TEMPLE OF JUPITER - POMPEII

The name of the temple derives from its original function in the Samnite period. Following the town’s colonisation, the temple became a Capitolium, a temple dedicated to the capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, in accordance with the religious tradition of Rome which required the centre of every town to have a temple dedicated to the most important gods on Mount Olympus. With its dominant position in the Forum and lofty Mount Vesuvius looming ominously behind it, the Temple of Jupiter is emblematic image of the destruction of Pompeii. The Temple stands on an Italic podium measuring about 17 metres along the front by 37 metres down the sides and has rows of steps running along the whole façade looking onto the Forum. At the top of the steps, six columns – originally about 12 metres height – led into an open space (the pronaos) which in turn led into the ‘cella’ or inner sanctuary. The cella was divided into three areas housing the statues of the capitoline triad. The temple had two narrow flights of stairs, one on either side of a large central dais where the altar stood, and two monumental balustrades with equestrian statues. A bas relief portraying the temple during the earthquake was found in the lararium in the house of Caecilius Jucundus and gives us a glimpse of what the building was really like. Under the podium was a series of small chambers where the temple’s sacred furnishings, votive offerings and perhaps also the Treasury were stored.

 

Why do not you arrange with us an amazing day in the Gulf of Naples - a private tour (just for you) with a comfortable limousine or minivan with driver and an English-speaking tour guide? We have organized for you a great guided tour to Naples-Pompeii-Sorrento-Amalfi Coast (Positano). Contact us by e-mail info@pompeii.org.uk for further info.

The house belonged to Quintus Poppaeus, on of the Poppaeus family to whom Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina, most probably belonged. It extends over 2,000 square metres and reflects the traditional layout of a roman house, with its atrium and peristyle as well as servant quarters and a bath-house. Before admiring the large peristyle it is worth stopping briefly in the atrium, where the lararium is situated in the right-hand corner, and in the room to the left where the walls are frescoed with a triptych inspired by the Trojan war. On the right we can see the death of Laocoon who, along with his children, was strangled by a snake; to the right, Cassandra resist abdu ... continue

(Apic. 8, 8, 9) Ingredients:

• 3 whole hares or wild rabbits
• Pepper
• Lovage (or chopped celery leaves)
• Oregano
• Cumin
• Celery seeds
• 100 g chicken livers
• 3 raw eggs Yolk of a hard-boiled egg
• Liquamen (or soya sauce)
• 70 ml wine
• 20 ml olive oil
• 40 ml white wine vinegar
• Onion, chopped

Instructions:
-------------
Remove the hare brains and fry along with the chiken liver, the hare liver, heart and kidneys. Chop the cooked meats together, add ... 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.