... may have felt they had some alternative culture to express through art. Trade was a constantly up and coming career in daily Roman life and a good way to build up your fortune, this is why I think that these career paths seemed appealing to freedmen if they wanted to use their skills to gain respect. In the ancient Roman Empire people were passionate about art and if you could prove yourself to be a good artist you would gain respect and admiration. The ever growing field of medicine was also very much depended on, as it still is today and as there was clearly no discrimination between freedmen and born-free citizens so that, and trade, would be good areas to prosper in. The Earthquake. On April 5th AD62 under the Emperor Augustus (previously called Octavian) Pompeii was hit by a devastating earthquake which was to cause a total change in the ...

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