Pompeii and Herculaneum, A Source Book, is the volume to own. What an amazing resource for teachers and students of Ancient Rome is contained in this wonderful collection of translated ancient texts from Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Cooley’s have again assembled and transcribed many of the best inscriptions and graffiti. Their new edition has wide and extensive selections of a variety of inscriptions, dipinti and graffiti from tombs, walls and buildings. Graffiti was imposed on walls by means of a stylus or other sharp instrument while dipinti were painted on. Dipinti were announcements or programs following standard formats, while graffiti were spontaneous. Their introduction and notes are first rate, with all the ancient sources and inscriptions fully translated and annotated.
For context the authors include many of the early archaeological reports, all of which makes their volume a unique introduction to these fascinating cities. The authors are each experts in their respective fields, for example, Alison E. Cooley is also the author of the recent Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy.
Modern scholars estimate at the time of the eruption the population of Pompeii was at about 20,000 and Herculaneum about 4000 with estimates of fatalities in the range of 2000 to 4000 inhabitants. Two thousand years later 20th century archeology has revealed much about these remarkable preserved ancient cities. This superb book brings the people of these cities to life. One remarkable example of this lost world is the graffiti found at the Villa Poppea. The villa estate with astonishingly large grounds is thought to have been owned by the second wife of Nero - Poppaea Sabina. In 65AD, in a fit of jealous rage Nero kicked Poppaea while she was pregnant, and she died. At this same villa, these fascinating verses scratched sometime before the eruption were found on one of its many columns.
"If you felt the fires of love, mule-driver, you would make more haste to see Venus. I love a charming boy; I ask you, goad the mules, and let’s go. You’ve had a drink, let’s go take the reins and shake them, and take me to Pompeii where love is sweet. You are mine..." Author unknown but generally thought to be a young woman, Pompeii and Herculaneum, A Source Book p.103. The actual text for this translation Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum IV 5092 , show her composing and editing on the spot. She first wrote boy "puerum" and then crossed it out and replaced it with youth "iuvenem".
Election notices were a prominent feature on the walls of Pompeii, with endorsements from powerful individuals and families. The Cooley's show such endorsements also came from women who while they could not vote never the less had something to say. A nice example is one by Maria " I beg you elect Cn. Helvius Sabinus aedile, worthy of public office, Maria asks this. " p.175 Another favorite ( not included ) here is from Asellina, her name means" little ass," ran tavern and urged voters Ceium Secundum duum virum iure dicundo Aselina rogat CIL IV 7873.or "Asellina urges a vote for Lucius Ceius Secudus for duumvir."
Negative political campaigns and rough tactics did not begin in this century such notices as " The little thieves ask for Vatia as aedile.' and " The late drinkers all ask you to elect Marcus Cerrinius Vatia aedile" were a common feature of the Flavian era (p.165).
Another reflection of local life is the sign painter Aemilius Celer who was proud to advertise, and took pains to let the public of Pompeii know his name and how hard he worked At the end of his wall sign for an upcoming five days of gladiatorial fights he adds “ Aemilius Celer wrote this on his own by the light of the moon.” p.69
One small but important difficultly accompanies their translation of a list of match pairs for gladiatorial games (pp 78-79, D37). Their translation (CIL Vol. IV 2508) records two periods of games given on several consecutive days on May 12, 13, 14, and 15. Listed are the fighters, their affiliations, number of fights to date, and the outcome, i.e.: won, reprieved, or perished. Following the translation the authors comment, “It is worth noting how few gladiators were actually killed." This perplexing statement clashes with their text which makes clear that to the contrary, in the eight matches recorded, three of the participants perished. Thus the conclusion is simply not warranted by the text. The death rate in the eight matches equates to a mortality rate of 37.5%!
A more nuanced perspective on gladiator mortality is offered by Mary Beard and Keith Hopkins in their "Colosseum". After scrutinizing the ancient evidence Beard and Hopkins find the average median age of death for gladiators was 22.5 yrs. (p. 87), They go on to note that 3/4 of the documented gladiators died before completing 10 fights. They estimate about 8,000 fatalities occurred each year in these “games" empire wide (p. 94).. A new edition of Pompeii and Herculaneum should allow for revision of the probable mortality rate in these, the most lethal of "games".
In summary this superb volume is the ideal companion for teachers and students of Pompeii and Herculaneum. One last thought this volume is also a wonderful addition when packing for a visit to Pompeii and Herculaneum. This book will certainly make walking these two cities a lot more fun as you tour the old streets with "Pompeii and Herculaneum" in your hand, and thanks to the Cooley's you can once again see the signs and hear the voices of these two amazing towns..
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A source book of use to teachers and advanced students.
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