Some have theorized that Fontana found some of the famous erotic frescoes and, due to the strict modesty prevalent during his time, reburied them in an attempt at archaeological censorship. This view is bolstered by reports of later excavators who felt that sites they were working on had already been visited and reburied. Even many recovered household items had a sexual theme. The ubiquity of such imagery and items indicates that the sexual mores of the ancient Roman culture of the time were much more liberal than most present-day cultures, although much of what might seem to us to be erotic imagery (eg. over-sized phalluses) was in fact fertility-imagery. This clash of cultures led to an unknown number of discoveries being hidden away again. A wall fresco which depicted Priapus, the ancient god of sex and fertility, with his extremely enlarged penis, was covered with plaster, even the older reproduction below was locked away "out of prudishness" and only opened on request and only rediscovered in 1998 due to rainfall [21].

In 1819, when King Francis I of Naples visited the Pompeii exhibition at the National Museum with his wife and daughter, he was so embarrassed by the erotic artwork that he decided to have it locked away in a secret cabinet, accessible only to "people of mature age and respected morals". Re-opened, closed, re-opened again and then closed again for nearly 100 years, it was briefly made accessible again at the end of the 1960 s (the time of the sexual revolution) and was finally re-opened for viewing in 2000. Minors are still only allowed entry to the once secret cabinet in the presence of a guardian or with written permission.[22]

Evidently due to its immorality, prior to or shortly after the destruction of Pompeii, one graffitist had scribbled "Sodom and Gomorrah" onto a wall near the cities central crossroads.[23] Many Christians have since invoked the destruction of Pompeii in warning of divine judgment against rampant immorality.[24][25][26]

المراجع:

21 - ^ As reported by the Evangelist pressedienst press agency in March, 1998.

22 - ^ Karl Schefold (2003), Die Dichtung als Führerin zur Klassischen Kunst. Erinnerungen eines Arch ن ologen (Lebenserinnerungen Band 58), edd. M. Rohde-Liegle et al., Hamburg. p. 134 ISBN 3 - 8300 - 1017 - 6.

23 - ^ Alex Butterworth and Ray Laurence, Pompeii, p. 284

24 - ^ John William Fletcher, The whole works of ... John Fletcher, p. 328

25 - ^ Alexander John Scott, Discourses, p. 41

26 - ^ C. H. SpurgeonVoices From Pompeii

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