DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61387#0054
26
THE RUINS OF POMPEII.
Gate of the Sarnus, the Gate of Stabiaa, the Gate of the Theatres, and the
Sea Gate, or Porta della Marina. The gate which we have here called the
Gate of Stabiee has been sometimes named the Gate of Nocera, and the
former name given to the Gate of the Theatres; an arrangement which is
more in accordance with the name of Strada Stabiana, given to the street
which issues out at the gate next the theatres. Between the Gate of the
Theatres, or of Stabise, and the Gate of Herculaneum, a space that includes
half the southern and all the western side of the city, the walls can no
longer be traced, but in this portion of the circumference there was probably
one or two more gates. The Porta della Marina, the only one now between
the two, is a long vaulted passage of steep ascent; and, from its being near
the railway station, forms the most frequented entrance to Pompeii. The
ground between this gate and that of Herculaneum is, as we have before
said, abrupt and cliff-like, and was probably never defended by a wall; at all
events, its place is now occupied by tall houses of several stories, the upper
parts of which may be entered from the street leading from the Gate of
Herculaneum.
Of the gates just enumerated only that of Nola and that of the Theatres
are interesting from their antiquity, being evidently much older than the
Roman occupation. The construction of the Gate of Nola is particularly
remarkable. It does not, like the other gates, begin at the outer line of the
wall, but like the Gate of the Lions at Mycenae, at the end of a passage
formed of strong masonry, and not much broader than the gateway, which
penetrates into the city beyond the inner wall. This mode of construction
afforded an advantage to the garrison by enabling them to ply assailants with
darts, arrows, stones, and other missiles as they thronged up the narrow
passage. When viewed from within, the gate appears to have been partly
built of blocks of hewn stone and partly of brick, the latter portion being
doubtless of a later date. On the keystone of the arch is sculptured a head
in high relief, as was customary among the Etruscans—an object which like-
wise serves to show the high antiquity of this gate. There is at the side of it
an inscription in the Oscan tongue, the wrong interpretation of which caused
this gate to be called for a long time the “ Gate of Isis;” but scholars have
now discovered that the inscription has no reference to that goddess, the
words only meaning that Vibius Popidius, the Medixtuticus, or chief magis-
trate of Pompeii, had caused the gate to be erected, and had approved of it
when completed.
THE RUINS OF POMPEII.
Gate of the Sarnus, the Gate of Stabiaa, the Gate of the Theatres, and the
Sea Gate, or Porta della Marina. The gate which we have here called the
Gate of Stabiee has been sometimes named the Gate of Nocera, and the
former name given to the Gate of the Theatres; an arrangement which is
more in accordance with the name of Strada Stabiana, given to the street
which issues out at the gate next the theatres. Between the Gate of the
Theatres, or of Stabise, and the Gate of Herculaneum, a space that includes
half the southern and all the western side of the city, the walls can no
longer be traced, but in this portion of the circumference there was probably
one or two more gates. The Porta della Marina, the only one now between
the two, is a long vaulted passage of steep ascent; and, from its being near
the railway station, forms the most frequented entrance to Pompeii. The
ground between this gate and that of Herculaneum is, as we have before
said, abrupt and cliff-like, and was probably never defended by a wall; at all
events, its place is now occupied by tall houses of several stories, the upper
parts of which may be entered from the street leading from the Gate of
Herculaneum.
Of the gates just enumerated only that of Nola and that of the Theatres
are interesting from their antiquity, being evidently much older than the
Roman occupation. The construction of the Gate of Nola is particularly
remarkable. It does not, like the other gates, begin at the outer line of the
wall, but like the Gate of the Lions at Mycenae, at the end of a passage
formed of strong masonry, and not much broader than the gateway, which
penetrates into the city beyond the inner wall. This mode of construction
afforded an advantage to the garrison by enabling them to ply assailants with
darts, arrows, stones, and other missiles as they thronged up the narrow
passage. When viewed from within, the gate appears to have been partly
built of blocks of hewn stone and partly of brick, the latter portion being
doubtless of a later date. On the keystone of the arch is sculptured a head
in high relief, as was customary among the Etruscans—an object which like-
wise serves to show the high antiquity of this gate. There is at the side of it
an inscription in the Oscan tongue, the wrong interpretation of which caused
this gate to be called for a long time the “ Gate of Isis;” but scholars have
now discovered that the inscription has no reference to that goddess, the
words only meaning that Vibius Popidius, the Medixtuticus, or chief magis-
trate of Pompeii, had caused the gate to be erected, and had approved of it
when completed.