Pompeii Flashcards
(18 cards)
Importance of Honouring the Gods
Many temples in Pompeii to Roman gods showing they spent a lot of money on their religion
Hundreds of statues of the gods found in the homes with almost every house had a lararium to worship the household gods
large festivals and sacrifices took place in honour of the gods.
they believed the town walls were protected by the gods
they showed loyalty to Rome through religion - by constructing temples to Vespasian and the temple of Fortuna Augusta.
the whole of Pompeii was supposed to take part in public religion; those who did not were as disloyal and were often persecuted.
Gods are depicted in many wall paintings and mosaics.
Household Religion (private worship)
Each family had a shrine dedicated to the gods that the family worshipped to ensure the safety and success of the home and family members.
All Roman homes would have had a lararium or household shrine in a corner of their main living room.
It would have been the duty of the heads of the household, the mother and the father, to lead worship in honour of their household gods.
They worshipped the penates who were the spirits that protected the store house of the family, so the family always had enough to eat.
Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth (the fire within the household) this was very important for providing warmth, light and a means of cooking.
The head of the household prayed to the Vesta before the main meal and food was thrown in the fire as an offering
Herms were a pillar with a carved head on top of Hermes represented and were outside people’s homes to bring good luck and protect the family
Public Religion
This was public worship that was carried out for everyone in the town in the Forum, the centre of all official town business.
Sacrifice process- The animal had to be tame and free from any defects.
Everyone even the animal had to appear to be a willing participant, they would pour water on the animal’s head so that it would appear to nod its head in an agreement to being sacrificed.
The throat was cut at the altar in front of the temple and everyone had to eat the meat then and there.
Features of a temple- most were high on a platform as the gods were not on the same level as the people, large public area in the temple with an altar for offerings and sacrifices at the front.
There was a shrine behind it. In the shrine were statues of the three Gods.
Paintings on the wall, decorations of gold, silver and ivory.
There was a treasury where all the city’s money was kept.
Mystery Religion
The temple of Isis was a small temple with many typical features- raised, stairs, and columns but it had a high wall around it, so you could only see the top.
People worshiped the Egyptian goddess Isis here showing people from Egypt moved to Pompeii and they were an accepting society
People from Pompeii worshipped the goddess Isis for their own personal wellbeing not for the town.
The Villa of Mysteries was just outside the walls of Pompeii and thought this is where people worshipped the god Dionysus, god of wine and pleasure.
The Villa might have produce wine.
The god Dionysus encouraged drunken parties and the followers of Dionysus might have been involved in orgies.
After the earthquake of AD 62 the inhabitants of the villa did not return.
Baths
Decorated with red and gold paint, mosaics on the floors and statues.
Largest bath had library, massage room, restaurants, and sports facilities.
Most people could and did attend the baths as it cost either nothing or a small coin to get in and they didn’t have baths at home.
Men and women used them at different times as you were naked in the baths.
This was a social environment, Pompeian’s could meet their friends and relax here together.
A slave would be used to guard the clothes which were stored in holes in the wall.
They would visit the warm, hot and cold rooms
They could have a massage with olive oil and use a Strigil scraper to remove dirt and sweat as they did not have soap.
Theatres
The Large Theatre built of stone and had semi-circular rows of seats, rising in tiers, facing the performance area and was decorated with mythical statues.
It had an awning to protect the crowds from the sun and rain.
Special box seats were for priestesses and special visitors.
The Orchestra (the area in front of the seats) was used for extra seating but could hold around 5000 people.
The Small Theatre was smaller, had a stone roof and could have sat around 2000 people.
Greek tragedies, comedies and dancing could be watched at the theatre.
I had special effects including sound effects and lifting mechanisms.
It could be hot, loud, smelly, hard to hear
The seating was arranged by wealth. The rich sat at the front and the poor, women and slaves sat at the back. Some people may have resented this.
Amphitheatres
Amphitheatre, held about 20,000 people, watching animal & gladiator fights
oval shape, made of stone; the middle had sand
awning (cover) could be pulled over to get shade from the sun and rain
The seating was tiered to give everyone a good view. The rich would sit at the front and poor would sit at the back
Gladiators were slaves who trained in gladiatorial schools in a variety of fighting skills as they could fight with other gladiators or animals
A few gladiators would have rose to fame and celebrity within Pompeii and some may have hoped they would win their freedom.
We find graffiti about gladiators all around Pompeii showing the clear interest the people of Pompeii had in supporting these men.
The games were popular as a riot broke out in 59AD between two towns, about the winning gladiator with many people were injured and some killed.
Dinner Parties
Held in dining room with art, decorations on walls and floors
some houses had summer dining rooms in the garden for summer
wealthy houses had food prepared by slaves; 3 courses served – starter, main, dessert
Pompeians ate with their fingers; ate lying down on 3 couches arranged around a low serving table
scraps thrown onto the floor which slaves would sweep up between courses
Food eaten - chicken, fish, beef, grapes, figs, snails, oysters, garum, bread, leeks
Party entertainment: musicians; dancers, jugglers, acrobats (most like to have been slaves); sometimes party games; a chance to chat with friends and have a gossip
Garum- Pompeian sauce made by pounding fish guts, dried and filtered
Laundry/ Fullers
Clothes would be washed, dyed and mended
The cloth was soaked in hot urine to stiffen it, stamped in the fuller’s dirt to remove grease and washed in a series of vats and re- washed if required.
Slaves and young children were mainly employed in the Fullers due to the unpleasant nature of the work. Tiring and monotonous work.
The drying of cloth took place on the roof where draped on lines or over wooden cages.
If they wished the cloth to become whiter it would be draped over a wooden cage and a small pot containing sulphur would be lit beneath it but this was bad smelling.
All dyes were vegetable or mineral and were fixed to the cloth by the use of vinegar.
Bakeries
Bread was not made at home but bought each day from the bakery
Corn was ground by corn-mills, turned either by slaves or donkeys.
Metal moulds were used to make the breads a standard size.
There would be an oven with a chimney on top, which were very large (pizza ovens).
At least ten kinds of bread were made and at least one type of dog biscuit
It would be hard tiring work grinding corn and very hot from the heat of the ovens.
Smokey and dirty work, many bakeries did not have chimneys for their ovens.
no personal hygiene and animals could be used to turn the mills
Snack bars
Snack bars were tiny rooms from the streets, inside was an L-shaped bar where hot drinks and food was sold.
They had stone counters with large earthenware pots set into them that were used for storing food stuffs.
Counters were decorated with pieces of marble
Customers had to stand as no seats
Foods Served in the snack bars was inexpensive and fast
Pies, sausages, fish dishes, boiled chicken, toasted pine kernels and fired snails.
Garum- Pompeii sauce made by pounding fish guts, dried and filtered
The Forum (market place)
People would sell their goods and services in the forum.
There was a corn market, meat and fish market.
You could buy fruit, vegetables, bread, hot food, perfume, cloth
People also made a living by selling slaves in the forum. There was a special revolving platform erected for the purpose of inspecting slaves for sale.
Slaves would be sold at auctions held in the forum. The highest bidder became the owner of the slave.
It was also the centre of all commercial, religious and political life of Pompeii, with temples found here.
You could hear political speeches being made at election time.
Pliny’s Account of the Eruption
When Vesuvius erupted Pliny the Younger (a famous writer) was staying nearby and his uncle (Pliny the elder) was caught in the eruption.
Cloud rising from the mountain that looked like an umbrella
People were rowing away, but he went towards the town
Hot ashes and black stones were falling.
The shore was blocked by lava which poured down from the volcano
There were fires which had set peoples homes on fire
Buildings were shaking
People put pillows on their heads to protect themselves from stones
The sky turned completely black even though it was daytime
There was a strong smell of sulphur
Warning Signs of the Eruption
On the 5th of February, AD 62, there was a severe earthquake.
There was a muffed roar and severe tremors which lasted until night.
Statues were cracked and many buildings were badly damaged.
AD 79, when the volcano erupted, repairs were still being done to the water supply, temples, the theatres.
However, the amphitheatre was fully repaired.
It seems that the people of Pompeii were making a sacrifice to this goddess in the hope that another earthquake doesn’t happen again.
The earthquake took place because the area was volcanic.
It should have warned the Romans that even more serious trouble was still to come.
Unfortunately, they did not understand the warning.
Stages of the Eruption
Eruption 24/25 August, AD 79 There was a loud bang and cracks appeared on the side of the volcano.
The top of Vesuvius blew off sending red hot boulders in the air which started fires.
A black mushroom/umbrella shaped cloud rose into the sky.
The sun was blocked out and day became night.
Ash and pumice fell like rain which piled 2 metres high very quickly.
This made sulphurous fumes killing those sheltering in their houses.
Lava poured out the sides of the moving, it was slow moving but caused fires wherever it spread.
Lava mixed with mud causing a massive landslide that covered the town.
The mushroom cloud began to collapse and all the superheated material within it came crashing down in pyroclastic flow engulfing Pompeii.
Effects of the Eruption
People did not manage to escape as the speed of pyroclastic flow was too fast for people
Many headed for boats BUT the water receded and left them stranded
ash made buildings collapse, killing people who were sheltering
People were crushed by the falling rock or suffocated by the fumes
Death Toll 2,000 died out of 20,000
The volcanic ash fell on their bodies and hardened around them.
the pyroclastic flow was the most disastrous effect, it killed people and buried Pompeii
1 day after the eruption only the tops of the highest buildings could be seen.
The whole town had been lost and was never rebuilt
Survivors who tried to collect their belongings, by digging, were overcome by fumes and could not return as they could not live there
Plaster casts (useful)
gender and a rough idea of age can be seen
details of clothing and objects that would have have rotted away
facial features can be seen
their last movements are shown - reactions to thermal shock and the effects of the eruption
some are covering their mouths, proving that it was hard to breathe.
Plaster casts (not useful)
can only guess at status and occupation
the bones trapped in the casts would provide more information on their age, health, status
some objects such as belt buckles are trapped inside the casts
not a valid archaeological technique anymore
