POMPEII

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History

6th to 1st century B.C.:	local Greek and Italian town
80 B.C.:	conquered by Romans; becomes a Roman city
62 A.D.:	earthquake
79 A.D.:	destroyed by eruption of Vesuvius (described by Pliny the Younger)

Architecture

• somewhat irregular plan, because it evolved, was not created all at once
  • contrast the very regular plan of Timgad, built from scratch on old Etruscan grid
  • a city of 20,000 in 79 AD
• forum--open rectangular area, with colonnades on three sides; religious, commercial, legal center (like Greek agora)
  • temple of Jupiter at North end
  • city council (curia) at South end
  • temple of Apollo, and law and business center (basilica) on West side
  • markets for cloth, etc. on East side
• amphitheater, gymnasium--for sports, gladiatorial contests
  • wall painting showing the amphitheater--a round arena surrounded by seats
• two theaters
• baths--typical Roman type, with rooms for hot, tepid and cold water
• shops along streets, with wagon grooves and raised pedestrian stones (graffiti on walls)
• houses set back from street behind shops; impersonal façade faces the street
  • face inward onto colonnaded flower garden (peristyle), maybe also vegetable garden
  • atrium with pool
  • wall paintings

Wall paintings (examples from Pompeii and elsewhere)

• architectural: four styles make four chronological periods
  • 1st style (200-80 B.C.)--simple bands and panels of color imitating stone
  • 2nd style (80-20 B.C.)--architectural illusion of depth; opens up wall to vistas beyond; perspective recedes to more than one point
  • 3rd style (20 B.C.-60 A.D.)--ornate style; wall is closed in again; several panels with unrelated scenes
  • 4th style (60-79 A.D.)--intricate style; carries 3rd style to extremes; tiny panels of painted scenes centered in large blocks of color
    
• other subjects
  • Dionysiac initiation in Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii
  • scenes from Greek myth--often gory or sexy
    • Ares and Aphrodite; Theseus and the Minotaur; etc.
  • landscapes and still-life scenes
  • genre scenes--daily life, portraits

Mosaics

• mosaic of unswept floor, based on painting, shows illusion of 3 dimensional reality
• Battle of Issus Mosaic, showing Alexander the Great fighting the Persians