Erotic Images from Pompeii and Herculaneum

"Pompeiian Brothel Images" Page 1, 2

Erotic Images from Pompeii and Herculaneum

[Pliny the Elder] was at Misenum in his capacity as commander of the fleet on the 24th of August [sc. in 79 AD], when between 2 and 3 in the afternoon my mother drew his attention to a cloud of unusual size and appearance.... He called for his shoes and climbed up to where he could get the best view of the phenomenon. The cloud was rising from a mountain-at such a distance we couldn't tell which, but afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can best describe its shape by likening it to a pine tree. It rose into the sky on a very long "trunk" from which spread some "branches."

(http://www.amherst.edu/~classics/class36/ancsrc/01.html) Pliny Letter VI.16

When Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., covering with ash a living, vibrant community, it preserved for posterity clear evidence of daily life. Some of the finds are still intact and in place; others have been moved to museums. The Naples Archaeological Museum features many such artifacts, including those kept in a so-called secret room. For two hundred years, access was denied the public, but now visitors can look at and even photograph (no flash) the erotic artwork.

James Martin took advantage of his 45-minute tour of the camera segretta, taking the nine erotic and sexually explicit photographs pictured on his site: Erotica From the Naples Archaeological Museum

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