Day 4 - Pompeii

We took a charter bus to Pompeii. Due to the acclimate weather (it was raining), there wasn't much to see outside so I took a short nap and listened to my iPod. Upon arriving to Pompeii we had lunch in nice restaurant that I'm sure would be booming come tourist season in the spring and summer). From there we drove the last few miles to the actual site of Pompeii. For Pompeii we had hired a tour guide and he was simply wonderful. He knew so much about Pompeii, and more than just what you could read in a book.

(Pompeii)

Our guide first talked to us about how Pompeii erupted. First there were the earthquakes which came months before the first actual eruption, then came the eruption. However, the eruption was not practically instantaneous as some people believe, but rather happened over many hours. Our guide told us how some people were able to evacuate and then return to Pompeii to save more of their belongings. We were able to see several of the plaster moldings of the people who had been frozen in the ash. I was amazed at how emotional they were, you could truly feel how horrified these people were not only through their body language, but also by the lines in their face.

We went through the basilica and the market places.

(Brick columns in the basilica at Pompeii)

We passed several temples. Our guide informed us that Pompeii was a very liberal town in terms of its religious tolerance. Pompeii allowed everyone to pray to whomever they chose because they saw how lucrative it was. We moved through the alleys (Pompeii had sidewalks, complete with places to tie up your horses), and into the baths. Pompeii was said to hold many baths, all of which were highly decorated and furnished. We even saw a tub that had "So-and-so paid for this" written in gold.

We moved through the baths and into several houses. The houses all had a similar pattern: an open front room, followed by a small garden, and rooms off the center garden. The houses we went into were all of middle to upper class status and were kept in pretty good shape. We were taken through one house, the largest house in Pompeii. Our guide told us how many square feet it was, but I could not remember. What I recall was the extremely large garden in the center of the home.

(Mt. Vesuvius)

From the large house we walked down the alleys to one of Pompeii's numerous brothels. On a side note, I took Professor Holt Parker's "Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece and Rome" 300 level seminar last spring, so I was really, really excited about this. As we made our way through the brothel I didn't hear just our guide's voice, but the voice of Professor Parker as well. The doors with the pictures painted above them. The phallus on the doors. Perhaps this reads as a bit odd, but I don't care. I loved that class, and managed a 110% (beating out most junior classics majors I might add), and learned a lot of information.

From the brothel we made our way down the street to the theatre.

(The theatre at Pompeii)

It was a nice place to conclude the tour and the walk back to the museum presented us with several stunning views of Napoli and the Mediterranean Sea. All in all, seeing Pompeii was a once-in-a-life time experience. It was really interesting to see how much archaeologists have found and were able to preserve.

(Looking down one of the many streets of Pompeii)