On 24 August 79 AD, a terrible eruption
occurred in the area surrounding the Bay of Naples. The culprit was Mount
Vesuvius. Cloud of black fume covered the sky, wiping out the daylight, and ash
and acid rained down on the city of Pompeii. Against such force of nature, the
city stood no chance. Its fate along with that of its inhabitants was sealed.
For centuries, it remained hidden underneath the gloomy debris, unknown and
neglected, until 1748, when its existence became known. With its excavation, a
remarkable insight into the life of Roman people and the Empire is finally
revealed, and a long-forgotten story once again retold.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity
to visit this ancient town myself in July 2016. Accompanied by a professional
tour guide, we learnt a lot about the secret of this charming town, through
which we will be leading you shortly (based on the actual route we took)! We
also took considerable photos for the purpose of this ‘show and tell’.
The Marina Gate
We began our journey around Pompeii through
the Marina Gate, which is situated at the western of the city on the Via
Marina. Its steep paved ramp leads past the baths to the Gate’s two archways.
The Basilica
Basilicas are essential in any Roman town. The
oldest and most important building in ancient Rome, people gathered in this
building everyday to discuss business and legal matters. The basilica of
Pompeii is the oldest of example of its kind. Situated in the southwestern
corner of the Forum, it was built around 130-120 BC. The basilicas are an
evolution from its earlier Greek counterpart, stoas, which is an open-air
markets where people trading and business were conducted. The Pompeii Basilica
is in the shape of a long rectangle measuring 226 by 86 feet and composed of an
inner portico or nave which is surrounded by a 12-by-four row of columns and an
outer walkway or ambulatory. The entire structure was covered with a roof until
63 AD when an earthquake caused the roof to cave in. Since then (until 79 AD)
the
basilica continued to function without its
roof.
The Forum *(recommended)
The centre of any public life in a Roman
town. The Forum of Pompeii was where all the political, economic and religious
activities took place. The area was quite large, measuring 15 x 38 metres, and
was designed in the 2nd century BC. The columns were originally
built in local dark volcanic stone, but were later replaced by white limestone
columns. The capitals of the columns were designed both according to the Doric
order (lower row) and Ionian order (upper row).
The Lupanar *(recommended)
Every Roman man loved a good brothel, the
most famous one in Pompeii being “Lupanar”. Literally a “wolf’s den”, the Lupanar
is one of the possible 35 “houses of pleasure” in Pompeii. This leaves
approximately one brothel per every 71 adult males. The lupanar has two storeys
and ten rooms and a latrine under the stairs. Each room contained a (rather
hard!) stone bed and a mattress for the prostitute and her client. It was
surmised that the hardness of the hard bed would considerably the length of
service and allow prostitutes to receive more clients! This theory certainly
seems to ring true given a very low price for the service, which is 2 asses on
average (the cost of a loaf of bread!). This suggested that the brothel was
frequented by the lower level of society including slaves. The lives of the
prostitutes were indeed grim, being forced to cramp into windowless and
uncomfortable spaces. Also, it seems that most prostitutes in Pompeii were
slaves from Greece or Asia, who had no choice but were compelled to engage in
the profession.
But how can you find a brothel in Pompeii?
Simple. The front of every brothel in Pompeii is marked by a sign engraved onto
the street of a rather large genital. Furthermore, the inside is full of erotic
wall paintings showing all the positions on offer! Putting it simply, it’s like
a food menu you see at a restaurant. Patrons often wrote graffiti on the wall
to mark their appreciation for the service…or sometimes simply to show off
their feats to the rest of the world.
The Public Baths *(recommended)
After spending an entire day in the forum, a
Roman patron would probably visit the baths to wash away all the weariness and
of course….dirt. Here is a step-by-step guide of how to navigate this very
Roman facility:
Apodyterium:
First, a Roman patron would undress in the
Apodyterium or changing room.
Tepidarium:
Then they would go to the warm room called
the Tepidarium.
Caldarium:
….Then to the hot room called the Caldarium.
Laconicum:
…Then the hot, dry room or sauna in modern
tongue.
Afterwards, it is common for a Roman patron
to be attended to by slaves, acting as masseurs, who would rub the patron with
olive oil and then scraped the oil and dirt back off with a strigil (a scraper
made of bone or metal).
Lastly, a final plunge into cold water of the
Frigidarium would seal the pores and complete the cleaning process.
Lastly, in the women's section of the bahts, a lovely graffiti of a peacock (left) was found inscribed onto the wall of the baths. The lady or ladies responsible for such graffiti must have been a cheerful and lively bunch looking at the nature of the message she or they were trying to convey to posterity! This proves text message has indeed existed since antiquity!
The equivalent of a modern-day café or bar.
Here, hot and cold foods were served or sold from a usually ‘L’ shaped counter
containing terracotta vessels. In one of the terracotta vessels located in one
of the Thermopolia, a huge amount of coins was discovered. It was surmised that
the seller was attempting to hide his spoils shortly after the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius.
Come back to explore more of Pompeii with us
in the next episode where we look at some of the amazing works of art within
the villas….
To be continued in the next blog
Today’s blog will not be too intellectually
rigorous and will be devoted to showcasing a few of the memorable moments and
nice pics from my visit to the Bay of Naples and the glorious Vesuvius.
For me, I have always been fascinated by Vesuvius.
The glorious and yet perilous mountain, ready to bellow out its fuming black
cloud and lava at any moment (it is merely dormant!). Indeed, that it has laid
to waste several cities in around the Bay of Naples, including Pompeii and
Herculaneum, in 79 AD need not be repeated. Yet, the fertile land around it still lures
people to inhabit its surrounding area till this day! It is as if there is an invisible
charm or allure to the great mountain such that people are willing to risk
their lives in order to be able to enjoy basking in its presence. 
