TEMPLE OF FORTUNA AUGUSTA - POMPEII

Leaving the Forum now and heading along Via del Foro to the corner of Via della Fortuna, we find the Temple of Fortuna Augusta built at the expense of Marcus Tullius, a relative of the famous orator Cicero. This benefactor, an eminent citizen of Pompeii and twice Duumvir in the Augustan age, even went so far as to create the position of minister of the cult. The temple consequently acquired a political connotation, which was spread through the diffusion of the imperial cult. Hence whenever a new emperor succeeded to the throne, the ministers immediately had a statue build and placed in the temple along with a stone slab to commemorate the event. This fairly small building, which was destroyed during the earthquake of 62 A.D. and was never fully rebuilt, had the same architectural layout as the Temple of Jupiter in the Forum. The cella was situated on a high podium and could be reached via a staircase containing a platform on which the altar stood. A niche on the rear wall of the cella housed the statue of Fortuna Augusta while honorary statues were placed in the four side niches.

 

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In the latter years of Pompeii the four-sided colonnade rising up behind the Theatre was used as the barracks of the organisation of gladiators who performed in the town. Along the wings of the colonnade and on the first floor were the rooms which provided accommodation for the gladiators from other towns. Paraments, helmets and arms belonging to the gladiators were found in many of the rooms. The four-sided colonnade with its 74 Doric columns was originally used as an extension of the theatre: for example, the public could go there for something to eat (performances often lasted most of the day) or to take shelter from the rain. It is likely that for a few years th ... continue

(Apic. 6, 8, 11) Ingredients:

• 1.4 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3 tbsp Liquamen (or soya sauce)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 250 ml fruity white wine (eg chablis)
• white peppercorns
• 150 g pine nuts
• whites of two boiled eggs, mashed with a fork
• 60 ml cooking liquid
• 60ml/120ml milk

Instructions:
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Cook the chicken by placing in a roasting tin, covering with the Liquamen, olive oil and white wine. Cover with a lid and bake at 180°C for 90 minutes or until the chicken is done. Drain the c ... 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.