Life in Pompeii

Pompeii was formed a long time ago, archeologists have found a hand axe that dates back

to the Neolithic times. Pompeii had walls made of pappamonte1. These walls were always

improved along the centuries that Pompeii was alive. Researchers say that Pompeii expanded to

its final size only during the fourth century BC(Ling 29) This is saying that Pompeii took

time to expand to its full size. Pompeii was buried in volcanic ashes from Mount Vesuvius in

79AD. The city had been evacuated but about two thousand people died from these ashes. The

city had been buried in ashes for about two thousand years before archeologist found the city.

When they found the city it was still preserved with all the ashes. They found all of Pompeiis

buildings, artifacts, and skeletons of people.who didnt escape the city. Like many other cities,

Pompeii had religion in it too. It also had its economic and social life.

Pompeii ,like any other society, had religion. The people in Pompeii believed in multiple

gods with different personalities and different spheres of competence. Evidence that people from

Pompeii practiced religions was that they found temples and altars in the city. The grand public

temples that were in Pompeii represented the more popular deities. Below these greater temples

were the more modest temples which were for the other Greco-Roman and imported god. The

last more smaller place citizens in Pompeii worshipped their gods was in small street side shrines

or in their homes.2 The official gods that they worshipped were Athena, Hercules, Hephaestus,

Pappomonte was a soft local volcanic tuff. This material was also used to build early house foundations and
other materials.
2

These smaller at home shrines were for people who believed in more than one deity. They were also for
their own personal prayers and offerings.


Ixion, and etc. A lot these deities had their own temples in Pompeii. The oldest temple that was

made in Pompeii was a temple of Minerva.3 These temples were closed from all four walls and

the ceiling with colonnades.4 The columns were arranged seven on the front and back side of the

temples and eleven on the sides of the temples. This wasnt the same pattern as Greek temples,

Greek colonnades were arranged six on the front and back and thirteen on the sides. The smaller

shrines that citizens had on street corners were usually sculptures or painting of deities. More

shrines like this were found in homes shops and workshops to protect the activities of the

citizens everyday life. The most common deities that were found in the street were Bacchus,

Venus, and Hercules. Another one that was common was Mercury, the god of tradesmen. In

homes the common deity that was found were Lares Familiares, the protectors of the households.

The shrines of Lares were mostly found in kitchens pouring wine from a drinking horn into a

patera. Some citizens in Pompeii also had superstition and magic practices. This was known

because of all the symbols that were painted on street walls or carved in paving slab. These

symbols represented charms of good luck and they kept evil spirits away. There were signs that

some citizens knew about Christianity because they found a message scribbled to a wall that

couldve dealt with the christian religion.

Pompeiis economic income was made from having workshops and trading with other

cities. In Pompeii The shops naturally serviced the needs of the townspeople.(Ling 115) This

is saying that Pompeii was able to make its own necessities and didnt really didnt really need to

trade with with other cities to get what they wanted. When they did trade with other cities they

http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/religion-%2526-burials/
4

Colonnades were rows of columns that support a ceiling/ roof.



traded for more specialised or luxury items will have been imported from further afield.

(Ling 115-116) This is saying that Pompeii couldnt make the luxury that all people wanted.

Citizens from Pompeii had to trade with other cities to get some of the better luxuries that they

couldnt produce themselves.5 The growth of grapevines was also impotants to Pompeiis

economics. They were able to make wine out of the grapes. They were able to grow the grapes

outside of the city with some of the volcanic soil. They found farms in the city where they made

wine.6 Some of the vegetables that Pompeii was known for were their cabbages and onions.

There may have been other vegetables that were grown in Pompeii but there isnt enouph

evidence to support this theory. Farmers also grew fruit here. The fruit that was grown here were

almonds, figs, filberts, walnuts, cherries, apples, pears, peaches, and pomegranates.(Ling 117)

People here didnt really have much of a choice for vegetables but when it came to fruits, they

had many. Another fruit that was grown back then in that area was olives. Residents from

Pompeii didnt just need the oil from the olives to cook but they also needed the oil for lamps.

They used the oil for fuel for lamps. Another eatable product that citizens of Pompeii made back

then was the fish sauce garum. This was made from extracts from many different fish and

allowing them to mix together in the sun . Once it stirred together it was prepared to a person's

certain quality. Like wine garum was a luxury. Workshops in the city made this condiment.

Citizens in Pompeii were also known for making woolen cloth. Buildings such as fullers

workshops, dye workshops and wool processing units suggest a comprehensive cloth

manufacturing industry.7 Making woolen cloth was a business for people in this city back then.

To know what kind of luxuries citizens traded for see Ling 116.
6

To get an image of how the wine farms looked see Ling 116.
7
http://www.ancienthistoryarchaeology.com/pompeii-s-textile-industry


On a study made by Walter O. Moeller argued that it was one of the main industries of the city

and an important source of wealth.(Ling 119) Moeller is arguing that the making of wealth was

of the way that Pompeii got all of its wealth back then. Another researcher, W. Jongman, argued

that Pompeii got most of its economy from spinning and weaving. Jongmans theory is more

believable because, Sheep were raised throughout Italy for their meat, milk, manure and wool,

and it is likely that the Pompeii area was no exception.(Lang 119) If Italy didnt raise sheep at

this time I think that citizens wouldve had to find another way to make money. Another way

that people made money with cloth was by cleaning and colouring it (dry cleaners). Another way

that people made business in this city was by having a bakery. In the bakeries they used flour to

make loaves of bread in the oven. The loaves of bread were then sold on the streets in shops.

Some bakers made the bread and sold it as wholesale or just sold it to private customers. This

were the main ways that Pompeii got its economy.

People in Pompeii used to have their own activities to keep themselves entertained. They

used to go to public baths, watch shows in the amphitheatre, and attend performances in the

theatre. The public bath played a big role in the normal life of people in Pompeii, and in other

Roman cities. This bath was important to the citizens because it was important for them to keep

good hygiene. Some of the more wealthier citizens had baths in their homes but, for the ones that

didnt have that luxury came here to clean up, pass time, and exchange gossip. Another thing

people did for entertainment was visit the theatre. It was first built in the second century BC.

There is no evidence of what kind of performances were held here but researchers say they

included farces of Italian origin,(Ling 135) This shows the Italian origin that Pompeii had. The

last activity people would do back then in Pompeii is watch shows in the amphitheatre. Watching


shows in the amphitheatre was the most popular thing to do here in Pompeii back then. The

shows would consist of either two main entertainments: combats between pairs of gladiators,

each equipped with arms which characterized different different categories of fighter, and

confrontations between huntsmen and wild animals.(Ling 136) This shows what type of

personalities people had back then because they found amusement in killing. The events were

advertised with posters and paintings on walls. This a great sounded great but, it was all taken

away by Mount Vesuvius.

In the last moments of Pompeii people tried to escape the city but didnt succeed. In

Jarrett A. Lobells journal article he explains how he studies the bodies of people who couldnt

escape the city in time. He mentions that he saw a man found next to a huge bronze bowl filled

with silver coins, perhaps his life savings; a soldier wearing all of his armor; and numerous

people found with lamps they hoped would illuminate an escape route-...8 This showed how fast

this city was buried. Not everyone was able to leave the city. The ashes that killed the city

actually preserved it to the point where we could study how they lived back then.

Voices from the Ashes, Jarrett A. Lobell, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2003), pp. 28-31, Archaeological
Institute of America


Reference page

Monograph - Ling, Roger Pompeii History Life and Afterlife, 2005, Tempus Publishing

Journal Article- Voices from the Ashes, Jarrett A. Lobell, Vol. 56, No. 4 (July/August 2003), pp.

28-31, Archaeological Institute of America

Websites- http://www.ancienthistoryarchaeology.com/pompeii-s-textile-industry

http://museum.wa.gov.au/pompeii/daily-life/religion-%2526-burials/