Pompeii - Classics

• Bulit on a lava spur, giving the south-west of the city excellent natural defence
• It was next to the River Sarno which led to other parts of the region; good for trade and helped the fertile environment by natural irrigation
• Pompeii was on the Bay of Naples - excellent access for trade
• The slopes of Mt Vesuvius were richly fertile

• 62 AD
• Pompeians didn't know Mt Vesuvius was a volcano
• The earthquake was devestating and they considered it to be 'their terrible natural disaster'
• Houses and temples collapsed, people laid buried beneath
• Pompeians took this opportunity to improve the town - especially the houses and the forum
• It wasn't near completion when Mt Vesuvius erupted

• Vesuvius erupted on 24th August 79 AD
• There were some warnings in the weeks beforehand the Pompeians ignored:
       - several small earthquakes
       - wells dried up and springs stopped flowing
       - dogs howled and birds were silent
• The eruption started in the middle of 24th August and lasted 18 hours
• Debris was blown all over town, consisting of pumice and rock which built up, buildings collapsed under the weight
• Pompeians would have had plenty of time to evacuatie and the small minority that stayed behind will have chosen to do so
• One side of the volcano collapsed the following morning sending pyroclastic surges over Pompeii, burying it
• All those left in the town were killed by suffocation, poisonous gases or thermal shock

• Pliny 'the Younger' was a 17 year old boy
• Pliny 'the Elder' was his uncle, a natural historian and navy admiral
• The younger Pliny wrote two letters about what he saw of the eruption
• The letters told of his uncle's attempt to sail to the rescue of people trapped on the shore
• Pliny 'the Elder' died from suffocation of the poisonous fumes
• Pliny 'the Younger' narrowly escaped death but became a provincial governor of Rome

• Pompeii was rediscovered mid 1700s
• Early excavators were careless, causing damage to buildings while collectors took valuable artefacts
• Mid 1800s, Giuseppe Fiorelli brought a far more scientific approach to the excavation of Pompeii
• Fiorelli's Process:
     - he realised that where a corpse had been buried in ash, it had rotted   and a cavity remained
     - wherever an excavator discovered a cavity, plaster of Paris was poured in and left to harden
     - the ash was removed so a plaster replica of the person at their moment of death remained
     - this process gave information about how people died & clothes they wore
     - it also got plastercasts of other organic materials telling us of their furniture and plants they grew

• Fiorelli was also responsible for a number of other improvements:
     - blocks and buildings were numbered
     - he recorded everything and banned private collectors
     - he built roofs to protect buildings from the weather

• The forum was the heart of Pompeii
• In the centre of it was a paved open area where much of the city's life took place
• The forum was lined with statues of important public figures
• No vehicles were allowed in the forum
• Around the forum lay the town's grandest buildings

Religious buildings

• The Temple of Jupiter was to the north - the most important temple in the city
• To the west was the Temple of Apollo - statues of Apollo and Diana were inside
• The Temple of the Emperor and the Temple of the Public Lares were to the east

Commerical buildings

• The macellum was to the north-east, a covered market selling meat and fish. There was a pool in the middle for fish and shops around the edges
• The Eumachia building was a clothes manufacturer
• To the north was the Weights & Measures table and Granary (self explanatory)

Political buildings

• At the south were five political buildings, 3 municipal offices for town councillors, a law court and business centre (Basilica) and the polling station (the Comitium)

• The two most important magistrates were the duovirs who made legal decisions, managed public funds and oversaw meetings of the town council
• Below them were the aediles who were responsible for road maintanence, supervision of markets and upkeep of public temples
• Each pair of magistrates was based in a municipal office
• The third municipal office was the Curia, the meeting place of the town council was consisted of former aediles/duovirs

• The typical design of a wealthy Roman house was built around the atrium, tablinum and peristylium
• On the outside of the house were shops which were rented out to traders to earn money
• The atrium:
     - was the main entrance room
     - had to be visually impressive because visitors would arrive here
     - had a hole in its roof for water to fall into the impluvium
     - small bedrooms were on either side
• Beyond the atrium was a tablinum:
     - the main study/office of the house
     - its importance is showed as it was the central room of the whole house
• Behind the tablinum was the peristylium:
     - a colonnaded gardern
     - a private area for the family
     - only close family friends would be invited through here

• Around the peristylium would be dining rooms, bedrooms and a kitchen
• Furniture was sparing, beds and dining furniture were the main pieces

• Named after the Vettii brothers, freedmen who acquired great wealth
• They had no shops or tablinum as they were so wealthy that they didn't need to earn money
• The house's entrance had a painting of the god Priapus weighing his phallus - symbolising wealth and prosperity
• The house had two atria:
     - in the first were two large bronze chests storing their wealth
     -next to the second was a kitchen and a service quarter
     - one room contained ****** paintings
     - the other service quarter was a stable for horses
• The focal point was its peristylium:
     - he garden had its own water supply (shows wealth) and had a number of running fountains
     - it had a number of bronze and marble statues
     - it was surrounded by reception rooms

• Three of the five reception rooms were decorated:
     - east of the peristylium contained the Cupids' Frieze
     - south-esat was Ixion's punishment
     - south-west was the depiction of Pentheus being torn apart
• The Vettii brothers were keen to show off their wealth
• They had so many reception rooms showing that they were keen entertainers

• Occupied the length of a whole block
• It had two atria which could be entered from the front
• The 'main atrium' lef to the tablinum so created a powerful impression
• It had more important features:
     - two peristylia separated by a summer room which had a huge mosaic of the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius on the floor
     - the house had its own water supply, bathing room and hypocaust
     - there was a status of a dancing faun in the impluvium and other works of art
• It is not clear who owned the house at the time of the eruption
• Whoever did clearly enjoyed entertaining (2 atria and 4 dining rooms)
• The owners were keen to show off their education (we know this by all of the artwork)

• Pompeii was visited by many merchants and traders, providing and industry because it needed bars and inns to cater
• The most common thermopolia sold hot food and wine
• Some were just snack bars and others doubled up as inns or stables
• Bars and inns were common, especially near main gates and busy streets
• The best preserved thermopolium is named after a waitress, Asellina
• People sat in or took away
• Many had shrines depicting gods, oping for a blessing of the business
• People ate, socialised and played games
• There were many foods e.g. bread, nuts, dates, olives, meat and fish - suggesting they had a varied diet

• The majority of people kept clean by visiting public baths daily
• The baths were funded by the government to make sure people kept clean and to prevent disease so entrance was free or very cheap
• Pompeii had three bath houses, a fourth under construction
• The Stabian Baths were the oldest and largest, central in the town
• The baths were diverted into two areas, for men and for women
• A man entered via the main entrance and changed in the apodyterium
• Beforehand, they'd work up a sweat in the palaestra and have a dip in the pool
• He'd go the the tepidarium - the warm room - to get used to the heat
• Next he'd go to the caldarium - the hottest room
• Finally, the frigidarium - the cool room
• The Stabian Baths had an area for women who entered via the back - they had no frigidarium and couldn't use to palaestra
• The baths were heated by hypocaust (underground heating)

Importance

• The baths were an important social and business place
• Many people would conduct their business meetings here
• People would make contacts and show off power - often having as many slaves as possible escorting them to the baths to show wealth
• It was a good place to socialise and people would often meet here before an evening out
• It kept Romans healthy and acted as a social club

Roman Comedy

• Drama came from the Greek world but Pompeii was keen on comedy
• Their most famous playwright was Plautus who often used farce and slapstick humour
• Most plots were about love affairs with slaves who turned out to not be a slave
• Actors wore caricatural masks with great grinning mouths; brown masks for male characters, white for female
• Old men wore white costumes, youths wore multicolours, prostitutes wore yellow, rich wore purple, poor wore red, slaves wore short tunics and soldiers wore cloaks

The theatre

• It was built into a natural hill with semi-circular seating
• Decurions sat in the front row, everyone else sat behind
• A number of aisles were in the seating area to make seat access easy
• The seats were very small, about 40cm wide
• The audience were protected from the sun and sprayed with scented water to keep them cool
• The main actors performed on the stage and the musicians in the orchestra
• They had scenery and decorations

The audience

• The audience were very vocal in expressing their views
• They became bored if the plot was hard to follow or if it was too similar to previous ones
• If an actor sang out of tune or mispronounced his words, he could be insulted, hissed at ot booed off stage
• If the audience was pleased, they'd cheer wildly and clap
• Famous actors were worshipped - most famously Paris, who had graffiti all over town and a fan club
• Most actors were looked down on and given the same social status as prostitutes

• A capacity of 15,000
• Gladiators had special living and training barracks - they were very important to the Pompeians
• Evidence indicates that the shows were very similar to those at the Colosseum; most commonly gladiator fights and wild beast hunts
• Games were paid for by a sponsor looking to gain popularity
• He would pay for advertisements and make sure everyoe knew he was providing the games

The riot - 59 AD

• Pompeians fought with Nucerians
• Stones being thrown led to swords drawn and many were killed
• Pompeii was banned from holding games for 10 years and the sponsor was sent to exile