Pompeii Before Roman Involvement
Precious little is known about the first settlement of Pompeii. Unfortunately, there exists very few references to Pompeii in ancient Literature (Carrington, 1). Even the references that do mention Pompeii do not shed much light upon its history, as Carrington aptly writes, "the sum of what we learn from them (the references to Pompeii) is small" (1).
In fact, scholars are uncertain even as to when the settlement was established. The best estimate proffered dates this settlement somewhere between 850 and 650 BCE (Leppman, 17). The oldest buildings identified from the rubble of Pompeii has been the Doric Temple (built to Hercules) and a temple to Apollo in the Triangle Forum, which date from the 6th Century (Pompeii, 33). Pompeii was therefore most likely settled earlier than the 6th century.
Despite the scarce information available regarding the early history of Pompeii, scholars have been able to piece together what they believe to be the early progression of conquest in Pompeii. It was probably the Oscans that first settled the city and named it Pompeii (or "five") (Leppman, 18). The Etruscans are believed to have taken control of Pompeii next. The Etruscan control of Pompeii is evidenced by the rectangular layout of the oldest section of Pompeii, the design of the original city wall, and the family names in Pompeii of Etruscan origin (19). The Greeks defeated the Etruscans in both 524 and 474 BCE and probably proceeded to take control of Pompeii (19). This theory is supported by the architecture and art in Pompeii that was influenced by the Greeks, such as the temple to Apollo mentioned earlier.
Around 420 BCE the Samnites came to occupy the city of Pompeii (Leppman, 19). The Samnites seem to have imposed their language, customs, and civic organizations upon Pompeii (19). The Samnites also rebuilt and enlarged the cityís fortifications. Despite this modernization, even during the Samnite Wars, which ended 290 BCE, Pompeii remained a "small country town" (Pompeii, 33).