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The Attack Ad, Pompeii-Style

Decorah, Iowa

A.D. 79 was a rough year for Marcus Cerrinius Vatia. The up-and-coming young ma

was running for the important office of aedile, one of the two junior magistrates in thseaside town of Pompeii. A century earlier, the Roman orator Cicero had admired th

generally honest and upright campaigns conducted in this provincial town on the Ba

of Naples. Unlike in Rome itself, where corruption was rampant, any hardworkin

Pompeian man with enough money and friends might rise to the office of aedile u

less he was a member of an undesirable profession, a public executioner, for example,

an actor.

If Vatia could clear the first hurdle and be elected aedile, perhaps in a few years hwould be chosen as one of the duoviri (two men) who presided over the city. Bu

even as an aedile, he would be guaranteed a place on the town council and special sea

for life at the local gladiatorial shows. So as the smoking crater of Vesuvius loomed ove

Pompeii, Vatia tried to drum up support on the usual round of guild banquets, taver

meetings and dinners with wealthy citizens.

But politics could be a dirty business, even in Pompeii. Sometime in the night, one of th

professional political teams that painted signs around town whitewashed some old campaign ads from the previous year and replaced them with new graffiti, including Th

petty thieves support Vatia for aedile and The late night drinkers all ask you to ele

Marcus Cerrinius Vatia as aedile. Poor Vatia had become a victim of negative cam

paign advertising.


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Alain Pilon

Since tradition in Pompeii kept ads from being blatantly defamatory, a favorite trick

local politicians was to plaster the tombs and walls of the town with fake endorsemen

for their opponents from unsuitable supporters runaway slaves, gamblers and pros

tutes. In Roman politics, where the appearance of honor and dignity was all importan

even obviously false endorsements could bring shame and defeat to a struggling cand

date.

The almost 3,000 political inscriptions that survive from Pompeii tell us more about R

man elections than that they featured dirty tricks. Legitimate ads from individuals an

groups covered the walls from the Temple of Venus to the Amphitheater, occasional

with warnings not to tamper with them (If you spitefully deface this sign, may you b

come very ill). Most are formulaic recommendations of a candidate as a vir bonu

(good man) or, in the case of our Marcus Cerrinius Vatia, deserving. Other get-ou

the-vote ads are more specific, like the graffiti for Gaius Julius Polybius, who providgood bread; for Marcus Casellius Marcellus, who gives great games; and for Bruttiu

Balbus, who will preserve the treasury.

Most of these ads were sponsored by men, but a surprising number were paid for b

women, who along with slaves were not allowed to vote. Pompeian women knew th


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although they couldnt cast a ballot, they could still influence an election. Respectab

women like Taedia Secunda endorsed her grandson Lucius Secundus for aedile. B

even barmaids like Aegle and Zmyrina their Greek names suggest they had on

been slaves appeared to have commissioned sign writers to post ads outside the

tavern on the Street of Abundance.

Group endorsements from professional guilds were also important. Surviving campaig

inscriptions include ads from fruit vendors, mule drivers, goldsmiths, bakers, barber

innkeepers, grape pickers and the chicken sellers, who beg you to elect Epidius an

Suettius as duoviri. These various labor and business organizations wanted to mak

sure they had men in office who would keep their taxes low. Religious organization

also had their favorite candidates. Worshipers of the Egyptian goddess Isis urge

passers-by to elect Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus as aedile.

Whether Vatia won the election and was sworn in in July is unknown, but the ne

month Vesuvius exploded and buried the town of Pompeii and its politicians und

countless tons of pumice and ash.

Philip Freeman, a classics professor at Luther College, is the editor of How to Win an Electio

An Ancient Guide for Modern Politicians.

A version of this article appeared in print on 08/31/2012, on page A27 of the NewYork edition with the headline: The Attack APompeii-Style.
http://philipfreemanbooks.com/

negative campaigning, pompeii-style - nytimes.com

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