Download HSC Unit 1: Pompeii and Herculaneum

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
link to collectors pompeii podcast
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
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.
Related object
Statue of lion eating fallen prey
DETAILS
Related object
Medallion with couple
DETAILS
© MUSEUM VICTORIA







Privacy
Rights
Disclaimer
Conditions
E-News
Employment
Contact Us
Bookings & Enquiries 13 11 02
MELBOURNE MUSEUM Nicholson Street, Carlton Gardens, Victoria, Australia
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.
Related object
Venus, Roman goddess of love and beauty
DETAILS
Related object
Pair of earrings
DETAILS
© MUSEUM VICTORIA







Privacy
Rights
Disclaimer
Conditions
E-News
Employment
Contact Us
Bookings & Enquiries 13 11 02
MELBOURNE MUSEUM Nicholson Street, Carlton Gardens, Victoria, Australia
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.