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POMPEII ,' an See also:ancient See also:town of See also:Campania, See also:Italy, situated near the See also:river Sarnus, nearly 2 M. from the See also:shore of the See also:Bay of See also:Naples, almost at the See also:foot of Mt See also:Vesuvius. Of its See also:history before 79 B.C. comparatively little is recorded; but it appears that it had a See also:population of a very mixed See also:character, and passed successively into the hands of several different peoples, each of which contributed an See also:element to its See also:composition. Its See also:foundation was ascribed by See also:Greek tradition to Heracles, in See also:common with the neighbouring See also:city of See also:Herculaneum, but it is certain that it was not a Greek See also:colony, in the proper sense of the See also:term, as we know to have been the See also:case with the more important cities of See also:Cumae and Neapolis. See also:Strabo (v. 4, 8), in whose See also:time it was a populous and flourishing See also:place, tells us that it was first occupied by the Oscans2 (to whom we must attribute the Doric See also:temple in the Foro Triangolare), afterwards by the Tyrrhenians (i.e. Etruscans) and See also:Pelasgians, and lastly, by the See also:Samnites. The See also:conquest of Campania by the last-mentioned See also:people is an undoubted See also:historical fact, and there can be no doubt that Pompeii shared the See also:fate of the neighbouring cities on this occasion, and afterwards passed in common with them under the yoke of See also:Rome. But its name is only once mentioned during the See also:wars of the See also:Romans with the Samnites and Campanians in this region of Italy, and then only incidentally (Liv. ix. 38), when a See also:Roman See also:fleet landed near Pompeii in 309 B.C. and made an unsuccessful marauding expedition up the river valley as far as Nuceria.3 At a later See also:period, however, it took a prominent See also:part in the outbreak of the nations of central Italy, known as the Social See also:War (91–89 B.C.), when it withstood a See also:long See also:siege by See also:Sulla, and was one of the last cities of Campania that were reduced by the Roman arms. The inhabitants were admitted to the Roman See also:franchise, but a military colony was settled in their territory in 8o B.C. by Sulla (Colonia See also:Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum), and the whole population was rapidly Romanized. The municipal See also:administration here, as elsewhere, was in the hands of two See also:duoviri here dicundo and two aediles, the supreme See also:body being the city See also:council (decuriones). Before the See also:close of the See also:republic it became a resort of the Roman nobles, many of whom acquired villas in the neighbourhood. Among them was See also:Cicero, whose letters abound with allusions to his Pompeian See also:villa. The same See also:fashion continued under the See also:empire, and there can be no doubt that, during the first See also:century of the See also:Christian era, Pompeii had become a flourishing place 1 The See also:etymology of the name is uncertain; the ancients derived it from pompa or 2r nrw (Gr. send), in allusion to the See also:journey of Heracles with the oxen of See also:Geryon, but See also:modern authorities refer it to the Oscan pompa (five). 2 For the Oscan incriptions found in Pompeii see below ad fin. 3 Pompeii was attacked as a member of the Nucerine See also:League. See See also:Conway, See also:Italic Dialects, p. 51; J. Beloch, Campanien, and ed., p.'239.with a considerable population. Two events only are recorded of its history during this period. In A.D. 59 a tumult took place in the See also:amphitheatre between the citizens and visitors from the neighbouring colony of Nuceria. Many were killed and wounded on both sides. The Pompeians were punished for this violent outbreak by the See also:prohibition of all theatrical exhibitions for ten years (See also:Tacitus, See also:Ann. xiv. 17). A characteristic, though See also:rude, See also:painting, found on the walls of one of the houses gives a See also:representation of this event. Four years afterwards (A.D. 63) an See also:earthquake, which affected all the neighbouring towns, vented its force especially upon Pompeii, a large part of which, including most of the public buildings, was either destroyed or so seriously damaged as to require to be rebuilt (Tac. Ann. xv. 22; See also:Seneca, Q.N. vi. 1). From the existing remains it is clear that the inhabitants were still actively engaged in repairing and restoring the ruined edifices when the whole city was overwhelmed by the See also:great eruption of A.D. 79. Vesuvius (q.v.), the volcanic forces of which had been slumbering for unknown ages, suddenly burst into violent eruption, which, while it carried devastation all around the beautiful gulf, buried the two cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii under dense beds of cinders and ashes. It is singular that, while we possess a detailed description of this famous eruption in two letters of the younger See also:Pliny (Epist. vi. 16, 20), he does not even See also:notice the destruction of Pompeii or Herculaneum, though his See also:uncle perished in the immediate neighbourhood of the former city. But their fate is noticed by Dio See also:Cassius, and its circumstances may be gathered with certainty from the See also:condition in which the city has been found. These were such as to conduce to its preservation and See also:interest as a relic of antiquity. Pompeii was merely covered with a See also:bed of lighter substances, cinders, small stones and ashes, which See also:fell in a dry See also:state, while at Herculaneum the same substances; being drenched with See also:water, hardened into a sort of tufts, which in places is 65 ft. deep. The whole of this superincumbent See also:mass, attaining to an See also:average thickness of from 18 to 20 ft., was the product of one eruption, though the materials may be divided generally into two distinct strata, the one consisting principally of cinders and small volcanic stones (called in See also:Italian See also:lapilli), and the other and uppermost layer of See also:fine See also: The town was situated on rising ground less than a mile from the foot of Vesuvius. This See also:eminence is itself due to an outflow of See also:lava from that See also:mountain, during some previous eruption in prehistoric times, for we know from Strabo that Vesuvius had been quiescent ever since the first records of the Greek settlements in this part of Italy. Pompeii in ancient times was a prosperous seaport town situated close to the seashore, from which it is now nearly 2 M. distant, and adjoining the mouth of the river Sarnus or See also:Sarno, which now enters the See also:sea nearly 2 M. from its site. The See also:present course of this stream is due in part to modern alteration of its channel, as well as to the effects of the great eruption. The prosperity of Pompeii was due partly to its See also:commerce, as the See also:port of the neighbouring towns, partly to the fertility of its territory, which produced strong See also:wine, See also:olive oil (a comparatively small quantity), and vegetables; See also:fish sauces were made here. Millstones and See also:pumice were also exported, but for the former the more gritty lava of Rocca Monfina was later on preferred. The See also:area occupied by the ancient city was of an irregular See also:oval See also:form, and about 2 M. in circumference. It was surrounded by a See also:wall, which is still preserved for more than two-thirds of its extent, but no traces of this are found on the See also:side towards the sea, and there is no doubt that on this side it had been already demolished in ancient times, so as to give See also:room for the See also:free See also:extension of houses and other buildings in that direction.' These walls are strengthened at intervals by numerous towers, occupying the full width of the wall, which occur in some parts at a distance of only about too yds., but in See also:general much less frequently. They are, however, of a different See also:style of construction from the walls, and appear to have been added at a later period, probably that of the Social War. Similar evidences of the addition of subsequent defences are to be traced also in the case of the gates, of which no less than eight are found in the existing See also:circuit of the walls. Some of these present a very elaborate system of See also:defence, but it is evident from the decayed condition of others, as well as of parts of the walls and towers, that they had ceased to be maintained for the purposes of fortification long before the destruction of the city. The names by which the gates and streets are known are entirely of modern origin. The general See also:plan of the town is very regular, the streets being generally straight, and See also:crossing one another at right angles or nearly so. But exceptions are found on the See also:west in the street leading from the Porta Ercolanese (See also:gate of Herculaneum) to the See also:forum, which, though it must have been one of the See also:principal thoroughfares in the city, was crooked and irregular, as well as very narrow, in some parts not exceeding 12 to 14 ft. in width, including the raised footpaths on each side, which occupy a considerable part of the space, so that the See also:carriage-way could only have admitted of the passage of one vehicle at a time. The explanation is that it follows the See also:line of the demolished city wall. Another exception is to be found in the Strada Stabiana (Stabian Street) or Cardo, which, owing to the existence of a natural depression which affects also the line of the street just See also:east of it, is not parallel to the other See also:north and See also:south streets. The other See also:main streets are in some cases broader, but rarely exceed 20 ft. in width, and the broadest yet found is about 32, while the back streets See also:running parallel to the main lines are only about 14 ft. (It is to be remembered, however, that the See also:standard width of a Roman highroad in the neighbourhood of Rome itself is about 14 ft.) They are uniformly paved with large polygonal blocks of hard basaltic lava, fitted very closely together, though now in many cases marked with deep ruts from the passage of vehicles in ancient times. They are also in all cases bordered by raised footways on both sides, paved in a similar manner; and for the convenience of foot-passengers, which was evidently a more important See also:consideration than the obstacle which the arrangement presented to the passage of vehicles, which indeed were probably only allowed for goods See also:traffic, these are connected from place to place by stepping-stones raised above the level of the carriage-way. In other respects they must have resembled those of See also:Oriental cities—the living apartments all opening towards the interior, and showing only See also:blank walls towards
' It consisted of two parallel See also: The first-mentioned of the two principal streets was crossed, a little before it reached the forum, by the street which led directly to the gate of Nola (Strada delle Terme, della See also:Fortuna, and di Nola). Parallel to this last to the south is a street which runs from the Porta Marina through the forum, and then, with a slight turn, to the Sarno gate, thus traversing the whole area of the city from east to west (Via Marina, Strada dell' Abbondanza, Strada dei Diadumeni). These two east and west streets are the two decumani. The population of Pompeii at the time of its destruction cannot be fixed with certainty, but it may very likely have exceeded 20,000. It was of a mixed character; both Oscan and Greek inscriptions are still found up to the last, and, though there is no trace whatever of See also:Christianity, evidences of the presence of See also:Jews are not lacking—such are a wall-painting, probably representing the See also:judgment of See also:Solomon, and a scratched inscription on a wall, " See also:Sodoma, Gomora." It has been estimated, from the number of skeletons discovered, that about 2000 persons perished in the city itself in the eruption of A.D. i9. Almost the Whole portion of the city which lies to the west of the Strada Stabiana, towards the forum and the sea, has been more or less completely excavated. It is over one-See also:half of the whole extent, and that the most important portion, inasmuch as it includes the forum, with the temples and public buildings adjacent to it, the thermae, theatres, amphitheatre, &c. The greater part of that on the other side of the Strada Stabiana remains still unexplored, with the exception of the amphitheatre, and a small space in its immediate neighbourhood. The forum at Pompeii was, as at Rome itself and in all other Italian cities, the See also:focus and centre of all the See also:life and See also:movement of the city. Hence it was surrounded on all sides by public buildings or edifices of a commanding character. It was not, however, of large See also:size, as compared to the open spaces in modern towns, being only 467 ft. in length by 126 in breadth (excluding the colonnades). Nor was it accessible to any description of wheeled carriages, and the nature of its See also:pavement, composed of broad flags of travertine, shows that it was only intended for foot-passengers. It was adorned with numerous statues, some of the imperial See also:family, others of distinguished citizens. Some of the inscribed pedestals of the latter have been found. It was surrounded on three sides by a See also:series of porticos supported on columns; and these porticos were originally surmounted by a See also:gallery or upper storey, traces of the staircases leading to which still remain, though the gallery itself has altogether disappeared. It is, however, certain from the existing remains that both this See also:portico and the adjacent buildings had suffered severely from the earthquake of 63, and that they were undergoing a See also:process of restoration, involving material changes in the See also:original arrangements, which was still incomplete at the time of their final destruction. The north end of the forum, where alone the portico is wanting, is occupied in great part by the imposing temple of See also:Jupiter, See also:Juno and See also:Minerva being also worshipped here. It was raised on a See also:podium 10 ft. high, and had a portico with six Corinthian columns in front. This magnificent edifice had, however, been evidently overthrown by the earthquake of 63, and is in its present condition a See also:mere ruin, the rebuilding of which had not been begun at the time of the eruption, so that the cult of the three Capitoline divinities was then carried on in the so-called temple of See also:Zeus Milichius. On each side of it were two See also:arches, affording an entrance into the forum, but capable of being closed by gates. On the east side of the forum were four edifices; all of them are of a public character, but their names and attribution have been the subject of much controversy. The first (proceeding from the north), once known as the See also:Pantheon, is generally regarded as a macellum or See also:meat-See also:market, consisting of a rectangular See also:court surrounded by a See also:colonnade, with a twelve-sided roofed See also:building (tholus) in the centre. On the south side 13. Great See also:Theatre 16. Small Theatre 17. See also:Barracks of See also:Gladiators 13. Pa/aestra 19. Thermue near the Forum 20. Stab, an See also:Baths 21. Central Baths 22. See also:House of 8a/lust 23. House of the Vettii 24. House of the See also:Golden Cupids 23. Water Reseruom 26.House of Pansa 27. House of the Faun 28. House of Jucundus 29. House of the See also:Silver See also:Wedding
30. House of the Figured Capitals
31. House of Ariadre
32. House of Ho/conius 33.Hquse of See also:Cornelius See also:Rufus 34.House of the Cithariss
and Q. See also:Catulus (78 B.c.), and therefore belongs to the Oscar. period of the city, before the introduction of the Roman colony. It was an oblong edifice divided by columns into a central See also: Temple of See also:Hercules? 4. Temple of See also:Vespasian 11. Temple of See also:Isis 5. Building of Eumachia 12. Temple of Zeus Milichiss 6. Comitium ? 13. Teoiple of Fortuna See also:Augusta 7. See also:Curia etc. 19. Temple of See also:Venus Pompeiana The See also:numbers in brackets (5) = Insulae LRedrawn by permission from See also:Baedeker's See also:Southern Italy.) were shops, and in the centre of the east side a See also:chapel for the See also:worship of the imperial house. Next to this comes the sanctuary of the Lares of the city, a square room with a large See also:apse; and beyond this, as Mau proves, the small temple of Vespasian. Beyond this again, bounded on the south by the street known as the Strada dell' Abbondanza, is a large and spacious edifice, which, as we learn from an extant inscription, was erected by a priestess named Eumachia. Its purpose is uncertain—possibly a See also:cloth-See also:exchange, as the fullers set up a statue to Eumachia here. It is an open court, oblong, surrounded on all four sides by a colonnade; in front is a portico facing the forum; and on the other three sides there is a corridor behind the colonnade with windows opening on it. On the south side of the Strada dell' Abbondanza was a building which Mau conjectures to have been the Comitium. At the south end of the forum are three halls side by side, similar in plan with a common facade—the central one, the curia or council chamber, the others the offices respectively of the duumvirs and aediles, the principal officials of the city; while the greater part of the west side is occupied by two large buildings—a basilica, which is the largest edifice in Pompeii, and the temple of Apollo, which presents its side to the forum, and hence fills up a large portion of the surrounding space. The former, as we learn from an inscription scratched on its walls, was anterior in date to the consulship of M. Lepidu's
fl=tV See also: In front of the temple is a See also:monument which seems to have been the See also:tomb of the founder or founders of the city; so that for a time this must have been the most important temple. The period of its destruction is unknown, for it appears certain that it cannot be ascribed wholly to the earthquake of 63. On the other See also:hand the reverence attached to it in the later periods of the city is evidenced by its being See also:left standing in the midst of a triangular space adjoining the great theatre, which is surrounded by a portico, so as to constitute a See also:kind of forum (the so-called Fora Triangolare). Not far off, and to the north of the great theatre, stood a small temple, which, as we learn from the inscription still remaining, was dedicated to Isis, and was rebuilt by a certain Popidius Celsinus at the See also:age of six (really of course by his parents), after the original edifice had been reduced to ruin by the great earthquake of 63. Though of small size, and by no means remarkable in point of See also:architecture, it is interesting as the only temple that has come down to us in a See also:good state of preservation of those dedicated to the See also:Egyptian goddess, whose worship became so popular under the Roman Empire. The decorations were of somewhat See also:gaudy stucco. The plan is curious, and deviates much from the See also:ordinary type; the See also:internal arrangements are adapted for the performance of the See also:peculiar See also:rites of this deity. Close to this temple was another, of very small size, commonly known as the temple of See also:Aesculapius, but probably dedicated to Zeus Milichius. More considerable and important was a temple which stood at no great distance from the forum at the point where the so-called Strada di Mercurio was crossed by the wide line of thoroughfare (Strada della Fortuna) leading to the gate of Nola. We learn from an inscription that this was dedicated to the See also:Fortune of See also:Augustus (Fortuna Augusta), and was erected, wholly at his own cost, by a See also:citizen of the name of M. Tullius. This temple appears to have suffered very severely from 'the earthquake, and at present affords little See also:evidence of its original architectural See also:ornament; but we learn from existing remains that its walls were covered with slabs of marble, and that the columns of the portico were of the same material. The fifth temple, that of Venus Pompeiana, lay to the west of the basilica; traces of two earlier periods underlie the extant temple, which was in progress of rebuilding at the time of the eruption. Before the earthquake of 63 it must have been the largest and most splendid temple of the whole city. It was surrounded by a large colonnade, and the number of marble columns in the whole See also:block has been reckoned at 296.
All the temples above described, except that ascribed to Hercules, which was approached by steps on all four sides, agree in being raised on an elevated podium or See also:basement—an arrangement usual with all similar buildings of Roman date. Neither in materials nor in style does their architecture exceed what might reasonably be expected in a second-rate provincial town; and the same may be said in general of the other public buildings. Among these the most conspicuous are the theatres,'of which there were two, placed, as was usual in Greek towns, in close juxtaposition with one another. The largest of these which was partly excavated in the side of the See also: We learn also that it was permanently covered, and it was probably used for musical entertainments, but in the case of the larger theatre also the arrangements for the occasional extension of an awning (See also:velarium) over the whole are distinctly found. The ' See A. Mau, Pompeii in Leben and Kunst (See also:Leipzig, 1908), pp. 150 sqq.smaller theatre is computed to have been capable of containing fifteen See also:hundred spectators, while the larger could accommodate five thousand. Adjoining the theatres is a large rectangular enclosure, surrounded by a portico, at first the colonnade connected with the theatres, and converted, about the time of See also:Nero, into the barracks of the gladiators, who were permanently maintained in the city with a view to the shows in the amphitheatre. This explains why it is so far from that building, which is situated at the south-eastern See also:angle of the town, about 50o yds. from the theatres. Remains of gladiators' See also:armour and weapons were found in some of the rooms, and in one, traces of the See also:stocks used to confine insubordinate gladiators. The amphitheatre was erected by the same two magistrates who built the smaller theatre, C. Quinctius Valgus and M. Porcius (the former the See also:father-in-See also:law of that P. Servilius See also:Rullus, in opposition to whose See also:bill See also:relating to the See also:distribution of the public lands Cicero made his speech, De lege agraria), at a period when no permanent edifice of a similar kind had yet been erected in Rome itself, and is indeed' the See also:oldest structure of the kind known to us. But apart from its See also:early date it has no See also:special interest, and is wholly wanting in the external architectural decorations that give such grandeur of character to similar edifices in other instances. Being in great part excavated in the See also:surface of the hill, instead of the seats being raised on arches, it is wanting also in the picturesque arched corridors which contribute so much to the effect of those other ruins. Nor are its dimensions (46o by 345 ft.) such as to place it in the first See also:rank of structures of this class, nor are there any underground See also:chambers below the See also:arena, with devices for raising See also:wild beasts, &c. But, as we learn from the case of their squabble with the people of Nuceria, the See also:games celebrated in the amphitheatre on See also:grand occasions would be visited by large numbers from the neighbouring towns. The seating capacity was about 20,0002 (for See also:illustration see AMPHITHEATRE). Adjoining the amphitheatre was found a large open space, nearly square in form, which has been supposed to be a forum boarium or See also:cattle-market, but, no buildings of interest being discovered around it, the excavation was filled up again, and this part of the city has not been since examined. Between the entrance to the triangular forum (so-called) and the temple of Isis is the See also:Palaestra, an.area surrounded by a colonnade; it is a structure of the pre-Roman period, intended for boys, not men. Among the more important public 'buildings of Pompeii were the public baths (thermae). Three different establishments of this character have been discovered, of which the first, excavated in 1824, the baths near the forum, built about 8o B.c., was for a long time the only one known. Though the smallest of the three, it is in some respects the most See also:complete and interesting; and it was until of See also:late years the principal source from which we derived our knowledge of this important See also:branch of the See also:economy of Roman life. At Pompeii the baths are so well preserved as to show at a glance the purpose of all the different parts—while they are among the most richly decorated of all the buildings in the city. We trace without difficulty all the See also:separate apartments that are described to us by Roman authors—the apodyterium, See also:frigidarium, See also:tepidarium, caldarium, &c. together with the apparatus for supplying both water and See also:heat, the places for de-positing the bather's clothes, and other See also:minor details (see BATHS). The greater thermae (the so-called " Stabian " baths), which were originally built in the 2nd century B.C., and repaired about 8o B.C., are on a much more extensive See also:scale than the others, and combine with the special purposes of the building a palaestra in the centre and other apartments for exercise or recreation. The arrangements of the baths themselves are, however, almost similar to those of the lesser thermae. In this case an inscription records the repair and restoration of the edifice after the 2 The interest taken by the Pompeians in the See also:sports of the amphitheatre is shown by the contents of the numerous painted and scratched inscriptions relating tc them which have been found in Pompeii—notices of combats, laudatory inscriptions, including even references to the admiration which gladiators won from the See also:fair See also:sex, &c. earthquake of 63. It appears, however, that these two establishments were found inadequate to supply the wants of the in-habitants, and a third edifice of the same character, the so-called central baths, at the corner of the Strada Stabiana and the Strada di Nola, but on a still more extensive scale, intended for men only, while the other two had separate See also:accommodation for both sexes, was in course of construction when the town was overwhelmed. Great as is the interest attached to the various public buildings of Pompeii, and valuable as is the light that they have in some instances thrown upon similar edifices in other ruined cities, far more curious and interesting is the insight afforded us by the numerous private houses and shops into the ordinary life and habits of the population of an ancient town. The houses at Pompeii are generally See also:low, rarely exceeding two storeys in height, and it appears certain that the upper storey was generally of a slight construction, and occupied by small rooms, serving as garrets, or sleeping places for slaves, and perhaps for the See also:females of the family. From the mode of destruction of the city these upper floors were in most cases crushed in and destroyed, and hence it was long believed that the houses for the most part had but one storey; but recent researches have in many cases brought to light incontestable evidence of the existence of an upper See also:floor, and the frequent occurrence of a small See also:staircase is in itself sufficient See also:proof of the fact. The windows, as already mentioned, were generally small and insignificant, and contributed nothing to the external decoration or effect of the houses, which took both light and See also:air from the inside, not from the outside. In some cases they were undoubtedly closed with See also:glass, but its use appears to have been by no means general. The principal living rooms, as well as those intended for the reception of guests or clients, were all on the ground floor, the centre being formed by the See also:atrium, or hall, which was almost always open above to the air, and in the larger houses was generally surrounded with columns. Into this opened other rooms, the entrances to which seem to have been rarely protected by doors, and could only have been closed by curtains. At the back was a See also:garden. Later, under Greek influences, a See also:peristyle with rooms round it was added in place of the garden. We notice that, as in modern Italy until quite recent years, elaborate precautions were taken against heat, but none against See also:cold, which was patiently endured. Hypocausts are only found in connexion with bathrooms. All the apartments and arrangements described by See also:Vitruvius and other ancient writers may be readily traced in the houses of Pompeii, and in many instances these have for the first time enabled us to understand the technical terms and details transmitted to us by Latin authors. We must not, however, hastily assume that the examples thus preserved to us by a singular See also:accident are to be taken as representing the style of building in all the Roman and Italian towns. We know from Cicero that Capua was remarkable for its broad streets and widespread buildings, and it is probable that the Campanian towns in general partook of the same character. At Pompeii indeed the streets were not wide, but they were straight and regular, and the houses of the better class occupied considerable spaces, presenting in this respect no doubt a striking contrast, not only with those of Rome itself, but with those of many other Italian towns, where the buildings would necessarily be huddled together from the circumstances of their position. Even at Pompeii itself, on the west side of the city, where the ground slopes somewhat steeply towards the sea, houses are found which consisted of three storeys or more. The excavations have provided examples of houses of every description, from the humble dwelling-place of the See also:artisan or proletarian, with only three or four small rooms, to the stately mansions of See also:Sallust, of the Faun, of the Golden Cupids, of the Silver Wedding, of the Vettii, of Pansa,l &c.—the Last of which is among the most regular in plan, and may be taken as an almost It may be observed that the names given in most cases to the houses are either arbitrary or founded to the first instance upon erroneous inferences.perfect See also:model of a complete Roman house of a See also:superior class. But the general similarity in their plan and arrangement is very striking, and in all those that rise above a very humble class the leading divisions of the interior, the atrium, See also:tablinum, peristyle, &c. may be traced with unfailing regularity. Another peculiarity that is found in all the more considerable houses in Pompeii is that of the front, where it faces one of the principal streets, being occupied with shops, usually of small size, and without any communication with the interior of the See also:mansion. In a few instances indeed such a communication is found, but in these cases it is probable that the See also:shop was used for the See also:sale of articles grown upon the See also:estate of the proprietor, such as wine, See also:fruit, oil, &c., a practice that is still common in Italy. In general the shop had a very small apartment behind it, and probably in most cases a sleeping chamber above it, though of this the only remaining evidence is usually a portion of the staircase that led to this upper room. The front of the shop was open to the street, but was capable of being closed with wooden shutters, the remains of which have in a few instances been preserved. Not only have the shops of silversmiths been recognized by the See also:precious objects of that See also:metal found in them, but large quantities of fruits of various kinds preserved in glass vessels, various de., scriptions of See also:corn and See also:pulse, loaves of See also:bread, moulds for pastry, fishing-nets and many other objects too numerous to mention, have been found in such a condition as to be identified without difficulty. Inns and wine-shops appear to have been numerous; one of the latter we can see to have been a thermopoliurn, where hot drinks were sold. Bakers' shops are also frequent, though arrangements 'for grinding and See also:baking appear to have formed part of every large family establishment. In other cases, how-ever, these were on a larger scale, provided with numerous querns or hand-See also:mills of the well-known form, evidently intended for public supply. Another establishment on a large scale was a fullonica (See also:fuller's shop), where all the details of the business were illustrated by paintings still visible on the walls. Dyers' shops, a tannery and a shop where See also:colours were ground and manufactured—an important business where almost all the rooms of every house were painted—are of special interest, as is also the house of a surgeon, where numerous surgical See also:instruments were found, some of them of a very ingenious and elaborate description, but all made of See also:bronze. Another curious See also:discovery was that of the See also:abode of a sculptor, containing his tools, as well as blocks of marble and half-finished statues. The number of utensils of various kinds found in the houses and shops is almost endless, and, as these are in most cases of bronze, they are generally in perfect preservation. Of the numerous See also:works of See also:art discovered in the course of the excavations the statues and large works of See also:sculpture, whether in marble or bronze, are inferior to those found at Herculaneum, but some of the bronze statuettes are of exquisite workmanship, while the profusion of ornamental works and objects in bronze and the elegance of their See also:design, as well as the finished beauty of their See also:execution, are such as to excite the utmost admiration—more especially when it is considered that these are the casual results of the examination of a second-rate provincial town, which had, further, been ransacked for valuables (as Herculaneum had not) after the eruption of 7o. The same impression is produced in a still higher degree by the paintings with which the walls of the private houses, as well as those of the temples and other public buildings, are adorned, and which are not.merely of a decorative character, but in many instances present us with elaborate compositions of figures, historical and mythological scenes, as well as representations of the ordinary life and See also:manners of the people, which are full of interest to us, though often of inferior See also:artistic execution. It has until lately been the practice to remove these to the museum at Naples; but the present tendency is to leave them (and even the movable objects found in the houses) in situ with all due precautions as to their preservation (as in the house of the Vettii, of the Silver Wedding, of the Golden Cupids, &c.), which adds immensely to the interest of the houses; indeed, with the help of judicious restoration, their original condition is in large
measure reproduced.' In some cases it has even been possible the See also:imitation in stucco of the appearance of a wall veneered with to recover the original arrangement of the garden beds, and to coloured See also:marbles. No wall paintings exist, but there are often
replant them accordingly, thus See also:frame- fine floor mosaics. To this belong a number of private houses
rgiving an appropriate (e.g. the House of the Faun), and the colonnade round the forum, work to the statues, &c. with which the gardens were the basilica, the temples of Apollo and Jupiter, the large theatre decorated, and which have been found in situ. The same with the colonnades of the Foro Triangolare, and the barracks of character of elaborate decoration, guided almost uniformly the PoCatMarina, and bithe ti teriorhof t the other tgates t all orthe
he glad, the Staan aths, eri of
by good See also:taste and artistic feeling, is displayed in the See also:mosaic public buildings indeed (except the Doric temple mentioned under pavements, which in all but the humbler class of houses (i), which do not belong to the time of the Roman colony). Date, frequently form the ornament of their floors. One of these, in 2nd century B.c.
the House of the Faun, well known as the See also:battle of See also: Greek architecture—the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian—are found rt que period from the last decades of the Republic to the earthquake of A.n. 63. No homogeneous series of buildings—we freely employed in the various edifices of the city, but rarely find various styles of construction (quasi-reticulate, opus reticulatum in strict accordance with the rules of art in their proportions of tufa with stone quoins, of the time of Augustus, opus reticulatum and details; while the private houses naturally exhibit still with brick quoins or with mingled stone and brick quoins, a little deviation and irregularity. In many of these indeed we later). and three styles of wall decoration fall within its limits more . Y o The second, already mentioned, the third or ornate, with its freer find varieties in the ornamentation, and even in such leading use of ornament and its introduction of designs which suggest features as the capitals of the columns, which remind one rather an Egyptian origin (originating in the time of Augustus), and the of the vagaries of See also:medieval architecture than of the strict rules See also:fourth or intricate, dating from about A.D. 50. Marble first appears of Vitruvius or the regularity of Greek edifices. One practice as a building material in the temple of Fortuna Augusta (c. 3 B.c.). o P 6. The period from the earthquake of A.D. 63 to the final de-which is especially prevalent, so as to strike every casual visitor, struction of the city, the buildings of which can easily be recognized. and See also:dates from the early years of the empire, is that of filling The only wholly new edifice of any importance is the central baths. up the flutings of the columns for about one-third of their height Outside the Porta Ercolanese, or gate leading to Herculaneum, with a thick coat of stucco, so as to give them the appearance is found a house of a different character from all the others, which from its extent and arrangements was undoubtedly a suburban of being smooth columns without flutings below, and only fluted villa, belonging to a See also:person of considerable fortune. It is called—above. The unpleasing effect of this anomalous arrangement is as usual without any authority—the villa of Arrius See also:Diomedes; greatly aggravated by the lowerpart of each See also:column being almost but its remains are of peculiar interest to us, not only for comparison coloured with red or yellow ochre, so as to render the See also:con- with the numerous ruins of similar buildings which occur else-always Y where—often of greater extent, but in a much less perfect state trast between the two portions still stronger. The architecture of of preservation—but as assisting us in understanding the description Pompeii suffers also from the inferior quality of the materials of ancient authors, such as Vitruvius and Pliny, of the numerous generally employed. No good building stone was at hand; See also:appurtenances frequently annexed to houses of this description. and the public as well as private edifices were constructed either In the cellar of this villa were discovered no less than twenty a skeletons of the unfortunate inhabitants, who had evidently fled of volcanic tufa, or lava, or Sarno See also:limestone, or brick (the latter thither for See also:protection; and fourteen in other parts of the house. only used for the corners of walls). In the private houses even Almost all the skeletons and remains of bodies found in the city the columns are mostly of brick, covered merely with a coat of were discovered in similar situations, in cellars or underground stucco. In a few instances only do we find them making use apartments—those who had sought See also:refuge in See also:flight having akopar- of a whitish limestone wrongly called travertine, which, though underf ~ircu tances whe epthe r b diesrwere easilyarecovered by inferior to the similar material so largely employed at Rome, the survivors. According to Cassius Dio, a large number of the was better adapted than the ordinary tufa for purposes where inhabitants were assembled in the theatre at the time of the catasgreat solidity was required. The portion of the portico sur trophe, but no bodies have been found there, and they were probably rounding forum which was in the f rebuilding at sought for and removed shortly afterwards. Of late years it has roun g process o g been found possible in many cases to take casts of the bodies found—the time when the city was destroyed was constructed of this a complete See also:mould having been formed around them by the fine material, while the earlier portions, as well as the principal white ashes, partially consolidated by water. temples that adjoined it, were composed in the ordinary manner An interesting See also:farm-house (few examples have been so far dis- covered in Italy) is that at Boscoreale excavated in 1893-1894, of volcanic tufa. Marble appears to have been scarce, and which contained the treasure of one hundred and three silver vases was sparingly employed. In some instances where it had been now at the Louvre. The villa of P. Fannius Synhistor, not far off, freely introduced, as in the great theatre, it would seem that the was excavated in 19oo; it contained fine wall paintings, which, slabs must have been removed at a period subsequent to the despite their importance, were allowed to be exported, and sold by entombment of the city. See also:auction in Paris (some now in the Louvre). (See F. Barnabei, eLa Villa pompeiana di P. Fannio Sinistore; Rome, 1901.) These materials are used in several different styles of con- The road leading from the Porta Ercolanese towards Herculaneum struction belonging to the six different periods which Mau is bordered on both sides fora considerable extent by rows of tombs, traces in the architectural history of Pompeii. as was the case with all the great roads leading into Rome, and in- t. That of the Doric temple in the Foro Triangolare (6th cdeed in all large Roman towns. These tombs are in many instances B.c.) and an old column built into e a house in Region vi., Insula century ent g; monuments of considerable pretension, and of a highly ornamental also of the older parts of the city walls—date uncertain (Sarno character, and naturally present in the highest degree the peculiar limestone and See also:grey tufa). See also:advantage common to all that remains of Pompeii, in their perfect 2. That of the limestone atriums (See also:outer walls of the houses ofreservation. Hardly any See also:scene even in this extraordinary city See also:ashlar-work of Sarno limestone, inner walls with framework of is more. striking than the coup d'ceil of this long street of tombs, limestone blocks, filled in with small pieces of limestone). Date, preservng uninjured the records of successive generations eighteen centuries ago. Unfortunately the names are all otherwise unknown; before 200 B.C. but we learn from the inscriptions that they are for the most part 3. Grey tufa period; ashlar masonry of tufa, coated with fine white those of See also:local magistrates and municipal dignitaries of Pompeii. stucco; See also:rubble work of lava. The artistic character is still Greek. Most of them belong to the early empire. and the period coincides with the first (incrustation) style of mural decoration, which (probably originating in See also:Alexandria) aimed at There appears to have been in the same See also:quarter a considerable suburb, outside the gate, extending on each side of the road towards ' The paintings of the house of the Vettii are perhaps the Herculaneum, apparently much resembling those which are now best-preserved in Pompeii, and extremely fine in conception and found throughout almost the whole distance from thence to execution, especially the scenes in which Cupids take part. Naples. It was known by the name of Pagus Augustus See also:Felix Suburbanus. Other suburbs were situated at the See also:harbour and at the saltworks (saline). No See also:manuscripts have been discovered in Pompeii. Inscriptions have naturally been found in considerable numbers, and we are indebted to them for much See also:information concerning the municipal arrangements of the town, as well as the construction of various edifices and other public works. The most interesting of these are such as are written in the Oscan See also:dialect, which appears to have continued in See also:official use down to the time when the Roman colony was introduced by Sulla. From that time the Latin See also:language was certainly the only one officially employed, though Oscan may have still been spoken by a portion at least of the population. Still more curious, and almost peculiar to Pompeii, are the numerous writings painted upon the walls, which have generally a semi-public character, such as recommendations of candidates for municipal offices, advertisements, &c., and the scratched inscriptions (graffiti), which are generally the mere expression of individual impulse and feeling, frequently amatory, and not uncommonly conveyed in rude and imperfect verses. In one house also a whole See also:box was found filled with written tablets—diptychs and triptychs —containing the See also:record of the accounts of a banker named L. See also:Caecilius Jucundus. See A. Mau, Pompeii: its Life and Art (trans. by F. W. Kelsey, 2nd ed., New See also:York and See also:London, 1902; 2nd revised edition of the See also:German original, Pompeii in Leben und• Kunst, Leipzig, 1908), the best general See also:account written by the greatest authority on the subject, to which our description owes much, with full references to other See also:sources of information; and, for later excavations, Notizie degli Scavi and Romische Mitteilungen (in the latter, articles by Mau), passim. For the inscriptions on the tablets and on the walls, Corpus inscriptionum latinarum, vol. iv. (ed. Zangemeister and Mau). Recent works on the Pompeian frescoes are those of Berger, in See also:Die Maltechnik See also:des Alterthums, and A. P. Laurie, Greek and Roman Methods of Painting (1910). (E. H. B.; T. As.) Oscan Inscriptions.—The surviving inscriptions which can be dated, mainly by the See also:gradual changes in their See also:alphabet, are of the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., some certainly belonging to the Gracchan period. The oldest of the Latin inscriptions are C.I.L. x. 794, the record of the building of colonnades in the forum by the "See also:quaestor " V. Popidius, and two or three See also:election placards (C.I.L. iv. 29, 30, 36) of one R. Caecilius, a See also:candidate for the same See also:office. It cannot be an accident that the alphabet of these inscriptions belongs distinctly to Sullan or pre-Sullan times, while no such officer as a quaestor appears in any later documents (e.g. in C.I.L. x. 844, it is the duoviri who build the small theatre), but does appear in the Oscan inscriptions. Hence it has been inferred that these oldest Latin inscriptions .are also older than Sulla's colony; if so, Latin must have been in use, and in fairly common use (if the programmata were to be of any service), in Pompeii at that date. On the other hand, the good condition of many of the painted Oscan inscriptions at the times when they were first uncovered (1797 onwards) and their subsequent decay and the number of Oscan graffiti appear to make it probable that at the Christian era Oscan was still spoken in the town. The two See also:languages undoubtedly existed side by side during the last century B.C., Latin being alone recognized officially and in society, while Oscan was preserved mainly by intercourse with the See also:country folk who frequented the market. Thus beside many Latin programmata later than those just mentioned we have similar inscriptions in Oscan, addressed to Oscan-speaking voters, where See also:Milner. obviously relates to the quattuorvirate, a See also:title characteristic of the Sullan and triumviral colonies. An interesting stone containing nine cavities for See also:measures of capacity found in Pompeii and now preserved in the Naples Museum with Oscan inscriptions erased in antiquity shows that the Oscan system of measurement was modified so as to correspond more closely with the Roman, about 14 B.C., by the duoviri, who record their work in a Latin inscription (C.I.L. x. 793; for the Oscan see Ital. See also:Dial. p. 67). See further OSCA LINGUA, and R. S. Conway, The Italic Dialects, pp. 54 sqq.; Nissen, Pompeianische Studien; J. Beloch, Campanien, 2nd ed. (R. S. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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