INNKEEPER, THE BILL!

written by Sergio Caggìa with Michele von Buren for © Nerone the Insider's Guide to Rome

 

Customer - Innkeeper, the bill !  Innkeeper - Okay, you had a sestario of wine, the wine one asse. The stew two assi...  Customer - That's okay!  Innkeeper - Eight assi for the girl...  Customer - Right!  Innkeeper - The hay for the mule is only 2 assi...  Customer - What? ...This mule will be the ruin of me !!    This amusing dialogue between an innkeeper and his customer was found on the tombstone of L.Calidio Erotico, an innkeeper, and his wife Fannia Voluptas who lived in ancient Rome's time. It not only gives precious informations anout the price of a meal (and of a prostitute), but also about the role of the lady, Voluptas, whose name doesn't leave room for doubts. Many Roman inns had solid reputations as places of pleasure!    It was possible to buy drink and food, play games and watch the landlord's wife or waitress, drunk with wine, dance and play crotali (similar to castanets) and later catch them in a room located on the first floor or behind the garden for a moment of intimacy...Food, wine and sex! This is what the City meant to country people. Shady types, criminals, craftmen and escaped slaves were the regular clientele of many inns that were gambling dens as well as brothels! In Pompei, it's easy to find scenes on inn walls depicting sex and games and graffiti keeping scores! This last was, however, illegal, although common amongst the Emperors! Inscription found reveal the price of a meal, or a prostitute...and that a craftsmen earnt around 12 assi per day in the 1st century B.C., a legionnaire 5 assi (Caesar double it) and a prostitute from 2 to 8 assi per (...). The Emperor Augusto once lost 20.000 sesterzi playing dice and emperor Nero once fixed the stake for each point at 400.000 esterzi!!...The estate of a Senator was worth about one million of sesterzi! The value of a Sesterzio is 2 and a half assi and on it can be found the symbol HS with H standing for 2 (I + I) and S for Semis (Latin term for half).    If you like, you can play with your calculator and observe that the cost of living hasn't changed that much! With a day's wages fixed at around 10 assi (4 sesterzi) for ancient Rome and 60.000 lire today, stew and wine for 3 assi corresponds to 18.000 lire...and 8 assi for a prostitute corresponds to 48.000 lire (quite right!)...but I really couldn't tell you about the hay for the mule!...I have the feeling that I would make a better impression saying I don't know about something else!