Earlier our millennium, there were many prosperous cities within the dominions of Rome. However, the undisputed leader of them was the city of Rome. Despite this, choose a smaller city, but of vital importance for our study.
The city we have chosen is right Pompeii and give it a date: August 24, 1979 AD
This day was like any other in the life of the inhabitants of this city. This day came the eruption of Vesuvius, the volcano that dominated from above Bay of Naples and its invasion of death and destruction to much of what cities and towns that were on its outskirts. That
August 24 thousands of tons of lava, ash, toxic smoke and rocks covered Pompeii and meant death for thousands of people and animals that managed to escape. However, these ashes also preserved everything was buried. Houses, shops, public toilets to the same food and the bodies of people and animals that were caught by death there where they were, were preserved as if time had stopped in this city and their lives. Product
to that tragedy, a day in the daily life of a Roman city froze in time allowing reveal a world without this catastrophe would have been difficult to know completely.
some Evil sometimes becomes the good of others. How
example, imagine a day in the life in the town of Pucon in the shadow of the imposing Villarrica volcano. This volcano that lit up his red rage every night in the summer of 2005 and that on the day at its peak reveals a column of smoke, is warning us that is not dead but only sleeping. Something similar happened to Vesuvius.
As in those times, today people spend their holidays and sports in Pucon Villarrica as if there were not, but what would happen if one night without notice of any kind, this volcano erupt with the force and power than the old Vesuvius?
If it is impossible for us to size a tragedy like this, imagine how it was at the time of these Romans who lived in the shadow of a volcano like Vesuvius seemed dead for many centuries.
THE AWAKENING OF MARCUS.
Imagine a typical day of our lives, their routines and corresponding runs. Let's meet
awaken one morning and order in our minds what we would do since we opened the first eye after of good sleep.
Now imagine traveling to the past and may be right when our Marcus is waking up. Is it very different to ours its dawn? What are your routines in one morning?
Unlike some of us. The Romans were very early risers. They rose at dawn, just when the roosters began to notice that the sun would rise soon.
is impossible to know the exact time of their awakening, as we do now with our watches, as the Romans had a very exact timing.
In early Rome, when he was still just a small town around the fourth century BC, the Romans were limited to measure time by dividing the day into two parts. The first half until noon and then the rest of the day. One man was the work of the forum to warn people and rulers when the sun was at its maximum height.
Over half the time each day was divided into two parts: "Mane" The morning and "Antemeridiem" antemeridian and "De meriedie" The evening and "Supreme" on the night. But only since the second century BC, the Romans knew a revolution for the world. The sundial brought from Greece, which changed its way of thinking about time. This system was known as the sundial. Most
of cities had a sundial to measure the first 12 hours of day and water for the remaining 12 ranging from dusk until dawn. There was one problem. The hours were increasing or decreasing depending on the season. Therefore, 12 hours a day in summers were longer than 12 hours of winter. This created that changed the rhythms of life of people during the summer months and winter as now happens in country life. That is why the Romans had 12 hours of summer and winter 12 hours a day and night.
was so difficult to measure the hours these days, the Stoic philosopher Seneca had that was more easily reconciled to philosophers in the same philosophical theory, which put them in line at the time of their watches. Moreover, despite all this fashion and fame, the Romans as the other peoples of antiquity never had the obsession we have with our clocks and time. For many, many times only reflected and served to show people the piece of life they had lost over time in a romantic way of seeing time.
Returning to the awakening of our Marcus. At dawn our man would rise from his bed, feeling due to the low light coming into his room. How
Marcus was an educated man and washed his face clean and arms, then it is completely clean in contrast to normal people and their own slaves, was preparing to eat breakfast and start your day.
BREAKFAST OF MARCUS.
The first meal of a Roman differed little according to social class that was, as it was not considered a food of great importance as it does many people and nations today. -.
Make connection with the idea of \u200b\u200bAnglo-Saxon breakfast and Scandinavian breakfast vision bequeathed to us Latinos. "It is a theory"
(Breakfast in the Anglo-Saxon countries, and countries of Germanic and Celtic tradition, tend to be large and consistent because we only performed two meals a day. Have you changed this tradition in these cultures in our day?)
breakfast why Marcus would be very light, maybe a glass of water. But suppose that our man is hungry this morning, perhaps Carretie last night. Well, in this case, like much eat a piece of cold meat that had plenty of night or a piece of bread and cheese with a little Müslüm, if your stomach really demanded it. In the case of a poor or one of his own slaves, with a glass of water would be really happy and satisfied.
But before this frugal breakfast, Marcus had done nothing, which moves away from our awakening, Well maybe the most.
Marcus, newly awakened would approach the altar of the sacred fire.
The sacred fire was most important in the home of a Roman, and it was very important keep alive, as the famous historian tells Fustel de Coulanges:
"It was a sacred obligation to the chief keep the fire house day and night ... every night they covered the coals with ashes to prevent consumed whole, to rise, the first care was to rekindle that fire, feeding it with some chips. " [1]
The importance they gave the Romans to this fire was because it was believed that this fire was alive, he was a god and was worshiped as a god, was worshiped until he asked for protection and favors.
He believed this fire as the soul of the home that cared for the family of all evil and is associated with the goddess Vesta (goddess of the home)
prostration was so great that he had this sacred fire that I created prayers and hymns in his honor:
"Home, always keep us thriving, happy, always, O thou who art eternal, beautiful, forever young, supporting you, you who are rich, receive our offering with suitable heart and damage to return happiness and health, which is so sweet. " [2] Previous
any meal, you should make libations to keep this goddess happy and satisfied. These could include some coals, but also wine, oils and incense.
Before testing the food, the first piece was a goddess, a drink before the first drops were for her.
This not only occurs in the Greco-Roman world, is an archetype that we can also see the Andean cultures. Example: The cult to the Pachamama, the Inca culture.
But why so much importance to the fire: what would be a good reason to worship so deep into the fire?
THE CULT OF THE DEAD.
A part of the sacred fire, there were other gods who lived in the house of our Marcus. But these creatures were from another species.
In ancient Roman town, it was tradition to bury their dead in their own homes and these are believed protected them their souls. These beings were known as Manes. There were also the Lares and Penates of the house, which also should honor and nurture them, because they took care of the exterior and interior of the house and all its inhabitants. Coulanges
explains it very well in this sentence: "In ancient times the tomb was on the same property family, in the middle of the room, not far from the door, "for children, says a classic, always find their parents to enter or leave and will go an invocation."
Marcus then leave happy their ancestors and household gods, took breakfast and prepared for another kind of greetings. Greeting customers, this time, I engaged him.
GREETING CUSTOMERS.
Marcus, as we know, was a wealthy merchant of the equestrian class. Had many properties and power. But in Roman society, this was not enough without a bunch of people who were with your services.
Customers were free citizens, often poor, who came to men like Marcus for protection, aid money and influence to improve their economic and social situations.
But what benefited Marcus show with this company?
wealth and influence of a man also is mediated through the number of slaves and clients that it possessed and if Marcus received every morning a large group of customers who came to greet him, this showed the status and power he possessed in his society. Also, if Marcus for example, wanted to enter politics and be elected, and had a good group of men who would vote for him and would fight for every possible way to make your pattern get elected.
Therefore, every morning as we said, early customers crowded in a strict order of hierarchy from the front door, hoping that you get them to give them a good morning and another boost in the form of influences or even money, to survive the day, in the case of very poor. The anecdotal
of this is that many of these customers had their own slaves who accompanied them to offer any help, or even their own customers.
[1] Fustel Coulanges, The Ancient City, editorial Panamerica, 1996. Colombia. Pg.16
[2] Ibit. Pg 17
