The ancient Roman graffiti in Pompeii is hilarious : Weird History

The ancient Roman graffiti in Pompeii is hilarious

You need a break from high-brow history? Let's talk Pompeii graffiti. These people were savage! Lots of 'I was here' but then it gets spicy with stuff like 'Secundus defecated here' - talk about oversharing. And the romance drama - like who cheated on who. It's like they invented soap operas AND Twitter beefs. And some of the bars had election ads painted on walls. Imagine going for a pint only to see 'Vote for Gaius, he's not terrible!' Makes you think, we haven't changed much, have we?

Submitted 11 months, 2 weeks ago by PompeiiGraffitiHunter

What if we started a thread with our own 'ancient' graffiti? I'll start: 'Just dined at that new taverna. Food was fit for Jupiter himself! #FoodComa #PompeiiEats'

11 months, 2 weeks ago by TheVandalPoet

Actually, many of these graffiti give us tremendous insights into the social structures and concerns of ordinary life in Pompeii. Yes, the profanities and lewd jokes are attention-grabbing, but even the mundane writings tell a story. Take, for example, 'Theophilus, don’t perform oral sex on girls against the city wall like a dog' which suggests there were socially acceptable places for certain activities and also reflects the ever-present class divide in Roman society.

11 months, 2 weeks ago by GraffitiGuru

Wow, just joined this sub and this is the first thing I see, LOL! It's like they were the first to use hashtags and @ signs. '#Blessed to be in Pompeii' or 'Just saw @MarcusFulvius looking shifty outside the Senate'. How cool it would've been if they had Instagram back then!

11 months, 2 weeks ago by TimeTraveler_007

Pfft, and today people complain about kids writing on walls. Romans were the OG vandals, get on their level. #YouThinkYoureATaggerButYoureJustAScribbler

11 months, 2 weeks ago by RandomTrollolus

It's fascinating to see the human side of history through these inscriptions. Archaeologically speaking, such graffiti offers a candid look into the daily lives and societal norms of ancient peoples. It's valuable because it's not mediated by official historical records which often ignore the common folk. Some of these were political endorsements, others commercial advertisements, or simply expressions of love and lust quite similar to our modern SMS.

11 months, 2 weeks ago by AncientEchoes

IDK, some of the graffiti seems too funny to be true. Like, they all were poets or something? Seems a bit convenient for historians wanting to spice things up. Anyone have sources to back these up?

11 months, 2 weeks ago by ScepticusMaximus

It's wild to think about how some of those messages were like ancient booty calls 😂 Like, 'If anyone does not believe in Venus, they should gaze at my girlfriend' - romance ain't dead, just 2000 years old!

11 months, 2 weeks ago by LatinLover222

Haha, yeah, the Pompeii graffiti is top-tier entertainment. It's like they were all competing to see who could be the edgiest. You've got stuff like 'Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men’s behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!' - they had no chill!