Public building (Pompeii)
Common name: Amphitheatre of Pompeii
Region and insula number: Region II Insula 6 (II.6)
Location on an annotated streetscape:
I'm assuming the stuff written above was specified within the assessment notification? Just because in an actual essay you won't want to be using subheadings - but if this assessment requires it then its A-okay 
The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the most impressive public monuments in the whole city,
hmmm. I always tried to stay away from judgements like "most impressive" - just appears too dramatic. Archeological evidence within the building reveals much about local political life, Roman social structure, economy and leisure activities providing a glimpse into ancient life in the Roman world.
I feel like this could be your judgement! Maybe clean it up a bit, but something like: As a public building, The Amphitheatre of Pompeii and its contents provide historians with an array of critical evidence, revealing much about local political life, Roman social structure, economy and leisure activities. It is the oldest known permanent amphitheatre in Italy Nice detail, but is it 100% important? Having been Constructed shortly after the foundation of the Roman colony at Pompeii in the 70s BCE, evidence for its foundation and construction are found from two identical inscriptions, located over the main entrances to the Amphitheatre. These inscriptions record that it was dedicated in perpetuity to the colonists of Pompeii by the two quinquennial duumviri, Gaius Quincitius Valgus and M.Porcius.
Great integration of a source! Thus the amphitheatre was closely associated with the new colonists and acted as a symbol of the new political order.
Great link! The repeated reference to the ‘colony’ in the inscription emphasises the dominance of the new Roman elite over the native population.
Fantastic paragraph Maraos! Setting up a strong essay! I do have one question though - were you expected to have an introduction, or to just jump straight into your response? Because this has too much specific detail to be considered an intro. Evidence of social structure and inequality in the Roman world is highlighted through the configuration and layout of the amphitheatre.
Good, clear and succinct judgment - Nice! It was made up
I think you could find better words to say "made up" - comprised of perhaps? of two major sections, the ‘cavea’ (spectator seating) and the arena. The seats of the cavea were carefully ranked, the lowest section of seating was known as the ‘ima cavea’ and were reserved for the local elite, who enjoyed spacious seating and a ringside view. The other two sections known as the ‘media cavea’ and the 'summa cavea’
were larger and would have seated more spectators, mostly
those from the lower classes. The ima cavea is physically separated from the other sections by a continuous balustrade around 80 centimeters high, preventing any exchange between these spectators and the rest of the crowd.
Further evidence of social stratification is provided by epigraphical sources, such as Epigraphic evidence of social structure comes from eight inscriptions carved into the amphitheater’s travertine podium,
these record
ing that individual duoviri chose to contribute specific wedges of tufa seats. The donation of seating as pointed out by Parslow helped clearly differentiate the spectators according to class and rank, where the magistrates and the game’s sponsors occupied the prime rows.
Again absolutely fantastic! Your integration of sources and detail is superb Not only were spectators of different social status separated from each other during the events themselves but the methods in which they merely entered the amphitheatre were different. Those of the lower class made their way up the steep stairways on the outside of the building to their seats.4 In contrast those of the upper elite class entered through one of the lower entranceways, which led to an internal corridor running around the perimeter of the arena. This is great detail, but I think you may be going on a bit too much about social structure now. I think you made your point well enough in the previous paragraph and this could be shortened dramatically (or even cut completely tbh). This is NOT because I dislike the paragraph - but just in terms of word count I feel like you can get rid of a lot here.This way the elite bypassed the exterior steep steps, as pointed out by Beard; “on this system the rich would never have had to cross paths, or rub shoulders in the mêlée, with the great unwashed.” 5 This separation reveals the prominence of social stratification and elitism within the Roman social structure of Pompeii.
This final judgement is fantastic. Even if you cut out this paragraph, please keep this link.The amphitheatre
and surrounding area was also designed to capitalize on the crowds entering this quarter of the city, providing a detailed insight into the nature of commerce, tourism and trade in the Roman world.
Good judgement Based off the seating arrangements in the amphitheatre It has been estimated that in total 10,000 to 20,000 spectators could be accommodated
in the ampitheatre. This figure is far more than the male citizen body of Pompeii
and revealing that the complex was intended to hold a large number of visitors from other settlements in the region
maybe you could mention how it is believed that Herculaneans in particular used to come, as no amphitheatre has been excavated there! encouraging tourism and trade. As pointed out by Berry “the influx of neighboring peoples into Pompeii to watch the games must have had a significant impact on both her economy and status.” Painted inscriptions located beneath the external arches of the amphitheatre reveal that stalls and shop owners set up their stands for the sale of food and drink,
such as One
such inscription read that suggests Gnaeus Aninius Fortunatus had the aediles’ permission to occupy a certain space. Further evidence for trade and commerce comes from the famous fresco depicting the riot of A.D 59 where itinerant vendors of food and drink have set up their tables under the trees. During the excavation of the amphitheatre casts of ancient tree roots were created, confirming that trees did indeed grow in the square of the amphitheatre thus confirming the accuracy of the fresco.
Your knowledge of detail is incredible!Property owners in the adjacent area also converted their homes and vineyards into taverns and restaurants, their proximity allowed these establishments to draw their business from one another. Great detail, but at this point I think your argument is solid enough Therefore not only was the amphitheatre a place of leisure and entertainment, it was also a major tourist destination and a central trading center revealing the nature of commerce and trade in the Roman world.
The Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum is one of the most impressive and luxurious private houses in all of Herculaneum.
Like before, I think this is a little bit of a dramatic intro. Instead maybe: The Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum is a highly valuable source of information pertaining to the Ancient roman world, providng extensive evidence on Greek influences, leisure activities and roman luxury. It was described by the famous archaeologist and curator of Herculaneum, Amedeo Maiuri, as the “Most valuable and richest villa of the ancient world.” Its abundance of archaeological artefacts and fixed features highlights the nature of Greek influence on Roman life, leisure activities and Roman luxury.
Villa owners often expressed their philosophical inclinations in visual form.
If this paragraph is on Greek influences, then that needs to be explicitly addressed within your first sentence. This is clearly demonstrated in the luxurious Villa of the Paypri where evidence of Greek Epicurean influence has been uncovered through the discovery of a library in the Villa with a collection of over 1,800 carbonised papyri.
This sentence came across a bit clunky - I feel like you could cut down a lot just by rewording. Most of the papyri were found in a room along with four inscribed busts of the Greek philosophers Epicurus, Hermarchus and Zeno. Great detail, but is it really important? I know it emphasises greek influence, but I feel like in comparison to everything else its less significant. Three quarters of all the scrolls that have been successfully opened so far are works of Philodemus of Gadara, a minor Greek Epicurean philosopher of the 1st century BC 13. The vast majority of the remaining papyri contain a number of Greek philosophical texts such as parts of Epicurus’ ‘on nature’, works of the stoic philosopher Chrysippus,14 and only a few fragments of Latin, 15 however as new technologies are employed the remaining scrolls might uncover a different story. Classics professor David Sider argues that what has been found was in fact Philodemus’ own working library, and that the owner himself was Philodemus’ patron. 16 It has been suggested that the owner was Lucius Calpurnius Piso, father in-law of Julius Caesar and patron of Philodemus, 17 however as pointed out by Berry, 18 and Dickmann 19this claim is not on the basis of any firm evidence.
I feel like the discussion on whether it was actually his workshop could be cut down - is it really answering the question effectively? The abundance of Greek art and Epicurean literature within the library highlights both the influence of Greek culture on Roman life and Roman admiration towards Epicureanism suggesting that the Romans were heavily influenced by its hedonistic approach to life.
Great link.Household decoration was a significant aspect of the ancient Roman world, as highlighted by Hadrill, private decoration tells us about the social use of space and from this reflects the social position and wealth of the inhabitants. Classics professor Richard Janko points out that the Villa of the Papyri was not merely a holiday house but a mouseion, a place to show off a collection of spectacular works of art and literature, thus revealing much about Roman luxury and social structure.
If you're going to talk about social structure - which I agree you should - you need to explictly mention that within your introductory sentence for the Villa of the Papyri On the western side of the villa is a large peristyle
over 90m long and 30m wide, filled with fountains, several large gardens and an overwhelming wealth of sculptures in bronze and marble. These included famous statues such as; the ‘Drunken faun’, ‘seated Hermes’ and the ‘dancing maidens,’ the statuary also included portraits of politicians, army heroes, writes, images of gods, satyrs and animals. Moormann points out that “the peristyle was reminiscent of a Greek idllic landscape, combined with a gymnasium, where sports and philosophy were practiced”.
This view is further supported by Dickmann.23 Don't mention historians if you're not going to explain them.The sculpted figures represented the finest elements of Hellenic culture and emphasise the owner’s admiration towards Greek art symbolising a fondness for living in the Greek style. The villa’s exquisite architecture and works of art represents more than a display of wealth. It is a method of displaying, or laying claim to social rank highlighting the increasing Hellenizing culture of the senatorial elite of the later Republic.
Nice! This reflects a cultural revolution among the elite that originated from intense competition, in the need to assert claim to social leadership and status. This movement not only affected the elite, luxury living created the image of success and happiness to which even those with slender resources aspired, creating a sense of belonging and membership in a society in which ideology and culture was defined by the aristocracy of the capital.
Really sophisticated analysis right here! Well done!
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Topic: Ancient History Essay Marking Thread (Read 14120 times)