One of the famous brothels in Pompeii is called the Lupanare (Latin for wolf’s den). This was a two-story building erected just years before the destruction of Pompeii. Believed to be the only purpose-built brothel in Pompeii, the Lupanare had ten rooms and a latrine under the stairs. Each of the ten rooms had a stone bed covered with a mattress where a prostitute would entertain her/his clients. Another famous feature of the Lupanare is its erotic wall paintings (next two pages). Each of the paintings depicted a different position for sexual intercourse, and is believed to have been an advertising board for the various specialities that were on offer.
Their clients left much graffiti that is still visible. It has been suggested that there are over 100 inscriptions on the walls of the Lupanare. One inscription, for instance, runs simply as such, ‘I screwed a lot of girls here’. Another inscription even records the date that the person visited the Lupanare, ‘On June 15th, Hermeros screwed here with Phileterus and Caphisus’. It has been pointed out that the wealthy generally did not visit brothels, as they were able to afford mistresses or slave concubines. Thus, it is more likely that those who frequented the brothels of Pompeii and left the graffiti behind were ordinary Romans.
Interestingly, the clients of the Lupanare also left notes on the wall that allowed archaeologists to work out the prices of the services provided there. It seems that two loafs of bread and half a litre of wine would enable a person to obtain the services of a prostitute.