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In the previous article we have seen the elegant houses of the Patricians or upper classes in Pompeii. The lower class, plebeians probably lived in apartments, sometimes over their shops, some were pleasant places to live, and some were not quite so. The poor lived in shabby tenements. Some slaves were treated like animals and housed abominably, others treated with respect and were supplied adequate if Spartan quarters.
The Forum
Pompeii’s Forum was more than just a open space, it was a conglomerate of buildings and the busiest place in town. It was a huge area, covering many acres and was the main marketplace, and business center, where the ancient Romans went to do their banking, trading, shopping, and marketing. It was also a place for public speaking and arguing points of law.
amphitheatre Pompeii:Click Here.
Romans were great orators and like the Greeks liked to debate issues. People passing by would stop and listen to these orators, then wander off to do their errands or perhaps say a prayer or leave a material offering at one of the many temples as the Forum was also the religious center.
In Pompeii, there were numerous temples, the Temple of Jupiter, of Venus, who was the patron Goddess of Pompeii, the Temple of Vespasian, the Temple of Lares, the Temple of Apollo, Temple of Isis and the Temple of Fortuna Augusta. There were often temples erected to the glory of famous leaders, whom were often treated like God-Kings. Fortuna Augustus was one of them. The Forum was also used for festivals and religious ceremonies. It was open only to pedestrian traffic
The elegant pubic baths, more like spas then just baths, were also situated in the Forum. This was a place of relaxation, cleansing, healing and of social interchange.
Pompeii’s public baths were two separate sets of baths in one building. Each had it’s own entrance, dressings rooms, frigidariums (cold baths) Tepidariums, (warm baths), Calidarium (Hot baths). The mens bath had a palaestra, a bronze brassier and seats with basin and bathtub. There was a furnace room between the two. this was one of the earliest forms of central heating. Water in a boiler was heated by a furnace. This water flowed to the hot baths and also into channesl under the floor and sent heated air through the walls to warm the rooms
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