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Venus Pompeiana and the New Pompeian FrescoesAuthor(s): Mary Hamilton SwindlerReviewed work(s):Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1923), pp. 302-313Published by: Archaeological Institute of AmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/497848.

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VENUS POMPEIANA AND THE NEW POMPEIANFRESCOESONEof the most interesting discoveries in the recent excava-tions at Pompeii is a series of frescoes dealing with religioussubjects. In addition to conventional representations of the

twelve gods, and paintings of the Lares and serpents-themespreviously found-there occur rarersubjects, some of which showinteresting oriental connections. On one of these frescoes fromthe front of a shop in the street of Abundance, we find a rathercrude representation of Venus Pompeiana, the goddess with

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FIGURE 1.-VENUS POMPEIANA: POMPEII.

whose cult we are concerned.1 She is represented with her usualattributes, a rudder of a ship, a sceptre, a branch of olive or myrtle,and Cupids (Fig.l). The figure is none too artistic, but the typepresents one known to us from paintings discovered earlier and1Della Corte, Not. Scav. 1912, pp. 138; 176 ff.American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series. Journal of the nArchaeological Institute of America, Vol. XXVII (1923), No. 3. 302

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VENUS POMPEIANA 303reproduced in poor copies. In some of these examples the goddessappears with only one Cupid, but the Venus type is constant. Ina painting from the house of the Dioscuri she is clad in a gold-starred mantle of blue (Fig. 2). She wears a turreted crown setwith emeralds and bears a sceptre and branch of olive. Her leftarm rests on the upturned rudder of a ship and beside her a Cupidstands on a pedestal and holds up a mirror before the goddess.'Other representations of Venus Pompeiana,poor at best in the reproductions, show thesame features. Sometimes she is picturedwith other divinities (Fig. 3). In this case,she is associated with Vesta and the Lares,with the Sarnus below and a serpent pro-ceeding toward an altar. The same type isfound again in Fig. 4, where Jupiter is shownat the left and the familiar figure of VenusPompeiana recurs, robed now in a bluemantle and violet chiton.

More interesting for us than this group offrescoes is a new representation of the god-dess from a pilaster of shop No. 7 in thenewly excavated part of the Via dell' Abbon-danza. Here, Venus Pompeiana, the tute-lary divinity of the city, is representeddrawn by a quadriga of elephants (Fig. 5). The goddess wearsa long blue garment and mantle, and a turreted crown set witheight great emeralds. She rests her left hand on the rudder of aship and bears an olive branch and sceptre. Her chariot has theform of a ship's prow and two familiar Cupids fly toward her, onebearing a palm branch, another a wreath, while a third one besideher holds up a mirror. At the left of the scene, Fortune, standingon the globe of the earth, places one hand on a ship's rudder andholds in the other a cornucopia. Balancing her at the right is asecond figure, usually interpreted as Abundantia, with patera andhorn of plenty. It would seem, however, to be a male figureand is more probably a Genius. But one of the most interestingfeatures in the scene is the group of four grey elephants whichdraw the chariot, the two central ones bowed down under a yoke,

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FIGURE 2.-VENUSPOMPEIANA: NAPLES.

1The actual condition of this fresco may be seen from the more recentreproduction n Herrmann,DenkmalerderMalerei,pl. 123. Here, it is muchrestored.


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304 MARY HAMILTON SWINDLERthe outer ones fastened to these by harness, and all four adornedwith golden ornaments. What is the significance of the sceneand how is it to be interpreted? The goddess is obviously VenusPompeiana, clad in her familiar starry mantle and with her usualattributes.Venus Pompeiana was apparently celebrated in cult ritualafter the founding of the Sullan colony at Pompeii, in 80 B.C. Atthat time, the colony was named Colonia Cornelia Veneria

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FIGURE 3.-VENUS POMPEIANA, VESTA AND THE LARES; BELOW, THE SARNUS:NAPLES.

Pompeianorum, from the family name of the Dictator, LuciusCornelius Sulla Felix and from the goddess to whom he paidspecial honors. Sulla entertained the idea that he was thefavorite of Venus and honored her especially as a goddess ofFortune under the name Venus Felix.' He represented her onaurei struck outside of Rome while he was engaged in his cam-paign against Mithradates (Fig. 6). On these coins the head of

1 Plut. Sulla, 34; Appian, Bell. Civil. I, 97; cf. G. Wissowa,Gesamm.Abh.zurRom.Rel. undStadtsgesch.,Miinchen, 1904, pp. 17 ff., 23; Mommsen,Gesamm.Schriften,V,p. 509; G. Wissowa,ReligionundKultus derRimer, 1912,pp. 291ff.


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VENUS POMPEIANA 305the goddess appears crowned by a diadem. Before her standsa Cupid holding a palm branch, the symbol of Sulla's victories in85 B.c.1 We recognize this Sullan Venus Felix in various frescoesof Venus Pompeiana, the tutelary goddess of the Sullan colony.Because of the peculiar character of her cult, which was closelyakin to that of Fortuna, she is accompanied by attributes ofFortune,-a rudder, a ship's prow and a branch of olive. Mauhas identified her temple,dating from the early daysof the Sullan colony in someruins of tufa near the Forum,overlooking the sea.2 Theoriginal structure was re-placed in the Empire by animportant temple of marble.The essential feature of thecult of Venus Pompeiana isthat she is practically aSullan creation-a mixtureof Venus-Aphrodite andFelicitas, introduced by thedictator after his victories inthe East.3 She is not a goddess of fertility native in Campania,as some have argued. The attributes which characterized thegoddess in later frescoes were already stamped upon her, for themost part, in the days of Sulla. Another development of hercult was in the direction of Venus Victrix. In the temple whichPompey erected in 55 B.c. in connection with his theatre inRome, she was united with Felicitas. Both of these cults, VenusFelix and Venus Victrix, were later crowded out in great measureby the Caesarian cult of Venus Genetrix, the founder of the Julianrace, but the cult of the Sullan colony showed a remarkable vi-tality.The fresco in question, which bears the representation of VenusPompeiana, probably dates from the last period of the city. Thepaintings have been often renewed, but the uppermost layersappear to belong to the later days of the city. This is also borne

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----;--=FIGURE 4.-VENUS POMPEIANA ANDJUPITER: NAPLES.

IG. F. Hill, Historical Roman Coins, 1909, pp. 93-94, pl. xi, 55; cf. Plut.Sulla, 34.A. Mau, Rom.Mitt. XV, 1900, pp. 270 ff.3G. Wissowa,Religionund KultusderRismer,1912, p. 291.


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306 MARY HAMILTON SWINDLERout by coins found in this region which date mostly from theNeronian period. When did Sulla's Venus-Felix-Pompeiana-Fortuna cult acquire elephants to draw the chariot of the goddessand what do they mean?

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FIGURE 5.-VENUS POMPEIANA IN A QUADRIGADRAWN BY ELEPHANTS: POMPEII.

Obviously Rome took over the elephant from the orient, whereit was employed for various ends. It first became known to theGreeks in the days of Alexander, who captured a number whichhad been used in battle against him. He probably employedthem to bear burdens and to arouse fear in the enemy. AfterAlexander's death, the "military era of elephants" followed forthree centuries, and the various elephants acquired by him wereapportioned out among his generals and used as fighting tanks.Their use in battle is, perhaps, reflected on coins of Seleucus I(312-280 B.c.), where Pallas is represented in full armor in a


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VENUS POMPEIANA 307chariot drawn by four elephants (Fig. 7). Elephants were alsoused by the Ptolemies in elaborate processions and they oftendrew the images of the gods.'Coins of Ptolemy Soter andhis son bear the device ofPallas and Jupiter in ele-phant-drawn chariots, so thatthe practice of representingthe gods in quadrigae of ele-phants goes back to the Alex-andrian age. Fig. 8 givestwo coins of Ptolemy with a probable representation of Alexanderas Zeus Ammon, holding a thunderbolt.It is interesting to trace the growing interest in elephantsat Rome beginning with the days of Pyrrhus.2 Legend says thatat the battle of Ausculum, in279 B.c., the elephants ofPyrrhus were frightened by

the grunting of swine on theRoman side.3 In 273, fiveelephants taken in battle atBeneventum, were led intriumph in Rome and it wasprobably apropos of thisevent, when elephants werefirst seen in Rome, that a "brick" was issued at Capua, bearingon the obverse an elephant, on the reverse a sow.4 At that timemoney with the device of an elephant was issued by the consul,

FIGURE 6.-VENUS POMPEIANA:CoIN OF SULLA.

FIGURE 7.-PALLAS IN QUADRIGA OFELEPHANTS: COIN OF SELEUCUS I.

FIGURE 8.-ALEXANDER AS AMMON IN QUADRIGA OF ELEPHANTS:COINS OF PTOLEMY SOTER.1Athen. V, 34.2 Plut. Pyrrhus,15, 17; Pliny, N.H. VIII, 6, 6.3Ael. De Nat. Animal. I, 38.4 G. F. Hill, HistoricalRomanCoins, p. 26, pls. VII-VIII; of. Haeberlin,Systematik,p. 54.


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308 MARY HAMILTON SWINDLERCurius Dentatus. Elephants were also used extensively in thefirst Punic War by the Carthaginians.' After the Roman victoryover Hannibal at Palermo in 251, the elephants which caused hisdefeat were taken to Rome by Metellus, the victorious consul,and four hundred of them were killed in the circus.2 A denariusof the Caecilian family, struck about92 B.C.,refers to the famous victoryand triumph (Fig. 9). The coin wasprobably issued by C. Caecilius Me-tellus, and bears on one side thehead of Roma, on the other Jupiterin a biga drawn by elephants. Heholds a thunderbolt in his hand andabove him flies Victory. This typeand later ones perpetuate the mo-tives found on Ptolemaic and Seleucid coins.After the period of the wars with Carthage, the most importantreferences to elephants in Rome associate them with the namesof Caesar and Pompey. Pompey, after his African campaign in79 B.c., desired to enter Rome in a quadriga of elephants, but wasprevented because the gate was too small to admit them.3 Heintroduced elephants into the circus at the dedication of histheatre and temple of Venus Victrix in 55B.c., but was cursed by the populace, whofound it difficult to endure the suffering ofthe beasts.4

Elephants were associated with Caesar atThapsus, where they appeared in the line ofbattle and caused the defeat of Juba~ whohad placed them there.5 The fifth legion,which distinguished itself in the struggleagainst these animals, had the privilege ofbearing on its standard the image of an elephant. At this time,the coins of Caesar, which bear the device of an elephant, wereprobably struck in allusion to the victory at Thapsus and to thename of the conqueror which in the Punic tongue meant "ele-

~bQ ~FIGURE 9.-JJUPITER IN BIGAOF ELEPHANTS: COIN OFTHE CAECILIAN FAMILY.

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FIGUJRE10.- COIN OFCAESAR STRUCKAFTER THAPSUS.

1 Polyb. I, 33; Livy, XXI, 28, 35, cf. 55; 37.2 Pliny, N.H. VIII, 6.SPlut, Pomp. 14; Pliny, N.H. VIII, 2.Cic. ad Fam. VII, 1, 3; Pliny, N.H. VIII, 7

6 Dio, XLIII, 8; Appian,Bell. Civil. II, 96.


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VENUS POMPEIANA 309phant" 1 (Fig. 10). According to various authorities, the Phoeni-cian word cessarah can mean: tergum elephanti vel scutum excorio elephanti confectum.2 Caesar probably adopted the coindevice as an allusion to conqueredAfrica and because of the punningelement involved in the name. Hehad, however, previously, employedit after his victories over Ariovistusin Gaul (Fig. 11). Here, an elephantis shown on the obverse tramplingon a serpent; on the reverse are sac-rificial implements alluding to theoffice of Pontifex Maximus. An almost exact duplicate of thiscoin bears the name of Hirtius, the legate of Caesar3 (Fig. 12).Caesar also employed elephantson his triumphal return from Gaul,when he entered the capital bynight, lighting the way with forty

torch-bearing elephants.4Augustus seems to have shownthe same predilection for elephants,and many coins of the Augustan age bear the elephant, appar-ently used as a symbol of victory and triumph. The conquest ofEgypt undoubtedly causedtheir employment to be morefrequent. The practice ofusing them to draw thechariot of deified emperorsand members of the imperialfamily, came into Romefrom Egypt at this time. InFig. 13 we have two Augustancoins dating from the year 17B.c., which bear the head ofOctavian on the obverse andon the reverse a triumphal

FIGURE 11.-COIN OF CAESARIN GAUL.

FIGURE 12.-COIN OF HIRTIUS.

FIGURE 13.-CoINS OF AUGUSTUS.

1Serv. ad Aen. I, 286; ef. Cohen, Mid. Imp. 2 I, p. 17; Duruy, Hist. ofRome, III, p. 464.2 De Vit, Onomas. II, 40.3 Babelon, Monnaiesde la Rep. Rom.I, 543, No. 3.4 Suet. Div. Jul. 37.


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VENUS POMPEIANA 311with terrifying results. Led in triumphal procession afterbattle, it thus came to mean the conquered orient, and its use inthis connectionwas especiallyprominent in thewars with Car-thage, afterThapsus and fol-lowing Augustus'victories inAfrica. In thedays of Trajanand Hadrian,such allusions were still common (Fig. 16). In the reign of Au-gustus, in addition to this symbolism, the suggestion that thepersons drawn by elephants were divine assumed prominence.The Romans were undoubt-

edly familiar with the easternpractice of placing gods anddeified rulers in elephant-drawn chariots. The sugges-tion of divine associationthus involved, must have at-tracted Augustus, and wemay well believe that themedallion of Tiberius would have been very acceptable to him.

After the reign of Augustus, the custom of placing deified rulersin such chariots was very frequent, judging from the devices oncoins. On coins of Nero, wesee the heads of Nero andAgrippina accompanied onthe obverse by two figuresconsidered to be Augustusand Livia, in a chariotdrawn by four elephants(Fig. 17). In the days ofthe Antonines, similar coinsare also found. Faustina is seen represented in the same fashion(Fig. 18). Sometimes, she is shown under the guise of Ceres(Fig. 19).

FIGURE 16.-COINS OF TRAJAN.

FIGURE 17.-DEIFIED AUGUSTUS ANDLIVIA: COIN OF NERO.

FIGURE 18.-DEIFIED FAUSTINA INBIGA OF ELEPHANTS.

5


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312 MARY HAMILTON SWINDLERWhat of Venus Pompeiana?1 She began at Pompeii by being aspecial cult, favored by Sulla, a mixture of Fortuna and Aphrodite.By the days of Nero she had taken on some of thepomp which the orient was accustomed to displayin placing its gods in elephant-drawn chariots.Pompeii was a city more open to oriental influ-ence than any other Roman site except its neigh-bor, Puteoli, the early harbor of Rome. Theoriental cults which flourished at Pompeii show theextent of this power. Isis had her temple there,

though her worship was suppressed many times at Rome betweenthe years 58-48 B.c. The influence of Egypt is extensively seen

FIGURE 19.-DEIFIEDFAUSTINAAS CERES.

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FIGURE 20.-AFRICAN ANIMALS: FRESCO FROM POMPEII.1 The recent article by Delle Corte, Awsonia, 1921, on Venus Pompeiana,came to my notice after the writing of this paper. He gives a list of illustrationsof Venus of Pompeii and wishes to add to the list the pompa formerly assigned to

Cybele, which is illustrated in Not. Scav. 1912, p. 110, fig. 7. A second articleby Pais, available after this paper was in press, considers the fresco an allusionto Pompey's African triumph and to his attempt to enter Rome in 79 mc. in aquadrigadrawnby elephants. This does not, however, account for the laterpractice of representingdeifiedemperorsand membersof the imperialfamilyin chariots drawn by elephants, nor for the prominent part which the elephantplays in the Julio-Claudian house. The attributes of Venus must also beaccountedfor and the peculiarcharacterof her cult at Pompeii. The actualdate of the fresco in question furnishesan additionaldifficulty. The frescoeshave been renewedseveral times but the upper layer appearsto belong to thelast periodof the city. Pais considers he figureat the rightof Venus,Felicitas.E. Pais, 'Venere Pompeianatrionfantesu di un cocchiotirato da elefanti e legesta di Cneo Pompeio Magno,' Bolletino dell' Associazione ArchaeologicaRomana,IV, 1914,pp. 256-267.


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VENUS POMPEIANA 313in Pompeian mosaics showing animals from the Nile and in fres-coes such as Fig. 20, where various African animals appear.The direct influence of Egyptian life and customs on Pompeiimay thus have been strong enough to account for the type ofVenus drawn by elephants. She may be only a descendant ofthe Alexandrian deities, borne in similar chariots. It is, how-ever, tempting to see in the fresco some of the influence veryprominent in Rome under the Julio-Claudian house, which usedthe elephant in a symbolic way as emblematic of their triumphsover Africa, to add pomp to the ruling monarchs and to suggesttheir divine character.

MARY HAMILTON SWINDLER.BRYN MAWR COLLEGE

BRYN MAWR, PA.

AJA, 27.3, 1923

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