JULIUS CAESARBeginning early in the first century BCE, the
Roman desire to vaunt distinguished ancestry led to the placement
of portraits of illustrious forebears on Republican coins. These an-
cestral portraits supplanted the earlier Roman tradition (based on
Greek convention) of using images of divinities on coins. No Ro-
man, however, dared to place his own likeness on a coin until 44 BCE,
when Julius Caesar, shortly before his assassination on the Ides of
March, issued coins featuring his portrait and his newly acquired
title,dictator perpetuo (dictator for life). The denarius (the standard
Roman silver coin, from which the word penny ultimately derives)
illustrated here (FIG. 10-11) records Caesar’s aging face and reced-
ing hairline in conformity with the Republican veristic tradition. But
placing the likeness of a living person on a coin violated all the
norms of Republican propriety. Henceforth, Roman coins, which
circulated throughout the vast territories under Roman control,
would be used to mold public opinion in favor of the ruler by an-
nouncing his achievements—both real and fictional.Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius
On August 24, 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius, a long-dormant volcano, sud-
denly erupted (see “An Eyewitness Account of the Eruption of Mount
Vesuvius,” page 245). Many prosperous towns around the Bay of
Naples (the ancient Greek city of Neapolis), among them Pompeii,
were buried in a single day. This event was a catastrophe for the inhab-
itants of the Vesuvian cities but became a boon for archaeologists and
art historians. When researchers first explored the buried cities in the
18th century, the ruins had been undisturbed for nearly 1,700 years.
The Vesuvian sites permit a reconstruction of the art and life of Ro-
man towns of the Late Republic and Early Empire to a degree impos-
sible anywhere else.
The Oscans, one of the many Italic tribes that occupied Italy dur-
ing the peak of Etruscan culture, were the first to settle at Pompeii.
Toward the end of the fifth century BCE, the Samnites, another Italic
people, took over the town. Under the influence of their Greek neigh-
bors, the Samnites greatly expanded the original settlement and gave
monumental shape to the city center. Pompeii fought with other Ital-
ian cities on the losing side against Rome in the so-called Social War
that ended in 89 BCE, and in 80 BCESulla founded a new Roman colony
on the site, with Latin as its official language. The colony’s population
had grown to between 10,000 and 20,000 when, in February 62 CE,an
earthquake shook the city, causing extensive damage. When Mount
Vesuvius erupted 17 years later, repairs were still in progress.Architecture
Walking through Pompeii today is an unforgettable experience. The
streets, with their heavy flagstone pavements and sidewalks, are still
there, as are the stepping stones that enabled pedestrians to cross the
streets without having to step in puddles. Ingeniously, the city planners
placed these stones in such a way that vehicle wheels could straddle
them, enabling supplies to be brought directly to the shops, taverns,
and bakeries. Tourists still can visit the impressive concrete-vaulted
rooms of Pompeii’s public baths, sit in the seats of its theater and
amphitheater, enter the painted bedrooms and statue-filled gardens of
private homes, even walk among the tombs outside the city’s walls.
Pompeii has been called the living city of the dead for good reason.10-12Aerial view of the forum
(looking northeast), Pompeii, Italy,
second century bceand later. (1) forum,
(2) Temple of Jupiter (Capitolium),
(3) basilica.
The center of Roman civic life was the
forum. At Pompeii, colonnades frame a
rectangular plaza with the Capitolium at
the northern end. At the southwestern
corner is the basilica, Pompeii’s law
court.244 Chapter 10 THE ROMAN EMPIRE10-11Denarius with portrait of Julius Caesar, 44 bce.Silver,
diameter^3 – 4 . American Numismatic Society, New York.
Julius Caesar was the first to place his own portrait on the Roman
coinage during his lifetime. This denarius, issued just before his
assassination, shows the dictator with a deeply lined face and neck.21310-11APompey
the Great,
ca. 55–50 BCE.