Abstract
In both popular and scholarly literature, Pompeii is viewed as a typical Roman town reflecting the social and cultural conditions of the capital, a perception now so embedded in Pompeian studies that it is often assumed to be part of the known facts. This paper questions that perception and explores alternative readings for broadening our approaches to Pompeian society through examination of the material contexts of the epigraphical texts from Pompeii. In particular, it investigates how the names of individual Pompeians have been used to provide evidence on Pompeian households and on the interrelationships and statuses of their members, in four particular houses. It considers the contribution of Greek-dominated Magna Graecia to the development of this town and its inhabitants. It concludes that more contextualised investigations of the material evidence from Pompeii can lead to more informed approaches to its social and cultural relationships, and those between this region, the Roman capital, and the wider Mediterranean region in the first century AD.
Highlights
Within current Pompeian research three interdependent approaches are having an unwarranted impact on its interpretations
In the traditions of Classical Archaeology (Snodgrass 1991), Pompeian research frequently uses the agenda of historical research, and textual data, to set agenda for investigations of this site’s material culture
The Pompeian epigraphy discussed here serves to inform us on aspects of Pompeian society—for example, the names of many individuals; the names of some families; certain electoral activities and interrelationships; the business activities of some individuals; the identification of people involved in the production, distribution or consumption of wine and other commodities; and amorous desires of certain individuals
Summary
Within current Pompeian research three interdependent approaches are having an unwarranted impact on its interpretations. It draws attention to Pompeian attitudes to the defacing of wall-paintings, even in some of the most inner, and seemingly most private, decorated rooms of the house that are generally considered to have been reserved for specially invited guests (Vitruvius 6.5.1) These inscriptions may not assist in identifying the owner or even the residents of this house, but they provide a wealth of information on the range of people who had dealings with it. Armitt (1993: 237, 240) argued that the programmata, having been dated to AD 75, mentioned a previous occupant and that the two individuals named on these seals were the occupants of this house in AD 79 She concluded that the latter was a freedman, presumably because his cognomen was Greek, and that he was of the same Poppaea family who reputedly owned the Casa del Menandro and the Casa degli Amorini Dorati (Della Corte 1965: 76-83; but see Seiler 1992: 136). Renewed interest in excavating below the AD 79 levels to recover information about the earlier history of Pompeii will hopefully confront issues concerning community and ethnicity (e.g. The Anglo-American Pompeii Project [Bon and Jones 1997]; The Pompeii Forum Project [Dobbins et al 1998]; excavations of the British School at Rome [Fulford and WallaceHadrill 1998]; and excavations of La Sapienza [Carafa and d’Alessio 1995-96])
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