The Roman Street: Urban Life and Society in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Rome

356 Pages·2017·19.999 MB·English

by  Jeremy Hartnett

THE ROMAN STREET
Every day, Roman urbanites took to the street for myriad tasks, from
hawking vegetables and worshipping local deities to simply loitering and
socializing.Hartnetttakesreadersintothisthicketofactivityasherepopu-
latesRomanstreetswitharangeofsensations,participants,andeventsthat
stretches far beyond simple movement. Because everyone from slave to
senator met in this communal space, city dwellers found unparalleled
opportunities for self-aggrandizing display and the negotiation of social
and political tensions. Hartnett charts how Romans preened and paraded
inthestreetandhowtheyexploitedthestreet’scollectivespacetolobinsults
andrespondtopersonalrebukes.Combiningtextualevidence,comparative
historical material, and contemporary urban theory with architectural and
arthistoricalanalysis,TheRomanStreetoffersasocialandculturalhistoryof
urbanspacesthatrestoresthemtotheirrightfulplaceasprimaryvenuesfor
socialperformanceintheancientworld.
Jeremy Hartnett is Associate Professor and Chair of Classics at Wabash
College, where he holds the Anne and Andrew T. Ford Chair in the
Liberal Arts. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters on
Romanurbanhistory,thehistoryofphotography,andcollegiatepedagogy,
and he has been awarded fellowships and grants from the National
EndowmentfortheHumanities,theMichiganSocietyofFellows,andthe
ArchaeologicalInstituteofAmerica.

THE ROMAN STREET
URBAN LIFE AND SOCIETY IN
POMPEII, HERCULANEUM, AND
ROME
JEREMY HARTNETT
WabashCollege
OneLibertyPlaza,NewYork,NY10006,USA
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107105706
10.1017/9781316226438
©JeremyHartnett2017
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andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2017
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabySheridanBooks,Inc.
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ISBN978-1-107-10570-6Hardback
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administeredbytheArchaeologicalInstituteofAmerica.
CONTENTS
ListofColorPlates pageviii
ListofIllustrations ix
ListofTables xii
Acknowledgments xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
StreetsPastandPresent 5
WaystoSeetheCity 12
EvidenceandApproachI:TimeandSpace 15
EvidenceandApproachII:SourcesfortheSoftCity 17
OutlineoftheBook 19
PartI RepopulatingtheStreet 23
1 STREET FORMS, STREET MOVEMENTS 27
“The”RomanStreet?PhysicalForms,Names,andTypicality 28
TheStreetasCorridorforMovement 36
2 LIFE IN THE STREET 45
SocializingintheStreet 46
SpotsforCongregating 53
TheStreetasanEconomicSpace 60
RitualandtheStreet 67
TheSensationalStreet 69
Conclusion 74
3 THE STREET’S SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 76
WhoWasontheStreet? 77
TheRomanStreet’sPhysicalEnvironmentinComparative
Perspective 79
SocialContactintheStreetandCity 84
v
vi CONTENTS
PerformanceandPosturingintheStreet 87
ComeasYouAre:EvaluationontheStreet 93
TheStreetasanArenaofHonorandRevenge 98
MaintainingStatus 103
Conclusion:AwarenessofSocialHierarchy 108
PartII TheStreetandItsArchitecturalBorder 113
4 SIDEWALKS UNDER SIEGE: HOUSES, OWNERS, AND
URBAN CONTEXT 117
HouseExteriors:DisplayandAssessment 119
PavingtheWay(andtheSidewalk) 123
Speech,Song,andActionattheHouseDoor 125
ReachingBeyondtheHouse 132
VisibilityandIntra-UrbanViews 137
Conclusion 144
5 HOUSE FAÇADES AND THE ARCHITECTURAL
LANGUAGE OF SELF-PRESENTATION 146
Doorways,Defense,andDomesticPriorities 151
FaçadeForms 155
The“AestheticofAusterity”andRestraintinSelf-Presentation 158
AusterityinItsPhysicalContext 161
FaçadesandtheFirstStyle:Forms,Chronology,andDefinitions 164
TheArchitecturalLanguageofPublicStanding 168
FaçadeFunctionsontheOutside:UnityandCoherence 172
SizingtheHouse:SidesandSidewalks 174
BringingtheInsideOutside 179
TheViewThroughasFaçadeElement 188
Conclusion:DecorationInsideandOutsideRevisited 192
6 THE“IN” ANDTHE“OUT”: STREETSIDE BENCHESAND
URBAN SOCIETY 195
AssumptionsandAgencyintheStudyofBenches 198
BenchesandBuildings 201
MeaningsandPurposesofBenches 204
BenchesandtheStreet 210
BenchesasObstructions 218
BenchesasPublicWorks 219
Conclusion 222
CONTENTS vii
PartIII TheStreetinMicrocosm 225
7 ON THE EDGE OF THE CIVIC: A HERCULANEUM
STREET 227
ContextsandDevelopmentoftheStreet 230
StoryOne:Amenities,Aphrodite,andanAedile 232
TheFountain 234
TheWaterTower 236
StoryTwo:TheAugustalesClaimaPlace 239
TheHeadquartersoftheAugustales 240
TheAugustalesandthePorticus 244
AugustalesintheStreetandCity 245
StoryThree:L.VenidiusEnnychusandtheCasadelSaloneNero 247
TheManandtheHouse 248
FaçadePaintingandImageMaking 253
Conclusion:MoreStories 255
8 A CONTENTIOUS COMMERCIAL STREET IN POMPEII 259
ContextoftheCorner 260
StoryOne:AnAltarattheCrossroads 263
CrossroadOfficials 264
TheAugustLares 266
TheTwelveGods 267
StoryTwo:Barmaids,Politicians,andNeighborhoodDramas 269
StoryThree:ShopFaçadesandGoddesses 275
AProcessionofCybele 277
VenusPompeiana 281
StoryFour:AConcatenationofCloth 283
Verecundus,ClothforSale,andDuelingGoddesses 284
StoryFive:DomesticExclusionandPersonalClaimsattheCasadi
PaquiusProculus 288
ExteriorAspectandtheVisibilityofP.PaquiusProculus 289
LookingIn:DomesticDisplayandSocialExclusion 290
Modest?!I’llShowYouModest 293
Conclusion:TheViadell’AbbondanzainComparativePerspective 295
EPILOGUE 298
Bibliography 303
Index 323
Color plates are to be found between pp. xvi and 1
COLOR PLATES
I PlanofPompeiiwithlocationsofstreetsidebenches
II Frescoofforumscene,Pompeii
III Frescoofcarpenters’procession,Pompeii
IV ReconstructionoffrescoshowingprocessionofCybele,Pompeii
V ReconstructionofFulleryofUlulitremulus,Pompeii
VI ReconstructionofCasadiTrebiusValens,Pompeii
VII ReconstructionofCasadiJuliusPolybiusandFulleryofUlulitremulus,
Pompeii
VIII Reconstructionofcompitalaltarandfrescoes,Pompeii
IX ReconstructionoffrescoshowingVenusPompeiana,Pompeii
viii