Pompeii – a Window into an Ancient World
It was the orange juice that did it. Freshly squeezed (not from a carton or a can), and poured into a glass, it filled my mouth with the sweet taste of Italian summer. Busy vendor kept collecting change while his young apprentice, deeply tanned and clad only in a pair of blue shorts and dirty apron was feeding orange halves into a juice squeezer. Oranges were picked this morning and brought to Pompeii to quench thirst of hundreds of tourists waiting under merciless sun for the museum to open.
Pompeii does not need extensive advertisement: American students become familiar with the place in the course of elementary school unit on natural disasters. Indisputably, for a history major this Ancient Roman resort becomes an irresistible magnet. The easiest way to get to Pompeii is by Circumvesuviana train from Naples. The train stops at Herculaneum and Pompeii (for the museum you will need Pompeii Scavi station). If you plan to visit both sites, consider staying overnight. Our hotel Villa dei Misteri (http://www.villadeimisteri.it/) was only a short walk from both the museum and the train station. It turned out to be a popular spot among archaeologists: a large group from Great Britain made it its home base. After a busy day of museum exploration the hotel’s swimming pool, and a quiet dinner on its terrace were all the luxury we needed.
Villa dei Misteri
We entered ancient Pompeii through Porta Marina – a two-arch entryway facing the sea (hence its name), and followed the road towards the Villa dei Misteri. Along the way Roman funeral monuments and obelisks create a sense of quiet resignation. Since the Villa is located outside the ancient city walls, the best time for a visit is early morning, when you can avoid crowds. The villa was probably a luxurious retreat from the summer heat of Pompeii, and was later turned into a wine-producing farm. It was excavated at the beginning of the 20th century, and the restoration took another thirty years.
The walls of many rooms are covered with vivid frescoes, however it is triclinium or dining room that is decorated with the world famous scenes of the Dionysian rites of initiation. The figures on the frescoes almost come to life against the dramatic red background: intent child reading from a scroll, a woman’s encouraging hand on his shoulder, a mocking gaze of a fawn resting against the column, a girl on her knees, her head on the lap of an older womanâÂ?¦We will probably never discover the exact meaning of these scenes, yet the unknown artist’s talent made such knowledge unnecessary: it is his art that we came to enjoy.
Streets of Pompeii
The archaeologists gave the modern names of the streets in Ancient Pompeii. Via dell Abbondanza connects the Forum with the Amphitheater. You certainly need a map of the site to find various points of interest. Pompeii never seizes to convey an eerie feeling of a ghost town, a place where former inhabitants are only playing hide and seek with you. Street fountains still have deep grooves made by the ropes that pulled water buckets up; stepping-stones provide a convenient crossing during rainy days. Private houses are easily recognizable by their much narrower facades as to minimize street exposure; small atriums provided room for midday repose. Shops had wider fronts to make it easier for customers to access them.
Highlights
It is quite easy to get lost in Pompeii: the area of archaeological park covers some 160 acres. Therefore it is a good idea to get a map of the place at the entrance. The House of the Faun was named after the famous bronze sculpture of a dancing faun; tourists can see a fine reproduction, the original being displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. House of the Vettii invites you into domestic world of a wealthy Roman. Daylight enters the atrium from the rectangular opening in the roof, allowing the rainwater to gather in the small pool below. Walls of several rooms have frescos still intact, their dominant colors red and black, and delicately painted figures represent scenes from mythology. Forum Baths offer a glimpse of wonder that was a Roman technology. Baths had quarters for men as well as women, and contained rooms with cold, warm and hot water, as well as a palaestra or place of exercise. The caldarium or steam room was heated by an airflow circulating between double walls and hollow floor. The vaulted ceiling has ribs, which directed the heat. Amphitheater would draw spectators to gladiatorial combats; not as famous as Coliseum it is considered world’s oldest known Roman arena. Up to 12,000 visitors were able to view the show at the same time. There are two Greek theaters in Pompeii, both worth a detour. Greek architects realized the importance of acoustics for the performance, and used natural allies – slopes of a hillside to achieve their goal. The resulting quality of sound is such, that a word whispered in the orchestra (a semicircular area surrounded by seats) could be heard at the farthest bench.
Plaster Casts
The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. destroyed the city and killed thousands of people. In the 19th century during the time of intensive archaeological excavations a technique of pouring liquid plaster into hollow areas revealed tragic last minutes of those who did not escape. These macabre “statues” can be seen in Pompeii museum among other historical artifacts.
As children most of us were excited by the idea of a time machine: an ability to travel into the past or distant future, and see it opening in front of our eyes, taste it, smell it, and unravel its mysteries. Pompeii is one of the unique places where it is almost possible.
