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2.1

2.1.1 Relief from a Tomb
2.1.2 Fresco of the Amphitheatre
2.1.3 Tacitus
2.1.4 Graffiti

2.1.1 Relief from a Tomb

Historical background

Roman amphitheatres were large, oval, open-air venues with raised seating which were an important part of Roman city life. They could hold tens of thousands of spectators and were used for events such as gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, and executions.

The amphitheatre at Pompeii was constructed after 70 BC, funded – according to an inscription - by two local officials, Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius. Men seeking political power would often fund games or public buildings to enhance their reputation and popularity, and we know from graffiti all over Pompeii that gladiator games were extremely popular. The amphitheatre could seat around 20,000 people, and the audience came not only from Pompeii but also the surrounding area.

Evidence

This relief (a carved picture) was found on a tomb believed to have belonged to a man named Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius. He was a politician well known for organising games and events at the amphitheatre – his name appears in lots of the adverts around Pompeii – and may have asked Emperor Nero to allow Pompeii to hold gladiator fights again after they were banned as a result of the trouble in 59 AD.

The relief is 4 metres long and thought to have been part of the top of the tomb. It has been suggested that the top row depicts a religious procession. The middle row shows a gladiator fight and the bottom section an animal hunt, two popular types of show put on in amphitheatres.

2.1.2 Fresco of the Amphitheatre

Historical background

Roman amphitheatres were large, oval, open-air venues with raised seating which were an important part of Roman city life. They could hold tens of thousands of spectators and were used for events such as gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, and executions.

The amphitheatre at Pompeii was constructed after 70 BC, funded – according to an inscription - by two local officials, Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius. Men seeking political power would often fund games or public buildings to enhance their reputation and popularity, and we know from graffiti all over Pompeii that gladiator games were extremely popular. The amphitheatre could seat around 20,000 people, and the audience came not only from Pompeii but also the surrounding area.

Evidence

This wall painting (fresco) probably shows the riot between spectators from Pompeii and nearby Nuceria in Pompeii’s amphitheatre in AD 59. It was found in the House of Actius Anicetus (also sometimes called House of the Amphitheatre Painting), which is in the same region of Pompeii as Amarantus’s insula but a few blocks away.

The painting looks down on the amphitheatre from above without the whole awning over the top, so we can see inside. Around the outside there are trees and stalls and the town walls are visible. On the right hand side is the Large Palaestra (gymnasium) with a large swimming pool inside. The painting shows fights breaking out not only in the arena, but in the surrounding area as well. Some of the figures are holding weapons or throwing stones, others appear unarmed.

Romans often decorated their houses with events from mythology or history; perhaps the owner of this house chose a dramatic piece of local history to depict instead of the more usual myth or legend. It has been suggested that the owner of the house Actius Anicetus was himself an ex-Gladiator.

2.1.3 Tacitus

Historical background

Roman amphitheatres were large, oval, open-air venues with raised seating which were an important part of Roman city life. They could hold tens of thousands of spectators and were used for events such as gladiator fights, wild animal hunts, and executions.

The amphitheatre at Pompeii was constructed after 70 BC, funded – according to an inscription - by two local officials, Quinctius Valgus and Marcius Porcius. Men seeking political power would often fund games or public buildings to enhance their reputation and popularity, and we know from graffiti all over Pompeii that gladiator games were extremely popular. The amphitheatre could seat around 20,000 people, and the audience came not only from Pompeii but also the surrounding area.

Evidence

Tacitus was a Roman historian who lived from AD 56 or 57 until around AD 120, although details of his life are scarce. His Annals is a history of the Roman Empire through the years AD 14–68.

This extract – click on the image to read – gives an account of the riot which broke out between Pompeii and Nuceria at and the resulting ten year ban handed down by the Roman Senate, who also exiled the ringleaders.

2.1.4 Graffiti

Historical background

Graffiti (singular graffito) are marks, images or writing scratched into surfaces all over the Roman world. Over 11,000 examples of graffiti have been uncovered in Pompeii alone.

Although many have been destroyed by the weather etc, archaeologists have been recording them since the 1800s, so we have a really good record of what was there.

The Romans appear to have used graffiti a bit like we use social media – a way to let other people know what was on their mind – so these (often rather rude!) scribblings give us a better understanding of everyday life. Anyone could do graffiti and so it gives us the unedited voice of the masses as opposed to official inscriptions.

Evidence

The first graffito here is from the House of the Dioscuri and shows a gladiator triumphantly holding up a palm of victory. This may not be intended to be a picture of the riot itself, but the text may well be a reference to the Nucerians who died in it. It is unclear to whom ‘Campanians’ refers, the whole region was called ‘Campania’.

The other graffito also shows the tensions between the Nucerians and Pompeiians. Puteoli was another town in Campania, the ‘executioners hook’ was used to drag away the bodies of executed criminals.

Both translated by Cooley.

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