Pompeii, Prostitutes and Priapus…all in a day’s work (for Obscura, not Richard Armitage)

I’m teaching an upper division course on Pompeii and Herculaneum right now.  One of the things I require of students at this level is an oral presentation of the results of their research on a chosen topic.  (two presentations actually – I’m trying to cultivate a reputation as a hard ass).  **Before you go further, *WARNING* ancient nudity ahead…

The catastrophic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE destroyed a number of cities and private villas in the Bay of Naples region of Italy.  There is nothing archaeologists like more than a good cataclysmic disaster that seals context at a moment in time.  A city like Rome has a rich archaeological history, but it has been continuously occupied since antiquity, which means that much of the archaeological material has been destroyed by subsequent occupation.  Not so at Pompeii  – the 79CE eruption of Mt. Vesuvius encased the city and it’s contents under a thick blanket of volcanic debris for centuries.   As such, the remains of these sites provide a unique window to look at the lives Romans led.

That’s a CGI reconstruction folks…the Romans were advanced, but not that advanced 😉

I offer my students a variety of research topics to choose from, and someone ALWAYS chooses to research brothels, prostitution and Roman sexuality…ALWAYS.  They are also almost always shocked at what they find.  For most of their long cultural history, the Romans were a thoroughly pagan people for whom sexuality was a normal part of life…a biological imperative like eating or drinking.  They had sexual mores that were enforced, but these were very different from what is commonly viewed as appropriate or normal or whatever, in contemporary western culture, which has been heavily influenced by certain Christian attitudes toward the “sinful” nature of sexuality.  The pre-Vesuvius Romans were burdened by none of this, so sexuality and nudity were openly a part of everyday life.

As I sit listening to these presentations, I have to suppress a smile when the presenter struggles with some of these concepts – especially when it comes to discussing the visual record of Roman sexuality – it is present at Pompeii, in full, living color.  Admittedly, I am pretty passé about these subjects, having studied this material for years – I have literally seen just about everything…except some of the stuff in the “secret” room in the Naples Museum.  No one was allowed in the last time I was in Naples, but most of it has since been published.  The Romans, like the Greeks before them, also considered certain parts of the human anatomy to be symbols of good luck.  Hence the proliferation of “erotic” objects from lamps to wind chimes…

Students usually do OK with these.  I mean really, who doesn’t love the winged phallus complete with legs, a tail and it’s own phallus with wind chimes attached?!   It’s when they inevitably get to the next bit that things always go south…I know it’s coming…wait for it, wait for it…

Fresco of Priapus from the House of the Vettii at Pompeii

Yep, there he is…Priapus was a god of fertility and fecundity for the Romans…symbolized by a supersized (ithyphallic) phallus.  (Now everyone knows what is meant by Priapism on the Viagra warnings – you’re welcome.).  By this point a room full of adult students is looking everywhere but the screen while their instructor elaborates on the role of such images in Roman culture.  This painting was found in a very public part of the house, so clearly it was considered fit for public viewing.  It was essentially the Roman equivalent of a horse shoe or a four leaf clover.

What does this have to do with Richard Armitage?  Absolutely nothing – even I am not advocating that role!