Ancient Roman Graffiti: 5 Interesting Things About the Original Political Yard Signs
Local and national elections are hard to miss in America. Your neighbors’ lawns yard signs are visible as you pull the car out of the garage or complete your morning jog. But before commercial printing existed, how did people show support for a political candidate?
Pompeii’s walls reveal graffiti as an early form of today’s political yard sign. But this wasn’t the graffiti we see under tunnels and across billboards today; Ancient Romans were free to campaign for their favored political candidate or quote a famous philosopher by writing on public spaces.
Read on to learn more about graffiti in Ancient Rome.
5 Interesting Things About the Original Political Yard Signs
Some of the graffiti the Romans wrote on Pompeii’s walls.
1. While the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. destroyed Pompeii, the volcanic ash preserved the graffiti on the city walls.
2. Social status meant everything to the Romans, and men loved flaunting their elite education. Only?20 to 30% of them? knew how to read and write, so they’d scribble notable achievements and their names on the walls.
3. According to?archaeologist Eeva-Maria Viitanen, professional painters were hired to create the political campaign graffiti.
4. The political advertisements on the walls of wealthy homes outnumbered the ones in areas the poor frequented.?Viitanen guessed?that the political campaigns targeted the rich who could read and were likelier to vote.?
5. Wealthy Romans endorsed politicians by offering their walls as advertising space, similar to neighbors today displaying yard signs on their lawns.
Create Your Own Political Yard Signs
There is power in reaching your local community with a message. And while tagging a candidate’s name on a public wall is illegal today, Ancient Rome’s influence in how we promote elections is still clear. Take advantage of commercial printing’s improved displays and check out the high-quality?yard signs?from eSigns. With the site’s?political design templates, you can quickly customize signage anyone can read whenever they pass by.
Pompeii’s walls reveal graffiti as an early form of today’s political yard sign. But this wasn’t the graffiti we see under tunnels and across billboards today; Ancient Romans were free to campaign for their favored political candidate or quote a famous philosopher by writing on public spaces.
Read on to learn more about graffiti in Ancient Rome.
5 Interesting Things About the Original Political Yard Signs
Some of the graffiti the Romans wrote on Pompeii’s walls.
1. While the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. destroyed Pompeii, the volcanic ash preserved the graffiti on the city walls.
2. Social status meant everything to the Romans, and men loved flaunting their elite education. Only?20 to 30% of them? knew how to read and write, so they’d scribble notable achievements and their names on the walls.
3. According to?archaeologist Eeva-Maria Viitanen, professional painters were hired to create the political campaign graffiti.
4. The political advertisements on the walls of wealthy homes outnumbered the ones in areas the poor frequented.?Viitanen guessed?that the political campaigns targeted the rich who could read and were likelier to vote.?
5. Wealthy Romans endorsed politicians by offering their walls as advertising space, similar to neighbors today displaying yard signs on their lawns.
Create Your Own Political Yard Signs
There is power in reaching your local community with a message. And while tagging a candidate’s name on a public wall is illegal today, Ancient Rome’s influence in how we promote elections is still clear. Take advantage of commercial printing’s improved displays and check out the high-quality?yard signs?from eSigns. With the site’s?political design templates, you can quickly customize signage anyone can read whenever they pass by.
Additional Resources:
- Yard Sign Placement Tips: https://www.esigns.com/how-to-place-yard-signs.html
- Securing Your Yard Signs: https://www.esigns.com/how-to-secure-yard-signs.html
- Setting Up Yard Signs: https://www.esigns.com/how-to-set-up-yard-signs.html
- Where Can You Place Yard Signs: https://www.esigns.com/where-can-i-put-yard-signs.html