*Disclaimer* as you can guess
from the title, this post reverences sexual themes and art work. If you want to see the art
work or other things mentioned, feel free to Google Image search "Brothels of Pompeii" but
because this is a blog I created for a class, joking about it briefly is ok, but I don't find it appropriate to
post graphic photos here. Thank you!
For part two about the Brothels of Pompeii, I decided to
focus on the layout of the buildings themselves as well as focus on the largest
and most famous brothel in the city.
Brothels of this period were usually small and then divided further
into a couple small rooms. These rooms were hardly furnished at all, which
makes sense for their purpose. Usually they had a mattress of sorts on a brick
platform that serves as a bed.
 |
| I don't know who this is, but I think he's a few centuries late... But anyway, this is an example of the brick platform that the mattress would be on in the rooms. |
The largest brothel in the city was Lupanar. It had ten
rooms and is known today for its erotic artwork. Before we get too far into the
facts, I wanted to share some translations that I found funny. The word Lupanar is Latin for “brothel” but literally translates to mean “den of she-wolves”. They say this is because lupa was a slang term for “prostitute” in a predatory sense.
There are some interesting graffiti scribblings that have
been found on the walls. 134 different ones to be exact. As you would expect,
they are rather crude, they were how customers expressed their opinions of the
brothel and the prostitute’s performances. I’ll share a few, with editing on
language of course. Though I’m sure you can guess the words I replaced.
Hic ego
puellas multas futui----“Here I [had sex with] many girls”
Felix bene
futuis----“Lucky guy, you get a good [time]”
Though the names cannot be linked to any known historical
figures, probably because they had their own mistresses or slaves, some have
been traced to other graffiti in other parts of the city. There are also a few
times when the “authors” respond to each other’s carvings.
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Links to Sources:
http://www.pompeii.org.uk/s.php/pompei-proibita-en-214-s1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupanar_(Pompeii)#Brothels
I must say this forthright, you have shown considerable fortitude in these last two posts, discussing a subject of Pompeii that most scholars would generally steer clear of.
ReplyDeleteEstablishing the fact that much of the explicit artwork that adorned the city was simply a result of the culture is indeed an important remark to make. The confusion that stems from simply interpreting what is presented before us is often the most accursed thorn in an archeologist's and scholar's side.
As depraving as the oldest profession in the world is in the eyes of the public, its history has spanned longer than most cultures have, and its part in the archeological record is vital to understanding much of humanity's past. One can only look at the Lupanar of Pompeii compared to the Pascha establishment of Germany to notice much change.
In regards to the "comments" made by customers, one can only assume that some, like today, may have been made by those who never went to or were barred from entering the Lupanar. Certainly some individuals saw themselves as needing to etch their "conquests" fictional or otherwise, as a form of boast. Your point of there being no historical links to any important figures can also be shrouded in the doubt history casts, as the names of commentators could be false names as well. In the most audacious claims I have heard of such writings done was that there was once such a comment used to describe a battle plan between military leaders. The source of that memory recollection is lost to me however.
There was one spelling edit that stuck out to me. "Luck for them," should be either "Luckily for them," or "Luckily for those looking for such an establishment,".
I literally just made a comment on somebody else's blog about how they were the first person I'd ever seen tack a disclaimer onto the top of an academic assignment. Now I'm starting to feel like a jackass.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion of the comments would be that they aren't cynical and evil so much as they are similar to the review systems we have for massage parlors and prostitutes today. A quick Google search turns up a long list of websites dedicated to "erotic reviews" and information databases - I suppose the situation wasn't all too different for the ancient Romans. Funny how technology changes so much, but people still remain the same at heart. I think it's important to bear in mind that prostitution wasn't nearly as stigmatized in the pre-Christian empire than it is today.
I'm curious to know if enslaved prostitutes were the most-often used or employed sex workers in Pompeii. My impression has always been that they were regarded more as lower-tier workers than the locals or non-enslaved.
I'm glad you did a part 2 on the structure of these brothels. Prostitution was obviously a major part of Roman culture if they had signs basically leading travels to the brothels. I do find it funny that it translates to 'den of she wolves' because that's what I feel like a brothel is. They probably tear each other's head off if they steal clients from one another or if a client favors another. I'm curious to know if there were any records of what happened to the prostitutes who got pregnant when they were working there? I would assume their pimp wasn't very happy with them.
ReplyDeleteThe view on the layout and structure of brothels definitely provided added insight.