Read Pompeii Online

Authors: Mary Beard

Pompeii (63 page)

Household religion and the Lares are discussed by P. Foss, ‘Watchful Lares. Roman household organization and the rituals of cooking and eating’, in Laurence and Wallace-Hadrill (ed.),
Domestic Space in the Roman World
(above), 196–218.
Lararia
are catalogued by G. K. Boyce.
Corpus of the Lararia of Pompeii
(Rome, 1937), and more recently their paintings are included in T. Fröhlich,
Lararien- und Fassadenbilder in den Vesuvstädten Untersuchungen zur ‘volkstümlichen’ pompejanischen Malerei
(Mainz, 1991). The ‘Fulgur’ tile is discused by A. Maiuri, ‘“Fulgur conditum” o della scoperta di un bidental a Pompei’,
Rendiconti dell’Accademia di Archeologia, Lettere e Belle Arti, Napoli
, 21 (1941), 55–72. The ‘offerings’ at the House of Amarantus are noted by M. Fulford and A. Wallace-Hadrill, ‘The House of Amarantus at Pompeii (I. 9. 11–12): an interim report on survey and excavations in 1995–6’,
RStP
7 (1995–96), 77–113. The practices of ancient household religion more generally, including Rome, are the subject of J. Bodel and S. Olyan (ed.),
Household and Family Religion in Antiquity
(Oxford, 2008).

The implausible concentration of buildings connected with the imperial cult in many modern reconstructions of the Forum is dissected by I. Gradel,
Emperor Worship and Roman Religion
(Oxford, 2002), 103–8. Other useful essays (though sometimes too eager to see traces of the imperial cult where few or none exist) are contained in A. Small (ed.),
Subject and ruler: the cult of the ruling power in clasical antiquity
(
JRA
supp., Portsmouth, RI, 1996).

R. E Witt,
Isis in the Graeco-Roman World
(London, 1971) is still a useful introduction to the history of Isis in the Roman Empire. The temple of Isis was the subject of a major exhibition in the early 1990s, published as
Alla ricerca di Iside: analisi, studi e restauri dell’Iseo pompeiano nel Museo di Napoli
(Naples, 1992). Also relevant is E. A. Arslan (ed.)
Iside: il mito, il mistero, la magia
(Milan, 1997).

Epilogue

I. Morris,
Death-ritual and social structure in classical antiquity
(Cambridge, 1992) is an overview of burial practice in Greece and Rome.
Pompei oltre la vita: nuove testimonianze dalle necropoli
(Pompeii, 1998) is the catalogue of an exhibition on Pompeian tombs. Petersen,
The Freedman
(above), 60–83 discusses tombs of freedmen. On tombs as houses (and the case of Phileros), see A. Wallace-Hadrill, ‘Housing the dead: the tomb as house in Roman Italy’, in L. Brink and D. Green (ed.)
Commemorating the Dead. Texts and Artifacts in Context
, (Berlin and New York, 2008), 39–77. The inscription from the tomb of Phileros has been re-examined by E. Rodriguez-Almeida, in
Topografia e vita romana: da Augusto a Costan-tino
(Rome, 2001), 91–103.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

P
ompeii is a wonderful place to visit and study. My own work there has been helped at every stage by the staff of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei (under Pietro Giovanni Guzzo), who go out of their way to assist visiting scholars; and, in particular, I have learnt a great deal about Pompeii, both ancient and modern, from Mattia Buondonno. Maria Pia Malvezzi and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill of the British School at Rome have also done an enormous amount to make possible the research that lies behind this book. Visits to Pompeii were made more enjoyable by Zoe and Raphael Cormack – and, of course, by Robin Cormack, whose eagle-eyes and Pompeian expertise helped me to see even more on the site than I ever expected. Some of the sharpest observations in the book I owe to him.

Many friends at home and abroad have helped my work in all kinds of ways. I am especially grateful to Rebecca Benefiel, John Clarke, Louise Guron, Edith Hall, Henry Hurst (and the students of his Pompeii class in 2008), Bradley Letwin, Michael Larvey, Roger Ling, Martin Millett, Clare Pettitt, Mark Robinson and Nicholas Wood (for his marvellous reconstructions of the House of the Tragic Poet). Discussions with Andrew Wallace-Hadrill have provided some of the most memorable, funny, and instructive moments in getting to know Pompeii.

Part of the book was written while I was Visiting Scholar at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, where I was able to draw on the expertise of Ken Lapatin and Claire Lyons, and the able assistance of Kristina Meinking. As always the staff and colleagues in the Faculty of Classics and the Classical Faculty Library (under Lyn Bailey) have helped in more ways than they know; so too has the team at Profile Books – Claire Beaumont, Peter Carson, Penny Daniel, Andrew Franklin, Kate Griffin, Ruth Killick.

Chapter 9 would have much less to say if it were not for the conversations about Roman religion (and much else) that I have enjoyed with Simon Price over the last thirty years, since we first met in Cambridge in 1978. This book is for Simon.

LIST OF FIGURES

1. Pompeii town

2. The House of the Faun

3. The development of the city plan

4. Map of area surrounding Pompeii

5. The road system in the north-west of Pompeii: the conjectural lay-out of one-way streets

6. The House of the Tragic Poet

7. The House of the Vettii

8.
Insula
Arriana Polliana

9. The House of Octavius Quartio

10. The House of the Painters at Work

11. Four styles of wall decoration (after M. Beard and J. Henderson,
Classical Art: from Greece to Rome
(OUP, 2001), p. 39

12. The House of Julius Polybius

13. Plan of an excavated vineyard

14. Plan of the Forum

15. The Bakery of the Chaste Lovers

16. Plan of the large theatre

17. The brothel

18. The Stabian baths

19. The Suburban baths

20. The Pompeian Amphitheatre

21. The Temple of Isis

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Abbreviations:

MANN – National Archaeological Museum, Naples

SAP – Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei

Colour plates

1 Mosaic of musicians, from the Villa of Cicero (MANN 9985). Photo courtesy of Corbis.
2 Orpheus from the House of Orpheus, V. Loria in F. and F. Niccolini
, Le Case ed I Monumenti di Pompei
(Naples, 1854-96).
3 Painting of Nero (?) as Apollo from Moregine. Photo courtesy of Foglia Fotografica.
4 Reconstruction of street frontage on the Via dell’Abbondanza, V. Spinazzola,
Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell’Abbondanza
(Rome, 1953), Tavole III.
5 Carpenters’ procession, MANN 8991. Photo, M. Larvey.
6 Gambling scene from the Bar on the Via di Mercurio. Photo, R. Cormack.
7 Forum scene from
Praedia
of Julia Felix, MANN 9068. Photo courtesy of Corbis.
8 Model of the House of the Tragic Poet, N. Wood.
9 Detail of model of the House of the Tragic Poet, N. Wood.
10 Painting from west wall of the
triclinium
in the Bakery of the House of the Chaste Lovers. Photo, M. Larvey.
11 ‘Tightrope walkers’ from the bar on the Via di Mercurio, Colonel Famin,
Musée royal de Naples, peintures, bronzes et statues érotiques du cabinet secret
(Paris, 1857), Plate XXXV.
12 Table server, MANN 143760. Photo courtesy of Superstock.
13 Wall paintings from the Inn of Salvius (MANN 111482). Photo, M. Larvey.
14 Detail of the Villa of Mysteries frieze. Photo courtesy of Corbis.
15 Detail of the Alexander Mosaic (MANN 10020). Photo, R. Cormack.
16 Reconstruction of painting from the Stabian Baths, G. Abbate, in Niccolini,
Case e Monumenti
.
17 Mosaic, with actors preparing, from the House of the Tragic Poet, G. Mosaic, with actors preparing, from the House Abbate, in Niccolini,
Case e Monumenti.
18 Painting of the arrival of Isis in Egypt, from the Temple of Isis, D. Raoul-Rochette,
Choix de Peintures de Pompéi
(Paris, 1848–56), Plate XVII.
19 Painting of hunt, from the House of the Ancient Hunt, Raoul-Rochette,
Choix de peinture
s, Plate XVI.
20 Cupids as metal-workers, from the House of the Vetti, V. Loria, in
Nuovi scavi di Pompei: Casa dei Vettii
(Naples, 1887).
21 Cupids in chariots, from the House of the Vettii. Photo courtesy of Lattanzi.
22 Painting of Nile scene with pygmies, from the House of the Doctor, MANN 113195.
23 Paintings from the atrium of the House of the Tragic Poet, F. Morelli, Soprintendenza archeologica di Napoli, ADS 263.

Illustrations

1 Bronze lamp, MANN 133320
2 Crouching plaster cast. Photo, R. Cormack
3 Amber figurine, MANN 25813
4 Engraving of discovery in the House of Emperor Joseph II, F. Mazois,
Les ruines de Pompéi,
Paris, 1824–38, Vol. 2, Plate XXXIV
5 Engraving of sculpted panel from the House of Caecilius Jucundus, A. Mau,
Pompeji in Leben und Kunst
(Leipzig, 1900), Fig. 21
6 The Temple of Isis, Mazois
, Les ruines
, Vol. 4, Plate VIII
7 Gynaecological instrument, MANN 78030
8 Mooring rings at Pompeii. Photo, B. Letwin
9 Damage following Allied bombing campaigns in 1943, V. Spinazzola,
Pompei alla luce degli scavi nuovi di Via dell’Abbondanza
(Rome, 1953), Vol. 1, Fig. 12
10 Condition of a Pompeian house as excavated, Spinazzola,
Pompei
, Vol. 1, Fig. 17
11 Ivory statuette of Lakshmi, MANN 149425
12 View into the House of the Faun. Photo B. Letwin
13 The Alexander mosaic, Mazois,
Les ruines
, Vol. 4, Plate XLVII
14 Terracotta sculpture, possibly from the Temple of Apollo, SAP 40633. Photo courtesy of Foglia Fotografica
15 The House of Fabius Rufus, from the west. Photo, A. Wallace-Hadrill
16 Painting of the riot in the Amphitheatre, 59 CE, MANN 112222. Photo, M. Larvey
17 Table support from the House of Casca Longus (I. 6. 11)
18 Romulus carrying a trophy of victory, Spinazzola,
Pompei
, Vol. 1, Fig. 184
19 Pompeian street. Photo, R. Cormack
20 Phallus carved onto street-paving. Photo, R. Cormack
21 Painting showing woolworkers, from workshop façade, Spinazzola,
Pompei
, Tavole, XI B
22 Water tower and fountain. Photo, B. Letwin
23 Via dell’Abbondanza: ancient and modern methods of traffic control. Photo, R. Cormack
24 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte
(Naples, 1755–92) Vol. 3, Plate 42
25 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Antichità
di Ercolano
Vol. 3, Plate 42
26 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Antichità
di Ercolano
Vol. 3, Plate 43
27 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Antichitàdi Ercolano
Vol. 3, Plate 43
28 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Antichità
di Ercolano
Vol. 3, Plate 41
29 Forum scene from the
Praedia
of Julia Felix,
Antichità
di Ercolano
Vol. 3, Plate 41

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