Archaeology

Temples of Pompeii
 
 
The Temple of Isis was dedicated to the worship of the goddess from the Egyptian triad, a cult which was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. The cult of Isis was one of the most popular of the Mystery religions.  The temple is entered by the street named after it, Via d'Iside.  A high wall surrounding the temple hid the secret mysteries that were performed within.  The brightly painted temple faced east and stood on a raised podium. The open cella held instruments and symbols sacred to the cult of Isis.  Two structures with niches for statues of the goddess projected from the side.  The main altar was next to the steps, and another altar held the remains of a sacrifice.  Within the sanctuary was a cistern that held sacred waters of the Nile. 

According to inscriptions, a six year old, N. Popidius Celsinus, financed the rebuilding of the Temple of Isis after its destruction in the earthquake.  For his generosity he was accepted, without cost, into the town council.  When the Temple of Isis was excavated in 1765, fish and eggs were found on a table.  During the excavation, wall paintings, friezes, decorative objects, statuettes and symbols were removed to the National Museum of Naples.

Temple of Isis
The Great Temple of Jupiter stands at the northern side of the Forum of Pompeii.  It is a capitolium, in pure Italic style, constructed on a high base.  It measures 10 feet in height, 121 feet in length, and 56 feet wide, with a double flight of stairs on the front.  The vestibule is 5 columns deep.  The cella, which only the priests entered, has a double order of columns around the inside, and three niches at the end, occupied by Juno, Jupiter (whose head is in the National Museum of Naples) and Minerva.  Underneath the temple were rooms containing precious objects and the public treasury.  The temple was built in 150 BC, and became Pompeii's main temple, when the Roman Republic took over.  Seriously damaged in the earthquake of 62 AD, it was in the process of  being repaired when the volcanic eruption hit Pompeii.
Temple of Jupiter
The Temple of Apollo was erected by the Samnites on a site which the Greeks had consecrated to Apollo's worship as early as the 5th century BC.  The portico, part of which we can see today, ran all around the sacred area and the temple, and on the wall at the end of it scenes from the Iliad were painted.  A statue of Apollo on one side and opposite, the bust of the statue of Diana, stood in front of the columns.  On the bases of the entrance portico were statues of Venus and Hermaphroditus.  The original bronzes of the Apollo and Diana statues are in Naples.  Basins for sacrificial waters were placed along the portico. 

 Like the Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Apollo is of the Italic type, with a flight of steps leading up the high base.  Originally surrounded by 28 Corinthian columns, two complete columns remain erect on the front.  An Oscan inscription on the pavement 
 remains by Campanius who had the walkway laid down with funds from the temple treasury.  In front of the steps an open-air altar was erected during the Republican era.  To the left of the altar is the Ionic column erected by Depunius and Erennius for the sun dial.  
 During Nero's rule the whole appearance of the temple was changed by the addition of dense stucco decorations, but little of those remain.

Temple of Apollo
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