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Phalluses abound -- on monuments, good-luck charms, even wind chimes -- and there are examples of erotic art that shocked the 18th-century Europeans who rediscovered them. A marble statue of the god Pan coupling with a nanny goat is likely to stop 21st-century visitors in their tracks, too. For all the familiarity of this Roman world, there are surprises. The exhibition reveals that Pompeii and Herculaneum were less stereotypically "Roman" places than we might think. Many residents were descended from Greeks or other groups, and more than half were slaves or freed slaves. It was also an era of considerable social mobility. Freed slaves, known as liberti, were a powerful segment of society, owning businesses and properties. A prominent role was played by women, who could own wealth and go into business, but not vote or hold public office. A fresco of a baker and his wife shows them as business partners and apparent equals. Inevitably, the towns' sudden end casts a poignant shadow over the exhibition. It's not known how many people died in the eruption of Vesuvius, but 1,500 bodies have been found in the two towns, which are still only partially excavated. Two-thirds of Herculaneum and a third of Pompeii remain buried. In one room of the exhibition is a floor mosaic of a guard dog -- an ancient "Beware of the Dog" sign. Elsewhere is the dog himself, contorted in agony in his final moments. Volcanic ash hardened around the canine corpse, which eventually rotted away. Centuries later, archaeologists poured plaster into the gap, creating a perfect dog-shaped mould. The same technique has been used on some of the human victims, including a whole family, hunched against the deadly heat, a child huddled in its mother's lap. Despite all the death, it is the vivid life of the towns that makes the strongest impression. One exhibit is a sign from a dining room, which advises guests: "Don't dirty the couch covers, keep your eyes off other people's partners and take your quarrels home with you." That's good advice, even now. ___ Online:
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