Pompeii, Its Life and Art

by August Mau

An interesting inscription referring to the municipal ownership of land was found at the further corner of the Bay Road: Ex auctoritate imp. Caesaris Vespasiani Aug. loca publica a privatis possessa T. Suedius Clemens tribunus causis cognitis et mensuris factis rei publicae Pompeianorum restituit,—'By virtue of authority conferred upon him by the Emperor Vespasian Caesar Augustus, Titus Suedius Clemens, tribune, having investigated the facts and taken measurements, restored to the city of Pompeii plots of ground belonging to it which were in the possession of private individuals.'

To judge from the location of the inscription, the land which the military tribune sent as commissioner by Vespasian gave back to the city, must have been at the sides of the Bay Road. A marble statue of a man dressed in a toga and holding a scroll in his hand, was found near by. It was probably a portrait of Suedius Clemens, and may have stood in a niche in the villa of Cicero.

There is an implied reference to the Bay Road also in another inscription which was found out of its proper place, in the court of the adjoining inn: THERMAE · M · CRASSI · FRVGI · AQVA · MARINA · ET · BALN · AQVA · DVLCI · IANVÁRIVS · L—'Bathing establishment of Marcus Crassus Frugi. Warm sea baths and freshwater baths. (Superintendent) the freedman Januarius.' We learn from Pliny the Elder that M. Licinius Crassus Frugi, who was consul in 64 A.D., and was afterwards (in 68) put to death by Nero, owned a hot spring which gushed up out of the sea. This spring, then, was at Pompeii, and was utilized for baths. The inscription is at the same time an advertisement and a sign directing people down the Bay Road to the bath house.

A general view of the Street of Tombs is given in [Plate X]. It is taken from the high ground beyond the fourth group, as one looks toward the Herculaneum Gate. The rugged mass of Monte Sant' Angelo looms up in the distance; at the right the trees skirting the edge of the excavations form an effective background. The beauty of the surroundings, especially on a summer morning, the associations of the street, its deserted appearance, and the unbroken, oppressive stillness give rise to mingled feelings of pleasure and sadness in the visitor.

We commence our survey with the first group of tombs at the left as one passes out from the Herculaneum Gate. Close by the gate is the tomb of Cerrinius Restitutus (1 on the plan, left side). It is simply a low vaulted niche, having seats at the sides. Against the rear wall stood a marble tombstone, with a place for a carved portrait; in front of it was a small altar under which doubtless was placed the urn containing the ashes. Both altar and tombstone (now in the Naples Museum) have the inscription: M. Cerrinius Restitutus, Augustalis, loc. d. d. d. (for locus datus decurionum decreto),—'Marcus Cerrinius Restitutus, member of the brotherhood of Augustus. Place of burial granted by vote of the city council.' The tomb here was designed as a structure to which relatives might repair on anniversary days in order to make offerings to the dead.

Fig. 236.—Sepulchral benches of Veius and Mamia; tombs of Porcius and the Istacidii.

The remains of the other tombs in the first group are shown in the accompanying illustration ([Fig. 236]). We notice first two large semicircular benches. That at the left (2 on the plan) marks the resting-place of Veius. It is of tufa, and nearly twenty feet wide at the front. The ends are modelled to represent winged lion's paws, the carving of which is full of vigor and may be compared with that of the lion's paws in the Small Theatre ([Fig. 70]). The statue that once stood at the rear, on a high pedestal, has disappeared, but the inscription remains: A. Veio M. f. II vir. i. d. iter. quinq. trib. milit. ab populo ex d. d.,—'To the memory of Aulus Veius, son of Marcus, twice duumvir with judiciary authority, quinquennial duumvir, military tribune by the choice of the people. (Erected) by order of the city council.' The city not only gave a burial place, but built the tomb as well. The cinerary urn was probably placed in the earth in the narrow unwalled space behind the bench.

This monument was intended at the same time to do honor to the dead and render service to the living. Here, on feast days of the dead, relatives could gather and partake of a commemorative meal; but at all times the inviting seat and conspicuous statue served to maintain that friendly relation with the living, the desire for which so often finds expression in Roman epitaphs. The portrait and inscription made it seem as if Veius himself offered a friendly greeting to those that passed by, and was greeted by them in turn as they looked upon his face and read his name.