Graffiti has long been used as a tool for self-expression. It can be traced back to Ancient Rome at historical sites such as Pompeii and is a helpful tool for uncovering how society functioned in the past, according to Rebecca R. Benefiel, an expert on Pompeiian graffiti and the culture of the Roman empire.
The word “graffiti” originates from the Greek term “graffien,” which means to write, defined as scribbles of words or drawings on walls. Despite its long history of being classified as vandalism, graffiti has seemed to persist throughout history.
“Graffiti has been around since the beginning of humankind. People write on walls, and they get their messages across. They draw things,” Schulman said.
In an article by Rebecca R. Benefiel, she explores the idea of graffiti’s social impact. Benefiel observed that graffiti tends to be designed to reach a large audience; whether it be words scrawled onto the walls of a bathroom stall or a detailed work of spray paint across a train car.
In Pompeii, much of the graffiti that was found on walls often prompted a response from the reader or was at the very least, interactive. One graffito that was noted by Benefiel began, “He who writes this is in love,” and ended with, “and I who read this am a prick.”
A similar article by Peter Kruschwitz, a professor of Ancient Cultural History at the University of Vienna who studies Roman poetic culture, explores the various instances of graffiti that were uncovered at the site of Pompeii. Many of the scribbles are deciphered to just be simple phrases along the lines of “I was here”, or clever quips remarking at the astonishing amount of existing graffiti on the wall, hinting at daily interactions between people in Ancient Rome.
