Pompeii - Early Origins
Relatively little is known about the towns early history. The earlist inscriptions found in the town (c475BC are Etruscan. Otherwise the earliest decipherable writing from 2nd C BC is Oscan and this provides the main documentary source before it became Roman
In the 1st C BC Strabo describes the Bay of Naples. Near to Naples is the hill fort of Herculaneum. The Oscans used to occupy Herculaneum and Pompeii past which the River Sarno flows. Then the Etruscans, Pelasgians and and after that,Samnites
Traditionally it was thought that Pompeii was in habited by Oscans then Greeks, Etruscans, and Samnites before falling under Roman rule in 290BC. The problem is that archelogocal evidence does not alwasy support this.
- 8th C BC Oscan Samnite devlopent with Etruscan influence (Atrium) style of Villas
- 6th C BC Greeks from Cumae take town. Pop. 2000
- 5th C BC 474 BC Etruscans defeated by Greek Cumae
- 4th C BC Samnite Wars
- 90-89 BC Social Wars and Pompeii beseiged by Sulla
- 80BC Sulla enters Pompeii and becomes under Roman Control
Fiorelli in 1873 realted development to the different materials and methods that these tribs would use to build structures. August Mau altered Fiorellis chronology and divided wall painting in to four styles
Francis Haverfield hypothesized an original old city or Altstadtin the south west of the city. The House of the Surgeon was thought to be oldest house about 3rd C BC but was this because it got confused with foundations of earlier buildings. Later on more evidence was brought to suggest that most houses were built 3rd to 2nd C BC not 4th C BC as easlier thought and it was also concluded that Monumentizations didnt take place before the 2nd C BC.
Excavations undertaken by the British School in 2000 concluded that the walls gates and towers dated to 6th C BC. Further excavations were undertaken in the porposed Altstadt area but nothing ealrier than 2nc C BC was found.
Roman Colonization of Pompeii
The Pompeians were among the Italian allies opposed to the Romans during the Social War (91-87BC) but the town was beseiged by Sulla and who then settled as many of four thousand veterans there. It was first a municipium before becoming a colony. It adopted the Roman Constitution and latin supplanted Oscan on the inscriptions. It is possible that native Pompeians were excluded from politics for many decades after this. It is believed that Cicero bought a villa here close to the Heculaneum gate.
The arrival of the veterans led to a major change in the look of Pompeii. Magistrates spent money on monuments and individual colonialists built the Amphitheatre, Forum Baths, Theatre and improved the Stabian Baths. They also built a temple to Venus as a guardian to both Pompeii and Sulla.
The slave revolt led by Spartacus may have had an impact on Pompeii, which started nearby in Capua. Cicero fled to Pompeii when Caesar crossed the Rubican as he did not want to get embrolied in a political battle. He later left Italy and returned after Caesar's assassination.
