Surviving Pompeii
October 14, 2024 7:32 AM Subscribe
Records of Pompeii’s survivors have been found—and archaeologists are starting to understand how they rebuilt their lives.
Mount Vesuvius didn't kill everyone. Refugees from Pompeii fled to towns along the nearby coast, where the Roman government seems to have stepped in to provide support. There's evidence that survivors formed Pompeiian communities+ in their new home towns, no doubt passing on to their children and grandchildren tales of that very bad day in Pompeii.
(If you ever visit Pompeii, don't forget the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, where much of what's been dug up there and in Herculaneum has ended up on display—including one memorable room that shows just how obsessed the Romans were with phalluses. Graffiti on the walls ain't the half of it.)
Mount Vesuvius didn't kill everyone. Refugees from Pompeii fled to towns along the nearby coast, where the Roman government seems to have stepped in to provide support. There's evidence that survivors formed Pompeiian communities+ in their new home towns, no doubt passing on to their children and grandchildren tales of that very bad day in Pompeii.
(If you ever visit Pompeii, don't forget the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, where much of what's been dug up there and in Herculaneum has ended up on display—including one memorable room that shows just how obsessed the Romans were with phalluses. Graffiti on the walls ain't the half of it.)
Whoops—the second link is just PBS's republication of the first! Somewhere between drafting this months ago and finishing it today I forgot. Oh well.
posted by rory at 7:36 AM on October 14
posted by rory at 7:36 AM on October 14
Prof Tuck is MeFi's own Darmok.
He's also a past president of the Vergilian Society, which offers an excellent way to visit sites mentioned in the post and learn about them from the experts (including Prof Tuck).
posted by JimInSYR at 8:43 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]
He's also a past president of the Vergilian Society, which offers an excellent way to visit sites mentioned in the post and learn about them from the experts (including Prof Tuck).
posted by JimInSYR at 8:43 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]
This is fascinating! Not sure if all the names can be of survivors, maybe they were just common in the region, but some of them must be.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:00 AM on October 14
posted by TheophileEscargot at 11:00 AM on October 14
Then there's Statius, native of Naples who went to Rome as a favorite poet of the Flavians but who had left his heart back in the city. In his Silvae III 5, written perhaps two or three years after the eruption, we have him trying to convince his non-Neapolitan wife that no really, never mind the volcano, that place is really great, we should live there. (Latter third is the full schmooze.)
posted by BWA at 12:24 PM on October 14 [5 favorites]
posted by BWA at 12:24 PM on October 14 [5 favorites]
nice! The missing strong boxes, empty stables, perhaps the smaller family busts and statues is interesting.
Emperor Titus and Rome’s Response to the disaster of Pompeii.
posted by clavdivs at 3:58 PM on October 14 [2 favorites]
Emperor Titus and Rome’s Response to the disaster of Pompeii.
posted by clavdivs at 3:58 PM on October 14 [2 favorites]
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posted by rory at 7:32 AM on October 14