Pompeii is a great example of small town life in the Roman world, but it was not founded as a Roman city. In the 6th century BC, the Samnites controlled this area of Italy. In the 4th century BC, the Romans and Samnites fought a series of wars. The Romans won a victory in 290 BC, which gave them Pompeii. Then, in 90 BC, several cities that were Rome’s allies, including Pompeii, decided to try to rise up against Rome. They lost and Sulla, who controlled Rome at the time, decided to reestablish Pompeii as a colony for military veterans.
Pompeii is famous for being destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. However, there was also a huge earthquake in 62 CE that destroyed much of the town, including several buildings around the forum that had not been repaired before the eruption.
One building that was near the forum but survived was the Temple of Apollo. This was the first example of a Roman temple that we saw, and it contrasted greatly from the many Greek ones we had visited before this. Roman temples had a higher base and were oriented north to south instead of east to west. Another big difference was that many Roman temples didn’t have a peristyle wrapping all the way around them. This made them frontal, meaning that one side was better than the others. This conveys an important difference in the religious ideologies of the Romans vs. the Greeks. The Romans valued the inside of the temple, while the Greeks were more concerned with the outside (since only the high priests ever entered the temples). The Temple of Apollo was the most important temple in Pompeii until the temple of Jupiter was built in the 2nd century BC.
The Temple of Jupiter was situated at the end of the long axis of the forum, on the north side, but facing south. It was modeled after the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, and was thus called “the capitol” (any temple that had the same form as the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was called this). The layout had 3 cella, one each for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
The forum was the main civic space of Pompeii, and all Roman cities. This one was ringed by a 2-tiered colonnade, which served as the entrance to the portico and the buildings behind. It also unified the randomness of the buildings/shops around the forum. We also saw sculptures lining the sides of the forum. This was an artistic development as compared the earlier constructed spaces we had visited.
The macellum (fish/meat market) was a short walk away from the forum. It had a gazebo in the center for cleaning and selling the fish that was raised, in order to stay cool. There were also cubbies around for the merchants to sell from. On the other side of the forum, in the southwest corner from the macellum, was the basilica, which hosted everything from important speeches by public figures to trials conducted by judges. To enter, you stepped up, indicating that this space was more important than the forum. Similarly, the judges sat on a raised platform at the end of the central axis, again indicating their importance. The central courtyard also had a higher roof than the side aisles surrounding it emphasizing its importance.
Originally, Pompeii was established as a castrum (military camp). This meant that the streets were organized in a very specific way with the intersection of the cardo (the major street running north to south) and the decumanus (the major street running east to west) at the center. This is no longer the center of the city, but these are still the two most important streets. They have paved sidewalks and raised step stones to cross the street (which was filled with wheeled traffic and sewage when the city was inhabited).
One of the most famous houses in Pompeii is the House of the Faun. This is because there was a mosaic of Alexander the Great in the tablinum (the room between the atrium and the courtyard) of this house. Mosaics were very durable pictures made of tiny stones called tessurae. This house was a domus, meaning a single wealthy family occupied it. While the floor was decorated with mosaics, the walls were decorated with wall paintings.
Next, we visited the House of Mystery, a villa (the first of many that we would see throughout the class), which was known for its frescoes (wall paintings), specifically those in a rectangular room that show some sort of mysterious ritual centered around Bacchus. The figures seem to move on the wall in a ritual procession. Much of what we know of Roman fresco painting comes from Pompeii. Thus, here we learned about the 4 stages of Roman frescos that we would continue to see throughout the course: the structural style-- patterns created with different colored stones; the architectural style--which shows perspective in paintings framed by painted elements of architecture (columns, architraves); the ornate style--lighter than architectural and displaying a focus on patterns; and the baroque style--which violated the rules that characterized paintings up to this point with big, expressive panoramic views covering the entire wall.
Pompeii is famous for being destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. However, there was also a huge earthquake in 62 CE that destroyed much of the town, including several buildings around the forum that had not been repaired before the eruption.
One building that was near the forum but survived was the Temple of Apollo. This was the first example of a Roman temple that we saw, and it contrasted greatly from the many Greek ones we had visited before this. Roman temples had a higher base and were oriented north to south instead of east to west. Another big difference was that many Roman temples didn’t have a peristyle wrapping all the way around them. This made them frontal, meaning that one side was better than the others. This conveys an important difference in the religious ideologies of the Romans vs. the Greeks. The Romans valued the inside of the temple, while the Greeks were more concerned with the outside (since only the high priests ever entered the temples). The Temple of Apollo was the most important temple in Pompeii until the temple of Jupiter was built in the 2nd century BC.
The Temple of Jupiter was situated at the end of the long axis of the forum, on the north side, but facing south. It was modeled after the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, and was thus called “the capitol” (any temple that had the same form as the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was called this). The layout had 3 cella, one each for Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.
The forum was the main civic space of Pompeii, and all Roman cities. This one was ringed by a 2-tiered colonnade, which served as the entrance to the portico and the buildings behind. It also unified the randomness of the buildings/shops around the forum. We also saw sculptures lining the sides of the forum. This was an artistic development as compared the earlier constructed spaces we had visited.
The macellum (fish/meat market) was a short walk away from the forum. It had a gazebo in the center for cleaning and selling the fish that was raised, in order to stay cool. There were also cubbies around for the merchants to sell from. On the other side of the forum, in the southwest corner from the macellum, was the basilica, which hosted everything from important speeches by public figures to trials conducted by judges. To enter, you stepped up, indicating that this space was more important than the forum. Similarly, the judges sat on a raised platform at the end of the central axis, again indicating their importance. The central courtyard also had a higher roof than the side aisles surrounding it emphasizing its importance.
Originally, Pompeii was established as a castrum (military camp). This meant that the streets were organized in a very specific way with the intersection of the cardo (the major street running north to south) and the decumanus (the major street running east to west) at the center. This is no longer the center of the city, but these are still the two most important streets. They have paved sidewalks and raised step stones to cross the street (which was filled with wheeled traffic and sewage when the city was inhabited).
One of the most famous houses in Pompeii is the House of the Faun. This is because there was a mosaic of Alexander the Great in the tablinum (the room between the atrium and the courtyard) of this house. Mosaics were very durable pictures made of tiny stones called tessurae. This house was a domus, meaning a single wealthy family occupied it. While the floor was decorated with mosaics, the walls were decorated with wall paintings.
Next, we visited the House of Mystery, a villa (the first of many that we would see throughout the class), which was known for its frescoes (wall paintings), specifically those in a rectangular room that show some sort of mysterious ritual centered around Bacchus. The figures seem to move on the wall in a ritual procession. Much of what we know of Roman fresco painting comes from Pompeii. Thus, here we learned about the 4 stages of Roman frescos that we would continue to see throughout the course: the structural style-- patterns created with different colored stones; the architectural style--which shows perspective in paintings framed by painted elements of architecture (columns, architraves); the ornate style--lighter than architectural and displaying a focus on patterns; and the baroque style--which violated the rules that characterized paintings up to this point with big, expressive panoramic views covering the entire wall.
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