KITCHENS AND DINING ROOMS AT POMPEII ... - Get a Free Blog

gods, but once that meal was safely in the hands (and mouths) of the dinner party, the need for
divine intervention had passed.
The dichotomy of ritual areas raises the question of whether the shrines in atria or
peristyle/gardens were for the use of the free family, and the kitchen shrines for the household
slaves. 206 In some case grandi, where impressive aedicular shrines dominate atria, and kitchen
walls are adorned with simple paintings or niches, a division of ritual areas according to social
rank is an attractive hypothesis. Because it is impossible to observe who used the respective
shrines and how they were used, however, it is impossible to confirm the hypothesis. Larger
houses do tend to have more ritual areas, and seemingly more specialized ritual areas, than
smaller houses. For almost every issue discussed in this chapter, larger houses reveal increased
specialization and segmentation of function. Specialization seems to be related in part to the
social stratification of the household -- slaves have their own space to eat, drink and sleep. It
seems as well that at least in the case grandi slaves also had their own space for worship.
In sum, it is clear that the Lares were particularly keen on watching over the preparation
of the food, and not as likely to be present in the space where the meal was consumed. It is also
evident that variation in shrine placement outpaces conformity. Household religion was tied to
an individual family's traditions and beliefs: while the symbols of those beliefs (the Lares, the
serpents, altar and Genius) were universally recognized, the construction of a ritual topography in
the context of the home was highly idiosyncratic. If we assign social values to the quality and
location of these shrines and consequently to the various members of the household who used
them, it suggests that free-slave relations were highly complex and variable from household to
household, and the line between free and slave was most pronounced in the largest households.
* * * * *
The final two sections discuss the spatial interrelationship between cooking and dining
areas. These measurements of physical and perceptual distance are relatively uncomplicated; it
seems best to discuss them together, rather than to organize discussion according to building
category, as has been the format throughout this chapter.
Proximity and accessibility of cooking and dining areas
The walking distance (proximity) between cooking and dining areas affects the ease and
speed with which a meal can be served, and is a basic measure of the segregation of the two
activities. The accessibility of cooking and dining areas from the main entrance to the building
determines two things: the degree of penetration into the building necessary for guests to
206 Fröhlich's 1991 study postulates that the style, technique and quality of painting in certain shrines shows
a 'folk' tradition of painting that can be related to the servants of the household.
165