Pompeia Helena Explained

Pompeia Helena was a goldsmith, who worked in Rome during the time of the Roman Empire, around the first century CE.

Death

Pompeia Helena is only known from her grave inscription in Rome, where she is identified as an aurifix (goldsmith).^[1] The inscription appears as part of the monument to Marcella, daughter of Octavia, which is found in the second section of the columbaria of Vigna Codini.^[2] She is believed to have been a freedwoman, from the Pompeia family.^[3]

The inscription reads:

Pompeia Cn (aei) l (iberta) Helena

aur (i) ficis Caesaris

Other artisans are found as part of the same monument, including: a margaritarius (pearl diver; pearl dealer), two vestiarii (clothes sellers), two unguentarii and a thurarius (frankincense dealer). The mosaic floor includes an inscription that indicates a terminus ante quem of 10 CE.^{[4] [5]}

Historiography

Pompeia Helen is not the only woman known to have worked as a goldsmith in Ancient Rome, others included: Serapa, Sellia Epyre, Vincentia.^[6] However, doubt has been placed on her role by John K Evans, who questioned whether aurifix means goldsmith in this context, or whether it might mean "custodian of gold ware".^[7]

Notes and References

1. Roman Freedwomen: Their Occupations and Identity. 2021-06-21. cdr.lib.unc.edu. 2015. 15. 10.17615/kweh-gw67. Holman. Lindsay.
2. PEREZ GONZÁLEZ. Jordi. July 2017. Aurifices en la Roma Julio Claudia. La fiebre del oro romana. Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica. Spanish. 23. 1. 37–70.
3. Monika Eichenauer: Untersuchungen zur Arbeitswelt der Frau in der römischen Antike (= Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 3: Geschichte und ihre Hilfswissenschaften 360; Zugleich: Dissertation Universität Graz 1987). Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 1988,, S. 127; 130.
4. Book: Coarelli. Filippo. Rome and Environs: An Archaeological Guide. 2014. University of California Press. 2nd. Berkeley. 374–6.
5. Book: Borbonus. Dorian. Columbarium Tombs and Collective Identity in Augustan Rome. 2014. Cambridge University Press. New York.
6. Book: Marconi, Clemente. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Art and Architecture. 2015. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-978330-4. 125. en.
7. Book: Evans, John K.. War, Women and Children in Ancient Rome (Routledge Revivals). 2014-02-04. Routledge. 978-1-317-81029-2. 154. en.