# Popina > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Popina > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Popina.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popina > Source revision: 1338801070 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Ancient Roman equivalent of a bar This article is about the wine bar. For the village in Serbia, see [Popina (Trstenik)](/source/Popina_(Trstenik)). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A picture of a *popina* in Pompeii The ***popina*** (pl.: ***popinae***) was an [ancient Roman](/source/Ancient_Roman) [wine bar](/source/Wine_bar), where a limited menu of simple foods (olives, bread, stews) and selection of wines of varying quality were available. The *popina* was a place for [plebeians](/source/Plebeians) of the lower classes of Roman society (slaves, freedmen, foreigners) to socialize; in Roman literature, they were frequently associated with illegal and immoral behavior.[1] ## Etymology The word is the [Osco-Umbrian](/source/Osco-Umbrian) equivalent of [Latin](/source/Latin) *coquina*, from Latin *coquere* "to [cook](/source/Cooking)". ## Features and clientele *Popinae* were a type of wine bar generally frequented by the lower-classes and slaves, and were simply furnished with stools and tables. They provided food, drink, sex and gambling. Because they were associated with gambling and prostitution, the *popinae* were seen by respectable Romans as places of crime and violence.[1] [Juvenal](/source/Juvenal), a 2nd-century CE Roman poet, mentions the *popina* to be frequented by assassins, some sailors, thieves, fugitive slaves, executioners and coffin-makers.[2] Although gambling with sets of dice was illegal, it would appear from the large number of dice found at cities like [Pompeii](/source/Pompeii) that most people ignored this law. Several wall paintings from Pompeian *popinae* show men throwing dice from a dice shaker. Prostitutes frequented *popinae*, but as many of these wine bars found at Pompeii had no rooms provided with a bed, they must have met their customers at these bars then taken them elsewhere. The *popina* differs from the Roman *caupona* in that it did not provide overnight accommodation.[1] The *popina* usually fronted streets and was separated by a broad doorway. A service counter in a L or U shape would be in the main room where workers likely served customers food and drink. Frequently, a small water heater would be included into the counter or located nearby. In some *popina*, there would even be water basins embedded into the counter, such as in [Ostia](/source/Ostia_Antica).[2] [Martial](/source/Martial), a 1st-century [Latin poet](/source/Latin_poetry), describes a *popina* that had grown so massive it had occupied the entire street.[2][3] ## Modern discovery Physical remains of [taverns](/source/Taberna) and bars are found in well-preserved Roman cities. About 120 *popinae* were identified in Pompeii, but many of them might have been misidentified. The taverns are often identified by evidence of storage jars set into them. However, regular shops also contained those storage jars. Some believed that the food and drink was sometimes catered when it was requested by a customer. ## See also - [Thermopolium](/source/Thermopolium) - [Taberna](/source/Taberna) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPotter2008374_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPotter2008374_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEPotter2008374_1-2) [Potter 2008](#CITEREFPotter2008), p. 374. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_2-2) Hartnett, Jeremy (2017-08-22). ["bars (taberna, popina, caupona, thermopolium)"](https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-8072?source=post_page---------------------------). *Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics*. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8072](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Facrefore%2F9780199381135.013.8072). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-938113-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-938113-5). Retrieved 2022-07-08. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Martial](/source/Martial). *[Epigrams](https://www.loebclassics.com/view/martial-epigrams/1993/pb_LCL095.123.xml)*. [7.61](https://www.loebclassics.com/view/martial-epigrams/1993/pb_LCL095.123.xml). ## Bibliography - Potter, David S. (2008). [*A Companion to the Roman Empire*](https://books.google.com/books?id=F5wAfRUNxRQC). John Wiley & Sons. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4051-7826-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4051-7826-6). - William Stearns Davis, ed., *Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Sources,* 2 Vols. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912–13), Vol. II: *Rome and the West*, pp. ?? - John DeFelice, Roman Hospitality: The Professional Women of Pompeii; Marco Polo Monographs, 2001 - Beard, Mary, *The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found,* Harvard University Press, 2010. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Popina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popina) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popina?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.