. Rome and Pompeii; archaeological rambles. ers, contrary to their custom,exaggerated the expenses of the undertaking, in orderto dissuade him from it.^ But, against his wont, heheld out against everybody, and, lest the works shouldbe negligently conducted, decided to overlook themhimself. During all the time they lasted he made manystays at Ostia. He was there the day when his wife,Messalina, took it into her head to be married withgreat ceremony to her lover, Silius, during the life andreign of her husband. Tacitus reports that, on themorrow of the wedding, while she and her friends were ^ S
. Rome and Pompeii; archaeological rambles. ers, contrary to their custom,exaggerated the expenses of the undertaking, in orderto dissuade him from it.^ But, against his wont, heheld out against everybody, and, lest the works shouldbe negligently conducted, decided to overlook themhimself. During all the time they lasted he made manystays at Ostia. He was there the day when his wife,Messalina, took it into her head to be married withgreat ceremony to her lover, Silius, during the life andreign of her husband. Tacitus reports that, on themorrow of the wedding, while she and her friends were ^ Suet., Calig., 19 ; Aurel. Vict., Clavd. 2 Suet., Clmul., 18. ^ There must have been an important debate on this subject in theSenate. Traces of it are found in Quintilian, IIL 21, and II. relating to the ports of Claudius and Trajan has been studied withgreat care by Signor Lanciani in an important article, sulla citta diPorto {Ann. de Vlnst. de corresp. arch., 1868). z< < Ui ^ ? to 2 c Q .5 ^3 -^ ? < 0 £|^^l ? .5 ^. OSTIA. 317 engaged in a kind of crazy, or furious bacchanal, oneof them, for a drunken freak, climbed up a high tree,and when the others asked him what he saw, repliedthat there was a dreadful storm coming from Ostia.^ Itwas the husband, who, warned a little late, came totrouble the feast. The port of Claudius still exists,^ only, owing to theprogress of the sand, it is now quite inland. Its formcan, however, be distinguished, and its extent was dug at some distance from Ostia, and above themouth of the Tiber, perhaps with the idea of preventingit from being silted up. It was shut in to the rightand to the left by two solid jetties, like two arms,says Juvenal, stretched out in the middle of thewaves. ^ The one to the right, sheltered by its positionfrom tempests, was formed of arches, which allowedthe water of the sea to enter, while that to the leftwas of solid, stout masonry. It had to be strongenough to resist the billows, when raised
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