Holconii

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The Holconii family were a prominent family in Pompeii belonging to the Equestrian Order and were possibly from Etruscan origin.

Prominent members included Marcus Holconious Rufus and Marcus Holconius Celer (Brother or son) and showed their benefaction by proving funds for the building of the Threatre in Pompeii and also funding some improvements to the temple of Apollo. Rufus earned his fortune by operating a clay pit and brickworks along with a nationwide wine empire outside Pompeii and took his wine, into the Rome. Marcus Holconius Pricus us though to be his grandson or great grandson.

Holconii theatre.jpg

A video of the inscriptions to Holconii family at the theatre can be seen here


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB4RHZ7IKvU

In an inscription which names him as patron for the renovation of the exterior wall of the temple of Apollo, Rufus was elected Chief Magistrate quinquennalis was a three-time duumvir (other historians have suggested five times) [1], which was just the fourth time this highest municipal office was held. At the end of his career he seems this office, according to the inscription, was such that he was awarded a statue in his honor at the Stabian spas. His fourth term of office was dated for the period 3 or 2 BC. He was also the first priest of the new imperial cult (sacerdos Augusti), probably in the temple of the Genius Augusti in the forum between the Macellum and Eumachia . He was also twice urban censor . The high point in the career of Rufus was being appointed as an honorary citizen of the city (patronus coloniae). Only one of the founders of the Roman colony of Pompeii, Marcus Porcius , was given a similar reverence. There is speculation that he wanted to be a member of the Roman Senate but failed to acquire this position.

However, according to Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence [2] their closeness to Emperor Caligula would lead to their ostracism after Caligula's fall and they would not hold office for the next forty years. Nonetheless Rufus has an large arch built to his dedication at the major crossroads of Via dell’Abbondanza and Via Stabiana. According to Liselotte Eschebach this was a Tetrapylon. [3]

Holconii.abondaza.jpg

The marble statue of Marcus Holconius Rufus is in the Naples Archaeological Museum. Inventory number 6233. According to Cooley, even though Marcus Holconius Rufus was of equestrian rank, his statue appropriated status symbols more correctly belonging to others. He was in military dress even though he did not actually serve in the army in his role. He was depicted wearing the sandals of a senator. Colouring was visible when the statue was first found in 1853. His tunic was white edged with yellow, his cloak red and his shoes black. The tree trunk supporting the statue was green. His hair, eyes and eyebrows were also coloured. [4]

The House of Holconius Rufus is situated on the south side of the Via dell'Abbondanza just east of its junction with the Via dei Teatri. The house was first discovered in 1766 and excavated between 1855 and 1861. Through poor conservation once bright and vivid frescoes that came to light in the mid 1800s have all but vanished.

A early description of the house by Thomas H. Dyer published in 1875 [5] paints a very different picture of the house from that which can be seen today. According to Dyer the walls of the fauces were decorated with black panels separated by green and yellow lines above a lower red frieze. In the centre of the black panels on one side were pictures of an ibis, a swan with spread wings and a third indistinct scene. The other side contained pictures of cupids, one with a cornucopia, one with a drum and two with baskets of fruit. The upper zone on each side contained a nymph set amongst fantastic architecture on a white ground. More information on the house can be found here [1]


  1. https://historycollection.com/10-people-from-pompeii-and-herculaneum-whose-lives-we-can-recreate/4/,
  2. Pompeii:A Living City p26
  3. Eschebach, L., 1993. Gebäudeverzeichnis und Stadtplan der antiken Stadt Pompeji. Köln: Böhlau. (Pages 244-5).
  4. Cooley, A. and M.G.L., 2004. Pompeii : A Sourcebook. London : Routledge. (Page 128, F89).
  5. Pompeii: Its History, Buildings And Antiquities
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