The Nucerians, as can easily be understood, fared the worse, having
many killed and wounded. They carried the matter to Rome, lodging a
complaint with Nero; the emperor referred the case to the Senate,
which decreed that Regulus and the leaders of the disturbance should
be sent into exile, that the Pompeians should not be permitted to hold
any gladiatorial exhibitions for the space of ten years, and that the
illegal societies at Pompeii--in regard to which, unfortunately, we
have no further information--should be dissolved. From the receipts of
Caecilius Jucundus we learn, further, that the duumvirs of the year 59
were removed from office, and that with the new duumvirs, elected in
their places, a magistrate with extraordinary powers, _praefectus iuri
dicundo_, was associated--measures that indicate how serious the
disturbance of public order must have been.
Reminiscences of this bloody fray are found in several inscriptions
scratched on walls; and a lively idea of it is given by a wall
painting found in 1869 in a house near the theatres, now in the Naples
Museum (Fig. 101). The picture is of special interest as throwing
light on the surroundings of the Amphitheatre and some of its
arrangements. The open space with the trees in the foreground, among
which are various booths, remind one of a park; at the right is a
single house. It is clear from the painting that the women's boxes, in
the gallery, were arched in front; and we see how the great awning,
_velum_, was stretched over the south end to protect the audience from
the sun. It was carried by the two towers of the city wall (one of
them is indicated on the plan, 13) and by masts that stood in the
passage behind the women's boxes, where several of the perforated
stones in which they were set may still be seen.
That the sports of the Amphitheatre had at all times the keenest
interest for the Pompeians is evident, not only from the number of
notices having to do with the games, which we see painted in red on
walls along the streets or on tombs by the roadside, but also from the
countless graffiti in both houses and public places having reference
to combats and favorite gladiators. The limits of space do not permit
us to describe the gladiatorial exhibitions as they took place at
Pompeii and other Roman cities; but the inscriptions bring so near to
us the scenes and excitement of those days that it seems worth while
to quote and interpret a few typical examples.
[Illustration: Fig. 101.--Conflict between the Pompeians and the
Nucerians. Wall painting.]
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