Location | Pompei, Province of Naples, Campania, Italy |
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Coordinates | 40°45′0″N14°29′10″E / 40.75000°N 14.48611°E |
Type | Settlement |
Area | 64 to 67 ha (170 acres) |
History | |
Founded | 6th–7th century BC |
Abandoned | AD 79 |
Site notes | |
Website | www |
Official name | Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Torre Annunziata |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | iii, iv, v |
Designated | 1997 (21st session) |
Reference no. | 829 |
Region | Europe |
Several non-native societies had an influence on Ancient Pompeian culture. Historians’ interpretation of artefacts, preserved by the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, identify that such foreign influences came largely from Greek and Hellenistic cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt. Greek influences were transmitted to Pompeii via the Greek colonies in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy), which were formed in the 8th century BC. Hellenistic influences originated from Roman commerce, and later conquest of Egypt from the 2nd century BC. [1]
Specifically, these cultures contributed to the development of Pompeii’s art, architecture and religious spheres. For instance, Greek influences can be identified in the Alexander Mosaic, horse-shoe shaped theatres and Pompeii’s adoption of the Greek pantheon of gods. Examples of Egyptian influences can be found in the Nile Mosaic, garden art in the Villa of Julia Felix and the Cult of Isis. [2]
The origins of Greek influences on Pompeii stems from an ancient region known by the Romans as ‘Magna Graecia’: a term used to label the cities of southern Italy established by the Greeks in the eighth century BC. The Greeks were attracted to this area due to the fertile land it offered and the advantageous trading position it controlled. As the settlement flourished, Greek influence was transmitted to Pompeii and the wider Roman world through these colonies. Rooted in this early link, Rome developed a deep and enduring fascination for Greek culture as they integrated its art, architecture and religion into their own society. [3] The popularity of Hellenic culture grew following the Roman capture of Syracuse (212 BC) and sack of Corinth (146 BC) where plundered Greek art and architecture were brought back to Rome. [4]
The Alexander mosaic, unearthed during an 1831 excavation of the House of the Faun, depicts a battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia alongside their respective armies. This mosaic is believed to be a copy of a famous Greek painting by Philoxenos of Eretria dated c. 300 BC. It mirrors the elements of traditional Hellenistic art by both emphasising visual effects and drawing to attention the emotional reaction of the fighters. [5]
Discovered in the House of Titus Dentatus Panthera (on south wall of tablinum), the Three Graces fresco depicts the Graces dancing naked in a circle while holding sprigs of myrtle and wearing wreaths. [6] The Graces (also known as the Charities) were minor goddesses of Greek mythology. [7]
Numerous Roman copies of Doryphoros (‘Spear-Bearer’) have been found around Campania including one in Pompeii. This statue, dated 120–50 BC and made from Carrara marble, is an imitation of the bronze Greek original by the famed sculptor Polykleitos. [8]
Pompeii’s Basilica (built between 120 BC and 78 BC) was constructed in the Hellenistic style. The building featured two levels of Greek Corinthian and Ionic columns rather than Roman arches to support the roof. [9] An ancient Greek stoa; a freestanding colonnade which created public spaces. [10]
The Large Palaestra of Pompeii, located in the eastern periphery of the city, adopts Greek architectural elements with its large, open colonnaded spaces. This Roman practice of constructing palaestras originates from the ancient Greek gymnasium, a complex similarly built for training and exercise. [11]
The streetscape of Pompeii, with its use of insulae to divide the roads of the town into blocks. [12]
The peristyle, based on Greek design, featured in several of Pompeii’s private buildings and villas. A peristyle was a colonnade or covered walkway around a courtyard which enclosed a garden. The House of The Faun depicts this architectural feature containing two peristyles: one built in the early 2nd century BC and the other in the late 2nd century BC. [13]
Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine was worshipped by the Greeks. Romans called this god Bacchus. Associated with this cult was the ‘bacchanalia’, a Latin term for the rites or festivals of Bacchus which according to Livy involved cult members participating in aggressive sexual promiscuity and alcohol-fuelled violence. In 186 BC the Roman senate, fearing that the unbridled nature of the festivals was a threat to public and political stability, outlawed the cult. Despite this, its practice still remained popular in Campania and evidence suggests Pompeii as well. For instance, The Villa of Mysteries displays a series of frescoes which many historians believe to depict a woman’s initiation into the cult of Dionysus. [14]
The Cult of Apollo
Worship of Apollo, the Greek god of poetry, music, dance, archery and prophecy, was also incorporated into Pompeian religion. Pompeii’s forum contained a Temple dedicated to this god built in the 2nd century BC. The temple was surrounded by Corinthian columns, featured a travertine stone altar and was decorated by statues of Apollo alongside other deities. [15]
The Romans adapted the Greek god Heracles and incorporated him into their own religion under the new Roman name Hercules. This hero was regarded as the son of Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of Zeus) and was renowned for his superhuman strength and fantastic adventures. [16] The House of the Garden of Hercules, located to the west of Pompeii’s Palestra, illustrates the influence of this Grecian god. Specifically, the garden of this building contained a large lararium where a marble statuette of Hercules, an altar and aedicula were dedicated to him. [17] The House of the Vettii provides further evidence. Within its reception room, on the left hand wall, an infant Hercules is depicted strangling a serpent. This fresco, painted in Fourth Style, recalls the mythological story of when Hera, enraged by Zeus’ affair with Alcmene, sent snakes to kill their child Hercules. [18]
Ancient Greek theatre, originally developed in Athens during the 6th century BC, Greek tragedy plays. [19] Its popularity expanded into the Mediterranean where it was embraced by other Hellenistic cultures and Rome. This influence of Greek drama on Pompeii is portrayed in The House of the Faun. Uncovered within the remains of this building is a mosaic depicting two tragic theatrical masks surrounded by garlands, flowers and fruits. [20] 15 drama masks recently rediscovered in Pompeii provide further evidence. These masks were life-sized, made of plaster and found in 1749 during a dig funded by King Charles of Bourbon. The exact location of where they were unearthed is not known as they were stored with a variety of other artefacts in the Royal Palace of Portici and 18th century dig journals provide only vague details of the excavation. [21]
The works and writers of Greek literature held a great influence over Roman culture. [22] Beyond impacting Roman writing itself, scenes from Greek literature have been discovered throughout Pompeii. For instance, The House of the Tragic Poet displays a series of frescos which illustrate events from the Iliad by the Greek poet Homer. One panel displays the hero Achilles seated before his tent as he involuntarily releases his lover Briseis to Patroclus who guides her to Agamemnon, the king of the Greeks. The following panel, of which only half survives, portrays Helen as she steps from her homeland onto a ship which will transport her to Troy. It is believed that the lost fragment may have shown Paris, already in the ship, waiting for Helen, his queen, to join him. [23]
Rome had been politically intertwined with Egypt as early as the 2nd century BC during the rule of Ptolemy VI, however it was during the conflict between Octavian (later named Augustus) and Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII that Rome underwent a period of being considerably influenced by Egyptian culture. Under Roman rule by the 30BC, Egypt began transmitting spoils of war and new materials such as glass, papyrus, minerals and ores to Rome. This conquest and influx of goods sparked a new fascination with ancient Egyptian culture with Romans now incorporating Egyptian art, architecture and religion into their own lives. [24]
A mosaic within the House of the Faun depicts an Egyptian Nile scene complete with crocodiles, ichneumon, hippopotamus and ibis. Egyptian flora can also be seen on this mosaic. [25]
The Temple of Isis
The Temple of Isis too portrayed an Egyptian influence on Pompeii’s art.
Specifically, the walls of the temple are decorated with a variety of Egyptian mythological scenes. One fresco depicts the reception of lo by Isis at Canopus in Egypt. Isis in this artwork is surrounded by Egyptian animals (snakes and crocodiles) and motifs (such as a sphinx statue). Another fresco displays the event of navigum Isidis (the transport of Osiris by Isis) while another depicts Isaic priests and worshippers. A Pentelic marble statue of Isis was also uncovered at this temple. Similar to Egyptian hieroglyphics and statues, she is shown with her right foot in front of the left and holding an ankh. [26]
Domestic Decoration
In the multicultural world that was the ancient Mediterranean, Egyptian influence is evident within Pompeiian houses from the broken pediment in wall paintings to the elevated podium in the style of the Temple of Isis. [27] As for Egyptian techniques in Pompeiian decor, excavation of wall paintings suggests that Pompeiians used an Alexandrian-derived technique for creating a vibrant cerulean blue color. [27] Though it has been argued that many Pompeiians may not have even understood how much Egyptian influence could be found in the artwork lining their homes, the presence and sharing of Egyptian material culture and techniques speaks to the multicultural influences throughout Campania.
The peristyle (i.e. the garden) within The House of Julia Felix is believed to represent a branch of the Nile Delta, most likely the Canopus Canal in Egypt. This is due to the fact that it included a series of linked water channels and was decorated with statues, elegant stuccoed columns and marble walkways. [28]
Decorative use of Sphinxes
The Egyptian sphinx was uncovered in various private and public houses in Pompeii. For example, within the House of the Faun there is a table stand in the form of a sphinx. In the Tepidarium of the Forum Baths is a brazier with sphinx shaped feet. [29]
Isis was one of the central goddesses in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology. [30] Evidence supporting the presence of the cult of Isis can be found in Puteoli, another Campanian city, as early as the beginning of the second century BCE. [31] The Temple of Isis in Pompeii, which can also be traced back to the second century BCE, marks the rise of her cult. [31] The cult became popular among slaves, freedmen, women and later the nobility with followers believing that Isis could grant eternal life as she resurrected her slain husband (Osiris) from the dead. Its foreignness to Romans and association with Cleopatra, especially during the transition from the Second Triumvirate to the reign of Augustus, sparked some contradictory actions by the Roman government. Leading up to and following the Battle of Actium, Augustus engaged in an ideological campaign which labeled Mark Antony as an effeminate other, made less manly and less Roman by his relationship with Cleopatra. [32] Augustus's subsequent restoration of shrines to Isis signified that she could perhaps be welcomed into Roman religion even after her association with Cleopatra. [33] However, his restriction of the worship of Isis to outside the pomerium in 28 BCE rendered the goddess definitively non-Roman, and demonstrated how uneasy the Roman governing elite were to envelop Egypt into the Roman sphere and risk a loss of identity. [33] Regardless, the Romans needed Egyptian imports for survival, and had little choice but to syncretize deities like Osiris and Isis into their world. In Pompeii, this Romanization of Egyptian deities ( Interpretatio Romana ) can be seen in depictions of Isis-Venus, Isis-Fortuna, and even Isis-Ceres in frescos, gardens, and small objects throughout the city. [32]
The House of the Gilded Cupids (VI.16.7, 38) is an excellent example of the relationship between foreign deities and Roman deities in Pompeii. The house's two shrines, called lararia, feature Isis, Anubis, and Serapis on one, and Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva on the other. [32] This shrine displays a fascination with the Egyptian deities but at the same time forces Egypt to be understood in the context of Roman religion, echoing the dual nature of Egyptomania among Romans at the time.
The temple dedicated to her worship is located in the theatre and gymnasium district of Pompeii. At this temple priests held two daily ceremonies. The first, celebrated before sunrise, memorialised the re-birth of Osiris while the second, celebrated in the afternoon, blessed sacred Nile water to give thanks to Isis. The Navigium Isidis, a celebration of Isis on March 5, included a procession to the ocean and was believed to bring blessings to people who, like many Pompeiians near the Bay of Naples, were involved in commercial trade by sea. [32] The temple was destroyed during the 62 AD earthquake but was quickly rebuilt, displaying Isis’ popularity in Pompeii. [34]
Anubis was the Egyptian God of the dead, associated specifically with mummification and the afterlife. Believed to be one of Egypt’s oldest gods, he is represented as a black canine or as a man with a canine head. [35] Within Pompeii, The House of the Golden Cupids has a shrine dedicated to a number of Egyptian deities including Anubis. In this shrine, Anubis is shown with his customary canine head and holds a caduceus denoting his assimilation with the Roman god Mercury. [36] Further evidence for his worship can be drawn from the Pompeian Temple of Isis which contains a fresco depicting a priest wearing a mask of Anubis. [37]
Bes was a minor Egyptian god of war, sexuality, humour and music, however predominantly he was regarded as the protector of children and pregnant women. [38] Within ancient art, this god was commonly depicted as a monstrous dwarf with large eyes, ears and a bearded head, protruding tongue, bowlegs and pronounced genitals. [39] Multiple portrayals of Bes have been uncovered in Pompeii. Within the Temple of Isis, on the north wall of the Sacrarium, Bes is represented seated on a chair. [40] Excavations completed by the Anglo-American Project in Insulae VI have also produced several bronze coins with the figure of Bes imprinted on them. [41] Specifically, these coins were a combination of imports from Ebusus and locally manufactured imitations. The Pompeian imitations were initially quite similar to their originals however over time the portrayal of Bes was simplified resulting in a vague stick figure illustration of the Egyptian god. Other unearthed coins portray Bes with symbols such as toads or horse heads while others depict him with a butting bull or the head of a Roman God, most commonly Apollo. [42]
Anubis, also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian is the god of funerary rites, protector of graves, and guide to the underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head.
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present and in control of the world. About 1500 deities are known. Rituals such as prayer and offerings were provided to the gods to gain their favor. Formal religious practice centered on the pharaohs, the rulers of Egypt, believed to possess divine powers by virtue of their positions. They acted as intermediaries between their people and the gods, and were obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain Ma'at, the order of the cosmos, and repel Isfet, which was chaos. The state dedicated enormous resources to religious rituals and to the construction of temples.
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her slain brother and husband, the divine king Osiris, and produces and protects his heir, Horus. She was believed to help the dead enter the afterlife as she had helped Osiris, and she was considered the divine mother of the pharaoh, who was likened to Horus. Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit ordinary people. Originally, she played a limited role in royal rituals and temple rites, although she was more prominent in funerary practices and magical texts. She was usually portrayed in art as a human woman wearing a throne-like hieroglyph on her head. During the New Kingdom, as she took on traits that originally belonged to Hathor, the preeminent goddess of earlier times, Isis was portrayed wearing Hathor's headdress: a sun disk between the horns of a cow.
Harpocrates was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria. Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus, who represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. Harpocrates's name was a Hellenization of the Egyptian Har-pa-khered or Heru-pa-khered, meaning "Horus the Child". Horus is represented as a naked boy with his finger to his mouth, a realisation of the hieroglyph for "child" (𓀔). Misunderstanding this gesture, the later Greeks and Roman poets made Harpocrates the god of silence and secrecy.
Nephthys or Nebet-Het in ancient Egyptian was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. A member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology, she was a daughter of Nut and Geb. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Set.
Bes, together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an ancient Egyptian deity worshipped as a protector of households and, in particular, of mothers, children, and childbirth. Bes later came to be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. According to Donald Mackenzie in 1907, Bes may have been a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia or Somalia, and his cult did not become widespread until the beginning of the New Kingdom, but more recently several Bes-like figurines have been found in deposits from the Naqada period of pre-dynastic Egypt, like the thirteen figurines found at Tell el-Farkha
In Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet was originally a deity of funerary rites, war, and royalty association, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt. His name means opener of the ways and he is often depicted as a wolf standing at the prow of a solar-boat. Some interpret that Wepwawet was seen as a scout, going out to clear routes for the army to proceed forward. One inscription from the Sinai states that Wepwawet "opens the way" to king Sekhemkhet's victory.
Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum has been both exhibited as art and censored as pornography. The Roman cities around the bay of Naples were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, thereby preserving their buildings and artefacts until extensive archaeological excavations began in the 18th century. These digs revealed the cities to be rich in erotic artefacts such as statues, frescoes, and household items decorated with sexual themes. The ubiquity of such imagery and items indicates that the treatment of sexuality in ancient Rome was more relaxed than in current Western culture. However, much of what might strike modern viewers as erotic imagery, such as oversized phalluses, could arguably be fertility imagery. Depictions of the phallus, for example, could be used in gardens to encourage the production of fertile plants. This clash of cultures led to many erotic artefacts from Pompeii being locked away from the public for nearly 200 years.
The Alexander Mosaic, also known as the Battle of Issus Mosaic, is a Roman floor mosaic originally from the House of the Faun in Pompeii that dates from c. 100 BC.
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is an important Italian archaeological museum, particularly for ancient Roman remains. Its collection includes works from Greek, Roman and Renaissance times, and especially Roman artifacts from the nearby Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum sites. From 1816 to 1861, it was known as Real Museo Borbonico.
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian God. The cult of Serapis was created during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm.
The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. They were originally delineated and described by the German archaeologist August Mau (1840–1909) from the excavation of wall paintings at Pompeii, which is one of the largest groups of surviving Roman frescoes.
Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BCE, when the Greek mainland was taken, and essentially ending in 30 BCE with the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt following the Battle of Actium. A number of the best-known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period, including Laocoön and His Sons, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. It follows the period of Classical Greek art, while the succeeding Greco-Roman art was very largely a continuation of Hellenistic trends.
The traditional Berber religion is the ancient and native set of beliefs and deities adhered to by the Berbers. Many ancient Berber beliefs were developed locally, whereas others were influenced over time through contact with others like ancient Egyptian religion, or borrowed during antiquity from the Punic religion, Ancient Canaanite religion, Iberian mythology, and the Ancient Greek religion and Ancient Roman religion and many other world religions that were present with the Berbers. Some of the ancient Berber beliefs still exist today subtly within the Berber popular culture and tradition. Syncretic influences from the traditional Berber religion can also be found in certain other faiths.
The House of the Faun, constructed in the 2nd century BC during the Samnite period, was a grand Hellenistic palace that was framed by peristyle in Pompeii, Italy. The historical significance in this impressive estate is found in the many great pieces of art that were well preserved from the ash of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is one of the most luxurious aristocratic houses from the Roman Republic, and reflects this period better than most archaeological evidence found even in Rome itself.
The Palestrina Mosaic or Nile mosaic of Palestrina is a late Hellenistic floor mosaic depicting the Nile in its passage from the Blue Nile to the Mediterranean. The mosaic was part of a Classical sanctuary-grotto in Palestrina, a town east of Ancient Rome, in central Italy. It has a width of 5.85 metres and a height of 4.31 metres and provides a glimpse into the Roman fascination with ancient Egyptian exoticism in the 1st century BC, both as an early manifestation of the role of Egypt in the Roman imagination and an example of the genre of "Nilotic landscape", with a long iconographic history in Egypt and the Aegean.
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; the site itself remains on the Via del Tempio di Iside. In the aftermath of the temple's discovery many well-known artists and illustrators swarmed to the site.
A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the latter. They were highly influenced by earlier and contemporary Hellenistic Greek mosaics, and often included famous figures from history and mythology, such as Alexander the Great in the Alexander Mosaic.
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 modern 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 private baths, a nymphaeum, a fish pond (piscina), and two atria. The Centenary underwent a remodeling around 15 AD, at which time the bath complex and swimming pool were added. In the last years before the eruption, several rooms had been extensively redecorated with a number of paintings.
Roman Republican art is the artistic production that took place in Roman territory during the period of the Republic, conventionally from 509 BC to 27 BC.
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