Caecilius is working in the forum, the central marketplace where everyone goes to meet, trade and gossip! Luckily, he catches sight of three merchants he wants to deal with...
It's time to leave the house, go into town and do business ("negotium") with some of the local merchants! The three we'll meet in this Stage represent some of the most interesting trades in Pompeii.
The Stories
pictor Page 29
Time to "brush-up" on mythology! Caecilius has commissioned a painter to decorate his dining-room with a famous Roman subject. There's a superhero, a lion and a wooden club; it can only be...
tonsor Page 30
Razors at the ready! A cheeky poem leads to a very close shave for Caecilius at the barber's.
venalicius Page 31
The slave-trader is happy with his sale, and Caecilius is more than happy with his purchase - but his wife is less than amused. There could be trouble ahead!
Practising the Language
Activities for vocabulary revision and language practice:
Test your Vocabulary is against the clock and can be set to all words in this stage, up to this stage, etc.
Word Endings exercises are based on the Practising the Language section in the Books, and follow this format. Click here for more information.
Word Endings activities are based on the Practising the Language section of each Stage, and all follow the same format. The user is given a sentence in English together with the same sentence in Latin, but with one or more endings to be chosen from a drop down list. In most exercises the endings omitted are restricted to one particular part of speech (noun, verb or adjective). For this type of exercise language information is provided. This can be called up by the user at any time by clicking on LANGUAGE INFO. But in some exercises, all noun, verb and adjective endings are omitted. For this more demanding exercise, LANGUAGE INFO provides only reference to the relevant pages of the Cambridge Latin Course.
Sorting Words asks you to sort words by meaning, case, etc.
Practising the Language exercises are digital versions of exercises in the Cambridge Latin Course textbooks.
Cultural Background
Can you help? If you've found a link we could add please email us.
NOTE: These links will appear in a new window.
CSCP is not responsible for the content of external sites.
CSCP is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Roman Slavery
ROMAN SLAVERY
Click for links...
The Town of Pompeii
THE TOWN OF POMPEII
* CURRENTLY BEING REVAMPED *
Disappointing website from the Pompeian Archaeological Service. However, still a useful resource in some areas.
The snow-capped Mt Vesuvius is easily visible at the edge of the Bay.
Showing locations of the Bay, Naples, Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Vesuvius dominates the ancient towns.
Includes the modern Italian and ancient Roman names of many of the important towns and villas around the Bay of Naples.
Pompeii and Herculaneum are labelled.
The official map of Pompeii - the one you're given when you visit. The key to the numbered buildings is at the bottom-left corner; it's in Italian but fairly easy to work out: just remember "Casa" means "House".
A colourful (although again unlabelled) map of the ruins.
Fly over the aerial photo of the ruins to see the streets and buildings from above; or choose one of 40 buildings (labelled in Italian - tip: casa means "house") and zoom into it; click swirling arrows to view 360-degree panoramic photos.
(If the panoramas don't appear, you may need to download IPIX software).
Excellent, comprehensive interactive map linking to many buildings and photos - click the word "zoom" at the bottom of each page to enlarge the photos.
Basic map linking to more detailed maps; from these you can find a photo of every single building in Pompeii, and even some of the famous finds now housed in museums. A monumental site that is still being added to and improved.
Check this out! 3 scenes combining video of Pompeii with computer-graphic characters. Scenes 1 (house) and 2 (bakery) are shot in 3D, so look brownish without 3D glasses until the computer graphics kick in; Scene 3 (Villa of the Mysteries) is in normal colour throughout. In the future, all tours to Pompeii may be made this way!
From the sea-shore to the mountains, this site describes and illustrates the area around Pompeii in Roman times.
Follow Caius, an 8-year-old Pompeian "street-urchin" and discover how a Roman boy lived, ate, played, and studied. Then, follow him to the theater to produce a comedy.
A great animated site designed for younger surfers about everyday life in Roman times with topics on school, religion, food, toys and Vesuvius.
The Town of Herculaneum
THE TOWN OF HERCULANEUM
"Pompeii's little brother"
English-language homepage with links to sections on the History of the Excavations, the Eruption of Vesuvius, Visiting the Site (linking in a complex manner via 'Itineraries' to topics such as Urban Plan, Houses, Thermal Baths and Everday Life).
Since a recent rejig to the website, many of the associated images have gone astray... thus reducing the site's attractiveness... maybe one day it will rise again from the ashes!
However, be sure to look at the gloriously-drawn, official Map of the Ruins by clicking "mappa degli scavi".
Good introduction on one web-page.
A simple, photographic tour. Click areas on the map to see photos of the houses, baths and other public buildings, including detailed images of many wall-paintings. Click Zoom to enlarge the photos.
From the Official Website; great images but with Italian captions.
Page of captioned thumbnails.
Bright and colourful - but uncaptioned.
Roman Wall-Painting
ROMAN WALL-PAINTING
A more detailed look at technique and styles - with a great gallery of images.
There are many more images of Roman paintings in weblinks throughout the other Stages illustrating various topics. The following couple reproduce the images used in this Stage:
Fabulously preserved wall-paintings from a villa near Pompeii, as featured on the Stage 2 title-page.
The painting of a Roman harbour, as illustrated on the Stage 3 title-page. The arched pier exemplifies two major facets of Roman concrete: its use in constructing arches and its ability to set in damp conditions - even underwater.
"Details bring the port to life - an arch leads to a colonnaded street, gabled roofs of shops and warehouses disappear into a hazy background, rows of status adorn columns around the harbour, pavilioned or tented pleasure-boats wait in the bay, and a rocky outcropping in the foreground, complete the fisherman, is crowned with what looks like a lighthouse." (from Pompeii and the Roman Villa, 2008)
From a villa at Stabiae, near Pompeii (exact find-spot unknown); now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.
...and finally
And finally...
Great illustrated site on the life and tasks of the ancient superhero and demi-god, known as Herakles to the Greeks and Hercules to the Romans. Mythical founder and patron of Herculaneum.
Gambling on various board games was a popular pastime. Here's a fresco from a Pompeian bar; as illustrated on p.37.
