In Stone and Story
Early Christianity in the Roman World
Materials available for professors by request only
Chapter 1: Meaning
Photo Gallery
Photos 1.1 through 1.3
These photos capture three similar views of one of the most attractive entrances into Pompeii — through the Nucerian Gate. This gate is one of the gates on the town’s southern side. Other photos of the same gate are shown in figure 1.1 of In Stone and Story.
Photos 1.4 through 1.5
These are just two of the views of Mount Vesuvius as seen from the streets of Pompeii.
Photo 1.6
The Villa Regina is just over a mile to the north of Pompeii. On its grounds is a tree (shown in this photo) whose tree trunk was bent by the force of the pyroclastic flows that flowed down from Mount Vesuvius.
Photos 1.7 through 1.11
These photos show just a few of the victims of the eruption. See especially the family group in photo 1.10. In photo 1.11, the skeletons in one of the bays along Herculaneum’s waterfront compares with the skeletons in another of the bays, as shown in figure 1.3 of In Stone and Story.
Class Activities
In conjunction with discussion question 1, source pictures of modern graffiti and use them interact with examples of graffiti from the Vesuvian towns. How does modern graffiti compare or contrast with the graffiti discussed in chapter 1?
Discussion Questions
- What can one surmise about life in Pompeii and Herculaneum from the graffiti given in chapter 1? How does the graffiti of Pompeii and Vesuvius differ from modern uses of graffiti? What mediums today perform the same functions expressed in the graffiti of Pompeii and Herculaneum?
- In several graffiti, a deity was invoked to aid the writer in his or her request. What might this say about how the deities were understood and utilized in the first-century context?
- Several graffiti discussed in chapter 1 mention the topic of “vetoed” love. What dynamics in the ancient world may have served to constrain romantic relationships?
- From the graffiti discussed in chapter 1, what strikes you about people from first-century Pompeii and Herculaneum? How familiar and/or different do they seem to be to people today?