POMPEII, an ancient city of Italy, situated in that part of the country to which the ancients gave the name of Campania. It lies at the bottom of the Gulf of Cumae, known in modern times as the Bay of Naples, five miles from the volcanic mountain of Vesuvius, and thirteen miles southeast of the city of Naples. Pompeii was in no particular manner distinguished for its magnificence or its historical renown; but the destiny which overtook it, as remarkable as it is happily rare, renders it one of the most interesting spots on the face of the globe. Near· the commeneement of the Christian era it was overwhelmed by a deluge of ashes, water, and mud, discharged from the neighbouring volcano; and, after lying buried for about seventeen centuries, its streets and houses, with its temples and theatres, have again been laid open to the light of day, and retraversed by the busy foot of man.

Of the early history of Pompeii little is known. It is said to have been founded by Hercules, and that its name is derived from Pompa, in allusion to the pomp with which that hero celebrated his victories whilst awaiting his fleet at the mouth of the river Sarnus, after his reputed conquest of Spain. This refuge in mythology, to which men have betaken themselves in accounting for the origin of Pompeii, is a sufficient proof that the obscurity in which it. is hidden is too profound to be penetrated. Strabo, however, asserts that these towns were founded by Pelasgians and Tyrrhenians; and this statement is by no means destitute of plausibility. We may indeed conclude, with some degree of confidence, that the foundations of Pompeii were laid long before those of Rome itself. The early history of the city is nearly as uncertain as the date of its foundation and the etymology of its name. It is first mentioned in the account of the Social or Marsie War, which broke out ninety-one years before the birth of Christ, as one of the towns of Campania that had revolted. It escaped the punishment with which some other places were visited; and the only subsequent event of any moment which is related of it, is a quarrel between its inhabitants and those of Nuceria, now Nocera, in which the latter were worsted.

This transaction occurred a. d. 59. Four years afterwards, Pompeii was almost destroyed by an earthquake, the terrible effects of which are recorded by Seneca. A great part of the town was reduced to ruins; and Herculanum was likewise considerably injured. Similar alarms, the usual presages of an approaching eruption, were repeated, until the memorable 23d of August a. d. 79, when the first recorded volcanic paroxysm of Vesuvius occurred. We are fortunately in possession of a faithful and striking narrative of the event, contained in two letters of Pliny the younger to Tacitus. He was an eye-witness of the catastrophe, and, besides a description of it, he gives an account of the death of his uncle, who fell a victim to his inquiring spirit and humanity.

It was not lava, but showers of stones, cinders, and mud, which overwhelmed Pompeii; pouring down for more than a week, and much of the matter having been deposited in a liquid state. Nor was it by one eruption alone that the cities were covered to their present depth. Successive layers are clearly to be traced, and the lowest bears marks of having been moved, whilst the others are untouched; a plain proof that some time elapsed between their deposition, and that the inhabitants had made excavations in search of their more valuable property. The bed of ashes and stones which covered Pompeii varied in depth from twelve to fourteen feet. Under this it remained for one thousand six hundred and seventy-six years; for although indications of its ruins were observed in 1689, the excavations did not commence till 1755. The disappointment experienced on the failure of die attempt to excavate Herculanum to any extent has thus been compensated; for whilst the thick layers of lava which covered the latter city rendered the undertaking too difficult to be persevered in, the light friable mass which entombed Pompeii was easily removed. The upper stories of the buildings, which were probably composed of wood, were either burned by the red-hot matter which fell upon them, or forced inwards by the weight of the enormous superincumbent mass, or the violence with which it descended. With this exception, we see a beautiful and once flourishing city, just as it existed nearly eighteen centuries ago. The buildings stand as they were originally designed, unviolated by time or fashion; the paintings are as fresh as if they had newly come from the easel; and, in some instances, memorials of a more impressive character bear sad testimony to the suddenness and completeness of the calamity' which overwhelmed the city.

Pompeii was originally situated upon the sea-shore, as is proved by shells and sea-sand being found on the side adjoining the Bay of Naples; and it is even said that rings have been discovered close to the ruins, intended, as is supposed, for the mooring of vessels. By the gradual elevation of the coast, it is now at some distance inland; and the river Sarnus, which, it is not improbable, was once capable of receiving the vessels of the ancients, has shrunk to a mere rivulet, and is diverted from its original course. The city stood on an insulated spot formed by the lava which, at some remote period, the action of subterranean fire seems to have thrown up in various directions around the foot of Vesuvius. Thus situated, it combined all the advantages of mercantile convenience with the security of a military station, and the romantic beauty of a spot celebrated in a'l ages for its surpassing loveliness, and which was a favourite resort of strangers for health or recreation. The city was surrounded by a wall, the whole, or nearly the whole, of which has been traced; and six gates and twelve towers have been counted. Its greatest length is little more than three quarters of a mile, its breadth is less than half a mile, and its circumference is nearly two miles. Its general figure is irregularly oval, and it occupied an area of about one hundred and sixty-one acres. There have been excavated above eighty houses, an inynense number of small shops, the public baths, two theatres, two basilicae, eight temples, the prison, the amphitheatre, and other public buildings, besides fountains and tombs. The streets are paved with large irregular pieces of lava, neatly dovetailed into one another. This pavement had been deeply rutted by the chariot-wheels which formerly rattled over it. In general, the streets are so narrow that they may be crossed at one stride. Where they were of greater breadth, a stepping· stone was placed in the middle, it is supposed for the convenience of foot-passengers. On each side there is a foot-path, along which run curb-stones to prevent the encroachments of the biga or chariot. From the position of the town, and the discoveries made by the excavators, it seems clear that only three principal roads could have led to it. The first, which was on the western side, led to Naples; the second joined the Popilian way at Nola; and the third crossed the Sarnus, and afterwards divided into two branches, of which the principal led to Noecra, and the other to Stabia. The city is generally approached by the first road, because it was the ancient route from Rome to Herculanum, and the chief entrance of Pompeii. The first object of interest met with is the Street of Tombs, now completely excavated, [7:18:344]which rises by an easy ascent to the city-gate, called the Gate of Herculanum. The road is flanked by tombs of much beauty and interest, as well as by other buildings, amongst which is a hostelry. We quote the following description of Pompeii, as entered by this gate, from an interesting work on the subject. “On entering, the visiter finds himself in a street running a little east of south, which leads to the Forum. To the right stands a house formerly owned by a musician, to the left a thermopolium or shop for hot drinks; beyond is the house of the vestals, beyond this the custom-house, and a little further on, where another street runs into this one from the north, at a very acute angle, stands a public fountain. In the last-named street is a surgeon’s house, at least one so named from the quantity of surgical instruments found in it, all made of bronze. On the right or western side of the street by which we entered, the houses are built , on the declivity of a rock, sloping down to where the sea formerly came, and are several stories in height. The fountain is about one hundred and fifty yards from the city-gate. About the same distance further on, the street divides into two, the righthand turning seems a by-street, the left-hand turning conducts you to the Forum. The most important feature in this space is a house called the house of Sallust, or of Actaeon, from a painting in it representing that hunter’s death. It stands on an area about forty yards square, and is encompassed on three sides by streets, by that, namely, which we have been describing, by another nearly parallel to it, and by a third perpendicular to these two. East of this island of houses is an unexcavated space, beyond which is another broad street, running parallel to the first, the limit of the excavations in this quarter. Between these two are indications of another street, which is cleared out, south of the transverse street. Still further south these streets all terminate in a transverse street. Thus the whole quarter already described is divided by four longitudinal and two transverse streets, into what the Romans called islands, or insulated masses of houses. One of these is entirely occupied by the house of Pansa, which, with its court and garden, is about a hundred yards long by forty wide. The average interval between the western and eastern street is not more than a hundred and fifty yards. The island immediately east of the house of Pansa has three houses of considerable interest, called the house of the tragic poet, from dramatic paintings on the walls; the cloth-dyer’s house, from paintings illustrating the processes and utensils of that trade; and the house of the mosaic fountains.

“From the transverse street which bounds these islands on the south, two streets lead to the corners of the Forum; between them are the baths, occupying nearly the whole island. Among other buildings are a milk-shop and gladiatorial school. At the north-east corner of the Forum was the triumphal arch. At the end of the broad eastern street, and higher up in the same street, another triumphal arch is still to be made out,, so that this was plainly the way of state into the city. The Forum was distant from the gate of Herculanum about four hundred yards. Near the southeastern corner two streets enter it, one running to the south, the other to the east. We will follow the former for about eighty yards, when it turns eastward for two hundred yards, and conducts us to the quarter of the theatres. The other street, which runs eastward from the Forum, is of more importance, and is called the Street of the Silversmiths....The quarter of the theatres comprises a large temple of Hercules, a temple of Isis, a temple of Aesculapius, two theatres, and two spacious porticos enclosing open areas. On the north and east it is bounded by streets; to the south and west it seems to have been enclosed partly ! by the town, partly by its own walls. Here the continuous excavation ends, and we must cross nine yards to the amphitheatre, distant from the theatre about five hundred and fifty yards, in the south-east corner of the city, close to the walls, and in an angle formed by them. On the other side are traces of walls, supposed to have belonged to cattle-markets. Near at hand a considerable building, called by the Italians the palace of Giulia Felice, has been excavated and filled up again. A considerable distance to the westward is the first excavation, made near the centre of the city; it is surrounded by vines, which hang in festoons from the poplars on which they are trained; it is small, and appears to have been abandoned on account of the few coins and vessels discovered. From the amphitheatre we return along the Street of Silversmiths towards the Forum; but, before we arrive at the latter, turn up a street running parallel to it. Arriving at the end of it, we turn to the right, and soon reach the triumphal arch of the Forum, having now traversed the whole excavated portion, except a few insignificant streets.”

This account of the general aspect of Pompeii renders it less necessary to give any description of particular places and buildings. The Forum was the focus of business, the resort of pleasure, and the scene of all political and legal contention. Entering at the gate of Herculanum, the main street of the town leads the visiter to the north-west corner. Here he gains admittance by a flight of steps leading downwards through an arch in a brick-wall. Upon entering, the spectator finds himself in a large area surrounded by columns and the ruins of temples, triumphal arches, and other public buildings, the particular uses of which can in general be only conjectured. There are also a number of pedestals, which once supported statues; and around the west, south, and east sides, there runs a Doric colonnade in the Grecian style. At the end by which the place is entered stands a building, called by some the temple of Jupiter, and by others the Senaculum or council-chamber. It is prostyle, and of the Corinthian order, and stands upon an elevated basement, which was ascended by a flight of steps. Those near the columns, which served for ornament, and also for supporting the upper part of the building, run along the whole front of the portico The interior had been painted; red and black are the prevailing colours. Fragments of a colossal statue, and a sun-dial, were discovered. Near this temple are the ruins of what has been conjectured to have been the granary. Adjacent to this building is the prison, where were found the skeletons of two men, their leg-bones still within the shackles. On the opposite side of the temple of Jupiter stands an edifice, which has been called the Pantheon, from its having had in the centre of its area an altar encircled with twelve pedestals, and which, it is supposed, once supported statues of the aristocracy of Italian mythology. The area is a hundred and twenty feet in length by ninety feet in breadth. To this building are attached numerous cells, in all probability for the accommodation of priests. Near to this building were discovered ninety-three brass coins and statues of Nero and Messalina.

On the northern side of the Pantheon there runs a street named the Street of Dried Fruits, from the quantity of fruits of various kinds preserved in glass vases which have been found in it. Scales, money, and moulds for pastry and bread, were discovered in the shops; and a bronze statue of Fame was also found. On the western side of the Forum are the Basilica, a temple supposed to have been dedicated to Venus, and the granary and prison already noticed. The Basilica, or court of justice, is the largest building in Pompeii. It is of an oblong form, two hundred and twenty feet in length by eighty feet in breadth, and corresponds in some particulars with the ancient description of that building. The temple of Venus is the only remaining building of importance connected with the Forum. It possessed the usual apartments, in one of which was found a painting of Bacchus and Silenus in a state of perfect preservation. In most of the paintings the colours are as vivid as when they were first laid on.
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Amongst other objects of interest there is a broad street, which, from various articles of jewellery having been found there, is called the Street of the Silversmiths. On the walls of the shops several inscriptions appear, one of which has been thus translated: “The scribe Issus beseeches Marcus Cerrinius Vatia, the aedile, to patronise him; he is deserving.” At the end of this street was discovered a skeleton, supposed to have been that of a priest of Isis. In the hand was a bag of coarse linen, not entirely destroyed, containing three hundred and sixty silver coins, forty-two of copper, and six of gold. Near him were also found various articles belonging to the worship of Isis.

The baths of Pompeii were excavated in the year 1824. They surpass all the other buildings of Pompeii in magnificence, decoration, good taste, arrangement, and the state of preservation in which they remain. They occupy a considerable space, and are divided into three separate compartments; one was for fire-places and for the use of servants, another was for the men, and a third for the women. The walls of the frigidarium arc ornamented with figures, and the apartment is round, and altogether remarkable for its beauty. The basin is twelve feet ten inches in diameter, and two feet nine inches deep, and is entirely lined with white marble. The tepidarium is divided into a number of compartments, and has also been highly ornamented. The ceiling is adorned with figures and carvings in stucco. In the bronze frame of the window were four beautiful panes of glass, from which it is evident that windows of glass were in use amongst the ancients. Glassblowing seems to have been better understood by them than many of the learned are inclined to admit. This is proved by the quantities of bottles, vases, glasses, and other utensils made of the same material, which have been discovered in this subterranean city. The caldarium, the third and last description of bath made use of by the Romans, is an apartment in all respects as highly finished and decorated as the others.

Two theatres have been excavated in Pompeii, a large one and a small one; both displaying the remains of considerable magnificence. They are constructed after the usual plan of a Roman theatre, and need not therefore be described here. In the large theatre there must have been sufficient space for five thousand persons. This theatre appears to have been entirely covered with white marble, although only a few fragments remain. The other theatre nearly resembles the one here mentioned, but is much smaller, and appears from an inscription to have been permanently roofed.

Adjoining the theatres there is an edifice which, from the style of its architecture, has been called the Greek temple, or the temple of Hercules. It is supposed by some to be of great antiquity, and is in a very dilapidated state. In this quarter also is situated the temple of Isis. It is also one of the most perfect examples now extant of the parts and disposition of an ancient temple. In one of the rooms was found the skeleton of a priest. Near his remains lay an axe, from which it would appear that he had delayed his departure till the door was choked up with the falling ashes, and so had attempted to force his way through the walls with the hatchet. He had already penetrated through two, but before he could break through the third, death arrested his flight. A number of other skeletons were here found, and also some paintings of the priests of Isis, together with a statue of the deity herself. In this neighbourhood stands the temple of Aesculapius, where were found three terra-cotta statues of Aesculapius, Hygeia, and Priapus. Near this is one of the most interesting buildings discovered in Pompeii, not for its beauty, but for its contents, which prove it to have been the abode of a sculptor. There were found statues, some half finished, others just begun, with blocks of marble, and all the tools required by the artist, as mallets, compasses, chisels, saws, and the like. The amphitheatre, which has been excavated, does not differ from other Roman buildings of the same kind. It was calculated to contain ten thousand persons.

In a street which conducts to the Forum, and is called the Street of Fortune, an immense number of utensils have been found. Amongst these were vases, basins with handles, bells, elastic springs, hinges, buckles for harness, a lock, an ink-stand, gold ear-rings, a silver spoon, an oval caldron, a sauce-pan, a mould for pastry, a number of lamps (about one thousand were found at the baths), and three boxes with a slit to admit money, one of which contained coins of Titus Vespasian and other Roman emperors. Here also were found seven glazed plates packed in straw, a pair of scales, and a steelyard. In other parts of the city were discovered fishing-nets, some of them quite entire, and linen with the texture well defined. In the shop of a baker there was found a loaf, still retaining its original form, and with the maker’s name. stamped upon it. On the counter of an apothecary’s shop lay a box of pills, and by the side of it was a small cylindrical roll, evidently waiting to be cut up. This mode of administering medicine, therefore, is of very high antiquity. In various parts of Pompeii have been dug up a number of bronze helmets, greaves, and other warlike furniture; more than one candelabrum, braziers of various sorts, vases, cooking vessels and other kitchen utensils, glass vessels, articles of dress, female ornaments, and other articles of luxury.

But the relics most calculated to interest our feelings are the remains of the human beings who perished in the great catastrophe. A comparatively small number of skeletons have as yet been brought to light; and hence it is clear that most of the inhabitants had found time to make their escape. Besides those already mentioned, there were discovered in the vaults of a house in the suburbs of Pompeii, the skeletons of seventeen individuals, who appear to have sought in vain an asylum there from the tempest of ashes which poured down from the sky. There was likewise preserved in the same place a perfect cast of a woman, supposed to have been the mistress of the house, with an infant locked in her arms. Her form was imprinted upon the consolidated mass in which she was entombed, but of her body only the bones remained. To these a chain of gold was suspended, and rings with jewels were upon the bones of the fingers. The remains of a soldier were found in a niche, where in all probability he was performing the office of sentinel. His hand still grasped a lance, and the other military accoutrements worn at the time were found beside him or upon his bones.

The architecture of Pompeii is not always in the best taste; yet there is much to be admired in it, both for design and execution. At the same time, except in those quarters where the public buildings were situated, there could have been nothing striking or magnificent in the appearance of the city as a whole. The houses were of small height, and externally gloomy; the lower part being usually a blank wall plastered over, and often painted with different colours, and the upper pierced with small windows to light the apartments on the first floor. Internally there is very little costly decoration to be found, with the exception of mosaic pavements, which are numerous and extremely beautiful; and even in the public buildings marble is of rare occurrence. Its place, however, was not inadequately supplied by a stucco of great beauty, equally adapted to receive paintings or to be modelled into bas-reliefs; and these have been found in great abundance. The paintings are in general in a state of perfect preservation, and have all the freshness of recent finishing. In the Pompeian houses every species of masonry described by Vitruvius may, it is said, be met with; but the cheapest and least durable sorts have been generally preferred; and by far the greater part of the private, and many of the public edifices, are built of bricks, or of the [7:18:346]rough masonry which is called opus iìicerticm. Hence arises their rapid decay on being exposed to air. Copper, iron, lead, and other metals, have been found employed for the same purposes as those for which we now use them, so that the articles discovered need not be enumerated. Almost all the door-ways are nearly of the same size and form, a little more or less' care in the execution of capitals and entablatures making all the difference between them. It is rare in Pompeii to see a whole house set apart for purposes of trade, a portion of it almost invariably furnishing an abode for the owner. The houses of the richer classes were usually surrounded by shops. Throughout the streets numerous signs are to be seen upon the shops, indicative of the trades which were pursued within. One of these represents two men carrying an amphora, and probably served as the sign of a wine-shop. And there is a painting of a boy mounted upon the back of another, and undergoing a process of flagellation; an ominous indication to all idlers that the schoolmaster was at home.

Fountains are very numerous both in the streets and houses of Pompeii, but it is not known from what source or sources the city was supplied with water. But, however obtained, the waters once brought to the city were distributed to its different quarters by conduits of masonry, lead, or baked earthen pipes. Fountains, which appear to have been jets d’eau, have been found in several houses; and there is a painting of one representing a broad vase with a jet of water rising from the centre. Of the manner in which the town was drained, and the numberless impurities carried off, little is known satisfactorily; but remains of a considerable sewer, with minor drainages converging to it, have been observed. The tombs line the approach to the city through the gate of Herculanum. They are numerous, and almost all those which have been found are raised upon a platform of masonry above the level of the footway. They are themselves solid, elegant, and in many instances highly ornamented structures.

No perfect manuscripts, nothing but mere fragments, have been found at Pompeii. It may be mentioned, that most of the houses have received their names from the paintings on the walls'; but some have been designated from persons of rank being present at their excavation, and from other accidental circumstances. (r. r. r.)