The gladiatorial academy at CIL IV, 4397 was scrawled with graffiti left by the gladiator Celadus Crescens ( Suspirium puellarum Celadus thraex: 'Celadus the Thracian makes the girls sigh.')Īnother piece from Pompeii, written on a tavern wall about the owner of the establishment and his questionable wine: The brothel at CIL VII, 12, 18–20 contains more than 120 pieces of graffiti, some of which were the work of the prostitutes and their clients. The graffiti were left by both the foreman and his workers. The graffiti appear on a peristyle which was being remodeled at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius by the architect Crescens. The 83 pieces of graffiti found at CIL IV, 4706-85 are evidence of the ability to read and write at levels of society where literacy might not be expected. Examples are CIL IV, 7838: Vettium Firmum / aed quactiliar rog. Errors in spelling and grammar in these graffiti offer insight into the degree of literacy in Roman times and provide clues on the pronunciation of spoken Latin. Historic forms of graffiti have helped gain understanding into the lifestyles and languages of past cultures. Level of literacy often evident in graffiti Yazid al-Himyari, an Umayyad Arab and Persian poet, was most known for writing his political poetry on the walls between Sajistan and Basra, manifesting a strong hatred towards the Umayyad regime and its walis, and people used to read and circulate them very widely. Īmong the ancient political graffiti examples were Arab satirist poems. Another shows a phallus accompanied by the text, mansueta tene ('handle with care').ĭisappointed love also found its way onto walls in antiquity:Īmong the five hundred I have seen here. One inscription gives the address of a woman named Novellia Primigenia of Nuceria, a prostitute, apparently of great beauty, whose services were much in demand. The eruption of Vesuvius preserved graffiti in Pompeii, which includes Latin curses, magic spells, declarations of love, insults, alphabets, political slogans, and famous literary quotes, providing insight into ancient Roman street life. Ancient graffiti displayed phrases of love declarations, political rhetoric, and simple words of thought, compared to today's popular messages of social and political ideals. Graffiti in the classical world had different connotations than they carry in today's society concerning content. The ancient Romans carved graffiti on walls and monuments, examples of which also survive in Egypt. Located near a mosaic and stone walkway, the graffiti shows a handprint that vaguely resembles a heart, along with a footprint, a number, and a carved image of a woman's head. Local guides say it is an advertisement for prostitution. The first known example of 'modern style' graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey). Safaitic dates from the first century BC to the fourth century AD. The only known source of the Safaitic language, an ancient form of Arabic, is from graffiti: inscriptions scratched on to the surface of rocks and boulders in the predominantly basalt desert of southern Syria, eastern Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia. Use of the word has evolved to include any graphics applied to surfaces in a manner that constitutes vandalism. The term graffiti originally referred to the inscriptions, figure drawings, and such, found on the walls of ancient sepulchres or ruins, as in the Catacombs of Rome or at Pompeii. 3.4 Commercialization and entrance into mainstream pop cultureįigure graffito, similar to a relief, at the Castellania, in Valletta.2.2 Level of literacy often evident in graffiti.Graffiti has become visualized as a growing urban 'problem' for many cities in industrialized nations, spreading from the New York City subway system and Philadelphia in the early 1970s to the rest of the United States and Europe and other world regions. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, citing the use of graffiti by street gangs to mark territory or to serve as an indicator of gang-related activities. Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings, and has existed since ancient times, with examples dating back to ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Roman Empire. Graffiti (plural singular graffiti or graffito, the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view.

An abandoned roof felt factory with graffiti in Santalahti, Tampere, Finland

Graffiti wall art