Fortified by Stephen Tuck's lectures and much additional reading, we embarked upon our first day in Pompeii, 7 hours and 500 pix of a variety of subjects we had been looking forward to seeing. While everyone knows the basic story of Pompeii--thriving Etruscan/Samnite/Roman city of 20,000, buried and frozen in time by the August 24-26, 79 AD eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius--a few additional notes bear on the variety of Pompeii posts that will follow. Neighboring Herculaneum was actually discovered before Pompeii, earlier in the 18th century. The pyroclastic flows that had buried Herculaneum in 60 feet of solid rock meant that the only explorations undertaken in those times were through tunnel mining and not excavation, as at Pompeii, which was covered by cinder and ash. (Half of Vesuvius had blown up and much of it had fallen on Pompeii and neighboring towns and villas south and west of the mountain). "Exploration" in those days was very largely a matter of treasure-hunting, financed by aristocracy and royalty. Thus, most of what was brought up and out of Herculaneum and Pompeii until very nearly the 20th century is now in a variety of royal-collections-turned-public-museums. The Kings of Naples hoarded most of the art and other treasures, and thus most of what was taken from Herculaneum and Pompeii is now at the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Don't worry, we visited it too. Anyhow, that explains the relative starkness of what one sees in Pompeii, apart of from the occasional replicas placed in the ruins by modern curators and others.
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In the public area at the northwest corner of the city, the Temple of Apollo; prior
to the '79 catastrophe, Pompeii was rocked by a major earthquake in '62 that brought down most of the largest structures; they were still re-building in '79... |
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Remains of the Basilica, the meeting place, hall of justice, et cetera
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There are frescoes all around, not plentiful, but worth seeking out
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In one of the baths, cubby-holes in which to stow one's clothing
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In the same baths, a bronze massage table/bed
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Lead piping
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Us in Pompeii
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In the House of the Faun, a replica piece of the Alexander mosaic, depicting the
Battle of Issus, wherein Alexander defeated the Persian king Darius, and opened the way through Persia to the east and India |
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One of Pompeii's numerous neighborhood bakeries; the millstones on the left
were driven by slaves or donkeys; the ovens on the right |
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More frescoes
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And more; the snake was considered a blessing upon any house or business
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Another fresco figure I liked; it was the only painting form that has come down
to us |
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At the House of the Tragic Poet, the very famous Cave Canem mosaic; apparently
a joke among middle and upper class Romans, since the doors to their homes were open for business from dawn to dusk every day |
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In the spare parts shed (among gazillions of items)
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A particularly large atrium/peristyle garden in someone's large house
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After the Forum and the Baths, the Brothel is Pompeii's most popular sight; here's
Vicki on one of the beds |
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Frescoes above the (closed) Stabian Baths
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Archaeology/preservation/restoration continues
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Atrium in another large house; our house in Dallas had an atrium, although it was
not quite like this... |
