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Public buildings
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Public buildings in Pompeii include baths, basilicas, temples, fora, theatres, sports
grounds (palaestrae) and the amphitheatre.
Few public buildings have been uncovered in Herculaneum, as the city’s forum has not
yet been found. It is somewhere beneath the modern Italian town of Ercolano. The main
building found so far is the theatre.
The forum
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The forum was the public square where most of the buildings related to law,
government, religion and commerce were located.
Pompeii’s main forum (the Civic Forum) was rectangular, and measured 150 metres by
40 metres. It contained 40 statues of leading figures, including the imperial family.
Adjoining the forum were four temples (those of Jupiter, Apollo, the Lares and the
Genius of Augustus), the Basilica, the Curia, the market and the Eumachia building.
Pompeii’s other forum, the Triangular Forum, is much smaller and older than the Civil
Forum.
The Curia
 The curia was the building where the town Council met.
 We do not know for sure where this was in Pompeii, but archaeologists believe it was
the building on the southwest side of the forum.
 There were gates at the entranceway to the curia, to ensure that crowds could not
break in while meetings were taking place.
 Herculaneum’s curia has not yet been discovered.
Tabularium
 The tabularium was where government records were kept.
 In Pompeii, this was next to the curia.
The basilica
 The basilica was the building that housed the law courts.
 Pompeii’s basilica was at the southwestern end of the forum. It was an imposing
structure, with columns eleven metres tall.
 Herculaneum’s basilica has not yet been properly identified.
Temples
 Unlike modern-day churches or mosques, Roman temples were not places of worship.
Instead, they were regarded as homes of the gods – places where the deities’ statues
resided.
 Pompeii’s main temples were located around the forum. The two most important were
those dedicated to Apollo and Jupiter.
 The Temple of Apollo was the oldest temple in Pompeii, and commanded the most
prominent location in the forum.
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The Temple of the Capitoline Triad (also known as the Temple of Jupiter) was at the
northern end of the forum, and was dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the three
gods which protected the Roman state. They are often referred to as the ‘triad’.
Lares were the spirits which protected the family home. Each Roman house had a shrine
to the lares. The city of Pompeii had one too – the Temple of the Lares. It was on the
eastern side of the forum.
The final temple was the Temple of the Genius of Augustus (also called the Temple of
Vespasian). Augustus was Rome’s first emperor. (Vespasian was the emperor in the
decade leading up to the destruction of Pompeii.)
Other temples in Pompeii included the Temple of Fortuna Augusta, the Temple of
Venus, the Temple of Asclepius and the Temple of Isis.
Theatres
 Pompeii had two theatres, both dug into the hillside. The larger was open-air, and could
hold 5,000 people. It was used for drama, comedy and pantomimes. The smaller theatre
(the Odeon) could hold about 1,500 people. It could be covered in winter, and was used
for concerts, lectures and poetry readings.
 One theatre has been excavated in Herculaneum, but it is still underground. It was a
free-standing building, and could hold about 2,500 people.
 In all three theatres, dignitaries sat at the front, and women at the back.
 All performances were sponsored by wealthy citizens. Patrons would purchase tickets
(tokens) and distribute them to their clients. Hence, performances were free for most of
the audience.
The Palaestra
 The palaestra was an open area, where people could exercise and practise sports like
running, discus throwing, wrestling and swimming.
 Pompeii and Herculaneum both had large palaestrae. Pompeii’s was 140 metres by 130
metres, and was next to the amphitheatre. Pompeii also had a smaller palaestra in the
theatre district.
 In addition, every bath house had a small palaestra.
The amphitheatre
 Pompeii’s amphitheatre was built around 70 BC, and could hold 20,000 people. It had
multiple entranceways, an awning to shade the spectators on hot days, and pipes to
spray perfumed water on the spectators, to hide the smell of animal faeces and blood.
Unlike other amphitheatres in the empire, it had no complex beneath the arena.
Surprisingly, it also had no toilets; these were outside the complex.
 Gladiatorial contests were not the only activities taking place in the amphitheatre.
Other ‘games’ (munera) included theatrical productions, wild beast hunts (where
carnivores hunted other animals, or where men hunted carnivores), boxing matches,
wrestling and acrobatic performances. These were all put on at the expense of local
politicians, as a way of garnering votes.
 We do not know if Herculaneum had an amphitheatre, as most of city has not yet been
excavated.