Part 7

Now that we have thus examined a house in its entirety we might take our departure. Yet hold! Pompeii is indeed, as said above, in contrast to Naples, the city of the Dead, yet in Pompeii there is still one spot that in a greater degree may be designated the place of the Dead, this is the Street of Tombs in front of the Gate of Herculaneum. Almost all roads that led out of ancient cities were lined by the monuments of the dead; so too at Pompeii, where on all the roads leading out of the city, e. g. on that to Scafati, numerous burial places have been discovered, but not one of these roads can compete with the place of sepulture that lies in front of the Gate of Herculaneum. This then deserves a more thorough investigation.

This is not the proper place to describe the methods of burial prevailing among the Romans; it is sufficient here to state that in the most ancient times the dead were laid to rest in sarcophagi; examples of such a method of interment, which at Rome in particular gentes, or clans, was observed uninterruptedly to the latest period, e. g. among the Cornelii, are found also in Pompeii, but seem to go back to the Oscan epoch. In those times the bodies were laid in coffinlike chests of limestone, which were made up of square blocks or smaller stones, and covered with earth, after all sorts of little vases, chiefly of Nolan manufacture, had been put in with them. Examples of such a method of burial are exhibited in the small Museum at the Porta della Marina. Later, however, when Pompeii was added to the Roman Empire, cremation generally took the place of interment. For this purpose in a space specially set apart called _Ustrinum_, the funeral pile was erected, to which the form of an altar was regularly given, the height and decoration of which were naturally decided according to the rank and wealth of the deceased. Such _ustrina_ were of course assigned by the city, frequently however, where space permitted and police regulations did not hinder, there were private grounds of this kind at the hereditary burying places of distinguished families. At Pompeii too such an _ustrinum_ has been supposed to exist before the Gate of Herculaneum, but wrongly, for the insufficient distance from the city would alone have absolutely prohibited the burning of corpses there. The bier with the corpse was placed on the pyre and covered with sweet smelling unguents, incense, costly stuffs &c. and then kindled by a relative or friend with averted face. When the funeral pile was burned to the ground the ashes had to be extinguished with water or wine, the bones that were left collected, and then, after the customary lustral sacrifice had been offered, the funeral feast had to be held at the grave. The place required for such a feast, the _triclinium funebre_, is still remaining at Pompeii. Some days later the bones, which in the meantime had been dried in the sun, were sprinkled with milk and wine, and, after the addition of fragrant materials, placed in a sepulchral urn, that was afterwards conveyed to the tomb. The sepulchral urns were generally hermetically sealed, but often provided with holes at the top, so that on appointed days the usual libations to the dead could be poured right on to the cremated remains, in order to ensure to the deceased person the enjoyment of the sacrifices offered to him. Nay pipes have (in the case of some of the graves situated on the road leading to Scafati) been fixed in such a way as to render it possible to convey directly to him such libations also as were dedicated to the dead man outside the tomb.

Apart from some few graves dating back to Oscan times, the monuments in front of the Gate of Herculaneum belong entirely to the Roman period (fig. 135). Immediately to the left, behind the Gate, is seen a vaulted niche, in which then was originally placed a statue, that of course of the person buried there, with an altar before it for the sacrifices; according to the inscription the grave belongs to the Augustalis M. Cerrinius Restitutus, for whose burial the Decurions presented the ground. The _Augustales_ formed a _collegium_ consisting of freedmen dedicated to the cult of the emperors. This is the niche to which is attached the well-known legend of the sentry fabled to have remained at his post during the eruption of Vesuvius, and thereby met his death: in reality there is no question of a sentrybox nor of a sentry, for, according to the reports of the excavations, no skeleton at all was found at this point. Passing on from the grave of M. Cerrinius we come on the left to a semicircular bench which according to the inscription was erected by decree of the Decurions in honour of Aulus Veius, who had held the highest magistracies of the city. Probably his remains were interred behind the bench. His statue will have stood on the pedestal in the centre of the seat; it may be inferred from the dignities named in the inscription as enjoyed by him that he lived not later than Augustus.

The following grave belonged to M. Porcius, whose name is mentioned in connection with the smaller Theatre and the Amphitheatre; a son or other relative may of course have borne the same name. The third monument on the left hand side again takes the form of a semicircular seat, it marks the spot where the priestess Mamia was buried (behind the seat). We need not dwell on the pleasing thoughts aroused in the beholder when he recognises that the monument here assumes a form specially useful to the living, and affording rest to the wearied wanderer. Behind Mamia’s seat a large sepulchral building is preserved, in the chamber of which niches for the urns containing ashes are to be seen (fig. 137). As is proved by several inscriptions, the tomb belonged to the distinguished Pompeian family of the Istacidii. After this comes a now closed street, which according to an inscription seems to have led to the bathing establishment of M. Crassus Frugi. This included, as we know from other sources, a medicinal spring rising out of the sea. That the sea came up nearer Pompeii than is now the case has already been stated. Here the buryingplaces on the left cease for some distance, and there follows a villa site, now once more covered with ashes _etc._, in which, without sufficient ground, people have sought to recognise a villa of Cicero (who is known to have possessed a villa at Pompeii). Let us therefore retrace our steps to the Gate, to examine the graves placed on the righthandside.

Here first meets us a large altar-shaped grave without inscription in the chamber of which, when opened a few years ago, two clay vessels were found enclosed for better preservation in leaden covers, which contained the remains of bones covered with a cloth, together with a coin of the time of Augustus. Coins are frequently found placed with the remains. Although originally the idea of such parting gifts was that the property left was thereby purchased from the deceased, the earnest money as it were being handed to him to prevent his return, yet gradually the belief became universal that passage money was handed to the dead man for Charon, whose boat was to carry him to the Underworld. As long as the dead body was buried in the earth, it was the custom to lay the coin in the mouth; when burning came into vogue in place of burial, it was quite natural that the coin should still be added to the remains. The second tomb on the right was erected to the Aedile M. Terentius Felix Major, by his widow Flavia Sabina, after the city had granted not only the site, but also a contribution of 2000 sesterces (about 21 pounds). The remains of M. Terentius were discovered under the table on the left, in a glass vessel, doubly protected by being placed in a terracotta urn and wrapped in lead. Of the graves that follow, number 6 deserves special notice, the Grave of the Garlands, so called from the ornament affixed on one side. The structure is solid; nevertheless there will be found in all probability a sepulchral chamber underneath, but as yet no search for it has been made. The grave no. 8 is famous for the discovery of the blue glass vessel (fig. 138) now in Naples, representing the vintage in white relief on a blue ground. To the cheerful sound of flutes and the syrinx, a Genius carries grape clusters to a vessel, in which another treads them down, as he merrily swings the thyrsus, while on the other side the gathering of grapes and the enjoyment of wine are brought to view. Most charming however is the network of twining tendrils that form a web around the whole vase. Then comes a semicircular niche, as to which it is doubtful whether it has actually served for a funeral monument. It was certainly erected for this purpose, but since the space for the inscription in the pediment has remained unfilled, it seems as though the purpose for which it was originally intended had not been carried out.

At this point the graves come to an end on the right side also, and there appear two villas bordering on the road, which have profited by their favourable position through the construction of shops and taverns for those passing along the street. From the mosaic fountain there to be seen come the four pillars covered with mosaic, that have been taken to the Naples Museum; they supported a pavilion in front of the fountain. On the other hand the tombs soon begin again on the left (fig. 136); in the first place one which passes for an unfinished structure, because its upper portion is not completely preserved; here is a gravestone the peculiar shape of which is found outside Pompeii only at Sorrento, a stone formed in imitation of a bust, on the back of which plaits of hair hang down; on the smooth surface in front it bears the inscription.--_Junoni Tyches Juliae Augustae vener._ While the Genius is the protecting spirit of the man, the Juno takes this place in the case of women; the Tyche whose remains are buried here was probably a favourite slave of Julia Augusta, i. e. of Livia, but the meaning of _vener_ is at least doubtful (fig. 139).

One of the most important monuments is the next one, belonging to Umbricius Scaurus, erected by his father, when the Town Council had granted the site and 2000 sesterces. The chief interest of this monument consists in the stucco reliefs with which the front walls and the steps of the altar are adorned, and which represent scenes from the Amphitheatre, gladiatorial combats and wildbeast hunts. The deceased had once given these spectacles to his native city, so that the father could bethink himself of preserving the remembrance of this liberality by the ornamentation of the monument. Next comes the so-called Round Tomb, which in the interior has a peculiarly vaulted chamber with three niches, in the bottom of which the urns are fixed in masonry and closed with covers, just as in the Roman _columbaria_. Further on the grave of the Augustal, Calventius Quietus, demands our special notice, on whom on account, of his munificence the Town Council had conferred the honour of the _bisellium_, i. e. had given him the right to sit on a special seat in the Theatre among the Town Councillors. The _bisellium_ is depicted on the monument. Particularly striking, however, through its ornaments executed in relief, is the tomb of Naevoleia Tyche, which she, according to the inscription, erected to herself and C. Munatius Faustus, to whom also the Town Council had granted the honour of the _bisellium_ (fig. 140). Over the inscription is represented the portrait of the foundress, and underneath a sacrifice to the dead, while the flanks of the altar show on one side the _bisellium_ granted to Munatius, on the other side a ship, the sails of which are reefed. By this no doubt allusion is made to the end of life. In the gravechamber were found, with other more simple vases of terracotta, three vases of glass, which were enclosed in a lead wrapping, and in which the contents were preserved intact; they contained the burnt bones in a fluid made up of water, wine, and oil mixed together.

After this comes the _triclinium funebre_ mentioned before, a place in which the funeral feasts were usually held. The triclinium is in its general features not different from those occurring in private houses, one sees three couches of masonry (with the higher end inwards) round a table on which the food was placed. With this ends the series of tombs on the left hand.

On the righthand our special attention is claimed by the tomb with the marble door. The interior of the tomb was occupied by various urns of ashes, yet the exterior was still incomplete, the coating with squared stones originally contemplated is not entirely executed. Here a street turns off to the right, in which the Oscan graves previously mentioned were discovered. Of the tombs on the rising ground between the two streets that of M. Arrius Diomedes should be mentioned, which he erected to his former lady Arria, himself, and his family. Not as though this were distinguished above others, but because the Villa lying opposite the tombs has been designated as that of Diomedes. This Villa of Diomedes requires more careful consideration before we quit Pompeii (fig. 141).

By a slope rising from the Street of Tombs we reach the door, which, corresponding to the precepts of Vitruvius for villas, leads straight into the peristyle. Among the chambers accessible from this are first, on the side of the street, the bathrooms; here we distinguish the _piscina_, that is the basin for the cold bath; further the _tepidarium_, the air of which was warmed by an opening from the _caldarium_, and which, on the garden side, was closed by a window with four thick panes of glass; then the _caldarium_, the room for the sweating-bath, the floor and walls of which were arranged for conducting the heat in the way we have seen in the Public Baths. Warm air and hot water were supplied from the kitchen close at hand. Still more interesting is a sleeping-apartment, also reached from the peristyle, in front of which is a room for the _cubicularis_, the valet. The sleeping-apartment itself is built out into the garden in a semicircle, here are placed three large windows which supplied light and air, but could be quite closed by shutters according to requirement. That even there fresh air should not be wanting was provided for by a small quadrangular opening placed above. At the back is seen the alcove for the bed, which was cut off by a curtain; the rings for this were found when the excavation took place; close by we observe a hollow in the masonry, presumably a sort of wash-hand basin.

Below these parts of the establishment, and approached by stairs, and having a separate communication with the sloping street, lies, a series of domestic offices, slaves’ rooms _etc._, of which nothing need be said. Then we pass into the garden, a large pleasure-ground surrounded by a colonnade, and with a large basin and fountain in the centre, and an open portico supported by six columns. At the further end of the colonnade lay a small room, from which, as from the middle of the portico, a door led into the open air; here at the time of the excavation were found two skeletons, those as it is supposed of the master of the house and his servant; the former had a gold ring on his finger and a large key in his hand, and near him lay ten gold and eighty-eight silver coins. Both then had striven to reach the open air, but had perished in doing so. Still more terrible was the fate of his family and dependants; eighteen adults and two children had fled for refuge to the large room under the colonnade, marked as a wine-cellar by the numerous amphorae leaning against the walls, to which light and air were admitted from the courtyard through small windows; all perished miserably when the masses of pumice-stone had cut off their escape. The ashes pressing in had enveloped them and faithfully preserved their forms; unfortunately at the time when this villa was excavated the process of taking plaster-casts had not yet been invented, and so the moulds thus formed were destroyed; it has been possible to preserve only one portion, the impression of the neck, shoulders, and breast of a young girl, to judge by the impression faultlessly beautiful, and wearing a dress of the finest material. This mould is exhibited in the Museo Nazionale at Naples.

We now come to the end of our story. The romantic histories that have been recounted as to the destruction of Pompeii, the sentinel who refused to desert his post, and thus met his death, the closely embracing pair of youthful lovers overwhelmed in the street leading from the Theatre to the Forum, the men said to have been surprised by the eruption of Vesuvius in the midst of the funeral feast at the _Triclinium funebre_ in the Street of Tombs--all this and whatever else the ever active imagination has invented to depict the fate of the city with all possible horror, are thrown deep into the shade by the reality which the excavations reveal; we cannot depict to ourselves darkly enough the scenes enacted in Pompeii on the 24th of August in the year 79. And yet posterity has every reason to thank the chance that throughout so many centuries has preserved for us an ancient Roman city almost untouched. One cannot shut out from oneself the thought that the eruption of Vesuvius in its ultimate results has brought only a blessing, inasmuch as it has given us the opportunity of casting a glance across so many centuries, right into the actual condition and circumstances of an ancient city. There is indeed a whole series of cities of far greater size and importance which have existed uninterruptedly from the earliest times to the present day, but the constant changes necessitated by the requirements and habits of later generations have so altered their condition that the traces of antiquity can be followed out only with the greatest toil. At Pompeii the case is very different, there the ashes from Vesuvius have preserved the city as a whole, just as the Pompeians left it on the occasion of the eruption; there streets and squares, temples and houses speak a language which cannot fail to be understood by every one who has any power of grasping the conception of antiquity. How vastly our knowledge of the ancient world must be advanced by such immediate inspection of actual remains requires no further elucidation. Let then the saying be once more repeated “Vedi Napoli e Pompei”, and, with a slight alteration of the well-known saying as to Capri; “Non lasciar Napoli senza aver visto Pompei”.

INDEX

The asterisks before the numerals refer to the illustrations. W. = Wall-painting.

Abbondanza, via dell’, *12, 37

Achilles at the Court of Lycomedes, W., 96, *99

Ala, 41

Alexander’s Battle, 43, *46

Alexandria, Tutelary Deity of, *70

Altar, Domestic, *45

---- of the temple of Vespasian, *26

Amor with Dolphin, *56

---- with Crab, W., *84

---- with Dolphins, W., *84

---- as Host, W., *97

Amphitheatre, *33, 34, 36, *42

---- Fight in between Pompeians & Nucerians, *36

Apodyterium, *36, 37

Apollo, *27, 28

---- and Pytho, W., 94

---- Temple of, 27, *28

Arca, 42, *43

Ariadne, Deliverance of, W., 92, 93

---- in Naxos, W., 87

Atrium, 40-42

---- Restoration of, *40, 41

---- in the House of Rufus, *58, 60

---- Tuscanicum, 41

Augustales, 100

Aulus Veius, 100

Bacchus, *91

---- and Ariadne, W., *91, 92

Bakery, *74, 76

Balcony, 43, *44

Basilica, 26, *28

Baths, 35-39

Bisellium, *59, 62

Bosco Reale, 68-74

Bowls, silver, 70, 71

Boy with duck, *110

Bread, *76

Bronze table, *64

Building, periods of, 47-49

Burning the Dead, 98, 99, 102

Calda, 64

Caldarium, *38, 106

Candelabra, 66, *67

---- Painted, W., 85

Casa d’Arianna, *79, 81

---- del Balcone pensile, *56

---- dei Capitelli Colorati, *79, 81

---- del Centenario, *79, 81, 82

---- del Imperatore di Germania, *79, 82

“_Cave Canem_”, *39, 40

Cerrinius Restitutus, 100

Chapel, Private, 42, *43

Comedy, Scene from, *32, 34

Compluvium, 41

Cookshop, *14, *15, 21

Cremation, 98, 99, 102

Cups, *62, *67, 70, *72

Cupid, *56, *84, 95, *97

Cyparissus, W., *87, 88

Daedalus & Pasiphaë, W., 92, *93

Dining-couch, *60, 62

Diomedes, 105

Dioscurides, *32

Dipinti, 19, 20

Dog, in Mosaic, *39

Doorknocker, *39, 40

Ephebus of Bronze, *51, 57

Erotes, *84, 85, 86, 95, *97

Eruption of Vesuvius, 3

Eumachia, 26, *27

Europa with the Bull, W., *52, 53

Excavations, *1, 8, 9

Faun, Dancing, *55, 56

Feast, *61, 62

Fontana, Domenico, 8

Food-warmer, *63, *66

Fortuna, Temple of, 29, *30

Fountain figures, 57

Fountains, *13, 21

Fountain with mosaic, *57

Forum Civile, *18, *19, 23

---- Scene in, *20, 23

---- Triangular, *16, *17, 22

Frigidarium, 37

Fullers at Work, W., *78

Fulling, 78

Fullonica, *77, 78

Furniture, 61-64

Garlands, 95, 103

Gates, 17

Gauging table, *29

Gladiators, 36, *41

---- Barracks of, *33, 36

---- Weapons of, *34, *41, *44

Glass vessel, Blue, *102, 103

Graffiti, *13, 19, 20

Graves, 98-105

“_Have_”, 40, 80

Herculaneum, Discovery of, 8

---- Gate of, *11, 17, 98

Hercules Strangling Serpents, W., 90, *92

Herms, 90, *91, *102, 103

Hero and Leander, W., *86, 87

House of the Faun, *77, 80

---- Lucretius, *54, 59

---- Pansa, *38, *73, 75

---- C. Rufus, *58, 60

---- the Tragic Poet, *75, 76-78

---- the Vettii, 83-97, *83, *90

Impluvium, 41

Inscriptions, *13, 19, 20

Interior of Grave, 101-5, *102, *103

Io, W., 26

Iphigenia, W., 49-52, *50, 94, 95

Isis, Temple of, 29-32, *30

Istacidii, 101

Ixion, W., 92, *94

Jucundus, Caecilius, *58, 60, 61

“Junoni Tyches”, *102, 103, 104

Jupiter, Bust of, *21, 25

---- Temple of, *22, *23, 25

Kitchen, with Hearth, *82, 84

Lamps, 66, *67

Lares, Shrine of, 88, *89

Lead plates, 81

Lecti, 62

Lighting of dwellingrooms, 65, 66

Loaves, *76

Loves, *84, 85, 86, 95, *97

Macellum, *24, 25, 26

Maenianum, 43, *44

Mamia, 101

Marble Table, *59, 62

Mars and Venus, W., *53, 54

Meals, *61, 61-63

Meatmarket, *24, 24-26

Medea, W., *51, 52

Mercury, Street of, *8, 11, 15

Mirror with Bust of Ariadne, *71, 72

Misenum, 4

Mosaics, *39, 40, 43-47, *47

Naevoleia Tyche, *103, 105

Narcissus, Statuette of, *55, 56

Nola, Street of, *9, 15

Oilshops, *16, 21

Omphalos, 27

Orestes and Pylades, 94

Oscilla, 60

Ostiarius, 40

Palaestra, 37

Panorama of Pompeii, *7

Pentheus, 91

Periods of Building, 47-49

Piscina, 106

Plasterer at Work, *49

Plastering, *49

Pliny the Younger, 4, 5

Pompeii, History of, 1-8

Porcius, 101

Porta della Marina, 1, 12

Priapus, 85

Private Houses, 39

Proculus and his Wife, W., *53, 53-55

Psyches, 95, *96

Punishment of Ixion, W., 92, *94

Purgatorium, 29

Pylades, 94

Races, W., 95, *98

Rothschild, 69

Rufus, Cornelius, *58, 60

Sacrifice of Iphigenia, W., 49, *50, 50-52

Sculpture, 89, *91

Senaculum, 26

Ships, Representations of, 93

Shops, 21

Stabiae, Street of, *14, 21

Standard measures, table of, *29

Stepping-stones, 18

Stibadium, 63

Stoves, 63, 64, *65

Streets, width of, 17

Strongboxes, 42, *43

Styles of art, *47, *48, 49

Sulla, 17

Symposium, W., *61

Table of standard measures, *29

Tablinum, 42

Tepidarium, *37, 38, 106

Terentius Major, Tomb of, 102, 103