MASTER NEGA TIVE NO. 91-801 79 MICROFILMED 1991 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material ... Columbia University Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. AUTHOR: GUSMAN, PIERRE TITLE: POMPEI PLACE: LONDON DA TE : 1900 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT ninLiOGRAPHTr microform target Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record 874.7 G97 Gusman, Pierre, 1862- Pompei, the city, its life & art, by Pierre Gusman ; tr. by Florence Simmonds and M. Jourdain; with 500 text illustrations and 12 coloured plates from drawings by the author. London, W. Ileinemann, 1900. xvi, 423 p. illus., 12 col. pi. (incl. front.) 32"". Bibliography: p. i419i-420. Restrictions on Use: 1. _Pompcii — Descr. 2. Pompeii — Soc. life & cust. 3. Art, Greco- Ro- man. I. Simmonds, Florence, tr. ii. Jourdain, M., tr. 3—15124 Library of Congress \^ DG70.P7G95 J. TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: J^ ^ «t|^ REDUCTION RATIO:. IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA ^ *:■ '--.f ,; - i; «.-.* m*^ X-'!-. i; *i --■•'- ^1 ^'#S ^K>_., ^<91| .•#J ■ft ^- "";■■'"* , ■ ^0:S •>- ;s^; ■'»*■■ •Jfkf -t^-'Krf'lP .>9* i»vj\.':. "W ,45". ■•,"'*-' - ■- ■ ** .¥■"■ -s* i.s»f,%* "t #&'-^« Ms, i-f r p j_*: lilf S<(nj: mtJifCtlpoflrttitork LIBRARY V \K POMPEI 4 J 1: si S IM,. I •- ^-j^ V ■■rt 1 to- • I. — VKM'S AS I'Kf) TKCTUKSS OF I'OMPEI li"%i>ri>i«; IX THE Cana di Tritlolemo via marima) 2. — I.KDA ifAiNiiM. i> T II K f'asa dflla Kegina Margherita) M. — BACCHAXTK (haixtixc; i.x tiik ('a%a di Caslnrf o PoUucr) POMPEI THE CITY, ITS LIFE ^ ART BY PIERRE GUSMAN TRANSLATED BY FLORENCE SIMMONDS AND » • • M. JOURDAIN fVilb 500 TVx/ Illustrations and 12 Coloured Plates from Drawings by the Author I LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN MCM t c. I « • • t • /f // n^A/J reserved • • TREFACE A passionate and faithful pilgrim to Pompei, the ancient citywas so full of charm for me, the smiling skies and sunny atmosphere of fair Campania breathed such balm into my soul, that I ofier a labour of love to the reader in the book I lay before him. I have not attempted an imaginary reconstruc- tion, but I have honestly tried to make Pompei live again, by the help of authentic documents found in the buried city, and by the light of the many books that deal with the subject. This is a history of tlte Pompemns, illustrated by themselves. The subject is vast, too vast indeed. I have been obliged to restrict myself to a comparatively narrow Held, but I shall esteem myself happy if I have been able to make my readers catch some of those delicate echoes from a bygone world that have stirred my 0W71 senses so deliciously. P. G. neriG CONTENTS PART I DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS fAGB I. Campania— Its Climate and its Charm— Opinions of Ancient Writers .... 3 II. The First Earthquake of the Year 63— The Rebuilding of the Town .... 6 III. The Eruption of Vesuvius in the Year 79— Pliny's Two Letters 8 IV. The Strata formed by the Eruption— Imprints of Human Bodies 13 V. The " Civiti "—Recent Excavations and those now in Progress 22 VI. The Plan of an Ancient City— The City Gates— The Walls and Towers— An Excursion round Pompei *7 PART II THE TOMBS, THE TEMPLES AND THE VARIOUS CULTS I. The Way of Tombs and Cicero's Villa 43 II. Venus Physica, the Patroness of Pompei— The Worship of Venus and her Temple . 56 III. The Greek Temple *3 IV. The Temple of Apollo— Apollo the God of Augury 66 73 88 9» V. The Isis of Pompei— The Isium— The Cult of Isis— Women Devotees of Isis VI. The Temple of Fortuna Augusta— The Fountain of Mercury VII. The Temple of Jupiter Meilichios— The Temple of Vespasian— The Altar of Sacrifice . VIII. The Temple of Jupiter, or Capitolium— The Macellum— The Sanctuary of the Lares of the City— The Augusteum— The Augustales— The Lares of Augustus— The Lares compitales— The Building of Eumachia— The Public Priestesses .... IX. The Lares domestici and their Origin— The Genius loci— Serpents {Agathodamons) and their Influence X. Lararia- The Rites and Customs of the Domestic Cult of the Lares .... XI. Christianity at Pompei— The Aureoles of Divinities and the Wings of Genii— The Fascinum— The Evil Eye— Charms and Amulets— Sacred Trees .... PART III PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND RECREATIONS OF POMPEI 96 105 no zas I. The Basilica II. The Forum III. The Baths of the Forum— Strigils and Unguents^ Depilation «33 136 »4« CONTENTS vu ■ • IV. The Stabian Thermae and the Palaestra 146 V. The Smaller Thermae and the Municipal Palaestra 149 VI. The Barracks of the Gladiators— Play-bills— The Fight between the Nucerians and Pompeians je, VII. The Amphitheatre— The Gladiatorial Combats— The "Venationes" . . .158 VIII. The Triangular Forum— The Theatres— The Tesserae— Comedy— Music— Dancing— The Atellan Farces— Funambuli— The Velarium— Theatrical Machinery . . . 166 PART IV THE STREETS— INSCRIPTIONS— INDUSTRIES I. The Streets of Pompei— The Water and the Sewers— The Roads and Footways . . 183 II. The Walls, Advertisements, Signs and Inscriptions jgo III. Languages spoken in Pompei— The Writings in Use— The Alphabets . . . .195 IV. The Graffiti 201 V. Elections and Electioneering Placards— The Corporations— The Magistrates '. . 204 VI. The Receipts of the Banker Jucundus— Wax-tablets— The Notation in Use . . .213 VII. The Taverns— The Popina, the Thermopolia— The Inns— The Public Kitchens . . 217 VIII. The Lupanaria and the Celiac Meretriciae 226 IX. The Shops and Receptacles in Use— Weights and Measures 229 X. Tools and Surgical Instruments 234 XI. The Bakehouse, the Mills, the Ovens and Loaves— Slaves— Fullers, and various Industries 240 PART V THE GRiECO-ROMAN HOUSE I. The Outside of the Houses— The Ostium— The Doors— The Prothyrum. . . .253 II. The Atrium— The Compluvium— The Impluvium— The Cartibulum- The Hearth— The Atrium Testudinatum— The Tuscan Atrium— The Tetrastyle Atrium— The Corinthian Atrium— The Cavsedium— The Lararium 258 III. The Bedrooms— The Beds— The Ala^The Tablinum— The Andron . . .267 IV. The PeristyUum— The Viridarium— Mosaic Fountains— The Aquarium— The Apotheca —The CEcus— The Exedra— The Garden— The Triclinia— The Kitchens— The Latrinse —The Baths— The Venereum 373 V. SmaUer Houses— The Solarium— The Stairs— The Ccenaculum— The Cellars . . 282 VI. Various Houses ^gg VII. The Costume of the Men and Women . . . . . ,06 VIII. Food and Meals . 310 / \ vm CONTENTS PART VI THE ARTS Architecture The Orders— Columns and Capitals— Vaults and Building Materials »-ACE 3»9 Painting I. Mural Decoration— The Four Periods : Pre-Roman Style, Style of the Republic, Style of the First Emperors, Style of the Last Period— The Candelabrum Variety— The Egyptian Variety — Asiatic Influence 3^4 II. The Technique of Pompeian Painting— Encaustic and Alhed Processes— Fresco and Tempera— Preparation of the Walls— Plasters 334 III. Colours— Sketches— Technical Treatment— Plagiarisms 339 IV. Ancient Paintings— Examples of Style— Greek Painting 343 V. Liberty and Licence in Painting— Large Compositions— Monochromes . . . -351 VI. The Alexandrian Spirit— The Nude— Hermaphrodites, Cupids, and Psyches— Dancing Groups— Single Figures— Feminine Beauty 357 VII. Allegory— Genre- Paintings— Original Painting— Interiors 3^3 VIII. Portraits 3^6 IX. Still Life— Flowers — Plants— Animals— Foreign Subjects— Caricatures— Pygmies- Landscapes 373 X. Mosaics 3^0 Sculpture I. Alexandrian Influences in Campania 3^ II. Reproductions of Works by Greek Sculptors— The Doryphorus oi Polycletus— The Bacchus of Praxiteles— The Lycian Apollo— Hercules and the Doe, by Lysippus— The Worksof the "Archaicists"— Polychromatic Marble Statues 387 III. P««»^Marble Furniture— Busts of Men and Women— Official Statues . . . -395 IV. Terra cotta Statues and Statuettes— Bas-reliefs and various Objects of Terra-cotta— Polychrome Terra-cotta 400 V. White and Polychrome Stucco— Stucco Figures— A Stucco Mask 404 Ob JETS d'Art I. SUver . . 40« II. Bronze Articles ^** III. Jewellery— Glass *'* Bibliography * ' , 431 Index f ^o V, 1 LIST OF COLOURED PLATES I' AGE I. Venus — Leda — Bacchante Frontispiece II. The Stabian Gate— The Street of Stabiae To /ace 32 III. Painting of the Thermopolium — The Fountain of Youth — A Foreign Landscape ,, 68 rv. The House of the Tragic Poet „ 106 V. A Naval Engagement— Vintage — Wine „ 144 VI. Pompeian Portraits ,,182 VII. Pompeian Portraits „ 220 VIII. Pompeian Portraits — The Death of Dirce „ 258 IX. First Decorative Style — Second Decorative Style ,, 296 X. Third Decorative Style „ 334 XI. Fourth Decorative Style „ 372 XII. Mosaic ; a Comic Scene — Mosaic Fountain „ 410 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS Pompei from the Gate of Stabiae Map of the Bay of Naples A Man (Museum of Pompei) Skeleton embedded in Ashes . A Lantern (Naples Museum) . A Lamp (Naples Museum) A Man (Museum of Pompei) Man with Sandals (Museum of Pompei) A Woman (Museum of Pompei) Key of Diomedes (Naples Museum) A Man (Museum of Pompei) . The Dog of Pompei (Museum of Pom pei) A Mirror (Naples Museum) Skull and Helmet of a Soldier (Naples Museum) Bronze Seals (Naples Museum) View of the Theatres and neighbouring Buildings (from the raised Map in the Naples Museum) The Street of Mercury and some Insulae rxi-.E 3 II »4 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 17 18 18 19 23 28 l-AGK (from the raised Map in the Naples Museum) 28 Plan of Pompei 29 The Gate of the Seas.l.ore (Porta Mcrina) 30 The Gate of Stabiae (from the inside) . 31 The Exedra of the Gate of Stabiae . . 33 Tombs on the Road to Nuceria , . 33 The Gate of Nola or of Isis (from the inside) 34 Oscan Inscription, and Head of Isis (after De Clarac) 35 Oscan Lapidary Marks .... 36 The Walls and the Towers . . 37, 38 The Gate of Herculaneum ... 38 View from inside the Gate of Hercula- neum 39 The Way of Tombs 44 The Exedra of Mamia's Tomb . . 45 Tomb of Servilia ..... 46 Epitaph of Calventius Quietus . . 47 Epitaph of Tyche 47 6 -* \ ■ TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS Tombs of Tyche and Calventius Quietus 48 Memorial Triclinium . . • • 49 Tomb of the second Tyche . . • 49 The Tomb with the Marble Door . 5° Interior of the Tomb with the Marble Door The Ustrinum The Covered Exedra The Way of Tombs .... The Venus of Pompei (from a Painting in the Casa di Castore e Polluce) . The Marine Venus .... Ruins of the supposed Temple of Venus An Offering to Venus (a Painting) . Doves offered to Venus (a Painting) The Marriage of Hercules and Hebe (Painting) The Greek Temple .... The Temple of Ceres at Paestum The Greek Temple .... Bronze Diana. From the Temple of Apollo vNaples Museum) . The Temple of Apollo The Cella of the Temple of Apollo and the Omphalos .... A Sacrifice to Apollo (a Painting in the House of the Vettii) . Tripod with the Omphalos (Painting in the House of the Vettii) . .\pollo and the Omphalos (Painting) Apollo (Painting in the Casa del Citarista) The Temple of I sis . Stuccoes in the Megarum (Isiac and Alexandrian Attributes) . Marble Statue of I sis (Naples Museum) Marble Statue of Venus from the Temple of Isis (Naples Museum) . Bronze Tripod of Julia Felix (Secret Museum of Naples) . Marble Statue of Bacchus from the Temple of Isis (Naples Museum) Priests of Isis Hermanubis Priests of Isis The Cult of Isis. Sprinkhng Holy Water The Feast of the Ship of Isis . A Ship of Isis Ceremony of the Cult of Isis. The Sacred Dance A Ceremony of the Cult of Isis. The Adoration of the Sacred Water 51 5» 52 53 59 59 60 61 61 62 64 64 65 66 67 68 69 69 70 70 73 74 75 75 76 76 77 77 77 78 78 79 79 80 Norbanus Sorex, an Actor Marble Font for Lustral Water from the Temple of Isis lo landing in Egypt (a Painting from the Isiuin) Megarum of the Temple of Isis Interior of the Megarum, Temple of Isis . Bronze Isiac Tripod .... Silver Vase used in the Cult of Isis, and Details of the Vase (after De Clarac) Bronze Sistrum .... Oscan Inscription in the Temple of Isis Bronze Statuette of Isityche . Temple of Fortuna Augusta . Terracotta Statue of Jupiter (Naples Museum) .... Terracotta Statue of Juno (Naples Mu seum) Temple of Jupiter Meilichios . Temple of Vespasian Bas-reliefs of the Altar of the Temple of Vespasian Patera Pembelon Sacrifice of a Pig (Marble bas-relief) Bronze Basin, to hold Entrails Victims Marble Bust of Jupiter ... Temple of Jupiter, or Capitolium . Interior of the Temple of Jupiter . The Macellum The small Temple of Augustus Altar of the Lares compitalcs . Building of Eumachia Side Entrance to the Building of Eu machia (in front is the Fountain of Abundance) .... Bronze Bisellium .... Marble Statues of Priestesses of Pompei Eumachia (Marble Statue) The Genius loci .... Protective Sign .... Stucco Lararium .... Atrium and Lararium of a House in the Street of Nola . Sacelluni Omphalos (Painting in a Lararium dedicated to Apollo) . Altar to Ceres .... Sacrifice to Abundance (Painting) Bronze Statuette of Abundance of rACR 80 81 82 83 83 84 84 85 87 88 89 9> 92 93 93 94 95 95 95 95 96 97 97 98 98 100 101 lOI 1 03 103 »03 107 108 110 III III 112 112 112 "3 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS Lararium of Epidius Sabinus (polychrome stucco) Lararium of polychrome stucco Bronze Statuette of Apollo (Naples Museum) Bronze Statue of /Esculapius (Naples Museum) Terracotta Patera for Libations to the Gods of the Hearth (Pompei Museum) Terra-cotta Braziers of Domestic Altars Small Bronze Braziers Small Tabic (Anclabris) used as an Altar Small Bronze Brazier Folding Tripods for Offerings to the Gods Altar dedicated to Epona (Painting in a House in the Vico di Balbo) Marble Bas-relief of the Lararium of Jucundus Altar to Fornax (Painting) Lararium dedicated to Bacchus ( Painting in the Casa del Cenlenario) Lararium of the House of the Vettii (Stucco and Painting) Divinities with Blue Aureoles (Painting in the Casa di Apollo) Hercules and Auge (Painting in the House of the Vettii) . Ariadne guarded by a Genius (Painting in a House in the Vico di Tesmo) Bronze Victory of Pompei Victory (Painting in the Casa di Castore e Polluce) Amulets against the Evil Eye . Small Bells (Naples Museum) . Small Bells (Museum of Pompei) Rustic Altar and Sacred Tree . Altar to Bacchus and Sacred Tree . The Basilica Colonnade of the Forum ... The Forum Standard of Measures (Mensa ponderaria' Arch of Tiberius (?) .... The Arch of the Street of Meicury . Bronze Statue of Tiberius (?) (Naples Museum) A Bell (Naples Museum) . The Tepidarium of the Baths of the Forum The Caldarium of the Baths of the Forum The Instruments of a Tractator Strigils XI 1 Various Utensils in use in the Baths (Un 14 > guentaria, alabastra, &c.) . 15 j The Sun-dial of the Stabian Thermae The Apodyterium of the Baths of Stabiae 15 The Palaestra of the Stabian Thermae Ephebus leaning on a Trochus 1 6 The Mosaic of the Prothyrum of the Small Thermae 16 Wrestlers ( Painting) 16 Afcer the Wrestling-match (Painting) 17 Athlete using a Strigil (Painting) 17 Victorious Fencer ( Painting) . 17 The Municipal Palaestra . Fetters (Naples Museum) 17 The Barracks of the Gladiators Graffiti 18 Fight of the Pompeians and Nuceiians Arena of the Amphitheatre 19 The Amphitheatre .... 19 The Tiers of Seats .... Cornicen announcing the Combat (Paint 20 ing from the Podium) Gladiatorial Combat (from the Bas 21 reliefs in Stucco of the Tomb of Scaurus, after Mazois) 23 Helmets of Secutores, Sword of a Gla diator, Arms of Gladiators 24 Gladiator's Helmet .... The End of the Match (Painting on the 24 Podium) 25 Votive galerus of a Retiarius . Bas-relief in Stucco on the Tomb of 25 Scaurus (Venatio) .... 26 The Winning Cock ataCock-fight (Mo«aic) 27 A Bear and a Bull (Painting in the Podium) 28 The Hecatonstylon of the Triangular 28 Forum 28 Propylaea of the Triangular Forum . 33 The Roofed Theatre. The Door on the 37 Street of Stabiae .... 38 Tesserae (Naples Museum) 38 Auditorium and Orchestra of the Roofed 39 Theatre 170 40 Comic Actor (Terra cotta Statue in the Naples Museum) .... 40 Comic Actress (Terracotta Statue in the 41 Naples Museum) .... 42 Marble Masks (Naples Museum) 43 An Actor(Painting in the Naples Mnsenm) 43 Choir, Singer, Tibicen, and Cithara 44 Player ,72 144 146 147 147 148 150 '50 •51 151 151 152 153 154 155 156 158 159 160 161 161 162 163 163 163 164 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 170 171 171 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS PACE Musicians, and Musical Instruments . 173 Citharaedi (Painting in the Casa del Citarista) 174 Funambulus 175 Funambuli ...... 175 A Satyric Dance (Mosaic in the Naples Museum) 176 Dancers (Painting in the Naples Museum) 176 Intercolumniums of the Theatre (Marble Bas-reliefs in the Naples Museu:n) . 177 General View of the Great Theatre . .178 Stage and Auditorium of the Great Theatre 178 A Scene in the Choragium (Mosaic in the Naples Museum) .... 179 The Choragus (Painting in the Naples Museum) 179 The Street of Stabise . .184 The Stepping stones and the Foot- ways 185 Fountain in the Street of Nola, opposite the Casa della Caccia . . .186 The Fountain of the Cock .187 Crossways (Bivium) of the Street of Sallust (Consular Way) . . . .188 Sign of a Wine-seller .... 190 Marble Sign of a Milkman . . . 190 Marble and Terracotta Signs . . 191, 192 Front of a Shop (Region X. Insula V.) . 19a Mason's Sign (Tufa) 192 Pedestal -of the Statue of Holconius Rufus, Street of Abundance . 193 Inscription on Marble .... 193 Inscription 194 The School (Painting in the Naples Museum) 1Q4 Alphabets. Oscan (retrograde writing), Greek, and Roman (after Garrucci) . 197 Electioneering Inscription in Rustic Capi- tals (Vico di Tesmo) .... 197 Electioneering Inscription written in Uncial I97 The Alphabet (various Letters) . .197 Electioneering Notices .... ao7 Carpenters (Painting in the Naples Museum) 209 Album of the Building of Eumachia, Wall of the Street of Abundance .211 Bronze Bust of the Banker L. Czcilius jucundns ...... 314 Wax Tablet. Receipt of the Banker L. C. Jucundus Terra-cotta Money-boxes .... Inkstand, Papyrus, and Tablet Fountain of the Eagle and the Hare, behind which is the Inn of Fortunata Paintings in Wine-shops . . . 219 Paintings in the Thermopolium of the Street of Mercury .... Public Kitchen Bronze Utensils for drawing Wine from the Craters ; simpulum, truz . Small Bronze Utensils for decanting and drawing Liquids, truellse . Marble Counter in the Wine-shop of the Hermaphrodite Bacchus, Street of NoU Hostelry in the Way of Tombs Dish, Chafing ■ dishes, and Wine strainers The Vestibule of a Lupanar . The Via del Balcone and Via del Lupanare Cella meretricia .... A Provision Dealer's Oil Mill Amphorae, dolia, &c Earthenware Vessels and Amphorae Scales, libra Steel-yard, statura .... Bronze Weights . . . • Compasses Various Iron Implements : Plane, Saw, Fork, Bills, &c Compasses, Sailmakers'-needles. Shuttles Fish-hooks and Weights of Plumb lines Hammer and Iron Ploughshare Anchor, Oar, Piece of Bronze Harness Iron Tools Surgical Instruments : (i) Pincers ; (2; Vesical Probe; (3) Box of Pills (4) Injection Probe ; (s) Pincers (6) Cautery ; (7) Cupping Apparatus (8) Cautery ; (9) Cautery ; ( 10) Clyster and Clyster - pipe with a Tap (11) Forceps: (12) Bi valvular Spec ulum ; (13) Pincers for Splinters (14) Perforated Pincers; (15) Quad rivalvular Speculum; (16) Trivalvu lar Speculum ; (17) Cautery . 314 ai5 ai6 218 , 320 221 aaa 223 223 394 334 225 236 337 338 339 230 330 «3« 333 333 a33 a34 a35 236 236 356 237 337 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS Xlll » 4^' »^ Bronze Toy (Common Car) ; Bronze Toy (Cart) Cart, Sarracum (Painting) Litter, lectica (Terra-cotta in the Naples Museum) A Boat (Painting in the Naples Museu n) . Bakehouse Oven of a Bakehouse .... Sale of a Slave (Naples Museum) . Loaves (Naples Museum) Pastry (Naples Museum) . Baker distributing Bread (Painting in the Naples Museum) .... Fullers (Painting in the Naples Museum) Scene in a FuUouica (Painting in the Naples Museum) .... Genii fulling ; Genii combing Cloth (Paintings in the Hojse of the Vettii) The Vats of a Fullonica .... A Clothier (Naples Museum) . A Shoemaker (Painting in the Naples Museum) Genii Coining and Forging (Painting in the House of the Vettii) . The Oil-press; the Forge (Paintings in the House of the Vettii) .... A Butcher's Stall Soap Factory or Washhouse . Tannery Coppersmith Sellers of Ironware (Painting in the Naples Museum) Sellers of Hot Drinks and Fruits (Paint- ing in the Naples Museum) Trained Monkey (Painting in the Naples Museum) Archaic Coins of Naples .... Coins of Naples Tuscan Atrium (House of Siricus) . The House of Pansa .... Entrance to the Casa del Torello . Reconstructed Door, Janua Cast of an ancient Door .... Locks and Keys Keys Prothynim of the House of Blandus Mosaic in the Prothyrum of the Casa dellOrso Tuscan Atrium and Impluvium (House 9f Cornelius Rufus) .... PAGE PAGE Inner projecting Galleries or Corbels 239 (Paintinf^ in an Qicus, Region IX. 239 Insula VII.) 260 Tetrastyle Atrium (Casa delle Nozze 239 d'Argento) 260 239 Tetrastyle Atrium and Compluvium . 261 241 Tetrastyle Atrium with the wooden por- 242 tions reconstructed .... 261 242 Stove, found in an Atrium, originally 242 from a Caldarium .... 262 243 Cavaedium of the Casa dei Capitelli Colorati (or the Casa di Arriana) . 263 243 Corinthian Atrium (House of Epidius 243 Rufus) 264 Strong-box of Bronze, Iron, and Wood . 265 244 Bronze Distaff 266 Ivory Distaff 266 Thimble 266 244 A Room in the House of Holconius . 267 245 Beds (fragments of Paintings in a House 246 in Region IX. Insula V.) . . . 268 Bronze Bed inlaid with Silver (some parts 246 reconstructed in wood) . . . 268 Bronze Seat 269 247 Wooden Seat, reconstructed . . . 269 Bronze Candelabra and Folding Table . 269 247 Atrium and Tablinum of the House of 248 Pansa ...... 270 248 Bronze Vessel 271 249 Peristylium (House of Holconius) . . 273 249 Rhodian Peristylium of the Casa delle Nozze d'Argento .... 275 250 Apotheca (House of Paquius Proculus) . 275 Wooden Cupboard (Apotheca) recon- 250 structed 276 Corinthian CEcus (Casa di Meleagro) . 276 250 Vaulted (Ecus (Region IX. Insula I, 250 Street of Stabiae) .... 277 250 Summer Triclinium in the House of 253 Sallust 278 254 Summer Triclinium (Region IX. Insula 254 V. Street of Nola) .... 279 254 Mi.rble Monopodium .... 279 255 Biclinium (Region I. Insula I.) . . 279 255 Dog-kennel near an Atrium (Region IX. 256 i Insula V.) 280 256 The Kitchen of the Vettii . . . 280 j Latrinse 280 257 I Bronze Brazier to place in the Baths . 281 ' Bronze Tap 281 259 Bronze Brazier 28 f M ■ i Ttrr TEXT ILLUSTIL\TIONS TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS zv TACK rACB 2S2 284 284 285 a85 386 a88 289 390 agi 293 293 293 294 294 295 296 296 297 297 Baths in the Casa delle Nozze d'Argento The House (Fig. A, Fig. B) . . . Modern House in the countr>- near Pompei Solarium (Painting in an (Ecus in the House of the Yettii) . . . • Staircase (Region VII. Insula VI.) . Store-room (Region VIII. Insula IV.) . Casa del Fauno Ostium of the Casa del Fauno PeristyUum of the Casa del Fauno . Casa del Laberinto House of Lucretius Painting in the House of Lucretius . Tablinum and Viridarium of the House of Lucretius Bronze Couch for Meals, Lectisternum . The Game of the Lab>Tinth (Graffito in the House of Lucretius) . Terracotta Lamps Villa of Diomedes Crypto-portico of the Villa of Diomedes . Cocks of Water-pipes .... Casa di Castore e PoUuce House of the Vettii 298 Atrium of the House of the Vettii and Stand for the Strong-box ... 298 Interior of the Casa del Balcone . . 299 Viridarium of the House of the Vettii . 300 Lamp, Lucema pensile . . • • 30t Bronze Lychnuchus . . . • • 302 Bronze Lamp-stand, Lychnuchus . . 303 Bronze (Enochs, Bronze Vase, Bronze (Enochs 303. 304 Lamp, Lucerna pensile .... 304 Terracotta Lamp with three Wicks . 304 Woman at her Toilette (Painting in the Casa di Trittolemo) . . . .306 Box for Paint. Curling Iron . . . 306 Box of Paint 307 Woman wearing the fascia (fragment of a Painting in the Casa del Centenario) 3^7 Bronze Mirror 3^7 Ivor>- Pin and Hair-comb . . . 308 Gold Ornaments 308 Bronze Candlestick 309 Woman withaVeil (Painting in the House of Lucretius) 3^9 Ivor>- Comb 3^9 Bronze Kettle ^*' Bronze Stove with a reservoir for Hot Water, and a Bain-Marie . . • 3i» Moulds for Pastry 3** Bacchic Dance (Painting in the Casa del Centenario) 3*2 Canephora 312 Dancing-girl 312 Rhyton 31a A Meal (Painting from Herculaneum) . 312 Symposiums 313 Kitchen Utensils; Dish for Eggs, Moulds for Pastr>% Spoons, Strainers, Knives, Fire-dog, Saucepan, Kettle . . 314 Dancers (Painting in the House of Hol- conius) 315 Silver V^ase (Treisure from Bosco Reale) 315 Tufa Capital in the Basilica . . . 319 Marble Capitals .... 320, 321 Stucco Capital in the Egyptian Style • 32a Opus Reticulatum 323 Decoration : Third Style, Black Dado ; Red Panels ; White, Red and Black Frieze (Region IX. Insula VII.) . 325 Candelabrum Motives in Decoration . 327 (Ecus with White Decoration (Fourth Style A.D. 63) 338 Decoration, Fourth Style . . 329 Oriental Motives (House of the Vettii) 330, 331 Mosaic Column (Naples Museum) . . 33a The Painter (Painting in the Naples Museum) 335 Allegory of Painting (Painting from the Macellum) 335 Preparing the Walls (Painting in the Naples Museum) .... The Woman Artist (Painting in the Naples Museum) .... Bowl for grinding Colours Sketch on a Wall (Region VI. Insula XIV.) Italiot Painting found at Ruvo Painting from the Farnesina (Rome) The Judgment of Paris (Painting in the House of Holconius) .... The Judgment of Paris .... 33S 337 337 341 343 344 344 345 Venus and Urania 345 346 346 347 Painting in the Naples Museum Pelias and his Daughters .... Pan and the Muses Iphigenia descending from the Temple (Paintingfrom the House of Jucundus) 348 l-ACE The Forsaken Ariadne (Region IX. In- sula II.) 348 The Sacrifice of Iphigenia (Painting from the House of the Tragic Poet) . 349 Medza (Paintings in the Naples Mu- seum) 350 Orpheus (Painting in the Casa di Orfeo) 352 The wounded Adonis (Painting in the Casa di Adone) 353 Niobe and her Companions . . . 354 Girls playing Knuckle-bones . . . 355 Achilles discovered by Ulysses (Mosaic in theJCasa di Apollo) . . . 355 Achilles discovered by Ulysses (Painting) 356 Mars and Venus 357 The Cortfege of Love (Painting in the House of the Vettii) .... 358 Painting in the House of the Vettii . . 358 Hermaphrodite Bacchus (Painting in the Casa del Centenario) . . . 358 Psyches (Painting in the House of the Vettii) 359 Hermaphrodite 359 Woman and Satyr 360 Dancing Group 360 Dancing Canephoros, Dancing Cane- phoros, A Dancer .... 360 A Dancer 361 The Three Graces 361 Centaur and Bacchante (Painting from Cicero's Villa) 362 Hymen (Painting in the Naples Museum) 363 Greek Charity (Painting in the Naples Museum) 364 The Dealer in Cupids (Painting from Stabiae) 364 The Toilette (Painting from Hercu- laneum) 365 Portraits of the Baker Paquius Proculus and his Wife 366 Portraits (Region IX. Insula V. No. 18) . 367 Portraits (Painting in the House of Hol- conius) 367 Portrait (Painting, Region VII. Insula II. No. 6) 368 Painting in the House of Lucretius . 368 Paintings in the House of Holconius . 369 Painting (Region I. Insula II. No. 3) . 370 Portrait (Painting in the Naples Museum) 370 Tibicen (Painting, Region IX. Insula II. No. 16) 371 PA<» 371 371 373 Athlete (Painting, Region IX. Insula VI.) Painted Head of Silenus .... Paintings of Still Life .... Decorative Plants (Painting in the House of Epidius Sabinus) .... 374 A Wild Boar Hunt (Painting in the House of the Vettii) 374 Crane and Serpent (Painting in the Casa di Adone) 374 /"Cocks, Hen, and Fish (Paintings in the"| •J Casa del Centenario) . . .- 375 (,Dog (Painting in the Casa di Adone) j Egyptian Landscape (Painting in a House in Region IX. Insula V.) . . . 376 Egyptian Landscape (Painting in a House in Region IX. Insula V.) . . . 376 Parody of the Judgment of Solomon . 377 Parody of the Story of Jonah . . . 377 Egyptian Landscape (Painting in the Casa di Apollo) 377 Harbour (Painting in the Casa della Piccola Fontana) .... 378 Foreign Landscape (Painting in the Casa del Centenario) 378 Mosaics in the Villa of Diomedes . 380, 383 Mosaic oi the Battle of Arbela . . . 381 A Mosaic (after Mazois) .... 381 Mosaic Portrait (Naples Museum) . . 38a Mosaic in the Prothyrum of the House of the Tragic Poet .... 382 Mosaic Frieze of the Battle of A rbela . 383 The Doryphorus of Polycletus . . . 387 Bacchus (Bronze Statue) .... 388 Lycian Apollo (Marble Statue) . . 388 Dancing Faun (Bronze Statuette) . . 389 Bronze Head 389 Bronze Statuette of Silenus drunk . . 390 Bronze Animals 390 Satyr with the Wine-skin . . . 391 Bronze Group of Hercules and the Doe 391 Bronze Statuette of Bacchus and Ampelus 392 Bronze Statuette of Apollo in the revived Archaic Style 39a Polychrome Marble Statue of Diana in the revived Archaic Style . . 393 Statue of Venus in Polychrome Marble . 394 Bronze Lamp-holder .... 395 Marble Table 396 Bronze Cupid 396 Marble Bust of a Pompeian Woman . 396 XVI TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS PACK The Feet of the Cartibulum of Cornelius Rufus 397 Bronze Putto (Torch-bearer) . . . 397 Marble Busts of Pompeian Women . 397 Marble Foot of a Table (Monopodium) . 398 Marble Statue of Octavia, Priestess of Augustus 398 Marble Statue of Holconius Rufus . . 399 Marble Bust of Cornelius Rufus . . 399 Terracotta Statue of a Child ... 400 Ephebus wearing the Himation . 401 Terra cotta Statue of a Greek Philo- sopher 40' Telamon supporting a Table . . . 40* Terracotta Lamp coated with a Metallic Glaze, Lucema bylichnis . . 402 Bas-relief of Terracotta (Region VI. Insula XV.) 402 Gargoyle of a Gutter, Terracotta . . 40a Polychrome Stucco-work .... 404 Stucco-work in the Apodyterium of the Baths of the Forum .... 405 Stucco Figure in the Naples Museum . 406 Stucco Group in the Megarum of the Temple of Isis 406 Alexandrian Head 4°^ r.\«.« Drinkingcup, Scyphus (Naples Museum) 408 Silver Cantharus M*9 Silver Drinkingcup, Cantharus . . 409 Silver Drinkingcup, Modiolus . . 409 Cast of a Body from the Countr>- Villa at Bosco Reale 4»o Vessel for pouring out Wine, Lagona . 410 Drinkingcup, Scyphus .... 410 Silver Bowl, with relief representing the City of Alexandria . • 4ti Bronze Lamp-holder, Lychnuchus . . 41a Bronze Door-knocker with Silver Eyes . 412 Bronze Candelabrum . . . .413 Bronze Lamp 4*3 Bronze Handle of a Vessel. Hyperborean Apollo 4»3 Bronze Vase, Bronze Crater, Bronze Lamp 414 Gold Brooch found on one of the Skele- tons in the Villa of Diomedes . • 4'5 Glass-ware 4^6,417 Gold Jewellery found on the Skeletons in the Villa of Diomedes . 416 Drinking-glasses 4*^ Phoenician Glass Alabastruni . . . 417 Vase of Blue and White Glass . . 417 v' .1 PART I DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS mmt »: I Pompei from the Gale of Stabiae CAMPANIA— ITS CLIMATE AND ITS CHARM— OPINIONS OF ANCIENT WRITERS THE Campania of ancient times is the Campania of to-day : a land bathed in sunlight, where the drowsy line of the mountains enfolds the horizon with delicate curves, and where the snowy peaks of winter blend into the harmony of the opalescent distance ; a land where the pure atmosphere and the breath of the warm air hover caressingly over the fields, the green champaign land, and the golden or sombre trees ; and where Nature is vocal with the song of birds of passage, blending into the plaintive murmur of waves or the deep-toned roll of breakers on the neighbouring beach. All is unchanged save the mountain to the north, gloomy now where it once was green and smiling. From its crest rises a long trail of smoke ; for this is the force that suddenly laid waste the land with fire and water. But Nature reasserted her rights ; fields, trees, and meadows appeared again, and covered the desert, and from the bed of ashes that lay on the land like a shroud — from death itself — a new life has risen. This enchanting land has been sung by ancient writers in lines that are often all too brief. The poets of the age of fable say that it was • . t i — f-- — ^1 4 POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART originally inhabited by anthropophagi, and that Sirens dwelt on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea — among them Circe the enchantress, Scylla and Charybdis, the most cruel of their brood ; fantastic symbols of the reefs and storms and whirlpools that brought death to travellers in face of the fair shores they had hardly seen. Volcanic countries have always given birth to gloomy myths. Diodorus Siculus says that the people of this region were so strong that they were looked upon as Titans, sons of the Earth. In ancient times the Bay of Naples was called the Bay of the Crater, and was the centre of the Campi PhUgrai of the Vesuvian region. Perhaps the gulf itself is an immense volcano that the sea has invaded and covered, and Vesuvius, Epomeo in Ischia, and the many craters near Pozzuoli, may be only so many cones of eruption. Pompei is a city of very ancient lineage. Strabo says that the Pelas- gians and Oscans, who possessed Pompei and Herculaneum. ascribed the foundation of the sister cities to Hercules. We know that at the time of the foundation of Cumae and Parthenope the Greeks had other settle- ments on the coast of Magna Graicia, where they introduced their taste for art and commerce. Later on the Etruscans took possession of the Campi Phlegrici, and the cities of Campania, of which Capua was the capital, formed a federation. The Campanians, enervated by their life of pleasure and luxury, fell under the yoke of the Samnites, who in their turn were overcome by the Romans ; for from 3 1 5 to 290 B.C. Rome was at war with the Samnites of Campania, who finally submitted to her rule in 270. It was shortly after the Social War, in the year 80 B.C., that Sulla reduced Pompei to a 7mlitary colony, under the name Colonia Veneria Cornelia. The conquerors lived outside the town, in the suburb which was known later on as the Pagus Augustus Felix. Even under Roman domination, however, the Campanian cities long remained municipia, or free boroughs, and administered their own affairs. Under Nero there was a considerable increase in the population, and, following the example of Rome, the city DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS 5 had its duumvirs and decurions. Pompei had become a Roman colony. The port of Pompei, the entrepot of all the country round, was formed by the mouth of the Sarnus, navigable in ancient times. It could receive a fleet, and Publius Cornelius lay at anchor there. On the shore were the Pompeian Marshes mentioned by Columella, and the Salt-Rocks of Hercules were situated near the rock called Hercules' Shoulder, which now bears the* name oi Isoletta di Rivigliano, and can be distinctly seen from Pompei. Many great men lived at Pompei. Augustus came here to visit Cicero, who had such a charming villa that he declared " Tusculum et Pompeianum valde ?ne delectant." It was here the orator wrote his essay De Officiis, and in his praises of Campania, and the Campanian towns, so wealthy, well-built, and beautiful, that their citizens could afford to laugh at the pcor cities of Latium, he mentions Pompei. Phaedrus, the writer of fables, took refuge in Pompei to escape the persecution of Sejanus and Tiberius. Claudius had a country-house in the neighbourhood, and Suetonius relates that one of the Emperor's sons died there, choked by a pear that he had thrown in the air and caught in his mouth. Statius wrote that " all things conspire to make life pleasant in this land, where the summers are cool and the winters warm, and where the sea dies away gently as it kisses the shore." Florus also declares it to be not only the loveliest spot in Italy, but in the world, and Seneca recalls the pleasant memory of his stay at Pompei, which was famed among the Romans for its "roses, its wines, and its pleasures." The city itself, situated about five miles from the crater of Vesuvius, was built on a rock of ancient lava, the terraces of which commanded a wide view of the valley of the Sarnus and of the mountains of Stabiai, washed by those waters in which Capri rears its giant head on the horizon of the bay. ^£^^^r f S i ]|! I II THE FIRST EARTHQUAKE OF THE YEAR 63-THE REBUILDING OF THE TOWN POMPEI, which both Tacitus and Seneca describe as ••famous," though it had played no great part in history, had reached the height of its prosperity. Men went there to find quiet and leisure for their studies, far from the strife and turmoil of public life, and many, a A Man (Museum of Pompei) delicately modelled knees and ankles. By her side were only an amber Cupid and a mirror. Her beauty was doubtless the greatest of her possessions. i8 POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART u I The dog reproduced here was fastened by a chain to his collar, so that he could not escape. He was the watch-dog of the House of Orpheus, Skeletons of prisoners were taken from the prison near the Forum, with their leg-bones in iron shackles. It has been stated by many authorities that only one soldier has been found. He was discovered near the so-called Gate of Her- culaneum, the boundary of the Pagus Augustus Felix, which has not yet been excavated. The skull and helmet of this The Dogof Pompei rNFuseum of Pompeit soldier have been preserved. They are among the few martial relics that have been discovered, other than the weapons of gladiators, of whom there were large numbers at Pompei. In spite of the tragedy of these "old unhappy far-off things," the memory of these death-agonies, and of this cutting off of young life, the remoteness of the catastrophe and the interest of the disinterred city enable the mind to fall wholly under the spell of history, and we carry inhumanity so far as to feel no regret for a disaster which has preserved this amazing record of Graeco- Roman antiquity, a chronicle more vivid than that of any pen. With- out Vesuvius, what would have been the fate of these streets, these houses and temples, this lifelike painting and delicate sculpture .> Wars and the course of civilisation would have inevitably a Mirror. N«pi,«Mu,e«m) destroyed the treasure that remains for our delight, leaving but a vague memory to posterity. When the storm from the mountain had spent itself, the survivors came back to the place where their homes had stood, the cradle of their childhood. They had no longer a city ; all had disappeared, and the sea 1^ SBESi DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS t9 had ebbed five furlongs,* owing to the upheaval of the soil. The upper storeys of some houses that were still standing above the drift of ashes must have served to guide the Pompeians in their search, for it is certain that they returned to their old homes, to take away the valuables they had left The very paintings were cut from the walls, and in modern excavations it is not unusual to find a decorative panel with its principal motive gone ; the wall has crumbled in the blank space, leaving only some clamps of rusted iron intact. The Pompeians must have entered their houses, or the houses of their neighbours, by the upper storeys, which were on a level with the ground, owing to the raising of the soil. Breaches were made in the walls to give access from one room to another, for the doors, passages, and porticoes were blocked by pumice stones. Those rooms which were only partially buried were, con- sequently, stripped of their valuables ; statues were removed, marble facings were cut away, furniture and pavements dis- appeared. It is also supposed that Alexander Severus had a large quantity of marbles, columns, and statues of very fine workmanship dug out of the city at a later date. In the course of our modern excavations, skeletons have been found standing nearly upright, and one of them, who had a hatchet in his hand, must have died in the act of breaking a hole in the wall. It is supposed that the mephitic vapours suffocated them, and that they were buried by falling masonry. t In the entrance to the house of Popidius Priscus, which had been searched in ancient times, • Ruggiero, one of the directors of the excavations, sunk wells in the district in 1879, in the process of rectifying the course of the Sarnus, and came to the conclusion that this old shore was about five furlongs from Pompei (one mile now), and that the sea had made an inlet in the coast near Pompei, where the original mouth of the Sarnus was. (See Pompei e la Rcgione sotterrata dal Vesuvio, Naples, 1879.) t Even in our own time poisonous gases rise from cellars and sewers that have been blocked up. Skull and Helmet of a Soldier (Naples Museum) ^i^Wjt:UL •■^i'l M '-umm 20 POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS 2t h the following inscription* is scratched with a pointed instrument : AOYMMOC IlEPTOYCA, which means "a house emptied or searched." Not long after the disaster there were projects for rebuilding the town. Suetonius writes that " the reign of Titus was marked by great and unfore- seen calamities, the eruption of Vesuvius in Campania, and at Rome a fire that lasted three days and nights, and a plague that laid waste the town. The Emperor acted with royal energy, and showed a father's care for his people in their misfortunes, encouraging them by his edicts and helping them with his bounties. Consulars were chosen by lot, and charged to repair the destruction of Campania ; and the property of those who had perished without heirs, in the eruption of Vesuvius, was employed in rebuilding the ruined cities." Many writers have gone so far as to say that Pompei was excavated and re-inhabited after the eruption. But this is a purely imaginary hypothesis, and no coins later than the reign of Titus, or the year 79, have been found hitherto. A new city, however, must have been built at the foot of Vesuvius, and Fiorelli describes its situation in his Giomaie dei Scavi. It must have stood where Bosco Reale and Bosco tre Case now stand, on a site where many discoveries were made in the excavations of about the year i86i.t Pompei was used as a quarry, and its stones were taken to build the new city, which was still in existence in 471, when a fresh eruption finally destroyed it.J The city of Pompei was, in fact, rebuilt several times. There was the original city founded in the sixth century by the Oscans, and completed by the Samnites and the Greeks ; § the second city, partially restored by the Romans, mainly after the earthquake of the year 63 ; and a third city, the position of which was slightly changed. It was probably built rather farther to the north. The persistence of people in returning to • The characters of this inscription appear to be those of the third century. (Beultf.) t See Beul6. \ A map made at Constantinople at the end of the fourth century gives Pompei. § Fiorelli, Descrizione di Pompei. Napoli, 1875. their former abode, in spite of its dangers, is not surprising, for careless- ness of life and forgetfulness of the past, a pleasant climate and love of a country, have always proved more persuasive than reason. It is the same to-day, and Vesuvius is still the centre of populous towns and new villas. Torre del Greco has been at the mercy of every eruption, and was eleven times destroyed ; yet people live there, and seem to find a pleasure in their life. Pompei was finally abandoned by the ancients as not worth dis- interring, and lay for many centuries buried, while grass, corn, vines, pines and orange-trees clothed this land of fire with verdure, and added their brilliant chords of colour to the sunlit harmony of the landscape. The aloe and the cactus took firm hold of the new soil, and life unfolded itself at every turn. The careless shepherds brought their flocks to crop the fresh herbage there ; now the herdsman's song rises from the pastures, and in the evening, one seems to hear the plaintive murmur of the manes of Pompei. I ^f%. Ld.i I iiiiit- I rm immr •» '~::^. DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS «3 I' Ij THE "CIVITA "-RECENT EXCAVATIONS AND THOSE NOW IN PROGRESS THE very name of Pompei was more or less forgotten in time, and rarely mentioned save by scholars ; the country people alone remembered it, and called the old site of the city the Ctzn/d. It would be difficult to say how much remained of the buildings which emerged from the bed of ashes. The destruction must have been far less complete than one would have imagined, for the lapilli that filled the town naturally strengthened the walls and consolidated their foundations, and the highest points of several buildings must have stood for a long time above the new soil ; indeed, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Sannazar says that it was possible to see the towers, houses, and temples standing almost intact. This is, perhaps, an exaggeration ; but, after making all due allowance for the writer's imagination, it is certain that the highest points of the theatres, arches, towers, and amphitheatre must have stood several courses above the level of the soil. The general public was long so indifferent to archaeology, that these ruins attracted no notice for centuries, even when the architect Fontana dug an aqueduct in 1592 to carry the water of the Sarnus to Torre Annunziata, and in so doing crossed the city of Pompei at its widest part, from the amphitheatre to the temple of Apollo. He demolished and pierced several walls, and even found an inscription containing the words Fenus Pompeiana, but all the cuttings were filled up, and none cared to pursue an apparently futile investigation. After the lapse of another century, Giuseppe Macrini examined the Civita in 1693, but though he made some discoveries, he left things very much as he had found them. In 1738, King Charles III., encouraged by the excavations that had been begun at Herculaneum in 17 11, determined to continue the interrupted work at Resina, and also to excavate the Civita itself A journal, printed in Spanish, and called the Cava de la Civita, reported the progress of the works, but it was generally supposed that the city that was being excavated was Stabiae. The object of the works was not to remove the Bronze Seals (Naples Museum) ashes, but to find works of art for the palaces and antiquarian collections of the great nobles of the day. Hence the confusion and lack of method in the excavations can easily be imagined. Houses were looted and buried again, after they had been much damaged in the process, and walls were broken down to obtain curious pictures, or were ruined by the rough handling of the workmen, who at that time were convicts. In 1748, some peasants who were digging a ditch struck some hard substance with their spades, and discovered articles of all kinds, and some fine statues, a tripod, and a Priapus in bronze. Again, about the year 1755, the House of Julia Felix * was discovered, despoiled of its many art treasures, and buried again. Finally, in 1763, an inscription was found on a travertine pedestal, to the effect that T. S. Climens had restored to the " Municipium of the Pompeians " the lands encroached upon by * Generally speaking, the names given tc the houses discovered are taken from the seals or from the works of art found there, or they are named after visitors to Pompei. The House of Julia Felix is not marked in our map of Pompei. It has been covered up again, and is situated not far from the amphitheatre. m i «4 POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS 25 private persons. This inscription, found so close to others already discovered, confirmed the impression that the buried city was Pompei. In 1764 an Italian paper appeared with an account of the new discoveries. Everything went on as usual, until the simple idea of in- troducing some order into the excavations began to gain ground, when it was at last understood that an entire city lay buried. General Championnet, who occupied Naples in 1799, took a great interest in Pompei, and two houses are named after him. In 18 1 2 and 1813, Queen Caroline continued the excavations, and visited the works in person. It was about this time that the French architect Mazois, who was much interested in Pompei, did his best to bring the city into prominence by his work. He noted, drew, and measured all that had been discovered there, and in 1822 he published in France, under royal patronage, a monumental book, full of plates, which is still a standard work. But though the works were better managed, they were not carried on altogether methodically : for example, if a house seemed to promise no new discoveries, it was left, and another was taken at hazard and investigated. It was not until i860 that the ashes and rubbish were entirely cleared away from the houses that had been already searched and abandoned ; Fiorelli, the director of the works, spent several years on this task. He threw open Pompei to visitors, who were allowed to admire the views of the city and to walk through the streets as freely as did the original citizens of Pompei. The old beams were replaced by new ones, and the grass regulariy weeded from the cracks of the paving-stones by a gang of workmen, to prevent the streets from being overrun with moss and weeds. A turnstile, where a charge is made for entrance, is placed at the entrance of the ruins, and the receipts partially defray the cost of the excavations, which will probably last for many years, for at least one-third of the city is still buried. Although the excavations now in progress have resulted in many discoveries- for example, that of the House of the Vettii, and the I supposed Temple of Venus — they can add very little to what we know already. But there is always the interest of the works themselves, the curious pleasure of seeing the relics of ancient life disengaged from the earth, of handling their beautiful and delicate forms, of studying at first hand the refinement of a civilisation it is only possible to realise here, in its actual setting. During the excavations in the House of the Vettii, when the ashes were being removed from the atrium^ a strong-box, very much damaged, was found near the prothyrum. The box itself, which was principally made of wood, fell into dust, and the ironwork and the copper ornaments lay in a heap with the small pumice-stones that had amalgamated with the metals, producing the most charming shades of green and red. When, however, the spot was examined, in the hope of discovering valuables, it was discovered that the coffer was empty. The Pompeians had taken every, thing away, and not a sestertius was left. A few years ago, everything of value and all the most interesting paintings were taken from Pompei to the Naples Museum. This, though it has destroyed some of the interest of the houses, has ensured the preservation of a great deal of the decorative art of the city. We can admire it at Naples, but how captivating it would have been to see it in its proper setting, just as the people of Pompei had left it ! Now, however, houses with decorations are roofed over to protect them from sun and rain, and some of the paintings are covered with glass. Marble furniture and bronze statuettes are left where they were found, and on entering some of these houses the impression of reality is so strong that one instinctively looks round for the master of the house, Pansa or Vettius, to apologise for appearing unannounced. Pompei is a city that gains in interest as we know it better. The houses, the cool alleys, and the many byways that are almost unknown, and that the ordinary traveller never sees, grow familiar. To many people a visit to Pompei is but a change of scene; they only realise /i TBCP'SS^ I if \i\ 7 a« POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART the superficial aspect of the city ; the intimate charm of Pompei remains unknown to them. The city contains no great and almost royal palaces like those in Rome, but in this lies its peculiar charm. Here you see the normal and natural life of the ancient world, and identify yourself with the men of Pompei as you see them in their busts and portraits ; you feel the grace and coquetry of the women painted on the walls ; you understand and pardon the faults of their age. and acquire a taste for their graceful and frivolous art. You become sufficiently pagan to sympathise with their seductive civilisation ; you look into the soul of the city and .see that in the ancient world art made life, and that the love of beauty was almost a religion; you realise that the ''genre pompier" was an invention of the seventeenth century. VI THE PLAN OF AN ANCIENT CITY— THE CITY GATES— THE WALLS AND TOWERS— AN EXCURSION ROUND POMPEI BEFORE making a closer study of Pompei, it is perhaps necessary to give some account of the plan of the city.* M. Boissier, to whose learned work we shall often have to refer, tells us that the original inhabitants of the country, before founding a town, had the city wall first marked out, and then drew two straight lines between its extreme points : the first, called the Cardo, running from north to south ; and the other, called the Decunianus, running from east to west. These were the two main streets, from which the other side-streets branched out. Each "island " (insu/a) surrounded by streets was divided at will into various houses. The two drawings here reproduced give a portion of the raised plan of Pompei in the museum at Naples, and show the arrangement of the t» o theatres, and the appearance of several insula near the Street of Mercury. The chief divisions marked out by the first inhabitants of Pompei are still in existence, for the main lines of the city have not changed. When the population increased, parts of the gardens surrounding the houses, forming what was called the haredium, cultivated by the household, were absorbed. Of the nine districts of Pompei, three have been completely excavated and three partially so ; the rest are as yet untouched. t In order to form * Boissier, Promenades arch/ologiques, f The city is an irregular oval in shape, extending from east to west, and its fortifications extend for 2843 yards round the city. mummmamm ft POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART J* some idea of the extent of the city and its general appearance, we will examine Pompei from the outside, and so get a better view of the walls, View of the Theatres and the neighbouring Buildings (from the raised map in the Naples Museum) towers and gates, and some of the finest sites of the town. There were at least eight gates in the walls, corresponding to as many main roads, leading generally to small towns in the neigh- bourhood, and called after their names. They were : the Gate of the Seashore {Porta Afartna), and the Gates of Stabiae, Nuceria, Sarnus, Nola» Capua, Vesuvius, and Hercu- laneum. Only the Gate of the Seashore and the Gates of Nola and Herculaneum are entirely excavated. The Gate of the Seashore, now approached by a path cut through the ashes, and shaded by acacias, takes its name from the neighbouring sea, The Street of Mercury and some InsiiK-e (from the raised map in the Naples Museum) io POMPEI: THE CITY, ITS LIFE AND ART DESTRUCTION OF POMPEI AND THE EXCAVATIONS 3» il II i and was probably placed under the regis of Minerva, whose statue in terra- cotta once stood in a niche by the entrance, where a golden votive lamp used to bum. This gate has only one entrance, a long archway, the floor of which is partly paved and rises to a considerable height above the soil, .1 ^. The Gate of the Seashore ( /'