Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Published by Princeton University Press 1994

Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691244150

Overview
Contents

About this book

Few sources reveal the life of the ancient Romans as vividly as do the houses preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius. Wealthy Romans lavished resources on shaping their surroundings to impress their crowds of visitors. The fashions they set were taken up and imitated by ordinary citizens. In this illustrated book, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill explores the rich potential of the houses of Pompeii and Herculaneum to offer new insights into Roman social life. Exposing misconceptions derived from contemporary culture, he shows the close interconnection of spheres we take as discrete: public and private, family and outsiders, work and leisure.

Combining archaeological evidence with Roman texts and comparative material from other cultures, Wallace-Hadrill raises a range of new questions. How did the organization of space and the use of decoration help to structure social encounters between owner and visitor, man and woman, master and slave? What sort of "households" did the inhabitants of the Roman house form? How did the world of work relate to that of entertainment and leisure? How widely did the luxuries of the rich spread among the houses of craftsmen and shopkeepers? Through analysis of the remains of over two hundred houses, Wallace-Hadrill reveals the remarkably dynamic social environment of early imperial Italy, and the vital part that houses came to play in defining what it meant "to live as a Roman."

Author / Editor information

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill is Professor of Classics at the University of Reading in England.

Reviews

"[In] this splendidly illustrated book . . . Wallace-Hadrill argues for a new understanding of urban life in the early [Roman] empire. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Greco-Roman study."---Richard S. Ascough, Religious Studies Review

"Wallace-Hadrill's book now joins the ranks of the revisionist studies [of Pompeian society], but far surpasses them in the breadth of its vision and the fundamental nature of its challenge to the Maiurian orthodoxy. Wallace-Hadrill belongs to a rare breed, the social historian who has an intimate first-hand knowledge of the archaeological evidence; and this book is a fitting witness to the benefits which such a range of interest can bestow. It is a major statement in its field, and will set the agenda for future generations of researchers into Pompeian society."---Roger Ling, Burlington Magazine

"One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1994"

"Winner of the James R. Wiseman Award, Archaeological Institute of America"

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
LIST OF PLATES Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
NOTE ON FORM OF REFERENCES TO HOUSES Publicly Available Download PDF	xix
PART I. THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE ROMAN HOUSE
CHAPTER 1. Reading the Roman House Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
CHAPTER 2. The Language of Public and Private Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
CHAPTER 3. The Articulation of the House Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
PART II. SAMPLING POMPEII AND HERCULANEUM
CHAPTER 4. Houses and Urban Texture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
CHAPTER 5. Houses and Households Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
CHAPTER 6. Houses and Trade Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	118
CHAPTER 7. Luxury and Status Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
CHAPTER 8. Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
APPENDIX: LIST OF HOUSES SURVEYED Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
GLOSSARY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241