Similarly, the piece called Dinner with Friends, where we can see slaves serving them while they eat, which signifies high social status. The painting shows mostly males in one female, which could be Terentius' wife and friends. Also, the servants were males or what it appears to be. The conversation could be about bragging about social status to impress the elites or job-related. The elites use their servants to serve them food in drinks and for entertainment purposes.

In An Evening Out at a Pompeii Bar, the Tavern owner wanted to show the day-to-day events that happened in his business. Tavern life shows how the lower class used to spend their time while not working. It also shows the harassment towards women and the games they used to play to entertain themselves. Women seemed to work as waitresses or what seemed to be prostitutes. Again, people in the lower class had to entertain themselves, whereas, for entertainment, the upper class had slaves. Also, women are shown to be working, while in the elite class, women did not have to do anything for a living.

When talking about The Graffiti of Pompeii, historians could learn how the everyday life of the ordinary people of Pompeii was with the public notices, advertisements, political endorsements, poetic reflection, and graffiti galore. It was how the people of Pompeii would communicate with each other, and in this way, they got to express themselves and look for potential customers. Pompeii was mainly a business place; its economy was highly monetized since Pompeii was connected to the Mediterranean trade system, making it possible to trade goods. Nowadays, our civilization still does the same when people want to get other people's attention for their businesses or political campaigns. To point out, Mary Beard was fascinated with the architecture of how the average men, women, and children used to live. Also, with the findings  of  artifacts  such  as  the  500  pottery  lamps.  In addition, she took more interest in phalluses everywhere in the city, including jewelry for children.

Additionally, in the household religion in Pompeii, the ordinary people wanted to show who the person was once in life, which was represented in A Household Shrine from Pompeii. They are also spirits to protect the shrine from anything that happens to the deceased in the afterlife. In the case of the state-approved cults, there were more motivated to be treated like gods when they had passed. Hence, the significance in the temple-like shape of the lararium is like a second home to the deceased.

Equally important, the Romans acted against mystery religions because they were not part of their religion and beliefs. For example, An Initiation Ritual is a painting where shows a woman's initiation ritual to be part of the Dionysus cult. We can observe a role of whipping, which could mean repenting for what she has done to achieve purification. Since Dionysus Is the God of unrestrained sexuality, the naked dancer could indicate that the woman in the painting must get ready once she gets married since women were expected to procreate. The relationship of the initiate and the woman whose lap she is resting her head might represent her mother or mother-in-law supporting the marriage and telling her what she must undergo to become part of the cult or to be a perfect wife. Finally, the rod symbolized her sexuality or sexual desire.

In conclusion, the elite class had more contact with Roman beliefs regarding religion. The upper class showed having power  over  the  lower  class  and  how  people  can  identify  the differences between them. On the other hand, ordinary people had a working life and had to do whatever it took to make their lives prosper and support their families. When it comes to religion, they were more personal and gave meaning to their deaths. The social roles of women varied depending on their social status. Lower-class women had jobs to help and bring an income to their families, whereas elite women had to build a family or were supposed to continue with the husband's lineage and did not have to work for a living. The men's lives were to provide for their families, and depending on their social status, their job varied. Again, patriarchy played a vast role in this society, where women could not express themselves and had to be obedient to their husbands. Nonetheless, Pompeii was a prosperous city, where people made trades thanks to the Mediterranean trade system and its location, allowing wealth to increase in the city.

Bibliography

• Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History, with Sources, Vol. 1. 4th       ed, MacMillan Higher Education, 2019.  eText