Collection of Short Stories

A Day in the Life Of a Baker in Pompeii

This is a creative task for a history university subject which was about Pompeii and we had to choose an occupation from Ancient Roman times and write about the things they may have done in a day, their experiences etc. 

The bustling sounds of the streets of Pompeii wake Lucius Aemilius Felix as they do every morning. He gets up and dresses in his everyday tunic, ready to begin another day. Felix stands by the window and takes in the morning sun which was dancing on the terra cotta roof tiles of his neighbours.

As he entered the courtyard he was greeted with the wafts of freshly baked bread. His slaves were already starting the day. Though he only had four slaves, all were hardworking, and he was pleased that he had chosen them. But having only four slaves meant that Felix and his sons had to work hard as well, to be able to keep up with the demand of the bread market.

He saw the mules already grinding the flour, supervised by one of the slaves. Felix helped his slave pour more grain into the upper funnel of the hourglass shaped stone, before letting the mule continue walking around, allowing the grain to be grounded by the two stones. Felix grabbed a handful of the now flour from the bottom tray, letting the flour fall through his fingers. He was lucky that his former master owned a farm just outside the city walls, the cereals were good quality and made fine flour. The finer the flour the less coarse the bread, and meant more elite costumers. While he only had two mill grinders, he had heard that a bakery on Via dell'Abbondanza, had four mills. Four mills! That was something he could only dream about. Perhaps one day he would be able to expand. Felix took some of the finely prepared flour to bring to the preparation room.

"No, no, no!" Felix exclaimed as he entered, seeing his newest slave mixing the dough all wrong. "Let me show you all how it is done." Felix said beckoning his two slaves and his youngest son to him so that they could watch him.

"Remember to take out some of the dough so we can use it tomorrow for leavening, and make sure you do this before the salt is added, this is very important." He told them and demonstrated how to thoroughly mix the dough in the large stone bowls, the wooden table creaked beneath the weight and force. Light shined through the small window, as Felix expertly rolled the dough out on the table, forming it into a nice round shaped form, before dividing it into eight sections. He was saving up for one of the new kneading machines that he had heard about, it make their work a lot smoother and easier. Maybe his ex-master would help, after all Felix had always remained extremely loyal and respectful.

"This is how it's done, now keep going. It's going to be a busy morning!" Felix said, passing his formed bread through the little hatch which adjoined to the oven room. Noticing the water in the jugs was running low he instructed his youngest son to fetch more from the nearby water fountain.

Before going to the shop front, Felix decided to check on the oven. The recent earthquake which had brought major devastations to the city of Pompeii, had also left it marks in his bakery and home. The major stone oven had received a major crack, and Felix was still getting around to fixing it. But seeing as the stone oven still worked well, he would wait a little longer.

Felix stayed at the oven and watched as his slave removes the marker of one of the freshly baked loaves, saying 'made by Gallio, the slave of Lucius Aemilius Felix'. Pride swelled up inside of him. He had come a long way from being a slave to now owning his own property and his own slaves. While his slave carried some of the loaves to the storage room, Felix made his way to the shop with some loaves. As he entered the street to reach his shop, the smells of excrement and rotten vegetables filled his nose, a contrast to the smell of the warm bread. Via Stabiana was busy as usual, shops crowded together and people running errands or buying goods. He felt lucky to be able to work on such busy street, even with the many other bakeries nearby.

"Good morning father." His eldest son greeted him in the shop. Felix returned the greeting. Saying good morning to some regular customers as well.

"I'll take over now, go and deliver the bread to the markets stalls and don't forget the home deliveries. Take one of the mules with the cart." Felix told his son, as he placed the baked loaves on the counter.

"Yes father, I will return soon." And his eldest son disappeared from the shop, heading towards the courtyard where the stables were alongside the mills. Felix was sure his eldest son would make a fine successor one day.

The day continued in the same routine of baking and selling, and soon the sun was beginning to set. Felix was pleased with the day's income. Before he returned to his family to eat their evening meal, he went to give his offering to simple masonry crossroad altar close to his shop. The mural images of the four lares holding out sacrifices and offerings and the snake greet him. While Felix gave a minor offering to the household gods, leaving a bigger offering for Mercury, giving thanks for the good business he has had in recent times.

He made his way slowly back to his home, the evening breeze dancing around him and Mount Vesuvius looming behind him.