The ancient Italian city of Pompeii was founded in about the year 700 BC. It came under the rule of Rome in 200 or so BC. By the middle of the first century AD, Pompeii had become a prime resort town for well heeled Romans who wanted to relax from the stress of running an Empire in the Imperial Capital to the north.

On August 24th, 79 AD, nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying Pompeii is ashes and killing many of the city’s inhabitants. The misfortune of Pompeii and its people became the great good fortune of future archeologists, historians, and travelers as the thick layer of ash preserved the city as it existed in the time of the Caesars. The city was discovered in the 17th Century and excavations began in the middle of the 17th Century. An intact Roman city was slowly, but surely unearthed, with its homes, temples, treasures, and every day objects. A visit to the city is like taking a trip back in time nearly two thousand years.

Some of the highlights of the city include:

The Main Forum

The Forum was the center of political and social life in any Roman town, and Pompeii was no exception. The Forum of Pompeii is in the center of the town and is a good starting point for any exploration of Pompeii. Various public buildings, including the Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Vespasian, and the Basilica face the forum. The Forum is also decorated with columns and other ornaments. It also has an excellent view of Mount Vesuvius.

The Triangular Forum

The Triangular Forum is on the southern part of Pompeii and stretched between the sea and the river Sarno. It has magnificent gateways with ionic columns and a portico of 95 Doric columns.

The Arch of Caligula

This memorial arch is called the Arch of Caligula because an equestrian statue depicting the Roman Emperor was found nearby and was thought to have been atop it.

The Thermopolium

The Thermopolium was the Roman version of a fast food joint or diner. One would come up to a masonry counter in which there was set terra cotta jars filled with wine or food. Many people in Pompeii were poor and did not having cooking facilities in their homes, so they depended on such establishments for their food. The Thermpoplium contains crockery, an oil lamp, an urn, and a board for storing money.

The Mensa Ponderaria

This is where the public office which controlled weights and measures was located. It contains a table with two benches each of nine circular cavities corresponding to the different measurement. There was a hole at the bottom through which the weighted item was passed.

The Amphitheatre

Built in the 2nd century BC, this theatre takes advantage of the natural slope of the land to create the tiers of seats in a horseshoe shape divided into three zones, of which the lower covered with marble and was reserved for important citizens. The ring corridor supporting the upper tiers, and the 'balconies' above the side entrances, were added during the Augustan period. Gladiator games were held here, but it is presently used as a venue for theatre productions and music concerts.

Villa of the Mysteries

The Villa of the Mysteries is a typical example of a luxurious suburban house containing a vinyard annex. The house is built on a steep slope facing the sea. An artificial embankment under the home contains the "cryptoporticus," used as a cellar. The villa is so called because the walls contain murals depicting women engaging in the rites of the worship of the god Dionysus. The house is very well preserved with an interior garden or peristyle with free standing columns surrounded by a wall.

House of the Faun

The House of the Faun is another well preserved private home, so called because of the statue of a dancing faun within the impulvium. The floors all had colorful mosaics, the most famous of which depicts a battle between Alexander the Great and King Darius of Persia, now at the Naples Museum. The house is huge, occupying a whole city block and contains a number of atriums, peristyles or gardens and private rooms.

House of the Vetii

The House of the Vetii was owned by two brothers who were wealthy merchants. The bedrooms of the house in particular have scenes from Greek and Roman mysthology painted in vivid colors on the walls, some of them rather risqué for modern tastes. The atrium of the house has a lari or household god shrine.

House of the Tragic Poet

The House of the Tragic Poet is typical of a small, middle class home in Pompeii. The walls contain frescos of heroic and mythological subjects. There is a mosaic at the front entrance of an angry dog on a chain with the inscription: Cave Canem. Beware of the dog.

The Street of Abundance

The Street of Abundance is one of the most preserved streets in Pompeii. It is lined with shops and sumptuous houses. It does not take much imagination to see the place bustling with traffic and commerce, just as it was nearly two thousand years ago.

The Odeon

The Odeon is a smaller theatre, just around the corner from the larger amphitheatre. In ancient times it was the venue for plays or poetry readings. It was also covered by a roof during antiquity,

The Macellum

The Macellum was a covered market facing the Forum and is lined with a colonnaded porch. Food was sold there, including fish and that peculiar fish paste called garem that ancient Romans put on all of their food in the same way people today use ketchup or hot sauce,. It was also a place where money changers worked,

Garden of the Fugitives

The Garden of the Fugitives contains several fossilized bodies, covered with volcanic ash, still in the posture they had when they died. The people apparently sought refugee here in the vain hope of escaping the noxious fumes the killed so many people in the city during the eruption of Vesuvius.

The Basilica

The Basilica, facing the Forum, was not a church, but rather contained the law courts of Pompeii. It was also a place where businessmen met to discuss their affairs and make deals. Remains of columns can be plainly seen in front of the ruins.

Temple of Fortuna Augusta

The temple was dedicated to the god of Fortuna Redux and was also used to worship the Emperor Augustus. Some marble steps and a shell of a wall are all that remains of what must have once been an impressive structure.

Temple of Apollo

The Temple of Apollo was the oldest in Pompeii, with columns dating back to the sixth century BC. A broken colonnade and some steps surrounding an open, grassy area that was once the interior of the temple is what remains. There an impressive statue of Apollo, missing only the bow and arrow it once carried.

Temple of Jupiter

The Temple of Jupiter occupies the most prominent part of the Forum. It was dedicated not only to Jupiter, but to the goddesses Juno and Minerva. There are some remains of six Corinthian columns in the front and a raised platform. The temple is flanked by two triumphal arches, one dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius, the other to the Emperor Nero.

Temple of Vespasian

The Temple of Vespasian was dedicated to the imperial cult of the Emperor Vespasian. A shrine in the back contains a statue of the Emperor dedicated to the cult. There is also an altar with a relief of a bull being sacrificed.

The Stabian Bath

The Stabian Bath consists of a courtyard that used to be a gymnasium lined on three sides by colonnaded porticos. There are small rooms for men and women to change clothes, a cold bathroom (frigidarium), and hot bath room (tepidarium).

The Brothel

The brothel consists of ten rooms, five on the ground floor, and five above. Each room has a stone bed and paintings on the wall depicting various sex acts that were doubtlessly available for a fair price. In the street outside, a mosaic of a human penis points the way to this ancient house of ill fame.

Visiting Pompeii

Pompeii can be reached by car or by rail. Set aside at least a full day to see the city. Take a picnic lunch and have it for lunch at the amphitheatre, where one can relax on the seats where ancient Romans watched gladiators fight to the death. There is also a museum with many artifacts that have been unearthed from the city over the years.