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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Walking further down Via dell’Abbondanza in the direction of the Porta di Sarno Gate, we reach Pompeii’s equivalent of a ‘fast-food’ restaurant, where warm meals could be bought and eaten on the spot. Coins for a total weight of about 3 kg, equivalent in worth to about 680 sesterces, were found in one of the wall recesses. Given the large quantity of change (374 asses and 1,237 quadrantes, each worth one of quarter of an as), these were probably the takings of a single day’s business. The shop is completed by a sacellum dedicated to Mercury and Dionysus and a small shrine for the tutelary deities of the household. The publican’s own apartment extended to the rear of t ... continue

(Apic. 8, 8, 3) Ingredients:

• 1 whole hare or rabbit
• 225 g whole pine kernels
• 100 g shelled almonds
• 100 g chopped mixed nuts
• 25 g peppercorns
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Rue (or celery leaves)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 100 g stoned dates, chopped
• 1 tbsp Liquamen (or soya sauce)
• 2 tbsp spiced wine (basically mulled wine)

Instructions:
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Mix together the pine kernels, almonds, chopped nuts, peppercorns and the chopped giblets of the hare or rabbit. Bind this mixture with ... continue

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.