Explain why the forum was a vital place for Pompeii (30 marks)

The forum was a vital place in Pompeii for many reasons – it was vital for the city as a whole, and for the lives of the many people living there. The forum was the hub of the city in terms of economical, commercial, administrative, political, religious and social life.The forum also proved a place for the next citizens of Pompeii a place to gain an education, as classes were often held under the colonnade which ran around the whole perimeter of the forum. Without the forum giving an education would not have been possible as the concept of a designated building dedicated to the improvement of students did not exist; there were no such things as our modern schools. Without the forum the intellectual improvement of the younger generations would not have been a possibility and would have severely damaged the future of Pompeii in all areas including its relationship with Rome and its own economy. The forum was the place where all business transactions were made, from between a slave and a trader all the way up to a politician and a guild. As Pompeiians did not have offices, many business deals were made in social settings, and the forum provided a perfect place for them to take place. For example, traders often sold their ware from under the colonnade, and without the forum they would have been out of a place to go. Without the forum, many major and minor transactions would not have had a place to take place. The forum also housed many statues, which had many more purposes than just being decorative ornaments. The statues commemorated influential community figures, such as Eumachia, the woman who built the Eumachia building which housed the guild of the fullers, the largest guild in the city; major community leaders such as Aediles who made a major positive impact on the city; emperors and their family also had statues in the forum. This was vital for Pompeii because reputation was everything to the Romans – they valued reputation more than money and were perfectly content to spend copious amounts of money to attain a better reputation and higher social standing, something that made the jobs of the Duovirs and Aediles very attractive, as while the jobs were hard and voluntary, the reputation and prestige that came with the role were, in the opinion of the Romans, well worth the hefty cost. As Pompeii was before the time of electricity and newspapers, information was primarily distributed through the means of public notice boards in the forum and on the bases of statues. These could be notices regarding the next public elections for a new pair of Duovirs or Aediles, or regarding a notice sent from Rome. The noticeboards were also used by ordinary citizens to record lost property (and the reward offered), announce accommodation to let, messages for lovers and publicised the problems they were having with neighbours through the means of graffiti. This was the only was information and messages could be given to the whole town, and therefore justified why the forum was a vital place for Pompeii. The forum of Pompeii housed the Eumachia Building, the home of the Guild of the Fullers. The fullers were the largest group of tradesmen in the town and their presence was heavily felt in the economy and politics of the small town. This was because fulerring was one of the largest industries in the town which brought in business from all parts of the classical world - without them the revenue of the town would have been greatly decreased. The reason why this contributes to why this made the forum a vital place for Pompeii is because without this easily accessible meeting point, a guild of this many people would struggle to form and find a base, and therefore struggle to prosper as they could have. The forum also was the one area in Pompeii where law and punishment was carried out, most notably in the Basilica, in the south west corner of the forum. Without this structure and the practices carried out here, there would be no order or justice system in the town, as people would never be reprimanded for their actions nor would they have to suffer for them. The Basilica allowed the Aediles to judge before a court the punishment of a crime and fairly give a punishment, whether a number of lashes, a fine or exile. The council positions of Duovirs and Aediles and other various local matters were also voted on here by the public at the Comitium, which was situated next to the guildhall and was an open hall. Without this place there would be no possible way the political system of Pompeii could continue to work as there would be no space where the citizens could vote. The forum housed the temples of the Public Lares, of the Emperor, of Apollo and of Jupiter (or of the Capitoline triad). These temples were key and central to the public of Pompeii. They were the place where daily wordship was performed and sacrifices were made, where the public individually and collectively made prayers to ask favours for and thank the gods. While these religious uses of the forum do not seem vital for us in our modern society, they were essential to the Pompeiians. This was because they comforted them with the knowledge that the gods were on their side and would protect them – if the forum had not temples they would be shocked and scared. The temples also relate back to the idea of prestige and reputation for if a citizen made vast contributions to a temple either in its restoration or its upkeep, they had the possibility of having their name carved in the side of the building, allowing them to be remembered and celebrated for hundreds of years to some – an idea as explained before with was highly appealing to the Pompeiians. This was vital as the more contributions that were made to the improvement of their central buildings, the number of people that would come to see them would increase, which would in turn increase the turnover and revenue of the town. The forum was also a vital place for Pompeii in terms of social interaction – bar their own private houses and the baths, the citizens of Pompeii had no place like our shopping centres or activity halls to meet up, so the forum was an idea place in terms of this. It was where politicians could subtly influence the outcome of the elections through promises and bribes and where acquaintances and relationships could be made and developed. On the steps of the temple of Jupiter politicians made speeches as to why they would be best suited for the various political roles and messengers made proclamations – the forum was vital toward the individual improvement of Pompeii’s citizens, in terms of political and social advancement. To conclude, the forum was a vital place for Pompeii for many reasons, but primarily for the idea that it continuously improved the town and the people in it. Every part of the forum helped the town, whether it was by maintaining order or providing a standard set of scales, or by boosting the towns’ economy – either way it is clear to see the forum was a vital place for Pompeii.