By le thi huyen 
The ancient city of Pompeii is more than just a proof of ancient Roman civilisations. Under the layers of volcanic dust, were hidden secrets that left archeologists with a dilemma. The discovery of the abundant erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum put forward a clash of culture between Ancient Rome and Counter-reformation Europe when it came to the mores of sexuality. In fact, most of the discoveries were hidden away again. Most of the articrafts found between the city’s ruins are preserved in the Naples National Archeological Museum, which was only re-opened to the public in 2000.
I’ve been to Pompeii many times, four to be exact. The thought of walking along the street of an ancient roman town that was buried in ash and frozen in time after the volcanic eruption of the mount Vesuvius, never gets old. At the time of my first two visits, I was 8 and 10 years old, so my parents made sure to skip over the sexual parts of Pompei. It wasn’t until my 3rd visit to the city last year that I learned about the large importance of sexuality, prostitution, and the significant presence of pornography in Pompeii. I would have never imagined that ancient Rome was so open when it came to sex and that prostitution was legal, and very widely spread in the city.
The most famous brothel of this ruined Roman city is the Lupanar of Pompeii. “Lupanar” was the roman word for “wolf-den”. That word was used to describe brothels because a prostitute in ancient rome was called “lupa”, meaning she-wolf. Most brothels in this period were very small with only a few rooms, but the Lupanar was the largest brothel found in Pompeii, with 10 rooms. These rooms were were extremely small and contained only a small bed of stone with a concrete cushion. A mattress must have covered these brick platforms at the time. The brothels were recognised thanks to the explicit frescos present on their walls. The buildings were also only made of these tiny stone bedrooms that couldn’t have any other use.
The pornographic frescoes purpose is unclear. They could have been used as advertisements for the services offered – like a menu the clients could choose from, but could’ve been used as a way to heighten the pleasure of these visitors. These frescoes are far more explicit than i thought they would be. The pompeians could’ve been the pioneers of pornography today. I always had this idea of ancient civilisations as more conservative cultures, but cities like Pompeii prove that once upon a time societies were far more open and accepting when it came to sexuality and embraced it as part of human nature, even more that today’s modern world.
Different street signs pointed visitors in the right direction to these brothels. Walking along the streets we could see several penises carved in the pavement or sculpted along the walls.
Last weekend, despite it being my first time in Naples, was my first time visiting the Naples National Archeological Museum. I really liked the museum and the way it was built with two central outdoor areas. The museum had a lot of interesting artifacts from Greece and Rome from the Renaissance times, but more importantly lots of Roman artifacts from nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum. I got the chance to see the “secret room” in which they held the extensive collection of erotic or sexual items found in Pompeii. I didn’t expect the collection to be so large ( no pun ) and explicit.