I threw out a lot of my notes but here's some stuff that might help;
The residents of both towns lived life according to the Roman calendar (159 days of holidays) meaning that they had a lot of time for leaisure activities.
The residents of P. and H. enjoyed a range of activities outside of their homes. The fact that performances were paid for by either one of the towns two duoviri or two aediles meant that all social levels could experience many of these activities
Main Leisure activities;
Theatre
Gladiatorial games
Exercise (Paleastra)
Bars, taverns, gambling, prostitution
Sources;
*Edicta munerum: programs advertising games found throughout P. demonstrate how popular the theatres were
*graffiti: ‘Cedadus heartthrob of the girls’: Gladiatorial games were so popular that gladiators reached 'celebrity' status
*theatrical motifs have been found in the homes of wealthy Pompeian’s
Sources for these sections fit into public buildings as well;
4 public baths in P.; Stabian, Forum, Central, Sarno
Amphitheatre in P.; held gladiatorial games and other sports with a capacity of 20,000
Great Theatre (P.); held plays, farces, mimes and pantomimes with a capacity of 5,000
Odeon (P.); had perfect acoustics and was used for concerts, lectures and poetry readings with a capacity of 1,500
2 Paleastra in P.; one near the public baths and one near the amphitheatre. Were used for exercise
**A lack of excavation in H. has meant that very few remains of public buildings have been found-Basilica (not for leisure though), one theatre (capacity of 2500), two public baths (Forum and Suburban) and a paleastra
The Worship of Foreign cults in Pompeii (these notes are from the religious section and the influence of greek and egyptian cultures);
Greek influence on both towns can be seen from the moment of their creation, however it wasn’t until the 2nd Century BC, that Egyptian influence can be seen.
Religion
-the residents of P. and H. took up foreign cults because they provided greater emotional attachment
-the two most popular foreign cults were Isis (Egyptian) and Dionysus (Greek)
Sources;
* Temple dedicated to Isis in P. Forum
* House of the Gilded Cupids contained a chapel dedicated to; Isis, Serapis & Anubis
*Villa of Mysteries: famous Dionysian Wall paintings, detailing the cult’s initiation ceremonies
Mystery cults
Brought from Greece and the Near East by traders, slaves and immigrants during the 1st Century BC
These mystery cults are believed to have commanded much power
Mystery cults also had their own holidays and festivals
Source: The cult of Isis was so popular that the temple to Isis in the forum had been completely rebuilt since the (59AD??can't remember what year) earthquake while other public buildings had still not been renovated.
Impact of tourism (don't have many notes);
Due to tourism Pompeii "began to die it's second death" (sorry can't remember the source)
*tourism provides an indispensable amount of income to the site
*this is even more important since the 1997 law which granted pompeii all of its gate receipts (increasing the sites income from tourism from $3 million per year to $9 million)
*approximately 2.5 million tourists visit Pompeii each year
*in 15 years over 600 items were from Pompeii
