Paper Two Assignment: Pompeii Graffiti
Located near the warm, sunny regions surrounding both the Bay of Naples and Mount
Vesuvius, the city of Pompeii was a lavish Roman territory booming with travel and trade.1 In
79AD, the city was devastated when Mount Vesuvius erupted, and buried the city under layers of volcanic ash. The city was abandoned for centuries, until explorers in the mid 1700’s unearthed the city under a thick coating of debris and dust. The explorers were pleasantly surprised to see that most of the city remained intact.1 One amazing discovery found at the site of the ancient city was the graffiti of its inhabitants. Studying these writings can give us great insight into the political and economic aspects of Pompeii.
As a colony…show more content… Politics in the ancient city of Pompeii worked in a surprisingly similar way to that of 21st century politics:
"Donations of public buildings or rooms, and statues within public buildings were a passport to political influence.”4
Elections for these various positions were very important to the citizens of Pompeii, as made evident by some of the Graffiti found on walls around the city. Some inscriptions showed citizens encouraging others to vote for certain candidates: “Vesonius Primus requests the election of Gaius Gavius Rufus as duumvir, a man who will serve the public interest---do elect him, I beg of you.”6 Others were satirical remarks about unpopular candidates: ‘The sneak thieves request the election of Vatia as Aedile.”6 I was most surprised by the graffiti that included these satirical remarks. I was surprised to see how much freedom of speech they had when it came to politics. I was also surprised at these remarks because they reminded me of the types of remarks made nowadays about various politicians.
The economy of Pompeii was extremely successful, and the people lived very comfortable, even sometimes lavish, lives. In the perfect location for importing and
