VESUVIUS

By Matthew V. Grieco

Perhaps the most famous natural disaster in history is the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on August 24, 79 A.D. At that time, Rome ruled the world and Titus (son of Vespasian) was Emperor; Titus would later inaugurate the Flavian Amphitheater, known to us as the Colosseum, with gladiatorial games.

An earthquake in 62 A.D. caused significant damage in the Vesuvian area, but the eruption of 79 A.D. obliterated the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, and the smaller settlements of Boscoreale and Oplontis; they would remain hidden, but preserved by hardened volcanic ash, until excavations began in the early 1700s.

According to tradition, the area was founded by Hercules (hence the name Herculaneum). Out of the mythological mists emerge an indigenous people, the Oscans, whose habitations and artifacts date to at least the 7th century B.C. Greek colonists later arrived; Neapolis (Naples) is Greek for “New City.” The vicinity, fertile, boasting magnificent harbors, and strategically located, was fought over by Greeks, Samnites, Etruscans (who live on in the name Tuscany), and the ultimately victorious Romans.

By 79 A.D. Pompeii was a thriving seaside town and resort, with a population of about 20,000. Among the thousands of victims claimed by the thermal shock, toxic fumes, pelting pumice stones, and collapsing buildings was the famed Pliny the Elder, whose encyclopedic Natural History would enlighten his own and future ages. Commander of the nearby naval base, he died during the rescue operation. His death, and the volcanic event, were recorded by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose collection of Letters remains an historical, cultural, and literary trove. To this day, volcanologists refer to large, rapidly expanding volcanic clouds (picture Mt. St. Helens) as “Plinian.”

 Following the Roman era cataclysm, Vesuvius has erupted a number of times, most recently in 1944. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland.