Friends Talk with Rebecca Benefiel
Friends Talk with Rebecca Benefiel
Ancient Writing and Reading: Culture and communication among the graffiti of Pompeii
Friday, October 14 | 5:30 p.m. Reception | 6:00 p.m. Talk
Dilworth Room, Simons Hall
In the year AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted with devastating force, burying the nearby town of Pompeii under more than thirty feet of volcanic debris. Pompeii was wiped off the map, yet below the surface the material remains of the town were preserved in remarkable detail. While best known for its art and architecture, Pompeii also offers a colorful glimpse of daily life and culture through its ancient graffiti -- thousands of messages written on the walls of the city. This talk confronts this widespread phenomenon of public writing occurring in the first century. From public advertisements to handwritten messages, these graffiti reveal members of all levels of society reading, writing, and engaging in this active mode of communication.
Rebecca Benefiel is Associate Professor with the Department of Classics at Washington and Lee University, and is also affiliate faculty with the Women’s and Gender Studies Program. She holds degrees from Harvard University (Ph.D.) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and conducted additional graduate study in epigraphy at L’Università di Roma, “La Sapienza”. Her fields of research include Roman social and cultural history, Pompeii (particularly graffiti), Latin epigraphy, Roman archaeology, and Latin literature. While at IAS, Rebecca will be working on a book about the widespread popularity of writing in first century Pompeii. Her work highlights the relationship between written text and the spatial and social environments of the Roman world.