On 24 August 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted explosively, burying Pompeii under a crust of volcanic ash. For the next seventeen centuries, the city would remain lost, forgotten and preserved, sealed in a time capsule. Since excavations began in 1748, Pompeii was gradually revealed – street by street, building by building, room by room – providing an unparalleled record of life in the Roman Empire.
Explore this site to find out more about how the people of Pompeii lived and their culture and society. From social bathing to religious practices, businesses to public entertainment, the themes (listed in the menu) will provide the background to the objects you will see in A Day in Pompeii.
Pompeii is now world-famous, but this important historic site began as a small coastal settlement which covered about 10 hectares. As in many modern cities, the shape of the older town is still visible within the grid of later construction. By the sixth century BC, however, the town had expanded to more than six times its original size and was dominated by the Etruscans, though its culture also borrowed freely from the Greek cities of the region. Late in the fifth century BC, Pompeii changed hands again, this time thanks to Samnite tribesmen from the mountains, and it continued to grow in wealth and sophistication as the Romans continued their expansion through the Mediterranean.
Pompeii was located near Italy’s largest port, Pozzuoli, and Pompeian merchants took advantage of this proximity to set up successful businesses and trade routes, particularly with Greece. The considerable wealth they brought home spurred a building boom in Pompeii in the second century BC, and the cultural influence of Greek art and architecture on the villas these wealthy merchants built is obvious.
Material: Marble
Location: House of Loreius Tiburtinus, Pompeii
This is typical of statues that adorned Pompeii gardens. Perhaps they mimicked the imperial hunting parks, stocked with many kinds of animals, for the sport of high-ranking Romans. Or perhaps they recalled the hunts (venationes) staged at Pompeii’s amphitheatre.
SAP No: 2929