The lives of the less exalted appear infrequently in the art of Pompeii, but the images in Visual Source 5.3 provide some entrée into their world. These are frescoes painted on the wall of a caupona, an inn or tavern catering to the lower classes. The first image shows Myrtale, a prostitute, kissing a man, while the caption above reads: “I don’t want to, with Myrtale.” In the second image a female barmaid serves two customers with a large jug and a cup, while they compete for her attention. In the third image, two men playing dice are arguing.
Why do you think a tavern owner might have such paintings in his place of business?
What might we learn about tavern life from these images?
What roles did women play in the tavern?
What differences do you notice between these paintings and those depicting the lives of the upper classes?