Pompeii in the Public Imagination from Its Rediscovery to Today

The city of Pompeii has had an enormous impact on Western imaginations since its rediscovery under the ashes of the volcano that destroyed it in 79 CE. In the 250 years since excavations began, Pompeii has helped to bring the ancient world to life for everyone, from music hall audiences to gentleman scholars, and it continues to have an impact on the way in which we think about the past, and the human condition itself. The contributors to this generously illustrated volume, who include the novelist Robert Harris, in a recorded interview, investigate how Pompeii has been used in film, fiction, and art on both sides of the Atlantic over three centuries. They explore the many different ways in which Pompeii inhabits our imaginations: as ghostly relic of human suffering, romantic ruin, model of cultural inspiration, home of a distant, decadent culture, and comforting model for everyday life.

Shelley Hales is Senior Lecturer in Art & Visual Culture, Department of Classics & Ancient History, University of Bristol.

Joanna Paul is Postgate Early Career Fellow in Classics, School of Archaeology, Classics & Egyptology, University of Liverpool