LEISURE

Pompeii’s Amphitheatre is the oldest surviving building of its kind in the Roman world. Its dedicatory inscription shows that it was built c.70 bc (B10), and other inscriptions reveal later phases in its building history (D1—5). It was repaired and reinforced following earthquake damage during the last years of the town’s existence, perhaps under the supervision of the Cuspii Pansae (D6—7). Despite the Amphitheatre being the venue par excellence for various sorts of shows, some were still being performed in the Forum in the Augustan era, several decades after the Amphitheatre had been built (D8). See also J47-52.

Some of the most distinctive sights at Pompeii today are the inscriptions painted in black and red upon the whitewashed plaster facades of shops, houses, public buildings and tombs. These inscriptions, or dipinti, announcing forthcoming games provide a unique insight into the presentation of shows by members of the local elite and illustrate aspects of their organization. Over seventy such inscriptions have been found in the town, from which we can discover who presented games at Pompeii, when they were staged, and information about the types of show (D9—24). Some of the most impressive and unusual notices are those advertising games sponsored by Gnaeus Alleius Nigidius Maius (D19—24). Others even advertise games in other towns in the region (D25, 29-30).

Gladiatorial shows were highly popular: in addition to the notices announcing future games, past games were commemorated in a variety of media, including stucco, painting and graffiti (D26-28, D31-33, F88, G8). Some of these pictures were commissioned by those who had provided the games, in order to provide a lasting record of their generosity. Some of the elite had depicted on their tombs the games that they had presented to the populace (D31, F88, G8). Graffiti drawings of gladiators and the fight results can be found in many parts of the town (D33). On one notorious occasion, the spectators’ rivalry spilled over into a riot, giving a foretaste of football hooliganism two thousand years later (D34-38)! Two training grounds for gladiators have also been discovered. In the mid-first century AD, the large portico behind the Large Theatre was converted into a

Gladiatorial Barracks (D44; see also J11—20). Previously, gladiators had been trained in the ‘House of the Gladiators’, where many graffiti relating to gladiators have been found (D45-49).

We have a less vivid picture of other types of spectacles at Pompeii, but theatrical shows were also well established by Roman times. The Large Theatre at Pompeii was initially built during the second century BC, and was extensively modified during the Augustan era, probably c.2 BC (D51—56). The presiding magistrates at the shows would have been seated upon wide honorific chairs of metal with ivory ornamentation, traces of which were found in the eighteenth century (J22—23). As at the Amphitheatre, spectators in the Theatre were protected by an awning, as can be seen from the brackets that remain, which supported the masts.

Adjacent to the Large Theatre, which seated around 5,000, is the Covered Theatre or Odeion. This had a much smaller seating capacity of around 2,000 (still very large by modern standards: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford seats 1,412). Some clues remain as to the character of performances in these venues, the highbrow and lowbrow alike. What appear to be theatre tokens imply that Greek drama was staged at Pompeii (D58—61), while it is highly likely that the ‘Atellan’ slapstick farces, a traditional part of this region’s culture, were also performed. Although gladiators seem to have dominated popular enthusiasms, actors could also attract fans (D63—70). Finds of fragmentary instruments help to create some impression of the musical accompaniments to performances (J21). Finally, basins for water beneath the orchestra of the Large Theatre may have powered a water organ, or have been used for aquatic spectacles, while a cistern above the Theatre may have provided water for sprinkling the audience — an amenity occasionally advertised on notices of games in the Amphitheatre (e. g. D22).

Literary pursuits spilled over into other areas of the town as well. Excerpts from all the well-known Latin poets of the time, except Horace, appear in graffiti (Appendix 2). In most cases, quotations are reproduced verbatim, but there is also a sophisticated parody upon the opening lines of Virgil’s Aeneid (D71). There is even an otherwise unknown local poet, Tiburtinus, who scratched a few verses upon the walls of the Odeion (D72), and many other short love poems can be found (D73—79). In addition, word plays (including ‘magic’ squares — D84—85) and amusing sketches combining words and pictures (D81—83) suggest that some inhabitants spent a considerable amount of their leisure time scribbling up graffiti! Obscenities and insults are also common, and brief accounts of sexual encounters occur famously in the brothel, but are by no means confined to its walls (D100—102).

Three main sets of public baths existed at Pompeii — the Stabian, Forum and Central Baths, the last of which were still unfinished in ad 79 (D105—108). Although Pompeii was destroyed before the heyday of Roman bath buildings, the Stabian Baths at Pompeii are the oldest preserved public baths (D105). Other early public baths, the Republican Baths (VII. v.36) of c. 100—80 BC, fell out of use by the Augustan period. In addition, several sets of privately owned baths tried to attract customers by advertising their amenities. Their owners aimed to make a profit by providing exclusive bathing for the discerning customer. Baths of Crassus Frugi are known only from an inscription (D109), but the Baths of Julia Felix (H44), the Sarno Baths (VIn. ii.17), Palaestra Baths (VIII. ii.23) (see also H38) and Suburban Baths have all been excavated. A few of the most luxurious houses boasted their own small bath suites (e. g. House of the Faun, House of the Menander, House of the Silver Wedding).