We learn that “ All the girls fancy Celadus, the Thracian gladiator!” and that “ Resitutus has often deceived many girls.” One poetic scribbler declares “ Lovers, like bees, lead a honeyed life” only to get the sarcastic reply “I wish!” We even witness a tavern row, with two men recording their love-rivalry in a bar (“ Don’t try to muscle in on someone who’s better looking”). Much like today, many of the messages record love affairs, crushes and lust. The most evocative graffiti are the more personal examples. This was certainly a playful theme in other electioneering, with some candidates being the choice of dicers or runaway slaves: “ The little thieves ask for Vatia as aedile.” The tavern known as Asellina’s bar is a good example, with various women – possibly barmaids – urging people to vote for Cn Helvius Sabinus “ worthy of public office.” Since women could not vote there has been some debate over whether the support of Maria and Aegle was genuine, or used as an attempt to discredit Helvius. Easiest to see are the political slogans painted on the front of buildings. I mainly encountered ancient scribbles through secondary sources (Alison Cooley and Sarah Levin-Richardson’s work are invaluable in this regard) but also enjoyed spotting it when wandering the site. The first in a historical trilogy, the book re-imagines the lives of women working in Pompeii’s infamous lupanar and the town’s vibrant street life. How much will Amara’s freedom cost her? The Wolf Den is the first in a trilogy of novels about the lives of women in ancient Pompeii.When I came to write my novel The Wolf Den, graffiti played a key role.
For the streets of the city are alive with opportunity-here, even the lowest-born slave can dream of a new beginning.
Buoyed by the sisterhood she forges with the brothel’s other women, Amara finds solace in the laughter and hopes they all share. Intelligent and resourceful, she is forced to hide her true self. Now Amara is a slave and prostitute in Pompeii’s notorious Wolf Den brothel or lupanar, owned by a cruel and ruthless man.
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