Marble statue of this politician & patron of Pompeii that was originally placed at the foot of a commemorative arch at a major road crossroads in the town.
Now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
Bribery, corruption, scandal and supporters of rival factions beating each other up in the street - politics Pompeian style. Somehow Grumio finds himself in the middle of things again.
Digital Activities
These sections have been moved to the Cambridge Elevate platform. Please click below to go to Elevate. Elevate
WebBooks
The Stories
Practising the Language
Cultural Background
Please note: the Cultural Background weblinks will be removed in early 2024.
NOTE: These links will appear in a new window.
CSCP is not responsible for the content of external sites.
CSCP is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Politics in Pompeii
POLITICS IN POMPEII
Good introduction to the political positions, electioneering and graffiti. (May take a few seconds to load.)
Very good webpage on the political administration of Pompeii.
Brief introduction on the official Pompeii website.
There are around 3000 electoral inscriptions in Pompeii and most of them can be dated to the city's final year of existence, given that it was customary to rub out the old inscriptions to make way for new ones.
Election ad from Pompeii
"Holconium Priscum / IIvir(um) i(ure) d(icundo) d(ignum) r(ei) p(ublicae) o(ro) v(os) f(aciatis)"
- - -
"I ask you to elect Holconius Priscus as duovir. He is worthy of holding office."
More election notices from Pompeii on the Via dell'Abbondanza.
- close-up.
Fast forward to the 6-minute mark to see how they did it!
It is thought that the inhabitants of Pompeii bought their daily bread from bakeries or stalls in town rather than baked it themselves at home, since ovens rarely are found in the houses of the town. In addition, bakeries - identified by the presence of stone mills to grind grain, and large wood-burning ovens - are plentiful; 33 have have so far been excavated in Pompeii.
However, this scene may depict a handout ("dole") of free bread to the needy by someone (a politician?) hoping for some favors in return!
The fresco, now in the Archaeological Museum in Naples originally came from the tablinum of the "House of the Baker" (House VII.3.30) which adjoins the "Bakery of Sotericus". Perhaps the owner of the house was also the baker.
As shown on p.156 of CLC Book I.
It is thought that the inhabitants of Pompeii bought their daily bread from bakeries or stalls in town rather than baked it themselves at home, since ovens rarely are found in the houses of the town. In addition, bakeries - identified by the presence of stone mills to grind grain, and large wood-burning ovens - are plentiful; 33 have have so far been excavated in Pompeii.
However, this scene may depict a handout ("dole") of free bread to the needy by someone (a politician?) hoping for some favors in return!
The fresco, now in the Archaeological Museum in Naples originally came from the tablinum of the "House of the Baker" (House VII.3.30) which adjoins the "Bakery of Sotericus". Perhaps the owner of the house was also the baker.
As shown on p.194 of CLC Unit 4.
Little remains of the lavish decoration that once covered this small but important temple. It was built by the duumvir (one of the two top local officials) Marcus Tullius at his expense in honor of the Emperor Augustus.
Augustus cunningly ensured that rather than demand direct worship to himself, he could encourage indirect worship by adding his name to that of virtuous gods and goddesses - hence the temple is dedicated to the goddess "Augustan" Fortune.
- location: No.16 on the official map.
- reconstruction drawing.
- reconstruction movie.
Roman Politics
...and, check out the links in our "greasy-pole" section on
ROMAN POLITICS
and our large section dedicated to the
SENATE HOUSE in the ROMAN FORUM
CSCP on Twitter