1.
Pompeii
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Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples, in the Campania region of Italy, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m of volcanic ash. Researchers believe that the town was founded in the seventh or sixth century BC by the Osci or Oscans. It came under the domination of Rome in the 4th century BC, by the time of its destruction,160 years later, its population was estimated at 11,000 people, and the city had a complex water system, an amphitheatre, gymnasium, and a port. The eruption destroyed the city, killing its inhabitants and burying it under tons of ash, the site was lost for about 1,500 years until its initial rediscovery in 1599 and broader rediscovery almost 150 years later by Spanish engineer Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre in 1748. The objects that lay beneath the city have been preserved for centuries because of the lack of air and these artefacts provide an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city during the Pax Romana. During the excavation, plaster was used to fill in the voids in the ash layers that once held human bodies and this allowed archaeologists to see the exact position the person was in when he or she died. Pompeii has been a tourist destination for over 250 years, today it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors every year. Pompeii in Latin is a second declension plural, the ruins of Pompeii are located near the modern suburban town of Pompei. It stands on a formed by a lava flow to the north of the mouth of the Sarno River. Today it is some distance inland, but in ancient times was nearer to the coast, Pompeii is about 8 km away from Mount Vesuvius. It covered a total of 64 to 67 hectares and was home to approximately 11,000 to 11,500 people on the basis of household counts and it was a major city in the region of Campania. Three sheets of sediment have been found on top of the lava that lies below the city and, mixed in with the sediment, archaeologists have found bits of bone, pottery shards. Carbon dating has placed the oldest of these layers from the 8th–6th centuries BC, the other two strata are separated either by well-developed soil layers or Roman pavement, and were laid in the 4th century BC and 2nd century BC. It is theorized that the layers of the sediment were created by large landslides. The town was founded around the 7th-6th century BC by the Osci or Oscans and it had already been used as a safe port by Greek and Phoenician sailors. According to Strabo, Pompeii was also captured by the Etruscans, and in recent excavations have shown the presence of Etruscan inscriptions. Pompeii was captured for the first time by the Greek colony of Cumae, allied with Syracuse, in the 5th century BC, the Samnites conquered it, the new rulers imposed their architecture and enlarged the town
2.
Campania
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Campania is a region in Southern Italy. Located on the Italian Peninsula, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it includes the small Phlegraean Islands, Campania was colonised by Ancient Greeks and was part of Magna Græcia. During the Roman era, the area maintained a Greco-Roman culture, the capital city of Campania is Naples. Campania is rich in culture, especially in regard to gastronomy, music, architecture, archeological and ancient sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum and Velia. The name of Campania itself is derived from Latin, as the Romans knew the region as Campania felix, the rich natural sights of Campania make it highly important in the tourism industry, especially along the Amalfi Coast, Mount Vesuvius and the island of Capri. During the 8th century BC, people from Euboea in Greece, known as Cumaeans, another Oscan tribe, the Samnites, moved down from central Italy into Campania. The Roman consul Quintus Publilius Filo recaptured Neapolis by 326 BC, the Second Samnite War ended with the Romans controlling southern Campania and additional regions further to the south. Campania was a part of the Roman Republic by the end of the 4th century BC, valued for its pastures. Its Greek language and customs made it a centre of Hellenistic civilization, during the Pyrrhic War the battle took place in Campania at Maleventum in which the Romans, led by consul Curius Dentatus, were victorious. They renamed the city Beneventum, which grew in stature until it was only to Capua in southern Italy. During the Second Punic War in 216 BC, Capua, in a bid for equality with Rome, the rebellious Capuans were isolated from the rest of Campania, which remained allies of Rome. Naples resisted Hannibal due to the imposing walls, Capua was eventually starved into submission in the Roman retaking of 211 BC, and the Romans were victorious. The rest of Campania, with the exception of Naples, adopted the Latin language as official and was Romanised. As part of the Roman Empire, Campania, with Latium, Roman Emperors chose Campania as a holiday destination, among them Claudius and Tiberius, the latter of whom is infamously linked to the island of Capri. It was also during this period that Christianity came to Campania, Two of the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul, are said to have preached in the city of Naples, and there were also several martyrs during this time. Unfortunately, the period of calm was violently interrupted by the epic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 which buried the cities of Pompeii. The area had many duchies and principalities during the Middle Ages, in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, under the Normans, the smaller independent states were brought together as part of the Kingdom of Sicily, before the mainland broke away to form the Kingdom of Naples. It was during this period elements of Spanish, French
3.
Mount Vesuvius
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Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc, Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, more than 1,000 people died in the eruption, but exact numbers are unknown. The only surviving account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Vesuvius has a historic and literary tradition. An inscription from Capua to IOVI VESVVIO indicates that he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter and it was inhabited by bandits, the sons of the Earth, who were giants. With the assistance of the gods he pacified the region and went on, the facts behind the tradition, if any, remain unknown, as does whether Herculaneum was named after it. An epigram by the poet Martial in 88 AD suggests that both Venus, patroness of Pompeii, and Hercules were worshipped in the devastated by the eruption of 79. Mount Vesuvius was regarded by the Romans as being devoted to the hero, Vesuvius was a name of the volcano in frequent use by the authors of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. Its collateral forms were Vesaevus, Vesevus, Vesbius and Vesvius, writers in ancient Greek used Οὐεσούιον or Οὐεσούιος. Many scholars since then have offered an etymology, as peoples of varying ethnicity and language occupied Campania in the Roman Iron Age, the etymology depends to a large degree on the presumption of what language was spoken there at the time. Naples was settled by Greeks, as the name Nea-polis, New City, the Oscans, a native Italic people, lived in the countryside. The Latins also competed for the occupation of Campania, etruscan settlements were in the vicinity. Other peoples of unknown provenance are said to have been there at some time by various ancient authors. Some theories about its origin are, From Greek οὔ = not prefixed to a root from or related to the Greek word σβέννυμι = I quench, from Greek ἕω = I hurl and βίη violence, hurling violence, *vesbia, taking advantage of the collateral form. From an Indo-European root, *eus- < *ewes- < *wes-, shine sense the one who lightens, the Gran Cono was produced during the A. D.79 eruption. For this reason, the volcano is also called Somma-Vesuvius or Somma-Vesuvio, the caldera started forming during an eruption around 17,000 years ago and was enlarged by later paroxysmal eruptions, ending in the one of AD79
4.
Herculaneum
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Located in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in 79 AD. Its ruins are located in the commune of Ercolano, Campania and it had been thought until then that the town had been evacuated by the inhabitants. Herculaneum was a town than Pompeii, possessing an extraordinary density of fine houses with, for example. Ancient tradition connected Herculaneum with the name of the Greek hero Herakles, in fact, it seems that some forefathers of the Samnite tribes of the Italian mainland founded the first civilization on the site of Herculaneum at the end of the 6th century BC. Soon after, the town came under Greek control and was used as a trading post because of its proximity to the Gulf of Naples, the Greeks named the city Ἡράκλειον, Heraklion. In the 4th century BC, Herculaneum again came under the domination of the Samnites. The city remained under Samnite control until it became a Roman municipium in 89 BC, when, having participated in the Social War, it was defeated by Titus Didius, a legate of Sulla. After the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the town of Herculaneum was buried under approximately 20 metres of ash, excavations continued sporadically up to the present and today many streets and buildings are visible, although over 75% of the town remains buried. Today, the Italian towns of Ercolano and Portici lie on the site of Herculaneum. Until 1969 the town of Ercolano was called Resina and it changed its name to Ercolano, the Italian modernization of the ancient name in honour of the old city. The inhabitants worshipped above all Hercules, who was believed to be the founder of both the town and Mount Vesuvius, Other important deities worshipped include Venus and Apollo. The catastrophic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius occurred on the afternoon of 24 August 79 AD, because Vesuvius had been dormant for approximately 800 years, it was no longer even recognized as a volcano. Based on archaeological excavations and on two letters of Pliny the Younger to the Roman historian Tacitus, the course of the eruption can be reconstructed, at around 1pm on 24 August, Vesuvius began spewing volcanic ash and stone thousands of meters into the sky. When it reached the tropopause, the top of the cloud flattened, the prevailing winds at the time blew toward the southeast, causing the volcanic material to fall primarily on the city of Pompeii and the surrounding area. Since Herculaneum lay to the west of Vesuvius, it was only affected by the first phase of the eruption. While roofs in Pompeii collapsed under the weight of falling debris, only a few centimetres of ash fell on Herculaneum, causing little damage, during the following night, the eruptive column which had risen into the stratosphere collapsed onto Vesuvius and its flanks. The first pyroclastic surge, formed by a mixture of ash and hot gases, a succession of six flows and surges buried the citys buildings, causing little damage in some areas and preserving structures, objects and victims almost intact. In 1709 the digging of a deep well revealed some exceptional statues at the lowest levels which was found to be the site of the theatre
5.
Thermae
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In ancient Rome, thermae and balneae were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private. Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were not only for bathing. Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses and they were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or more normally, by an aqueduct. The water would be heated by a log fire before being channelled into the hot bathing rooms, the design of baths is discussed by Vitruvius in De Architectura. Thermae, balneae, balineae, balneum and balineum may all be translated as bath or baths, thus Cicero terms the baths at the villa of his brother Quintus balnearia. Balneae and balineae, which according to Varro have no number, were the public baths. Pliny also, in the sentence, makes use of the neuter plural balnea for public. Writers, however, use these terms without distinction, thus the baths erected by Claudius Etruscus, the freedman of the Emperor Claudius, are styled by Statius balnea, and by Martial Etrusci thermulae. In an epigram by Martial—subice balneum thermis—the terms are not applied to the whole building, a public bath was built around three principal rooms, the caldarium, the tepidarium and the frigidarium. Some thermae also featured baths, the sudatorium, a moist steam bath, and the laconicum. By way of illustration, this article describe the layout of Pompeiis Forum Baths adjoining the forum. The references are to the floor plan pictured to the right, the whole building comprises a double set of baths, one for men and the other for women. It has six different entrances from the street, one of which gives admission to the womens set only. Five other entrances lead to the department, of which two, communicate directly with the furnaces, and the other three with the bathing apartments. These together formed the vestibule of the baths, in which the servants waited and this atrium was the exercise ground for the young men, or perhaps served as a promenade for visitors to the baths. Within this court the keeper of the baths, who exacted the quadrans paid by each visitor, was also stationed. In this court, advertisements for the theatre, or other announcements of general interest, were posted up, one of which, announcing a gladiatorial show, at the sides of the entrance were seats
6.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
7.
Apodyterium
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Privately owned slaves, or one hired at the baths, called a capsarius, would look after belongings while citizens enjoyed the pleasures of the baths. A contemporary Roman schoolbook quotes a wealthy young Roman schoolboy who entered the baths, leaving his slave behind in the apodyterium, Do not fall asleep and this was used in the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fagan, Garrett G. Bathing in Public in the Roman World
8.
Archaeologists
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Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites
9.
Tepidarium
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The tepidarium in the Roman thermae was the great central hall round which all the other halls were grouped, and which gave the key to the plans of the thermae. It was probably the hall where the bathers first assembled prior to passing through the hot baths or taking the cold bath. Caldarium Frigidarium This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
10.
Calidarium
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A caldarium was a room with a hot plunge bath, used in a Roman bath complex. This was a hot and steamy room heated by a hypocaust. This was the hottest room in the sequence of bathing rooms, after the caldarium. In the caldarium, there would be a bath of hot water sunk into the floor and there was even a laconicum—a hot. The baths patrons would use olive oil to cleanse themselves by applying it to their bodies and this was sometimes left on the floor for the slaves to pick up or put back in the pot for the women to use for their hair. The hot floor and water would have most likely been heated by fires which slaves underneath kept burning or from the hot air from outside. The temperature of the caldarium is not known exactly, however, since the Romans used sandals with wooden sole, the bather waited long enough for the perspiration to start, in order to guard against the danger of passing too suddenly into the high temperature of the next room. Tepidarium Frigidarium Thermae Greek and Roman baths at the Perseus Project
11.
Roman bath house
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In ancient Rome, thermae and balneae were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private. Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were not only for bathing. Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses and they were supplied with water from an adjacent river or stream, or more normally, by an aqueduct. The water would be heated by a log fire before being channelled into the hot bathing rooms, the design of baths is discussed by Vitruvius in De Architectura. Thermae, balneae, balineae, balneum and balineum may all be translated as bath or baths, thus Cicero terms the baths at the villa of his brother Quintus balnearia. Balneae and balineae, which according to Varro have no number, were the public baths. Pliny also, in the sentence, makes use of the neuter plural balnea for public. Writers, however, use these terms without distinction, thus the baths erected by Claudius Etruscus, the freedman of the Emperor Claudius, are styled by Statius balnea, and by Martial Etrusci thermulae. In an epigram by Martial—subice balneum thermis—the terms are not applied to the whole building, a public bath was built around three principal rooms, the caldarium, the tepidarium and the frigidarium. Some thermae also featured baths, the sudatorium, a moist steam bath, and the laconicum. By way of illustration, this article describe the layout of Pompeiis Forum Baths adjoining the forum. The references are to the floor plan pictured to the right, the whole building comprises a double set of baths, one for men and the other for women. It has six different entrances from the street, one of which gives admission to the womens set only. Five other entrances lead to the department, of which two, communicate directly with the furnaces, and the other three with the bathing apartments. These together formed the vestibule of the baths, in which the servants waited and this atrium was the exercise ground for the young men, or perhaps served as a promenade for visitors to the baths. Within this court the keeper of the baths, who exacted the quadrans paid by each visitor, was also stationed. In this court, advertisements for the theatre, or other announcements of general interest, were posted up, one of which, announcing a gladiatorial show, at the sides of the entrance were seats
12.
Roman culture
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The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, Life in ancient Rome revolved around the city of Rome, its famed seven hills, and its monumental architecture such as the Flavian Amphitheatre, Trajans Forum, and the Pantheon. The city also had theaters, gymnasia, and many taverns, baths. The vast majority of the lived in the city center. The city of Rome was the largest megalopolis of that time, with a population that may well have exceeded one million people, with a high end estimate of 3.6 million and a low end estimate of 450,000. The most urbanized part of the Empire was Italy, which had a rate of urbanization of 32%. Most Roman towns and cities had a forum, temples and the type of buildings, on a smaller scale. Italian farms supplied vegetables and fruits, but fish and meat were luxuries, aqueducts were built to bring water to urban centers and wine and oil were imported from Hispania, Gaul and Africa. There was a large amount of commerce between the provinces of the Roman Empire, since its transportation technology was very efficient. The average costs of transport and the technology were comparable with 18th-century Europe, the later city of Rome did not fill the space within its ancient Aurelian walls until after 1870. The majority of the population under the jurisdiction of ancient Rome lived in the countryside in settlements with less than 10 thousand inhabitants, landlords generally resided in cities and their estates were left in the care of farm managers. The plight of slaves was generally worse than their counterparts working in urban aristocratic households. To stimulate a higher labor productivity most landlords freed a number of slaves and many received wages. Rural poverty stimulated the migration of population to urban centers until the early 2nd century when the urban population stopped growing and started to decline. By the time of Augustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Roman young, chefs, decorators, secretaries, doctors, Greek sculptures adorned Hellenistic landscape gardening on the Palatine or in the villas, or were imitated in Roman sculpture yards by Greek slaves. The Roman cuisine preserved in the cookery books ascribed to Apicius is essentially Greek, Roman writers disdained Latin for a cultured Greek style. Only in law and governance was the Italic nature of Romes accretive culture supreme, against this human background, both the urban and rural setting, one of historys most influential civilizations took shape, leaving behind a cultural legacy that survives in part today. Slavery and slaves were part of the social order, the slaves were mostly prisoners of war
13.
Threesome
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In human sexuality, a threesome is sexual activity that involves three people at the same time. Threesome can also refer to a triangle, a three-way romantic relationship. A threesome is a form of sex, but involving only three people. Among swinging couples, one of the two partners is often the force and the other is more passive-supportive of the addition of additional sex parties. Some couples use a threesome as a way to develop a love triangle, a threesome is a common element of sexual fantasy. It is commonly depicted in pornography, but very rarely in mainstream cinema, the people involved in a threesome may have any combination of gender and sexual orientation. Each participant may engage in any type of sex act with one or both of the others, such as vaginal, anal or oral sex or mutual masturbation. One or more of the participants may engage in sexual activity, such as masturbation. It is a matter of definition whether participation of a third person without physical contact constitutes a threesome. This may relate to such as voyeurism or cuckolding. Lucky Pierre is slang for a person performing both receptive and insertive anal and/or vaginal sex simultaneously during a threesome, being positioned between the two partners. A heterosexual threesome may involve two men and a woman, or one man and two women - that is, two men having sex with a woman, or two women with a man. A bisexual threesome may involve a man having sex with a man and a woman, the woman having sex with a man, a homosexual threesome would involve either three men or three women. Other possibilities are possible, such as a man having sex with two women who are having sex with each other, therefore, safe sex practices are advisable. Threesome scenes are featured in films, including A Clockwork Orange, American Psycho
14.
Cunnilingus
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Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on a females genitalia. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the female genitalia. Like most forms of activity, oral sex can be a risk for contracting sexually transmitted infections. However, the risk for oral sex, especially HIV transmission, is significantly lower than for vaginal or anal sex. Oral sex is regarded as taboo, but most countries do not have laws which ban the practice. Commonly, heterosexual couples do not regard cunnilingus as affecting the virginity of either partner, people may also have negative feelings or sexual inhibitions about giving or receiving cunnilingus or may refuse to engage in it. The term cunnilingus is derived from the Neo-Latin words for the vulva, additionally, there are numerous slang terms for cunnilingus, including drinking from the furry cup, carpet munching, and muff-diving. A person who performs cunnilingus may be referred to as a cunnilinguist, general statistics indicate that 70-80% of women require direct clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm. Shere Hites research on female sexuality reports that, for most women. A person who performs cunnilingus on someone might be referred to as the partner. Separating the legs wide would also open the vulva sufficiently for the partner to orally reach the clitoris. Some sex manuals recommend beginning with a gentler, less focused stimulation of the labia, the tip, blade, or underside of the tongue may be used, and so might the nose, chin, teeth and lips. Movements can be slow or fast, regular or erratic, firm or soft, the tongue can be inserted into the vagina, either stiffened or moving. The performing partner may also hum to produce vibration, Cunnilingus may be accompanied by fingering the vagina or anus, or by the use of a sex toy, for penetration of the vagina, the aim may be to stimulate the G-spot area. Women may consider personal hygiene before practicing oral sex important, as poor hygiene can lead to bad odors, accumulation of sweat and micro-residue, some women remove or trim pubic hair, which may enhance their oral sex experience. Autocunnilingus, which is performed by a female on herself, may be possible, but an unusually high degree of flexibility is required. Face-sitting, the female sits on or above the partners face, in this position she has more control over her body movements and can guide her partner or auto-stimulate against the partners face. Missionary, the lies on her back, with her legs spread, pulled up to her chest
15.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
16.
Pompei
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Pompei is a city and comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, home of the ancient Roman ruins part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Modern Pompei was founded in 1891, after the building of the sanctuary and he is considered as the founder of Pompei. The town of Pompei is located at the borders of its province. It borders also with Torre Annunziata, Castellammare di Stabia, Boscoreale, Santa Maria la Carità, the city is mainly famous for the ruins of the ancient city of Pompeii, located in the zone of Pompei Scavi. The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, has become a site for Catholic pilgrimages in recent years and it houses a canvas by Luca Giordano. The ex-votos that cover the walls of the church are a testimonial of the miracles granted from Blessed Virgin Mary since the church was consecrated in 1891. Many churches, chapels, and shrines in the world are dedicated to Our Lady of Pompei, road, Pompei is served by the motorway A3 at the exits of Pompei-Scafati, Pompei Ovest and also Castellammare di Stabia. It is crossed by the national roads SS18 and SS145, railways, On the Naples-Salerno line, owned by FS, is situated the main railway station and a little stop named Pompei Scavi, closed in the 1970s. Onto two lines owned by the SFSM - Circumvesuviana, Pompei counts a total of 4 station, Pompei Santuario and Pompei Valle lies on the Torre Annunziata-Pompei-Poggiomarino line. Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri and Moregine lie on the Naples-Torre Annunziata-Castellammare-Sorrento line, the nearest airports are, Napoli-Capodichino 28 km Salerno-Pontecagnano 49 km Official website Pompei Tourism Info Official tour guides of Pompei Photo Gallery by Leonardo Bellotti
17.
Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79
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The 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius was one of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions in European history. Historians have learned about the eruption from the account of Pliny the Younger. It is the namesake for Vesuvian eruptions, several Roman settlements were obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits, the most well known being Pompeii and Herculaneum. The remains of about 1,500 people have found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The 79 AD eruption was preceded by a powerful earthquake seventeen years before on February 5,62 AD, which caused widespread destruction around the Bay of Naples, some of the damage had still not been repaired when the volcano erupted. Suetonius recorded that the emperor continued singing through the earthquake until he had finished his song, the Romans grew accustomed to minor earth tremors in the region, the writer Pliny the Younger wrote that they were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania. Small earthquakes started taking place on 20 August 79, becoming more frequent over the four days. Reconstructions of the eruption and its effects vary considerably in the details but have the same overall features, the eruption lasted for two days. Mount Vesuvius violently erupted, spewing up a column from which ash and pumice began to fall. Rescues and escapes occurred during this time, at some time in the night or early the next day, August 25, pyroclastic flows in the close vicinity of the volcano began. Lights seen on the mountain were interpreted as fires, people as far away as Misenum fled for their lives. These were accompanied by additional light tremors and a tsunami in the Bay of Naples. By evening of the day, the eruption was over. Pliny the Younger wrote an account of the eruption, Broad sheets of flame were lighting up many parts of Vesuvius, their light, two pyroclastic surges engulfed Pompeii, burning and asphyxiating the stragglers who had remained behind. Oplontis and Herculaneum received the brunt of the surges and were buried in ash, pumice, lava fragments. In an article published in 2002, Sigurdsson and Casey elaborate on the evidence based on excavations. Subsequently, the cloud collapsed as the gases densified and lost their capability to support their solid contents, releasing it as a pyroclastic surge, the eruption alternated between Vesuvian and Peléan six times. Surges 4 and 5 are believed by the authors to have destroyed and buried Pompeii, surges are identified in the deposits by dune and cross-bedding formations, which are not produced by fallout
18.
Villa of the Mysteries
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These are now probably the best known of the relatively rare survivals of Ancient Roman painting. Like the rest of the Roman city of Pompeii, the villa was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 and it is now a popular part of tourist visits to Pompeii, and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Pompeii. Since its excavation the roofing and other parts of the house have been maintained as necessary, the Villa is named for the paintings in one room of the residence. This space may have been a triclinium, and is decorated with fine frescoes. One of the features that help identify this as a Dionysian-related mural is the depiction of maenads. These devotees are depicted dancing with swirling drapery and were found first on Greek pottery. Of all other interpretations, the most notable is that of Paul Veyne, though often believed to be a triclinium, the room with the frescoes could have also been a cubiculum of the matriarch, which would indicate that the matriarch was a member of the cult. The Villa had both very fine rooms for dining and entertaining and more functional spaces, a wine-press was discovered when the Villa was excavated and has been restored in its original location. The Villa may be accessed from Pompeii, lying some 400 metres northwest of the town walls. The Villa of the Mysteries was a villa with a close relationship to the city. The ownership of the Villa is unknown, as is the case with private homes in the city of Pompeii. However, certain artifacts give tantalizing clues, a bronze seal found in the villa names L. Istacidius Zosimus, a freedman of the powerful Istacidii family. Scholars have proposed him as the owner of the Villa or overseer of reconstruction after the earthquake of 62, the presence of a statue of Livia, wife of Augustus, has caused some historians to instead declare her to have been the owner. As in other areas of Pompeii and Herculaneum, a number of bodies were found in this villa, there are many different interpretations of the frescoes, but they are commonly believed to depict a religious rite. Another common theory is that the frescoes depict a bride initiating into the Dionysian Mysteries in preparation for marriage, in this hypothesis, the elaborate costume worn by the main figure is believed to be wedding apparel. Based on the matter and order of each fresco, they are intended to be read as a single narrative. Women and satyrs are featured prominently, the first mural shows a noble Roman woman approaching a priestess or matron seated on a throne, by which stands a small boy reading a scroll – presumably the declaration of the initiation. On the other side of the throne the young initiate is shown in a robe and myrtle crown, holding a sprig of laurel
19.
Domus
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In ancient Rome, the domus was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It could be found in almost all the cities throughout the Roman territories. The modern English word domestic comes from Latin domesticus, which is derived from the word domus, the word dom in modern Slavic languages means home and is a cognate of the Latin word, going back to Proto-Indo-European. Along with a domus in the city, many of the richest families of ancient Rome also owned a country house known as a villa. The elite classes of Roman society constructed their residences with elaborate decorations, inlaid marble paneling, door jambs and columns as well as expensive paintings. Many poor and lower-middle-class Romans lived in crowded, dirty and mostly rundown rental apartments and these multi-level apartment blocks were built as high and tightly together as possible and held far less status and convenience than the private homes of the prosperous. The homes of the early Etruscans were simple, even for the wealthy or ruling classes and they were small familiar huts constructed on the axial plan of a central hall with an open skylight. It is believed that the Temple of Vesta was, in form, the huts were probably made of mud and wood with thatched roofs and a centre opening for the hearths smoke to escape. This could have been the beginnings of the atrium, which was common in later homes, as Rome became more and more prosperous from trade and conquest, the homes of the wealthy increased in both size and luxury emulating both the Etruscan atrium house and Hellenistic peristyle house. The domus included multiple rooms, indoor courtyards, gardens and beautifully painted walls that were laid out. The vestibulum led into a central hall, the atrium. Leading off the Atrium were cubicula a dining room triclinium where guests could recline on couches and eat dinner whilst reclining, in cities throughout the Roman Empire, wealthy homeowners lived in buildings with few exterior windows. Glass windows werent readily available, glass production was in its infancy, thus a wealthy Roman citizen lived in a large house separated into two parts, and linked together through the tablinum or study or by a small passageway. To protect the family from intruders, it would not face the streets, only its entrance providing more room for living spaces, surrounding the atrium were arranged the masters families main rooms, the small cubicula or bedrooms, the tablinum or study, and the triclinium or dining-room. Roman homes were like Greek homes, only two objects were present in the atrium of Caecilius in Pompeii, a small bronze box that stored precious family items and the lararium, a small shrine to the household gods, the Lares. In the master bedroom was a wooden bed and couch which usually consisted of some slight padding. As the domus developed, the took on a role similar to that of the study. In each of the other bedrooms there was usually just a bed, the triclinium had three couches surrounding a table
20.
House of the Faun
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The House of the Faun, built during the 2nd century BC, was one of the largest and most impressive private residences in Pompeii, Italy, and housed many great pieces of art. It is one of the most luxurious aristocratic houses from the Roman republic, the House of the Faun was built in the 2nd century BC during the Samnite period. Fauns are spirits of untamed woodland, which literate and Hellenized Romans often connected to Pan and Greek satyrs, or wild followers of the Greek god of wine and agriculture, the House of the Faun was initially excavated in 1830 by the German archeological institute. The House of the Faun contained the Alexander Mosaic, depicting the Battle of Issus in 333 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. This mosaic may be inspired by or copied from a Greek painting finished in the fourth century BC. Unlike most Pompeian pavements of the second and early first centuries, this mosaic is made of tesserae. The Alexander Mosaic is complemented by other floor mosaics with Nilotic scenes, other notable works of art from the House of Faun include an erotic Satyr and Nymph and the fish mosaic, a piece closely resembling other mosaics in Pompeii. The House of the Faun covers nearly 3000 square meters and occupies a city block. Like many ancient Roman houses, the House of the Faun had tabernae, or storefront shops, and a sophisticated building plan. The entrance is decorated by the Latin message “HAVE”, a greeting both for meeting and parting, like other wealthy aristocrats of the Roman Republic, the owners of the House of the Faun installed a private bath system, or balneum, in the house. The bathing room was located in the wing, which was to the right of the entrance. The servants’ quarters were dark and cramped, and there was not much furniture, the house features beautiful peristyle gardens, the second of which was created as a stage to host recitations, mimes, and pantomimes. Additionally, the house contained a passage, a number of bedrooms. Today visitors can explore the remains of the House of the Faun in modern Pompeii, along Via di Nola. ”House of Sallust House of the Vettii Roman gardens Butterworth, Alex, Laurence. The Decoration of The Hellenistic Peristyle House in South Italy, 3D model of the Dancing Faun of Pompeii via laser scan of a cast at Skulpturhalle Basel museum
21.
House of Sallust
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The House of Sallust is a domus or elite residence in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. The oldest parts of the house have been dated to the 4th century BC, the long history of this structure provides important evidence about the development of elite residences in Pompeii. The house is located on the east side of the Via Consolare and it received its modern name from an election notice placed on the facade, recommending Gaius Sallustius for office. An alternative name is the House of A. Cossus Libanus and it was first excavated between 1805 and 1809, was damaged by a bomb in World War II, and was restored in 1970. The House of Sallust was originally a single house from the Samnite Period. It had six shops on its west side and a corridor in the middle. This went though into the atrium with compluvium and impluvium, the atrium contained two alae, four cubicula, a tablinum, four other rooms and a garden. Over time, we can see the addition of new features, such as the peristyle which was imported from Greece in the 2nd century BC, and the second atrium, which also became popular around this time. It eventually expanded to use almost all the space. Domus Pompeii Mount Vesuvius Thorpe, Martin, Roman Architecture, Classical World Series, Bristol Classical Press, ISBN 1-85399-421-9, ISBN 978-1-85399-421-0
22.
House of the Centenary
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The House of the Centenary was the house of a wealthy resident of Pompeii, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house was discovered in 1879, and was given its name to mark the 18th centenary of the disaster. Built in the mid-2nd century BC, it is among the largest houses in the city, with baths, a nymphaeum, a fish pond. The Centenary underwent a remodeling around 15 AD, at time the bath complex. In the last years before the eruption, several rooms had been redecorated with a number of paintings. Although the identity of the houses owner eludes certainty, arguments have been made for either Aulus Rustius Verus or Tiberius Claudius Verus, for the purposes of archaeological and historical study, Pompeii is divided into nine regions, each of which contains numbered blocks. Within a block, doorways are numbered in clockwise or counter-clockwise order and it belongs to the luxurious tufa period of Pompeiian architecture, characterized by the use of fine-grained gray volcanic tufa that was quarried around Nuceria. Of the two atria, the grander one leads to the most highly decorated rooms, the smaller atrium might have been for private family and service access. The triclinium or dining room was situated so that the guest of honor could view the enclosed garden, the dining room itself was decorated with vertical stalks entwined with tendrils on which birds perch, with leaf-adorned candelabra in the panels between. The house had its own bakery, located in a cellar under the service quarters on the west side, a graffito in the latrine uses the rare word cacaturit found also once in the Epigrams of Martial. Another records a slaves bid for freedom, Officiosus escaped on November 6 of the consulate of Drusus Caesar and it has been suggested that one secluded room, which was decorated with explicit scenes of female-male intercourse, functioned as a private sex club. Guests would have entered the smaller, more private atrium, then passed down a corridor and through a triclinium, a small opening oddly positioned in the wall may have been an aperture for voyeurism. Other scholars categorize Room 43 simply as a bedroom, which often featured erotic imagery, the House of the Centenary is known for its large and diverse collection of paintings in the Third and Fourth Pompeiian styles. The garden nymphaeum is a rich example of combining painting with architectural elements to create the ambience of a country villa. The lower part of the wall is painted to look like a balustrade with ivy growing on it, below the steps and above the garden pool, there was a painting of a river god crowned with reeds, no longer visible. The composition has been characterized as a potpourri, an assemblage of elements desirable because they represent the country villa lifestyle. Here and in similarly decorated spaces in Pompeii, the owner is concerned with displaying size and quantity, the room to the north of the peristyle featured delicate ivy and stylized flowering vines as decoration. Ducks and lotus leaves also appear together as decorative motifs, grapes and viticulture appear throughout the house, as in a scene of cupids gathering grapes
23.
House of Julia Felix
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The House of Julia Felix is a large Roman villa in the ruined city of Pompeii. It was the residence of Julia Felix, who converted portions of it to apartments after an earthquake in 62 AD. Archaeological excavations began in 1755 and continue to this day, as the residence of multiple family units, it is an invaluable resource for providing insights into the daily lives of the people of Pompeii. Julia Felix was a Roman woman who resided in the city of Pompeii, Julia Felix was a very wealthy property owner who inherited her money from her family. After the earthquake Julia rented out her property to residents of Pompeii who may have lost their homes and transformed parts of her villa into public baths, shops, taverns, and apartments. Renting out her villa helped her earn extra income and establish herself as a property owner, business woman, Felix is a Roman cognomen meaning The Fortunate One was an epithet of the dictator L. Cornelius Sulla and his descendants in the Republican period. In the Imperial period it was a name involving luck as well as one of the most common cognomina, the homes of the wealthy in Pompeii were built around courtyards that were rectangular in shape into which the main rooms opened. These homes had enclosed gardens and private water supply, through the tufa period in Roman history, Pompeians used relief stucco work to add something extra to the architecture, marble dust for luminosity, and used paints with rich colors. Inside their villas, Pompeians chose many different ways to express themselves, some Pompeians would copy Greek paintings and others would choose a theme of love or fertility, but most chose landscapes. Those found in Pompeii were of scenes, villas from along the coast, or woodland. When one owner in Pompeii lost part of his garden to a new room, the art inside the villa of Julia Felix is also very interesting. Julia Felix was descendant of the Julii, who were Imperial freedmen, since the excavations of Pompeii, much has been revealed about the villa of Julia Felix. As early as 1755 many sections belonging to the villa were uncovered when the city of Pompeii was excavated, a complex taberna, luxurious baths, and richly decorated formal garden dining rooms were revealed in the first excavation. Between the years 1998-1999 some of the most important discoveries were made by excavators, a trench found behind the caldarium dated back as early as the Augustan period. The caldarium revealed a drain that conducted water from the hypocaust floor, a nymphaeum or grotto of nymphs with a waterstair fountain and triclinium was also discovered which was a modification put in after the earthquake of 62 A. D
24.
House of Loreius Tiburtinus
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The House of Loreius Tiburtinus is renowned for its meticulous and well-preserved artwork as well as its large gardens. It is located in the Roman city of Pompeii and it, along with the rest of Pompeii was preserved by the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24,79 AD. The House of Loreius Tiburtinus was excavated between the years 1916 and 1921 by V. Spinazzola and it can be found on the Via DellAbbondanza, one of the most prosperous streets in Pompeii. There is considerable debate over the naming of this particular house and its original name of Loreius Tiburtinus was derived from electoral advertisements of sorts etched in the outer façade, some saying Vote for Loreius and others Vote for Tiburtinus. In fact, the last known owner of the house was a man named Octavius Quartio, some historians choose to refer to this house as the House of Octavius Quartio. Pompeii is organized into a series of insulae or rectangular blocks of buildings made up of a combination of shops, the House of Loreius Tiburtinus occupies almost its entire insula with a combination of its residential area and its garden. Also included in the insula were two cauponae and its location was convenient to both the palaestra and the amphitheatre, and the section of Via DellAbbondanza it occupied was closed off to cart traffic in ancient times. The inside of the house is fairly uniform in its organization, unfortunately some of the houses original integrity was compromised before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the earthquake of 62 AD. The entryway or anteroom leads into the atrium, an open room with an impluvium in the center. This basin collected rainwater through a hole in the roof to be used by the patrons of the house, on the far side of the atrium is a modest peristyle where the original tablinum once was. The lack of a functional tablinum is evidence of the toll on the houses infrastructure. There are several oeci off the main atrium used as receiving rooms with various art displayed in each room, in the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, one specific oecus that borders the viridarium or indoor garden functioned as a triclinium or dining area where guests could be entertained. This room was well decorated to please the many guests that must have passed through. Bordering the garden is a summer triclinium where diners could recline during the warmer months, the House of Loreius Tiburtinus is particularly well known for its extensive gardens and outdoor ornamentation. Beyond the summer there was a specific arrangement of two Euripi, a decorative type of fountain. These fountains were the centerpiece for many frescoes and statuettes, the upper Epirus has a strong significance to the excavated city of Pompeii because its decorative frescoes are the source of the only known artists signature, Lucius pinxit or Painted by Lucius. These frescoes portray the myths of Narcissus on one side of the fountain and Pyramus, the other lower Euripus is a fountain that spans the long garden which holds numerous types of foliage including various fruit trees. All of these fountains operate using a technology called castellum plumbeum, House of the Faun House of the Vettii Media related to Casa di Ottavio Quartione at Wikimedia Commons
25.
House of the Tragic Poet
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The House of the Tragic Poet is a typical 2nd century BC Roman house in Pompeii, Italy. The house, or villa, is famous for its mosaic floors. Discovered in November 1824 by the archaeologist Antonio Bonucci, the House of the Tragic Poet has interested scholars and writers for generations. Although the size of the house itself is in no way remarkable, its decorations are not only numerous but of the highest quality among other frescoes. Because of the mismatch between the size of the house and the quality of its decoration, much has been wondered about the lives of the homeowners, unfortunately, little is known about the family members, who were likely killed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Traditionally, Pompeii is geographically broken up into nine regional areas, the House of the Tragic Poet sat in Regio VI, Insula 8, the far-western part of Pompeii. The house faced the Via di Nola, one of Pompeiis largest streets that linked the forum, across the Via di Nola from the House of the Tragic Poet sat the Forum Baths of Pompeii. Like many Roman homes of the period, the House of the Tragic Poet is divided into two primary sections, the front, south-facing portion of the house serves as a public, presentation-oriented space. Here, two rooms with outward-opening walls serve as shops run by the homeowners, or, less likely. These shops lie on side of a narrow entranceway, or vestibule. At the end of this sits the atrium, the most decorated of the rooms within the House of the Tragic Poet. Here, a large rectangular impluvium, or sunken water basin sits beneath an open ceiling, collecting water to be used by members of the household, near the northern end of the impluvium sits a wellhead to be used for drawing water from the basin. Still farther from the entrance sits the tablinum, a second, from these main areas extend smaller, private rooms, marking the second section of the house. Along the western wall of the atrium lie a series of cubicula, opposite these lie an additional cubiculum, an ala, and an oecus. The northern end of the tablinum opens onto a large, open peristyle, to the right of the peristyle sits the drawing room, which, in the House of the Tragic Poet, is believed to have been used as the main dining salon. Adjacent to the room is a small kitchen area. Near the left side of the peristyle, a back door opens onto an additional street. Finally, into north-western corner of the peristyle is built a small lararium, or shrine to be used in worshiping the Lares Familiares, the vestibule floor was decorated with a mosaic picture of a domesticated dog leashed and chained to an arbitrary point
26.
House of the Vettii
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In Pompeii one of the most famous of the luxurious residences is the so-called House of the Vettii, preserved like the rest of the Roman city by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house is named for its owners, two successful freedmen, Aulus Vettius Conviva, an Augustalis, and Aulus Vettius Restitutus. Its careful excavation has preserved almost all of the wall frescos, the House of the Vettii is located on a back street, opposite a bar. Servants quarters are to one side off the atrium, arranged round a small atrium of their own, the major fresco decorations enliven the peristyle and its living spaces and the triclinium or dining hall. The house had approximately 30 rooms, most artifacts found from upper level rooms were toiletry items and jewelry, consistent with artifacts found in other Pompeian houses. Throughout the house, the decor is unified by the backgrounds of its large frescoed panels, in Pompeiian red and yellow framing. Also throughout the house were images of hermaphrodites with the intention to ward off the Evil Eye of envy from those who entered the home, the most richly-decorated room is a virtual picture gallery, with trompe loeil views of architecture. The peristyle was laid out symmetrically for a water display. The statues were connected to piping and spouted water. There are 14 jets of water, new York, St. Martins Press,2005. From Pompeii, The Afterlife of a Roman Town, House of Sallust House of the Faun R. Etienne, Pompeii. The Day a City Died R. Laurence, Roman Pompeii, Space and Society A. Wallace-Hadrill, Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum Rowland, from Pompeii, The Afterlife of a Roman Town
27.
Lupanar (Pompeii)
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The Lupanar of Pompeii is the most famous brothel in the ruined Roman city of Pompeii. It is of particular interest for the paintings on its walls. The Pompeii lupanar is also known as Lupanare Grande, the Lupanar is located approximately two blocks east of the forum at the intersection of Vico del Lupanare and Vico del Balcone Pensile. The Roman word for brothel was lupanar, meaning a den. Early Pompeian excavators, guided by the strict modesty of the time period, using this metric, Pompeii had 35 lupanares. Given a population of ten thousand in Pompeii during the first century CE, using a stricter standard for identifying brothels brings the number to a more realistic figure including nine single room establishments and the Lupanar at VII,12, 18–20. Brothels during this period were small with only a few rooms. The Lupanar was the largest of the found in Pompeii with 10 rooms. Like other brothels, rooms in the Lupanar were plainly furnished, a mattress on a brick platform served as a bed. There have been 134 graffiti transcribed from the Lupanar at Pompeii, the presence of this graffiti served as one of the criteria for identifying the building as a brothel. Examples of graffiti from the Lupanar include, Hic ego puellas multas futui, other examples can be traced to other locations in Pompeii. Persons of wealth generally did not visit brothels because of the availability of mistresses or slave concubines, the graffiti do tell stories, however. Various authors respond to each others carvings in a sort of dialogue, erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum Prostitution in ancient Rome Roman graffiti Sex in the Ancient World Pompeii History Channel Documentary
28.
Aqua Augusta (Naples)
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This aqueduct was unlike any other of its time, being a regional network rather than being focussed on one urban centre. There were ten branches, seven of which were for cities while three were for some of the luxurious villas in this area popular with rich Romans. The Aqua Augusta was one of the most difficult and costly aqueducts ever constructed by an ancient civilisation, despite its size and complexity, the Augusta is today largely unknown as a major monument. The aqueducts source, the Fons Augusteus, was in the Terminio-Tuoro mountains near the town of Serino not far from the city of Avellino. One of its main terminations was the enormous Piscina Mirabilis at the naval base, there is evidence that a large number of private users were members of the Rome senatorial class. In Rome, a letter from the emperor was required to gain a private connection, the Emperor Augustus had the Aqua Augusta built between 30 and 20 BC. During the war with Pompeius, Augustus ordered the construction of the Portus Julius harbour complex just west of Puteoli. Large quantities of water were needed for the base itself and for the ships. The main cistern filled by the aqueduct is the Piscina Mirabilis in Ba ́coli, the next major eruption in 472 AD left the aqueduct covered in ash and 3.5 km of the duct collapsed because of this. This cut off the supply of water to all the towns except Nola, the poor administrative and economic situation in Campania at this time, and Italy in general, prevented major repairs to the Augusta. Written references to aqueducts in Naples after this time refer to other aqueducts that were now in the area. In modern times, parts of the aqueduct, in addition to the Piscina Mirabilis were vital to the regions survival during World War II, many locals used the areas as air-raid shelters. There are few remains of the aqueduct today, although much of it still exists below ground. Traces of the structure may be found at a number of sites in. This is one of the largest such terminal reservoirs on a known in the Roman Empire. It was probably intended as a water resource for the naval base. Roman aqueducts Roman engineering Roman technology List of Roman cisterns Hodge, Hodge, A. T. Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply, 2nd ed. London, Duckworth
29.
Macellum of Pompeii
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The Macellum of Pompeii was located on the Forum and as the provision market of Pompeii was one of the focal points of the ancient city. The building was constructed in several phases, when the earthquake of 62 CE destroyed large parts of Pompeii, the Macellum was also damaged. Archeological excavations in the era have revealed a building that had still not been fully repaired by the time of the eruption of 79 CE. Of particular interest to researchers is the section of the Macellum located on the east side that is thought to have dedicated to the imperial cult. It makes manifest how central a role the Emperors played in the lives of Romans as early as the 1st century, the other rooms on the west side are also interesting as examples of the link between economic and public life. The Macellum of Pompeii is located outside the northeast corner of the forum, as the city continued to grow, it was necessary to relieve pressure on the forum. When the Macellum was first discovered, because of the column bases in the center, the excavators at first believed it was a kind of pantheon. To compensate, the shops that abut the forum on the west side increase in size from south to north, three much restored marble columns from the portico of the forum, with Corinthian capitals, remain standing in front of the facade. The lower third of two of the columns is decorated with piped fluting, while the upper portion lacks fluting, part of the entablature remains on top of the capitals. The lobby of the Macellum was particularly connected to the portico of the forum. Two rows of columns rose one above the other with no intermediary level, hence, the portico appeared more like a facade. The bases for honorific statues, which stood behind each column, are still in place. Further bases for honorific statues were located in front of the columns of the tabernae at the front of the building. These spaces constructed in opus incertum were probably currency exchanges, a further portico must have been located inside the Macellum itself, but none of its columns remain. The only recognizable traces are a water gully and signs of where columns stood in it, the main entrance was divided into two by an aedicula for a statue with two elegant Corinthian columns. The statue was probably that of an emperor, in which case, the chimerae were presumably not produced in Pompeii, but probably originate in a workshop in Greece. However, it is possible that they were manufactured in a neo-Attic workshop in Naples or Puteoli. In addition, on the west side an example of the style of Roman decorative mural painting has been preserved
30.
Amphitheatre of Pompeii
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The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre. It is located in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, and was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, that also buried Pompeii itself and the neighboring town of Herculaneum. Built around 70 BC, the current amphitheatre is the earliest Roman amphitheatre known to have been built of stone, previously, the next Roman amphitheatre known to be built from stone is the Colosseum in Rome, which postdates it by over a century. Contemporarily, it was known as a rather than an amphitheatrum. It was built with the funds of Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius. The amphitheatres design is seen by some modern crowd control specialists as near optimal and its washroom, located in the neighboring palaestra has also been cited as an inspiration for better bathroom design in modern stadiums. The famed preservation of Pompeii and its amphitheatre have given insights into the culture of Rome. Around 59 AD, a brawl occurred between Pompeiians and residents of Nuceria during games in the amphitheatre, resulting in a 10-year ban on such events. Aside from being a landmark and an object of archaeological study. In October 1971, over a 4-day period Pink Floyd made a film at the amphitheatre, titled Pink Floyd. David Gilmour, the Pink Floyd guitarist, performed two concerts at the amphitheatre in July 2016 as part of his Rattle That Lock Tour and it was his first performance in the amphitheatre since recording Live at Pompeii in 1971. Gilmours 2016 concerts saw the first public performances in the amphitheatre since 79 A. D
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Temple of Apollo (Pompeii)
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The Temple of Apollo is a Roman temple dedicated to the Greek and Roman god Apollo in the ancient Roman town of Pompeii, southern Italy. Facing the northern side of the town, it is the towns most important religious building and has very ancient state of origin, the cult of Apollo, imported from Greece, was very widespread in Campania, and is attested in Pompeii since the 6th century BC. The sanctuary gained its present appearance in a 2nd-century BC rebuild, the elegant Doric architrave of metopes and triglyphs resting on the columns was transformed into a continuous frieze with griffins, festoons and foliage. Today the remains of the templefront appear as they originally did, some statues of a deity have been recovered, facing the columns of the portico. These are now in the National Archeological Museum of Naples, though copies of two of them – one representing Apollo, the other a bust of Diana – have been placed where the originals were found. The temple itself, a peripteros with 48 Ionic columns, was on a podium and entered up an imposing set of steps, in a fusion of Greek. Unusually, the cella is sited further back with respect to the peristyle, in front of the steps may still be seen a white marble altar on a travertine base, with a Latin inscription giving the names of the quattuorviri who dedicated it. To side of the steps is an Ionic column that supported a sundial, in the side of the perimeter wall of the Temple of Apollo, facing onto the towns Forum, a niche is extracted containing the mensa ponderaria
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Temple of Isis (Pompeii)
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The Temple of Isis is a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. This small and almost intact temple was one of the first discoveries during the excavation of Pompeii in 1764. Its role as a Hellenized Egyptian temple in a Roman colony was fully confirmed with an inscription detailed by Francisco la Vega on July 20,1765. Original paintings and sculptures can be seen at the Museo Archaeologico in Naples, in the aftermath of the temples discovery many well-known artists and illustrators swarmed to the site. The preserved Pompeian temple is actually the structure, the original building built during the reign of Augustus was damaged in an earlier earthquake of 62 AD. Seventeen years later with the volcanic eruption, the Iseum alone was the sole temple to be completely re-built—ahead even of the Capitolium. Principal devotees of this temple are assumed to be women, freedmen, initiates of the Isis mystery cult worshipped a compassionate goddess who promised eventual salvation and a perpetual relationship throughout life and after death. The temple itself was reconstructed in honor of a 6-year-old boy by his father, Numerius. Many scenes from the temple are re-created in the rooms of Pompeians, however, indicating that many individuals visited this temple for political, economic. Isis is an Ancient Egyptian goddess, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. She was worshiped as a patron of both motherhood and marriage, as well as mysticism and magical practise and she was the friend of slaves, sinners, artisans, and the downtrodden, who also listened to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers. Devotion to Isis was also coupled with the acquisition of knowledge. In contrast to most other clerics of the Graeco-Roman world, priests of Isis typically shaved their heads and wore linen garments, as per Egyptian tradition and her cult did not include a messianic worldview, but did provide a relationship with the divine that was not severed with death. In common with most other deities of antiquity, Isis did not demand exclusive worship, daily services were held, with a solemn morning opening, and a nightly closing ritual that featured musical accompaniment. Egyptian features of this include, purgatorium, extensive mythological scenes in the Ekklesiasterion. The purgatorium is an enclosure in the southeast corner of the courtyard that demarcates a subterranean room with a basin for Nile waters. Furthermore, statues of Isis are assumed to line the front with Roman deities along the long walls, the purgatorium itself resembles a miniature temple with pediments and pilasters at the entrance coated with stucco. The Ekklesiasterion includes scenes of Ios arrival in Egypt and subsequent reception by Isis, the north wall includes scenes with Io, Argos, and Hermes
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Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)
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The Temple of Jupiter, Capitolium, or Temple of the Capitoline Triad was a temple in Roman Pompeii, at the north end of its forum. Jupiter was the ruler of the gods and the protector of Rome, as the most important divinity in Ancient Rome, many temples were built to honor Jupiter or the entire Capitoline Triad in towns newly conquered by the Romans. This held true for Pompeii, where the previously existing Temple of Jupiter was enlarged and Romanized upon conquest, Pompeii was occupied by the Romans beginning in 310 BC. It maintained much of its autonomy, however, until the Italic Revolt against Rome at the beginning of the 1st century BC, in 89, the town was besieged by Sulla. Roman language, culture, and law would soon come to dominate the city. The architecture of the town had been changed by the Greeks. In contrast to the previous Samnite occupiers, the Romans very much believed in the importance of architecture in religious, Pompeii was transformed into a much more public and open place. Public buildings and spaces would come to dominate the city, the temple structure was built in 150 BC to dominate the forum, and it became Pompeiis main temple after the Roman conquest. Pure Italic style characterized the structure, which sat atop a base measuring 121 x 56 x 10 feet. The interior of the contained the cella, which held the statues of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. There was a chamber below the hall which was used to store sacrificial offerings. In 62 A. D. an earthquake shook the city of Pompeii, after this, the much smaller Temple of Jupiter Meilichios became the main seat of worship to Jupiter and the Capitoline Triad. The original Temple of Jupiter was still awaiting restoration when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79, burying the town of Pompeii in volcanic dust, ash, the excavated temple can still be seen in Pompeii today. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Third Edition Revised, edited by Simon Hornblower and Anton Spawforth. Temples of Pompeii, including photographs of excavated temples Photograph and Mapped Location of Temple of Jupiter, Pompeii 3D model of Temple of Jupiter
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Villa of the Papyri
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The Villa of the Papyri, is named after its unique library of papyri, but is also one of the most luxurious houses in all of Herculaneum and in the Roman world. It is located in the current commune of Ercolano, southern Italy and it was situated on the ancient coastline below the volcano Vesuvius with nothing to obstruct the view of the sea. It was perhaps owned by Julius Caesars father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, in AD79, the eruption of Vesuvius covered all of Herculaneum with some 30 m of volcanic ash. Herculaneum was first excavated in the years between 1750 and 1765 by Karl Weber by means of underground tunnels, the villas name derives from the discovery of its library, the only surviving library from the Graeco-Roman world that exists in its entirety. It contained over 1,800 papyrus scrolls, now carbonised by the heat of the eruption, most of the villa is still underground, but parts have been cleared of volcanic deposits. Many of the finds are displayed in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, the Getty Villa is a reproduction of the Villa of the Papyri. Sited a few hundred metres from the nearest house in Herculaneum and it was surrounded by a garden closed off by porticoes, but with an ample stretch of gardens, vineyards and woods down to a small harbour. The villas layout is faithful to, but enlarges upon, the scheme of suburban villas in the country around Pompeii. The atrium functioned as a hall and a means of communication with the various parts of the house. The entrance opened with a portico on the sea side. The first peristyle had 10 columns on each side and a pool in the centre. In this enclosure were found the bronze herma of Doryphorus, a replica of Polykleitos athlete, the large second peristyle could be reached by passing through a large tablinum in which, under a propylaeum, was the archaic statue of Athena Promachos. A collection of bronze busts were in the interior of the tablinum and these included the head of Scipio Africanus. The living and reception quarters were grouped around the porticoes and terraces, giving occupants ample sunlight, the grounds included a large area of covered and uncovered gardens for walks in the shade or in the warmth of the sun. The gardens included a gallery of busts, hermae and small marble and these were laid out between columns amid the open part of the garden and on the edges of the large swimming bath. The luxury of the villa is evidenced not only by the works of art. The villa housed a collection of at least 80 sculptures of magnificent quality, among them is the bronze Seated Hermes, found at the villa in 1758. Around the bowl of the atrium impluvium were 11 bronze fountain statues depicting Satyrs pouring water from a pitcher, other statues and busts were found in the corners around the atrium walls
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Oplontis
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Oplontis was an ancient Roman site near Pompeii in Italy. It is best known today for the sumptuous Roman Villa Poppaea which is open to visitors. As with other Roman sites in the area, such as Herculaneum and other villas, the villa was excavated in the mid-20th century up to 1984, and is associated with Poppaea, the second wife of Emperor Nero. A second villa, the Villa of L. Crassius Tertius, was discovered in 1974,300 metres east of the Villa Poppaea, a bronze seal bearing Crassius name was found at the site. A large number of artifacts from Oplontis are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum, Herculaneum Pompeii Stabiae Official website The Oplontis Project AD79 Year of Destruction Website
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Villa Poppaea
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The Villa Poppaea is an ancient Roman seaside villa situated between Naples and Sorrento, in southern Italy. It is also called the Villa Oplontis or Oplontis Villa A by modern archaeologists, the villa itself is a large structure situated in the ancient Roman town of Oplontis, about ten metres below modern ground level. Evidence suggests that it was owned by the Emperor Nero, and it is believed to have used by his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. According to John R. Clarke in The Houses of Roman Italy,100 B. C. -A. D. 250, Ritual, Space, and Decoration, the Villa Poppaea is best understood as a model on many of the more modest city houses of ancient Pompeii. This grandiose maritime villa is characterized by “rituals of reception and leisure” through both its physical space and its decoration, like many of the other houses in the area, the villa shows signs of remodeling, probably to repair damage from the earthquake in 62 CE. The oldest part of the house centers round the atrium and dates from the middle of 1st century BCE, during the remodeling, the house was extended to the east, with the addition of various reception and service rooms, gardens and a large swimming pool. Like many of the frescoes that were preserved due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, many of the frescoes are in the “Second Style” of ancient Roman painting, dating to ca. 90-25 BCE as classified in 1899 by August Mau, details include feigned architectural features such as trompe-lœil windows, doors, and painted columns. Frescoes in the caldarium depicting Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides are painted in the Third Style dating to ca.25 BCE-40 CE according to Mau. Attention to realistic perspective is abandoned in favor of flatness and elongated architectural forms which “form a kind of shrine around a central scene, immediately to the west of the triclinium is a large oecus, which was the main living room of a Roman house. Like the caldarium frescoes, the room is painted in the Second Style. The east wall includes some wonderful details such as a theatre mask, much attention has been paid to the allusions to stage painting in the Villa Poppaea frescoes, particularly those in Room 23. The Villa of Poppaea was first discovered in the century during the construction of the Sarno Canal which cut through the central hall of the villa. Between 1839 and 1840 explorations of the site were undertaken by Bourbon excavators who removed several paintings from the villa, the excavators used a tunneling technique that was also employed at Herculaneum, and uncovered part of the peristyle and garden area. Excavations continued again from 1964 until the mid-1980s, at point the site was excavated to its current level. It was during this round of excavations that the massive swimming pool. Historian and archeologist Wilhelmina Feemster Jashemski began excavations on the gardens at the Villa Poppaea in 1974, among these was a peristyle garden in the original portion of the villa
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Stabiae
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Stabiae was an ancient Roman town which is famous for the magnificent Roman villas found there near to the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii. The beautiful objects and frescoes taken from these villas were sold and distributed. The villas were sited on a 50 m high overlooking the Gulf of Naples. Being only 16 kilometres from Mount Vesuvius, this resort was largely buried by two metres of tephra ash in 79 AD. Originally a small port, by the 6th century BC Stabiae had already overshadowed by the much larger port at Pompeii. The town was destroyed by Lucius Cornelius Sulla on 30 April 89 BC during the Social War, the Roman author and admiral Pliny the Elder recorded that the town was rebuilt and became a popular resort for wealthy Romans. He reported that there were miles of luxury villas built along the edge of the headland. According to the account written by his nephew, Pliny the Elder was at the side of the bay in Misenum when the eruption started. He travelled by ship across the bay, partly to observe the eruption more closely. Pliny died at Stabiae the following day, probably during the arrival of the sixth, the very diluted outer edge of this surge reached Stabiae and left two centimetres of fine ash on top of the immensely thick aerially-deposited tephra which further protected the underlying remains. The archaeological remains of Stabiae were originally discovered in 1749 by Cavaliere Rocco de Alcubierre and these ruins were partially excavated by Alcubierre with help from Karl Weber between 1749–1782. The ruins that had been excavated, however, were reburied and their location was forgotten until 1950, the site was declared an archaeological protected area in 1957, and by 1962 many of the ruins had been again uncovered. The remains of both an Oscan settlement and the later Roman town were discovered, the most famous of the findings at Stabiae are the villas that come from the time between the destruction of Stabiae by Sulla in 89 BC and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. As described above, Stabiae became a town during this time and was particularly favored for its view of the Bay of Naples. Stabiae was also known for the quality of its spring water. The ideal placement and qualities of this location drew many wealthy Romans to build villas on the ridge overlooking the bay. These villas, which are described below, provide us with some of the most stunning architectural, a great many artifacts which come from Stabiae are preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum. Before the age of the villas, however, an Oscan settlement existed in the region of Stabiae, in 1957 three hundred tombs dating from the 7th to the 3rd centuries BC were found in a necropolis associated with this town
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Villa Boscoreale
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The only one visible in situ today is the Villa Regina, the others being reburied soon after their discovery at the end of the 19th century. Also finds from the Villa del fondo Ippolito Zurlo are in several museums, in Roman times this area was agricultural, specialising in wine and olive oil. Information on, and objects from, the villas can be seen in the nearby Antiquarium di Boscoreale and this rustic villa was discovered more recently in 1977 and therefore has been preserved in its complete state as buried 8m below ground level. The villa is a working farm rather than a luxurious estate that others nearby were. Nonetheless an elegant central courtyard is colonnaded on three sides with columns of red and white stucco, large quantities of pottery and farm implements were found. Plaster casts of the entrance doors were made from the hollow spaces left. A plaster cast of a pig found here and killed in the catastrophe was also made and it also includes preserved parts of a wine press. Near the centre of the villa is the cellar in which 18 dolia. An unusual find was an oil lamp dating from the 3-5th c, AD showing that the place was tunnelled into in the later Roman era. The holes in the left by the roots of the Roman vines were found. Although the villa was of relatively modest size compared to others in the area and had no atrium, pool or sculpture collection, evidence in tablets and graffiti shows that the house was probably built in the 1st century. The villa was discovered, excavated, partially dismantled and reburied in 1900. The villa had three stories, complete with a suite and an underground passage to a stable and agricultural buildings. The central ground floor of the living quarters consisted of over thirty rooms or enclosures surrounding a courtyard or peristyle. The building featured a main entrance approached by five broad steps leading to a colonnaded forecourt. Ownership of the villa has been contested, while there is no doubt P. Fannius Synistor did reside there, excavated bronze tablets show another name, that of Lucius Herennius Florus. Many things were marked with seals in ancient Rome to indicate possession and it is believed that since the tablet with the letters L. HER. FLO on the front of it was found inside the villa and these two are the only confirmed owners in the early 1st century BC and 1st century AD, though there may have been earlier owners
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Naples National Archaeological Museum
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The Naples National Archaeological Museum is a museum in Naples, southern Italy, at the northwest corner of the original Greek wall of the city of Neapolis. The museum contains a collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii, Stabiae. The collection includes works of the highest quality produced in Greek, Roman and it is the most important Italian archaeological museum and is considered one of the most important in the world. Charles of Bourbon founded the museum in the 1750s, the building he used for it had been erected as a cavalry barracks and during its time as the seat of the University of Naples was extended, in the late 18th century. The museum hosts extensive collections of Greek and Roman antiquities and their core is from the Farnese Collection, which includes a collection of engraved gems and the Farnese Marbles. Among the notable works found in the museum are the Herculaneum papyri, carbonized by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, many of these works, especially the larger ones, have been moved to the Museo di Capodimonte for display in recent years. The Farnese Hercules, which fixed the image of Hercules in the European imagination, a major collection of ancient Roman bronzes from the Villa of the Papyri is housed at the museum. These include the Seated Hermes, a sprawling Drunken Satyr, a bust of Thespis, another variously identified as Seneca or Hesiod, the museums Mosaic Collection includes a number of important mosaics recovered from the ruins of Pompeii and the other Vesuvian cities. This includes the Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC and it depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. Another mosaic found is that of the gladiatorial fighter depicted in a found from the Villa of the Figured Capitals in Pompeii. With 2,500 objects, the museum has one of the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in Italy after the Turin, Florence and Bologna ones. It is made up primarily of works from two collections, assembled by Cardinal Stefano Borgia in the second half of the 18th century. In its new layout the collection provides both an important record of Egyptian civilization from the Old Kingdom up to the Ptolemaic-Roman era, access was limited to only persons of mature age and known morals. The rooms were also called Cabinets of matters reserved or obscene or pornographic, the highlight of the censorship occurred in 1851 when even nude Venus statues were locked up, and the entrance walled up in the hope that the collection would vanish from memory. In September 1860, when the forces of Garibaldi occupied Naples, since the Royal Butler was no longer available, they broke into the collection. Limiting viewership and censorship have always been part of the history of the collection, censorship was restored during the era of the Kingdom of Italy, and peaked during the Fascist period, when visitors to the rooms needed the permission of the Minister of National Education in Rome. Censorship persisted in the period up to 1967, abating only after 1971 when the Ministry was given the new rules to regulate requests for visits. Completely rebuilt a few years ago with all of the new criteria, visitors under the age of 14 can tour the exhibit only with an adult
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Achilles and Briseis
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Achilles and Briseis is a picture depicting plateaux from the Iliad relating to the gifting of Briseis to Achilles found in the House of the Tragic Poet Pompeii, Italy. The image is painted in distemper, similar to coloured white-washing and it was at one time moved to the Naples National Archaeological Museum. Agostino Carracci produced an engraving from it which was included in his collection of erotic poses, Wheeler, William A. and Charles G. Wheeler. Familiar Allusions A Handbook of Miscellaneous Information, boston and New York, Houghton, Mifflin, and Company The Riverside Press, Cambridge,1881
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Alexander Mosaic
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The Alexander Mosaic, dating from circa 100 BC, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia and measures 2.72 by 5.13 metres, the original is preserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum. The mosaic is believed to be a copy of an early 3rd-century BC Hellenistic painting, the mosaic illustrates a battle in which Alexander faced and attempted to capture or kill Darius. Alexander defeated him at the Battle of Issus and two years later at the Battle of Gaugamela, the work is traditionally believed to show the Battle of Issus. Since the mosaic emulates the appearance of a painting so accurately, the mosaic is held to be a copy either of a painting by Aristides of Thebes, or of a lost late 4th-century BC fresco by the painter Philoxenus of Eretria. The latter is mentioned by Pliny the Elder as a commission for the Macedonian king Cassander, despite being damaged, the two main figures are easy to recognize. The portrait of Alexander is one of his most famous, Alexanders breastplate depicts Medusa, the famous Gorgon, and his wavy hair is typical of royal portraiture as established in Greek art of the fourth century BC. He is portrayed sweeping into battle at the left, on his famous horse, Bucephalus, Darius is shown in a chariot. He seems to be commanding his frightened charioteer to flee the battle, while stretching out his hand either as a mute gesture to Alexander. He has an expression on his face. The charioteer is whipping the horses as he tries to escape, the Persian soldiers behind him have expressions of determination and consternation. Dariuss brother Oxyathres is also portrayed, sacrificing himself to save the King, radical foreshortening – as in the central horse, seen from behind – and the use of shading to convey a sense of mass and volume enhance the naturalistic effect of the scene. Repeated diagonal spears, clashing metal, and the crowding of men, at the same time, action is arrested by dramatic details such as the fallen horse and the Persian soldier in the foreground who watches his own death throes reflected in a shield. The mosaic is made of one and a half million tiny colored tiles called tesserae. The color scale of Roman mosaics are extremely rich in gradation, the process of gathering materials for mosaics was a complex undertaking since the color scale was based solely off of the pieces of marble that could be found in nature. The mosaic is a detailed work for a private residence and was likely commissioned by a wealthy person or family. The fact that this scene was made to be viewed in the house of a Roman civilian reveals that Alexander the Great was more than just an image to the Romans. Because Roman leaders followed after Alexanders image, Roman civilians also aspired to emulate the power he represented, since the mosaic was arranged on the floor where the patron would receive his guests, it was the first decorative object a visitor would see upon entering the home
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Pompeian Styles
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The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. In the succession of styles, there is a reiteration of stylistic themes, the paintings also tell a great deal about the prosperity of the area and specific tastes during the times. The main purpose of these frescoes was to reduce the claustrophobic interiors of Roman rooms, the paintings, full of color and life, brightened up the interior and made the room feel more spacious. The First style, also referred to as structural, incrustation or masonry style, was most popular from 200 BC until 80 BC. It is characterized by the simulation of marble, with other simulated elements, mural reproductions of Greek paintings are also found. This style divided the wall into various, multi-colored patterns that took the place of extremely expensive cut stone, the First Style was also used with other styles for decorating the lower sections of walls that were not seen as much as the higher levels. An example would be the painting in the Samnite House in Herculaneum. The Second style, architectural style, or illusionism dominated the 1st century BC, early on, elements of this style are reminiscent of the First Style, but this slowly starts to be substituted element by element. It is characterized by use of perspective to create trompe loeil in wall paintings. The picture plane was pushed back into the wall by painted architectonic features such as Ionic columns or stage platforms. These wall paintings counteracted the claustrophobic nature of the small, windowless rooms of Roman houses, images and landscapes began to be introduced to the first style around 90 BC, and gained ground from 70 BC onwards, along with illusionistic and architectonic motives. Decoration had to give the greatest possible impression of depth, imitations of images appeared, at first in the higher section, then in the background of landscapes which provided a stage for mythological stories, theatrical masks, or decorations. During the reign of Augustus, the style evolved, false architectural elements opened up wide expanses with which to paint artistic compositions. A structure inspired by stage sets developed, whereby one large central tableau is flanked by two smaller ones, in this style, the illusionistic tendency continued, with a breaking up of walls with painted architectural elements or scenes. The landscape elements eventually took over to cover the wall, with no framing device. Basically, the more developed Second Style was the antithesis of the First Style, instead on confining and strengthening the walls, the goal was to break down the wall to show scenes of nature and the outside world. Much of the depth of the mature Second Style comes from the use of perspective that blurred the appearance of objects further away. Thus, the foreground is rather precise while the background is somewhat indistinctly purple, blue, one of the most recognized and unique pieces representing the Second Style is the Dionysiac mystery frieze in the Villa of the Mysteries
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