The death of Pompeii - little-known facts about the tragedy of the ancient city. How Pompeii died

A city where there are no residents, but there are crowds of tourists, where there is no city government, but there is a big name and a good annual budget. It was once a fairly large and prosperous city of the Roman Empire. Almost 30,000 people lived here (for comparison: this is three times more than the current population of Suzdal!). The city had an important strategic and economic position: a port city located on the Appian Way, which connected the south of the country with Rome.

Today we will go for a walk through the dead city of Pompeii

Depending on the significance they were wide or narrow. Paved with stone. In some places, strongly protruding cobblestones are visible - a pedestrian crossing for people during the rain, when the streets were flooded (for example, visible in the distance in the photo below). Sometimes you can see horse “parking” spots on the sides.

In Pompeii all houses have their own addresses. On the map of Pompeii that you will be given at the entrance, it will be clear how to get to which house. And there will be modern signs on the streets (as in the photo below).

Many houses are well preserved and you can even go inside and see what it was like. For example, on this street there are a couple of such houses.

On the street below on the left side there is a row of all kinds of shopping shops.

There were once all sorts of ornaments on the walls, which they are now trying to restore.

There was a problem with drinking water in the city. Like many Roman cities, an aqueduct was built here. But water from the aqueduct was supplied only to the houses of the richest citizens. The rest of the people went to fountains and wells with all sorts of containers. Well, in general, they had average dacha conditions there. Here is a street with a well.

But the city already had a developed fast food chain. Here you go: the prototype of McDonald's and others like it. Although the service, to be honest, is more reminiscent of the shawarma at the Kievsky station, which was removed from there a couple of years ago. :) Here, inside these holes there were constantly heated pots with all kinds of food. By the way, this fast food was quite popular, because... many poor houses simply did not have a kitchen.

The inhabitants of Pompeii loved to have fun, so they built two theaters there. One of them is below.

The inhabitants of Pompeii loved sex no less than you and me (yeah, who doesn’t love it! :)). They set up as many as 200 so-called lupanarii (brothels) in the city, which had certain opening hours and a certain range of services. The second floor was reserved for especially wealthy clients with VIP service. This establishment was very popular both then and now. In those days - among clients, in our days - among tourists. Nowadays it is the most visited building in Pompeii. :)

The rooms where clients were served were no more than two square meters in area. What can, with a stretch, be called a bed is a bed of some incredibly small dimensions. No doors, no ventilation. In general, I wouldn’t be attracted to sex there. Honestly. I was drawn to the fresh air there. But in general, men know better, of course. :)

By the way, comrades, if you remember, then, according to legend, Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf. So, according to one version, it was not a she-wolf at all, but the same “magnifying glass” - a lady of easy virtue, which is translated from Latin as a she-wolf. Didn't the psyche of children who grew up in a brothel suffer if they first joyfully killed their uncle, then Romulus killed Remus, and then his descendants conquered half of Europe?..

Well, okay, sex is an eternal and wonderful topic. Let's return to the city. Pompeii had a couple of fairly large squares. The largest of them is the Pompeii Forum. There was a market, a court, a municipal building, a voting building, all sorts of temples, shops, etc.

One more square. From here it was already visible. But that day, apparently, there was still a strong fog, because the photo of Vesuvius turned out somehow bad: everything was completely foggy...

Next will be what is left of people. Those who are especially impressionable may end up viewing the report at this point. And with people it was like this... Pompeii was not at all flooded with lava, as depicted in Bryullov’s painting: Pompeii was covered with many meters of ash and stones.

In that same BBC film that I mentioned at the beginning, it was shown that the first signs of the end were visible a few days before the very end. The wind brought ashes that fell on the heads of citizens so that it was almost impossible to go outside without covering their heads with something. Many hastily began to leave, but some remained in the city and took refuge in their houses.

Pompeii is one of the oldest cities in Italy, located at the foot of Vesuvius in Campania - a fertile region of the Apennine Peninsula with loose volcanic soil and a mild climate.

Ancient Campaign (from the book of Mau)

It is not known exactly when Pompeii was founded, but we know that archeology dates the fragments of the Temple of Apollo - one of the oldest buildings in the city - to the end of the 7th century. BC. Another ancient building of Pompeii - the Doric temple - dates back to the beginning of the 6th century. BC. and probably served as the cultural center of the Greek emporium. But the Oscans can be considered the true founders of the city (the oldest inscriptions of Pompeii were made in the Oscan language). The venerable age of Pompeii is also confirmed by the results of excavations by Amedeo Maiuri and Stefano de Caro: archaeologists date the early city walls and the remains of gates found in the 6th region to the middle of the 6th century BC. - the main building material of this time was tuff.

In the VI century. BC e. Pompeii was one of the cities of the union of Etruscan cities formed in Campania, led by Capua. However, the sources telling about this period do not say anything specific about the town - Pompeii does not stand out in any way from the rest of the Campanian cities. The Etruscan period ends in the middle of the 5th century. BC. - primacy in the region passes to the Samnites. The history of the change of peoples in Campania is given by Strabo in his “Geography” (V.4.8.): “Immediately adjacent to Naples is the Hercules fortress, lying on a cape jutting out into the sea, and so open to the blow of the south-west wind that this makes the settlement surprisingly healthy "This city and the next one, Pompeii, past which the Sarn River flows, were once ruled by the Osci, then by the Tyrrhenians and Pelasgians, and then by the Samnites. However, the latter were also driven out of this area."

As a result of the Samnite wars of the late IV-early III centuries. BC e. prosperous Campanian cities turn into Roman allies and are deprived of the right to an independent foreign policy, which, however, has little effect on their economy. The first written mention of the city dates back to this time - Titus Livius in his “History of Rome from the Foundation of the City” (IX, 38, 2) under 311 BC. talks about the “landing” of Roman sailors: “At the same time, Publius Cornelius, to whom the Senate entrusted the coastal regions, led the Roman fleet to Campania, and the shipmen, landing at Pompeii, set off to ravage the Nuceria possessions.” The Romanization of Pompeii begins, but more than two centuries must pass before its final completion. The chronicles of these centuries did not preserve any mention of the city, and the next time Pompeii appeared in Roman history was in the 1st century. BC.

In 89 BC, during the Allied War, Lucius Cornelius Sulla led the siege of Pompeii, but was forced to retreat - the city managed to hold out. During this turbulent time, the city wall was additionally fortified with 12 towers. True, this did not save Pompeii; later Sulla managed to break the resistance of the residents, and then place about 2 thousand veterans of his army who had served in the city as colonists. Pompeii received the status of a Roman colony with the new name Coloniae Corneliae Veneriae Pompeianorum.

Traces of Sulla's battering guns on a section of the city wall of Pompeii

Rome's dominant position in the Mediterranean contributed to the development of maritime trade and the emergence of new markets in the East. The invention of cheap, locally made concrete and the widespread use of slave labor led to a boom in construction. The empire paid special attention to civil architecture: water pipelines and bridges, baths and amphitheatres, villas and multi-storey residential buildings were built. The creation of excellent roads throughout Italy contributes to the development of overland trade and interregional connections. Cities are being intensively built up with shops, markets and other premises for exchange and trade.

In the 1st century BC e. Pompeii is turning into a well-maintained cultural center. An amphitheater for 20 thousand spectators, an Odeon, and numerous private buildings are being built, and streets are being paved. The city is actively decorated with sculptures, mosaics, and frescoes created at a high artistic level.

February 5, 62 AD The first bell of the impending catastrophe sounded - a powerful earthquake occurred in Campania with an epicenter in the vicinity of Pompeii. The city was destroyed, and Nuceria, Herculaneum and other nearby towns were also badly damaged. Naturally, for such a seismically active zone as Campania, earthquakes are not uncommon, as Seneca notes in his treatise “Naturales Quaestiones” (VI, I, 2): “... it is true that Campania has never been free from the threat of such disasters, but they happened so many times without causing any harm that the fear of them passed..." However, this time the power of the elements exceeded the scale known to the generation - the Pompeians even captured its consequences in art: the lararium in the house of the Pompeian banker Lucius Caecilius Jucunda depicts a whole series of buildings of the city during an earthquake.

Bas-relief from the house of Jucunda

The next 15 years of Pompeii were filled with feverish construction activity - city residents restored what was destroyed by the earthquake and even laid new buildings. One of the largest buildings in Pompeii after the earthquake - the Central Baths - was never completed by 79 AD. In many houses, archaeologists found traces of reconstruction, cosmetic repairs, renovation of paintings and mosaics. Everything indicated that the inhabitants of Pompeii, despite the cruel blow of nature, did not take Vesuvius into account in their future plans for life.

Mild tremors of the 70s. AD The townspeople took it very seriously - the cracks in the walls served as the reason for another renovation of the interiors of houses and other restoration work in the city. Many indications of another construction boom have been found: valuables in rich houses are stacked in locked utility rooms, tools, amphorae with lime, and pots of paints are laid out in rooms ready for decoration. Everything indicates that the earthquake preceding the eruption did not cause panic among the Pompeians, and they prepared for the usual restoration of what was damaged by the elements.

But on August 24, the history of the city is suddenly interrupted - the hitherto dormant Vesuvius wakes up and brings down all sorts of products of volcanic activity onto the surrounding area. Tremors, flakes of ash, stones falling from the sky - all this took the inhabitants of Pompeii by surprise. People tried to take refuge in houses, but died from suffocation or under the rubble. Death overtook some in public places - in theaters, markets, forums, churches, others - on the streets of the city, others - already outside the city limits. However, the vast majority of residents still managed to leave the city.

Bryullov K.P. The last day of Pompeii. 1833

The eruption of Vesuvius lasted all day. Pompeii was covered with a multi-meter layer of ash and lapilli. The nearby towns of Stabia and Octavianum suffered the same fate. Herculaneum, located on the other side of the volcano, died a little later - on the next day it was destroyed by a powerful pyroclastic wave, and the rain that began after the eruption washed away the ashes from the slopes of Vesuvius, and the destroyed city was flooded with mud flows - mudflows and lahars.

Dust and ash hung in the sky like a black veil for three days. An investigative commission that arrived at Vesuvius found that the towns were irretrievably lost. For some time, the surviving people wandered through the ruins, trying to find their property, but soon they too left the dead city.

They forgot about Pompeii until the 16th century, until in 1592-1600, when digging underground tunnels to divert water from the Sarno River to the villa of Count Tuttavilla under the leadership of the Italian architect Domenico Fontana, several inscriptions were found, as well as fragments of colored wall paintings, which, however, were unknown to anyone It didn’t occur to me to connect it with Pompeii, although one of the inscriptions contained two perfectly preserved words “decurio pompeis” (which was interpreted as the name of the owner of the “found villa” - Pompey, but in fact it was a mention of one of the city positions).

Fountain tunnel to drain water from the Sarno River

The assumption about the identity of Civita and ancient Pompeii was first made by the German antiquarian Holsteinius, who visited the town in 1637, but was perceived negatively by the public. Another inscription with the name of the city, found in 1689, sparked discussions in the scientific world. The architect Pichetti again suggested that the site was somehow connected with Pompey, while the historian Bianchini stated that the inscription directly points to the location of the ancient city of Pompeii.

One of the Pompeii inscriptions in Oscan language

In 1748, the head of the excavations in Herculaneum, Joaquin de Alcubierre, as a military engineer who controlled the work and maintenance of all royal military facilities, received a message about the discovery of some ancient objects in the town of La Civita near the city of Torre Annunziata, where the royal gunpowder factories were located. Assuming that the Stabiae buried by Vesuvius were also located there, Alcubierre transferred several workers from Herculaneum to Civita. In technical terms, working here turned out to be easier - the layer of volcanic material is three times smaller and not as hard as in Herculaneum.

However, three months of work in Pompeii did not satisfy Alcubierre with the number of things found, and the excavations were curtailed for a while, and the workers returned to Herculaneum. From the Stabii, in documents of those years prepared by Alcubierre himself, a plan for a section of the amphitheater has been preserved.

They returned to Pompeii again in 1750. Alcubierre's newly appointed assistant, Karl Weber, undertook to explore the city villa of Julia Felix, already known since 1748. Over the next 7 years (in 1757, Julia's property was filled up after the removal of things suitable for the king), Weber was able to draw up a detailed plan of the entire complex, indicating the exact locations of all finds, linking this plan with inventory lists. Even later - probably in 1759 or 1760 - he also prepared axonometric documentation of the Villa Julia Felix. All this time, Pompeii was conventionally considered Stabiae (despite the work in the real Stabiae and Gragnano).

Only 15 years after the start of regular excavations - on August 18, 1763 - the border pillar of Pompeii was discovered (more details in the chapter on excavations of 1748-1798), which made it possible to accurately determine the object of interest of archaeologists.

Thanks to its sudden and rapid destruction, Pompeii is the best preserved ancient city. Since the entire furnishings of the houses remained untouched under a layer of solidified lava, Pompeii became an important and valuable source of information about the life, way of life, urban structure, culture and art of the Roman Empire in the 1st century. n. e.

To date, 3/5 of the city has been opened (they decided to leave the rest to future generations): defensive walls, gates, necropolises, blocks of residential buildings with mosaics, frescoes and sculptures in excellent preservation, two forums, an amphitheater and two theaters, temples and much more. The Pompeii lighting project is being implemented.

Fragment of a three-dimensional map of the ruins of Pompeii. National Archaeological Museum of Naples

(c) Yully Uletova

Reasonable attempts are now being made to push the date of the eruption forward by 2 months - to October 79 AD.

The date itself in Pliny's letters, indicated as nonum kal. Septembres, was translated as August 24, but now the translation tradition can be revised in favor of non(as) Novembr(es) or nonum kal (endas) Decembres, which moves the eruption date to the end of October, the beginning of November, or even the end of December.

In favor of the “autumn version,” archaeologists give the following arguments:
- ripe fruits, including grapes, found during excavations;
- warm clothes on some victims and braziers in the premises;
- jugs full of wine in a rural villa in Boscoreale;
- a silver coin from the House of the Golden Bracelet (where the title of Titus was minted with the indication "imperator XV", which could not have happened before the beginning of September).

Pompeii is a real ancient city; many wealthy Romans had country villas here. Walking through the streets, you see shops, villas, a theater, a gladiator school, forums and markets. Everything here is real. You can even see “people” in the Rescue Garden: there are 17 plaster casts made in the shape of “air pockets” found during excavations. We see here a woman stretching her arms forward, as if she is trying to push away an inevitable fate, people with their mouths open in a silent scream, trying unsuccessfully to protect their children; there is even a couple of lovers.

It is interesting to get acquainted with the Vetiev house, where two merchant brothers lived. Even the flowers in the garden left clear imprints in the ash, as did droplets of water from the cooling system in the atrium. In some rooms we were able to discover amazing, virtually intact frescoes.

The frescoes are one of the best evidence of the residents' daily activities and holidays. Even in the brothel, there is a mural above each doorway illustrating the activities of the visitors.

To this day, the excavations of Pompeii represent the most magnificent example of an ancient Roman city and its everyday culture - an inexhaustible source of research for archaeologists, historians of the ancient world and classical philologists. In 1997, Pompeii was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, but this does not protect the city from further destruction. Decades of neglect of antiquity, vandalism of monuments and an excessive flow of tourists (this is the most visited ancient attraction in Italy, 2 million tourists flock here every year) - all together have led to the fact that the excavations are now in a catastrophic state. Of the sixty-five residential buildings and public buildings still accessible for viewing in 1956, only fifteen can be reached today: the rest are simply dangerous due to possible collapse, they are abandoned and neglected. Therefore, many scientists and representatives of the tourism industry have created a certain cultural institute - “Phoenix Pompeji”, which, through various actions and fundraising, is trying to preserve both cities under Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The modern city of Pompeii is adjacent to the excavation site on the eastern side. The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario, clearly visible from afar thanks to its five-story bell tower, was built at the end of the 19th century. - after the appearance of the Virgin Mary in these places. Especially many pilgrims come on May 8 and the first Sunday in October.

Vesuvius eruption

Description of the horrific events of 79 AD. e. we find in the letters of the Roman writer Pliny the Younger to Tacitus: he observed what was happening from a neighboring town:

“It was already the first hour of the day: the day was gloomy, as if exhausted. The buildings around were shaking, we were in the open, but in the dark, and it was very scary that they would collapse. Then we finally decided to leave the city; We were followed by a shocked crowd that prefers someone else's decision to their own; In horror, she thinks this is a semblance of prudence. A huge number of people crowded us and pushed us forward. Having left the city, we stopped. The carts that we ordered to be sent forward were thrown from side to side on completely level ground, although they were propped up with stones. We saw how the sea is drawn into itself; the earth, shaking, seemed to push him away from itself. The shore was undoubtedly moving forward; many sea animals are stuck on the dry sand. On the other hand, fiery zigzags flashed and ran across the black terrible thundercloud, and it split into long stripes of flame, similar to lightning, but larger. A little later, this cloud began to descend to the ground, covered the sea, encircled Caprei and hid them, and carried Cape Misensky out of sight. Ashes, still rare, began to fall; Looking back, I saw thick darkness approaching us, which, like a stream, spreads after us across the earth. Darkness fell, but not like on a moonless night, but like what happens in a closed room when a fire is being put out. Women's screams, children's squeaks and men's screams were heard... Many raised their hands to the gods, but most claimed that there were no more gods and that the last eternal night had come for the world...”

Story

It is believed that Pompeii was founded in the 7th century. BC. by the ancient Italian people Osci. In the 5th century, the city was conquered by the Etruscans, and at the end of the 5th century. - Samnites, who in the 3rd century. driven out by the Romans. The advantageous location - now, due to sand deposits, the sea has moved 2 km away - and fertile lands at the foot of Vesuvius contributed to the rapid transformation of Pompeii into a thriving trading and port city, where about 20 thousand people lived, half of whom were slaves. The first natural disaster occurred in 62 AD, when Pompeii was first destroyed by a strong earthquake. The restoration of the city was still in full swing when on August 24, 79 AD. A new powerful eruption of Vesuvius occurred, burying Pompeii under a six-meter layer of ash and lava. Approximately 2,000 people died then, but most of the residents managed to escape, taking only the most valuable things. The city was devastated, but even at that time the survivors managed to find many valuable items under the still loose blanket of ash. For almost 1700 years, Pompeii was, as it were, mothballed. Excavations began in the 18th century. - and today are about two-thirds complete. Many buildings lie in ruins, and the most interesting finds are exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. With the start of the “new excavations” in 1911, archaeologists, whenever possible, left the interior decoration of the premises and household items in place. Despite many restrictions, perhaps nowhere else does ancient culture and its housing traditions, represented in rich and not very rich houses, as well as the market square and streets, theaters and temples appear so directly and visibly to visitors. In his Notebook (1787), Goethe wrote about the “mummified city” this way: many terrible events have happened in the world, but very few can bring so much joy to descendants.

Antique city

The center of ancient Pompeii was the Forum, where, as elsewhere in Roman cities, the most important buildings were located, and nearby were inns, taverns and kitchens, baths, latrines, up to thirty lupanaria - brothels, as well as numerous trading shops and craft workshops: bakeries, dyehouses, fulling mills and weaving workshops. The roads are paved with pieces of petrified lava, stone bridges are made for pedestrians to cross to the other side of the street, and deep grooves on the pavement indicate the busy movement of carts and chariots. The intersections were decorated with fountains, and the facades of many houses were decorated with frescoes.

A typical Roman town house had a rectangular plan. The outer walls had almost no windows: the rooms facing the street were most often used as trading shops or workshops. The front door led into a short gallery and immediately into an atrium with a pool for collecting rainwater. Around the atrium there were sleeping and living quarters, and opposite the entrance there was a tablinium - a living room and an office. Inside the house, as a rule, there was a garden framed by a covered colonnade - peristyle. Sometimes there was another garden adjacent to it. In the peristyle there was a triclinium - a dining room, and the kitchen and cellar were located in each house differently. Many dwellings had an upper floor with balconies. Surviving fragments of stucco decorations, intricate wall paintings and mosaic floors speak of the taste and wealth of the former occupants.

Painting in Poimeya

Despite the fact that the heyday of Pompeii lasted only 160 years, it is customary to distinguish four styles in the art of urban wall painting. For the first style, which remained relevant until about 80 BC. characterized by the absence of figures. The walls are decorated with paintings that imitate marble inlay, as, for example, can be seen in the Casa di Sallustio.

The second style (up to about 10 AD) is characterized by images with perspective; the most famous example is the Villa of Mysteries. The third style, which took shape over the next 40 years, is characterized by landscapes and images of mythological subjects - instead of perspective painting, for example in the Casa di Lucretio Fronto. Finally, the times of the city’s decline are characterized by a fourth style: the walls are covered with paintings in the spirit of mannerism, the spatial-perspective image returns; the frescoes are inhabited by mythical creatures and decorated with ornaments - the most beautiful wall paintings can be seen in the Casa di Loreius Tiburtinus.

Excavations in Pompeii

The city, which covers an area of ​​more than 60 hectares and is equal to the territory of one hundred modern football fields, is allowed to be viewed only in some of its areas.

Antiquarium

Outside the city gates on the right is the Antiquarium, where archaeological finds from pre-Samnite to Roman times are kept. Particularly impressive are the plaster casts of people and animals who died during the eruption of Vesuvius. Their bodies were preserved in the voids of the lava layer and were recovered at the end of the 19th century, when the voids were filled with gypsum. Via Marina leads from the Antiquarium to the Forum. Where the street turns into a square, on the right stands the largest building of Pompeii - the basilica of the 2nd century. BC, which served as a stock exchange, court or place for public meetings.

Forum

The elongated Forum was formerly paved with marble slabs and surrounded on three sides by two-story colonnades. Here was the main sanctuary of the city - the temple of Apollo framed by forty-eight Ionic columns; the second temple, dedicated to Jupiter, is on the north side. During the eruption of Vesuvius, it was just being restored. Nearby there was a market pavilion surrounded by trade shops or market stalls, the temple of Emperor Vespasian and the building of the eumachium - presumably the workshops of cloth merchants. On the south side of the Forum, among the three columns was the city council.

Stabian terms

Following Via dell "Abbondanza, the main shopping street of ancient Pompeii - Decumanus Maior, you can go to the Stabian Baths, the largest and best-preserved Roman baths. First, the visitor enters the palaestra surrounded by columns - the room where the physical education of young men was carried out. On the left is a swimming pool with a changing room, on the right is a men's bathhouse, which was adjacent to a women's bathhouse, they are separated by heating rooms. The bathhouses were heated by a special pipe system (hypocaust), located under the floor. Hot air from the stove flowed through these pipes - the system can be studied quite well. In the men's The bathhouse had a round bathhouse with cold water; adjacent to the men's and women's halves there was one dressing room with niches where clothes could be folded, and a walk-through, weakly heated room, as well as a steam room. In the alley to the left of the thermal baths there was a lupanarium, the premises of which were painted with frescoes erotic content.

Triangular Forum

Via dei Teatri ends in the theater quarter, located on the Triangular Forum. Nearby are the ruins of a 6th century Greek temple. BC.; Gladiators lived and trained in the barracks opposite. The Great Theater (Teatro Grande, 200-150 BC) accommodated 5,000 spectators. The Maly Theater, Odeon, located nearby, is better preserved; This is the oldest example of an indoor Roman theater with 1000 seats. Around 75 BC e. Mostly musical performances were given here; in addition, reciters performed. A little to the north on the left there is a small temple of Jupiter Meilichius, behind it - built in 62 AD. Temple of Isis, magical wall paintings from which can be seen in the National Museum of Naples. In 1817, a certain Henri Beyle, the famous French writer known as Stendhal, also immortalized his name on the wall of the temple. Along Via Stabiana you can go to the House of the Cifareda - one of the largest in Pompeii; there was also a cloth workshop, a bakery and a tavern at the house.

New excavations

Ha Via dell "Abbondanza, about 100 m on the right side, the so-called New Excavations (Nuovi Scavi) begin, which means: wall paintings and home decorations are left where they were found; this is how many of the upper floors with balconies and loggias were preserved The many inscriptions found made it possible to compile the so-called “Address Book” with five hundred and fifty names.The quarter, in which mainly merchants settled, dates back to the last period of the existence of Pompeii.

Artistic delights await visitors in front of the Casa di Lucius Ceius Secundus, where the stucco on the façade of the house imitates cut stone masonry; Fullonica Stefani's house was clearly prettier; in the Casa del Criptoportico there is a passage in the underground floor, protected from the weather.

Well preserved and decorated with wall paintings and mosaics, the House of Menander belonged to a wealthy merchant, and the house owes its name to the image of the Greek comedian Menander in a niche of the magnificent peristyle. Further on the left but Via dell "Abbondanza is the house of Termopolio di Asellina, it was a tavern where drinks and food were served. Pots and vessels were inserted into the counter facing the street. The facade with many inscriptions refers to the house of Trebius Valens; standing nearby on the right, the house of Loreus Tiburtina - one of the largest private houses in Pompeii - had a magnificent garden.

Further south and east of Via dell'Abbondanza are the newest excavations; especially interesting are the House of the Gardener, the House of Venus with a magnificent image of Venus, as well as the House of Julia Felis - a city villa, later rebuilt into an apartment house.

Near the house of Lorey Tiburtina is the city sports square, called the Palestra, it is surrounded on three sides by porticoes with columns, and in the center is a swimming pool. Adjacent to the square is an amphitheater for 20 thousand spectators, which began to be built around 80 BC. This is one of the most ancient Roman amphitheatres; unlike later ones, it has no underground structures. Nearby is the city wall with the Porta di Nocera gate, behind which, as in all ancient cities, along the street leading from the city, there were necropolises and tomb structures.

In the northern part of the excavations you can see other famous houses, including the Casa del Centenario with many picturesque images of animals and landscapes and the Casa di Lucretius Frontone, where the image of Eros is repeated many times in medallions decorating the walls. In the Casa delle Nozze d "Argento (or house of the Silver Wedding) there is a beautiful atrium and peristyle; in the garden of the house of the Gilded Cupids, marble decoration has been preserved.

House of the Vettii

One of the most famous houses is the House of Vettnev, which dates from the last decades of Pompeii. The owners of the house, decorated with many wall paintings, were brothers - wealthy merchants of Vettii. At the entrance on the right there is a fresco depicting the god of fertility Priapus with a huge phallus; the frescoes in the triclinium - to the right of the peristyle - represent mythological scenes. The courtyard, surrounded by columns, is beautifully planted with statues and pools; The room on the narrow side of the house is decorated with a black frieze with figures of cupids imitating the activities of people. Ancient kitchen utensils have been preserved in the kitchen. The neighboring house of the Labyrinth dates back to Samnite times.

House of the Faun

Opposite, the house of the Faun stretches diagonally, occupying an entire nnsula. The entrance to it is from Via di Nola. Next to the impluvium - the pool in the atrium - is a copy of the statue of a dancing Faun found here (hence the name of the house). In a room with red columns was found the famous mosaic depicting the battle of Alexander the Great - both masterpieces can be seen in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The Baths of the Forum, located a stone's throw away, are slightly smaller and more modest than the Stabius Baths, but in the same way occupy an entire insula.

House of the Tragic Poet

The luxuriously furnished House of the Tragic Poet became famous thanks to the floor mosaic at the entrance: it depicts a dog on a chain and the inscription “Cave Sftu” (Latin - beware of the dog). It borders the Hellenistic era Casa di Pansa (of the Vibii family), later converted into an apartment building. North of the House of the Tragic Poet - Fullonica (fullment shop): next to the left are the house of the Great Fountain and the house of the Small Fountain - both have really beautiful fountains.

House of Sallust

From the House of the Small Fountain you can walk along the Vicolo di Mercurio to the House of Sallust, decorated with beautiful paintings. Many medical instruments were found in the House of the Surgeon in Via Consolare; Apparently, about 2000 years ago a surgeon practiced here.

Street of Tombs and Villa Diomedes

Behind the city wall and the Herculanean gates, the so-called Via dei Sepolcri, bordered by cypress trees, begins. Street of the Tombs. The impressive tombs here, along with those on the Roman Appian Way, are one of the most impressive examples of burials of noble or wealthy citizens along public roads. At the northwest end stands the Villa of Diomedes; in the garden, surrounded by a portico, there is a pavilion with a swimming pool. Eighteen bodies of women and children who died here were found in the basements of the villa. Near the doors walled up today, which formerly led from the garden to the sea, two were found; the supposed owner of the house with a key in his hands, and next to him is a slave holding a wallet with money.

Villa of Mysteries

The most beautiful ancient frescoes have been preserved in all the freshness of their magnificent colors in the Villa of the Mysteries. In the spacious triclinium you can clearly see a cycle of frescoes (17 m long) with figures depicted almost in human height and painted, most likely, between 70 and 50 years. BC e. based on samples from the 3rd century. BC. It is assumed that this cycle represents the initiation of a certain lady into the mysteries of the cult of Dionysius.

Pompeii area

Among the many ancient villas located 4 km from Pompeii in the vicinity of Boscoreale, you should visit Villa Regina, a small but well-preserved country house. Nearby, on Via Settembrini 15, there is a little-known, but nevertheless very interesting museum of antiquities - Antiquarium di Boscoreale, whose exhibitions tell about the settlement of the Vesuvius region and the life of the inhabitants of Pompeii, as well as the history of excavations.

Viewpoint

Around the city walls of Pompeii there is a long (3.5 km) road, up to 8 m high, from which interesting views open up. The high bell tower (80 m) of the Santuario della Beata Vergine del Rosario temple, located on the territory of the modern city of Pompeii, also provides a good overview. You can take a lift to the observation terrace.

Working hours:
May-Oct. 9.00-13.00, 15.30-18.30;
Nov.-Apr. 9.00-13.00

Vesuvius's last eruption

On April 24, 1872, one of several powerful eruptions of the Vesuvius volcano occurred: two villages were buried under fiery lava, and the last major eruption occurred in 1944, and then the lava destroyed the city of San Sebastiano.

Arrival

The best way to get to Pompeii is by public transport, for example the Ferrovia Circumve-Suviana Neapel-Sorrent railway to Villa dei Misteri station. Another option: train Naples-Salerno to Pompei Scavi station. By car, take highway A 3, exit towards Pompei-Scavi.

Inquiries

Via Sacra 1.80045 Pompei;
Tel.: 08 18 50 72 55;
www.pompei.it
www.pompeiisites.org

Tourists visiting Southern Italy and its pearl, the city of Naples, have the opportunity to enjoy beautiful views, including the majestic mountain, located just a few kilometers from the city limits.

The mountain, only 1281 meters high, does not look intimidating, especially if you don’t know its name - Vesuvius. It is the only active volcano in continental Europe and one of the most dangerous volcanoes known to mankind.

For those who do not find the appearance of Vesuvius frightening, local residents will advise a trip to the coast of the Gulf of Naples, east of Naples. There are three ancient cities there - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, life in which ceased on one day, August 24, 79, when the volcano began to speak in full force.

In the 1st century AD, serious and systematic observations of volcanoes, including Vesuvius, were not carried out. And it’s unlikely that they would have helped - Vesuvius has not been active since the Bronze Age and was considered extinct long ago.

In 74 BC Spartacus and the gladiators who joined him at the very beginning of their uprising hid from their pursuers precisely on Vesuvius, covered with lush vegetation.

Local residents did not feel any threat from the proximity to the volcano.

"Ancient Roman Rublevka" was founded by Hercules

The largest of the ancient cities adjacent to Vesuvius was the city of Pompeii, founded in the 6th century BC. In the city, which was considered a colony of Rome after the capture of the Roman dictator Sulla in 89 BC, according to modern estimates, about 20 thousand people lived. It was an important point on the trade route between Rome and southern Italy, and such a favorable location was one of the reasons for its prosperity.

In addition, Pompeii can be called something between an ancient resort and the “ancient Roman Rublyovka” - many noble citizens of Rome had their villas here.

Nearby Herculaneum, like Pompeii, was founded in the 6th century BC. Its founding was attributed Hercules, who performed one of the feats in these places and “celebrated” this event by founding not even one, but two cities (the second was Pompeii).

The city, located directly on the seashore, was used as a port for a long time and developed successfully. However, by 79, the best time for Herculaneum was already in the past - the city was badly damaged by a powerful earthquake that occurred in 62, and by the time of the new disaster no more than 4,000 people lived in it.

By 79, Stabiae was considered a city only conditionally. The once fairly large settlement was virtually completely destroyed during the “visit of Sulla” in 89 BC, as a result of which Pompeii lost its independence.

The city was not restored, but representatives of the Roman aristocracy from among those who did not make it to “Rublyovka” in Pompeii chose it for their villas.

End of the world after lunch

Less than 20 years before the eruption of Vesuvius, a large-scale earthquake occurred in this area. A number of villages near Herculaneum and Pompeii were completely destroyed, and there was very serious destruction in the cities themselves.

Human memory, however, can quickly erase unpleasant memories. Over the course of 17 years, much of what was destroyed was rebuilt. This is especially true for the city of Pompeii, which has become even better than before. The attractions of the city were the Temple of Jupiter, the forum and the amphitheater, which could accommodate almost the entire population of Pompeii.

Life in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae went on as usual until August 24, 79. Moreover, on this day people flocked to the Pompeii amphitheater to watch gladiator fights.

The eruption began on the afternoon of August 24 and came as a complete surprise to residents of nearby towns and villages. Vesuvius threw a huge cloud of hot ash into the sky. The thermal energy released by the volcano during the eruption was several times greater than the energy released during the bombing of Hiroshima. The cloud of stones, ash and smoke reached a height of 33 kilometers. The western part of the volcano exploded and fell into an expanded crater.

Despite the horror of what was happening, for city residents the disaster was not at all lightning fast. Ash fall, although it made breathing difficult and made it difficult to move around the city, was not a fatal phenomenon. Everyone who was able to assess the impending threat began to quickly leave the cities that were in danger. But not everyone could objectively assess the degree of danger.

Save yourself, whoever wants to

Famous ancient Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who in 79 held the post of commander of the galley fleet in Misenum on the shores of the Gulf of Naples, with the beginning of the eruption, attracted by its grandeur, headed to Stabiae in order to observe the violence of the elements and help the victims. Arriving in Stabia a few hours later, he was unable to leave due to the low tide. While calming the frightened inhabitants and awaiting changes in conditions at sea, Pliny the Elder died suddenly. According to one version, the cause of his death was sulfur fumes.

From his nephew's letters Pliny the Younger It is known that the disaster developed over a long period of time. Pliny the Elder, for example, died on the night of August 26, that is, more than a day after the start of the eruption.

According to researchers, the fatal blow to Pompeii and Herculaneum was dealt by pyroclastic flows - a mixture of high-temperature (up to 800 degrees Celsius) volcanic gases, ash and stones, capable of reaching speeds of up to 700 kilometers per hour. It was pyroclastic flows that caused the death of most of the people remaining in Herculaneum.

However, these flows hit the cities no earlier than 18-20 hours after the start of the disaster. All this time, the city residents had the opportunity to avoid death, which, obviously, the majority took advantage of.

It is very difficult to establish the exact number of victims of the disaster, because numbers of different orders are called. But, according to modern estimates, most likely, out of 20 thousand inhabitants of the city of Pompeii, about two thousand died. In Stabiae and Herculaneum the number of deaths was lower due to the fact that they themselves were much smaller than Pompeii.

Pliny the Younger did not witness what happened in Pompeii and Herculaneum, but he left evidence of the panic at Misenum, which survived the disaster: “The panic-stricken crowd followed us and (like any soul maddened with horror, any proposal seems more prudent , than her own) pressed on us like a dense mass, pushing us forward when we came out... We froze in the midst of the most dangerous and terrifying scene. The chariots that we ventured to take out shook so violently back and forth, although they were standing on the ground, that we could not hold them up even by placing large stones under the wheels. The sea seemed to roll back and be pulled away from the shores by the convulsive movements of the Earth; definitely the land expanded significantly, and some sea animals found themselves on the sand... Finally, the terrible darkness began to gradually dissipate, like a cloud of smoke; daylight appeared again, and the sun even came out, although its light was gloomy, as happens before an approaching eclipse. Every object that appeared before our eyes (which were extremely weakened) seemed to have changed, covered with a thick layer of ash, as if snow.”

Canned history

After the first impact, a second wave of pyroclastic flows followed, which completed the job. Pompeii and Stabiae found themselves under a layer of ash and pumice 8 meters deep; in Herculaneum the layer of ash, stones and dirt was about 20 meters.

Who died in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae?

Among the victims of the eruption were many slaves, whom their owners left to guard their property. Elderly and sick people who were unable to leave the cities due to their condition died. There were also those who decided that they would be able to wait out the disaster in their own home.

Some of the victims of the eruption, having already left the city, remained dangerously close to it. They died from poisoning by gases released during the rampage of Vesuvius.

Huge masses of ash and pyroclastic flows “mothballed” the cities and those who remained in them, in the state in which they were at the time of destruction.

The surviving residents did not attempt to excavate the site of the tragedy, simply moving to a new location.

The lost cities were remembered only in the 18th century, when, after a new eruption of Vesuvius, workers in this area stumbled upon ancient Roman coins. For some time, the territory became a paradise for gold miners. Later they were replaced by hunters of rarities in the form of statues and other historical relics.

Full excavations of the city of Pompeii have begun Italian archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli. It was he who discovered that voids had formed in place of the bodies of people and animals buried under a layer of volcanic ash. By filling these voids with plaster, it was possible to reconstruct the dying poses of the victims of the eruption.

Giuseppe Fiorelli began the systematic work of scientists in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, which continues to this day.

As for Vesuvius, 2014 marks 70 years since its last major eruption. However, scientists are convinced that the longer he is silent, the more powerful his next blow will be.

Pompeii is an ancient Roman city near Naples, in the Campania region, buried under a layer of volcanic ash as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79.
Now it is an open-air museum. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Recent excavations have shown that in the 1st millennium BC. e. there was a settlement near the modern city of Nola. A new settlement - Pompeii - was founded by the Osci in the 6th century BC. e. The name of the city most likely goes back to the Oscan pumpe - five, and is known from the very foundation of the city, which indicates the formation of Pompeii as a result of the merger of five settlements. The division into 5 electoral districts remained in Roman times. According to another version, the name comes from the Greek pompe (triumphal procession): according to the legend about the founding of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum by the hero Hercules, he, having defeated the giant Geryon, solemnly marched through the city.
The early history of the city is little known. Surviving sources speak of clashes between the Greeks and Etruscans. For some time, Pompeii belonged to Cumae, from the end of the 6th century BC. e. were under the influence of the Etruscans and were part of a union of cities led by Capua. Moreover, in 525 BC. e. A Doric temple was built in honor of the Greek gods. After the defeat of the Etruscans in Kita, Syracuse in 474 BC. e. The Greeks regained dominance in the region. In the 20s of the 5th century BC. e. together with other cities of Campania, they were conquered by the Samnites. During the Second Samnite War, the Samnites were defeated by the Roman Republic, and Pompeii around 310 BC. e. became allies of Rome.
The city took part in the uprising of the Italian allied cities of 90-88 BC. e., during which in 89 BC. e. was taken by Sulla, after which it was limited in self-government and made a Roman colony of Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum. It occupied an important place on the Via Appia trade route connecting Rome and Southern Italy. Many noble Romans had villas in Pompeii. There is evidence that around 2,000 Roman veterans were housed in a large enclosure in the south-eastern part of the city with their families. It is unknown whether these parts of the city were taken from their owners for this purpose.
According to Tacitus, in 59 AD. e. There was a brutal battle between the inhabitants of Pompeii and Nuceria. Beginning with a squabble during gladiatorial games in the Pompeian arena, the conflict escalated into a fight in which the Pompeians gained the upper hand, and among the Nucerians many people were killed or injured. After a long trial, the Senate sent the culprits into exile and banned games in Pompeii for 10 years. However, already in 62 the ban was lifted.