Read Ebook: Pompeii Its Life and Art by Mau August Kelsey Francis W Francis Willey Translator

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INTRODUCTION

PART I

PUBLIC PLACES AND BUILDINGS

PART II

THE HOUSES

XL. THE HOUSE OF THE TRAGIC POET 313

TRADES AND OCCUPATIONS

PART IV

THE TOMBS

L. POMPEIAN BURIAL PLACES.--THE STREET OF TOMBS 405

PART V

POMPEIAN ART

PART VI

THE INSCRIPTIONS OF POMPEII

CONCLUSION

INDEX 551

KEY TO THE PLAN OF POMPEII 559

PLATES

PLATE

FACING PAGE

PLANS

PLAN

FIGURE PAGE

FOOTNOTE:

The original drawings are based upon sketches by Professor Mau. The drawings marked with an asterisk are in the collection of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome.

INTRODUCTION

From Gaeta, where the south end of the Volscian range borders abruptly upon the sea, to the peninsula of Sorrento, a broad gulf stretched in remote ages, cutting its way far into the land. Its waves dashed upon the base of the mountains which now, rising with steep slope, mark the eastern boundary of the Campanian Plain--Mt. Tifata above Capua, Mt. Taburno back of Nola, and lying across the southeast corner, the huge mass of Monte Sant' Angelo, whose sharply defined line of elevation is continued in the heights of Sorrento.

This gulf was transformed by volcanic agencies into a fertile plain. Here two fissures in the earth's crust cross each other, each marked by a series of extinct or active volcanoes. One fissure runs in the direction of the Italian Peninsula; along it lie Monti Berici near Vicenza, Mt. Amiata below Chiusi, the lakes of Bolsena and Bracciano filling extinct craters, the Alban Mountains, and finally Stromboli and Aetna. The other runs from east to west; its direction is indicated by Mt. Vulture near Venosa, Mt. Epomeo on the island of Ischia, and the Ponza Islands.

At three places in the old sea basin the subterranean fires burst forth. Near the north shore rose the great volcano of Rocca Monfina, which added itself to the Volscian Mountains, and heaping the products of its eruptions upon Mons Massicus,--once an island,--formed with this the northern boundary of the plain. Toward the middle the numerous small vents of the Phlegraean Fields threw up the low heights, to which the north shore of the Bay of Naples--Posilipo, Baiae, Misenum--is indebted for its incomparable beauty of landscape. Finally, near the south shore, at the intersection of the fissures, the massive cone of Vesuvius rose, in complete isolation--the only volcano on the continent of Europe still remaining active. Its base on the southwest is washed by the sea, while on the other sides a stretch of level country separates it from the mountains that hem in the plain. On the side opposite from the sea, however, Vesuvius comes so near to the mountains that we may well say that it divides the Campanian plain into two parts, of which the larger, on the northwest side, is drained by the Volturno; the small southeast section is the plain of the Sarno.

The Sarno, like the Umbrian Clitumnus, has no upper course. At the foot of Mt. Taburno, bounding the plain on the northeast, are five copious springs that soon unite to form a stream. Since 1843 the river has been drawn off for purposes of irrigation into three channels, which are graded at different levels; the distribution of water thus assured makes this part of Campania one of the most fertile districts in Italy. In antiquity the Sarno must have been confined to a single channel; according to Strabo it was navigable for ships.

In Roman times three cities shared in the possession of the Sarno plain. Furthest inland, facing the pass in the mountains that opens toward the Gulf of Salerno, lay Nuceria, now Nocera. On the seashore, where the coast road to Sorrento branches off toward the southwest, was Stabiae, now Castellammare. North of Stabiae, at the foot of Vesuvius, Pompeii stood, on an elevation overlooking the Sarno, formed by the end of a stream of lava that in some past age had flowed from Vesuvius down toward the sea. Pompeii thus united the advantages of an easily fortified hill town with those of a maritime city. "It lies," says Strabo, "on the Sarnus, which accommodates a traffic in both imports and exports; it is the seaport of Nola, Nuceria, and Acerrae."

A glance at the map will show how conveniently situated Pompeii was to serve as a seaport for Nola and Nuceria; but it seems hardly credible that the inhabitants of Acerrae, which lay much nearer Naples, should have preferred for their marine traffic the circuitous route around Vesuvius to the Sarno. However that may have been, Pompeii was beyond doubt the most important town in the Sarno plain.

Pompeii formerly lay nearer the sea and nearer the river than at present. In the course of the centuries alluvial deposits have pushed the shore line further and further away. It is now about a mile and a quarter from the nearest point of the city to the sea; in antiquity it was less than a third of a mile. The line of the ancient coast can still be traced by means of a clearly marked depression, beyond which the stratification of the volcanic deposits thrown out in 79 does not reach. The Sarno, too, now flows nearly two thirds of a mile from Pompeii; in antiquity, according to all indications, it was not more than half so far away.

In point of climate and outlook, a fairer site for a city could scarcely have been chosen. The Pompeian, living in clear air, could look down upon the fogs which in the wet season frequently rose from the river and spread over the plain. And while in winter Stabiae, lying on the northwest side of Monte Sant' Angelo, enjoyed the sun for only a few hours, the elevation on which Pompeii stood, sloping gently toward the east and south, more sharply toward the west, was bathed in sunlight during the entire day.

Winter at Pompeii is mild and short; spring and autumn are long. The heat of summer, moreover, is not extreme. In the early morning, it is true, the heat is at times oppressive. No breath of air stirs; and we look longingly off upon the expanse of sea where, far away on the horizon, in the direction of Capri, a dark line of rippling waves becomes visible. Nearer it comes, and nearer. About ten o'clock it reaches the shore. The leaves begin to rustle, and in a few moments the sea breeze sweeps over the city, strong, cool, and invigorating. The wind blows till just before sunset. The early hours of the evening are still; the pavements and the walls of the houses give out the heat which they have absorbed during the day. But soon--perhaps by nine o'clock--the tree tops again begin to murmur, and all night long, from the mountains of the interior, a gentle, refreshing stream of air flows down through the gardens, the roomy atriums and colonnades of the houses, the silent streets, and the buildings about the Forum, with an effect indescribably soothing.

How shall I undertake to convey to the reader who has not visited Pompeii, an impression of the beauty of its situation? Words are weak when confronted with the reality. Sea, mountains, and plain,--strong and pleasing background,--great masses and brilliant yet harmonious colors, splendid foreground effects and hazy vistas, undisturbed nature and the handiwork of man, all are blended into a landscape of the grand style, the like of which I should not know where else to look for.

If we turn toward the south, we have at our feet the level plain of the Sarno, in antiquity as now--we may suppose--not checkered with villages but dotted here and there with groups of farm buildings, surrounded with stately trees. Beyond the plain rises the lofty barrier of Monte Sant' Angelo, thickly wooded in places, its summit standing out against the sky in a long, beautiful profile, which, toward the right, breaks up into bold, rugged notches; the side of the mountain below is richly diversified with deep valleys, projecting ridges, and terraces that in the distance seem like steps, where among vineyards and olive orchards stand two villages fair to look on, Gragnano and Lettere, so near that individual houses can be clearly distinguished. Further west the plain before us opens out upon the sea, while the mountains are continued in the precipitous coast of the peninsula of Sorrento. Height crowds upon height, with villages wreathed in olive orchards lying between. Here the hills descend in terraces to the sea, covered with vegetation to the water's edge; there the covering of soil has been cast off from the steep slopes, exposing the naked rock, which shines in the afternoon sun with a reddish hue that wonderfully accords with the dark shades of the foliage and the brilliant blue of the sea. Further on the tints become duller, and the sight is blurred; only with effort can we distinguish Sorrento, resting on cliffs that rise almost perpendicularly from the line of the shore. Further still the outline of the peninsula sinks into the sea and gives place to Capri, island of fantastic shape, whose crags rising sheer from the water stand out sharply in the bright sunlight.

But we look toward the north, and the splendid variety of form and color vanishes; there stands only the vast, sombre mass of the great destroyer, Vesuvius, towering above the city and the plain. The sun as it nears the horizon veils the bare ashen cone with a mantle of deep violet, while the cloud of smoke that rises from the summit shines with a golden glow. Far above the base the sides are covered with vineyards, among which small groups of white houses can here and there be seen. West of us the outline of the mountain descends in a strong, simple curve to the sea. Just before it blends with the shore there rise behind it distant heights wrapped in blue haze, the first of moderate elevation, then others more prominent and further to the left. They are the heights along the north shore of the Bay of Naples--Gaurus crowned with the monastery of Camaldoli, famous for its magnificent view; the cliffs of Baiae, the promontory of Misenum, and the lofty cone of Epomeo on the island of Ischia. So the eye traverses the whole expanse of the Bay; Naples itself, hidden from our view, lies between those distant heights and the base of Vesuvius.

But meanwhile the sun has set behind Misenum; its last rays are lighting up the cloud of smoke above Vesuvius and the summit of Monte Sant' Angelo. The brilliancy of coloring has faded; the weary eye finds rest in the soft afterglow. We also may take leave of these beautiful surroundings, and inquire into the beginnings of the city which was founded here.

In less than a hundred years new strifes arose between the more cultured Samnites of the plain and their rough and warlike kinsmen in the mountains. But Rome took a part in the struggle, and in the Samnite Wars brought both the men of the mountains and the men of the plain under her dominion. Although the sovereignty of Rome took the form of a perpetual alliance, the cities in reality lost their independence. The complete subjugation and Romanizing of Campania, however, did not come till the time of the Social War and the supremacy of Sulla; the Samnites staked all on the success of the popular party, and lost.

In the narrative of these events Pompeii is not often mentioned. At the time of the Second Samnite War, in the year 310 B.C., we read that a Roman fleet under Publius Cornelius landed at the mouth of the Sarno, and that a pillaging expedition followed the course of the river as far as Nuceria; but the country folk fell on the marauders as they were returning, and forced them to give up their booty. We have no definite information regarding the attitude of the Pompeians after the battle of Cannae ; probably they joined the side of Hannibal, who, however, was defeated by Marcus Marcellus near Nola in the following year, and was obliged to leave Campania to the Romans.

In the Social War, when, in the summer of 90 B.C., the Samnite army marched into Campania, Pompeii allied itself with the insurgents; as a consequence, in 89, it was besieged by Sulla, but without success. Two years later, Sulla went to Asia to conduct the war against Mithridates. Returning victorious in the spring of 83 B.C., he led his army into Campania, where he spent the winter of 83-82; his soldiers, grown brutal in the Asiatic war and accustomed to every kind of license, may have proved unwelcome guests for the Pompeians.

The sequel came in the year 80, when a colony of Roman veterans was settled in Pompeii under the leadership of Publius Sulla, a nephew of the Dictator. Cicero later made a speech in behalf of this Sulla, defending him against the charge that he had taken part in the conspiracy of Catiline and had tried to induce the old residents of Pompeii to join in the plot. From this speech we learn that Sulla's reorganization of the city was accomplished with so great regard for the interests of the Pompeians, that they ever after held him in grateful remembrance. We learn, also, that soon after the founding of the colony disputes arose between the old residents and the colonists, about the public walks and matters connected with the voting; the arrangements for voting had probably been so made as to throw the decision always into the hands of the colonists. The controversy was referred to the patrons of the colony, and settled by them. From this time on, the life of Pompeii seems not to have differed from that of the other small cities of Italy.

As the harbor of Pompeii was on the Sarno, which flowed at some distance from the city, there must have been a small settlement at the landing place. To this probably belonged a group of buildings, partly excavated in 1880-81, lying just across the Sarno canal , about a third of a mile from the Stabian Gate. Here were found many skeletons, and with them a quantity of gold jewellery, which was afterward placed in the Museum at Naples. The most reasonable explanation of the discovery is, that the harbor was here, and that these persons, gathering up their valuables, fled from Pompeii at the time of the eruption either in order to escape by sea or to take refuge in Stabiae. Flight in either case was cut off. If ships were in the harbor, they must soon have been filled with the volcanic deposits; if there was a bridge across the river it was probably thrown down by the earthquake.

The suburb most frequently mentioned was at first called Pagus Felix Suburbanus, but after the time of Augustus, Pagus Augustus Felix Suburbanus. Its location is unknown. As it evidently took the name of Felix from the Dictator Sulla, who used this epithet as a surname, we may assume that its origin dates from the establishment of the Roman colony; it may have been founded to provide a place for those inhabitants of Pompeii who had been forced to leave their homes in order to make room for the colonists. The existence of a fourth suburb is inferred from two painted inscriptions in which candidates for office are recommended by the Campanienses; this name would naturally be applied to the inhabitants of a Pagus Campanus, who, perhaps, had originally come from Capua.

All these officials were elected annually by popular vote. The candidates offered themselves beforehand. If none came forward, or there were too few,--for the city officials not only received no salary, but were under obligation to make generous contributions for public purposes, as theatrical representations, games, and buildings,--the magistrate who presided at the election named candidates for the vacancies; but each candidate so named had the right to nominate a second for the same vacancy, the second in turn a third. The voting was by ballot; each voter threw his voting tablet into the urn of his precinct. No information has come down to us regarding the precincts into which the city must have been divided for electoral purposes.

There were also in Pompeii priests supported by the city, but only a few of them are mentioned in the inscriptions. References are found to augurs and pontifices, to a priest of Mars, and to priests of Augustus while he was still living; Nero had a priest even before he ascended the throne. Mention is made of priestesses, too, a priestess of Ceres and Venus, priestesses of Ceres, and others, the divinities of whom are not named.

The Pompeians turned to account, also, the volcanic products of Vesuvius. Pumice stone was an article of export. From the lava millstones were made for both grain mills and oil mills, which were apparently already in extensive use in the time of Cato the Elder; he twice mentions the oil mills of Pompeii. In Pompeii itself the millstones of the oldest period are of lava from Vesuvius; later it was found that the lava of Rocca Monfina was better adapted for the purpose, and millstones of that material were preferred. Small hand-mills of the lava from Vesuvius were in use at Pompeii down to 79; but the larger millstones of this material found in the bakeries had been put one side. In shape and finish the mills of local make were superior to the more carelessly worked stones from Rocca Monfina; the preference for the latter was due to the fact that they contained numerous crystals of leucite, which broke off as the mill wore away, and so kept the grinding surfaces always rough. Millstones from Rocca Monfina may be seen at different places in Rome, as in the Museum of the Baths of Diocletian.

To the sources of revenue which contributed to the prosperity of Pompeii we may add the presence of wealthy Romans, who, attracted by the delightful climate, built country seats in the vicinity. Among them was Cicero, who often speaks of his Pompeian villa . That the imperial family also had a villa here is inferred from a curious accident. We read that Drusus, the young son of the Emperor Claudius, a few days after his betrothal to the daughter of Sejanus, was choked to death at Pompeii by a pear which he had thrown up into the air and caught in his mouth. These country seats, no doubt, lay on the high ground back of Pompeii, toward Vesuvius; they probably faced the sea. But the identification of a villa excavated in the last century, and then filled up again, as the villa of Cicero, is wholly without foundation.

How large a population Pompeii possessed at the time of the destruction of the city it is impossible to determine. A painstaking examination of all the houses excavated would afford data for an approximate estimate; but the results thus far obtained by those who have given attention to the subject are unsatisfactory. Fiorelli assigned to Pompeii twelve thousand inhabitants, Nissen twenty thousand. Undoubtedly the second estimate is nearer the truth than the first; according to all indication the population may very likely have exceeded twenty thousand.

This population was by no means homogeneous. The original Oscan stock had not yet lost its identity; inscriptions in the Oscan dialect are found scratched on the plaster of walls decorated in the style prevalent after the earthquake of the year 63. From the time when the Roman colony was founded no doubt additions continued to be made to the population from various parts of Italy. The Greek element was particularly strong. This is proved by the number of Greek names in the accounts of Caecilius Jucundus, for example, and by the Greek inscriptions that have been found on walls and on amphorae. The Greeks may have come from the neighboring towns; most of them were probably freedmen. In a seaport we should expect to find also Greeks from trans-marine cities; and, in fact, an Alexandrian appears in one of the receipts of Jucundus. There were Orientals, too, as we shall see when we come to the temple of Isis.

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