Photo Gallery

Photo 18.1 and 18.2

Since water was a precious commodity, Pompeians wanted to protect it, including protection from malevolent spiritual forces. To do this, they painted spiritual beings above the water intake channel as it flowed into the town from the springs of Serino (in the Avellino province of Italy). The spiritual beings are probably a river deity and three nymphs, shown close-up in photo 18.1 and in context in photo 18.2.

Photos 18.3 and 18.4

Since spiritual forces could be involved in any aspect of life, counter measures were needed, as evidenced in architectural features throughout the Vesuvian towns. Photo 18.3 shows an outdoor dining area that benefitted from spiritual protection, with shrines for deities standing above the triclinium where diners would be eating. A face made out of terra cotta was positioned in the external wall of a residence (6.1.4; see photo 14.5). Because of its resemblance to a similar artifact found over the entrance of the House of the Double Atrium in Herculaneum, this is probably a Gorgon face that was used to ward off evil and preserve the residence from malevolent spiritual attacks.

Photos 18.5 through 18.8

Hundreds of Vesuvian artifacts feature the phallic symbol — a symbol used throughout the Vesuvian towns because it was thought to be a potent source of protection against spiritual onslaught (as discussed especially in chapter 18 of In Stone and Story). These photos offer some indication of the ubiquity of this symbol.

• Photo 18.5 shows how the symbol was incorporated into the frescoed décor of a bedroom in Villa A at Oplontis.
• Someone thought it would be beneficial to construct a belt with the phallic symbol strung around the whole of his body (as in photo 18.6).
• Photo 18.7 shows one of the many phallic symbols placed for protection on the exterior of residences (see also figure 18.4 of In Stone and Story).
• Someone chiseled a phallic symbol into a paving stone on the street in front of his residence (photo 18.8) — a gesture that may have also pointed the way to a local brothel while also adding protection to the locale.

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Class Activities

1. The modern, secular world is generally less accepting of spiritual realities than societies of the first century. Have students identify (or bring in) instances of modern manipulation of (what first-century people would have considered to be) the spiritual realm. How do these differ from those used in the first century? How are they the similar?
2. Chapter 18 of In Stone and Story ends with the words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Deliver us from evil.” Divide students into two groups and have them debate: “This house believes that this request from the Lord’s Prayer is more relevant to people in the ancient world than people in the western world today.”

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Discussion Questions

1. Within a first-century world replete with the physical manifestations of spiritual dangers, how does Paul reject, reflect, or refract such thinking within his presentation of the gospel?
2. Within the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke), Jesus is often depicted as a powerful exorcist, overturning the powers of Satan and his harmful spiritual world. How does this presentation reject, reflect, or refract the broader understanding of demons and the spiritual realm?
3. How does the ancient understanding of spiritual powers and protection differ from those in your context? To what spiritual realities were the ancients attuned? How might this have allowed them a more nuanced and vigorous understanding of the Christian message than understanding found, generally, in Western twenty-first-century contexts?

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