Graffiti

OH HAPPY PLACE!
Pompeii in 1000 graffiti

selected, translated and annotated by
Vincent Hunink

revised and enlarged edition

Apeiron editori, Sant'Oreste (Roma) 2014

379 p; ISBN 978 88 85978836; EUR 19,90

This anthology of Latin graffiti texts from Pompeii was first published in Dutch (Hunink 2007). A second edition, revised and translated into German, was published in Reclams Universal-Bibliothek, well known for its conveniently small format and orange covers (Hunink 2011). In the German edition, a small number of texts from places outside Pompeii (Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, Herculaneum) was dropped. On the other hand, a great number of text pictures, mostly photographed by me from the CIL and reprocessed by experts of Reclam, was added. A new index of personal names was also included. This German edition was subsequently published in Italian, without substantial changes (Hunink 2013).

In the summer of 2013, the editor of the Italian edition, mr. Gerrit van Oord, kindly requested me to prepare a fourth edition, in English, to serve an ever broader international readership. I decided to profit from this welcome opportunity to thoroughly revise and enlarge the book. For the sake of clarity I add a list of major points in which the English edition now differs from the previous three versions.

Update May, 2023: since the publication of this book in 2014, I have had the occasion to rework my German edition (2022) and to add a French edition (2023). Some colleagues have also pointed to errors or changed settings for some of the graffiti included in the book. Accordingly, in the editions of 2022 and 2023 many changes have been carried through.
A recent list of errata for this 2014 edition can found at the site of Joonas Vanhala, whom I thank for his care and attention.

1
ΔΙΟΝΥΣIΟΣ
ΟΠΤΟ ΤΗ
Dionysios, / I want you to (...)
I,2,5 (shop) | CIL IV 3885 | Latin words in Greek letters, cf. Biville 2003, 229

2
XIII K DEC
IN CONVENTV VENI
On November 19th / I attended the meeting.
I,2,6 (in the atrium) | CIL IV 3888

3
CONTICVERE OMNES
OMN(ES)
INTENTIQ (...) S
All fell silent / all / and attent(ively)...
I,2,6 (in the atrium) | CIL IV 3889 | poetry quotation (Virgil, Aeneid 2,1); actually the longest quotation from this famous line as found in Pompeii, with thirteen other instances where it is even further truncated (e.g. nos 54, 66, 145 and others), cf. Milnor 2009, 303-304 and 313-314

4
ACTI ANICETE VA
HORE VA
Bye Actius Anicetus! / Bye Horus!
I,2,6 (in the peristylium) | CIL IV 3891 | name of the master of a pantomimist groupe and one of his actors, cf. Franklin jr 1987, 102 and no 670

5
HIRTIA PSACAS C HOSTILIO
CONIVGI SVO
CONOPI MANVDVCTORI ET
CLEMENTI MONITORI FRATRI
ET DIODOTE SORORI ET FORTVNA
TO FRATRI ET CELERI SVIS
SALVTEM SEMPER VBIQVE
PLVRIMA ET PRIMIGENIAE
SVAE SALVTEM
Hirtia Psacas gives Gaius Hostilius, / her husband, / and Conopis, her guide, and / Clemens, her adviser and brother, / and Diodota, her sister, and Fortuna-/tus, her brother, and Celer, her loved ones, / her very best wishes, always and everywhere, / and best wishes / to her Primigenia.
I,2,7 (in the room behind the shop) | CIL IV 3905 | one of a number of graffiti evidently written by a woman; however, texts by women form only a tiny minority in the graffiti material, estimated at hardly 4% by Buonopane 2009, 245

6
ACRATE VA ACRA VA
Bye Acrate, bye Acra(te)!
I,2,7 (in the room behind the shop) | CIL IV 3908

7
SATVRNINE
CVNNVM LINGE
RE NOL(I)
Saturninus, / don't lick / cunt!
I,2,19 | CIL IV 3925

8
DIADVMVS HIC ET VBIQVE
Diadum(en)us here and everywhere
I,2,19 | CIL IV 3926

9
SERENAE
SODALES
SAL
Best wishes / to Serena / from her friends
I,2,19 | CIL IV 3928

10
IC RVFVM KA(R)VM (...)
DOLETE PVELLAE PEDI(CO)
CVNNE SVPERBE VA
(...)
(...)
Here I bugger dear Rufus (...) / Girls, be sad! / Bye, arrogant cunt! / (...)
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3932 | metrical (traces of a distich) | for text and interpretation, cf. Varone 2002, 134-135

11
IARINVS CVM ATHETO HIC
Here Iarinus with Athetus...
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3934

12
FESTVS HIC FVTVIT COM SODALIBVS
Festus has fucked here with his friends.
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3935

13
IARINVS HIC CVM
ATHETO
FVTVIT
Iarinus has / fucked here with / Athetus.
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3938 | the name Iarinus also in CIL IV 3933 and 3939

14
AMPLIATVS CVM
SVIS SODALIBVS HIC
Ampliatus ... here with / his friends
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3941

15
AMPLIATVS AFER HIC
FVTVIT CVM SVIS
SODALIBVS
Here Ampliatus the African / fucked with his / friends.
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3942

16
MONTANVS CVM
CERIALE FRATRE
Montanus with / his brother Cerialis
I,2,20 (bar) | CIL IV 3943

17
TALIA TE FALLANT
VTINAM MEDACIA COPO
TV VEDES ACVAM ET
BIBES IPSE MERVM
May such lies / cost you dearly, innkeeper! / You sell water and / drink pure wine yourself.
I,2,24 (in the peristylium) | CIL IV 3948 | metrical (distich)

18
REST(IT)VTVS
RESTETVTA
PONE TVNICA
ROGO REDES
PILOSA CO(NNVM)
Restitutus (says): / Restituta, / take off your tunic / please show / your hairy cunt!
I,2,24 (on a column in the peristylium) | CIL IV 3951 | for the interpretation, cf. Varone 2002, 98

18a
COMMVNE * III
SVCCESSVS * III
NICEPOR S II A
AMVNVS * IV
CRESIMV VERN * IV
Communis: 3 asses / Successus: 3 asses / Nicephorus: 2 asses / Amunus: 4 asses / Cresimus, house born slave: 4 asses
I,3,1 (in a small room) | CIL IV 3964 | list with names and prices of five male prostitutes (price of Nicephorus uncertain); Amunus is mentioned just here, the other four also elsewhere

19
Q SPVRENNIVS PRISCVS
PRIMPILAR(IS)
PILAR(IS)
Quintus Spurennius Priscus / chief centurion / (chief) centurion
I,3,3 (in the peristylium) | CIL IV 3992 | several graffiti were made by soldiers, cf. Buonopane 2012, 11-14 and nos 207 and 671, further nos 96, 515, 777

20
GLYCO CVNNVM
LINGIT A II
Glyco licks / cunt for 2 asses
I,3,27 (bakery; in the small room near the entrance) | CIL IV 3999 | one of numerous texts listing prices for sexual services, which have been found all over Pompeii, both in brothels (cf. many cases in nos 402-403, 438-445, and 608-667) and in other locations, particularly near bars, inns, and other public places, cf. Varone 2005, 99-100; for a full list of possible female and male prostitutes in Pompeii, and their respective prices, see McGinn 2004, 295-302; for women as clients of brothels, cf. no 615

===

Index of subjects

accensus                              738

accents                               231

admiror paries...                182

Actius Anicetus                 670, 674, 964

adverbs                              55, 305, 451, 572, 697, 754, 970

alphabets                           60, 146, 351, 352

ananyms                            697

arma uirumque cano...     689

baby                                   536

ball game                            755

barbara barbaribus...         297

basilica                               183, 699

benches                              254, 987

Biberius                              537

brothels                              608, 609

candida me docuit...          107, 439a, 439b

caricature                           145, 999

carmen figuratum               258

Castrensis                          533, 670

cella meretricia                  604

children                              183

christianity                         121, 191, 813, 837

Cicero                                 294, 376

cinaedus                             291

Claudius                            473

clothes, list                         396

clusters of graffiti              73, 326, 699, 794

colloquial phrases             745

comedy                               746, 785

commercial texts                229, 520

cribs                                    604

Cumae                                985a

cruciarii                             985a

crucifixion                          985a

cup                                      388

curicilla                              92

Interview

met Jonna van 't Hof, in BK (Beroepsvereniging Beeldende Kunstenaars) nr 323, 3e kwartaal 2016, p. 24-25

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