{"id":157506,"date":"2025-09-24T23:36:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/?post_type=ciekawostki&#038;p=157506"},"modified":"2025-09-24T23:36:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T21:36:36","slug":"roman-graffiti-voice-of-ordinary-people-from-centuries-ago","status":"publish","type":"ciekawostki","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/roman-graffiti-voice-of-ordinary-people-from-centuries-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman graffiti \u2013 voice of ordinary people from centuries ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>On the walls of ancient <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/pompeii\/\">Pompeii<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/herculaneum\/\">Herculaneum<\/a>, and other <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/\">Roman cities<\/a>, archaeologists have discovered thousands of inscriptions that offer a glimpse into the daily lives of the empire\u2019s inhabitants. These are the so-called graffiti &#8211; short notes, political <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/roman-slogans-on-walls\/\">slogans<\/a>, love confessions, and even insults. Unlike monumental inscriptions dedicated to <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-constitution\/roman-empire\/roman-emperors\/\">emperors<\/a>, these drawings and writings let us hear the authentic, often humorous voice of ordinary Romans.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The graffiti preserved on the walls of Pompeii reveal an extraordinary variety of themes. Among them one can find advertisements for gladiatorial games, <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/roman-sense-of-humor\/\">jokes<\/a>, lists of debtors, and even rhymed insults. In one inscription, a resident complains: Hospes, hic ego sum: miser sum, quia scabiem habeo &#8211; that is, \u201cStranger, here I am: I am miserable, because I have scabies.\u201d Others, by contrast, are romantic declarations such as: Voluptas cum amica est vita (\u201cPleasure is life with a beloved\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, graffiti was created not only in private houses, but also in public <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-architecture\/roman-baths\/\">baths<\/a> and near theaters. Sometimes it took the form of political <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/propaganda-on-roman-coins\/\">propaganda<\/a>, for example, calls to support a particular candidate in local elections. Thanks to this, today we can experience the atmosphere of social life in Roman provincial towns with remarkable immediacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":59815,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"kategorie_ciekawostek":[108],"class_list":["post-157506","ciekawostki","type-ciekawostki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kategorie_ciekawostek-other"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ciekawostki\/157506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ciekawostki"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ciekawostki"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ciekawostki\/157506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategorie_ciekawostek","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorie_ciekawostek?post=157506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}