And now we leave the wealthy neighbourhood and go back to reality. If you really want to get to know Pompeii, you can’t just visit the Forum and the rich peoples’ houses. Welcome to one of the liveliest places in the city: the lupanare.
No aristocrats or politicians around here. This is where the common people come. The rich folk do not need to leave their homes: whenever they want to use slave boys or girls, all they have to do is snap their fingers.
But I’m pretty sure that most of the girls working in the brothel are also slaves. Some have Greek or Asian names, exotic sounding, like Myrtale; who knows if that is really her name or that’s a stage name? There is no shortage of boys either. But they all do the same job: lupa means prostitute.
It’s a rough place: five small rooms with brick beds, and no doors. At most you can draw a curtain, just to keep up appearances. But who cares?
Lots of people leave their signatures on the wall. One customer even took the trouble to write a quotation from Virgil, our most famous poet… even I studied him at school!
My father has forbidden me to come here. He is afraid I will spend all my savings, or I will fall in love with a prostitute and marry her. Just like the classic plot of comedies three or four centuries ago! And my Dad is old-fashioned, he thinks boys should work and obey their parents, then get married, start a family… and still work like donkeys until they are old.
Is that all that life is?