Start with our video overview:
Pompeii is one of the most famous ancient sites in the world. It provides visitors and researchers with a unique glimpse into what life was like in a Roman city at the height of the empire. This is due to the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, which covered the city in volcanic ash and preserved it in a near perfect condition. Some of the most notable sights in this ancient city include the forum, theater district, and amphitheater.
Pompeii’s forum was dominated by the Temple of Jupiter, which faced a large public square. The forum was developed over time, from the 2nd century BCE until the city’s destruction. Besides the temple, the forum also features several shrines, a basilica (law court), a marketplace, and various municipal buildings.
The theater district, like the forum, consisted of several buildings serving multiple purposes. The most prominent was the grand theater, built into a natural slope in the traditional Greek style. Nearby, there was an odeon, which is similar to a modern concert hall. Another fascinating site in the area was a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was widely worshipped in the Greco-Roman world.
Pompeii’s amphitheater is another impressive structure. Built in 70 BCE, it is one of the oldest stone amphitheaters from ancient Rome still standing. At that time, amphitheaters were usually temporary structures built of wood that were taken apart after shows. Pompeii’s amphitheater was one of the first to be built to last, serving as a precursor to the famous amphitheaters of the imperial period. It is estimated that the structure could hold 15,000 to 20,000 spectators, more people than the population of Pompeii at the time it was built.
Bibliography
- Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata. UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829/
- Pompeii Sites. https://pompeiisites.org/en/archaeological-site/forum/
- Grout, James. (n.d). Encyclopedia Romana. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/gladiators/amphitheatrum.html
- Large Theater. Pompeii Sites. https://pompeiisites.org/en/archaeological-site/large-theatre/
This content is brought to you by The American Institute for Roman Culture, a 501(C)3 US Non-Profit Organization.
Please support our mission to aid learning and understanding of ancient Rome through free-to-access content by donating today.
Cite This Page
Cite this page as: “Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, Pompeii from above” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 07/27/2024. https://ancientromelive.org/pompeii-from-above/
License
Created by The American Institute of Roman Culture, published on 07/27/2024 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
