Do you see those marble slabs? They were hanging near the Nonian basilica. Caius Julius Faustus, Quintus Lollius Rufus, Lucius Cominius Hyacinthus…
Of course, to you they are just names. But to me they were people. We all knew each other here in Herculaneum!
A small but lively city. On the streets you met all kinds of people: foreigners passing through, politicians and businessmen with their hands in everything, actresses, philosophers and poets, former slaves turned successful businesswomen…
Earlier I was telling you about the Noniana basilica. Guess who had it built at his own expense? Marcus Nonius Balbo, our local celebrity. On those slabs you will find many by the same name… Marcus Nonius: they are his freedmen, meaning slaves who, when they were freed, were given their master’s name. But Balbo did not just make his name here in Herculaneum. Just think, he was governor of the province of Crete and Cyrene (in Libya). By the time Vesuvius erupted, he was long dead, but you can still read his name everywhere: on statues, commemorative plaques…
Oh, yes: here at home, the rich were not satisfied with being rich. They wanted to be remembered, so they spent fortunes building or renovating public buildings. As they say, “words fly, writings remain”!
In this respect, the freedmen were the worst. Freedom was not enough for them, no, they wanted it all: fame, money, rights! Look at Lucius Venidius Ennico: when he was freed, he was too young to become a Roman citizen. So what did he do? He exploited a legal loophole, all he had to do was marry a full Roman citizen – Livia Acte, a good woman – and have a child with her. The freedmen were really resourceful!