Dec 2, 2023

Research and Conference Trip: Rome – Ostia – Pompeii

My previous visit to Italy had been more than a year ago, so it was time to head back there in early November. I had several good reasons for my trip. I was going to participate in a conference on ancient identities, where I'd present a paper related to my research. In addition to this, I was going to visit a couple of archives to advance my research on Ostia and to explore two recently opened private houses in Pompeii that contained material that was of interest for my doctoral research. My trip was funded by Svenska Kulturfonden and the Finnish Institute in Rome. I'm thankful for their support.

I flew to Rome early on Monday morning on 6 November, and immediately headed to the BiASA archive at the Palazzo Venezia in the center of Rome, hoping to examine materials related to the late 19th century excavations in Ostia. I had confirmed in advance via email that the materials should be available. However, upon reaching the archive I was informed that the archive room I was looking for was only open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I would have to come back the next day. Calculating that I would have time to return to the archive on Tuesday afternoon, I spent the rest of the day exploring the center of Rome and returned to my accommodation early to catch up on sleep.

A moment of reflection after my unsuccessful visit to the BiASA archive

I had arranged a visit to the archives in Ostia on Tuesday morning to study materials related to my research on the theater of Ostia. This visit went as planned. I had been to Ostia a couple of times before to read excavation reports from the early 20th century (previously in my blog: Searching for the Theatre of Ostia in the Archives). This time I mainly verified some details in the reports and supplemented my notes.

My visit to the archives of Ostia was more successful.
You can see me almost smiling.

I returned from Ostia in the afternoon and hurried back to the BiASA archive. However, this time I was told that the archive room I wanted to visit was only open until two o'clock on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it was already half-past two. The members of the staff tried to find a solution, and I was asked to wait for a moment. Soon, a person whom I understood to be the director of the archive arrived. She wanted to know what was going on and why I hadn't contacted her in advance. I tried to explain this with my poor Italian. After some discussion and animated gesturing and sighing, she reluctantly agreed to let me into the archive. Two very friendly archivists helped me find the material I was looking for, which turned out to be much more extensive than I had imagined. I examined some late 19th-century photographs and a watercolor painting of the theater of Ostia and realized it would be better to come back at a more suitable time.

At the BiASA archive in the tower of Palazzo Venezia

With Jasmin and Maria at the Porticus Octaviae

On Tuesday evening, I met my fellow researchers Maria and Jasmin, and we went for aperitifs and dinner. We had all come to Rome to participate in the Arachne IX conference entitled "Gender, Identities, and Social Structures in Greco-Roman Antiquity". The conference was organized by the Nordic Arachne network, founded by Finnish and Swedish researchers interested in ancient gender studies. Most participants were from Finland and Sweden, but there were researchers from many other countries including North America and Australia.

Wine reception at the Swedish Institute in Rome

Keynote lecture by Marjatta Nielsen at the Finnish Institute in Rome

The conference was mainly held at the Swedish Institute in Rome, but we also had the opportunity to visit the temporary facilities of the Finnish Institute in Rome. During the conference, we heard presentations on gender ideals, the status of women in antiquity, aging, professions, and ethnic identities among many other topics. I presented a paper on the Roman attitudes towards disreputable professions such as gladiators, actors, and prostitutes.

Me presenting my paper. Photo: Iida Huitula

After the conference on Friday, I took a train to Naples. I had planned to visit Pompeii to see two private houses that had recently been opened to the public after extensive restoration. These houses contain material relevant to my research. I was at the gates of Pompeii early on Saturday morning, rushing straight to my first destination, the so-called House of the Vettii. There I studied wall paintings and inscriptions likely related to prostitution conducted in the house. Similarly explicit paintings have been found only in a handful of Pompeian houses.

The peristyle garden of the House of the Vettii

The backroom decorated with explicit wall paintings,
perhaps a space for prostitutes to conduct their business.

A graffito advertising the services of a woman called Eutychis,
scratched on the wall of the entrance to the house.

Priapus, the god of fertility, painted on a wall near the entrance.

My second destination was the so-called House of the Silver Wedding, one of the largest private houses in Pompeii. It is also one of the few houses where numerous graffiti are still visible on the walls. Many of these are sexual insults and therefore important for my research. I knew the location of some inscriptions, but I had to search for others. A few enthusiastic custodians of the house helped me in my search. We found at least two phallic drawings.

The atrium of the House of the Silver Wedding

A graffito phallus on the wall of the peristyle.
The drawing is only a few centimeters wide.

This room that opens to the peristyle garden has
about a dozen graffiti still visible on the walls.

Calling someone a fellator

It was very enlightening to see these scribblings with my own eyes in their original environment. Many of them were written on the walls of a room located on one side of the large peristyle garden (see the photos above). This room was perhaps used as a dining room, which makes you wonder who wrote them in that particular place and why. As I explored the room, many passers-by stopped to stare curiously at me while I worked. I had conversations with some of them about the wall inscriptions, including a local archaeologist and an American couple.

The Forum Baths were open to the public again.
The photo is from the tepidarium, one of the warm rooms.

Many tourists visit Pompeii with guides whose expertise is not always impressive. During this visit, I heard one guide telling their clients that probably at least 10,000 people died when Pompeii was destroyed. Researchers usually estimate around 2,000 victims. Another guide claimed that the great brothel of Pompeii had thousands of graffiti on its walls. She may have exaggerated on purpose. Only some 120 inscriptions have been documented in the brothel. I also had to correct the archaeologist I met in the House of the Silver Wedding, who claimed that at least 90% of the inscriptions were obscene. Only a few hundred of the over 10,000 graffiti documented in Pompeii contain indecent language. Reality is sometimes less sensational than we would like to imagine.

For the first time I got to climb on top of one of the towers of the city wall.
The view is to the south towards the forum.

Before my trip I had applied for permission to access the storerooms of the Archaeological Museum of Naples to study wall inscriptions stored there. However, the museum never responded to my request, so I had to come up with other plans for Sunday. I took a bus to the western end of the Bay of Naples to visit the archaeological site of Baiae, which was a popular vacation spot for the Roman elite. There I saw the ruins of imperial-era baths, among which is the oldest surviving dome built by the Romans. The acoustics in this round room, later filled with water, were incredible. I also visited the archaeological museum located in a castle built on a hill by the bay in the late 15th century.

The archaeological area of Baiae consisting of multiple baths built on the slopes of a hill

The domed space probably originally served as a frigidarium, a cold bath.
The room has later become partly submerged due to seismic activity.

On Monday morning I returned to Rome by train, where I spent a few hours wandering around the city. In the evening I flew back to Finland satisfied with a successful conference and research trip.

Oct 28, 2023

'Escape from Pompeii' Exhibition at Maritime Centre Vellamo

We visited the 'Escape from Pompeii' exhibition at the Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka about a month ago. The exhibition was open from April to September. We organized the trip together with Turku Classical Association Paideia, Palladion association, and the students of Turku Classical High School. Here is a brief report of the trip.

'Escape from Pompeii' exhibition

We set off early in the morning by bus from Turku and arrived in Kotka around noon. Two guided tours were arranged for us for the exhibition, one for the high school students and the other for the rest of the group. While waiting for our own guided tour, we explored the other exhibitions at Vellamo, which were also worth seeing.

Maritime Centre Vellamo

The guided tour was pretty good, but it didn't add much to what one could learn just by studying the objects, exhibition texts, and other materials. The guide also seemed a bit nervous upon hearing that there was a Pompeii scholar in the group. I tried to be encouraging and only corrected the guide at one point when she presented the plaster casts of two victims from Pompeii, claiming that these had been left under the lava.

The guided tour

In my opinion the exhibition was well-executed and diverse. The collection on display mainly consisted of authentic objects brought from Italy to Finland. These included sculptures, wall paintings, inscriptions, everyday objects, and jewelry, among other things. The selection was complemented with items from Finnish museum collections originating from Pompeii, which are seldom on display.

A fresco probably depicting the ancient port of Puteoli (now Pozzuoli).

A sculpture of Dionysus

A Pompeiian phallus amulet that belongs to the
archaeological collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency

The high-quality and clear information signs were written in three languages, and I didn't find any significant errors in them. The museum texts also highlighted recent scientific discussions, such as the timing of the destruction of Pompeii, i.e. whether the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 happened in August or October. This question was left open.

The exhibition effectively utilized various multimedia elements. At the beginning of the exhibition, a video installation depicted the eruption of Vesuvius and how people in antiquity interpreted such volcanic phenomena.

The video installation depicting the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79

Through video material, a maritime archaeological project was presented which involved the recovery of bronze rams of Roman warships in the Mediterranean. One video, projected on a wall, featured a 3D-modeled interior of a Pompeiian private house, while another video showcased colorful Pompeiian wall paintings that might otherwise have been challenging to include in the exhibition.

A 3D model of the so-called House of Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii.

An creative way to present the buildings of Pompeii and Herculaneum was a video panel lying on the floor. It displayed the locations of the buildings on maps of the cities at the same time as images of these structures were projected onto the wall above. The exhibition also featured a virtual theater mask created by a Finnish visual artist Carine Fabritius, which mimicked the viewer's facial movements and expressions.

A virtual map of Pompeii

A virtual filter representing a Pompeiian mask.
You can try the filter on Vellamo's Instagram profile by opening
the tab marked with three stars, where you will find the filter.
Note that it only works on the mobile app.

There were some minor points of criticism as well. The presentation of objects was not always very clear. For instance, objects retrieved from the Bay of Naples were gathered in a large showcase and described in a rather general manner. The items were not numbered, which could make it unclear for the average museum visitor to discern which among them were, for instance, parts of an anchor, a weight, or a wine skin.

Items retrieved from the Bay of Naples

The connection to maritime activities seemed somewhat thin, even though the exhibition did highlight the role of the Roman navy in rescue operations during the eruption of Vesuvius and the significance of maritime trade in the daily life of the inhabitants of the area. On display were inscriptions that shed light on the lives of sailors, objects related to trade, and a scale model of a Roman merchant ship.

A Roman merchant vessel of the horeia type, 1/5 scale.

I would have liked to see some Pompeian wall inscriptions in the exhibition, but this time they were not included. One at least was incorporated into the 3D model of a Pompeiian private house. The model seemed to be made with enough care that this graffito was, to my understanding, roughly in the right place on the wall.

Graffito:
Whoever loves, let him flourish.
Let him perish who knows not love.
Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.
(Translation: Alison Cooley & M. G. L. Cooley)

The exhibition was well worth seeing and effectively highlighted the daily life of Pompeian residents and how this life ended so abruptly because of the disaster. We had the opportunity to spend a pleasant Saturday immersed in the world of Pompeii, which is a rare treat in Finland.

Sep 12, 2023

Phalli and Defecation – How I Ended up as Co-author of an International Article

The first peer-reviewed article in which I am a co-author has just been published (available here). How I ended up as one of the authors of this international article was totally unexpected. It was all the more surprising since I had not published anything in English before this and I did not know the other authors of the article. So let me tell you how it all happened.

The phallic stone found at Vindolanda 19 May 2022.
Photo: vindolanda.com

In May 2022, during archaeological excavations at the Roman military camp of Vindolanda located along Hadrian's Wall in Northern England, a curious stone was discovered. It had a large phallus carved into it along with the Latin inscription SECVNDINVS CACOR. Numerous phalli carved into stones have been found at Vindolanda but none of the other phalluses are accompanied by such inscriptions. This fact along with the unusual Latin word cacor make this latest phallus stone from Vindolanda exceptional. The word cacor is clearly related to the Latin verb cacare which refers to shitting, but this form is not attested in any other ancient sources.

My tweet on 26 May 2022.

About a week later the discovery was reported online, and I happened to read the news on social media (available here). I immediately began pondering the engraved text and its possible meanings in relation to the large phallus. The interpretation mentioned in the press release, "Secundinus, the shitter", didn't seem wholly satisfactory to me, or at least not the only possible one, so I decided to share my own interpretations on Twitter. I considered the significance of the word cacor and its connection to defecation in light of other ancient sources.

One of the comments on Twitter.

My tweets were commented on by the user LatinNowERC who was part of the research team that reported the discovery. At the time I didn't know any of these researchers. It seems that my interpretations were in line with those of the Vindolanda team, and LatinNowERC asked if they could contact me via email. Later that same day I received a message from Alex Mullen, assistant professor at the University of Nottingham (now full professor) and the principal investigator of the Latin Now ERC project. She was planning an article about the Secundinus stone and asked if I would be interested in contributing to the article as co-author. Of course I was interested when asked by such an accomplished scholar, and to write about phalli and defecation no less!

I didn't hear back from Alex during the summer, but then I suddenly met her at an epigraphy conference in Bordeaux in August, and we discussed the article idea further. Apart from this conference, the work on the article was done entirely via email and shared files. Professor Alexander Meyer from the University of Western Ontario I have not met in person so far but I hope I will. We worked well together and the article took shape quickly. My part in the article primarily involved the cultural context and the various interpretations of the Secundinus stone.

At the conference in Bordeaux. I would've liked to have a photo
with Alex here but it seems we never took one together.

The article was mostly done by December 2022. We submitted it to the journal Britannia in January 2023, and made the necessary revisions during the spring. The article was accepted for publication in June, and it was published electronically in Britannia on 6 September 2023. Alexander and Alex also wrote a post in one of Vindolanda's blogs based on our article.

Collaborating with international researchers was a great and enlightening experience, particularly because I haven't published articles before this since my PhD dissertation will be a monograph. I got to see how an article evolves from an idea to publication and how the publishing process works. My more experienced colleagues were encouraging and I felt that my expertise in ancient phalli and scatology had a concrete impact on this publication. It was also great to see how these topics connect researchers from different parts of the world.

Thank you Alex and Alex for this opportunity!

Aug 28, 2023

Poems in Pompeian Graffiti

There are numerous poems among the Pompeian graffiti. Many of them are quotes from well-known Roman authors such as Vergil but some of them seem to be original creations of graffito writers in Pompeii. Many of the poems had attained almost proverbial status and recurred in Pompeii and elsewhere in the Roman empire.

A typical characteristic of ancient poetry was the use of poetic meters. The most popular meters in Pompeii were the elegiac and iambic meters but many other poetic meters were used as well. Some of the poems in Pompeian graffiti are metrically irregular and faulty, and the metricality of some graffiti is debatable.

CIL IV = Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. 4, Berlin, 1871–.

CIL IV 1227
Venimus huc cupidi multo magis hire (cupimus)
    ut liceat nostros visere Roma Lares.
We came here desiring; so much more we desire to go so that we might be permitted, Rome, to see our homes.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Milnor 2014, 183.
This poem is repeated in various forms in Pompeii and elsewhere, e.g. Pompeii: CIL IV 2995, 6697, 8231a, 8891, 9849, 10065a; Herculaneum: CIL IV 10640; Narbonne: AE 1997, 1068.
CIL IV 1516
hic ego nu[nc f]utui formosa(m) fo[r]ma puella(m)
    laudata(m) a multis set lutus intus {e}erat
Here I've at last screwed a beautiful girl, praised by many, but inside there was a mudhole.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Varone 2002, 119.
The beginning of this graffito is repeated in CIL IV 1517.
CIL IV 1520
Candida me docuit nigras odisse puellas.
Odero se potero, se non invitus amabo.
Scripsit Venus Fisica Pompeiana.
Blondie has taught me to hate dark girls. I shall hate them, if I can, but I wouldn’t mind loving them. Pompeian Venus Fisica wrote this.
Two dactylic hexameters. Translation: Cooley 2014, 102.
The graffito or the beginning of it is repeated in e.g. CIL IV 1526, 1528 and 9847. The poem is a combination and an adaptation of verses by Propertius and Ovid: Prop. 1,1,5: donec me docuit castas odisse puellas; Ovid. Am. 3,11,35-36: odero, si potero; si non, invitus amabo.
CIL IV 1595
[Ser]pentis lusus si qui sibi forte notavit,
    Sepumius iuvenis quos fac(i)t ingenio,
spectator scaenae sive es studiosus e[q]orum:
    sic habeas [lanc]es se[mp]er ubiq[ue p]a[res]
If anyone has chanced to observe the snake-game, In which young Sepumius has shown his skill, Whether you are a spectator of the theatrical stage or a devotee of horses, May you always have balance equal to his everywhere.
Elegiac couplets. Translation: Cooley 2014, 106.
The graffito was written in the form of a meandering snake. See photo.
CIL IV 1820
Chie opto tibi ut refricent se ficus tuae ut peius ustulentur quam ustulatae sunt Chios, I hope your piles again become sore, So that they smart more than they smarted before.
Iambic senarius. Translation: Cooley 2014, 109.
CIL IV 1882
accensum qui pedicat urit mentulam Anyone who buggers the "inflamed", burns his organ.
Iambic senarius. Translation: Varone 2002, 122.
The word accensus can be a proper name Accensus, or it can refer to a Roman magistrate's attendant or a person suffering from some sort of inflammation. The joke is likely based on these multiple meanings of the word.
CIL IV 1884
qui verpam vissit quid cenasse illum putes The man who shits a dick–what would you think he dined on?
Iambic senarius. Translation: Milnor 2014, 178.
The verb vissit has often been interpreted as visit 'to visit', but the verb vissire means to fart (Adams 1982, 249).
CIL IV 1904
Admiror o parie{n}s te non cecidisse ruinis
    qui tot scriptorum taedia sustineas
I admire you, wall, for not having collapsed at having to carry the tedious scribblings of so many writers.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Cooley 2014, 110.
This verse is repeated in e.g. CIL IV 2461 ja 2487.
CIL IV 1939
[[- - -]] fu{e}ere quondam `Virei ́ opulentissumi non ideo tenuerunt in manu sceptrum pro mutunio itidem quod tu factitas cottidie in manu penem tenes
Once upon a time the wealthy family of the Vibii lived in Pompeii (?), but they did not hold in their hands the sceptre like a member, as you do every single day, when you hold your penis in your hand.
Trochaic septenarius. Translation: Varone 2002, 93.
The word missing in the beginning has variously been conjectured as e.g. Romai (CIL IV, ad loc.) and Pum[pei]s (Varone 2002). The family named in the graffito has long been read as Vibii but according to Antonio Varone and Heikki Solin it is Virei (CIL IV addenda, s. 1717).
CIL IV 2360
amat qui scribet pedicatur qui leget qui opscultat prurit paticus est qui praeterit ursi me comedant et ego verpa(m?) qui lego He loves, the one who writes; the one who reads is fucked, The critic wants it bad. Who passes by? He sucks. Bears eat me! I’m the reader and a dickhead too.
Iambic senarius. Translation: Milnor 2014, 243 footnote 28.
The last line can also be read et ego verpa(m) qui lego 'I who read eat the cock'.
The same text is repeated in CIL IV 4008.
CIL IV 2416
Miccio ciocio [t]u [t]uo patri cacanti confregisti peram. // Miccionis statum cosiderate Miccio, huckster, you depleted the wallet of your shitting father. – Reflect upon the position of Miccio.
The beginning seems to be a trochaic dimeter. Translation: Levin-Richardson 1995, 230.
For different interpretations of the word ciocio see CIL IV addenda p. 1767–1768.
CIL IV 3948
talia te fallant utinam medacia copo
    tu vedes acuam et bibes ipse merum
If only such lies would deceive you, innkeeper: you sell water to others but drink unmixed wine yourself.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Joonas Vanhala.
CIL IV 4091
Quisquis amat valeat pereat qui nescit amare.
    Bis tanto pereat quisquis amare vetat.
Whoever loves, let him flourish. Let him perish who knows not love. Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Cooley 2014, 103.
This verse is repeated several times in Pompeii, e.g. CIL IV 1173, 3199, 5272, 9130 and 9202. Also found in Rome.
CIL IV 4235
Barbara barbaribus barbarant barbara barbis
Dactylic hexameter. A nonsense poem that is impossible to translate.
CIL IV 4832
[A]rma virumque cano Troia(e) qui primus ab oris I sing of arms and the man who first from the land of Troy...
Dactylic hexameter. Translation: Joonas Vanhala.
The beginning of Vergil's Aeneid is repeated several times in Pompeian graffiti. See also CIL IV 9131 which parodies this verse.
CIL IV 4957
Miximus in lecto fateor peccavimus hospes,
    si dices quare, nulla matella fuit.
We peed in the bed. I confess it, we made a mistake, my host. | If you should ask, “why [did you do it]?”—there wasn’t a chamber pot.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Milnor 2014, 27.
Written close to a door leading into a possible inn (VIII 6,7). Read more on Twitter.
CIL IV 4966
[quid f]it? vi me, oculei, posquam deducxstis in ignem
    [no]n ob vim vestreis largificatis geneis.
[porr]o non possunt lacrumae restinguere flamam,
    [hae]c os incendunt tabificantque animum.
What is happening? Alas, eyes, first you led me into the fire, Now of your own accord you give generously to your cheeks. But tears cannot put out the flame; They inflame the face and melt the spirit.
Elegiac couplets. Translation: Cooley 2014, 102.
The poem is signed Tiburtinus epoese 'Tiburtinus made (this)'. It is assumed that this Tiburtinus also wrote CIL IV 4967–4973 on the same wall.
CIL IV 5296
O utinam liceat collo complexa tenere
    braciola et teneris oscula ferre label-
lis. I nunc ventis tua gaudia pupula crede.
    Crede mihi levis est natura virorum.
Saepe ego cu(m) media vigilare(m) perdita nocte
    haec mecum medita(n)s: multos Fortuna quos
supstulit alte, hos modo proiectos subito
    praecipitesque premit. Sic Venus ut subito
co(n)iunxit corpora amantum dividit lux et se AAREES quid AAM
Oh, if only I could hold your sweet arms around my neck In an embrace and place kisses on your tender lips. Go now, entrust your joys to the winds, my darling, Believe me, fickle is the nature of men. Often I have been wakeful in the middle of a wasted night Thinking these things to myself: many men whom Fortune has raised up on high, Now suddenly rush headlong, and fall, overwhelmed by her. In this way when Venus has suddenly joined together lovers’ bodies, Light parts them and [–]
Elegiac couplets. Translation: Cooley 2014, 103.
Most likely a woman writing to another woman (Milnor 2014, 191–224). See photo.
CIL IV 7065
aedilem Proculam [[CR]] cunctorum turba probavit
    hoc pudor ingenuus postulat et pietas
The entire crowd has approved of Procula as aedilis. This is demanded by innate bashfulness and dutifulness.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Kruschwitz 2010, 165.
Procula is a name of a woman which makes this graffito peculiar since women couldn't be elected in public office. It has been proposed that the graffito is mocking a man named Proculus. Several men named Proculus are known to have run for or held office in Pompeii.
CIL IV 8899
Hospes adhuc tumuli ni meias ossa prec[antur]
    nam si vis (h)uic gratior esse, caca.
Urticae monumenta vides: discede cacator.
    Non est hic tutum culu(m) aperire tibi.
Guest, do not urinate against this tomb, the bones beg you, for, if you wish to be more pleasing to this man, shit. You look upon the monuments of Urtica [‘Nettle’]; go away, shitter. It is not safe for you to open your ass here.
Elegiac couplets. Translation: Milnor 2014, 65.
CIL IV 9131
Fullones ululamque cano, non arma virumque I sing of fullers and an owl, not of arms and a man.
Dactylic hexameter. Translation: Cooley 2014, 101.
This verse is a prody of the beginning of Vergil's Aeneid. See CIL IV 4832 above.
CIL IV 9246
[H]ic ego cum domina resoluto clune [p]er[e]gi, [- - -]d versu scribere [tu]r[p]e fuit Here I have penetrated my lady's open buttocks; but it was vulgar of me to write these verses.
Elegiac couplet. Translation: Varone 2002, 74–75.

Sources:

Adams 1982 = J. N. Adams, The Latin Sexual Vocabulary, London: Duckworth.

Cooley 2014 = A. Cooley, Pompeii and Herculaneum: a Sourcebook, London: Routledge.

Kruschwitz 2010 = P. Kruschwitz, "Romanes eunt domus! Linguistic Aspects of the Sub-Literary Latin in Pompeian Wall Inscriptions" in The Language of the Papyri, ed. by T. V. Evans & D. Obbink, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 156–170.

Levin-Richardson 2015 = S. Levin-Richradson, "Bodily Waste and Boundaries in Pompeian Graffiti" in Ancient Obscenities: Their Nature and Use in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds, ed. by D. M. Dutsch & A. Suter, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 225–254.

Milnor 2014 = K. Milnor, Graffiti and the Literary Landscape in Roman Pompeii, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Varone 2002 = A. Varone, Erotica Pompeiana : Love Inscriptions on the Walls of Pompeii (Studia archaeologica 116), Roma: ”L’Erma” di Bretschneider.

AE L'Année épigraphique

Aug 14, 2023

Insults in Pompeian Graffiti

Over 10 000 wall inscriptions have been discovered in Pompeii. Some of them were painted (dipinto), some scratched in stone or plaster (graffito) and some were made with charcoal or chalk, for example. There are a couple hundred writings that can be interpreted as insults such as the one seen in the photo: Leporis fellas, Leporis, you suck dick. I've collected some examples of these in the list below. All translations are my own.

NB: The Latin word cinaedus is difficult to translate. As an insult it usually meant a male prostitute or a man penetrated in anal sex. Such men were considered perverse, feminine and generally immoral. For lack of a better word I will use 'queer' in my translations.

CIL IV = Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum, vol. 4, Berlin, 1871–.

CIL IV 763
Asbestus cunnum linges Asbestus, you lick cunt.
In a public bath (VII 1,8), written with chalk
CIL IV 1253
Iustus Lemnio felatore[i?] sal(utem)
Iustus greets Lemnius the cocksucker.
Exterior wall (VI 8,3–4), graffito
CIL IV 1388a
Timele extaliosa Thymele has a big ass.
Exterior wall (VI 11,15–16), graffito
CIL IV 1391
Veneria Maximo mentla(m) exmuccaut per vindemiam tota(m) et relinque(t) putr(em) ventre(m) mucei os plenu(m) Veneria licked clean Maximus' cock during the whole harvest and left her stomach putrid and her mouth full of slime.
Exterior wall (VI 11,16), graffito
CIL IV 1516
hic ego nu[nc f]utui formosa(m) fo[r]ma puella(m) laudata(m) a multis set lutus intus {e}erat Here I fucked a girl with a nice appearance. She was praised by many but there was muck inside.
Exterior wall (VI 14,43), graffito. The beginning is repeated in CIL IV 1517. Poetic meter: elegiac couplet.
CIL IV 1772
Secundus Cararii cinedus Secundus, slave of Cararius, is a queer.
Exterior wall (VII 7,32, Temple of Apollo), graffito
CIL IV 1816
Epaphra glaber es Epaphras, you're hairless.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 1820
Chie opto tibi ut refricent se ficus tuae ut peius ustulentur quam ustulatae sunt Chius, I hope your piles rub open again so that they become inflamed worse than before.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 1825
Cosmus Equitiaes magnus cinaedus et fellator est suris apertis Cosmus, the slave of Equitia, is a big queer and a cocksucker with legs wide open.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 1826
Phileros spado Phileros is a eunuch.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito. Below the graffito a man with a large penis was drawn.
CIL IV 1850
Phoebus felat Phoebus sucks cock.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 1881
Virgula Tertio suo indecens es Virgula to his friend Tertius: you're shameless.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito. Virgula is usually a male name.
CIL IV 1948
Lucilla ex corpore lucrum faciebat Lucilla made profit with her body.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 1949
Oppi emboliari fur furuncule Oppius, you buffoon, thief, pilferer.
In the basilica (VIII 1,1), graffito
CIL IV 2254
Ratio mi cum ponis Batacare te pidicaro When you pay me, Batacarus, I will fuck you in the ass.
In a brothel (VII 12,18), graffito. Accompanied by a drawing of a phallus.
CIL IV 2275
Fortunata fellat Fortunata sucks cock.
In a brothel (VII 12,18), graffito
CIL IV 2288
Synethus Faustillam futuit obiqe rite Synethus fucked Faustilla well everywhere.
In a brothel (VII 12,18), graffito
CIL IV 2375
Ampliate Icarus te pedicat Salvius scripsit Ampliatus, Icarus fucks you in the ass. Salvius wrote (this).
In a private house (I 4,5), graffito
CIL IV 2400
Satur noli cunnum lingere extra porta(m) set intra porta(m) rogat te Arpogra ut sibi lingas mentula(m) at fellator quid Satur, don't lick cunts outside of the gate but inside. Harpocras asks you to lick his cock, but cocksucker what...
In a private house (IX 1,22), graffito
CIL IV 2420
Astus hic pedicatur Astus is fucked in the ass here.
Theater corridor (VIII 7,20), graffito
CIL IV 3103
Verecundus [- - -] mentla(m) ling(it) Verecundus ... licks cock.
Exterior wall (VII 3,27–28), graffito
CIL IV 3146
Secundus hicacat hi[- - -]at hic cacat Secundus shits here, shits here, shits here.
In a private house (VII 2,3), graffito
CIL IV 3925
Saturnine cunnum lingere noli Saturninus, don't lick cunt.
Exterior wall (I 2,19), graffito
CIL IV 3990
L(ucius) Statius ((mulieris)) l(ibertus) Philadelpus fur est Lucius Statius Philadelphus, a freedman of a woman, is a thief.
In a private house (I 3,3), graffito
CIL IV 4001
Glyco halicaria Glyco is a mill whore.
In a bakery (IX 3,5), graffito
CIL IV 4185
Sabina felas no(n) belle faces Sabina, you suck cock, but you don't do it well (or: that's not nice).
In a private house (V 2,i), graffito
CIL IV 4192
Ecidia fellatrix Ecidia is a cocksucker.
In a private house (V 2,i), graffito
CIL IV 4206
Helene cina(ede) vetusc(ule) Helenus, you old queer.
In a private house (V 2,i), graffito
CIL IV 4264
Iucundus cunum lingit Rusticae Iucundus licks Rustica's cunt.
Exterior wall (V 2,a–b), graffito
CIL IV 4533
G(aius) Hadius Ventrio eques natus Romanus inter beta(m) et brassica(m) Gaius Adius Ventrio, a knight, was born a Roman between a beat and a cabbage.
In a private house (VI 14,37), graffito
CIL IV 4699
Isidorus verna Putiolanus cunnuliggeter geter Isidorus, a homeborn slave, from Puteoli is a cuntlicker... cker.
Exterior wall (VI 15,26), graffito
CIL IV 4765
Aephebe ardalio es Ephebus, you're a busybody.
In a private house (VII 7,5), graffito
CIL IV 4954
Fortunate linge culu[m] Fortunatus, lick ass!
Exterior wall (VIII 6,6–7), graffito
CIL IV 4957
Miximus in lecto fateor peccavimus hospes si dices quare nulla matella fuit We peed in the bed, we confess; we did wrong, host. If you ask why, there was no chamber pot.
Exterior wall (VIII 6,7), graffito. Poetic meter: elegiac couplet. Read more on Twitter.
CIL IV 5110
Eracla fur Heracla is a thief.
In a private house (IX 5,18), graffito
CIL IV 5148
Romulus cal'v'os Romulus is pretty bald.
Exterior wall (IX 5,19), graffito. The graffito originally read calos but someone added a small letter v turning the word into calvos which sounds like calvus (bald).
CIL IV 5244
Marthae hoc trichilinium est nam in trichilino cacat This is Martha's dining room because she shits in the dining room.
In a latrine of a private house (IX 8,6), graffito
CIL IV 5263
Lenas cunnulingus Lenas, the cuntlicker.
In a private house (IX 9,12.13), graffito
CIL IV 5278
ling[- - -] mentula(m) Ptolomaeus Lick cock, Ptolemaeus!
In a private house (IX 9,12.13), graffito, accompanied by a drawing of a phallus.
CIL IV 7089
imanis metula es You're a huge dick.
Exterior wall (V 7,7), graffito. Can also be interpreted as imanis, metula, es 'Dick, you're huge' or imanis metula es(t) 'The dick is huge'. Read more on Twitter.
CIL IV 8322k
Somene nequ(am) Somene is worthless.
In a private house (I 10,4), graffito
CIL IV 8698
Vettius cu[n]num liget Optatus Vettius licks cunt. Optatus (wrote this?)
In a column of the palestra (II 7,1–10), graffito
CIL IV 8715b
Iucu(n)dus male cala(t) Iucundus fucks badly.
In a column of the palestra (II 7,1–10), graffito
CIL IV 8805
VII idus sep[tem]bres Q(uintus) Postumius rogavit (ut?) A(ulum) Attium pedicarim On September 7th Quintus Postumius asked me to fuck Aulus Attius.
In a column of the palestra (II 7,1–10), graffito
CIL IV 8841
Martialis fellas Proculum Martialis, you suck Proculus' cock.
Exterior wall (III 3,6), graffito
CIL IV 8898
Tiopilus canis cunnu(m) lingere noli puellis in muro Theophilus, you dog, don't lick girls' cunts next to the wall.
Exterior wall (III 5,3), graffito
CIL IV 9027
Secundus felator rarus Secundus is a rare kind of cocksucker.
In a private house (VII 6,28), graffito
CIL IV 9945
Erotaria vetula selotia Erotarin, you jealous old crone.
Necropolis of Porta Nocera, exterior wall of tomb 4EN, dipinto, selotia = zelotypa(?).
CIL IV 9228
Secundilla felatrix Secundilla is a cocksucker.
Atrium of Villa dei Misteri, graffito
CIL IV 10004
Eupla laxa landicosa Euplia is loose and has a huge clitoris.
In a private house (I 9,5), graffito
CIL IV 10041d
Piramo cotttdie linguo I lick Pyramus' dick every day.
In a private house (I 11,14), graffito
CIL IV 10093c
Brutus canis est Brutus is a dog.
In the entrance to a private house (II 1,10), graffito
CIL IV 10150
[cum] de[c]oxisti octies tibi superat ut (h)abeas sedecies coponium fecisti cretaria fecisti salsamentaria fecisti pistorium fecisti agricola fuisti aere minutaria fecisti propola fuisti laguncularia nunc facis si cunnu(m) linxse{e}ris consummaris omnia Now that you've gone bankrupt eight times, it remains for you to do it sixteen times. You've worked as an innkeeper, sold chalk and salted fish, you wer a baker and a farmer, sold small bronze items, worked as a retailer, and now you make small bottles. If you lick cunt, you will have done it all.
Exterior wall (II 4,10), graffito, written in one long line.
Julkaisematon
Leporis felas Leporis, you suck dick.
At the entrance to a private house (V 3, Casa del Giardino), graffito
Julkaisematon
Nicia cinede cacator. Nicia, you're a queer and a defecator.
In a bar (V 3, thermopolium), graffito