4. Civic Life Interrupted: Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79

Roman Architecture (HSAR 252)

Professor Kleiner explores the civic, commercial, and religious buildings of Pompeii, an overview made possible only because of an historical happenstance--the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which buried the city at the height of its development. While the lecture features the resort town's public architecture--its forum, basilica, temples, amphitheater, theater, and bath complexes--Professor Kleiner also describes such fixtures of daily life as a bakery and a fast food restaurant. The lecture culminates with a brief overview of tomb architecture in Pompeii and a moving account of what happened to the inhabitants of the city of Pompeii when disaster struck.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction to Pompeii and the Citys History
11:08 - Chapter 2. The Early Settlement and the Forum at Pompeii
21:37 - Chapter 3. The Capitolium and Basilica of Pompeii
30:33 - Chapter 4. Pompeiis Entertainment District: The Amphitheater, Theater, and Music Hall
46:00 - Chapter 5. Bath Complexes at Pompeii
58:28 - Chapter 6. Daily Life and the Eruption of Vesuvius

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2009.