ODEION – POMPEII

This covered theatre situated near the Large Theatre was mainly used for concerts, although it was also the chosen venue for poetry recitals. It was built by the same two duumviri responsible for the construction of the Amphitheatre during the early years of the Roman colony in an area which had originally been developed by the Samnites. The tiered seating was cut away to one side to allow the construction of a perimeter wall designed to support the foursided roof. The first seats in front of the orchestra hemicycle, which was paved with slabs of coloured marble chips, were reserved for the decurions and were laid out on top of four rows of wide tuffstone steps. The tiered seating was served by semicircular steps to the sides of the orchestra. Boxes for the guests of honour were situated on either side of the stage area from which they could be reached, while three doors in the stage wall opened onto the backstage dressing room and from here led directly outisde.

 

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The residential section of this complex is a particularly luxurious building which, although not exceptionally big, boasts the largest garden in Pompeii. The garden has recently been restored and planted with the species of three which are thought to have originally been grown in it. The house has a large atrium with numerous bed chambers (cubicula) arranged all round it and its impluvium is surrounded by a low masonry flower bed. The cubiculum which is reached by turning left from the entrance hall contains a stove for baking terra-cotta pots. A bronze seal found near the stove suggests the house belonged to a certain D. Octavius Quartius, whilst until recently the ... continue

(Apic. 7, 3, 1) Ingredients:

• 6 grains pepper
• 6 grains lovage (or juniper berries)
• 1 tsp thyme
• Liquamen (3 tblsp soya sauce + 3 tsp anchovy paste)
• 3 tblsp dry wine (like dry Marsala)
• 3 tblsp oil

Instructions:
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Mesh pepper in grain, fresh thyme and lovage seed. Add Liquamen, wine and oil. Emulsionize. Pour the sauce on the liver and serve.

Love was a common topic of conversation in Pompeii. Feelings, passions, poetic love, sex, homosexuality, prostitution and so forth were all part of daily life and not a source of prejudice. The concept of “obscenity” seems to have been unknown. Love and sex were considered earthly practices of a man’s life that were encouraged by the benevolence of Venus. The thousands of examples of graffiti found on the town’s walls are unequivocal proof of what the people of Pompeii thought about love and sex.