Ancient History Module 5: Pompeii & Herculaneum Flashcards
Campania
The region Pompeii and Herculaneum reside in.
Pompeii and Herculaneum Geography + Mount Vesuvius
Pompeii is built on the volcanic foot, 25-40m above sea level.
Herculaneum is built like a plateau bound by ravines on either side.
Mount Vesuvius is 1277m high, the crater circumference is 11km, surrounded by woods - dormant.
Agriculture - Grown, exported, found, famous.
Emphasis on wine, olive oil, wool and fishing due to volcanic soil.
Exported to Rome, South France, Spain and North Africa.
Wine/Olive oil presses, fermentation rooms found with wheat, barely, cabbage, chickpeas, dates and figs.
Olive oil presses common in Campania homes
Garum is a key ingredient in Roman recipes - fishing emphasis from found hooks and other gear.
Wool and textiles were important - regional centre for cloth making/dying.
Important People
Pliny the Elder: Roman author and natural philosopher.
Pliny the Younger: Lawyer and magistrate, recorded 72AD eruption.
Strabo: Greek geographer/philosopher
Diodorus Siculuss: Greek Historian.
Statius: Greco-Roman poet.
Florus: Roman poet and rhetorican.
Giuseppe Fiorelli
Born 8/6/1823
Died 28/1/1896
Italian archeologist introducing plaster casts and the grid system (splitting Pompeii into 9 regions).
Emerging Technologys
X-Rays: Lady of Oplontis in 1994
3D imaging/CAD: Construct House of Caecillius Luncunder by Lund University Sweden.
Drones: To Document site.
The Forum: Economy, day-to-day life and religion.
Core of daily life in Pompeii, for politics, business and religion.
For day-to-day shopping, public shows and debates.
- Temple of Lares Publici: built after 62AD earthquake (household deities).
- Marcellum is the main produce market, selling meat and fish.
Economy welcomed traders from mediterranean with wine, pottery, olive oil and other foods.
The Economy - Occupations
Merchants
Bakeries
Pottery
Agriculture: Produces wine, olive oil, cereals, fruit, vegtables, meat, wool.
Fishing: Fish gear, nets, hooks found in Herculaneum.
Hierarchy of Citizens
- Senatorial Elite: Politic of Roman Empire for holiday.
- Local Elite: Wealthy freeborn politic
- Freedmen: Freed from slavery
- Women: Grey area from freedmen and slaves - cannot run for office.
- Slaves: Economic backbone, do countless jobs and serve a master.
Mens Rights
Own property, business, agriculture, trade industry and slaves if wealthy.
Applicable to run for office.
Womens Rights
Inherit property, business and other goods from family or husbands will - receive a smaller share to men.
Can’t run for office or vote, only sign legal agreements for set reasons.
Freedmen Rights
Own property and business - some remain loyal to their master.
Hold a minor office position. Their children would gain full rights.
To be freed, a slave goes through manumission, needing a masters content to then apply for citizenship.
Slaves Rights
Serves a master for varying jobs, considered property to be; bought, sold and inherited. Some are born while others acquired from conquest or to escape debt.
No legal rights, lived in cellars. They make 8,000 of the 20,000 population.
Public Baths - Its use and components
Social/relaxing activity that is cheap, for meeting friends, business deals and political discussion.
Men and women sit separately.
Was open midday to night.
Slaves accompanied master, carrying and using strigil (curved blade) to clean then massage them.
Palaestra: Greek influence, exercise yard.
Apodyterium: Change room.
Frigidanium: Cold circular bath.
Tepidanium: Warm room or baths.
Caladium: Hot room with heated baths - charcoal burning in a furnace.
Theatres - Popularity, components, use and sources.
Popularity evident fron theatrical motifs/frescos in homes and graffiti by fans.
Used stone seating, wealthy sit near the front while lower class/women sit at the back. A large awning/shelter blocks heat. Music was also played using; drums, flutes and cymbals. Plays were performed there.
Sources: Large Theatre, Odon Theatre and Mosaic.
Palastra - Use, popularity and sources.
For wrestling or gymnasium.
Popular leisure activity from greek athletic tradition. Used for running, training and swimming.
Source: The Great Palaestra at Pompeii near the amphitheatre; large space with swimming pool and latrine/toilet adjacent.
Ampitheatre - Popularity, use, gladiator sorting and political involvement.
Most prominent leisure activity.
Gladiators who fought are sorted by groups/famila: Curved swords & small shields, Retarius (fight with trident and dagger then trap in net) and myrmillo (fight with helmet, glades and large shield).
Duumvir and Aediles spent money on public entertainment (political stunt too) - gladiatorial contests in honour of gods part of emperors birthday or other events - association to Saturn, likes sacrifice.
Local Political life - Politics, who they are elected by, their roles and how to climb the hierarchy + Ordo decurionum, decuriones.
Magistrates - Lowest
Administration and maintenance of public infrastructure.
Aedile - Lower
Maintain daily life in Pompeii by organising town market, roads, maintain public and religious buildings, baths and organised public events. Elected by populous each year, Brought to power by potestas (over look politics and senate).
Duumvir - Middle (latin for 2 men)
Administration of justice; maintaining order and law. Elected by populous to serve 1 year.
Quinquennials - Highest Tier
Completes a census on population. Elected inplace of Duumvir every 5yrs, responsible for revising ordo decurionum laws. Highest position in Pompeii government.
- To become one, you must have served as Duumvir and Aedile prior.
Ordo Decurionum creates laws to be done by magistrates - members called decurions (100 people) admitted every 5yrs.
- Decurions are honoured, wealthy freeborn males that debate & vote on administrative matters.
What must members of office must be?
Freeborn males over 25yrs old with decent wealth and an unblemished reputation/character.
Campania Diet and flavour enjoyment
Dates, figs, olives, eggs, loaves of bread, walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. Sheep, pig and cattle bones create assumption of meat consumption.
Enjoy spicy, strong tasting flavours; favourite is garam, made of fermented mixture of small fish like anchovies and mackerels.
Latrines - Kitchen and Toilets
Toilet use: To excrete waste, sponge on stick was used to wipe bottom.
Kitchen use: To dispose food scraps.
Clothing
Upper class wore off white, one length tunics and belts with sandals - archaic tunic TOTK.
Officials wear purple.
Women wore stole and jewellery; a common accessory.
Water supply and sanitisation
Sanitisation is poor, citizens got sick or died from things such as malaria or typhoids. Due to poor filtration and plumbing, creating toxic contamination for the public and bathrooms.
The streets often flooded due to poor drainage, where stepping stones were put in to counter this.
Source: Augustus Aqueduct - stored rain water to bring to pipes for private and public use.
Religion - The lares, remaining temples and the imperial cult
Lares are household gods associated to entry/crossing. Families praised them at the forum temple and at personal lararium (shrine) at entry, kitchen and garden.
Remaining temples:
Temple of Jupiter: Dedicated to Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva), deities worshipped in Ancient Rome.
Temple of Vespasian: Dedicated to Emperor Vespasian who reverted to Augustan form renewing imperial cult of Julius caesar.
- Imperial cult is the worship of emperors and families as divine, established after death of Julius caesar (44BC), while some of the empire (Pompeii) worshipped living emperors, Rome did not.
