Forget what you learned in history class. Pompeii wasn't just some quiet, respectable Roman town that got unlucky with a volcano. 🌋 It was basically the Las Vegas of the ancient world—a bustling, chaotic, and seriously extra resort town where wealthy Romans went to party. And we have the receipts, literally written on the walls.
The graffiti of Pompeii is the most unfiltered, hilarious, and shockingly relatable glimpse into the past you'll ever find. It's like a 2,000-year-old Twitter feed, and it proves that people back then were just as messy as we are today. 😂
So what makes Pompeii the Vegas of its time? It had everything:
Bars & Taverns: Over 150 of them! 🍻
Brothels: At least 25, with helpful... directions carved into the streets. 😉
Gladiator Fights: The original pay-per-view, but way more brutal.
Public Baths & Theaters: For relaxing and catching a show.
A Tourist Economy: It was a popular vacation spot for rich Romans looking to escape the city.
But the real tea is on the walls. Over 11,000 pieces of graffiti have been found, and they are pure gold. 👇
You think your love life is complicated? Check out this saga scrawled on a wall for everyone to see:
"Successus, a weaver, loves the innkeeper's slave girl named Iris. She, however, does not love him. Still, he begs her to have pity on him. His rival wrote this. Goodbye."
The rival didn't stop there. He added:
"Envious one, why do you get in the way? Submit to a handsomer man..."
This is literally the ancient equivalent of subtweeting your romantic rival. SAVAGE. 💀
People in Pompeii were not afraid to leave a one-star review. One disgruntled customer wrote:
"The bartender is a thief!"
Another left a more... specific complaint:
"We had a drink here. You sell water and drink the good wine yourself."
Imagine getting called out for watering down the wine on a public wall. The shame! 😱
Election season in Pompeii was just as intense as it is today. Supporters wrote messages like:
"Vote for Gaius Julius Polybius, he provides good bread."
A simple, effective message. But the opposition was just as vocal:
"The petty thieves request the election of Vatia as official."
Ouch. That's a burn that lasts for 2,000 years. 🔥
Some graffiti is just pure, unadulterated human weirdness. Like this philosophical gem:
"O walls, you have held up so much tedious graffiti that I am amazed you have not already collapsed in ruin."
So meta! And then there's this classic:
"I was here. And I wasn't the only one."
From declarations of love to political takedowns, from bar reviews to existential dread, the graffiti of Pompeii proves that nothing has really changed. We still want to love, complain, brag, and leave our mark on the world. Pompeii just did it with more style, right before being buried in ash. What a way to go out. 💥
1. PompeiiItaly.org - "Pompeii Graffiti: 2,000-Year-Old Messages That Prove Humans Never Change"
A fantastic collection of graffiti examples and their translations.
https://www.pompeiiitaly.org/blog/pompeii-graffiti-ancient-messages
2. Ancient Graffiti Project
A digital resource for studying handwritten inscriptions from Herculaneum and Pompeii.
https://ancientgraffiti.org/
3. Wikipedia - "Roman graffiti"
A broad overview of the types of graffiti found across the Roman Empire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_graffiti
