are provided with a hole at the bottom to release whatever had been poured into them. The table has been in use since the late second century bc and the measures are labelled in the Oscan language. In 20 bc the Emperor Augustus implemented a programme to unify and standardise the weights and measures throughout the Roman world, with the consequent abolition of old units of weight in local areas. At Pompeii, the cavities in the weighing table had to be enlarged to the new Roman measures with the resultant erasure of most of the old Oscan

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measurements. An inscription in Latin carved into the face of the marble counter explains: ‘Judges and duumviri Aulus Clodius Flaccus, son of Aulus, and Numerius Arcaeus Arellianus Caledus, son of Numerius, had the task of equalising the measurements, as resolved by the decurions.’ To the north of the Forum Holitorium is located the public latrines (24N). Entry to the latrine was through a small door situated on the north-west corner of the Forum. The door led to an antechamber, and then into the latrines which contained the seats and drainage. Rectangular blocks of stone supported a wooden bench carved with appropriate holes as toilet seats. On three sides under the seats ran a deep channel supplied with continuous running water. There would also have been washing facilities for the cleaning of the ubiquitous sponge, and in the antechamber a slave to help the Roman citizens adjust their dress before leaving – no doubt to avoid the sight of Pompeii’s aristocracy waddling across the Forum to the Basilica with their toga caught up in their loincloth.

Temple of Fortuna Augusta (Figure 31)

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ust outside the Forum and situated in the north-east corner on the crossroads of Via del Foro is the Temple of Fortuna Augusta. It has been identified from the inscriptions found at the site by the nineteenth-century excavators. The temple was built on a site previously occupied by shops and possibly a house as earlier floors have been found under the temple by archaeologists. The temple is a Corinthian tetrastyle prostyle temple on a high podium (1) reached by a single flight of marble steps (2) into which the main altar has been set (3). The work on the building begun in 2 bc and was completed by ad 3. An inscription found on the architrave of the temple and now re-inserted into the apse honours the founder of the temple: ‘Marcus Tullius, son of Marcus, duumvir and threetime judge, quinquennial, auger and military officer elected by the people, erected the Temple of Fortuna August on his land at his own expense.’

The Tullia family had followed the Roman colonists of Sulla to Pompeii and its members, who also included Cicero, were often elected as magistrates. Marcus Tullius was one of the most important, probably pater patriae. He had been duumvir three times, quinquennial once and was awarded his military officer status by the Emperor Augustus.

Temple of Fortuna Augusta

Figure 31: Plan of Temple of Fortuna Augusta

Once the temple was built Tullius would have chosen slaves to staff the College of Ministers of Fortuna Augusta, which would have been a private, rather than public, College of Priests. As the cult was originally private in nature, it may have caused the temple to occupy an area outside, but very close to the public space of the Forum. The shrine (4), situated towards the rear of the podium, had a large apse in the rear wall where a raised dais (5) mounted by two columns framed the statue of Fortuna, probably holding a rudder and horn of plenty (cornucopia). The symbol of the rudder indicates that it was believed that the goddess could steer the destiny of people. On each of the side walls there were two rectangular dedicatory niches, which probably contained statues (6). Archaeologists found two statues close by while excavating the temple in 1922. One was of a man wearing a toga, and initially thought to represent Cicero; the other, a woman with her face badly damaged in the earthquake or eruption. Access to the temple was through iron gates at the front (7). At the rear, service rooms were built for the College of Priests (8).

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The building was badly damaged during the earthquake of ad 62 and little repair work was carried out. It may even be the case that the expensive marble was re-used elsewhere.

Baths of Pompeii

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here are at least five sets of public baths in Pompeii, and two at Herculaneum: the Forum and Suburban Baths.

At Pompeii, the Stabian, Forum, Central, Amphitheatre and Suburban Baths have all been excavated, although the Amphitheatre Baths were reburied soon after their discovery. All the baths follow, more or less, a standard design and procedure. The bather would undress in the cold room (frigidarium), would enter the warm room (tepidarium) to be oiled, move onto the hot room (caldarium) where after a period of sweating he or she would be scraped clean with a curved scraper (strigil) before bathing in a hot bath (alveus, piscine calida or solium). Returning to the cold room they could cool off in a cold-water bath (puteus or baptisterium) before being dried and clothed. In some establishments an additional hot dry room to induce sweating was included. It is called the laconicum by the Romans who believed it was originally used by the Spartan army from Laconia. There were of course numerous variations and additions to the basic design, which itself evolved throughout the historical period. The baths were public places. Writing in the first century ad, Seneca recounts his experience of lodging next to a public bath in Rome: I’m in the midst of a roaring babble. My lodgings are over the baths! Imagine every possible outcry to shatter your eardrums. When the most athletic bathers swing their dumbbells I can hear them grunt as they strain or pretend to, and hissing and gasping as they expel their breath after holding it… There’s a lazy chap happy with a cheap massage: I hear the smack of the hand on his shoulders, the sound varying with whether it strikes flat or cupped. If an umpire comes to keep score at the ball game, counting the toss, it’s all up with me! Now add the argumentative noisy pickpocket caught in the act and the sound of the man who loves to hear the sound of his own voice in the bath. After that, the people who jump

Baths of Pompeii

into the pool with an almighty splash, beside those with raucous voices. You have to imagine the dipilator giving his falsetto shriek to advertise his presence and never silent except when making somebody else scream by plucking hair from his armpits. There’s the refreshment man with his wide range of cries, the sausage vendor, the confectioner, the men from the places of refreshment shouting their wares, each with his own vendors cry. (Seneca, Moral Letters, LVI, IFF) The central heating used in the baths of Pompeii and Herculaneum is supposed to have been invented in the first century bc by Gaius Sergius Orata (Pliny the Elder, Natural History IX; 68). Prior to this bronze braziers would have been used, and occasionally were still used as in the men’s tepidarium at the Forum Baths of Pompeii. From then on the pavements of the hot rooms (caldaria) and the warm rooms (tepidaria) were raised on short columns (pilae), usually of brick tiles about 20 cm (8 in) square called bessales. On top of the columns were laid large square tiles called bipedales and the surface was floored with waterproof cement (opus signinum) and finished with a mosaic pavement. The cavities (hypocausts) formed under the raised floors were filled with hot air distributed from furnaces. The temperature of the rooms could be raised even higher by extending the hot air upwards into similar cavities in the walls, and occasionally the ceilings, by the use of pipes or hollow bricks called box flue tiles (tubulus). The surface of these hollow bricks were keyed with a pattern so they could be stuck to the main wall with mortar and readily plastered over. The improved efficiency of the hypocausts and tubulus meant changes could be made to the design of the baths. In ad 63 Seneca visited the bath-house at the villa of Scipio Africanus: The bath is narrow and dark in the old-fashioned manner, for our forefathers equated heat with obscurity… But who nowadays could bear to bathe in this fashion? In this bath of Scipio’s there are tiny slits, you can hardly call them windows, cut through the stone wall so as to let in the light. Nowadays, however, people regard baths as being only fit for moths if they have not arranged so that they admit the sun through the widest of windows all day, and if men

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cannot get a suntan and bathe at the same time, and look out from their tubs over the land and sea. (Seneca, Moral Letters, LV1 2FF) Baths needed fireproof ceilings and the Romans developed domes and vaulting in concrete, rather than the more normal timber roof. The cold room of the Stabian Baths at Pompeii has a dome 6 m (17 ft) in diameter with a circular opening and which dates from the early first century bc. It can be claimed that it is the earliest known dome in a building of Roman Italy and a forerunner of the huge arches, domes and apses of the gigantic imperial baths of Rome. Vitruvius clarifies the function of the circular opening in these domes: The laconicum and other sweating baths must adjoin the tepid room, and their height to the bottom of the curved dome should be equal to their width. Let an aperture be left in the middle of the dome with a bronze disc hanging from it by chains. Raising and lowering it can regulate the temperature of the sweating bath. The chamber itself ought, as it seems, to be circular so that the force of the fire and heat may spread evenly from the centre all round the circumference. (Vitruvius, The Ten Books of Architecture Book V, Chapter X, 5)

Forum Baths (Figure 32)

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he Forum Baths at Pompeii were of modest size but located in the central part of Insula VII.5, close to the Forum, and surrounded by shops and close to several important private houses. It is thought that the baths were built around 80 bc by the Roman colonists of Sulla. The baths were organised into two distinct areas: a male area, and a smaller female area. Each set of baths had separate entrances so that the sexes could be segregated whilst bathing. The interiors of the baths were arranged along the lines of the typical design for these types of baths – although these particular baths did have an early laconicum modelled on similar baths found in Greek gymnasia. The room was expressly used for sudationes, hot warm air baths akin to a modern sauna. The laconicum was later rebuilt into a cold plunge bath (frigidarium) probably because of problems in heating.

Forum Baths

Figure 32: Plan of Forum Baths

The male baths could be entered through three separate entrances, two leading to the gymnasium (1) and one (2) to the changing room (apodyterium). The gymnasium is a three-sided portico built on the north and west sides of Doric tuff columns coated with a thick layer of plaster painted red (3). The east side has a narrower portico not built of columns, but arched pillars. The gymnasium would have originally been much longer and extended to the north edge of the Forum with possibly the main entrance situated here. At some stage the frontage to the Forum was redeveloped and four shops (thermopolia) selling hot and cold food built (4). The gymnasium was used for exercise and for walks after bathing. Friends would be met and hot and cold drinks were available from the nearby shops.

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Figure 33: Stucco detail from the Forum Baths

On entering the baths a small fee would be paid at the entrance hall (2) and clothes left in the adjoining changing room (5) (apodyterium). The room is large and barrel-vaulted, masonry benches running along the sides. There are no niches for clothes, but nail holes in the walls indicate there was wooden shelving to hold clothes. The room is lit by an overhead glazed window set in a metal frame. The walls of the changing room are painted yellow and the ceilings of the barrel vault are decorated with stucco. One of the stucco features is the head of Okeanos with his long, flowing beard and crowned with crab claws. On the south side of the changing room, a small doorway (6) leads to the circular cold room (frigidarium), which has a large round bath (balneum) with four semicircular niches overlooking it. The bath, covered in marble

Forum Baths

sheets, was fed cold water from a pipe that can still be seen on the south wall. The drainage and overflow pipes can also still be seen. The cupola ceiling had a glazed skylight at the top and is decorated with stucco in a shell pattern. The stucco relief frieze shows cherubs competing in a chariot race. The changing room also had a doorway on the west side (7) that led to the warm room (tepidarium), which served as an acclimatising room before the bather entered the full heat of the next room. The warm room (8) was heated to about 40oC, which is probably at, or just above, the temperature of the body. Here, the bather would begin to sweat. It is likely that the bather would be anointed by slaves with oil and other unguents kept in the niches of this room. The decoration is fantastic, and gives an indication of the splendour of these establishments. The large panels of painted stucco are divided into diamond and rectangular shapes in-filled with mythological figures. The niches, which contained towels and oils, are separated by wonderful terracotta figures (telamones), sometimes naked or covered with animal skins, which support the architrave from which the vault springs. The barrel-vaulted ceiling, of which only a part survived the eruption, is decorated with stucco reliefs of scrolled arabesques and, above, various rectangular panels with stucco reliefs, usually in white on a blue or white ground (Figure 33). Amongst the subjects tackled are Apollo riding a griffin, Ganymede with her eagle, cupids and seahorses. The floor is well preserved and is of white mosaic surrounded by a black mosaic border. The warm room (tepidarium) had no underfloor heating, but was warmed by a large bronze brazier decorated with cow’s heads (9). It was donated by Marcus Nigidius Vaccula. Also preserved are three low bronze benches. An entrance through the west wall of the warm room leads to the hot room (caldarium). The hot room (11) is very well preserved; the room has a barrel vault decorated with spiralling fluting in relief stucco which prevented condensation dripping onto the bathers. On the south side is a large apse (12) surmounted by a panel decorated with stucco shells and pierced by a circular window called an opaion. Situated in the apse (schola labri) is a huge monolithic marble basin (13) inscribed on its rim with bronze lettering which reads: ‘Cnaeus Melissaeus Aper, son of Cnaeus, and Marcus Staius Rufus, son of Marcus, as duumviri and judges for the second time, undertook to have the basin built with public money by

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resolution of the decurions.’ It cost 5,250 sesterces. The basin (labrum) was installed around ad 3–4. At the north end of the hot room is a large, marble-covered hot water plunge bath (14) reached by two steps. The hot room (caldarium) was heated by pipes of hot air in all of the four walls, and under the floors, which maintained a temperature as high as 60oC. As the floor was heated, it would be too hot to stand bare feet on. Wooden sandals (soleae balneares) were provided for bathers. The walls were also hot. Fronto wrote: ‘As my boys were carrying me as usual from the baths they bumped me a little carelessly against the scorching entrance to the baths. My knee is both grazed and burnt.’ The wall decoration of the hot room (11) is an elegant combination of complementary hues of yellow and purple whilst the floor is decorated with white mosaic bordered by two black bands. The humidity was kept high; water from the large basin (labrum) would be periodically splashed over the hot surfaces to produce steam. Bathers would drink the cold water from the basin as an aid to perspiration and also splash the water over their bodies to cool down. It could get very hot, as Seneca describes: ‘The temperature that men have recently made fashionable is as great as a conflagration, to such an extent that a slave convicted for a criminal act could be boiled alive. It appears to me that today there is no difference between “the bath is hot” and “the bath is on fire”.’ To complete the bathing cycle, some bathers would then retrace their steps to the cold room for a plunge in the cold bath. Next door to the caldarium and to the west was situated the furnace room (praefurnium) which separated the male and female sections (15). At the Forum Baths there were three cauldrons (16) exactly as described by Vitruvius: Three bronze cauldrons are to be set over the furnace, one for hot, another for tepid and the other for cold water, placed in such positions that the amount of water which flows out of the hot water cauldron may be replaced from that for tepid water, and in the same way the cauldron for tepid water may be supplied from that for cold. The arrangements must allow the semi-cylinders for the bath basins to be heated from the same furnace. (Vitruvius, The Ten Books of Architecture, Book V, Ch. X.I.)

Forum Baths / House of the Faun

The women’s section next door to the furnace (16) was smaller and simpler than the men’s and consists of three rooms: the changing room (17) (apodyterium); the warm room (18) (tepidarium); and the hot room (19) (caldarium) which contained a hot plunge bath and a cold water basin (labrum) in the corner of the room (20). On leaving the Forum Baths go past the Temple of Fortuna Augusta, keeping it on your right, and on the left you will come to the House of the Faun.

House of the Faun (VI.12.2, Figure 34)

N

amed after the bronze figure of the Dancing Faun (which in fact is a satyr) found on the side of the impluvium in the main atrium, this is the largest house in Pompeii and occupies an entire insula.

Originally built during the Samnite period (second century bc) it shows elements of Hellenistic influence in its layout of two atria, a peristyle and a spacious hortus (garden), which later was converted to a second peristyle. The entrance leads to the public area of the house through the massive triple door. On the mosaic ‘doormat’ outside is the Latin word spelled out in mosaic cubes ‘HAVE’ which translates as ‘Welcome’. The entrance passageway (fauces) has two public household shrines, elaborately decorated with columns and architraves finished in stucco decoration high on the walls. The flooring comprises triangular pieces of coloured marble (opus sectile) once embellished on the threshold with a wonderful mosaic of actors’ masks, garlands of flowers and fruit. It is now on display in the Naples Archaeological Museum. The front of the house is organised around two atria courts. On either side are cubicula used as guest bedrooms or for private meetings with clients. On the far side from the street is one of the most important rooms in the house, the tablinum, used for the receiving of clients and guests by the seated patron. Either side of the tablinum can be found two rooms possibly used as winter and summer dining rooms. Walk through this atrium and you are in the first of the peristyles with a portico of 28 Ionic columns and a fountain and basin in the centre of the hortus

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(garden). The walls of the peristyle would have been covered with decorative stucco and paintings. The open room (exedra) in the centre of the rear wall of the peristyle is framed by two highly decorated Corinthian columns. The floor was carpeted by the famous Alexander Mosaic, now in the Naples Museum along with mosaic scenes of the Nile from the threshold of the room. On either side of the Alexander Mosaic room are two summer dining rooms facing into the wonderful garden of the second, larger peristyle with a Doric portico. On the far side of this larger, more private, peristyle garden is a small postern gate reserved exclusively for the family. On the east side of the house is a service corridor isolating the kitchen, baths and slaves’ quarters. The House of the Faun is one of the most visited, and most famous, houses in Pompeii (Reg VI. Ins 12, 2, 5, 7). The house is the largest found so far in Pompeii: at 2,950 sq m (31,750 sq ft) it has palatial dimensions on a par with the excavated palaces in northern Greece. The house was named by the modern excavators after the bronze statue of the dancing ‘faun’ (now a replica) found in the centre of the impluvium in the Tuscan atrium (2) where originally it would be placed at one end. Why such a statue was placed in such a prominent position can be explained by an honorific base with a dedication written in Oscan, the native pre-Roman language of Pompeii, to the aedile Satrius, and found near Room 10, which may suggest ownership of the house by the Satrii, a well-established Campanian family, who fell on hard times after the arrival of the Sullan colony in 80 bc. They seem only to have returned to political life in the last days of Pompeii. The bronze faun, or ‘satyr’, could be a visual pun on their family name. The House of the Faun was excavated between 1830 and 1832 by the German Archaeological Institute and completed by the Italian archaeologist Carlo Bonucci. The principal decoration is in the First Style which was already 200 years old at the time of the eruption in ad 79. The architectural style of the house is Hellenistic, and can be compared to the Greek royal palaces found at Pella, Pergamum and Alexandria. Not only the enormous size of the house, but also the two colonnaded gardens, or ‘peristyles’, and rooms around them, fit the Greek norm as written by Vitruvius, a Roman architect living at the time of Augustus, in his multi-volume work entitled De Architectura.

House of the Faun

The decorative scheme of the house, as noted, is First Style and such decoration was also identified in the excavation of Greek houses such as at Delos. In addition, the Greek visual trick of allowing outsiders to look inside at the opulence and wealth of the interior of the house is employed – the visitor can look through the front door from the street, beyond the Tuscan atrium (2), with its unusual location of the bronze faun (or satyr) in the centre of the impluvium (water feature), through the first peristyle and to the exedra in Room 8, which contained the famous Hellenisticstyle mosaic of Alexander the Great fighting the Persian King Darius. The distance to view was over 50 m (162.5 ft). At the time of its excavation the decoration of the house was in good repair and recorded by the wonderful drawings by François-Florimond Boulanger in 1839 and Alfred Normand from 1849 to 1850. Unfortunately, as was the procedure of the time, the mosaics were removed to museums and the walls were not protected from the elements. To add insult to injury the Allied Air Force bombed Pompeii during World War II and two bombs fell on and seriously damaged the House of the Faun.

The Tour The front façade of the building faces on to the Via di Nola and is one of the most impressive domestic entrances in Pompeii. It is built of blocks of Nocera tufa, with a Doric pilaster at each end and between each there was a pair of shops. Corinthian pilasters and an elaborate dentil moulded lintel or cornice frame the main door. The exterior door frame was finished in stucco and painted. On the pavement outside the door, and spelled out in green, yellow and white marble, we can read the word ‘HAVE’, usually written as ‘ave’, which in Latin translates as ‘Welcome’ or ‘Hail’. Four shops, which butt up to the main entrance, had, it is thought, upper floors and were about 5.8 m (19 ft) high. When closed the front of the shops was shuttered. There are two entrances to the house: the main entrance to the west (1) and a smaller entrance to the east (34), which was a later modification. The main entrance is closed by two sets of doors. The street door, unusually, was at the outer end of the vestibule, consisted of three leaves and opened towards the inside, while the double door between the vestibule and the entrance corridor (fauces) opened towards the outside. This was presumably to prevent damage to the First Style stucco decoration of a small domestic temple, situated about 2.4 m (8 ft) above the floor.

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Figure 34: Plan of House of the Faun

House of the Faun

This shrine consists of a tufa shelf about 40.6 cm (16 in) wide, on which is built the façade of a small temple with a portico of four freestanding columns enclosing the front of the cella with its closed doors. The tufa stone shelf on which the temple stood was supported by a cornice with stucco brackets (consoles) in the shape of sphinxes and lions, now in part fallen away; the underside of the shelf was carved to represent a coffered ceiling. The floor of the corridor (fauces) is laid with small triangular pieces of marble and slate in red, yellow, green, white and black. The inner end of the corridor (fauces) was marked off with a mosaic threshold (now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples) comprising a full-colour pictorial extravaganza of two tragic masks in the midst of fruits, flowers and garlands. The corridor (fauces), which slopes upwards, leads to the larger of the two atria (2) found in the House of the Faun. The Tuscan atrium is large, with a length of 16.2 m (53 ft), a breadth of 10.1 m (33 ft) and a height not less than 8.6 m (28 ft). Recent research suggests a gallery existed above the high doors of the ground floor, possibly employing the Ionic halfcolumns found stored in the second peristyle by the nineteenth-century excavator. Above the postulated gallery would be a wooden coffered ceiling, perhaps gilded, an inwardly sloping ‘compluviate’ roof of the classic Tuscan atrium, supported by four massive beams. The impluvium (rainwater basin) still retains its opus sectile pavement in rhombs of coloured marble (opus sectile), with the bronze faun dancing in its centre. Edged with a low wall in white travertine marble, it was a visual contrast to the sombre colours of the surrounding floor, which was paved with small pieces of dark slate. The general layout of the Tuscan atrium is typical, with two alae (3–3A) just in front of the tablinum. There are three large doors on either side; those to the west (Rooms 31, 31, 31) to cubicula (bedrooms); and those to the east (Rooms 30, 31, 32) to rooms the same size but obviously not all cubicula. However, Room 32 was a bedroom; places for two beds were marked by slight elevations in the floor. This room had been redecorated in the Second Style. The room opposite (Room 31) was of poor decoration and could be the porter’s (atriensis) lodging.

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At the far end of the atrium were three rooms (Rooms 4, 6 and 35), flanked by two spaces (Room 3), called alae. Room 4 is the tablinum, with a large window opening on the colonnade of the peristyle. It was a multifunctional room used as a bedroom, reception or office and floored in the middle of the room with a rectangular section of opus sectile, lozenge-shaped pieces of black, white and green marble. The rest of the floor is white mosaic and is flanked by dining rooms (Rooms 35 and 6). Room 6 was likely to have been the winter dining room. Both rooms had large windows on the side of peristyle, and Room 35 also had a door opening upon the colonnade. Room 35 had a mosaic of fish of various kinds, and sea monsters; the other room (6) a mosaic of the genius of autumn, represented by a vine-crowned youth sitting on a panther and drinking out of a golden bowl – an appropriate scene for a winter dining room. The two alae (Rooms 3, 3A), the ‘wings’ of the atrium, were two deep recesses ornamented, as the tablinum, with pilasters and with mosaic pictures. In Room 3 there is a mundane picture of doves pulling a necklace out of a casket, whilst Room 3A had a much finer mosaic in two parts: above is a cat with a partridge; below ducks, fishes and shellfish. A large window in the rear wall of this room opens into the adjacent smaller atrium (24), not for the admission of light, but for ventilation. The function of the two alae (wings) is not known, although Vitruvius suggests the placing of the death masks of ancestors in them. The decoration of the atrium is in the First Style, dating from 120–100 bc, and has a broad band of black fresco, then a projecting stucco white dentil cornice, and above this masses of dark red, bluish-green and yellow fresco simulating different types of exotic stone, applied to stucco worked to imitate blocks of drafted masonry. This mode of painting is known as ‘First Pompeian Style’ and was based on a style of decoration formulated in the Hellenistic cities of the East. The decoration stopped just above the side doors; the upper parts of the walls were painted white. August Mau, writing in 1899 of the House of the Faun, says: As one stepped across the mosaic border at the end of the fauces, a beautiful vista opened up before the eyes. From the aperture [roof opening] of the compluvium a diffused light was spread through the atrium, brilliant with its rich colouring. At the rear the lofty entrance of the tablinum

House of the Faun

attracted the visitor by its stately dignity. Now the portieres [curtains] are drawn aside, and beyond the large window of the tablinum the columns of the first peristyle are seen. The shrubs and flowers of the garden are bright with sunshine and fragrant odours are wafted through the house; in the midst a slender fountain jet rises in the air and falls with a murmur pleasant to the ear. If the vegetation was not too luxuriant, one might look into the exedra, on the further side of the colonnade, and even catch glimpses of the trees and bushes in the garden of the second peristyle. (Mau, 1899: 285) There are two exits in the Tuscan atrium to other parts of the house, the first through Room 35 to the first peristyle garden, the other through Room 30 to the secondary tetrastyle atrium (2), which originally had no entrance of its own from the street outside. On the north side of the atrium the excavators found two large money chests standing on large slabs of stone. The four tufa columns of the tetrastyle atrium are about 6 m (20 ft) high, fluted to full height, and with Attic bases. The impluvium is constructed of blocks of Nocera tufa, and floored with five large slabs of the same material. The water collected from the inward sloping roof was not stored in a below-ground cistern – as was the case for the Tuscan atrium – but discharged through a drain to the east into the gutter of the Vicolo del Labirinto roadway. Rooms 26 and 30 can be considered to be the alae, set on the cross axis, with Room 30 also being the original entrance to this part of the house. There is no obvious tablinum, but Room 26, situated opposite Room 30 and decorated with ornamental jambs with modified Corinthian capitals in tufa finished with stucco, could serve that function. The usual space reserved for the tablinum (23) has been used as the andron (corridor), leading from the atrium to the first peristyle, whilst the adjacent room (22) is part of the first peristyle and could be a bedroom. Other bedrooms leading off from the atrium are Rooms 27, 28, 29 and 33. This part of the house seems to have been considerably damaged by the earthquake of ad 63, particularly the upper rooms, and rebuilt and redecorated simply in the Fourth Style. In Room 33 excavators found the remains of shelves and a staircase leading to the upper rooms. Remains of upper rooms were also found

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over Rooms 27, 28 and 29, and at the same level as the upper rooms of the adjacent shop (35), accessible from a staircase in that shop. Another staircase in Room 20, partly of wood, led to upper rooms above Rooms 18, 19, 21 and 25 and part of the kitchen (Room 16). Bronze vessels and the remains of a bedstead with ivory feet were found in the adjoining Rooms 27 and 28. A long service corridor (15) connected the ‘behind the scenes’ rooms, which included a toilet (18), baths (19) and an unusually large kitchen (16). The baths, tepidarium and caldarium were built with hollow floors and walls and provided with hot air and water from the furnace situated in the adjacent kitchen. The kitchen was provided with a niche on the north wall for images of the household gods, but built so high that access would have had to be by ladder. The adjacent large room to the north (14), without decoration at the time of the eruption, is thought by Mau to have been a temporary wine store and was filled with amphorae, as were areas in both peristyles. The adjacent room (13), with doors from the corridor (15), and Room 14, had been redecorated in the Second Style and the excavators found the remains of two beds, which suggest the room was being used as a bedroom at the time of the eruption. Entrance to the first peristyle (7), located behind the tablinum (4), is through Room 35, a small dining room to its left. The one-storey colonnade of the first peristyle was decorated in the First Style with wall surfaces divided by engaged pilasters, whilst the colonnade was of well-proportioned fluted Ionic columns topped by a Doric frieze, with a dentil cornice. In the middle of the garden a marble fountain basin may still be seen in the centre of a small rectangular water feature. Dominating the first peristyle (7) was a large room (exedra), framed by four columns. Two stucco fluted columns painted red on individual bases stood to the left and right of the exedra’s axis, with two matching engaged pilasters wrapped around the actual opening of the room (8). At the rear of the room was a window extending almost from side to side, opening upon the second peristyle (11). Between the columns of the entrance was a mosaic threshold band with a Nilotic landscape inhabited by hippopotamus, crocodile, ichneumon and ibis. From the drawings of Normand in 1850 one can see the importance of the room. The socle of the exedra was painted with a representation of drapery; the central zone had imitation ashlar masonry with a figured frieze in stucco. The mosaic was removed in 1843 and now has pride of place in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The replica

House of the Faun

in its place is disappointing and seems too small and badly executed. The original mosaic covered 80 per cent of the exedra’s space. Viewing the original mosaic was not without its problems. Normally a mosaic is laid to be viewed from the point of entry to a room or from the reclining couches if a dining room. The mosaic, probably the copy of a famous Greek painting of which there is some debate, is thought by some experts to have been detached from its first site and reused in the House of the Faun in about 100 bc (Moreno 2001: 9); others believe it was constructed in situ (Clarke 1991: 84). Again, it could be representing the Battle of Issus in 333 bc or Gaugamela in 331 bc, in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persian army under Darius. The original mosaic was huge, 2.70 m high x 5.12 m long (9 x 17 ft), and estimates of the number of tiny tesserae used range from 1.5 to 4 million. It shows dozens of figures in a melee of violent movement in a crucial moment in the battle, and uses all the tricks of trompe l’oeil, including shading, foreshortening and highlights. How the room was used is open to conjecture. An exedra would have normally been used for welcoming guests and entertainment. It is unlikely any furniture was placed on the mosaic, and the fact that the room was directly on the axial sightline running through the front door, the entrance hall (fauces), the atrium and the tablinum merely emphasised the importance of the mosaic to the owners of the house and its visitors. On either side of the exedra were two dining rooms (9 and 10), Room 10 opening to the second peristyle (11); the other with a fine mosaic which, though badly damaged, is of a lion standing over a prostrate tiger. The corridor from the first peristyle to the second (12) could be closed at both ends, and is located to the east of Room 9. The second peristyle is enormous; whereas the first peristyle had 28 columns, the second boasted 44, built of brick in the Doric Style, with tufa capitals; the shafts in stucco were edged, not fluted. The entablature would have rested on lintels of timber, and at one time it was thought there was an upper colonnade of the Ionic order giving frontage to an upper storey of rooms. The rooms (39–44) are situated on the north side of the peristyle. Room 44 is located in the north-east corner and is thought to be the gardener’s room; the adjacent room (43) is the doorkeeper’s room, itself next to the rear entrance to the house (42). At Room 39 was a shallow niche designed for statues, whilst the two adjacent rooms (40, 41) were smaller niches, each ornamented in front

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with pilasters and a gable. These were the shrines of the household gods; in front of them were found two bronze tripods, two bronze lamp stands, two pairs of iron tongs, and the remains of a branch of laurel with the bones and eggs of a dove that had nested in them. In addition, bronze statuettes of the household gods were found seemingly in one of the niches. Also in this area the skeletons of two cows were found. The small elevated area in the north portico of the large peristyle perhaps served as a small stage for theatrical performances. Pliny, in describing the meal served during his visit to the Roman villa at Spurina, says that: dinner was brought on in dishes of antique solid silver [silver didn’t tarnish until the air was polluted in the early eighteenth century], a simple meal, well served […] Between the courses there was a performance of comedy, so that the pleasures of the table have a seasoning of letters, and the meal is prolonged into the night. (Pliny, Epistulae, 3.1.9) There would have been birds in the garden of the House of the Faun, as shown by the unique find of a carbonised branch of laurel with the bones and eggs of a dove that had made its nest in the laurel tree. Other birds made their home in the trees and shrubs of the peristyle gardens, taking advantage of the foliage and water from the fountain. Elsewhere in Pompeii frescoes show that the song thrush, jay, turtle dove, swallow, robin, golden oriole and wheatear shared the garden. Unfortunately the gardens within the two peristyles were not excavated with the care shown in later work by Wilhelmina Jashemski, but sufficient evidence from excavations elsewhere in Pompeii, plus the evidence from frescoes recovered, means we can ascertain that both peristyles would have had wonderful gardens full of flowers, scent and the sonorous music of birdsong.

House of the Vettii (VI.15.1, Figure 35)

W

hen leaving the House of the Faun turn left, and left again down the narrow street Vicolo del Labirinto. If this street is closed try the next one on your left. When you reach the Vicolo di Mercurio the House of the Vettii is in front of you. Not normally open to the public, the house has become one of the most important

House of the Vettii

Figure 35: Plan of House of the Vettii

in Pompeii because of the survival in situ of the rich Fourth Style painting – and not only the painting but also sculpture and marble furnishing were left where found by the excavators and not removed to be sold by the King of Naples. The house was probably owned by the rich freedmen brothers Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, whose names appear on election notices and were carved in two seals found close to the chests (arcae) located in the atrium. The house was planned to fit the restrictions of its position in the block and had four main architectural elements: the Tuscan atrium (1); the peristyle (2); the service atrium (3); and a small private peristyle (4). A short service corridor on the south side ran between the atrium and a stable to a secondary entrance (5). The main entrance (6) on the east side contains a painting of Priapus, the god of fertility, with a very large phallus placed on one of the pans of a pair of scales, and balanced on the other pan by a bag containing

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money. It probably served as a good luck talisman for health and prosperity and below a basket of fruit suggests the abundance of the Vettii brothers. On the other wall is a painting of a sheep with the attributes of Mercury, the god of commerce. Both paintings were promoting the wealth and health of the householders. Beyond the entrance is the atrium (1) without the usual tablinum which may suggest that although the Vettii brothers were obviously affluent, as freedmen they did not have clients calling in for the morning salutatio but they themselves would go calling. Or the entire atrium with its two alae (adjoining rooms) would have functioned as a place for receiving clientes. The atrium is decorated with magnificent Fourth Style paintings, and beyond, visible from the street through the open door, would be the peristyle with its vividarium (pleasure garden) and trompe l’oeil wall decoration on the far west wall. The wall decoration of the atrium is magnificent, with figures of children making sacrifices to the penates (household gods) against a black background. Above them the border is painted with winged cherubs active in scenes from the amphitheatre and circus. The atrium has been rebuilt and restored as far as the roof; the roof opening (compluvium) has its original terracotta lion’s-head waterspouts still in position to deliver rainwater into the pool below. Placed against the sidewalls on masonry bases were two iron-covered strong boxes decorated with bronze decorative studs. The entrance hall (vestibulum) is flanked by two rooms (cubicula). The one on the left is painted in alternating red and white panels decorated with the scenes of Ariadne abandoned by Theseus, and of Hero and Leander. In the southeast corner the reception room (oecus) is decorated with theatrical buildings painted on a white background and large yellow ochre panels have paintings which depict the myth of Cyparissus, Bacchus and Adriane watching the battle between Pan and Cupid (7). On the south side of the atrium is located a long narrow hall which held the staircase to the upper floor and also gave access to a stable and the side entrance (5). On the north-east side of the atrium is an opening to the smaller atrium (3), which is surrounded by the servants’ quarters and dominated by a magnificent household shrine (lararium) dedicated to the gods of that particular household. The lares protected the household from external threats and are usually, as in the House of the Vettii, portrayed as

House of the Vettii

two young men wearing short tunics dancing, and holding drinking horns (rhytons) and dishes (paterae) in their hands. The styles of these lararia vary, from simple wall paintings to the type built at the House of the Vettii in the form of a small temple (aedicule) with the pediment supported by Corinthian columns. Between the paintings of the two lares is the genius that represents the head of the household (paterfamilias) making a sacrifice. Snakes (the agathodemon) were considered the guardian spirit of the family and were shown underneath. Domestic rituals would be conducted at the lararia by the head of the household and would consist of daily prayers to the different household gods and regular small offerings of food from meals. Next door is the kitchen (8) where the iron trivets, cooking pots and pans still sit where they were found on the cinders of the range. Just off the kitchen is a small room (9), probably the household brothel, decorated with erotic scenes painted in a simple, direct style that leaves little to the imagination. Also displayed here is a statue of Priapus which was found by the excavators in the kitchen but probably belonged to the garden as the statue could be used as a fountain with water jetting out of his huge penis. Priapus was a Greek god whose cult spread to Italy; originally a god of fertility of crops and protection against harm, he latterly became primarily a god of gardens. His symbol was a phallus used as a protective charm against the evil eye. According to some myths, Priapus was son of Dionysus and worshipped as part of the rites of Dionysus (Bacchus). Retrace your steps into the main atrium, which leads into a magnificent peristyle with a central garden (viridarium) adorned with numerous small bronze and marble sculptures and benches. The garden would have been a haven of tranquillity with the sound of water cascading from fountains and splashing into basins. Running water was supplied by lead pipes connected, ultimately, with Pompeii’s aqueduct. Each fountain had its own bronze stopcock so that the display of water could be controlled and regulated. Among the building’s architectural novelties are two rooms facing the east portico of the peristyle. Both rooms originally had access to the peristyle and were decorated with wonderful Fourth Style paintings derived from Greek mythological subject matter. The two rooms were

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probably exedras imitating the picture galleries found in aristocratic palaces where original and expensive works of art would be placed for viewing by guests. The room to the north (10) was possibly used as a dining room (triclinium) and is justly famous for the exquisite frieze of cherubs painted onto a black background. Starting from the left-hand door, the scenes show cherubs: engaged in an archery competition; picking flowers and making garlands; making perfume; in a chariot race; minting coins; baking bread; harvesting grapes; at a festival in honour of Bacchus; and buying wine. Next to the peristyle and reached through a lockable door from the north wing is a smaller, private peristyle located in the most secluded part of the house. It is decorated with erotic and feminine mythological subjects including ‘Achilles at Skyros discovered dressed as a woman among King Lycomedes daughters’ and ‘Drunken Hercules surprising Augeas’. Although it has been suggested that the area was for the exclusive use of the owner’s wife and daughters – as known from Greek houses – there appears to be no evidence for that particular use in Roman housing. The House of the Vettii caused a sensation when excavated by Petra in 1894. The house and all its furnishing and works of art were complete and the decision, a controversial one at the time, was to leave everything, as found, in its place. It was one of the most frequently visited houses in Pompeii, and unfortunately has suffered serious damage to its decorative surfaces by the thousands of visitors in previous years and may not be open for viewing. Turn left when you leave the House of the Vettii and turn right onto the Via del Vesuvio. Ahead are the Central Baths.

Central Baths (Figure 36)

A

new development after the earthquake of ad 62, the Central Baths were meant to provide the centre of Pompeii with the most up-to-date bathing system. Great care was taken to use the most innovative methods. Building was done in brick, with separate sections for men and women abolished. The baths occupy the entire area of an insula with shops built into the street frontages on the west and north sides. The rooms are larger, the windows bigger, the sauna (laconicum) re-introduced, a bigger gym and sunbathing facilities

Central Baths / Bakery of Popidius Priscus

Figure 36: Plan of Central Baths

provided. Unfortunately no Pompeian ever had the pleasure of bathing in these baths. They were not finished by the time of the eruption in ad 79. In fact, at the moment of eruption workmen had just begun putting up the expensive marble columns around the finished shell of the building. Turn right after the Central Baths into Via della Fortuna and turn first left down Vicolo Storto to the Bakery of Popidius Priscus.

Bakery of Popidius Priscus (VII.2.22, Figure 37)

T

he bakery adjoins the house of Popidius Priscus, a member of one of the most important families in Pompeii. About 35 bakeries have been found in Pompeii, each one with about four grindstones. This bakery follows a similar layout; a small service door (1) connected

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the house and bakery. The main entrance (2) to the bakery was on Vicolo Storto, but the bakery did not have a sales counter suggesting deliveries were made to trade customers in the neighbourhood. The bakery used four large mills (3), which stood outside in a row with room between them (4) for the mules to turn the grindstones. The grindstone was carved out of a special type of lava rock quarried from the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. It was porous, but extremely hard, and very few fragments broke off during the grinding process. The base (meta) is cone-shaped and on it was placed a grindstone shaped as a hollow double truncated cone (catillus) whose upper part served as a funnel wherein the grain was poured whilst the lower part ground the grain against the cone-shaped meta. The ground flour would filter down the sides of the base (meta) to be collected on a collared tray (lamina) fitted around the base. To avoid excessive friction the catillus could be slightly lifted from the meta by a wooden beam that fitted the ear-lugs carved into the sides of the stone catillus. A blindfolded mule would turn the whole contraption. After grinding, the flour was sieved and water added to make dough. The dough could be mixed in an industrial-sized mixing machine equipped with paddles. Excavators in the bakery discovered one such machine. The dough, after being left to rest, was wrapped in a cloth and in the kneading trough located on a masonry bench on the south side of the bakery it was shaped into round loaves, segmented into eight portions with a double cross, and stamped with the baker’s seal. The oven (5), which had a very large polygonal combustion chamber, was filled with vine faggots and when lit the smoke billowed out of a long flue at the front. The fire was kept alight until the bricks of the vault became white hot. It would have taken about an hour and a half to heat the oven. Then the bread was put into the oven with a wooden paddle and the oven closed with an iron shutter fitted with a sliding panel to regulate the heat. It would have taken about 30–45 minutes to bake the bread. Halfway through the cooking process the loaves would have been coated with water from a mop to give them a shiny surface. At the Modestus Bakery (VII.1.36) 81 loaves were found somewhat overcooked in the oven, indicating the industrial-scale production of bread at Pompeii. On leaving the bakery turn left down the Vicolo Storto, turn left into the Via degli Augustali to continue the tour, or turn right for lunch at the café

Bakery of Popidius Priscus / Brothel

Figure 37: Plan of Bakery of Popidius Priscus

just behind the souvenir shop. The first turning on the right along the Via degli Augustali is the Vicolo del Lupanare, which leads to the Brothel.

Brothel (VII.12.18, Figure 38)

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alled the lupanar (brothel) after the cry of the she-wolf (lupa) in heat, the Brothel seems to have been run by two men called Victor and Africanus. Over 30 brothels were once thought to have been found in Pompeii, ranging from a single room with a straw

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Figure 38: Plan of Brothel

mattress to superior establishments attached to bath-houses; however, their numbers are now somewhat depleted by modern research. Prostitutes had to be registered with the City authorities and were barred from holding public office. On the ground floor there are five rooms (1–5) opening off a through corridor with entrances (6–7) at 18 Vicolo del Lupanare and 19 Vicolo del Balcone Pensile. There is a small latrine (8) in the north-east corner. Upstairs there are five more rooms. The rooms are furnished simply with a masonry bed base and painted white, and are covered with graffiti left by the clients who proclaim the virtues and vices of incumbent prostitutes: ‘Maria the Jewess, Zmyrina the Exotic, Palmyra the Oriental, Aglae the Greek.’ Above the doors leading into the rooms are paintings illustrating scenes of the ‘speciality’ of the house, whilst on the opposite wall is a painting of the Greek god Priapus in front of a fig tree holding the testicles of a double phallus in each hand.

Brothel / Stabian Baths

Prostitution, although rife in Pompeii, was considered disgraceful and not for the upper classes who no doubt favoured slave girls and boys at their beck and call. The cost to the brothel client was low, ranging from two to six as, enough to buy a couple of glasses of good Pompeian wine. Leaving the brothel turn right into the Vicolo del Lupanare and the Stabian Baths will be on your left.

Stabian Baths (VII.1.8, Figure 39)

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he baths are located just to the north of the Theatre District. To find them from the Marine Gate entrance walk uphill to the Forum and cross over to the Via dell’Abbondanza to find the fourth block on the left.

Excavated between 1853 and 1858 by Ruggiero, the complex was found to have been pillaged after the eruption of ad 79 by gangs of Romans looking for expensive marble statues and furnishings. Established in the second century bc, it was enlarged in the first years of the establishment of the Roman colony in 80 bc. The bathing suites occupy the east wing of the building. The furnace room separates men and women from each other. The centre of the bath complex is occupied by an exercise yard surrounded on three sides by a colonnaded portico. Public latrines are found in the north wing, whilst on the west side is located the swimming pool. The sequence of bathing rooms, both for men and women, is typical of this type of establishment. From the vestibule, off which was the cold plunge bath (frigidarium), one entered the changing room (apodyterium) then the warm room (tepidarium) and finally the hot room (caldarium). August Mau says of the Baths ‘the largest and oldest bathing establishment at Pompeii is that to which the name “Stabian Baths” has been given, from its location on Stabian Street. It was built in the second century bc, but was remodelled in the early days of the Roman colony and afterwards underwent extensive repairs’ (Mau 1899: 183). Recent investigations have shown that underneath the Stabian Baths was a large exercise yard (palaestra) and rows of Greek-style hip baths contained in masonry chambers with the water supplied by a well. These have been dated to the fifth/fourth century bc. By the third century bc

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Figure 39: Plan of Stabian Baths

the Greek-style hip baths had been replaced by immersion baths in an extended bath building, with a portico built in the exercise yard (palaestra). In the second century bc the baths were extended to provide separate bathing facilities for men and women. Of some importance to the development of the Roman baths was the introduction in about 90–80 bc of the hypocaust system of heating; prior to this, heating the baths had been by charcoal braziers. This is the earliest known use of hypocaust heating anywhere in the Roman Empire. At about the same time the Stabian Baths were refurbished by Gaius Uulius and Publius Aninius. A marble inscription found at the baths states:

Stabian Baths

Gaius Uulius, son of Gaius, and Publius Aninius, son of Gaius, duumvirs, awarded the contracts for the sweatbaths [laconicum] and destrictarium [a room for rubbing down after exercise] and for the refurbishment of the portico and exercise yard [palaestra] in accordance with a decree of the town councillors using the money that the law requires them to spend for games and public works. The same officials oversaw the construction and approved it. (C, L, X 829) The final alterations and additions to the Stabian Baths took place in the Augustine period when Pompeii was connected to the water supply of the new aqueduct. This enabled a swimming pool (natatorium) to be built, a new wing to be added, the entrance complex to be decorated with stucco reliefs and the walls of some of the rooms to be painted in Fourth Style frescoes. The main entrance (1) is off the Via dell’Abbondanza and leads directly into the colonnaded exercise area (2). The Doric colonnade is built on three sides of the exercise area (palaestra) and on the area alongside the swimming pool (3) there is a simple raised pavement. The excavators found two stone balls here and Mau suggests they could be part of a game like ninepins, with the pavement strip acting as a bowling alley. Either side of the open swimming pool are two roofed rooms (4 and 5), with high arched doorways and tanked with white marble veneer to a height of 6 feet. Above the marble dado is a garden fresco of birds, plants and water nymphs and, above the garden frieze, blue sky. On the rear walls was a spigot for a jet of water and, above, a niche for a statue. These rooms seem to have been used as shallow basins for a predip clean before entering the central swimming pool. At some stage it was found that one room would be sufficient for this need and room (5) was filled in and capped by a mosaic floor level with the threshold. Adjacent to the retained pre-dip wash room was a large changing room (6), which could be entered on the east side direct from the colonnade. This room is decorated in white, with a mosaic floor, and still retains traces of wooden wardrobes. This changing room was used by the male bathers to undress, be rubbed with oil before exercise and to return to be strigaled (destringere), then wash in the adjoining room (5) and go to the open-air swimming pool, which could be entered by

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steps on either side, veneered with white marble. The swimming pool was filled by constant flowing water from the town aqueduct, with an inlet pipe on the north-east side and an overflow pipe at the southeast corner. Turning around we can view the exercise yard (2) with a colonnade on three sides. On the east side of the exercise yard (palaestra) are the men’s baths, rooms 7–11, and, north of these, the women’s baths, rooms 12–14, with the Furnace Room (15) between them. In the northwest corner is a suite of small rooms, with private baths not in use at the time of the eruption. The colonnade is constructed of tufa Doric columns, coated with white stucco, with the lower third painted red, not fluted but edged with incised vertical lines. The capitals are moulded in stucco with symmetrical volutes and a tongued cornice capped by an entablature ornamented with stucco reliefs. The colonnade is pierced at the main entrance (and mirrored on the opposite side of the exercise yard) by a monumental entrance of two pillars, flanked by half columns carrying a roof higher than the rest of the colonnade. The exterior wall decoration of the exercise yard is best seen in the exterior wall surfaces of Rooms 5 and 6, where the walls are divided into two storeys and subdivided into stucco panels, framed by slender columns and their entablatures; the stucco figures in white relief against a red or blue ground are of a variety of subjects. Jupiter sits above the arched doorway of Room 5 with his sceptre in his right hand, whilst his eagle sits nesting on a pillar. Another shows Hylas at the spring seized by nymphs, a boxer, a man scraping with a strigil and Daedalus making wings with Icarus and Hermes in his cloak. The entrance to the men’s baths is at the east corner of the colonnade. The entrance hall (7) leads into the changing room (8). The changing room (apodyterium) is vaulted and decorated in stucco reliefs in hexagonal, octagonal and quadrangular panels and is decorated with rosettes, cupids, trophies and bacchic figures all in white relief against a blue background, bordered by circles and curved octagons, painted red. The lunettes are decorated with fantastic architectural designs and include cupids riding on dolphins. The two arches which support the weight of the barrel-vaulted roof have stucco reliefs of female figures riding dolphins.

Stabian Baths

The floor is decorated with grey marble tiles bordered by basalt slabs and the walls simply decorated with a red fresco banding and white fresco walls. The room is provided with solid benches and, above, niches for the bathers to place their clothes. Retracing one’s steps into the entrance hall (7), turn and look through the doorway into the exquisite small circular room (9) with a cold plunge pool and a domed ceiling, pierced by an oculus. The frigidarium (9) has a circular bath lined with white marble and arranged in four descending rings. The wall is pierced by four semi-circular niches and wall and niches are covered in a garden design fresco. The dome is painted blue and embellished with silver stars. A jet of water would have emitted from the bronze tap on the wall. Leading off from the changing room are two doorways; the door at the far end leads to a waiting room, possibly for the use of slaves, which originally opened out into the street. The other door on the north side leads to the warm room (10), heated by a hypocaust system. An unusual feature of the warm room (tepidarium) is the later addition of a large bath (alveus), located on the right. The central doorway on the north wall leads into the hot room (11), furnished with a large plunge bath, and at the other end in the apse is the support for the coldwater basin (labrum), which is no longer there. The hot room (caldarium) is heated by a hypocaust system – hot air from the adjacent furnace room and hot water for the bath, again from the same source. The women’s baths are next door with the entrance from the exercise yard (palaestra). This is a later development as the original entrance was from the street (16). The entrance hall (18) is large and is connected on the north side to a smaller room (12), which functioned as a changing room (apodyterium). Mau writes that: ‘The apodyterium is the best preserved room of the entire building and also the most ancient. It shows almost no traces of the catastrophe’ (Mau 1899: 186). The floor is tiled with lozenge-shaped brick tiles. Along the white stucco wall were concrete benches and, above, niches for clothes carved in tufa, overlaid with stucco with graffiti of large sailing boats and seabirds. There is no separate cold room (frigidarium) in the women’s

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baths, but a later addition of a large rectangular plunge bath is located against the west wall (17). The warm room (13) is barrel vaulted and heated by tegulae mammatae tiles, the socle with marble slabs and the walls decorated with slender columns with cornices decorated with lotus flowers. The hot room (14) (caldarium) is floored with white marble mosaic tiles framed by a black marble mosaic strip and the walls frescoed with a red background divided by yellow pilaster strips. The walls are topped by a frieze decorated by lotus flowers and topped by a fluted vault. The labrum in the hot room (caldarium) is not situated in an apse, but is well preserved: a round shallow basin of white marble, sitting on a masonry base. At the opposite end of the room is the veneered white marble hot plunge bath, heated in an ingenious way. Under the hot bath is a hypocaust system, heated by the furnace in the adjacent room and, above, the flue from the furnace to the hypocaust was a bronze cylindrical heater, situated lower than the base of the bath, which allowed the cooler water to be circulated into the bronze heater to be heated again. In the adjacent furnace room (praefurnium) (15) there were originally three large bronze cylindrical tanks. The tanks are no longer there, but the pipework is almost intact – the largest tank was for cold water, the adjacent (and middle) tank was for lukewarm water and the next for hot water. Turn left when you leave the baths and turn right onto the Via Stabiana, which will lead you to the Theatre District.

Theatre District (Figure 40)

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urn right onto the Via del Tempio d’Iside and ahead is the Triangular Forum (40A), which is past the Theatres on your left. This spot is one of the most beautiful in Pompeii. It is situated on top of a ridge of lava that overlooks the Sarno Valley and the Bay of Naples. It was occupied from the sixth century bc when a wonderful Doric Temple (40B) of Greek or Etruscan origin was constructed. The land was sacred, and the sanctuary was separate from the early town of Pompeii that was developing around the Temple of Apollo and the adjacent market.

Theatre District

Figure 40: Plan of Theatre District

The Triangular Forum entrance is near the crossroads and can be entered through a monumental entrance (propylaeum) originally comprising six tall and elegant Ionic columns (1). After the excavation in the eighteenth century three columns and one semi column were restored. Walk through the left side and ahead of you is the great threesided portico, which delimited the sacred area (2). Originally there were about 100 columns and a number have been restored on the east side in front of the rear exterior of the Theatre.

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Near the entrance stood a fountain and a marble-faced base for a statue dedicated to Marcellus, a nephew of Augustus who for a short time prior to his early death held the office of patronus of Pompeii, an office that guaranteed the interests of Pompeii would be promoted at the Imperial Court. It has been suggested, quite convincingly, that the eastern portico (4), which is the longest side of the Triangular Forum, was used as an open-air and covered race track (xystus). Although only half a stadium in length (a stadia is 120 m (394 ft)) it could have been used for athletic and horse races, held as part of the religious festivals associated with the Doric Temple situated in the south-west area of the Triangular Forum. The Doric Temple dates back to the middle of the sixth century bc and was rebuilt a number of times between the fifth and second centuries bc. It has an unusual south-east orientation, probably so ships arriving at the mouth of the River Sarno could see it. Its ground plan is unclear, but it is likely that it was completely colonnaded and planned as a typical Greek temple. The surviving altar is on the south-east side which suggests there should be another similar altar on the west side. The two altars would have been dedicated to two deities, probably Minerva and Hercules,

Figure 41: View of the Triangular Forum taken in 1909

Theatre District / Samnite Gymnasium

as portrayed on the roof ornaments (antefixae) recovered by the excavators. Further evidence is found on an incomplete inscription in Oscan painted on a nearby tuff pillar. The Doric Temple was probably a picturesque ruin at the time of the ad 79 eruption and had been for many years. Around the temple are a number of other interesting monuments. On the temple’s north-west corner is a semi-circular seat (5) whose ends are carved with winged lion’s paws. Its Latin inscription tells us that the seat called a ‘schola’ was dedicated by the duumviri Lucius Sepunius Sandilianus and Marcus Herennius Epidianus. In front of the Doric Temple, by the steps leading up to it, is a small temple (6) that could be the symbolic tomb (heroon) of the mythical founder of the city. In front of the temple is a round shrine (tholos) with seven Doric columns (four still stand) that surround an older sacred well (7). The function of the well is not known; it could be for sacred water or, being near the possible tomb of the founder of the city, the shrine could be a meeting place of the world of the living and the netherworld of the dead (mundus). Elaborate rites were closely connected with such structures preceding the foundation of a city. Walk back to the entrance of the Triangular Forum and on your right is the Samnite Gymnasium (40C).

Samnite Gymnasium (Figure 40)

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ith the rebuilding of parts of the Triangular Forum in the second century bc, a building comprising a porticoed courtyard was built with slender Doric columns. The east side of the portico was demolished when the adjacent Temple of Isis (40D) was rebuilt following the earthquake of ad 62. Located in the courtyard in front of the main entrance is a stone flight of stairs and base (8) that probably held a statue of Hermes, the Greek messenger god who was the protector of athletes. It was customary to put the laurel crown intended for the winners on top of the platform. The winning athlete would then ascend the stairs, pick up the crown and consecrate his victory by placing the crown on the head of Hermes.

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The rooms located on the western part of the Gymnasium were used for various athletic activities (9). Found nearby in 1797 was one of the most famous of statues excavated at Pompeii. It is one of the best-preserved marble copies of the Doryphorus (lance bearer) of Polycletus whose bronze original was made by the famous Greek sculptor Argos in about 440 bc. Adjacent to the Gymnasium on the east side is the Temple of Isis (40D).

Temple of Isis (Figure 42)

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xcavated in the eighteenth century, the sanctuary is enclosed by walls on its east and north sides; it adjoins the Samnite Gymnasium to the west and the Theatres to the south. Very little is left of the original temple, having been almost completely destroyed by the earthquake of ad 62. However, it was completely rebuilt in interesting circumstances by Numerius Popidius Celsinus who was a six-year-old child and was admitted into the ruling body of Pompeii, the collegium decurionum, as a reward for his generosity (actually paid by his father).

The finding of this small but wonderfully decorated temple by Vega created a sensation, and it became a ‘must-see’ for foreigners on the Grand Tour. The temple stands on a high platform (podium) reached by a stone staircase at the front (1). It had in the front façade (pronaos) of the cella four Corinthian columns. The inside (2) of the shrine (cella) was decorated with white stucco; against the back wall is a platform with bases (3) for the cult statues of Isis and Osiris. The platform is hollow, as it was used to store the cult regalia and instruments. There is a small door and external staircase on the south side (4), possibly to allow priests to enter quietly into the shrine during ceremonies. Either side of the main entrance are two niches (5, 6), probably for statues of Harpocrates and the Egyptian deity Horus who was the son of Isis and Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife. The façade of the shrine is lavishly decorated with Corinthian pilasters supporting small pediments rendered in stucco in a niche. On the back wall (7) a statue of Dionysus was found dedicated to Numerius Popidius Ampliatus, the

Temple of Isis

Figure 42: Plan of Temple of Isis

father of the six-year-old boy who rebuilt the temple. The customary altar (8) in front of the temple is situated further to the left so as not to impede processions to and from the temple. The excavators found ‘the ashes and burnt bones of the [animal] victims still on top of the altar.’ Just beside the altar is a basement shrine (purgatorium) in which sacred water from the Nile was stored (9). South-west of the courtyard is a great hall (10) with five arched entrances which has been identified as a telesterion for the performing of sacred dramas, an area for the holding of ritual banquets and a meeting hall. The room was decorated with a fresco painting, now

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removed to the Naples museum, which shows landscapes of Upper and Lower Egypt and scenes of the myth of Io and her arrival in Egypt. On the south-east side of the courtyard is where the priests lived: various rooms including a bedroom (11), dining room (12) and kitchen (13) have been identified. Nearly everything found in the temple, including ornaments, the statue of Isis, Dionysus and almost all of the paintings had been removed at the time of excavation and are now on display in a dedicated wing to Isis in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The building adjacent to the Temple of Isis on the east side is the Temple of Jupiter Meilichios (40E).

Temple of Jupiter Meilichios (Figure 43)

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uilt in the second century bc, a terracotta statue and two busts were found in the ruins by the eighteenth-century excavators, and since then the identification of the deity has been questioned. At the end of the nineteenth century August Mau suggested it was dedicated to Jupiter Meilichios, the identification based on a preRoman Oscan inscription found at the site. Jupiter Meilichios is the Roman version of Zeus Meilichios, a cult favoured by the Greeks in Sicily, but rare amongst the Romans. The deity was especially associated with agriculture and abundant crops, and was the patron of farmers. The temple itself is modest and seems to have been used as a temporary place of worship for the Capitoline Triad of Jupiter, Minerva and Juno when their temple was destroyed in the earthquake of ad 62.

When leaving the temple turn right towards the Stabian Gate and on your right is a passage leading to the Theatres.

Theatres (Figure 44)

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he Large Theatre (40F), the Small Theatre (40G) (Odeon) and the Gladiator’s Barracks (40H) (porticus post scaenam) all constitute a unified architectural complex built to Greek ideals in the second century bc. The present appearance of the Large Theatre is a result of the renovations carried out to the building during the reign of Augustus and restorations undertaken after

Figure 43: Plan of Temple of Jupiter Meilichios

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the earthquake of ad 62. The theatre was built against the natural slope of the hill, which made construction easier. The renovation works during the Augustan period were supervised by the architect Marcus Artorius Primus, a former slave and sponsored by Marcus Holconius Rufus and Marcus Holconius Celer. They were members of one of the more prominent families in Pompeii whose wealth came from the production and sale of wine. The theatre was divided into three zones: the ima cavea (1) (closest to the stage); the media cavea (2) (from where one had the best view of the stage); and the summa cavea (3) (up in the ‘gods’). They in their turn were sub-divided into five sections (kerkides) by six vertical passageways. The ima cavea, reserved for the members of the local senate, consisted of four rows of seats. The media cavea had 20 rows of seats, and the summa cavea, of which little survives, probably had four rows of seats.

Figure 44: Plan of the two theatres

Theatres

Between the ima cavea and the stage is the horseshoe-shaped orchestra (4) where musicians used to sit, whilst in folding chairs there used to sit the critiques that would pass comments on the performances. The front of the stage (5) (proskenion) had steps (6) that were used by the actors if they wished to take the play into the audience. The narrow groove at the back of the stage is for the interval curtain and here stands the scaenae frons (7). Its structure dates from the reconstruction after the earthquake of ad 62 when it was probably raised to two stories and reproduces the façade of an aristocratic palace. Actors coming from backstage where the dressing rooms were situated used the three doors. Two highly decorated boxes (8, 9), one either side of the stage, gave an elevated view and were reserved for the VIPs of the city. The Small Theatre (40G) or Odeon is located to the east of the Large Theatre. Built by Caius Quintus Valgus and Marcus Porcius, the Odeon is a roofed building that mimics many of the forms of the Large Theatre. Built after 80 bc by the ruling elite of the Roman colonists imposed on the city, it has been suggested that the Odeon may have been used as a meeting place for Sulla’s Roman veterans, but given the building is described in contemporary inscriptions as a roofed theatre (theatrum tectum) the architectural layout and attention to the acoustics suggest that the building was used for poetic recitals, music, singing and mime shows. Whereas the Large Theatre could seat up to 5,000, the Odeon could only seat about 1,000 spectators. Behind the Large Theatre is situated the Gladiator’s Barracks (40H) (porticus post scaenam), a large four-sided portico surrounded by 74 Doric columns. The building dates from the second century bc and was originally used by the spectators of the two theatres during the intervals. Usually the porticoes enclosed an ornate public garden embellished with statues and fountains. Following the earthquake of ad 62 the access gates to the theatres were walled up and the area was rebuilt as gladiator barracks (ludus). In one of the rooms the excavators found two wooden boxes full of gladiator weapons wrapped in fine cloth. Also found were 22 victims of the eruption of ad 79. Four were shackled to a beam in what was obviously a jail. In another room the excavators found 18 people including a woman adorned with magnificent gold jewellery which at the time of discovery generated wild stories of a rich woman caught with her gladiator lover.

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Figure 45: Plan of Fullery of Stephanus

Theatres / Fullery of Stephanus

On leaving the Theatre District walk back into the city and turn right into the Via dell’Abbondanza, one of the main roads of Pompeii. The road was named in the nineteenth century after the relief on the fountain pillar near the Forum that portrays the Goddess of Abundance as a young woman holding a horn of plenty (cornucopia). The street was peppered with shops (taberna), inns where hot meals were served (caupona) and cafés where hot and cold food was sold (thermopolia). It was Pompeii’s main commercial street in the first century ad, once lined with grand mansions which had shops as part of their frontage. The emergence of freedmen who had amassed fortunes, and the need of some penniless aristocrats to rent out rooms in their fine mansions, meant that the character of the street changed with the front rooms of mansions being taken over by shops and bars. During the last years of the city this street bustled with activity, with crowds buying and selling, drinking and eating, as they promenaded from the civic Forum to the Amphitheatre. Join this street of ghosts and walk towards the Amphitheatre on the east side of the city. On your right, just past the Vicolo del Citarista, is the Fullery of Stephanus.

Fullery of Stephanus (I.6.7, Figure 45)

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he building was excavated by Spinazzola in 1913 and was named after two graffiti found painted on the façade of the building: ‘Stephanus recommends’ and ‘all fullers recommended’. The fullery is one of the largest in Pompeii, which has about 17 such establishments, and has recently undergone extensive and sympathetic restoration (2016).

The previous house was probably restored after the earthquake of ad 62 but then sold to Stephanus who converted the building into a fullery. The laundering facilities were situated on the ground floor with living quarters upstairs. The entrance door (1), which is wider than usual, probably to allow easy access to customers, was found locked and barred by the excavators. Behind the door were a number of bodies, one of whom was clutching a bag of gold and silver coins amounting to 1,090 sesterces, probably the day’s takings.

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To the right of the entrance is a small room (2) probably used as a reception area where clothes could be handed in or collected and payment made. The washing area was located at the rear of the building in the peristyle (3) and courtyard area (4). Three inter-connecting vats (5) were found on descending levels, along with five oval basins. The woven cloth was scoured in these basins using a mixture of water and soda or other alkaline agents such as human urine. The cloth was also treated with ‘fullers’ earth, which strengthened the cloth before being transferred to the large tanks for beating, washing and rinsing. The next important steps were ‘carding’ which removed the cloth fibres that were tangled on the surface of the cloth and ‘sulphurisation’ in which a solution of sulphur steam gave the cloth a sheen. After the final washing in the large tank (6) constructed in the atrium (7) by Stephanus the cloth had its final finishing of brushing and trimming to size. The finished cloth was dried on the terrace (8) constructed above the flat roof of the atrium and ironed in the press, worked by two large screws, which stood on the left in the entrance. Outside the entrance Stephanus had permission from the magistrates, if need be, to dry clothes alongside the road. On leaving the laundry, turn right towards the Amphitheatre and walk for two blocks; on the corner, on your right, is a typical thermopolium (1.8.8). Usually located on a main street, it is a place where hot and cold food and wine was sold, and consisted of an L-shaped masonry counter that contained large terracotta pots (dolia) to contain the food. Sometimes customers could eat sitting down in rooms located behind the bar. The bar was usually equipped with cauldrons and ovens to quickly prepare snacks for those in a hurry to catch the show at the Amphitheatre. The same scenario can be seen on the streets of Naples today.

Fullery of Stephanus / House of Loreius Tiburtinus

This particular bar is thought to belong to Vetutius Placidus, judging by graffiti on the front wall, which also says he owned the house next door. The shrine (lararium) on the back wall is typical in that it portrays the customary household gods in the act of sacrifice, but also includes Dionysus, the god of wine, and Mercury, the god of commerce. Underneath, two snakes sacrifice at an altar. Snakes (or serpents) in Pagan religions had healing powers and were considered as a genius of good (agathos daimon). They were also considered as a messenger of the gods in their ability to disappear into the ground (the underworld). The shedding of their skin led to snakes becoming a powerful symbol of eternal rebirth, rejuvenation and renewed health. With the coming of Christianity snakes were recast as demons of evil. Continue along the Via dell’Abbondanza for six blocks and next door to the Vicolo di Octavius Quartio is the House of Loreius Tiburtinus.

House of Loreius Tiburtinus (II.2.2, Figure 46)

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he house, excavated by Spinazzola from 1916 to 1921, is named by the excavator after the numerous election graffiti found on the front of the house and those opposite. Further evidence can be found in the house itself, where under a painting of a priest of Isis is written ‘Amulius Faventinus Tiburs’. The last owner was probably Octavius Quartio, whose inscribed signet ring was found on the floor of the room to the right of the entrance. He seems to be the one who converted the house for the domestic worship of Isis. The frontage of the house has a number of inns (cauponae) built into it and probably let out by Quartio.

Walk through the entrance (1) and you enter the atrium (2), with the usual rooms off it (3). The atrium floor was studded with marble hexagons and has a central marble basin with vertical sides very similar to window boxes for planting flowers. The atrium rooms are painted in the Fourth Style and topped by earlier stucco mouldings in the First Style. Room 4 is of particular interest with the frescoed walls with red panels showing Venus fishing and soldiers bearing arms. The top band of fresco shows hunting scenes on a black background.

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Figure 46: Plan of House of Loreius Tiburtius

House of Loreius Tiburtinus

Ahead of you is the most important room in the house, the tablinum, where Octavius Quartio received his clients. This area was rebuilt following the destruction of the ad 62 earthquake. The tablinum and the adjoining dining room were removed and the garden considerably enlarged. In fact, the garden is one of the most important features of the house. Where the tablinum once stood is now the pleasure garden (vividarium) enclosed by a small peristyle (6). Two of the most exciting painted rooms are situated here. On your far right is a small dining room (oecus) decorated in Fourth Style elegant white panels divided by architectural details and miniature decorations (5). The ceiling, part of which has survived, is decorated with circular and square partitions that contain wonderful stucco reliefs. The most interesting painting is the portrait of a priest of Isis; bald-headed and dressed in a white garment he holds a rattle (sistrum) in his right hand, the musical instrument frequently used in the ceremonies of the goddess Isis. The other dining room (triclinium) almost opposite (7) and at the head of the water channels contains paintings that depict Hercules’ battle with Laomedon, King of Troy, whilst the lower pictures show scenes from the Trojan War featuring Achilles. Step outside the room and you can see a most wonderful formal garden constructed around a whole series of ornamental pools (euripus). These long, narrow, rectangular pools (9) are usually seen in much larger gardens. A pergola supported on pillars once decorated by Bacchic scenes, and surrounded by many garden statues, covers the upper pool (8). The house wall is painted with a large hunting scene, whilst other walls show the myth of Diana and Actaeon and the myths of Narcissus and Pyramus. The only signature in Pompeii of a painter can be found here: ‘lucius pinxit.’ The lower pool (9), set at right angles to the upper pool, runs through the large garden which has been planted with fruit trees and acanthus plants. On either side are pergola-covered walkways. Where the two pools interconnect stands a Third Style temple equipped with a fountain in the centre ringed by a semi-circle of inclined jets of water with a vertical jet in the centre. Another miniature temple is situated at the far end of the lower pool, whilst halfway along was a very unusual cascade fountain built in white

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marble as a kind of stepped pyramid which the water would have tinkled down (11). The upper pool terminated on the east side in a splendid summer dining room (triclinium) which was ideally placed to enjoy the late afternoon sun and dine al fresco (8). The dining couches would have been separated by a miniature temple (aedicule), which contained a statue of a crouching young man pouring water from an amphora. The paintings on either side depict the myth of Narcissus and the one on the right the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, the former killing himself in the belief that she had been devoured by a lion. On coming across his dead body she committed suicide. On leaving the house turn right and next door is the House of Venus in the Sea Shell.

House of Venus in the Sea Shell (II.3.3, Figure 47)

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his house, excavated by Maiuri in 1952, is named after the wonderful painting on the back wall of the peristyle. It portrays Venus lying in a seashell with her cloak acting as a sail accompanied by a cupid astride a dolphin whilst another cupid looks on. This house, like the previous dwelling, seems to have been adapted from an atrium house in which the tablinum was removed to give more room for the peristyle. The dining room is large and spacious and opens out into both the atrium and peristyle with wonderful views of the formal garden, and the famous painting of Venus. To the right of the Venus painting is a painting portraying a marble statue of Mars separated from a trompe l’oeil garden by a trellised fence.

Enter through the double door entrance into the entrance hall (fauces). The floor is of opus signinum decorated with white marble tesserae, with the walls frescoed in red. At the end of the entrance hall there is on the left a marble pintle socket for a door hinge which could have closed off the entrance hall (1). The atrium (2) is now open to the sky but is likely to have been covered with a Tuscan roof and compluvium. Certainly there is a restored white marble pool (impluvium) where a pool should be (3).

House of Venus in the Sea Shell

Figure 47: Plan of House of Venus

This area of the house was badly damaged by bombing during 1943. There are two bedrooms (4) on the north side of the atrium, both accessed through doorways from the atrium. The floors are finished with opus signinum with white marble tesserae in a regular pattern with a double-spaced string border. The walls are of white plaster. Service rooms are to the west of the atrium (5) and they had a side entrance to the main street. Adjacent to the service areas is a dining room (triclinium) (6), beautifully frescoed in the Fourth Style. The room is barrel vaulted with a stucco cornice and the frescoes show a pair of tromp d’oeil balconies supported by warship prows with peacocks strutting above the parapets.

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Next door on the west side is an even larger room (7) considered to be a drawing room, now roofed by a modern queen post timber roof. The floor has a black and white mosaic with black marble border, two bands of black and a guilloche pattern all in black and white tesserae. The room has two doorways, a single door on to the atrium, and double doors facing south on to the peristyle. Unusually the atrium can be closed off from the peristyle by double doors set into a marble threshold which also has a step down to the peristyle. To the east is another bedroom (8) or drawing room which can be accessed from the atrium; the floor is black surfaced opus signinum set with a regular pattern of white marble tesserae. The walls are frescoed in the Fourth Style with white panels with cherubs, medallions and swags of garlands. The narrow room adjacent (9) seems to be a store room with wall sockets for shelving; the walls are off-white plaster and the floor is finished with coarse opus signinum. Next to the storeroom (9) seems to be the tablinum (10) which is not in the normal position between the atrium and peristyle. This room has a large opening on to the peristyle with no obvious threshold; the floor is coarse opus signinum decorated with fragments of coloured marbles. The frescoed wall decoration is Fourth Style and the central picture on the north wall shows Apollo and Daphne. The rest of the pictures show aspects of the myth of Apollo. In the corner of the room is a circular marble bowl which may have originally come from the garden. The best part of the house is undoubtedly the peristyle (11) with its nine composite columns, built of brick but coated with stucco, with a thickening for the lower third which is yellow and the upper part which is white and fluted. The garden is divided into two flower beds now planted with formal box hedging. The path between the two flower beds leads us to the wall paintings on the south side where the statue of Mars is set in a fantastic garden with trellis fencing; the next fresco painting to the centre opens onto the sea, where a pink shell drawn by dolphins bears Venus holding a sail or sunshield accompanied by a cupid astride a dolphin with another cupid looking on.

House of Venus in the Sea Shell

Figure 48: Venus being excavated

To the far right the fresco again shows an imaginary garden. The west and north sides of the peristyle are completely porticoed, with the narrow walkway of the west portico decorated with Fourth Style frescoes. It also allowed access to the garden rooms (12) and kitchen (13). The kitchen has a cooking hearth on the south wall, and a larium to the household gods set in an alcove on the east wall. The floor is of earth and the wall off-white plaster with the entrance jambs decorated with a fresco pattern.

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Two rooms remain: on the west side and to the north is an elegantly decorated oecus (14) with Fourth Style paintings of imaginary buildings populated by winged cherubs; and the other is on the east side (15) and is thought to be a cubiculum, but is more likely to be a garden pavilion with the outer walls portraying a garden with marble fountains with doves perching. Inside the room the walls are frescoed in the Fourth Style with pale blue panels and a central aedicule seen in perspective. The north portico, adjacent to the atrium, is wide and again decorated in the Fourth Style with panels in red and yellow containing pictures of rural sanctuaries and maritime villas. The house was badly damaged by bombing in World War II and badly restored in the 1950s but has recently undergone further restoration and is now a joy to visit. On leaving the house turn right and right again and at the bottom of the lane you will see the Amphitheatre on your left and the Palaestra on your right.

Figure 49: Plan of Palaestra

Palaestra / Amphitheatre

Palaestra (Figure 49)

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lso known as the Large Gymnasium, the Palaestra was built at the time of Augustus as a space to practise gymnastics and athletics. It was also used for many other purposes, including a slave market, cock fighting and as a military camp. The area is surrounded by a triporticus built of 100 Ionic-Corinthian columns (1). The portico was lined with two rows of shady plane trees (2), the roots of which were reproduced in plaster casts by the excavators.

In the centre was a very large swimming pool (3) and the overflow channel from the pool flushed the latrines (4) situated on the southern side. Along the longest side of the arcade there was a rectangular room (5), most likely dedicated to the imperial cult. Recent investigations show that the area was once housing which was demolished to make way for the Palaestra.

Amphitheatre (Figure 50)

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his structure is one of the few monuments of Pompeii to remain partially exposed throughout the Middle Ages and it is the earliest building known for gladiatorial games in the Roman World. Built by the magistrates Caius Quinctius Valgus and Marcus Porticus around 70 bc, the building was originally called a spectacula, which literally means a building for spectacles. The Latin term amphitheatrum was only invented in 53–2 bc by Pliny the Elder.

The Amphitheatre in Pompeii could seat about 20,000 spectators who would travel from far and wide to see the spectacles. Situated in the south-east corner of Pompeii, away from the civic forum, two gates, the Sarno and Nuceria, served it and the crowds could be controlled by the Pompeii authorities in this contained area away from the hub of the city. The arena (1) is lower than the surrounding area, the excavated earth was banked up as a base for the tiers of seats (2), and the bank of the city wall utilised for the same requirement. To reach their seats spectators would use any of the six external staircases (3). Privileged citizens had two choices of entry; either to choose one of the two corridors accessible from street level or to use the same entrance as the gladiators (4).

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Figure 50: Plan of Amphitheatre

Along the minor axis of the Amphitheatre is an additional passage connecting the arena to the outside (5). The small door opening onto the arena is called the Porta Libitinensis from the Roman goddess Libitina who supervised funerals and rites in honour of the dead. It is thought that the dead bodies of gladiators were removed from the arena by this door and passageway (6). The elliptic arena was surrounded by a 1.80 m (6 ft) high parapet (7) onto which a metal fence was attached as further protection for the crowd. The parapet was originally decorated with wonderful pictures of gladiatorial combat, which no longer exist today, but were copied by nineteenth-century artists (Figure 8). The structure at Pompeii, being one of the earliest amphitheatres built, has no underground passages or cells for gladiators. The outer wall

Amphitheatre

contains six large exterior staircases, which gave access to the internal walkway and seating. There are two monumental doorways at each end of the long axis of the arena called the Porta Triumphalis (8, 9) which were for the opening ceremony. The other, called the Porta Libitinensis (6), was used to remove dead gladiators and animals. The gladiators trained and lived in the theatre quadriporticus where wonderful gladiatorial parade armour has been found during excavations. Games were organised by Pompeians, such as Alleius Nigidius Maius, who was proclaimed on posters as ‘prince of the Impresarios’. Posters in Pompeii show that games were held in ad 79 on 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 20 April, and on 2, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 31 May. The walls of the Amphitheatre are adorned with painted posters extolling the virtues of the gladiators in a similar fashion to modern pop stars. The Thracian Celadus is called the ‘Hero’ and ‘Heart throb of the girls’. Another suggests: ‘The net-fighter Crescens is the boss who gives the girls, “the medicine they need at night”.’ Others record the outcome of contests: ‘Three killed, six spared, nine victorious.’ Some say: ‘There will be awnings’, referring to the linen shades mounted on wooden poles and controlled by guy ropes to shield the spectators from the fierce rays of the sun. In ad 59 the Amphitheatre witnessed fighting between spectators from Pompeii and the nearby town of Nocera. The Pompeians had a score to settle as Nocera had recently become a Roman colony and had taken over part of the territory of Pompeii. Tacitus recorded the unpleasant affair: There was a serious fight between the inhabitants of two Roman settlements, Nuceria and Pompeii. It arose out of a trifling incident at a gladiatorial show given by Livineius Regulus. During an exchange of taunts – characteristic of these disorderly country towns – abuse led to stone throwing, and then swords were drawn. The people of Pompeii, where the show was held, came off best. Many wounded and mutilated Nucerians were taken to the capital. Many bereavements, too, were suffered by parents and children. The Emperor instructed the senate to investigate the affair. The senate passed it to the consuls. When they reported back, the senate debarred Pompeii

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from holding any similar gathering for ten years. Illegal associations in the town were dissolved, and the sponsor of the show and his fellow instigators of the disorder were exiled. (Tacitus, Annals, 14, 17) The ban was only revoked following the disastrous earthquake of ad 62. The Amphitheatre was quickly restored after the earthquake by the city authorities, no doubt as a palliative against the difficult and troubled times facing the city as it strove to repair the damage caused by the earthquake.

Nuceria Gate Tombs

Nuceria Gate Tombs (Figure 51)

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alk towards the Nuceria Gate and beyond is part of Pompeii’s city of the dead.

The Romans laid their dead to rest by inhumation or cremation and occasionally by embalming. Cremation was the dominant rite in Pompeii, with the burial of the ashes in a tomb to shield the dead from the view of the gods with whom the deceased had no further need. The deceased was laid to rest on a litter or couch wearing a toga and if he were a magistrate bearing his badges of office. The funeral procession would pass through the town to the place of cremation, where the body was burnt on a pyre and the ashes gathered and placed in a glass or terracotta urn. If made of glass, it was usually put inside a lead container. The container was then deposited in the sacred enclosure of the tomb and a bust erected to mark the spot. The busts, if made of marble, usually bear a short inscription indicating the name and age of the deceased.

Figure 51: Plan of Nuceria Gate Tombs

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Each year for nine days, ending on 21 February, was the Festival of the Dead (Feralia) when the family of the deceased would undertake rites at the tomb to commemorate the dead person. Private ceremonies (parentalia) were also carried out on the anniversary of the death. Burials had to be outside the pomerium (sacred public land) of the town according to Roman law. This law was enforced at Pompeii; outside the Nuceria Gate stands a stone pillar stating that: ‘Suedius Clemens, Emperor Vespasian’s envoy to Pompeii, after investigating and taking appropriate measures, restored the public land unlawfully occupied by private individuals to the town of Pompeii.’ Buildings were razed to the ground in the vicinity of the pillar, and tombs built on the pomerium were destroyed. The Necropolis outside the gate is an extraordinary group of almost 50 tombs lining both sides of the road that runs parallel to the walls outside the Nuceria Gate. Excavated in 1886–7, and then in the 1950s by Maiuri, the tombs are characterised by the customary mixing of tombs of different social and architectural types. The great archaeologist Maiuri found the numerous corpses of Pompeians who had been fleeing from the eruption of ad 79 along the road so heart-breaking that at times he found it difficult to continue work. The dead of some of the leading families of Pompeii are buried here: the Sepunii, Epidii, Tillii, Octavii, Caesii, and Stronnii. Some of the tombs identified included an enclosure tomb (1) with a pediment façade. Dated to the time of Nero (ad 54–68) it contains the remains of Gaius Munatius Faustus and his wife Naevoleia Tyche, next to a tomb (2) of the late Republic (second to first century bc). It is fronted by an archway flanked by three niches on each side, surmounted by a second level with eight more niches. In two of them tuff busts of a male and female are displayed identified by inscriptions as Publius Flavius Philoxenos and Flavia Agathea. Next is the large central tomb (3) erected during the time of Tiberius (ad 14–37) by Eumachia, the priestess of Venus, for herself and her family. It is one of the most impressive tombs found at Pompeii, and Eumachia, of course, erected the large building named after her in the Forum. The next tomb (4) dates from the late Republic (second to first century ad) and consists of a high podium supporting a shrine built as a temple with four columns (prostyle tetrastyle). The columns frame three niches with an armed young man between his two parents. The accompanying inscription has the names of the burial: Marcus Octavius and his wife Vertia Philumena.

Nuceria Gate Tombs / Villa of the Mysteries

The last tomb (5) of some interest is an Augustan aedicule-style tomb standing on a high podium and containing three figures: the deceased freedman Publius Vesonius Phileros, whose statue is on the left; in the centre, his patroness Vesonia; and on the right, his friend Marcus Ortellius Faustus, also a freedman. His inscription tells us: Oh passer-by, stop for a short while, if you do not mind, and learn what you should be wary of. One whom I hoped was my friend accused me falsely. In the court, by grace of the gods and due to my innocence, I was absolved from all accusations. May the slanderer be rejected by the pinatas [pine cones lit in memory] and the gods of the beyond. These are bitter reflections that echo through time. To the north-west of the city are located some interesting extra-mural villas including the Villa of the Mysteries, and if so inclined a small gate leads to an excellent snack bar where refreshments outside in the vine-clad garden can be partaken and it is possible to re-enter Pompeii after an excellent lunch.

Villa of the Mysteries (Figure 52)

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o the north-west of the Herculaneum Gate is situated the Villa of the Mysteries, regarded as one of the best-preserved villas located outside the city walls. Part of the complex was excavated in 1909–10 and the remainder in 1929–30 by Maiuri.

The main entrance to the villa in the Roman period was on the east side from a spur road from the main road from Oplontis to Pompeii. The building sits on a windowed cryptoporticus, which was later closed and turned into a wine cellar when the villa started wine production in its later life. The building was extended towards the sea and enhanced after the arrival of Sulla’s colony in 80 bc. The important frescoes date from this period, including the extraordinary cycle of Dionysian Mysteries from which the villa takes its name. Following the devastating earthquake of 62 ad parts of the villa were turned into a winery with wine presses and cellars.

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Figure 52: Plan of Villa of the Mysteries

The main entrance (1) to the villa in the Roman period was on the east side, which led to a long, wide vestibule (2), divided into two sections. The area to the north (3) seems to be a small lodging (4) and to the south are stables and slaves’ quarters (5) with the familiar masonry benches situated alongside the walls. From the vestibule one enters not an atrium but a peristyle (6), in keeping with the rules set out by Vitruvius, the well-known Roman architect. The colonnade of the peristyle forms a broad rectangle, six columns by four set at right angles to the axis of the entrance and the adjacent atrium (7).

Villa of the Mysteries

The architectural order is a form of Doric with fluted columns with fillets between flutes and the torus base sitting on the stylobate. At some stage the space between the columns – the intercolumniations – were infilled by a low wall called a pluteus. This unfortunately had the effect of interrupting the important view through to the atrium, but the addition of the pluteus might have been for commercial considerations. The back walls of the portico, the pluteus and the rooms adjoining the peristyle were all decorated in Second Style frescoes. To the north of the portico is located the kitchen and baths. The kitchen had a large open central courtyard (8) paved with bricks set in a herringbone pattern (opus spicatum) and housing two ovens and a cooking bench. Adjacent to the kitchen are a number of store rooms (9) and (10). Also to be found was a domestic larium (shrine to the household gods) (11). To the west of the kitchen but adjacent was a small bath suite (12), which was heated from the kitchen and comprised an elegant tetrastyle atrium (13), plus the usual facilities of sauna room (laconicum), warm room (tepidarium) and hot room (caldarium). The sauna room is small and circular with a bell-shaped ceiling, which could only have been used by one or two guests at a time. To the north of the peristyle (6) a passageway leads to a room used for pressing grapes (14). The torcularium housed two wine presses, one of which has been replicated. After the grape harvest in early September, the grapes were laid in a trough (palmentum) and trod, which produced wine of the best quality as no bitterness from crushed seeds or stalks was present. After treading and pressing the juice was transferred to a terracotta amphora and stored in a large wine cellar (15) just outside or in a huge terracotta dolium, set into the earth and with an average capacity of about 200 litres. From the peristyle you enter the Tuscan atrium (7) through three large door openings. Note two of the double doors have been preserved using the same method pioneered by Maiuri on human remains of pouring Plaster of Paris into the cavity of the decayed wood. The atrium walls were decorated in Second Style fresco, with vermilion diamond shapes in the central section, with Nile landscapes and military trophies. The central area of the atrium is taken up with the ornamental pond (impluvium), fed by rainwater from the roof.

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Leading off from the atrium is the reception room, the tablinum (16), the focal point of the atrium plan and decorated with Third Style frescoes. The frescoes use a black background and show Egyptianised scenes copied from Egyptian source books without a real understanding of their significance, following on from the flurry of excitement at Octavian’s conquest of Egypt in 31 bc. From this room one can step into the windowed semi-circular (apsidal) exedra (17), which would have had wonderful views over the sea. This area is on a built-up platform over a cellar called a cryptoporticus, which was used in its later life as a wine store. The outside areas of the exedra were likely to have parterre gardens. Off the atrium corridors are an undecorated store room (18), two decorated rooms (19 and 20) and a bedroom (cubiculum) decorated in the Second Style, with trompe l’oeil architectural schemes with fluted Corinthian columns and a wealth of architectural mouldings, brackets and figured capitals. To the side of the tablinum and exedra were two small living areas, each with its own dining room. The most famous room and what gives the villa its name is the triclinium (dining room), located in the south-west corner of the villa (21) with its megalographic, life-sized figures in the Second Style on a cinnabar background. Interpretation is difficult and the most popular seems to be the initiation rite of a young girl into the Dionysiac mysteries with its phallic and flagellation excitements. The truth may be more prosaic, with the Dionysus connection with good wine and dining. Of interest is that the modern-looking marble floor tiles are Roman and not modern. It is difficult on a first visit to understand the complexity of the layout as the villa has lived through many phases, some of which can be identified through the ongoing building works which came to a dramatic end with the eruption of Vesuvius in ad 79. The villa was built out further towards the sea, a long colonnade built on the south side. New doors were cut in various rooms and others blocked. Construction had started on a magnificent belvedere and remodelling of the servants’ quarters was under way when the eruption happened.

Villa of the Mysteries / Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate

However, all was not lost as after the eruption a well was dug by survivors to retrieve the furniture that had been stored in two rooms. Leave the villa and walk towards Pompeii to the tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate.

Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate (Figure 53)

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urial was of considerable importance to the Romans. After death the body was washed and anointed by persons called pollinctores and the body laid out in its best attire, with its feet to the door, symbolising its approaching departure. The bier was decked with flowers from affectionate relatives and friends. It was usual for seven days to elapse between death and the funeral.

On the day or night of the funeral the bier was carried by vespillones preceded by musicians and female singers who chanted the dirge to the place of burial. The place of burial was outside the city walls and, if possible, adjacent to the road. The body was sometimes burnt at the place of burial or, more often, in an area of ground close by. The pyre was built of rough wood uncut by the axe. Pitch was added to quicken the fire and branches of cypress added so the aromatic scent could pervade the smell of flesh burning. The nearest relative would open the eyes of the deceased and set fire to the pyre with averted eyes. As the flames took hold various offerings were cast into the flames and could include (dead) family pets, favourite toys or clothes. When the body had been reduced to ashes the flames were quenched by wine and the cremated bones collected by the nearest relative and deposited in the funerary urn made, according to the wealth of the family, of clay, glass, marble, bronze or even silver. The funeral over, the praefica said ‘Ilicet’ – it is lawful to go – and the funeral party departed, having been purified by being thrice sprinkled with a branch of olive or laurel dipped in water. The party then left, shouting three times ‘vale’ or ‘salve’. These Latin words are a common occurrence on tomb inscriptions: VALE. ET. SALVE. ANIMA. C. OPPIAE. FELICISS. NOS. EO.

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Figure 53: Plan of Tombs outside Herculaneum Gate

Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate

ORDINE. QUO. NATURA. PERMISERIT. TE. SEQUEMUR. VALE. MATER. DULCISSIMA. – Farewell, most happy soul of Caia Oppia. We shall follow thee in such order as may be appointed by nature. Farewell, sweetest mother. On leaving the Herculaneum Gate (1) the Roman road continued to Oplontis, Herculaneum and Naples. The gate itself was probably built after the conquest of the city by Sulla in 60 bc. The large archway in the middle was for wheeled and animal traffic, the two smaller ones for pedestrians. The pillars of the gate are decorated with stucco rustication (opus quadratum) in the First Style. Immediately after leaving the gate the road divides, with a ring road to the east; further on the road forks, the north-west fork to Oplontis and the north-east fork to the main Roman road. As you leave the gate local guides will point out a supposed sentry box on the left, with the story of how the skeleton of a Roman soldier still clutching his spear was found here. The story is pure fiction. It is no sentry box but a funeral monument of an Augustal named M. Cerinius Restitutus. The area beyond is of interest with two tombs and two semicircular seats; one has an inscription to M. Verus, the further one (2) is raised upon a high step and bears the following inscription cut into the space above the bench, which is supported at each end by a lion’s paw: MAMIAE. P. F. SACERDOTI. PVBLICAE. LOCVS. SEPVLTVR. DATVS. DECVRIONVM. DECRETO. To Mamiae, daughter of (Porcius), public priestess, a place of burial is assigned by decree of the decurions. Next to the seat (2) is an upright stone with an inscription that the decurions had granted to M. Porcius – a plot of land immediately behind the seat for a tomb. The tomb (3) is unusually large and is built of masonry coated with stucco and decorated with four fluted Corinthian columns but with, unfortunately, the capitals missing. In niches were found marble statues, which are now in the collection of the Naples Archaeological Museum. The tomb has been identified as a tomb of the Istacidi and consisted of a tall podium surmounted by an Ionic tholos and topped by a (now lost) cone-shaped roof.

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Behind the tomb the excavators found an area full of animal skulls and half-burnt bones of sheep and oxen and an altar richly ornamented with fruit and garlands. Opposite the entrance to the Villa of Diomedes stands the tomb (5) raised on a platform of masonry of Diomedes. Near it stands two cippi, or funeral columns, one erected to Arria, probably his daughter, and the other to Arrius, his eldest son. A low wall (6) divides these from the principal tomb of Diomedes (7) which is a square building and decorated with two pilasters supporting a pediment. The excavators in 1772 found the building was of solid masonry, with no facility for the storage of cremation urns and was a tomb erected in commemoration. Below the pediment is inscribed: M. ARRIVS. L. DIOMEDES. SIBI. SVIS MEMORIAE MAGISTER. PAG. AUG. FELIC. SVBVRB. Marcus Arrius Diomedes, freedman, president of the suburb of Augusta Felix, erected this building as a memorial of himself and his family. Below the inscription are fasces, the rods of authority which show he was one of the chief magistrates. The fasces are reversed as was the custom after death. On the same platform are two other tombs: one (8) is small and plain, the other (9) is a large oblong building, the façades ornamented with pilasters, which support an entablature once crowned by statues. The upper part of the tomb did not survive the eruption, but the fragments of both statues and entablature were found by the excavators. The side of the tomb next to the city gate is ornamented by the remains of two bas-reliefs and on the front façade two damaged medallions, which probably contain portraits of Lucius Ceius and Lucius Labeo, to whom the tomb was erected by Menomachus, who was their freedman. The next tomb (10) survived the eruption in better shape, probably because it was built of solid blocks of travertine stone. The design is simple and elegant and decorated with mouldings and cornice, with the following inscription:

Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate

M. ALLEIO. LYCCIO. LIBELLAE. PATRI. AEDILI II. VIR. PRAEFECTO. QVINQ. ET. M. ALLEIO LIBELLAE. F. DECVRIONI. VIXIT. ANNIS. XVII. LOCVS. MONVMENTI. PVBLICE. DATV. EST ALLEIA. M. F. DECIMILLA. SACERDOS. PVBLICA. CERRIS. FACIENDVM. CVRAVIT. VIRO. ET. FILIO To M. Alleius Lucius Libella, the father, Aedile, Duumvir, Quinquennial Prefect and M. Alleius Libella, his son, Decurion, who lived to the age of seventeen, was assigned the site of this monument at the public charge. Alleia Decimilla, daughter of Marcus, public priestess of Ceres, erected it to her husband and son. Two more tombs (11) and (12) occupied the same precinct but little information on them has survived from the excavators’ notes. The next tomb (13) was placed at the junction of the two roads and is called the Tomb with the Marble Door. Built of tufa in the opus recticulatum method, it does actually have a door of marble turning on bronze pins pivoting in bronze sockets. Inside the tomb the interior is lit by a small window situated high at the rear of the tomb. Beneath the window and opposite the door the excavators found a splendid alabaster vase. Other cremation vases of terracotta, glass and marble were also found. Beyond this tomb and even jutting further out into the road junction there is a tomb (14) which lies in the angle between the two roads, the main road to Oplontis and Naples. It is built in the form of an altar and resembled in appearance the tomb of Porcius on the opposite side of the road. However, this tomb has an inner chamber closed by masonry until 1887. When excavated two cinerary urns were found placed in the corners of the chamber and Mau recounts that the urns were found covered with earth and with the remains of a funeral pyre – bits of wood and iron nails used in building the pyre, together with pieces of a richly decorated ivory casket and broken perfume vials of terracotta. Among the fragments of bone in each urn was a coin of Augustus. (Mau 1899: 405)

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The inscription reads: T. TERENTIO. T. F. MEN. FELICI MAIORI AEDIL HUIC PUBLICE LOCUS DATUS ET SEST. MM. FABIA PROBI F. SABRINA UXOR. To the memory of Titus Terentius Felix the elder son of Titus, of the tribe Menenia, aedile. The place of burial was given by the city with 2,000 sesterces. His wife, Fabia Sabrina, daughter of Probus Fabius, built this monument. It tells us that Probus Fabius was a member of the tribe Menenia which meant he was also a Roman citizen. The excavators, whilst digging under the small altar inside the enclosure, found a terracotta jar which had inside a lead case enclosing the glass cinerary urn of Terentius Felix. Also found was a tombstone inscribed ‘To the elder Terentius’ and in a jar was found two coins, one dated to Augustus, the other to Claudius and thought by Mau to have been deposited to pay the fare of Charon, the ferryman who ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx. On the opposite side of the street and close to the entrance of the Villa Diomedes is an unusual building (15) with a low wall decorated with pediment and cornice. If allowed inside through the low door one would find a space open to the sky, once decorated with frescoes of animals bordered by flowers. The interior is furnished with a stone triclinium and pillar for the celebration of feasts in honour of the dead. The pillar would have been the place where the funeral urn was placed whilst the relatives and friends of the departed partook in a feast in his or her memory. According to classical literary sources it was not unusual for legacies to be written into the will to pay for such events. Julius Caesar left such a legacy in honour of his daughter Julia Caesaris. The food appropriate to such a feast would include beans, lentils, eggs and a cake called in Latin ‘libum’. The excavator considered this space the only one of its type on the Street of Tombs and suggested it was for communal use and let out for hire.

Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate

The excavator reports that an inscription built into the gable says it was erected in honour of Cn. Vibrius Saturninus of the Falernain Tribe by his freedman Callistus (Mommsen.Inscrr.Regni.Neap No 2349). The monumental tomb next to it (16) is the burial place of an important Pompeian family. The square building contains a chamber accessed from the rear and is contained in a small courtyard once surrounded by a high wall. Two steps rise up to a richly ornamented marble cippus. Its front is decorated by a bas-relief and inscription: NAEVOLEIA. I. LIB. TYCHE. SIBI. ET. C. MVNATIO. FAVSTO. AVG. ET. PAGANO. CVI. DECVRIONES. CONSENSV. POPVLI. BISELLIVM. OB. MERITA. EIVS. DECREVERVNT. HOC. MONIMENTVM. NAEVOLEIA. TYCHE. LIBERTIS. SVIS. LIBERTAB. VSQ. ET. C. MVNATI. FAVSTI. VIVA. FECIT. Naevoleia Tyche, freedwoman of Julia Tyche, to herself and to Caius Munatius Faustus, Augustal and magistrate of the suburb, to whom the Decurions with the consent of the people have granted the honour of the bisellium for his merits. Naevoleia Tyche erected this monument in her lifetime for her freed men and women and for those of C. Munatius Faustus. The portrait below the inscription carved into the marble is probably of Naevoleia herself. The bas-relief probably represents the dedication of the tomb – on one side could be the municipal magistrates, the other the family of Naevoleia and in the centre is a low altar upon which a young man is placing an offering and by it a cippus which may represent the tomb itself. One of the other faces of the tomb is carved a bas-relief of a ship. It is obviously a Roman merchant ship with the poop shaped like a goose or swan’s neck and the bow surmounted by a bust of Minerva. The excavators note that the person steering the ship could be Munatius and is indicative of the profession or trade of Munatius, or the ship of life having run its course.

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Inside the tomb excavators found a bench and several niches with oil lamps, and many cremation urns: three of glass, the rest terracotta. The glass urns were large, 38 x 25 cm (15 x 10 in), and were contained inside leaden cases. They contained burnt bones and a liquid which on scientific analysis turned out to be a mixture of wine, water and oil. Adjacent is the burial ground of Nistacidius (17) surrounded by a low wall and containing three cippa. Next door (18) within a court of about 6.4 m (21 ft) three steps lead up to a tomb (cippus) elegantly carved with pictorial scenes. On the front façade is incised: C. CALCENTIO. QVIETO. AVGVSTALI. HVIC. OB. MVNIFICENT. DECVRIONVM. DECRETO. ET. POPVLI. CONSENSV. BISELLII. HONOR. DATUS. EST To Caius Calventius Quietus Augustal. To him, in reward of his munificence, the honour of the bisellium was granted by the decree of the Decurions and with the consent of the people. Under the inscription is carved the image of the bisellium which is a honorary seat at the theatre or games. The sides of the tomb are decorated with garlands of oak leaves tied with fillets. The mouldings and cornice are particularly fine. The tomb is of solid construction with no access door, so it is not a place of burial but a cenotaph or honorary tomb erected to Calventius Quietus. The next tomb (19) is a round tower enclosed by a low wall ornamented with square pinnacles called acroteria. Unfortunately, the tomb bears no inscription, but does have a bas-relief showing a scene interpreted by Mazois as following the earthquake of 69 ad: the discovery of a dead child by its mother and the act of covering the body with a funeral shroud. Further along the road and still on the right are the remains of more important tombs. The Garland tomb (23) has the shape and configuration of a small temple, embellished with pilasters between which hang swags of bay leaves and flowers. There is no interior chamber. The construction is of tufa blocks faced with white stucco and Mau suggested this is one of the oldest tombs dating from the end of the Republic.

Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate

Figure 54: This postcard dates from c.1910 and shows the Street of Tombs with over 30 magnificent tombs which ran from the Herculaneum Gate to the open countryside

Adjoining the Garland tomb is an interesting exedra (25) in the form of a semi-circle and vaulted over. It faces south-west and is thought to be so constructed to afford shade in the summer and shelter in the winter. It has an unusual mix of classical styles – the upper pilasters spring directly from the lower. The original interior decoration can only be described as gaudy. The top of the vault is in blue and the lower part which is moulded in the form of a shell was white. The walls are divided into panels by black borders relieved by golden arabesques, and the panels are red with figures of an animal in the centre. The floor is above the level of the adjacent footpath on which were found by the excavators a female body with an infant in her arms and beside her two more children. Jewellery found included two pairs of pearl earrings and three gold rings (Pomp. Ant. Hist. T. I. Tasc iii p. 74) (Dec 14.1811). Closer to the exedra was the tomb of the Blue Glass Vase (24). The superstructure has disappeared and only the travertine stone platform

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remains. The burial chamber is below the base and entered by a door at the rear. In the wall niches were three urns, two of glass and one of terracotta, small figures of animals and a Phrygian masked cap – all in terracotta. One of the glass urns is of staggering beauty and can be seen in pride of place in the Naples Archaeological Museum. It is very similar to the Portland Vase found in Rome and now in the British Museum, and is decorated with bacchic reliefs cut in a layer of pure white glass on a background of dark blue glass.

Villa of Diomedes (Figure 55)

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t the west end of the tombs and located on the south side of the street is the Villa of Diomedes which was one of the largest villas found in the immediate vicinity of Pompeii.

It caused a sensation in learned society when excavated between 1771 and 1773 under the direction of B. Tanucci and F. La Vega, not only for the richness of its furnishings and wall frescoes, but also because of the discovery of 18 bodies of women and children who had taken cover there in the forlorn hope they could sit out the eruption. A contemporary historian wrote: Beside the garden gate two skeletons were found; one, presumed to be the master, had in his hand the key to that gate and, near him, were about a hundred gold and silver coins; the other, stretched beside some silver vases, was probably a slave charged with the transport of them. When the vaults under rooms (16) were excavated at the foot of the staircase (21) the skeletons of 18 adult persons, a boy and an infant were found huddled together, and as the excavator wrote: ‘unmoved during 17 centuries since they sank in death.’ They were covered by several feet of ashes of extreme fineness, evidently slowly borne in through the vent-holes and afterwards consolidated by damp. The substance thus formed resembles the sand used by metal founders for castings, but is yet more delicate and took perfect impressions of everything on which it lay. Unfortunately,

Villa of Diomedes

this property was not observed until almost too late and little was preserved except the neck and breast of a girl, which are said to display extraordinary beauty of form. So exact is the impression that the very texture of the dress in which she was clothed is apparent, which by its extraordinary fineness evidently shows that she had not been a slave and may be taken for the fine gauze which Seneca calls ‘woven wind.’ (Dyer. T. 1875: 494)

Figure 55: Plan of Villa of Diomedes

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Théophile Gautier wrote a tragic short story about the scene – called ‘Arria Marcella: Souvenir de Pompéi’ (1852), thus identifying the body as Arria Marcella. Because of the sensation caused by the discovery of the villa and its contents, it was the first residence outside the town to be excavated and not reburied, although most of the important frescoes were removed and are now in the Naples Archaeological Museum. The villa is one of three located in the Street of the Tombs; the others are the so-called ‘Villa of Cicero’ and an unnamed villa as yet not completely excavated. The villa takes its name from the tomb of Marcus Arrius Diomedes, which is facing the entrance to the villa but on the opposite side of the street. The connection is somewhat nebulous. The front of the villa is at a sharp angle to the street and the entrance (1) through the front door is now accessed up a flight of modern steps. The entrance opened directly into the peristyle (2) with a garden court (3) with a central pool and underneath (4) the usual water storage tank (impluvium). The fresco decoration when excavated was extremely elegant with columns, their capitals and entablatures and the fresco paintings on the walls in good preservation. The lower third of the columns are painted red, and above white, the floor finished in opus signinum. At the left is a small triangular area (5) with baths. On entering we can see a portico on two sides of a small courtyard with octagonal columns. To the left of the entrance is a small hearth on which the excavators found a gridiron and two frying pans. In the centre of the court and on the outside wall was a bath about 6 sq ft, lined with stucco, the edge of which is edged with marble. It was covered with a roof supported by the two pillars. Under the roof the wall when excavated had a fresco painted to represent water with fish and other aquatic animals swimming about. The water was deep blue with the fish portrayed in vivid colours. In the centre of the fresco and over the bath is a hole where once there was a theatrical mask from which a stream of cold water gushed into the basin below.

Villa of Diomedes

Three steps led down to this cold bath (baptisterium) which was taken in the open air. The surrounding floor was paved in mosaic. Two further rooms lead off from the triangular court to a typical Roman bath arrangement of apodyterium (6), frigidarium (7) and tepidarium (8) and beyond the caldarium (9). The caldarium had a hollow floor and walls to allow the hot air to circulate, and the tepidarium was warmed from the caldarium by an opening in the wall. Next door to the caldarium was a reservoir of water (10) to enable the baths to operate by means of a feed pipe which leads to the bathing rooms and other points of the house. The other room of note in this part of the house is an apsed bedroom (11) built out over the garden. The room, which had three windows overlooking the garden, faced south and was separated from the rest of the house by an anteroom (12). At one end was a smaller room most likely for a slave (13). The large room to the rear of the peristyle is likely to be an earlier tablinum or open hall (14). It had folding doors to the rear and in a later phase may have functioned as a kitchen. A much better candidate for a tablinum (15) is the room sitting in the centre of a magnificent terrace that led to an enormous exedra (16) with windows on one side and with a raised walkway. Two ramps led to a lower floor and its magnificent porticoed gardens with its 17 pillars on the two longest sides and 14 on the other two (17). In the centre of the garden was a large nymphaeum pool with an apsed end set into the surrounding walls (18). Beyond is a pergola supported by six columns (19). To the left on the east side of the garden is a series of rooms magnificently decorated with frescoes in the Fourth Style (20). Under the portico (16) was a cryptoporticus which matched exactly the dimensions and footprint of the portico above. The corridors were illuminated by slits in the stylobate of the peristyle pillars. It was in this room (21) that the 18 bodies were found.

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The building is currently closed to the public but can be viewed through the locked front gates on the Street of the Tombs. The porticoed gardens can be seen from the road which leads from the public exit of the site at the front of the Villa of the Mysteries. Other houses of note as you wander through Pompeii include the House of Menander, recently restored and certainly worth a visit.

House of Menander (I.10.4, Figure 56)

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xcavated by Maiuri in 1930–1 it is one of the largest (at 1,850 sq m) and most important in Pompeii with its mosaics and frescoes and furniture found in situ.

The house might have been owned by Quintus Poppeus whose family bronze seal was found in the slaves’ quarters. The house occupied most of the insula block and is likely to have been undergoing restoration at the time of the eruption in 79 ad. The plan of the house is, as expected, a classical layout with access through the front door into the vestibule fauces (1) and through to the atrium (2), tablinum (3) and beyond to the peristyle (4), through the peristyle to the exedra (5), all on the same axis and allowing visitors to see the most important components of the house with one glance from the front door. The layout was obviously thought through by the architect as structural elements were designed to ‘frame’ this view. The two Corinthian columns act as door jambs and frame the tablinum and the design of the intercolumn spacing of the north and south porticos allows the eye to travel unhindered to the exedra dominated by a shrine to Venus the patron goddess of Pompeii. The house is named after one of the frescoes of the Greek poet Menander located on one of the side walls of the exedra (5). The entrance (1) is framed by two engaged columns surrounded by Corinthian capitals; the door itself has not survived and the passageway is floored with mosaic and the walls of the fauces decorated with fresco.

House of Menander

Figure 56: Plan of House of Menander

The large atrium (2) was originally roofed with a timber Tuscan atrium roof sloping down to a large rectangular opening in the centre called the compluvium. The rainwater was shed from this opening, usually through terracotta spouts to the pool below which was called the impluvium. The Tuscan atrium was thought by the Roman architect Vitruvius to have been derived from Etruscan architecture and comprised two large timber beams placed across the room above the ends of the projected compluvium. On these two shorter cross beams were laid over the sides

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of the projected impluvium. The corners of the rectangular frame thus constructed were then connected to the corners of the atrium by four slanting beams. On these and the frame were placed the sloping rafters and tiles. The roof you can see above you is a replica built to this ancient design, but in concrete. The impluvium (shallow pool) built of white marble with moulded edges sits above an underground water tank filled by the rainfall descending from the opening in the roof into the shallow pool which fills up the tank below it. In the north-west corner is located a domestic shrine (lararium). The lares are the guardian spirits of the household and simple offerings were made to these gods: fruit, garlands, incense and at every meal a small portion was given to the gods in little dishes. The altar base is frescoed with simulated marble and topped by a small temple with two pediments, Tuscan columns and stuccoed cornice. The room (7) between the lararium and the vestibule houses a masonry staircase leading to the rooms on the upper floor. The writing room (8) on the east side of the atrium was decorated in the Fourth Style with pictures in the central panels depicting scenes from the Trojan Wars: the capture of Helen and Cassandra; the death of Laocoon; and the Trojan Horse. The large tablinum, decorated in the Fourth Style (3), had a multitude of uses throughout its long life. According to Mau, from the earliest times the room served as a dining room in the summer and later, as the family dined in the more secluded rooms around the peristyle, the tablinum lying between the front and rear of the house was used as a reception room for guests who were not admitted into the privacy of the home and here undoubtedly the master of the house received his clients (Mau 1899: 252). This room could be divided off from the rest of the house by folding shutters across the rear opening. The bronze housings to take the pintle pin of these doors are still in situ either side of the opening. Beyond the tablinum stands the four-sided peristyle with Doric columns (4). Between the columns a low wall (pluteus) encircles the peristyle

House of Menander

and is decorated with fantasy gardens, hunting scenes, and herons feeding between plants. All the rooms leading off from the peristyle are luxuriously decorated in Fourth Style frescoes. In the north-west corner (9) is a room called the Green Oecus, oecus being a large reception room that can be used for dining. The magnificent fresco has a green background divided into panels by a vertical black stripe, with a vine shoot issuing from a kantharos and flying cupids topped by a wonderful frieze with centaurs and lapithai against a red background. The full-colour mosaic floor is outstandingly beautiful, with the threshold decorated with intertwining curved lines which alternate with squares and rosettes and the background with squares edged by black bands. In the centre of the floor mosaic is a magnificent full-colour opus vermiculatum mosaic picture showing a Nilotic scene in which a boat is being guided by pygmies, with villas and cypress trees lining the bank and with a smaller boat in the foreground amongst the papyrus plants in pursuit of multi-coloured ducks. On the east side of the peristyle is located a large drawing room (10) built over an earlier building, whilst on the south or back wall of the peristyle is the niche with the fresco of the Greek poet Menander on the right and possibly Euripides on the left. On the south wall theatrical tragedy masks are painted on a yellow background. But pride of place is taken by an apse decorated with a Fourth Style fresco depicting an Arcadian landscape. This is topped by a Second Style hemispherical calotte decorated in relief with acanthus volutes which is thought to be a shrine with Venus and a cherub. Adjacent to the west is another shrine to the ancestors (lararium). A doorway on the west side of the peristyle leads to the bath suite organised around an octastyle atrium with walls decorated in the Second Style. The floor mosaics are particularly splendid and include a servant bearing ointments and perfumes and a full-colour mosaic in the caldarium (11) portraying an acanthus plant with singing bird set in a circular frame surrounded by marine creatures swimming or being speared by pygmies.

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Adjacent to the baths is the service area and in here was found by the excavators a wooden chest containing 118 items of precious silver including the famous series of silver cups. The baths were not working at the time of the eruption, the columns of the small atrium in the bath suite were on the floor undergoing repair and in the kitchen area adjacent to the baths were stored a number of amphorae full of ready-to-use plaster. The slaves’ quarters were located in the south-east corner of the building (12) where a number of agricultural implements including a hand cart were found by the excavators. The richness of the household was known to the Pompeii survivors and after the eruption in 79 ad a number of thieves tunnelled their way into the house but were trapped and died, presumably when their tunnel collapsed. The location of their endeavours was in the room south of the east walkway of the peristyle where they were discovered by modern excavators still with spades and a lantern.

House of the Tragic Poet (IV.8.3, Figure 57)

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he house is not currently open to the public but nevertheless is famous throughout the world because of the mosaic of a growling dog with the Latin legend translating as ‘Beware of the dog’ on the threshold.

The house was named the Tragic Poet at the time of the excavation in consequence of a misinterpretation of a painting found in the tablinum which showed Admetus sitting with his Queen Alcetis. The messenger is reading the oracle from a roll of papyrus which says he must die unless someone should voluntarily take his place. The house was excavated by A. Bonucci in 1824 and is said to belong to a P. Aninius (the name ‘Aninius’ was found scratched twice on one of the columns in the peristyle, but could be just a friend or guest), a member of a family known in Pompeii from about 80 bc. In fact one of the family helped to pay for the rebuilding of the Stabian Baths. Situated almost opposite the Forum Baths, it seems that the house dates from the second century bc with later additions of a large drawing room

House of the Tragic Poet

Figure 57: Plan of House of the Tragic Poet

and kitchen. It also seems that most of the walls were redecorated after the earthquake of 62 ad. The house is named after a small mosaic showing actors performing a satyr drama. This mosaic and all the other important mosaics and frescoes were removed at the time of excavation and can now be seen in the Archaeological Museum in Naples. The entrance (1) is dominated by the mosaic of the famous chained dog with the legend picked out in black tesserae on a white background below the dog of ‘CAVE CANEM’ (‘Beware of the dog’). The entrance hall (fauces) is located between two adjoining shops (3) and the walls decorated with a red wainscot surmounted by panels with a yellow background showing a trompe l’oeil wooden fence and a candelabrum. The floor of the fauces is decorated with a regular pattern of black and white mosaic with a double border of black mosaic. The fauces (2) leads into the atrium (4) with its Tuscan roof, sloping tiled roof and compluvium.

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Figure 58: Mosaic of the dog guarding the entrance to the House of the Tragic Poet

The rather nice impluvium (pool) in the middle of the floor is built of marble (5) and on the north side a marble well head stands with fluted shaft and moulded edges. This was used to draw rainwater from a deep well. Close inspection of the rim of the well head reveals grooves worn into the rim by the rope hauling up the bucket. The floor of the atrium is similar to the fauces with a regular pattern of large black and white mosaic edged with a double strip of black mosaic. Around the pool (impluvium) the mosaic floor is edged with a black and white mosaic plait.

House of the Tragic Poet

The walls of the atrium repeat the pictorial scheme of the entrance hall (fauces) with the addition of a frieze of acanthus volutes above the middle band which were decorated with stunning frescoes depicting scenes from the Trojan Wars. The best were removed at the time of excavation and include the wedding of Jupiter and Juno; the handing over of Briseis by Achilles; Venus with a dove; a battle scene; and Poseidon and a cupid on a dolphin. A number of rooms lead off from the atrium and include a cubiculum (6) decorated with a Fourth Style frieze of battle scenes between the Greeks and Amazons. On the west wall there was a painting of the myth of Phrixus and Helle. Next door the ala (bedroom) (7) has a wonderful black and white mosaic floor with a threshold and ‘carpet’ squares finished in a geometric pattern of squares. On the opposite side of the atrium is a suite of bedrooms (8) and in the far south-west corner a stone staircase leading to the upper floor (9). The atrium of course leads into the tablinum (10) which opens into the peristyle, all on the same axis so a passerby or visitor would see from the entrance the atrium, the peristyle and on the rear wall of the peristyle (11) a magnificent fresco covering the entire wall portraying an imaginary garden (paradeisos) now sadly lost. The tablinum is decorated in the Fourth Style and on the east wall was a fresco of Admetus and Alcestis. The floor contained a mosaic of a musician’s rehearsal framed by a double black mosaic meander against a white background. The west wall has a doorway leading to a cubiculum (8). Beyond is the three-sided peristyle with fluted Doric columns, the lower third somewhat thicker and painted red. On either side of the columns are the remains of wooden cramps which may suggest between the columns was a wooden fence as shown in numerous frescoes. On the far wall there was (now faded) an imaginary garden (paradeisos). To the left a larium (12) is built as a small temple on a tall podium attached to the rear wall, and beyond is the rear entrance (13) to the property adjacent to the two cubicula (8) with Fourth Style frescoes and opus signinum floors embellished with white tesserae.

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The small kitchen and latrine (14) are located to the east of the peristyle and adjacent to a large drawing room (15), probably used as a triclinium and floored with a black and white mosaic edged with a double border of black and with an emblema in the centre of the floor consisting of a geometric pattern of fish and ducks. The walls are decorated with magnificent Fourth Style frescoes, embellished with frescoes in the middle of the panels depicting the sale of cherubs (north wall); Theseus abandoning Ariadne (east wall); and Diana and Callisto (south wall). The House of the Tragic Poet, redecorated after the earthquake of 62 ad and buried under the eruption of 79 ad, caused a sensation in the United Kingdom at the time of its excavation in 1824. In Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s bestselling novel, The Last Days of Pompeii, Glaucos and Ione managed to escape from the doomed city with the help of a blind slave girl. The house they escaped from was based on the House of the Tragic Poet and Bulwer-Lytton used William Gell’s ‘Pompeiana’, one of the first guide books of Pompeii, for details. The house is closed to the public, and most of the wall decoration badly faded, so for the moment all one can do is stand at the barred entrance, take a photograph of the famous dog and remember that in the nineteenth century this was one of the most exquisite and famous private houses to be excavated in Pompeii.

House of the Silver Wedding (V.2.1, Figure 59)

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n April 1893, on the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of King Umberto I of Italy, a special excavation under the leadership of M. Ruggero, Superintendent of Pompeii, was undertaken under the gaze of their Majesties and their imperial guests, the Emperor and Empress of Germany. Thus the house is now called the House of the Silver Wedding and is located just to the south of the Nola Gate.

The probable owner of the house was one L. Albucius Celsus, member of an ancient family who were active in politics well before Sulla’s arrival in 80 bc. The history of the house is well documented in the archaeological excavation sources and it seems the original building was rectangular,

House of the Silver Wedding

with a tetrastyle atrium with a peristyle. A tetrastyle atrium is one where the inverted roof is held up by four columns rather than beams as in the Tuscan atrium. The atrium was decorated in the First Style and with its tall doors to the adjoining rooms gave the building a noble look. Behind the rooms on the south side was a portico with Doric columns. After Sulla’s imposition of a Roman colony on Pompeii the tall doorways were blocked off and all the interior walls redecorated in the Second Style.

Figure 59: Plan of House of the Silver Wedding

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After the earthquake of 62 ad the house regained the rooms on the sides of the atrium which because of their height were divided into two floors. Lower doorways were built and the new areas were decorated in imitation Second Style to match the existing décor. Even though the house is large the plan is simple. From the entrance hall (fauces) (1) which slopes upwards into the atrium (2), the compluvium is framed by four tall Corinthian fluted columns coated with white stucco and with the lower third somewhat thicker, fluted and coloured red. The opening of the compluvium was edged with terracotta cymae with lion heads and palmette antefixae. The impluvium (3) below has a fluted marble well head and near the edge of the pool is a base for a fountain figure which spouted a jet of water into a round marble basin. The opening of the compluvium was unusually large and to shield the room from too much sunlight it seems that there might have been the facility of hanging curtains between the four columns on bronze rings which are still in situ. The door of the rooms either side of the atrium were originally more than 4m (13 ft) high but the height reduced when a second floor was placed above the rooms, reached by three staircases, one to the right of the atrium, the other two on the opposite side. The upper rooms were lit by small windows, some of which opened into the atrium, the others into the garden. One of the rooms leading off from the atrium (4) is decorated in the Fourth Style with scenes depicting pygmies. The tablinum (5) situated on the same axis as the entrance (1) and peristyle (6) has Fourth Style frescoes with scenes of cupids with chariots and animals on a black background. The peristyle (6) has five Doric columns on the east side and on the other sides six octagonal columns. The peristyle is a garden enclosed by a colonnade or having a colonnade on two or three sides. When this is higher on the north side than on the other three, as in the House of the Silver Wedding, the peristyle is called Rhodian (Mau 1899: 254). On the walls of the peristyle the decoration is large red panels with architectural designs on a yellow background; the walls of the lower

House of the Silver Wedding

part of the peristyle were painted with black panels rather than red. The lower third of the columns in front were decorated yellow at the front and dark red at the sides and rear. The architrave surface is moulded in stucco with hunting scenes and surmounted by a cornice of stucco. The peristyle can be closely dated because on one of the columns on the north side is scratched: Nerone Caesare Augusto Cosso Lentulo Cossi til (10) co(n) s(ulibus) VIII I dus Febra(u)arias Dies Solis, Luna XIIIIX, nun (dinae) Cumis, Vnun Pompeis In the consulship of Nero and of Cossus Lentulus the son of Cossus [and that according to Mau is 60 ad]. The inscription seems to suggest that the eighth day before the Ides of February in 60 ad was the market day at Cumae, being Sunday and the sixteenth day after the New Moon; and that the market day at Pompeii came five days later. The garden enclosed by the peristyle (6) could be watered from two pipes at the front two corners. In the middle of the garden the excavators found two crocodiles and a huge toad, all made from a whitish glazed pottery thought to have been manufactured in Egypt. There is a small bath suite on the west side of the peristyle. The changing room (7) (apodyterium) has a black and white mosaic floor in three sections: the threshold shows an aqueduct; the main floor area has a black and white scattered mosaic bordered by a black mosaic strip; and the area where stood the couch is white but in front is a mosaic comprised of coloured marble triangles all contained within a black and white mosaic border. The hot room (9) (caldarium) next to it and the warm room (8) (tepidarium) both had a hot air hypocaust system of hollow floors. In the caldarium the apse for the labrum (water basin) is still there and the bath probably stood opposite the apse where it could be heated from the adjacent kitchen (10). In the wall of the tepidarium was the bronze mouth of a water pipe. To the west of the bath suite is a small swimming pool (11).

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Next door to the bath suite is the kitchen (10) with its raised hearth for cooking which stood against the wall adjoining the garden and above was a fresco of the two lares, the household gods, and a serpent coiled around an altar on which was portrayed a large pine cone. In the corner was a fire pit for heating the baths with a foundation of masonry to support the testudo – the metal vessel in which water was heated for the baths. Leading off from the peristyle are other wonderful rooms including in the south-west corner a dining room (12) (triclinium) frescoed in the Fourth Style, and an exedra (13) flanked by two bedrooms (14) (cubicula) all decorated in the Second Style. Each of the bedrooms had an alcove for a bed, a division shown on the floor mosaics. The exedra was painted yellow and was probably used as a classroom judging by the graffiti found on the walls. In the dining room the place for the couches and table is shown in the mosaic design on the floor. The grandest room is located in the south-east area of the peristyle and is a tetrastyle oecus which served as a dining room (15). It has a wonderful black and white mosaic floor and four octagonal columns standing on a tall plinth which supported a coffered barrel-vaulted ceiling decorated with stucco motifs. The decoration is Fourth Style.

Praedia of Julia Felix (II.4.2, Figure 60)

S

ituated along the Via dell’Abbondanza and just north of the Amphitheatre in the garden suburbs this house, one of the largest in Pompeii and first excavated in 1757, has with other houses in the vicinity recently undergone a wonderful facelift and is now open to the public.

The buildings, which spread over two insulae, were probably built after the earthquake of ad 62. First excavated in 1757 by the military engineer Rocque Joaquin Alcubierre and his more famous assistant Karl Jakob Weber, the intention was to retrieve statues and frescoes to adorn the private museum of the Bourbon royal family.

Praedia of Julia Felix

Figure 60: Plan of Praedia of Julia Felix

However, Weber drew a plan of the building before it was reburied and marked on it where the obects were found and removed, and this drawing, like his plans of the Villa of Papyri, was to prove invaluable to later excavators and archaeologists. The following inscription was found by the early excavators at one of the entrances to the building: IN PRAEDIS IVLIAE SP. F. FELICIS LOCANTVR

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BALNEVM VENERIVM ET NONCENTTVM TABERNAE PERGVLAE CENACVLA EX IDIBVS AVG PRIMIS IN IDVS AVG SEXTAS ANNOS CONTINVOS QVINQVE S. Q. D. L. E. N. C. (CIL. 4.1136) The inscription probably means: ‘The estate of Julia, daughter of Spurius Felix to let elegant baths, and shops with living quarters above and apartments on the upper floor from August for five years and the lease will end after five years.’ The site is in fact four separate areas and buildings: the private house; the separate bath suite; the public gardens; and the shops. The entrance to the baths (1) with its impressive doorway framed by two columns led into a portico paved with mosaic and with bench seats for waiting customers (11). In the south-west corner were partitions which may be changing cubicles. The room led into the apodyterium (12) which leads into the tepidarium (13) and the laconicum (14). Retracing your steps turn right into the apsed caldarium (15) with niches in three of the walls and a bowed niche for a labrum basin of which the stuccoed bases still survive. The north wall is niched for a large rectangular bathing tank. The floors of these warm rooms are heated by an underfloor hypocaust system and paved with a black and white mosaic which in places is figured. The walls are heated with tegulae mammatae under the frescoed plaster. Outside in the garden was a swimming pool (16) used probably only in the summer and surrounded by a wide pavement. Adjacent was a caupona and it is likely food and drink would have been supplied to the paying customers of the public baths from this bar. The main building is accessed by another entrance which leads into an atrium (5) famous for the location of a continuous fresco of life in the Forum which was cut into sections in the 1760s and is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Another private entrance (2) faces the tablinum or office (4) which is likely to have regulated price and access to the business complex. Ahead from the main entrance (5) you enter into a wide colonnade (6) which runs parallel to an ornamental garden embellished with water features (8). The roof of the colonnade is supported by 16 rectangular and tapered

Praedia of Julia Felix

fluted marble pillars with Corinthian capitals embellished with rosettes. The two central pillars are taller and form part of an exedral nymphaeum, which was used as a triclinium, containing cascades of water flowing down marble steps and ornamental fountains. The walls of the triclinium (7) were frescoed with scenes of the Nile with ducks and crocodiles and the ceiling decorated with flakes of Sarnus stone to give the impression of a cave. The effect with the fountains and cascading water amplified in the echo chamber of the simulated cave must have been impressive. Either side of the nymphaeum was a suite of dining rooms served by a corridor to the rear. The garden was fed by the water from the triclinium and drained initially into the euripus (8), itself a wonderful architectural extravaganza with its margins finished with white marble sheets, crossed at intervals by marble bridges, and embellished with fountains and the seven marble statues found along the edges of the euripus (ornamental pond) by the eighteenth-century excavators. On the south side of the garden an alcove dedicated to the Egyptian gods (10) was excavated and running parallel to the garden was a series of arbours (9) where assignations could be played out.

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Glossary

Acroterium (plural acroteria) – an ornamental decoration sat on a plinth. Aedicule – a small shrine. Aedile – two magistrates who took care of the public buildings of a town or city and worked in conjunction with the duumviri. Agathodemon (also agathos daimon) – a spirit that protected the vineyards and grapevines, usually depicted as a snake. Agger – an embankment. Ala (plural alae) – bedroom of a house. Amphora (plural amphorae) – a large earthenware jar, normally for the storage and transport of foodstuffs or liquids. Apodyterium (plural apodyteria) – the first room of the public baths where men would remove and store their clothes. Ara Pacis – an altar in Rome dedicated to Pax, the incarnation of Peace. Architrave – wooden or stone beam laid across the tops of two columns, sometimes with dedicatory inscription or ornately decorated. As – a bronze or copper Roman coin. Atrium (plural atria) – a large, usually square open-air room around which the house was built. Augustal (plural Augustales) – priests dedicated to maintaining the cult of Augustus and the Augusteum. Augusteum – a temple dedicated to the imperial cult of Augustus.

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Balneum (plural balneae) – a public pool. Basilica – a public building usually used to settle business and legal matters. Bisellium (plural bisellia) – a large seat reserved for the most important or honoured people. Caldarium (plural calderia) – a room in the bath-house in which was situated a hot plunge pool. Calotte – a concave, cap-like ornamental feature. Capitolium – the temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad, which constituted Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Cardo Maximus – the main street, orientated north to south. Castella Secundaria – secondary water tanks. Castellum Aquae – a water tower. Castellum Plumbeum – a lead tank. Caupona (plural cauponae) – inn which served hot meals. Cella (plural cellae) – a small inner chamber. Chalcidicum (plural chalcidica) – a porch-like vestibule in the entrance of a building. Collegium decurionum – in Roman law the collegium was a guild set up by the members and governed by its own rules as a corporate body. Collegium juvenum – a military school for young men. Comitium – a meeting place, often open-air. Compluvium (plural compluvia) – the space in the roof of the atrium where rainwater would fall through and collect in the impluvium. Concubinatus – a state of cohabitation in which the couple did not enter into a legal marriage. Consul – a highly ranked, chief magistrate of the Roman Republic. Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum – name of the Roman colony founded at Pompeii by Publius. Cornice – a horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or over a door or window. Cornucopia – also known as a horn of plenty and normally filled with fresh fruits and vegetables or bread, a symbol of abundance. Cubiculum (plural cubicila) – a small room of the house usually thought to be a bedroom.

Glossary

Culina – the kitchen; usually small, dark and used only by slaves. Curia – a court or assembly; a group of people who helped to make decisions. Cryptoporticus – a covered passage or doorway. Dado – the lower part of a wall. Decumanus – an east–west orientated road in most Roman cities, based on the layout of a Roman military fort, with the Decumanus Maximus connecting the Porta Praetoria to the Porta Decumana. The name derives from the fact that in a military camp the Decumanus road (meaning tenth) separated the Tenth Cohort from the Ninth. Decurion – one of the most powerful groups of political figures who supervised the administration of Pompeii, including public contracts, taxes and entertainment. Destringere – to have sweat removed with a strigil. Divi Filius – literally ‘divine son’, a title used by Augustus. Dolium (plural dolia) – large earthenware pot. Doryphorus – a statue by the Greek Polykleitos (Latin Polycletus). Duumvir (plural duumviri or duoviri) – a magistrate with the highest public office; the term is often used in the plural because two men would hold the same office simultaneously. Emblema – a centrally placed mosaic motif. Entablature – the upper area of a building supported by columns or a colonnade. Entrepôt – a port or city with a port where the import, export and distribution of goods is carried out. Eumachia – daughter of a man named Lucius, Eumachia was the patron priestess of the fullers’ guild. Exedra – an alcove or portico with benches, intended for people to sit on and converse. Fasces – a bundle of rods demonstrating a chief magistrate’s power. Fauces – narrow passage running alongside the tablinum. Favete Linguis – literally ‘hold your tongue’. Feralia – Festival of the Dead, when families would bring offerings to relatives’ graves and celebrate parentalia. Frigidarium (plural frigidaria) – a room in the bath-house containing a large cool pool.

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Fullery – a Roman laundry with three main phases: soaping, rinsing and finishing. Garum – a fermented fish sauce. Genius – the divine nature that is present in every individual, place or season. Harpocrates – god of silence and secrets, derived from the image of the Egyptian god Harpa-Khruti. Horus – an Egyptian god with the head of a falcon; the son of Osiris and Isis, and avenger of his father against the evil god Seth. Ima Cavea, Media Cavea and Summa Cavea – three regions of seating in the theatre, named for their proximity to the main stage. Impluvium (plural impluvia) – a large square basin-like opening in the atrium, used for collecting rainwater. Insula (plural insulae) – Pompeii is divided into 23 insulae, which are blocks of city housing contained on all four sides by roads. The insulae are divided into any number of individual houses but conjoined within that block. Isis – an Egyptian goddess; the mother of Horus and sister-wife of Osiris. Kantharos – a type of Greek drinking cup, shaped like a chalice with two handles, each on opposite sides. Kerkis (plural kerkides) – a seating section in the theatre, shaped like a wedge. Labrum (plural labra) – a marble basin in the bath-house containing cool water. Laconicum (plural laconica) – a room in the bath-house (in Pompeii an apse in the caldarium) in which dry sweating would take place. Lahar – a thick, destructive mud flow that occurs during a volcanic eruption. Lanternarius – an individual who lit the lamps. Lapithai – Thessalians who attended their king’s wedding, where they fought and defeated a group of drunken centaurs. Lararium (plural lararia) – household shrine to the lares. Lares (Public Lares or Lares Publici) – a group of gods and goddesses who protected the household and the city. Libum – a type of Roman honey cake, similar to a modern cheesecake. Ludus – gladiator’s barracks.

Glossary

Macellum – a market-place; in Pompeii it was located in the Forum and was the focal point of trade. Manus – marriage, of which there were two forms: cum manu, in which the woman transferred to the patria potestas of her husband’s family; and sine manu, in which she lived with her husband in the state of concubinatus, remaining under the patria potestas of her own father. Megalography – the depiction of grand things such as deities and heroes. Mensa Ponderaria – a public bench designated for measuring weights. Metopes – the square spaces between the triglyphs on the Doric friezes. Ministry Fortuna Augusta – Temple of Fortuna Augusta. Nymphaeum – a room containing a fountain cascading from a mosaic, often incorporating shells with sculpture adorning the structure and serving as a place of rest or summer dining. Oculus – a circular hole in a wall or ceiling, normally used in reference to the opening in the domed roof of a bath-house. Odeon / Odeion – Greek name (later adopted into Latin) for a theatre. Oecus (plural oeci) – a room in a house normally used as a dining room. Omphalos – a thimble-shaped stone artefact, normally associated with Apollo. Opera Vittata (Listata?) Mista – a Roman building technique involving layering brick with a variety of other materials. Optimus Maximus – name given to Jupiter, the head of the Roman pantheon. Opus Caementicium – a type of concrete formed by binding aggregates. Opus Craticium – a framework of wood usually filled in with opus incertum. Opus Incertum – a building technique constituting irregularly shaped stones being inserted into opus caementicium. Opus Latericium – a single layer of brickwork usually used to front opus caementicium. Opus Listatum / Opus Vittatum Mixtum – a building technique with bricks being laid with blocks of tuff.

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Opus Quadratum – a Roman building technique. Opus Recticulatum – a single layer of brickwork usually used to front opus caementicium, similar to opus latericium except that the bricks were tesserae shaped. Opus Sectile – mosaic style specifically depicting figures such as animals or humans. Opus Signinum – a building material formed by mixing lime, broken pottery and sand. Opus Spicatum – paving or walls with a herringbone pattern. Opus Tessellatum – the simplest form of mosaic decoration. Ordo Decurionum – an elected group of 100 men who formed a council. Orthostates – large, tall blocks of stone with a smaller depth than height. Osiris – the Egyptian god of the underworld, father of Horus and brother-husband of Isis; depicted in Egyptian art as a mummified figure who presided over the dead. Palaestra – a gymnasium; in some cases a wrestling school. Palla – a loose wrap-like garment usually worn by women over the stola. Pallium – a large rectangular mantle, originally Greek but adopted by the Romans. Pappamonte – a type of local stone. Paradeisos – from the Greek for paradise; an imaginary garden painted in a fresco. Parentalia – a celebration of the life of a deceased individual. Pater patriae – Latin for ‘father of the nation’and an honour given by the Roman Senate. Paterfamilias – the patriarch or male head of a household. Patria Potestas – power of the father over his direct and extended family. Patronus – a benefactor who would take on a number of clients. Pax Romana – literally Roman Peace, used to describe the period of peacefulness and minimal military action from the rule of Augustus to Marcus Aurelius. Penates – household gods of the pantry or storeroom, worshipped alongside the lares, although usually associated more closely with Vesta.

Glossary

Peristyle – a row of columns lining the edge of a space such as a courtyard. Phallus – a votive or carving shaped like an erect penis, used to symbolise fertility and potency. Physis – Greek term generally meaning ‘nature’. Pluteus – a low wall. Pompeius (Anglicised: Pompey) – family name of Pompey the Great, a powerful and significant military leader. Popa – an inferior priest. Populus – the people who did not comprise the duumviri, ordo decurionum or aediles. Porta Saliniensis – one of the gates in and out of Pompeii. Porticus post scaenam – rear of the theatre turned into the Gladiator Barracks. Praefica – a woman hired by a family to lead the lament at the head of a funeral procession. Praefurnium (plural praefurnia) – the opening of the furnace. Probation Equitum – a public show of equestrian skills. Pronaos – an opening at the front of a temple, enclosed by porticos. Propylaeum – a monumental gate, gatehouse or porch at the entrance of usually sacred buildings such as the Parthenon in Athens. Proskenion – part of the stage in front of the scaena. Prostyle – a row of free-standing columns in front of a building, similar to a portico. Quadriga – a chariot drawn by four horses. Quadriporticus – a four-sided, almost square atrium or courtyard surrounded by colonnades. Quinquennial – consisting of or recurring every five years. Rhomb – in a rhombus shape. Salutatio – the formal morning greeting made by the patron to his clients. Salve – a greeting, or ‘be well’. Salve Lucru – literally ‘welcome money’, an expression of thanks for monetary prosperity. Scaena (plural scaenae) – the stage or scenery involved in a theatre production.

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Scaenae Frons – permanently installed decorated background of a theatre stage. Schola Labri – an apse in the bath-house containing a large marble basin. Sistrum – a rattling musical instrument associated with Egypt. Socle – a plinth or block on which a statue or foot of a bench was stood. Spectacula – a building specifically designated for the showing of spectacles. Stola – a long dress-like garment worn by women. Strigil – a scraping instrument with a curved blade, used to remove sweat and dirt from the skin. Suggestum – a platform for public speaking. Taberna (plural tabernae) – a single-roomed shop with a vaulted roof. Tablinum (plural tablina) – a room in the Roman house generally considered to be the office of the family patriarch, where he would meet with clients and conduct business. Tabularium – a building where the town records would normally be kept. Tegula Mammata – a rounded, concave ceramic tile. Telamones – statue figures, usually men, used as columns to support such things as entablatures. Tepidarium (plural tepidaria) – a room in the bath-house in which the warmth would radiate from the walls and floor. Tesserae – small tiles used in mosaic designs. Tesserula – a square voting token. Testudo – a metal water-heating vessel. Tetrastyle – having four pillars. Theatrum Tectum – a covered theatre. Thermopolium (plural thermopolia) – café-style shop serving hot and cold food. Tholos – a style of Greek tomb shaped like a beehive; also used to describe a room with a similar shape. Thyrsus – a staff or banner usually carried by Bacchus or his followers. Tonstrix – a female barber or hairdresser; wealthy women would have one to attend to their hair on a daily basis.

Glossary

Torcularium – a room in which grapes would be pressed ready to make wine. Triclinium (plural triclinia) – a room containing three long couches, on which Romans would recline to dine. Triglyphs – in architecture, the vertical channels in the Doric style frieze. Trigon – a ball game, the name of which derives from the ancient Greek meaning ‘to jump’. Vale – a farewell. Vallum – a defensive wall. Vestibulum – an entrance hall in the house where clients would wait to see the patron. Volutes – scroll-like ornamental decoration. Wainscot – wooden panelling covering either the lower part or whole of a wall, sometimes painted.

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Further Reading

There are literally hundreds of books, articles and learned papers on Pompeii but my favourites are Mary Beard, Pompeii (2008); Joanne Berry, The Complete Pompeii (2013); Paul Zanker, Pompeii: Public and Private Life (1998); Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum (1994); John Clarke, Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 bc–ad 250 (1998); Amedeo Maiuri, Pompeii (Fifteenth Edition); August Mau, Pompeii: Its Life and Art (1902); Ray Laurence, Roman Pompeii: Space and Society (1994); John Ward-Perkins, Pompeii (1979); Roger Ling, The Insula of the Menander at Pompeii – Volume 1: The Structures (1997); and Ivo van der Graaff, The City Walls of Pompeii: Perceptions and Expressions of a Monumental Boundary (2013).

Bibliography

Adam, J.P. (2007). ‘Building materials, construction techniques and chronologies.’ In J.J. Dobbins and P.W. Foss (eds) The World of Pompeii. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 98–113. Allison, P.M. (1993). ‘How do we identify the use of space in Roman housing?’ In E.M. Moormann (ed.) Functional and Spatial Analysis of Wall Painting: Proceeds of the Fifth International Congress on Ancient Wall Painting, Amsterdam, 8–12 September 1992. Leiden: Stichting BABesch, pp. 1–8. ——— (1994). The Distribution of Pompeian House Contents and Its Significance. Unpublished Dissertation, University of Sydney. ——— (1997). ‘Roman households: an archaeological perspective.’ In H. Parkins (ed.) Roman Urbanism: Beyond the Consumer City. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 112–46. Anderson, M. (2005). ‘Houses, GIS and the micro-topology of Pompeian domestic space.’ In J. Bruhn, B. Croxford and D. Grigoropoulus (eds) TRAC 2004: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference. Oxford: Oxbow Books, pp. 144–56. ———(2010). ‘Mapping the domestic landscape: GIS, visibility and the Pompeian house.’ In F. Niccolucci and S. Hermon (eds) Beyond the Artefacts – Digital Interpretation of the Past – Proceedings of CAA2004 – Prato 13–17 April 2004. Budapest: Archaeolingua, pp. 183–9. Beard, M. (2008). Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. London: Profile Books. Bon, S.E. and R. Jones (eds) (1997). Sequence and Space in Pompeii. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Bostock, J. (1855). Pliny the Elder: The Natural History. London: Taylor and Francis. Clarke, J.R. (1987). ‘The early third style at the Villa of Oplontis.’ Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Römische Abteilung 94: 267–4.

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——— (1991). The Houses of Roman Italy, 100 bc–ad 250: Ritual, Space, and Decoration. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ——— (1998). Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 bc–ad 250. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ——— (1998–1999). ‘Look who’s laughing: humor in tavern painting as index of class and acculturation.’ Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 43: 27–48. ——— (2003). Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans: Visual Representations and Non-Elite Viewers in Italy, 100 bc–ad 315. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. ———(2007). ‘Three uses of the Pygmy and the Aethiops at Pompeii. Decorating, “Othering” and Warding Off Demons.’ In L. Bricault, M-J. Versluys and P. Meyboom (eds) Nile into Tiber: Egypt in the Roman World. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Isis Studies. Leiden, May 11–14, 2005. Leiden/Boston: Brill, pp. 155–69. ——— (2008). Looking at Laughter: Humor, Power, and Transgression in Roman Visual Culture, 100 bc–ad 250. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Coarelli, F. and F. Pesando (2006). Rileggere Pompei. I. L’insula 10 della Regio VI. Rome: ‘L’Erma’ di Bretschneider. Cole, K.C. (2009). Reading the Walls of Pompeii: A Diachronic Analysis of the Urban Development in the Vicinity of the Forum and the Negotiation of the Public and Private Space. Unpublished Dissertation, University of Virginia. Cooley, A. (2002). Pompeii. London: Duckworth. Cooley, A. and M. Cooley (2004). Pompeii: A Sourcebook. London: Routledge. Curtis, R.I. (1979). ‘The Garum Shop of Pompeii.’ Cronache Pompeiane 5: 5–23. ——— (1984). ‘A Personalized Floor Mosiac from Pompeii.’ American Journal of Archaeology 88: 557–66. Dalby, A. (2000). Empire of Pleasures: Luxury and Indulgence in the Roman World. London/New York: Routledge. DeFelice, J. (2001). Roman Hospitality: The Professional Women of Pompeii. Warren Centre: Shangri-La Publications. Deiss, Joseph Jay (1966), Herculaneum: Italy’s Buried Treasure. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, Company. Dickmann, J.A. (1997). ‘The peristyle and the transformation of domestic space in Hellenistic Pompeii.’ In R. Laurence and A. Wallace-Hadrill (eds) Domestic Space in the Roman World: Pompeii and Beyond. JRA supplement 22. Portsmouth, pp. 121–136. Dobbins, J.J. (1994). ‘Problems of chronology, decoration, and urban design in the Forum at Pompeii.’ American Journal of Archaeology 98(4): 629–94. ——— (2007). ‘The Forum and its dependencies.’ In J.J. Dobbins and P. Foss (eds) The World of Pompeii. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 150–83.

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List of Illustrations

Note: All images are copyrighted by the author. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Early map of Campania Oscan text Section through city walls Section through the atrium of the House of the Faun The Forum in 1902 looking north to the Temple of Jupiter and beyond to Vesuvius Sculpture from Pompeii thought to show the earthquake View of the Forum (looking north-east) A fresco now faded of gladiators about to start combat, seen on the arena wall of the amphitheatre at Pompeii The gladiators’ training ground or ‘ludus’ Theatrical masks in mosaic Small Theatre or Odeon Temple of Jupiter (looking south-west) Bronze statue of Apollo Fresco in the House of Venus in the Sea Shell Temple of Isis being excavated in the eighteenth century Temple of Fortuna Augusta Temple of Vespasian, with the altar showing an imperial sacrifice of a bull

8 10 12 14 15 16 28 30 31 34 35 38 39 40 42 44 45

List of Illustrations

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Fresco of Vesuvius found in a shrine in the House of the Centenary (IX.8.6) Plan of House of Julius Polybius Plan of Suburban Baths Plan of Marine Gate, Imperial Villa Plan of Temple of Venus Plan of Temple of Apollo Plan of Forum Plan of Basilica Plan of Temple of Jupiter and two triumphal arches Plan of Temple of Vespasian Plan of Sanctuary of City Lares Plan of Macellum Plan of Building of Eumachia Plan of Temple of Fortuna Augusta Plan of Forum Baths Stucco detail from the Forum Baths Plan of House of the Faun Plan of House of the Vettii Plan of Central Baths Plan of Bakery of Popidius Priscus Plan of Brothel Plan of Stabian Baths Plan of Theatre District View of the Triangular Forum taken in 1909 Plan of Temple of Isis Plan of Temple of Jupiter Meilichios Plan of the two theatres Plan of Fullery of Stephanus Plan of House of Loreius Tiburtius Plan of House of Venus Venus being excavated Plan of Palaestra Plan of Amphitheatre

49 82 88 91 92 95 100 102 105 106 109 111 113 117 121 122 128 135 139 141 142 144 149 150 153 155 156 158 162 165 167 168 170

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Pompeii

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Plan of Nuceria Gate Tombs Plan of Villa of the Mysteries Plan of Tombs outside Herculaneum Gate This postcard dates from c.1910 and shows the Street of Tombs with over 30 magnificent tombs which ran from the Herculaneum Gate to the open countryside Plan of Villa of Diomedes Plan of House of Menander Plan of House of the Tragic Poet Mosaic of the dog guarding the entrance to the House of the Tragic Poet Plan of House of the Silver Wedding Plan of Praedia of Julia Felix

172 176 180 187

189 193 197 198 201 205

Plate 1. Map of Pompeii

Plate 2. Wall painting from the House of Terentius Neo (VII.2.6), and now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. This fresco painted in the Fourth Style is thought to show the baker Terentius Neo and his wife. The couple are shown as affluent, well-off and sophisticated with the wife wearing a red cloak, a pearl necklace with a gold pendant and pearl earrings. Her hair is shown dressed with a central parting and gathered at the nape with tight curls that fall on her face and neck. She is holding a diptych of black wax tablets and a stylus. When she writes with the stylus she scratches her words through the black wax, revealing the yellow wood below and allowing the words to be read. Terentius Neo wears a toga (here) and holds a ‘rotulus’, a roll of writing material wound around a wooden staff.

Plate 3. One of a series of wall paintings from the dining room of the House of the Chaste Lovers (IX.12.6). It shows a banqueting scene with the diners reclining on two wooden triclinium couches (here) with silver and glass dining vessels on a small three-legged table in front of them. Although supposedly an elegant fine dining scene, look closer and you can see that one of the women clutching a drinking cup is already drunk and being held up by a slave. Between the two pairs of diners a man seems to have passed out.

Plate 4. Fresco detail of a dancer from the Villa of Diomedes excavated between 1771 and 1774 and possibly recorded by Vincenzo Mollame. The recording of newly discovered artefacts and wall paintings has given us an invaluable record of how fresh and perfectly preserved some of the wall paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum were at the time of discovery.

Plate 5. In contrast the wonderful frescoes of cupids at work and play from the House of the Vettii (VI.15.1) were for the first time in Pompeii left in situ by the archaeologists in the excavation of 1891 to 1895. The works of art have suffered through damp and exposure and the house is now closed to the public and requires urgent restoration and repair (here).

Plate 6. Just inside the door to the right of the fauces (entrance) of the House of the Vettii (VI.15.1) is the wall painting of Priapus, the Greek god of fertility, weighing his huge penis on a scale against a bag of gold coins over a basket of fruit and vegetables, which is one of his symbols (here). Priapus was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite who was abandoned on the banks of a river near the Hellespont. It is now thought that Priapus was perceived as suffering from the rare medical condition phimosis where the foreskin of the penis cannot be retracted.

Plate 7. Other wall paintings show more mundane images of everyday life in Pompeii. Here a fresco from the atrium of the Praeda of Julia Felix (II.4.2) shows life in the Forum, with onlookers reading a banner draped in front of a set of equestrian statues on plinths set in front of the colonnade (here).

Plate 8. The Fullery of Stephanus (I.6.7) was converted from a traditional town house to an industrial premises with the original impluvium transformed into a large basin for washing cloth (here). The wall painting above (also drawn at the top of Plate 9, below) shows a slave carding a tunic and a second slave with a reed cage on which cloth would be stretched to be bleached by sulphur steam. In the bottom left hand corner a customer is inspecting some cloth. At the bottom of Plate 9 (below) is a painting showing slaves treading cloth in vats, drawn from the original frescoes in the Fullery of Stephanus by Vincenzo Loria in the 1880s.

Plate 10. Another major work that Vincenzo Loria was involved in was the engraving of the magnificent painting by the Italian architect Edoardo Cerillo of the recently discovered wall paintings from Pompeii. Published in 1887, the 20 plates in chromolithography show the frescoes of 17 of the most famous houses in Pompeii. The above is from the House of Sirico, now undergoing restoration.

Plate 11. The Amphitheatre in Pompeii is the oldest known example from the Roman world and in ad 59 the Roman historian Tacitus records a riot at Pompeii between some of its residents and the nearby town of Nuceria. The wall painting (from a house at I.3.32) shows the riot with men fighting from both cities spilling out of the Amphitheatre into the streets of Pompeii. Details are particularly interesting, with the velarium (sun awning) shown in detail. The now lost colourful frescoes on the podium wall and the layout of the adjacent Palaestra, with its central swimming pool, can be seen (here).

Plate 12. The Amphitheatre at Pompeii, photographed here in 1909, is thought to be the oldest in existence and dates from at least 70 bc when construction was paid for by the Pompeii magistrates Marcus Porcius and Quinctius Valgus. The form derives from the inspiration of joining two theatres together (amphitheatre means ‘double theatre’) (here). Built in a corner formed by the city walls and excavated into the wall embankment, the Amphitheatre is capable of holding in excess of 18,000 people divided into sections of social class, with the lower parts (ima cavea) for the Pompeii elite and the middle part (media cavea) and upper part (summa cavea) for the plebeians.

20 pairs of gladiators of Decimus Lucretius … and 10 pairs of gladiators of Decimus Lucretius Valens his son will fight at Pompeii on 8, 9, 10, 12 April. There will be a regular hunt and awnings. Aemilius Celer wrote this on his own by the light of the moon.

Plate 13. Graffiti on the west side of Building IX.8. The words read as follows:

Plate 14. One of the places where gladiators lived and trained was the Gladiator’s Barracks (caserma) located behind the Large Theatre. The courtyard with Doric colonnades was rebuilt in the last years of Pompeii to house gladiators. The weapons found in ten of the rooms include up to 15 decorated bronze helmets, six shoulder pads, and an array of swords and daggers of parade armour. The parade helmet is decorated with a palm tree, an emblem of victory, with the visor adorned with shields and lances, and the crest is a gryphon’s head.

Plate 15. Catalogued as ‘Mosaic Emblem with Death Memento-Type Symbols from the Triclinium of the Tannery (R. I.5.2)’, and now in the Naples Archaeological Museum. It is more usually called ‘The Skull and Level’ and as a mosaic that sat as a central motif in a mosaic floor in a dining room, it is astounding. It shows Death, symbolised by the skull, sitting on a butterfly, representing the soul of the departed, gently alighted on the wheel of Fortuna. To the left are the trappings of wealth – a rich man’s toga and a sceptre – and to the right the trappings of poverty, the beggar’s rags, knapsack and crook finely balanced on a level (libella) from which hangs a plumb bob symbolising equality. The message of the mosaic is explicit. Death cancels out the differences of poverty and wealth and all men are born and die equal.

Plate 16. Painting by Giuseppe Abbate who painted a copy of the mosaic in the tablinum (main room) of the House of the Tragic Poet (here). The central panel (emblem) depicts a group of actors preparing to perform a satyr play whilst to the right players are donning goat costumes. The design and decoration of the house was used to inspire Pompeii decoration in the United Kingdom, including tea rooms at Crystal Palace, and garden houses at Buckingham Palace and Osborne House (1843–5).

Plate 17. Mosaics from the House of the Faun (VI.12.2). In the mosaic (above) which comes from one of the atrium rooms (alae), a cat has caught a quail, whilst below ducks are seated amongst seashells and fish.

Plate 18. The quality of the mosaics is outstanding (here) as shown by this detail of the Bacchus mosaic found in the dining room (triclinium) of the House of the Faun. It depicts Bacchus as a winged child riding a tiger adorned with a necklace of grapes with vine leaves.

Plate 19. Part of the outdoor fresco of a garden scene from the House of the Golden Bracelet (VI.17.42). This garden was one of the first to be excavated scientifically by Wilhelmina Jashemski, revealing a rectangular planted garden with raised beds enclosed in formal hedges and an oval flower bed at the centre. Jashemski’s work allowed identification of the planting of the flowers and trees. The garden, real and imagined, along with water features enhanced the setting of the outdoor dining room (triclinium).

Plate 20. The Villa of the Mysteries was found in 1909 and further excavated by Amedeo Maiuri in 1929–30. The frieze of nine overlapping scenes is to be found on three walls of a room facing the sea (here) and is called a megalographia, since it is a depiction of life-sized figures in what may be a sequential story of initiation into the secret cult of Dionysus. The paintings are dated to the middle of the first century bc but have been heavily restored in the twentieth century and may not show what was originally painted. The subject matter has kept scholars employed for the last 100 years and the fact remains that we really do not know what is going on. The scene (above) is thought to show a woman seeking comfort on the lap of another, whilst a naked woman dancer clashes cymbals above their heads.

Plate 21. The changing room (apodyterium) of the Suburban Baths (here) was decorated with scenes of a sexual nature which presumably acted as a guide to the sexual services on offer in the rooms above the baths. The numbered boxes are thought to be for the bathers’ clothes but might also be a means of booking time with one of the rooms’ occupants. But tastes change and by ad 79 these paintings had been whitewashed over.

Plate 22. The Lupanar Brothel (VII.12.180) was typically small with only a few rooms but is thought to be one of the largest brothels found in Pompeii. The hallway walls were decorated with explicit sex scenes which presumably acted as a menu of what was on offer. The cubicles were whitewashed and covered with graffiti from satisfied customers. One such graffiti reads: ‘HIC EGO PUELLAS MULTAS FUTUI’ (‘Here I fucked many girls’).

Plate 23. The Blue Glass Vase, ‘discovered’ it was said at the House of the Mosaic Columns at Pompeii on 29 December 1837 in the presence of King Ferdinand II. It is considered the Naples National Archaeological Museum’s most prized exhibit and certainly worth a visit. The cameo glass vase is extremely rare and made by fusing two different sheets of coloured glass – in this case translucent blue and opaque white – in a glass furnace and then etching away the top layer, creating a design that stands out from the blue background. Near the bottom is a narrow figurative band of goats and sheep in an Arcadian landscape, above the band are putti celebrating the festival of Bacchus and above them is a festoon of fruit and flowers. The stand is modern.

Plate 24. One of the paintings by A. Magliano and D. Capri of the Monumental Tombs from the Herculaneum Gate (1854) shows Tomb 8, the Tomb of the Blue Glass Vase (here). Inside the excavators found in niches three urns, two of glass, one of which was the Blue Glass Vase, and various statuettes all made of terracotta. The House of the Mosaic Columns is just behind the tombs.

Plate 25. Just recently found near Pompeii whilst building a motorway near the town of Moregine. The Second Style fresco found in the sumptuous dining room of the building seems to show the Emperor Nero in the guise of the god Apollo. But did he visit Pompeii? Or just Oplontis, or even the villa of his dear friend Gaius Calpurnius Piso at Baiae? It seems modern archaeologists can embellish a good story as well as their eighteenth-century colleagues.

Plate 26. Within the confines of the House of P. Casca Longus (I.VI.11) is a startling piece of Roman history. The House owes its name to the marble trapezophori table which probably belonged to one of Caesar’s killers ‘P. Casca Long (us)’ and is inscribed as such on the top of one of the table legs. After the assassination of Julius Caesar he was exiled to the east where he died in 42 bc together with Brutus after the battle of Philippi in Macedonia. His goods were auctioned and one of his tables ended up in this small house in Pompeii.

Plate 27. Giuseppe Fiorelli established an archaeological field school in Pompeii in 1866 to train future archaeologists in more up-to-date procedures such as the use of plaster casts of the victims of the eruption. This young boy was found with his family during the nineteenth-century excavations and preserved as a plaster cast by pouring liquid plaster into the cavity left by the decomposed body. The results were startling and the procedure was used for wooden furniture and also root casts to enable identification of plant species.

Plate 28. This same young boy, now believed to have been about four years old, has been subjected to scientific tests. Recently experts from the Pompeii Archaeological Site have scanned the preserved plaster body casts for details of anatomy not seen until now.

Plate 29. This loaf of bread excavated by archaeologists from one of the numerous bread ovens in Pompeii shows (on a modern plate) that even the most mundane of objects is perfectly preserved and gives us an insight into the daily life of Pompeii. Note the baker’s stamp on one of the segments.

Plate 30. A poor photograph from the 1930s of excavation underway within a Pompeii bar. You are looking at a scene stopped on that day in ad 79 when Vesuvius erupted and customers left their cups on the bar and plates of food on the tables, and ran for their lives.

Plate 31. The interior decoration of floors of stone mosaic was robust enough to survive both the eruption and being buried for over 2,000 years. This mosaic from the House of the Faun shows the absolute beauty which surrounded some of the inhabitants of Pompeii.

Plate 32. Entire families succumbed to the onslaught of the volcano, holding each other as death overcame them. This scene in a corner of the Garden of Fugitives shows the human cost of such natural disasters.

Index

Italic font is used for Latin terms. Bold font is used for Guide headings. Italic page numbers refer to illustrations. Underlined page numbers refer to plans. acting 33–4 actors 34 aedicules (small shrines) 91, 112, 137, 164 aediles (magistrates) 27–8, 30, 98 agathodemons (snake spirits) 137, 161 agriculture in Campania 18–19 alae (bedrooms) 72, 74 House of the Faun 128, 130, 131 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of the Vettii 136 see also cubicula (bedrooms) Alexander mosaic 79, 126, 127, 133 altars Doric Temple 150 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 96 Temple of Isis 153, 153 Temple of Jupiter 104 Temple of Vespasian 44–5, 45, 107, 108 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 182, 184

Amphitheatre 29–30, 169–72, 170 apodyteria (changing rooms) 36 Forum Baths 121, 121, 122, 125 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 145, 146–7 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Apollo, cult of 39–40, 39, 64, 94–7, 95, 100B Apollo, frescoes 123, 166 aqueducts 17, 68 army college 32 art at Pompeii 75–8 atria 72, 74, 201 Fullery of Stephanus 158, 160 House of the Faun 13, 14, 128, 129, 130, 131 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161, 162

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Index

atria (continued) House of Menander 193–4, 193 House of the Silver Wedding 201–2, 201 House of the Tragic Poet 197–9, 197 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 164, 165, 166 House of the Vettii 135, 136 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 Augustales (priests of Augustus) 181, 185, 186 Augusteum (temple) 110 Augustus, cult of 43, 108 autumn, genius of 130 Bacchus 48, 74, 77 Bakery of Modestus 140 Bakery of Popidius Priscus 139–41, 141 ball games 37, 145 balneae (bathing pools) 88, 89, 122–3 banqueting halls 13 basement shrines 153, 153 Basilica 27–8, 99, 100G, 101–2, 102 basins Forum Baths 121, 123–4, 125 House of the Silver Wedding 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 206 Stabian Baths 147, 148 Suburban Baths 90 bathing 36–7 Baths of Pompeii 15, 118–20 Central Baths 138–9, 139 Forum Baths 17, 120–5, 121, 122 Stabian Baths 17, 120, 143–8, 144 Suburban Baths 87–90, 88, 91B baths, private House of the Faun 128, 132 House of Menander 193, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203

Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Villa of Diomedes 189, 190–1 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 bedrooms 21, 23, 72, 73, 74 House of the Faun 128, 129, 130, 131, 132 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 165, 166, 168 House of the Vettii 136 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 178 beds 21–2 birds 77, 89, 134, 195 bisellia (honorary seats) 33, 185, 186 Boscoreale 76, 80 braziers 121, 123 bread making 140 Brothel 141–3, 142 brothel, domestic 135, 137 building materials 69–71 Building of Eumachia 16, 99, 100K, 106, 112, 113, 114–15 burial rituals 173–4, 179, 184, 186 business in Pompeii 27 cafés in Roman Pompeii 159, 160–1 caldaria (hot rooms) 118 Forum Baths 121, 123, 124, 125 House of the Faun 132 House of Menander 193, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147–8 Suburban Baths 88, 90 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 calottes (ornamental features) 195

Index

Capitolium 15, 100A, 101, 104 cardo maximus (main street) 66 castella aquaea (water towers) 17, 66, 68 castella plumbeum (lead tanks) 69 castella secundaria (secondary water towers) 69 cauldrons 121, 124 cauponae (inns serving hot food) 159, 161, 206 CAVE CANEM mosaic 197, 197, 198 cellae (chambers of shrines) House of the Faun 127, 129 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 96, 97 Temple of Fortuna Augusta 117 Temple of Isis 152, 153 Temple of Jupiter 104–5 Temple of Venus 93 Temple of Vespasian 107 Central Baths 138–9, 139 chalcidica (vestibules) 101, 102, 114 changing rooms 36 Forum Baths 121, 121, 122, 125 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 145, 146–7 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 children 24, 25, 26, 41, 83, 187 Cicero 29, 39 Civil Offices 102–3 classrooms 201, 204 clothes 22, 23, 24 cold pools Forum Baths 120, 121, 122, 123 Stabian Baths 144, 147 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 collegium decurionum (senate) 152 collegium juvenum (army college) 32 colonies of the Roman Republic 13, 14

colonnades 74 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206–7 Stabian Baths 144, 145, 146 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 95, 96, 97 see also peristyles (gardens and colonnades) Comitium 99, 100F, 103 commerce in Pompeii 18–19 compluvia (roof openings) 68 House of the Faun 130 House of Menander 193 House of the Silver Wedding 202 House of the Tragic Poet 197 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 164 House of the Vettii 136 cosmetics 24 Council of the Decurions 28–9 Crassus Frugi, Marcus 87–8 cremation burials 173–4, 179, 184, 186 cryptoporticus 178, 189, 191 cubicula (bedrooms) 21, 23, 73 House of the Faun 128, 129, 131, 132 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 165, 166, 168 House of the Vettii 136 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 178 culina (kitchens) 75 House of the Faun 132 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 167 House of the Vettii 135, 137 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177

229

230

Index

cults Apollo 39–40, 39, 64, 94–7, 95, 100B imperial 43–4, 106, 108, 110, 112, 169 Isis 41–2 Venus 40, 93 Curia 99, 100D, 103 daily life in Pompeii 21–4, 27–8, 36 dating methods 70–1 decorative styles of wall painting 70, 75–8 decurions (senators) 28–9, 98 deities 38 see also cults Delos, trade with 13 dining rooms 73 House of the Faun 128, 130, 133 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 162, 163, 164 House of Menander 193, 194, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 165, 168 House of the Vettii 135, 136, 138 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 207 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 178 diribitorium (vote-counting house) 103 discovery of Pompeii 7–8 domestic rituals 136–7 Doric Temple 148, 149B, 150–1 drains and sewers 65 drawing rooms House of Menander 193, 195 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 166 duumviri (magistrates) 27–9, 98

earthquakes 17–18, 19–20, 48 Eastern influences in Pompeii 13 education in Pompeii 26, 201, 204 election graffiti 81, 165 elections in Pompeii 28, 29, 98, 103 Epomeo, Ischia, eruption of 47 erotic scenes, frescoes 89, 137, 138, 142 eruption of Vesuvius 47–61, 49 explosion 48–9 main eruption 50–5 pyroclastic surges 55–8 Etruscan Pompeii 10, 97 Eumachia, priestess of Venus 114, 115, 174 euripi (ornamental pools) 163–4, 207 exedras (alcoves or porticos) 75 House of the Faun 79, 128, 132–3 House of Menander 192, 192 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of the Vettii 137–8 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 180, 187 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 178 exercise yards Palaestra 32, 168, 169 Stabian Baths 143–4, 145, 146 Festival of the Dead 174 fight with Nocera 171 First Style wall paintings 71, 76 House of the Faun 79, 126–7, 130, 132 House of Julius Polybius 81 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161 House of the Silver Wedding 181 Temple of Apollo 95 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 181 fish market 110–11

Index

fish sauce 19 floor surfaces 70–1 see also mosaics food in Pompeii 23, 110–12, 115, 140, 159, 160, 184 Forum 16–17, 28, 64, 98–9, 100, 101 Forum Baths 17, 120–5, 121, 122 Forum Holitorium 100L, 115–16 fountains 74 House of the Faun 125–6, 131, 132 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 163–4 House of the Silver Wedding 202 House of the Vettii 137 Macellum 110–11 Praedia of Julia Felix 207 fountains, public 69, 159 Fourth Style wall paintings 78 House of the Faun 131 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161, 163 House of Menander 194–5 House of the Silver Wedding 202, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 199–200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165–8 House of the Vettii 136, 137–8 Imperial Villa 91 Macellum 112 Praedia of Julia Felix 99 Stabian Baths 145 Suburban Baths 89–90 Villa of Diomedes 191 frescoes Apollo 123, 166 birds 77, 89, 195 Egyptian scenes 89, 154, 178 erotic scenes 89, 137, 138, 142 fishing scenes 161 foodstuffs 112

forum scene 98, 99 garden scenes 74, 145 hunting scenes 161, 163 mythological scenes 91, 136, 146, 154, 163, 164, 199 Priapus 135–6, 142 priest of Isis 161 theatrical buildings 136 Trojan Wars 96, 163, 194, 199 Venus in the Sea Shell 166, 167 water scenes 89, 190 frigidaria (rooms with cold pools) Forum Baths 120, 121, 122, 123 Stabian Baths 144, 147 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Fullery of Stephanus 158, 159–60 funeral rituals 173–4, 179, 184, 186 furnaces Forum Baths 121, 124 Stabian Baths 144, 146, 148 Suburban Baths 88, 90 furniture 21–2, 80 games, ball 37, 145 games, gladiatorial 30–2, 30, 171 garden pavilions 165, 168 gardens 74 Building of Eumachia 113, 114 House of the Faun 79, 125, 126, 128, 132, 133, 134 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 162, 163 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202–3 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 166 House of the Vettii 135, 135, 137 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206, 207 Villa of Diomedes 189, 190, 191

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Index

gardens (continued) see also peristyles (gardens and colonnades) garum (fish sauce) 19 gates 65–7 Herculaneum Gate 180, 181 Marine Gate 90–2, 91A gladiators 30–2, 30, 171 Gladiator’s Barracks 31, 31, 149H, 154, 157, 171 gods 38 see also cults Goethe, Johann von 75, 79, 80 graffiti actors 34, 35 Basilica 101 Brothel 142 Fullery of Stephanus 159, 161 gladiators 32 House of Julius Polybius 81 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161 House of the Silver Wedding 204 Stabian Baths 147 on Venus 40 Greek settlement at Pompeii 9, 11 grid plan 11, 15, 64 gymnasiums 36 Forum Baths 121, 121 Palaestra 32, 168, 169 Samnite Gymnasium 149C, 151–2 hair styles 23 Hall of the Aediles 99, 100E, 103 Hall of the Duumviri 99, 100C, 103 Hannibal 14 heating systems 36–7, 119 House of the Silver Wedding 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147, 148 Suburban Baths 89–90 Herculaneum

discovery of 7–8, 36 drains and sewers 65 eruption of Vesuvius 18, 53–6, 61 history of 8–10 preservation at 62 roads 65 Herculaneum Gate 66, 67, 180, 181 Hercules 9, 38 hip baths 143–4 Holitorium 99, 100L honorary seats 33, 185, 186 hot rooms 118 Forum Baths 121, 123, 124, 125 House of the Faun 132 House of Menander 193, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147–8 Suburban Baths 88, 90 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 House of Caecilius Jucandus 99 House of the Centenary 48, 49 House of the Chaste Lovers 78 House of Fabius Amandio 77 House of the Faun 13, 14, 79–80, 125–7, 128, 129–34 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 161, 162, 163–4 House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto 24, 77–8 House of Menander 80, 192–6, 193 House of the Silver Wedding 200–4, 201 House of the Tragic Poet 196–200, 197 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 40, 40, 164–8, 165 House of the Vettii 78, 134–8, 135 house plans 71–5 household shrines 38, 72, 74

Index

in bars 161 House of the Centenary 48 House of the Faun 133–4 House of Menander 193, 194, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 167 House of the Vettii 136–7 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 hypocausts 36–7, 119 House of the Silver Wedding 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147, 148 Suburban Baths 89–90 imperial connections 16 imperial cult 43–4, 106, 108, 110, 112, 169 Imperial Villa 90–1, 91C impluvia (rainwater basins) 68 House of the Faun 129, 131 House of Julius Polybius 81 House of Menander 193–4, 193 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 198 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 164, 165 Villa of Diomedes 189, 190 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 inns serving hot food 159, 161, 206 inscriptions Amphitheatre 29 Basilica 101 Building of Eumachia 114, 115 Doric Temple 151 Forum Baths 123–4 Herculaneum Gate Tombs 179, 181–6 House of the Faun 126

House of the Silver Wedding 203 instructions for soldiers 67 Mensa Ponderaria 116 on money 18 Nuceria Gate Tombs 174, 175 Odeon 34–5 Praedia of Julia Felix 205–6 Stabian Baths 145 Stabian Gate 66 Suburban Baths 87 Temple of Apollo 94, 96, 97 Temple of Fortuna Augusta 43, 116 Temple of Isis 41 Temple of Vespasian 108 insulae (city blocks) 64 Isis, cult of 41–2, 161 Ivelli, Giuseppina Cerulli 87 jewellery 24 Jupiter 38–9 see also Temple of Jupiter Jupiter Meilichios 154 Juvenal 23 kitchens 75 House of the Faun 132 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 167 House of the Vettii 135, 137 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 labra (marble basins) Forum Baths 121, 123–4, 125 House of the Silver Wedding 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 206 Stabian Baths 147, 148 Suburban Baths 90

233

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Index

laconica (sweating rooms) 37, 118, 120 Central Baths 138 Forum Baths 120 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 landscape painters 77 lararia (household shrines) 38, 72, 74 in bars 161 House of the Centenary 48 House of the Faun 133–4 House of Menander 193, 194, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 167 House of the Vettii 136–7 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 Large Theatre 149F, 154, 156–7, 156 latrines Brothel 142 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 Palaestra 168, 169 public latrines 99, 100N, 116 Stabian Baths 143 laundries 158, 159–60 lava pesta 70 Livy 11–12 Macellum 99, 100H, 106, 110–12 Maiuri, Amedeo 102, 164, 174, 175, 177, 192 make-up 24 Marine Gate 65, 90–2, 91A markets Building of Eumachia 16, 99, 100K, 106, 112, 113, 114–15 Macellum 99, 100H, 106, 110–12 marriages 25 Martial 25, 37 Mau, August 75 House of the Faun 130–2 House of Menander 194

House of the Silver Wedding 203 Stabian Baths 143, 145, 147 Suburban Baths 87 Temple of Apollo 94–6 Temple of Jupiter Meilichios 154 Temple of Venus 93 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 183, 184, 186 Mensa Ponderaria 99, 100M, 115 mills 140, 141 monumental entrances 110, 146, 149, 149 mosaics 71, 78–80 Alexander 79, 126, 127, 133 CAVE CANEM 197, 197, 198 House of the Faun 125–7, 129, 130, 132–3 House of Menander 195 House of the Silver Wedding 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 197, 198, 199 Suburban Baths 89 motherhood 25–6 Mount Vesuvius 47–61, 49 explosion 48–9 main eruption 50–5 pyroclastic surges 55–8 mythological scenes 91, 123, 136, 146, 154, 163, 164, 199 natatoria (swimming pools) House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Palaestra 168, 169 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 145, 146 Suburban Baths 88, 90 necropolis 174–5 Nicolaus of Damascus 31 Nocera 171 Nola Gate 66 Nuceria Gate 67

Index Nuceria Gate Tombs 172, 173–5 nymphaea Praedia of Julia Felix 207 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Odeon 34–5, 35, 149G, 154, 156, 157 oeci (dining rooms) House of Loreius Tiburtinus 162, 163 House of Menander 193, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 168 House of the Vettii 135, 136 see also triclinia (dining rooms with three couches) offices 73 House of the Faun 125, 128, 130, 131, 133 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 163 House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto 77–8 House of Menander 193, 194 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 166 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 178 omphalos 94, 97 Oplontis, Villa of Poppaea 77 opus caementicium 65, 91 opus craticium 70 opus incertum 70, 103 opus latercium 103, 107, 115 opus listatum (opus vittatum mixtum) 70

opus quadratum 66, 181 opus reticulatum 70, 183 opus sectile 105, 110, 125, 129, 130 opus signinum 70, 115, 119, 164, 165, 166, 190, 199 opus spicatum 177 opus tessellatum 71 opus vermiculatum 71, 195 ordo decurionum (council) 28–9 origins of Pompeii 8–9 ornamental pools 163–4, 207 Oscan inscriptions 10, 66, 67, 94, 115, 126, 154 Oscan settlements 8, 10 ovens 140, 141 pagan sacrifices 107–8 painters 77 Palaestra (gymnasium) 32, 168, 169 palaestrae (gymnasiums) 32 Forum Baths 121, 121 Stabian Baths 143–4, 145, 146 pantomime 33 patronage in Pompeii 27 Pelasgians at Pompeii 10 peristyles (gardens and colonnades) 74 House of the Faun 79, 125, 126, 128, 132, 133, 134 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Menander 193, 194–5 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202–3 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 166 House of the Vettii 135, 135, 137 Villa of Diomedes 189, 190, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 176–7, 176 see also gardens Petronius 29 phalluses 135, 137, 142 plays 33–4

235

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Index

Pliny the Elder 37, 50–1, 57–8, 88, 89 Pliny the Younger 21, 23, 26, 48, 50–1, 56–61, 75, 134 plunge baths Forum Baths 120, 121, 124, 125 Stabian Baths 143, 144, 147, 148 Suburban Baths 88, 89 podiums Sanctuary of City Lares 109, 110 Temple of Apollo 94, 95 Temple of Fortuna Augusta 116, 117 Temple of Isis 152, 153 Temple of Jupiter 104, 105 Temple of Venus 92, 93 Pompeii building the town 64–80 daily life 21–37 discovery of 7–8 earthquakes 17–20 eruption of Vesuvius 47–61 history 3–5, 8–17 religion 37–45 pools see cold pools; ornamental pools; swimming pools Poppaea, wife of Nero 30 population of Pompeii 19 populus (citizens) 29 Porta Libitinensis 170, 170, 171 porticoes Basilica 101, 102 Building of Eumachia 113, 114 Forum 98, 100 Forum Baths 121, 121 House of the Faun 125 Imperial Villa 90–1, 91 Macellum 110, 111 shops 91, 92 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 96 Temple of Venus 92, 93 Triangular Forum 149–50, 149 posters 40, 171

Pozzuoli 47 Praedia of Julia Felix 17, 98, 99, 204–7, 205 praefurnia (furnaces) Forum Baths 121, 124 Stabian Baths 144, 148 Suburban Baths 88, 90 preservation at Pompeii 62 Priapus 135–6, 137, 142 priests of Isis 161 pronaoses (opening at the front of a temple) Temple of Apollo 97 Temple of Isis 152, 153 Temple of Venus 93 propylaeum (monumental entrance) 149, 149 public latrines 99, 100N, 116 pumice 52–4 purgatoria (basement shrines) 153, 153 race tracks 150 rainwater basins 68 House of the Faun 129, 131 House of Julius Polybius 81 House of Menander 193–4, 193 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 198 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 164, 165 Villa of Diomedes 189, 190 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 religion in Pompeii 37–45 repairs to Pompeii 20 restaurants and cafés xi roads 11, 65 Roman Republican colonies 13 sacred wells 149, 151 sacrifices 45, 45, 107–8 Samnite Gymnasium 149C, 151–2

Index

Samnite public banqueting halls 13 Samnites and Pompeii 11–12 Sanctuary of City Lares 16, 44, 106, 99, 100I, 109–10, 109 Sarno Gate 65–6 saunas 37, 118, 120 Central Baths 138 Forum Baths 120 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 schola (semi-circular seat) 148, 151 seats 149, 151 Second Style wall paintings 71, 76–7 House of the Faun 129, 132 House of Menander 195 House of the Silver Wedding 201–2, 204 Temple of Jupiter 104 Villa of the Mysteries 177–8 senate Pompeii 98, 103, 156 Rome 11, 29–30, 45, 108 Seneca 17–18, 31, 118, 119, 124 shops Forum Baths 121, 121 House of the Faun 131–2 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 197 Macellum 110–12, 111 Marine Gate 91D, 92 Via dell’Abbondanza 159 shrines 38, 72, 74 in bars 161 House of the Centenary 48 House of the Faun 127, 129, 133–4 House of Menander 193, 194, 195 House of the Silver Wedding 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 167 House of the Vettii 136–7 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 96, 97 Temple of Fortuna Augusta 117

Temple of Isis 152, 153, 153 Temple of Jupiter 104–5 Temple of Venus 93 Temple of Vespasian 107 Triangular Forum 149, 151 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177 silk 24 silverware 80 skeletons of victims 42, 83, 157, 159, 174, 188–9, 191 slaves market 114 number of 19 quarters 176, 176, 193, 196 work of 21, 26, 36, 73 Small Theatre 149G, 154, 156, 157 snakes 9, 48, 137, 161 Stabian Baths 17, 120, 143–8, 144 Stabian Gate 66 staircases Amphitheatre 169, 170, 171 Building of Eumachia 113, 114 House of the Faun 131–2 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 streets 99 Suburban Baths 89 Temple of Apollo 94, 95, 97 Temple of Isis 152, 153 Temple of Jupiter 104, 105 statues Apollo 39, 94, 95, 96, 97 Diana 94, 95, 96 Dionysus 152 Egyptian deities 152, 154 equestrian 102, 104 Eumachia, priestess 115 faun 126 Fortuna 117 imperial 16–17, 44, 112, 114, 150 Juno 104 Jupiter 104 Jupiter Meilichios 154

237

238

Index

statues (continued) lance bearer 152 man pouring water 164 Priapus 137 tombs 175, 181–2 stone used at Pompeii 69–70 Strabo 10, 47–8 styles of wall painting 70, 75–8 Suburban Baths 87–90, 88, 91B suggestum (platform for public speaking) 99 Sulla 14, 93 sundials 94, 95, 97 swimming pools House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Palaestra 168, 169 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 145, 146 Suburban Baths 88, 90 tabernae (shops) Forum Baths 121, 121 House of the Faun 131–2 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 197 Macellum 110–12, 111 Marine Gate 91D, 92 Via dell’Abbondanza 159 tablina (offices) 73 House of the Faun 125, 128, 130, 131, 133 House of Julius Polybius 81, 82 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 163 House of Marcus Lucretius Fronto 77–8 House of Menander 193, 194 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 202 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 199 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 166

Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 178 tabularium (town records) 103 Tacitus 25–6, 171–2 telesterion 153, 153 Temple of Apollo 9, 16, 39–40, 64, 94–7, 95, 100B Temple of Fortuna Augusta 43–4, 44, 106, 116–18, 117 Temple of Fortuna Redux 16 Temple of Hercules and Minerva 64 Temple of Isis 41, 42, 149D, 152–4, 153 Temple of Jupiter 16, 37, 48, 99, 100A, 103–5, 105 Temple of Jupiter Meilichios 149E, 154, 155 Temple of Venus 14, 40, 91F, 92–3, 92 Temple of Vespasian 16, 44–5, 99, 100J, 106–8, 106 temples 37–8 Augusteum 110 Doric Temple 148, 149B, 150–1 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 163–4 in Triangular Forum 149, 151 tepidaria (warm rooms) Forum Baths 121, 123, 125 House of the Faun 132 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147–8 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 tetrastyle atria 74, 201 House of the Faun 128, 131 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 201 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 177

Index Theatre District 15, 148–51, 149 Theatres 32–5, 35, 149F G, 154, 156–7, 156 theatrical masks 33, 34 thermopolia (cafés) 159, 160–1 Third Style wall paintings 77–8, 81, 91, 178 tholos (beehive shaped room) 110–11, 111 togas 22–3 Tomb of Diomedes 180, 182 Tomb with the Marble Door 180, 183 Tombs outside the Herculaneum Gate 179, 180, 181–8, 187 tombs at Nuceria Gate 172, 173–5 tombs at Stabian Gate 66 towers defensive 67 water supply 17, 66, 68, 69 town plan 11, 15, 64 town records 103 town walls 11, 12–13, 12, 14, 67–8 trade in Pompeii 13, 18–19 Triangular Forum 9, 15, 148–50, 149A, 150 tribunals 101–2, 102 triclinia (dining rooms with three couches) 73 House of the Faun 128, 130, 133 House of Loreius Tiburtinus 162, 163, 164 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 204 House of the Tragic Poet 197, 200 House of Venus in the Sea Shell 165, 165 House of the Vettii 138 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 207 Villa of the Mysteries 176, 178 see also oeci (dining rooms) triumphal arches 16, 103–4, 105 Tullius, Marcus 116

tunics 22 Tuscan atria 74, 193 upper rooms 131–2, 133, 194, 199, 202 urine, collection of 114 Venus, cult of 40, 93 vestibules 101, 102, 114 Vesuvius 47–61, 49 explosion 48–9 main eruption 50–5 pyroclastic surges 55–8 Vesuvius Gate 66 Via dell’Abbondanza 65, 159 Via di Nola 65 Via Stabiana 64, 65, 66 victims of eruption 42, 83, 157, 159, 174, 188–9, 191 Villa of Diomedes 188–92, 189 Villa of the Mysteries 77, 175–9, 176 Villa of Poppaea, Oplontis 77 Virgil 48, 80–1 Vitruvius 71–2, 75, 120, 124, 126, 130 vote-counting houses 103 wall paintings see frescoes wall paintings, styles of 70, 75–8 warm rooms Forum Baths 121, 123, 125 House of the Faun 132 House of the Silver Wedding 201, 203 Praedia of Julia Felix 205, 206 Stabian Baths 144, 147–8 Suburban Baths 88, 89 Villa of Diomedes 189, 191 water supply 17, 66, 68–9 weights and measures 115–16 wheat trade 13 wine production 48, 176, 177

239

240

Index

wine storage 132 women in Pompeii 23–6 women’s baths Forum Baths 121, 125 Stabian Baths 146, 147–8 wool trade 18, 114

writing rooms 193, 194 writing tablets 19 xystus (race track) 150 Zevi, Fausto 87