OpenAI, the Roman

• • The name “Ostia” (in Latin): doors
• • Ostia was an ancient Roman working city and served as an important seaport of ancient Rome under the empire (after 27 BCE)
  • Located 16 miles Southwest of Rome, on the Mediterranean coast at the mouth of the Tiber River, Italy
• Ostia Antica was likely an Etruscan settlement before it became a Roman one at the beginning of the 4th century BCE
• The Romans considered Ostia their first colony & attributed its finding (for salt production) to their 4th king, Ancus Marcius (flourished 7th century BCE, from 642 - 617 BCE)
• Ostia was once a major port, especially significant in grain trade
• In the early 2nd century CE, at the height of Ostia’s prosperity, its population was approximately 50,000
• In the 3rd century, Ostia suffered from the decline of the Roman economy. As trade decreased, the town became more popular as a residential area for the wealthy rather than a seaport like before
• It was abandoned after the erection of Gregoriopolis (an ancient village near the ruins of Ostia Antica) by Pope Gregory IV (827 - 844) in 9th century
• In the 20th century, an archaeological excavation was begun under papal authority and was sharply accelerated between 1939 and 1942, until about ⅔ of the Roman town was uncovered
• Unlike Pompeii, Ostia remains a tranquil place where it’s easy to imagine the past, give you a sense of ordinary life long ago.
• Aristophanes (450 - 388 BCE) was a Greek dramatist known as “The Father of Comedy” and “the Prince of Ancient Comedy”.
• • Roman Forum: center of Roman town and served as public area for religious, commercial, economic, etc activities
• The purpose of the Atrium (cavaedium) in a Roman building in Pompeii was public circulation area
• Pompeii was a flourishing resort city South of ancient Rome, located on the West coast of Italy along the shores of the Bay of Naples at the Southeastern base of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, Italy
• At that time, much of the city’s wealth derived from its rich volcanic soil
• Around noon on August 24, 79 CE, a huge eruption from Mount Vesuvius showered volcanic debris over the city of Pompeii. After that, the city was destroyed completely and the city was buried under a blanket of ash and pumice, which perfectly preserved the remains
• Mount Vesuvius is part of the Campanian volcanic arc that stretches along the convergence of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates on the Italian peninsula
• However, in the 1700s (it remained untouched until 1748), it was finally unearthed and the world was astonished at the discovery of a sophisticated Greco-Roman city frozen in time, dating back to the 4th century BCE. They found out that throughout the years, the ashes had acted as a marvelous preservative
• The excavation has been going on for almost 3 centuries continues today. In 1997, the archaeological areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum (ancient Roman town) and Torre Annunziata (commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania) has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site