I don't usually read magazines (leaves more time for historical novels, heh), but I read the Smithsonian this morning. I was really liking the articles, even though Olympics coverage generally bores me.
But I was embarrassed by the ads. I assume as a humanities professor I'm part of the audience they are aimed at, and I found that idea repellant. There was a total lack of wit as well as practicality: it was all these DVD courses on world religions and replicas of Roman coins advertised in an ickily pretentious way. This is what I'm supposed to want? Don't smart people buy soap?
The "Leisure" chapter of Pompeii: A Sourcebook is a good source of ancient ads. They're surprisingly simple, just a brief description of the event and its most attractive features: "The gladiatorial troupe of Aulus Suertius Certus, aedile, will fight at Pompeii on 31 May. There will be a hunt and awnings" (52).
Humorous graffiti was often in verse: "Chios, I hope your piles become sore/ so that they smart more than they smarted before" (78). The two genres of the announcement and the witty verse statement didn't seem to mix. I suspect people needed to become more self-conscious about their consumerism before that could happen.
image credit Pin It
No comments:
Post a Comment