What do we know about the ancient city of Pompeii? History tells us that once this prosperous city suddenly died with all the inhabitants under the lava of an awakened volcano. In fact, the story of Pompeii is very interesting and filled with a lot of details.
The foundation of Pompeii
Pompeii is one of the oldest Roman cities located in the province of Naples in the Campania region. On the one hand, the coast of the Gulf of Naples (which was previously called Kumansky), and on the other, the Sarn River (in ancient times).
How were Pompeii founded? The history of the city tells that it was founded by an ancient tribe of the Oskis back in the 7th century BC. These facts are confirmed by fragments of the Temple of Apollo and the Doric temple, the architecture of which corresponds to the period when Pompeii was founded. The city stood just at the intersection of several paths - to Nola, Stabia and Kuma.
Wars and Submission
In the 6th century BC, Pompeii was conquered by the Etruscan tribe, and a little later by the Greeks from the city of Kuma.
In the years 343-290 BC, the Samnite wars took place, where the city acted as an ally of Rome. Pompeii was in the same status during the Second Punic War, which took place in 218-201 BC.
But during the Allied War, Pompeii took the side of the opponents of Rome, and it so happened that later they turned into a Roman colony, created by Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 80 BC.
This was not his first attempt to conquer Pompeii. In 89 BC, Sulla led a siege of the city during the war, but he stood and was strengthened by an additional 12 towers. But soon the city was conquered and inhabited by veterans of the Allied war on the orders of Sulla.
Since then, Pompeii has become a seaport through which goods were delivered to Rome and Italy along the Appian Way. Also, the city was an important center for the production of wine and olive oil.
Pompeii: A City's Prosperity Story
Mighty it was a settlement. In the period from the first century AD and until the year of his death, Pompeii flourished most vividly. The history of the city says that in those years all the basic types of structures that were characteristic of the Roman city of those times were built: the temple of Jupiter, the basilica, and the covered market for goods. Of course, in Pompeii, cultural and administrative buildings were built.
There were 2 theaters in the city, one of which, the smaller, was indoor and was used as an odeon. The amphitheater (the oldest among all known history) has been preserved, which was designed for 20 thousand spectators, as well as 3 baths.
The city was decorated with various sculptures and masterpieces of art, the streets were paved. But at that time the life of the settlement of Pompeii, the history of the city (the date of death was getting closer) was drawing to a close.
Also in Pompeii there were many apartment buildings, shops that were named after certain events, personalities or works, for example - Villa Mystery, House of Faunus, House of Menander, House of Epigrams.
Owners of rich houses decorated their homes with various frescoes and mosaics.
Pompeii Earthquake - Harbinger of the End
The city of Pompeii was flourishing and beautiful. The story of his death is terrible. And the weapon of mass destruction was Mount Vesuvius.
The first harbinger of the impending disaster was the earthquake, which occurred on February 5, 63 BC.
Seneca in one of his works noted that since Campania was a seismically active zone, such an earthquake was not uncommon for her. And earthquakes occurred earlier, but their strength was very small, the inhabitants simply got used to them. But this time, expectations exceeded all expectations.
Then in three neighboring cities - Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples - the buildings were very affected. The destruction was such that over the next 16 years it was not possible to completely restore the house. All 16 years have been active restoration work, reconstruction, cosmetic repairs. Also, the plans were to erect several new buildings, for example, the Central Baths, which until the day of the death of Pompeii could not be completed.
The death of Pompey. The first day
Residents tried to restore Pompeii. The history of the death of the city indicates that the disaster began in 79 BC, on the afternoon of August 24 and lasted 2 days. The eruption, as previously thought, of a sleeping volcano, destroyed everything. Then, under the lava, not only Pompeii, but also three more cities died - Stabia, Oplontia and Herculaneum.
In the afternoon, a cloud consisting of ash and steam appeared over the volcano, but no one paid special attention to it. A little later, a cloud covered the sky over the whole city, and ash flakes began to settle on the streets.
Tremors continued from underground. Gradually, they intensified to such an extent that the wagons turned over and decoration materials fell from the houses. Together with the ashes, then stones began to fall from the sky.
The streets and houses of the city were filled with suffocating sulphurous fumes, many people simply suffocated in their houses.
Many tried to leave the city with valuables, while others who were unable to leave their property died in the ruins of their houses. Volcanic eruption products overtook people both in public places and outside the city. But still, most of the residents were able to leave Pompeii. History confirms this fact.
The death of Pompey. Second day
The next day, the air in the city became hot, a volcanic eruption occurred, destroying all living things, all buildings and property of people with lava. After the eruption, there was a lot of ash that covered the whole city, the thickness of the ash layer reached 3 meters.
After the disaster, a special commission arrived at the scene, which stated that the city was "dead" and that it could not be restored. Then it was still possible on what was left of the streets of the former city to meet people who were trying to find their property.
Together with Pompeii, more cities died. But they were discovered only thanks to the find of Herculaneum. This second city, also located at the foot of Vesuvius, did not die from lava and ash. After the eruption, the volcano, like the affected cities, was covered with a three-meter layer of stones and ash, which hung menacingly like an avalanche, which could disappear at any moment.
And soon after the eruption, torrential rain began, which carried a thick layer of ash from the slopes of the volcano and a column of water with dust and stones fell right on Herculaneum. The depth of the stream was 15 meters, so the city was buried alive under the stream from Vesuvius.
How Pompeii was found
Stories and stories about the terrible events of that year have long been passed down from generation to generation. But after several centuries, people lost sight of where the dead city of Pompeii was. The history of the death of this city gradually began to lose its facts. People lived their own lives. Even in cases where the remains of ancient buildings were found by people, for example, digging wells, no one could even think that these were parts of the ancient city of Pompeii. The history of excavations began only in the 18th century and is indirectly associated with the name of Mary Amalia Christina.
This was the daughter of King Augustus of Saxony the Third, who left the Dresden courtyard after her marriage to Karl of Bourbon. Karl was the king of both Sicilies.
The current queen was in love with art and with great interest examined the halls of the palace, parks and other properties. And once she drew attention to the sculptures that were previously found before the last eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Some of these statues were found by chance, while others - with the submission of General d'Elbeuf. Queen Mary was so struck by the beauty of the sculptures that she asked her husband to find new ones for her.
The last time at that time Vesuvius erupted in 1737. During this incident, part of its peak flew up into the air, the slope remained bare. Since the volcano had not been active for a year and a half, the king agreed to begin the search for sculptures. And they started from the place where the general had once finished his search.
Statue Search
Excavations took place with great difficulty, since it was necessary to destroy a thick (15 meters) layer of hardened lava. For this, the king used special tools, gunpowder, and the strength of the workers. In the end, the workers stumbled upon something metallic in artificial mines. Thus, three large fragments of gigantic bronze horses were found.
After that, it was decided to seek help from a specialist. For this, the Marquis Marcello Venuti, who was the keeper of the royal library, was invited. Further, three more marble statues of the Romans in the toga, the body of a bronze horse, and painted columns were found.
Herculaneum Detection
At that moment, it became clear that there would be even more. The royal couple, arriving at the excavation site on December 22, 1738, examined the discovered staircase and an inscription stating that a certain Rufus erected the Theatrum Herculanense theater at his own expense. Experts continued the excavation, because they knew that the theater means the presence of the city. There were many statues that a water stream brought to the back wall of the theater. So Herculaneum was discovered. Thanks to this find, it was possible to organize a museum, which had no equal at that time.
But Pompeii was at a shallower depth than Herculaneum. And the king, in consultation with the head of his technical unit, decided to postpone the excavation, taking into account the notes of scientists regarding the location of the city of Pompeii. History celebrated all the memorable events with the hands of scientists.
Excavations Pompeii
So, the search for Pompey began on April 1, 1748. After 5 days, the first fragment of the mural was found, and on April 19 - the remains of a man from whose hands several silver coins rolled out. It was the center of Pompeii. Unfortunately, not realizing the importance of the find, the experts decided what to look for elsewhere, and filled up this place.
A little later, an amphitheater and villa was found, which was later called the House of Cicero. The walls of this building were beautifully painted and decorated with frescoes. All art objects were seized, and the villa was immediately backfilled.
After that, for 4 years, the excavations and history of Pompeii were abandoned, attention turned to Herculaneum, where a house with the library "Villa dei Papiri" was found.
In 1754, experts again returned to the excavations of the city of Pompeii, to its southern part, where an ancient wall was found and the remains of several graves. Since then, the excavations of the city of Pompeii have been actively undertaken.
Pompeii: an alternative history of the city
Today, there is still an opinion that the year of Pompey's death is an invention based on a letter from Pliny the Younger, which allegedly describes the eruption of the volcano, Tacitus. This raises questions about why in these letters Pliny does not mention either the name of the cities of Pompeii or Herculaneum, or the fact that it was there that Uncle Pliny the Elder lived, who died in Pompeii.
Some scholars deny the fact that the disaster occurred precisely in 79 BC, due to the fact that in various sources you can find information about 11 eruptions that occurred between 202 and 1140 years of our era (after the incident that destroyed Pompeii). And the next eruption dates back only to 1631, after which the volcano remained active until 1944. As you can see, the facts indicate that the volcano, which was active, fell asleep for 500 years.
Pompeii in the modern world
Today, the history of the city of Herculaneum and the history of Pompeii remain very interesting. Photos, videos and various scientific materials can be found in the library or on the Internet. Many historians are still trying to solve the mystery of the ancient city, to study its culture as much as possible.
Many artists, including K. Bryullov, among other works, depicted the last day of Pompeii. The story is such that in 1828 K. Bryullov visited the excavation sites and even then made sketches. In the period from 1830 to 1833 his artistic masterpiece was created.
Today the city has been restored as much as possible, it is one of the most famous cultural monuments (along with the Colosseum or Venice). The city has not yet been fully excavated, but many buildings are available for inspection. On the streets of the city you can walk and enjoy the beauty that is more than 2000 years old!