HSC Unit 1: Pompeii and Herculaneum

By the end of this unit, you will know about:

· The early stages of occupation of P and H

· A historical overview of P and H before the eruption

· The physical environment (setting, natural features, resources) of P and H

· Plans and streetscapes of both cities

· What kind of sources are available (written and archeological) on P and H

· The limitations and reliability of the sources, and how they have been interpreted

· The evidence produced by the sources for:

- the eruption

- the economy

- social structure

- local and political life

- everyday life

- public buildings

- private buildings

- influence of Greek and Egyptian cultures

- religion

The changing methods and contributions of 19th and 20th century archaeologists to our understanding of P and H

- how new research and technologies have changed interpretations of P and H

- issues of conservation and reconstruction – the impacts of tourism

- ethical issues – the study and display of human remains

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KEY TERMS FOR ANCIENT HISTORY – POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM

Ampitheatre - (Amphi from the Greek: around/both/both kinds) oval arena

Atrium - (Atri – from the Latin: entrance hall, chamber, central room, as in atrium (heart) ) open central courtyard or hall of a house

Basilica - public building that contained the law courts and business activities

Calderium – ( Caldi from the Latin: heat, warm, Arium from the Latin: a place for) Hot bathroom

Comitium - building for town meetings

Curia Chamber – (Curia from the Latin: court) building where the city council met

Forum - main commercial area of the city

Freedman/Woman – slaves who had been given their freedom

Frigidarium - (frig/frigo from the Latin: cold, frost) cold bathroom

Fulleries - shops where fabrics were washed and bleached

Hoplomachus - (Hoplon from the Greek: weapon, Machy/machia/machist from the Greek: battle, war, fight) heavily armoured gladiator; known as Samnite before Augustus’ rule

Hypocaust - (Hypo from the Greek: under/below, caustum from the Latin:heat/fire) system of flues beneath the floor that distributed heat from a furnace

Insula/e - (Insula from the Latin: Island) cheap apartment house/blocks of housing, shops, restaurants and factories

Myrmillo - gladiator with Gallic weapons (Gladius from the Latin: straight blade sword)

Palaestra - open exercise area in the public baths

Pyroclastic surge - a surge of rock and lava caused by the explosion of a volcanic eruption (Pyro from the Greek: fire, burn Clast from the Greek: break, crush/break into pieces)

Sacellum - (Sac from the Latin: holy, sacred) chapel

Tabularium - (tabula from the Latin: a board/plank/writing tablet/document) building where government records were stored

Thermopolia - (thermo from the Greek: hot/heat/warm) bar or tavern

Volcanologist- (Volcanus from the Latin: Volcan the god of fire, husband of Venus -ologist from the Greek: ‘one who studies’) person who studies Volcanoes

Thermopolia in Herculaneum

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Daily Life: Origins

A view of Pompeii

From small town to multicultural city on the move

Pompeii is now world-famous, but this important historic site began as a small coastal settlement which covered about 10 hectares. As in many modern cities, the shape of the older town is still visible within the grid of later construction. It is thought that the original settlers of the town were the Oscans, a native pre-historic people of Campania. By the sixth century BC, however, the town had expanded to more than six times its original size and was dominated by the Etruscans, who had expanded south from Etruria (modern Tuscany), though its culture also borrowed freely from the Greek cities of the region. The Greeks who settled along the coast of the Bay of Naples were very influential on the settlement of Pompeii. Late in the fifth century BC, Pompeii changed hands again, this time thanks to Samnite tribesmen (a warlike tribal people from the southern Appenine mountains), and it continued to grow in wealth and sophistication as the Romans continued their expansion through the Mediterranean.

Pompeii was located near Italy’s largest port, Pozzuoli, and Pompeian merchants took advantage of this proximity to set up successful businesses and trade routes, particularly with Greece. The considerable wealth they brought home spurred a building boom in Pompeii in the second century BC, and the cultural influence of Greek art and architecture on the villas these wealthy merchants built is obvious.

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Daily Life: Roman Pompeii

By 311 BC, the Romans had broken the power of the Samnites, and Pompeii, like many other towns, became an ally of Rome. Pompeii, as an ally of Rome, adopted a Roman style administration and used Latin as the language of government and administration. Rome’s relations with her allies were strained, as she looked unfavourably on her ‘Italian’ allies, and treated them unequally. Italians felt they were treated unfairly, and did not have the same voting rights or other privileges as other allies. In 90 BC, a regional rebellion broke out against the Romans, and a year later the Roman Dictator Sulla besieged and captured Pompeii. Reprisals followed, and Pompeii transformed itself again, this time into a Roman colony. Latin became the official language, and a Roman constitution was imposed on the new colony.

By the time Augustus became the first Roman Emperor in 27 BC, prominent Pompeians had become devotees of Roman fashion and custom. Pompeii had come a long way from its humble origins. Now a bustling town, it was home to about 10,000-12,000 people, with as many again living in the surrounding countryside. As Pompeii’s population increased, so did its urbanisation, as older houses were subdivided and upper storeys added to make room for the newcomers. The social structure underwent a shake-up, as the old ruling aristocracy began to lose ground to a new class of self-made men who built larger and showier villas in the Roman style.

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THE EARTHQUAKE OF AD62

Source: Seneca, the philosopher, on the earthquake of AD62

Pompeii, the famous city in Campania, has been laid low by an earthquake which also disturbed all the adjacent districts. The city is in a pleasant bay, some distance from the open sea, and bounded by the shores of Surrentum and Stabiae on one side and of Herculaneum on the other; the shores meet there.

In fact, it occurred in days of winter, a season which our ancestors used to claim was free from such disaster. This earthquake was on the Nones of February, in the consulship of Regulus and Verginius. It caused great destruction in Campania, which had never been safe from this danger but had never been damaged, and time and again had got off with a fright. Also, part of the town of Herculaneum is in ruins, and even the structures which are left standing are shaky. The colony of Nuceria escaped destruction but still has much to complain about. Naples also lost many private dwellings but no public buildings, and was only mildly grazed by the great disaster; but some villas collapsed, others here and there shook without damage. To these calamities others were added: they say that a flock of hundreds of sheep was killed, statues were cracked, and some people were so shocked that they wandered about as if deprived of their wits. The thread of my proposed work, and the concurrence of the disaster at this time, requires that we discuss the causes of these earthquakes.

It is necessary to find solace for distressed people and to remove their great fear. Yet can anything seem adequately safe to anyone if the world itself is shaken, and its most solid parts collapse? Where will our fears finally be at rest if the one thing which is immovable in the universe and fixed, so as to support everything that leans upon it, starts to waver; if the earth loses the characteristic it has: stability? What hiding-place will creatures find, where will they flee in their anxiety, if fear arises from below and is drawn from the depths of the earth? There is panic on the part of all when buildings creak and give signs of falling. Then everybody hurls himself headlong outside, abandons his household possessions, and trusts to his luck in the outdoors. What hiding-place do we look to, what help, if the earth itself is causing the ruin, if what protects us, upholds us, on which cities are built, which some speak of as a kind of foundation of the universe, separates and reels?

Answer the following questions:

1. List the towns in Campania that Seneca reports damaged.

2. Why is the time of year when the earthquake occurred significant for Seneca?

3. How common were earthquakes in Campania?

4. What is Seneca’s attitude to the people of Campania? How would you account for his attitude to their reactions?

In AD62, Pompeii and Herculaneum were devastated by a major earthquake which caused major damage and led many people to flee the region. Historian’s opinion is divided about the length and severity of the disruption caused by the earthquake. The general picture that emerges is unclear. Some historians argue that Pompeii was a doomed town which was slowly being abandoned to squatters, others argue that it was a vigorous city which was being rebuilt ambitiously. There are certainly indications in Herculaneum of rebuilding.