.*<< Ill llil 1 THE GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIBRARY Halsted VanderPoel Campanian Collection POMPEII: ITS HISTOKY, BUILDINGS, AND ANTIQUITIES. ' LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SOKS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHAKI.NU CROSS. POMPEII. ITS HISTORY, BUILDINGS, AND ANTIQUITIES. AN ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CITY, WITH A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE REMAINS. AND OF THE RECENT EXCAVATIONS, AND ALSO AN ITINERARY FOR VISITORS. EDITED BY THOMAS H. DYER, LL.D., OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS. ILLUSTRATED WITH NEARLY THREE HUNDRED WOOD ENGRAVINGS, A LARGE MAP, AND A PLAN OF THE FORUM. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: BELL AND DALDY, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1868. JHE GETTY CENTER LIBRARY CONTENTS. PART I. THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF POMPEII. PACK PREFACE .......... xy INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS ........ 10 CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL NOTICE OF POMPEII 29 CHAPTER III. POSITION OF POMPEII ITS GENERAL APPEARANCE ROADS, WALLS, GATES, STREETS, &c. ....... 55 CHAPTER IV. ORIGIN AND USE OF FORUM ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION OF BUILDINGS DESCRIPTION OF FORUM OF POMPEII AND ITS TEMPLES ......... 91 CHAPTER V. THE REMAINING TEMPLES OF POMPEII . . 135 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. PAGE BATHS EXCAVATED IN THE YEARS 1824 AND 1858 . . . .153 CHAPTER VII. THE THEATRES 188 CHAPTER VIII. THE AMPHITHEATBE ...... 215 PAET H. THE PRIVATE HOUSES OF POMPEII CHAPTER I. DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OE ITALY 248 CHAPTER II. POMPEIAN ART 273 CHAPTER HI. PRIVATE HOUSES . . 301 CHAPTER IV. HOUSES OF PANSA AND SALLTJST 318 CHAPTER V. THE VIA CONSULARIS, OR DOMITIANA . . . . . 344 CHAPTER VI. ART OP BAKING FULLONICA 353 CHAPTER VII. HOUSE OP THE TRAGIC POET OP THE GREAT AND LITTLE FOUN- TAINS OP APOLLO THE FAUN, &c 366 CONTENTS. VII CHAPTER PACK HOUSES OP CASTOR AND POI.I.VX THE CENTAUR MKLEAGER, &c. . 400 CHAPTER IX. SURVEY OF THE REMAINDER OF THE CITY INSCRIPTIONS AND GRAFFITI CASTS OF BODIES ...... 431 CHAPTER X. SUBURBAN VILLA ......... 480 CHAPTER XL TOMBS ........... 499 CHAPTER XII. DOMESTIC UTENSILS . . . . , . . 532 ITINERARY ......... . 573 ILLUSTRATIONS. ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL AND WOOD. PAGB Pompeii restored ' . . . .To face the .Title Plan of the Forum ........ 96 Mosaic of Battle of Issus . . . . . . . 277 Necklace of Amulets . ... . . . . 447 View of the Villa of M. Arrius Diomedes . . . 481 Bronze lamps and vases ....... 545 Painting ou walls of Pantheon ...... 567 Plan of excavated portion of Pompeii . . . End. WOODCUTS. 1. Vignette of the Gate of Herculaneum, from Mazois . . 1 2. Plan of the Bay of Naples 30 3. Drawing on a wall in the Street of Mercury ... 35 4. Section of the walls and agger of Pompeii .... 59 5. Interior battlements restored . . . . . . 60 6. Walls and towers from without. ..... 61 7. Masonry of Pompeii Isodomon of the Greeks ... 62 8. Greek wall resembling that of Pompeii .... ib. 9. Gate of Herculaneum restored ...... 64 10. Plan of the pavement of Pompeii . . ". . . 70 11. Plan of a stepping stone in the street, with biga passing . 71 12. Window in the house of the Tragic Poet .... 72 13. View in the Street of Mercury 73 14. Vignette of Mercury with a purse ..... 75 15. A steel-yard 76 1 6. Steel-yard called Trutina Campaua ..... 77 17. Libra;, or Bilances . . . . . . . .78 18. Fac-simile of Inscription on the walls of a house ... 79 19. Ditto, on an album ..... 80 20. Ditto ib. 21. View of a sewer ........ 83 22. Manner of carrying the Amphora ..... 84 ILLUSTRATIONS. JX PACK 23. Bas-relief of a goat over a milk shop 85 24. Section of a public fountain ...... 87 25. Jet d'eau ; from an Arabesque painting .... 88 26. Fountain near the Gate of Herculaneum .... 89 27. Bronze cock found in Capri . . . . . .90 28. Plan showing varieties of temples and intercolumniation . 93 29. Bronze figures to ornament fountains . .... 101 30. Painting of a galley in the Pantheon ..... 106 31. Ditto, of bread, in same ...... 109 32. Bronze pastry mould ....... ib. 33. Gold ring with engraved stone . . . . . .110 34. Painting of Cupids making bread . . . . .111 :;.">. \VallpaintingsiuTempleofAugustus .... 112 36. Ditto, ditto 113 37. View of the Temple of Mercury 114 38. Utensils used in sacrificing . . . . . .116 39. Sacrificial instruments sculptured on altar . . . .117 40. Um for warm decoctions ....... 120 41. Section of the same . ....... ib 42. View of Statue of Eumachia and false door. . . .122 43. Plan of columns of the Basilica . . . . .125 44. Mosaic border in Temple of Venus . . . , .129 45. Terminal figure in same ....... 130 46. Dwarfs, from a painting, ditto ...... ib. 47. Painting of Bacchus and Silenus in priest's apartment . . 131 48. Construction of artcostyle portico of Forum . . . 132 49. View of the Forum from the south . . . . .133 50. Male Centaur and Bacchante . . ... . .134 51. Bas-relief of warrior and biga ...... 135 52. View of the Temple of Fortune 136 53. Bronze helmet found at Pompeii . . . . .147 54. Greaves worn by the gladiators. . . . . .148 55. Female Centaur and Bacchante . . . . .153 56. Fac-simile of inscription in old Baths .... 154 57. Plan of the old Baths 157 58. Section of Apodyterium and Frigidarium .... 159 59. Frieze of the Apodyterium ...... 160 (50. Transverse section of the Apodyterium .... 161 61. Chariot race of Cupids in the Frigidarium . . . . 162 62. View of the Tepidarium 163 63. Telamones in the Tepidarium ...... 164 64. Brazier in ditto ........ 165 65. Bronze seat in ditto ........ 166 66. Section of the Caldarium ... 167 X ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 67. Part of the ceiling of Caldarium . . . . .169 68. Ornament of the Tepidarium ...... 170 69. Stucco ornaments in ceiling of ditto ..... 171 70. Ornaments in the Tepidarium . . . . . .172 71. Plan of Stabian Baths 175 72. Strigiles 179 73. View of west side of Stabian Baths 180 74. Vases for perfumes 187 75. Figure with a mask 188 76. Comic scene from a painting at Pompeii . . . .190 77. Another ib- 78. Another 191 79. Plan of a Koman theatre 192 80. Masks, dwarf and monkey, from a painting. . . . 195 81. Tragic mask, from the Townley Collection. . . . 196 82. Another, from the same ....... 197 83. Masks from an ancient M S. of Terence . . . .198 84. Tragic and grotesque masks . . . . . ib. 85. Masked figure of Silemis 199 86. Comic scene from a painting at Pompeii .... 200 87. Tragic scene, ditto 201 88. Mosaic of a Choragus instructing actors .... 203 89. Plan of the large theatre at Pompeii . . . . . 204 90. View of the same 206 91. Flute-player, from a painting . . . . . . 207 92. Stone rings for masts of Velarium ..... 208 93. Plan of the small theatre at Pompeii .. . . . .210 94. Bisellium, or chair of state . . . . . .211 95. View of the small theatre ...... 213 96. View of the Amphitheatre at Pompeii . . . . .216 97. Gladiators, from a painting on wall of arena . . . 227 98. Bestiarius, or combatant of wild beasts .... 229 99. Bestiarii, or combatants with wild beasts .... 230 100. Bestiarius, resembling the Spanish matador - . . 231 101. Equestrian gladiators . . . . . 233 102. Gladiators ; a Veles and a Samnite ..... 234 103. Ditto, Thrax, Myrmillo, Ketiarii, and Secutores . . . 236 104. Ditto, a Veles and Samnite . ... . . . . 237 105. Ditto, Lanista, Myrmillo, and Samnite .... 238 106. Ditto, Samnite and Myrmillo ...... ib. 107. Wild boar hunt 239 108. Bestiarius and boar ib. 109. Bestiarius and bull ....... ib. 110. Helmets and greaves of Gladiators 240 ILLUSTRATIONS. XI PAGE 111. Plan of the Amphitheatre at Pompeii .... 242 112. Bronze helmet worn by a gladiator ..... 243 113. Enriched echinus moulding 245 114. Ionic capital . 248 115. Cabin of the aboriginal Latins ..... 249 116. Dancing Fauns, from painted walls of Pompeii . . . 258 117. Fragment of a plan of Home 263 118. Ancient bolt 264 119. Key and hinge 265 120. Door handles tf>. 121. Door of a private dwelling restored ..... 266 122. Doric capital 272 123. Biga, from an Arabesque ...... 273 124. Mosaic picture by Dioscorides ...... 276 125. Scipio, Masinissa, and Sophonisba ..... 292 126. A female painting the bearded Bacchus .... 294 127. Studio of an ancient painter ...... 295 128. Statuette of the dancing Faun 296 129. Ditto of Silenus 297 130. Ditto of Narcissus 298 131. Curule chair, from a Pompeian picture .... 300 132. Beehives made of bronze ...... 301 133. Ground plan of a shop 303 134. View of a cook's shop restored ..... 304 135. Street view near the old Baths ' . . . . . 305 136. Ground plan of a shop 306 137. Ground plan of a small house ...... 308 138. Bed and table, from a painting . 309 139. Plan of a Triclinium 310 140. Picture of a domestic supper 311 141. Ground plan of a small house 312 142. Painting of Circe and Ulysses 313 143. Plan of house of Queen Caroline ..... 315 144. Mercury, from a painting ....... 317 145. Dancing Faun 318 146. Plan of Pansa's house 319 147. View of entrance of ditto 323 148. Keligious painting in kitchen of ditto .... 325 149. Kitchen stove in ditto 320 150. A flat ladle, or trua ib. 151. Atrium of Pansa's house ...... 327 152. Ground plan of house of Sallust ..... 329 153. View of entrance to ditto 331 154. Summer Triclinium in garden of ditto .... 336 Xll ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGB 155. Veneremn in house of Sallust 339 156. Atrium of ditto 341 157. Cornice of the Impluvium in ditto ..... 342 158. Painting of the manner of hanging a picture . . . 343 159. Ourule seat 344 160. Female figure with papyri ...... 348 161. Figure playing the harp ....... 349 1 62. Figure reading a roll of papyrus . . . . ib. 163. Figure from house of female dancers .... 351 164. A dancing Faun 352 165. Bas-relief of a mule and mill ...... 353 166. Section of a mill 356 167. Painting of serpents in a bakehouse .... 358 168. Bread discovered in Pompeii ...... 360 169. Painting of fullers at work 361 170. Carding a tunic, from the Fullonica ..... 363 171. Clothes press, from the same ...... 364 172. Small painting in Tragic Poet's house .... 366 173. Ground plan of island containing Tragic Poet's house, the Fullonica, and Great and Small Fountains . . . 367 174. Mosaic of Cave Canem ....... 368 175. Painting of Achilles delivering up Briseis . . . 372 176. Head of Achilles 373 177. Painted wall in Tragic Poet's house ..... 377 178. Female and Cupid fishing ...... 378 179. The Sacrifice of Iphigenia 379 180. Leda and Tyndareus 380 181. Painting of Centaurs 382 182. Atrium of Poet's house restored ..... 383 183. House of the Great Fountain 386 184. Cupid milking a goat 387 185. Farm yard scene 389 186. House of the Faun 392 187. Acratus on a panther ....... 394 188. Mosaic of cloves 395 189. Atrium of house of Ceres ...... 397 190. Painting of Jupiter ....... 398 191. Painting in house of Poet . . . . . . ' 399 192. Curricle bar, from a Pompeian picture .... 400 193. Rustic work and cornices, from house of Castor and Pollux . 401 194. Plan of house of Castor and Pollux .... 403 195. Atrium of house of Quaestor ...... 405 196. Thetis dipping Achilles in the Styx .... 409 197. Piscina in house of Castor and Pollux 411 ILLUSTRATIONS. xiii PAGE 198. Painting of Perseus and Andromeda .... 412 199. Ditto of Medea and her children 413 200. Manner of filling the amphorae 415 201. Amphora) 416 202. A drinking scene . 417 203. Meleager returned from hunting ..... 420 204. Plan of house of the Nereids 422 205. Fountain and table in ditto ...... 424 206. Capital in ditto 427 207. Section of house of Nereids ...... 429 208. Elevation of part of Street of Tombs ib. 209. Helmet, sword, &c. 431 210. Bacchus, from a painting 432 2M. Doorway in Street of Abundance ..... 434 212. Tools found in house of Sculptor ..... 436 213. Ground plan of house of Joseph II. . . . . . 438 214. Atrium of house of Championnet ..... 441 215. House of Holconius . . . . . . 445 216. Painting of Bacchus and Ariadne 452 217. House of Cornelius Rufus 454 218. Painting of writing tablet, &c., in ditto .... 455 219. House of Lucretius ....... 456 220. Ground plan of ditto 457 221. Painting of Hercules drunk ...... 464 222. View of House of the Balcony 474 223. Plaster casts of bodies ....... 476 224. Portico of house of Diomedes ...... 480 225. Ground plan of ditto 484 226. Funeral column 509 227. Ground plan of Street of Tombs 510 228. Tomb of the marble door 514 229. Funeral Triclinium 515 230. Tomb of Naevoleia Tyche 518 231. Bas-relief of ditto 519 232. Ditto, ditto 521 233. Bisellium on tomb of Calventius 522 234. Tomb of Scaurus, round tomb, and tomb of Calventius . 524 235. Bas-relief on wall of circular tomb ..... 525 236. Section of round tomb ....... 526 237. Excdra in Street of Tombs . . . . . .527 238. Gold ring 528 239. Elevation of Mamia's tomb restored ..... 530 240. Money bag and coins ....... 532 241. Papyri and tabulae 533 XIV ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE 242. Tabulae, calamus, and papyrus ..... 534 243. Tabulae, stylus, and papyrus 535 244. Tabulae and Calamus ....... il>. 245. Scrinium and capsa ....... 536 246. Calendar 538 247. A bronze lantern . 540 248. Section of ditto 541 249. Upright of ditto 542 250. Extinguisher ........ ib. 251. Candelabra 544 252. Bronze figure inlaid with embletic work .... 547 253. Candelabrum 549 254. Moveable tripod ........ 550 255. Brazier 851 256. Kitchen utensils ........ ib. 257. Brazier 552 258. Bronze vase 553 259. Simpula 554 260. Kitchen utensils of bronze ...... ib 261. Ditto, ditto ' . . .555 262. Terra cotta vase ........#>. 263. Ehyton, or drinking cup 556 264. Grotesque vases . . . . . . . 557 265. Glass vases 558 266. Clay liquor-basket and glass vessels .... 559 267. Ornamental drinking glasses ...... ib. 268. Glass vessels 564 269. Bronze strainer ........ ib. 270. Draped female statue ....... 566 271. Figure dressed in the Tunico-pallium .... 567 272. Tunico-pallium displayed 568 273. Harp-player 569 274. Ditto with the plectrum 570 275. Earring 571 276. Ditto, gold pin, and ring ...... 572 277. Combs . . ib. PREFACE. THE work now offered to the reader is based on one originally published between thirty and forty years ago under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, which became deservedly popular, and has been several times reprinted ; but it was never re- edited, although, in the long period of time that has elapsed since its first publication, considerable progress has of course been made in the excavations at Pompeii. The present work has therefore been undertaken with the view of supplying seme account of these more recent excavations, and thus rendering the book a more full and accurate description of Pompeii in its present state. For this purpose much new matter has been added, previous descriptions have been altered and enlarged, and new names that have been given to streets, buildings, &c., have been inserted. The method of the book seemed also capable of improvement by transposing some of the descriptions ; and indeed the author of the original work has now and then indicated where this might be done with advantage. The necessary additions would have rendered the volume of inconvenient size had all the original matter been retained. XVI PREFACE With a view to avoid this inconvenience, some descriptions which did not appear to be much connected with the subject, such as those of the remains of Greek walls, of the baths at Rome, of the origin of the Greek theatre, &c., have been omitted. The Editor may mention that, with a view to bring down the information to the latest moment, he fre- quently visited Pompeii during a residence at Naples in the winter of 1865-6, and studied the best and latest authorities on the subject. An Itinerary at the end of the volume may serve to render it a guide for travellers, as well as an index to the principal objects. It may be added that several new illustrations have been given, besides a new map of the excavations, reduced from the Commendatore Fiorelli's plan, with that gentleman's kind permissioh. London, March, 1867. PAKT I. THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF POMPEII. Vignette from Mazoig' view of the city at the gate of Herculaneum INTUODUCTION. THE minute studies of antiquaries have been a very favourite subject of ridicule with, those who have not followed them sometimes with, sometimes without reason. In this, as in every other pursuit, men are apt to forget the value of the object in the pleasure of the chase, and run down some incom- prehensible or untenable theory about some matter that never was and never will be of importance, with a zeal and intensity of purpose which might have been better bestowed upon a better end. But notwithstanding the many jokes, good and bad, deserved and undeserved, which have been levelled at this branch of learning, it is one in which all inquiring minds (and no mind that is not inquiring can be worth much), not entirely engrossed by some favourite occupation, will feel more or less of interest. If we could look into the future, the past would probably lose much of its importance in our eyes ; and Z POMPEII. our curiosity would be much more strongly excited to ascer- tain the state of the world a thousand years hence, than its state a thousand years ago. Bat this power is denied us ; and to form an estimate of the character and capabilities of mankind more comprehensive than the experience of a single generation can afford, we must apply to the retrospect of the past. Not that this curiosity influences none but those who might wish or be expected or draw profit from its gratification ; on the contrary, it seems a temper natural, in greater or less degree, to all alike, reflecting or imreflecting. It is that which causes us to look with pleasure on an antiquated town, to grope among ruins, even where there is evidently nothing to repay us for the dirt and trouble of the search ; and gene- rally to invest everything entirely out of date with a value which its original possessors would be much puzzled to understand. But time works constantly, as well as slowly ; and there- fore, however antiquated the appearance, and however old- fashioned and changeless the habits of any place or people may seem to be. they are sure to present a very imperfect type of what they were even a single century ago. We have often wished, in various parts of England, that we could recall for a moment the ancient aspect of the country ; reclothe the downs of Wiltshire with their native sward, and see them studded with tumuli and Druid temples, free and boundless as they extended a thousand years ago, before the devastations of the plough and Inclosure Acts ; recall the leafy honours of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, and re- people the neighbourhood of Sheffield and the Don with oaks instead of steam-engine and manufactory chimneys ; or re- new the decayed splendour of those magnificent monasteries whose ruins still strike the beholder with admiration. If the romantic fictions of the middle ages could be realised, which tell of mirrors framed with magic art to represent what had formerly passed, or was passing, in distant parts of the earth, the happy discoverer might soon make his fortune in this age of exhibitions. What exhibition could be found more inte- resting than a camera-obscura, which should reflect past incidents of historical or private interest, and recall, with the vividness and minuteness of life, at least the external charac- teristics of long past ages ! INTRODUCTION. 6 Such fancies are but idle speculations. The past can only be recalled by the imagination working upon such details as the pen or the pencil of contemporaries may have preserved ; yet, in one single instance, the course of events has done more to preserve a living picture of a former age one, too, in which the civilized world is deeply interested than we could reasonably have hoped for. Deserted places are usually too much dilapidated to convey more than a very imperfect idea of the minutiae of their arrangement, or of the manners of their former occupiers : places which have been preserved by being inhabited, are, of necessity, changed more or less to suit the changing manners of those who tenant them. It was, therefore, matter of no ordinary interest when it was known that a buried Roman city had been discovered ; a city over- whelmed and sealed up in the height of its prosperity, and preserved from the ravages of the barbarian conquerors of Italy, and the sacrilegious alterations and pillagings of modern hands. But the hopes which might reasonably have been formed upon the discovery of Herculaneum, at the beginning of the last century, were- frustrated in great measure by the depth and hardness of the volcanic products under which that city was buried. The process of clearing it was necessarily one of excavation, not of denudation ; and to avoid the labour of raising the quarried matter to the surface, from a depth of 70 or 80 feet, former excavations have been filled up with the rubbish of new excavations, and now, besides a few houses, the theatre is the only building open to inspection, and that an unsatisfactory and imperfect inspec- tion by torch-light. Museums have been profusely enriched with various articles of use or luxury discovered at Hercu- laneum, which might serve to illustrate the Latin authors, and throw light upon the private life of Italy ; but no compre- hensive view could be obtained, and consequently no new idea formed of the disposition and appearance of a Roman city. Fortunately, the disappointment was repaired by the discovery of Pompeii, a companion city overwhelmed in the great eruption of Vesuvius, A. D. 79, together with Hercu- laneum, and destined to be the partner of its disinterment as well as its burial. There was, however, this difference in their fate that, owing to its greater distance from the volcano, as well as its more elevated situation, Pompeii, 4 POMPEII. was not reached by the streams of lava which have succes- sively flowed over Herculaneuin, and elevated the surface of the earth from 70 to 100 feet. Pompeii was buried by a shower of ashes, pumice, and stones, forming a bed of variable depth, but seldom excceeding 20 or 24 feet, loose and friable in texture, and therefore easily removed, so as completely to uncover and expose the subjacent buildings. The upper stories of the houses, which appear to have consisted chiefly of wood, were either burnt by the red-hot stones ejected from Vesuvius, or broken down by the weight of matter collected on their roofs and floors. With this exception, we see a flourishing city in the very state in which it existed nearly eighteen centuries ago : the buildings as they were originally designed, not altered and patched to meet the exigencies of newer fashions ; the paintings undimmed by the leaden touch of time ^ household furniture left in the con- fusion of use ; articles, even of intrinsic value, abandoned in the hurry of escape, yet safe from the robber, or scattered about as they fell from the trembling hand, which could not pause or stoop for its most valuable possessions : and, in some instances, the bones of the inhabitants, bearing sad testimony to the suddenness and completeness of the calamity which overwhelmed them. " I noticed," says M. Siniond, " a strik- ing memorial of this mighty interruption in the Forum, opposite to the temple of Jupiter. A new altar of white marble, exquisitely beautiful, and apparently just out of the hands of the sculptor, had been erected there ; an enclosure was building all round ; the mortar, just dashed against the side of the wall, was but half spread out ; you saw the long sliding stroke of the trowel about to return and obliterate its own track but it never did return : the hand of the work- man was suddenly arrested, and, after the lapse of 1800 years, the whole looks so fresh and new that you would almost swear that the mason was only gone to his dinner, and about to come back immediately to smooth the roughness." It is unnecessary to expatiate upon the interest of these discoveries ; yet notwithstanding their interest the subject has been hardly accessible to the English reader. The excavations have been prosecuted to a considerable extent since the elegant work of Sir W. Gell was published, which describes only the buildings, leaving untouched one interest- INTRODUCTION. 5 ing branch of inquiry connected with the numerous articles which have been found, throwing light upon the private life of the Italians in the first century. There are foreign works of great research and magnificence, but these, from, their price, are only accessible to a very small class of readers ; and therefore little has been generally known of Pompeii, except what may be gathered from the short and scattered notices of travellers. This work is intended as an attempt to supply the deficiency. It is proposed, first, to give a detailed account of the ruins as they now exist, together with a description of their former state, as far as it can be made out ; with occasional digressions upon points connected with the history or antiquities of the place, and notices of the most curious and important articles which have been discovered. The first part will contain the public edifices, so far as they have yet been disinterred : the second will be devoted to the houses and private habits of their tenants. The chief authorities which have been consulted, are the great work of M. Mazois on Pompeii ; the ' Museo Borbonico,' a periodical work now in course of publication at Naples ; Sir W. Gell's ' Pompeiana ;' and Donaldson's ' Pompeii.' We have also had the advantage of numerous observations made on the spot by Mr. William Clarke, architect, by whom the materials for this work have been collected and the drawings made, either from the originals or from plates in the above works. For the use of such readers as may wish to enter upon a deeper study of the subject, we shall here add a list of the principal books that may be consulted.* Among these, the work of Mazois, already mentioned, is one of the first, both in point of time and of importance. Mazois resided at Naples during the years 1809, 1810, and 1811, and was encouraged and assisted in his researches by Queen Caroline, the wife of Murat, who took a great interest in Pompeii, and to whom he dedicated his book. Mazois died in 1826, before he had finished his work, which was continued by Gau. Its title is Les Ituines de Pompei, des- * A most extraordinary instance of book-making on this subject was the work of a certain Monsignor Bayard i ; in which, at the end of two thick quartos, Hercules had not yet arrived at the Campi Phlpgrai, and consequently the foundation of Herculaneum and Pompeii had not been laid. 6 POMPEII. sinees et mesurees par Fr. Mazois, architecte, pendant les annees 1809, 1810, et 1811 : 4 vols. large folio, Paris, Didot, 1812 1838. It contains nearly 200 plates, and embraces the results of the excavations from 1757 to 1821. Sir W. GelTs Pompeiana consists of two series, each of two octavo volumes, of which the first series was published at London, in 1824, and the second in 1830. The former contains an account of the excavations down to the year 1819; which is continued in the latter, It has many illustrations, some of them coloured. Donaldson's Pompeii, illustrated with Picturesque Views, engraved by W. B. Cooke, was published in London in 1827. 2 vols. large fol. The French work of Breton, Pompeia, decrite et dessinee, par Ernest Breton, 2nd edition, Paris, 1855, is a handsome book, with many good illustrations, and describes, in one large 8vo. vol., at a moderate price, the progress of the excavations till about the last ten or twelve years. A more elaborate work than this, and more accurate in point of scholarship, is that of Overbeck, Pompeji, in seinen Gebauden, Alterthumern und KunshcerJcen, fur Kunst- und Alterthums-freunde dargestellt. Leipsic, Engelmann. Over- beck published his first edition in 1856, without having visited Pompeii, and the book consequently contained many errors and imperfections. These, however, have been reme- died in a second edition, the fruits of a visit to Pompeii, to be completed in the present year, and consisting of two volumes, illustrated with numerous cuts. The first volume contains the history and topography of the city, with an account of the buildings ; the second is devoted to Pompeian art. Overbeck's book is, for its compass, undoubtedly the fullest and most accurate yet published ; though the desire to be original, the besetting sin of most German writers, leads him now and then into some crotchety theories. The volume published contains no account of the tombs ; an omis- sion which will probably be supplied in -the second volume. The handsomest work on Pompeii is that of Fausto and Felice Niccolini, now publishing in numbers, entitled, Le Case ed i Monumenti di Pompei, disegnati e descritti, fol., Napoli, 1864; but its price will place it beyond the reach of most readers. It contains beautifully coloured plates, besides INTRODUCTION. 7 ground-plans, cuts, &c., with descriptive letter-press. Thirty- two numbers are already published, at 15 francs each. To those who are studying Pompeii thoroughly and historically, the work of the Commendatore Fiorelli, the present able director of the excavations and of the Museum of Naples, is indispensable. It is entitled Pompeianarum Antiquitatum Historia, and contains, in two 8vo. vols., each of three Fasciculi', the records of the excavations, from their commencement in 1748 down to 1860, collected from the journals of the directors. These are printed verbatim ; not a record of the discovery of a nail, or bolt, or fragment of statuary, or earthenware, is omitted ; so that the reader will find the materials for a history rather than the history itself, which the somewhat magnificent title of the book may have led him to expect. To the archaeological student of Pompeii, the book, however, is of course invaluable ; and it is only to be wished that its perusal had been facilitated by the promised index, or by a commentary. The first part of the journals, down to July, 1764, is in Spanish; o,fter thai; date in Italian. After the appointment of Signor Fiorelli to the direction of the excavations, he continued to publish the progress of them in a periodical work in numbers, entitled, Giornale degli Scam di Pompei, which, however, appeared irregularly, and has been brought, we fear, to a premature conclusion. The title of it is as much too modest as that of the History is too grand ; since it contains, besides the journal of the excavations, elaborate descriptions of the more important houses and works of art discovered, as well as literary disquisitions on matters relating to Pompeii. Besides the substantive works here enumerated, many interesting and important papers and pamphlets on subjects connected with Pompeii have been published separately, and in various journals, by eminent Italian and other archaeo- logists, as Quaranta, Niccolini, Arditi, Avellino, Bonucci, Fiorelli, Minervini, and others. They will be found in the Memorie della reale Accademia di Archeologia di Napoli, the Annali dell' Institute di corrispandenza Archeologica (Rome and Paris, 1829-57). and the Bulletino Archeologico Napolitano, of Avellino, afterwards continued by Minervini. M. Marc Monnier, of Geneva, has also published some good papers on Pompeii in the Revue des Deux Mondes, as 8 POMPEII. well as a little book on the subject, which will be useful to those who read as they run, and wish rather to be amused than instructed. There are also separate works on remarkable Pompeian buildings, as that of Eaoul Eochette: La Maison du Poete Tragique a Pompei, avec ses Peintures et Mosaiques Jidelemenf reproduces et un texte explicatif, fol., Paris : of Bechi, Del Calcidico e della cripta di Eumachia scnvati nel foro di Pompeia, I 'anno 1820, 4to., Napoli : of Millin, Description des Tombeaux qui ont ete decouverfs a Pompei dans I'annee 1812, Naples, 1813; and works by Falkener and Giulio Minervini on the house of Lucretius, &c., &c. The inscriptions discovered at Pompeii are best given by Mommsen, in his Inscriptiones Begni Neapolitani / p. 112 seq. They do not comprehend, however, the graffiti, or inscriptions traced with a sharp point on walls and columns. These will be found, up to the date of the respective works, in Dean Wordsworth's Pompeian Inscriptions, or Specimens and Fac- similes of Ancient Writings on the Walls of Buildings at Pompeii, London, 1846 ; and in Garrucci's Grqffi'i di Pompei, 4to., Paris, 1856 ; which also contains some ingenious remarks on ancient writing. Signor Fiorelli has commenced a work entitled, Monumenta Epigraphies Pompeiana ad fidem arcJietyporum expressa, being fac-similes of the existing inscriptions. Only the first part, containing the Oscan inscriptions, has been published. There are many rich and voluminous publications on the subject of Pompeian art. One of the earliest of them is the Antichita di Ercolano e Pompei, large fol., 9 vols., Napoli, 1755 1792. Many of the subjects of this book, as well as others from other sources, were reproduced in a French work published at Paris by Dldot, in 8 vols. large 8vo, and entitled ' Herculaneumet Pompei :' Recveil general de Peintures, Bronzes, Mosaiques, &c., decouverts, jusqu'a ce jour et reproduits d'ar.res le Anticliiia d' Ercolano, II Museo Borbonico, et tons les outrages analogues, augmente de sujets inedits graves du trait sur cuivre par M. Roux ame, et accompagne d'un texts explicatif par M. L. Barre. The Heal Museo Borbonico, begun in 1824. forms 14 vols. 4to. in the Italian edition, and, though un- equally executed, is the richest collection of Neapolitan antiqtrities. INTRODUCTION. 9 The work of Eaoul Rochette may also be mentioned, entitled Choix de Peintures de Pompei, la plupart de sujet His- torique, avec I 'explication, tt une introduction sur Vhistoire de la Peinture chez ls Grecs et cliez les Romains, witli coloured plates, large fol., Paris, 1844. There are also many other separate publications, which it would be too long to enumerate ; and we shall content ourselves with only mentioning the German work of Ternite, Wandgemdlde aus Pompei und Hercidanum mil einem erlduternden Texte, von E. O.Miiller, Berlin, 1844 ; and with reminding the reader that the second volume of Overbeck's new edition is devoted to the subject of Pompeian art. It remains to mention that the best plan of Pompeii is that of Fiorelli, entitled Tabula Colonies Venerice Cornell w Pompeis. It is in 42 sheets, which, put together, form a superficies of 140 square palms, being the 333 part of the true superficies. The small plan, reduced from this, and sold at the gates of Pompeii, is on the scale of 1666 parts of the true superficies. There is also a good plan by Jorio. 10 POMPEII. CHAPTER I. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. BEFORE commencing the account of Pompeii itself, it will not be out of place to give a short description of the ancient state of the neighbourhood in which it stood, together with a sketch of the history of Vesuvius. The Bay of Naples, anciently called Crater (the Cup), was known to the ancients at an early period. The remark- able appearance of its shores struck their fancy ; and they named them Phlegra, or Phlegrsei Campi, Burnt Fields, from the traces of igneous action everywhere visible, and ac- counted for these natural appearances by the fabled battle between the giants and the gods, assisted by Hercules, in which the giants were cast down and destroyed by Jupiter's thunderbolts. The earth, riven, scorched, and thunder- stained, bore enduring witness to the destructive power of these weapons. Here was the celebrated lake Avernus, the mouth of hell, according to the Italian poets, over which no bird could complete its flight, but dropped, overcome by the sulphureous exhalations. This is one, probably, of that numerous tribe of legends which have been framed to fit or to explain a name. Its Greek name is Aornos, literally Birdless ; its dreary and terror-striking appearance, when its precipitous sides were thickly clothed with wood, suggested the notion that it was the opening of the nether world ; hence the story of the foetid atmosphere and its deadly effects Yet even here there may be some foundation of truth ; for we have the authority of Sir William Hamilton for stating, that while wild fowl abound in other pools and lakes in ' this quarter, they shun Avernus, or pay it but a passing visit.* Diodorus derives the name of Phlegra from Vesuvius, which, he says, like J&ina, used to vomit fire, and still retains traces of its former eruptions, f He spoke from observation of the * Campi Phlegrsi. Mr. Lyell is also inclined to admit the story, and adduces instances of similar mephitic exhalations. t iv. 21. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 11 mountain, not from tradition, for tradition recorded no erup- tion previous to the Christian era ; but he probably erred in the derivation of the name. Traces of volcanic action were as evident round Baias and Puteoli as on Vesuvius ; and the ancients appear to have had some record of eruptions in this quarter, since they fabled that the giant Typhon, who threw stones to heaven with a loud noise, and from whose eyes and mouth fire proceeded, lay buried under the neighbouring island of Inarirne or Pithecusa, now called Ischia.* A similar fable accounted for the eruptions of .ZEtna. By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high, By turns hot embers from her entrails fly, And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky. Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown, And, shivered by the force, come piecemeal down. Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow, Fed from the fiery springs that boil below. Enceladus, they say, transfixed by Jove, With blasted limbs came trembling from above; And where he fell the avenging father diew This blasted hill, and on hi.s body threw. As often as he turns his weary sides He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the heavens hides. DRYDEN, ^En. lib. iii. 572. We need hardly say that the poets vary in these stories : Ovid places Typhon under J3tna. In the superstitions of the middle ages Vesuvius assumed the character which had before been given to Avernus, and was regarded as the mouth of hell. Cardinal Damiano relates the following stories, in a letter addressed to Pope Nicholas II. " A servant of God dwelt alone, near Naples, on a lofty rock hard by the highway. As this man was singing hymns by night, he opened the window of his cell to observe the hour ; when, lo ! he saw passing many men, black as 2Ethi- opians, driving a large troop of packhorses laden with hay ; and he was anxious to ask who they were, and why they carried with them this fodder for cattle? And they an- swered, ' We are evil spirits ; and this food which we prepare is not for flocks or herds, but to foment those fires which are kindled against men's souls ; for we wait, first for Pandul- phus, Prince of Capua, who now lies sick; and then for * Strabo, lib. v. c. 4., 9. 12 POMPEII. John, the captain of the garrison of Naples, who as yet is alive and well.' Then went that man of God to John, and related faithfully that which he had seen and heard. At that time the Emperor Otho II., being about to wage war on the Saracens, was journeying toward Calabria. John there- fore answered, ' I must first go reverently and meet the Emperor, and take counsel with him concerning the state of this land. But after he is gone I promise to forsake the world, and to assume the monastic habit.' Moreover, to prove whether the priest's story were true, he sent one to Capua, who found Pandulphus dead ; and John himself lived scarce fifteen days, dying before the Emperor reached those parts ; upon whose death the mountain Vesuvius, from which hell often belches forth, broke out into flames, as might clearly be proved, because the hay which those demons got ready was nothing else than the fire of that fell confla- gration prepared for these reprobate and wicked men ; for as often as a reprobate rich man dies in those parts, the fire is seen to burst from the above-named mountain, and such a mass of sulphureous resin flows from it as makes a torrent which by its downward impulse descends even to the sea. And in verity a former prince of Palermo once saw from a distance sulphureous pitchy flames burst out from Vesuvius, and said that surely some rich man was just about to die, and go down to hell. Alas for the blinded minds of evil men ! That very night, as he lay regardless in bed, he breathed his last. There was also a Neapolitan priest, who wished to know more of things not lawful to be known, who, when that infernal pit belched flames more fiercely than usual, with presumptuous boldness resolved to visit it. So having solemnized the mass, he went on his way, armed, as it were, with the sacred vestments ; but this rash inquirer, approaching nearer than men use to go, never reappeared, being unable to return. Another priest, who had left his mother sick at Beneventum, as he travelled through the bounds of Naples, and was intent upon the upstreaming flames, heard a voice of one bewailing, which he perceived evidently to be the voice of his mother. He marked the time, and found it to have been the hour of her death."* This passage is taken from a letter from Cardinal Damiano * Damiani Epistola, ]ib. i. 9. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 13 to Pope Nicholas II., written about the year 1060. The superstition was natural enough ; and similar ones were entertained at a much later date concerning ^tna and the island of Stromboli, in which there is a volcano in almost constant activity. Strabo, who wrote some part of his work at least in the reign of Tiberius, about the commencement of our era, thus describes the Phlegraean Fields : " After doubling Misenum, next comes a lake* (now Mare Morto), beyond which the coast falls back in a deep bay, where stands Baise and its warm baths, useful both for purposes of pleasure and for the cure of diseases. The Lucrine lake borders upon Baise ; within it is lake Avernus. Here our ancestors placed the scene of Homer's Nekuia ;f and here, they say, was an oracle, where answers were returned by the dead, to which Ulysses came. Avernus is a deep hollow with a narrow entrance, in size and shape well suited for a harbour, but incapacitated for that purpose by the shallow Lucrine lake which lies before it. It is enclosed by steep ridges, which overhang it everywhere, except at the entrance, now highly cultivated, but formerly enclosed by a savage trackless forest of large trees, which threw a superstitious gloom over the hollow. The inhabitants further fabled that the birds which flew over it fell down into the water, destroyed by the rising exhalations, as in other places of this sort, which the Greeks call Plutonia, or places sacred to Pluto ; and imagined that Avernus was a Plutonium, and the abode where the Cimmerians were said to dwell. Here is a fountain of fresh water by the sea ; but all persons abstain from it, believing it to be the Styx; and somewhere near was the oracle. Here, also, as they thought, was Pyriphlegethon,J judging from the hot springs near lake Acherusia. The Lucrine The text has At/tV, a harbour, though some of the Latin versions have t The title of the Xlth book of the Odyssey, the scene of which is laid among the dead. % Pyriphlegethon, burning with fire; one of the three rivers which encom- passed hell. Styx was another. It is doubtful whether the Acherusia here meant was Avernus, the Lucriue lake, or the Lago di Fusaro, about two miles from Avernus and between Cumae and Cape AJiseno. There was another lake of the same name in Epirus. 14 POMPEII. lake in breadth reaches to Baise, being separated from the sea by a mound, about a mile long, and wide enough for a broad carriage-road, said to have been made by Hercules as he was driving Geryon's oxen. Being much exposed to the surf, so as not to be easily traversed on foot, Agrippa raised and completed it. The lake admits light ships,* is useless as a naval station, but affords an inexhaustible supply of oysters. Here, according to some, was the lake Acherusia, but Artemidorus makes it the same with Avernus. Next to Baiaa coine the shores and city of Dicaaarchia, formerly a port of the Cumaeans, placed on a hill. During the invasion of Hannibal, the Romans colonized it, and called it Puteoli, from (putei] the wells ; or, as others say, they so named the whole district, as far as Baiee and the, Cumgean territory, from the stench (putor) of its waters, because it is full of sulphur and fire and hot springs. Some think that this is the reason why the country about Cumas is called Phlegra, and that the thunder-riven wounds of the fallen giants pour out these streams of fire and water. Immediately over it is Vulcan's assembly-room (Hephsesti Agora, now the Solfatara), a level space surrounded by burning heights, with numerous chimney-like spiracles, which rumble loudly ; and the bottom is full of ductile sulphur. Next to Dicaaarchia, is Neapolis ; next to Neapolis, Herculaneum, standing on a promontory remarkably open to the south-west wind (Libs}, which makes it unusally healthy. This city, and its next neighbour, Pompeii, on the river Sarnus, were originally held by the Osci, then by the Tyrrhenians and Pelasgians, then by the Samnites, who in their turn were expelled by the Romans. Pompeii is the port of Nola, Nuceria, and Aceme, being situated on the river Sarnus, which is suited for the expor- tation and importation of cargoes. Above these places rises Vesuvius, well cultivated and inhabited all round, except its top, which is for the most part level, and entirely barren, ashy to the view, displaying cavernous hollows in rocks, which look as if they had been eaten by the fire, so that we * Strabo has before said that Agrippa cut through this mound, and thus established a communication between Avernus and the sea. What he says here is entirely contrary to the later author, Dion Cassius, who asserts that in the hands of Agrippa Avernus became an excellent port. This whole passage is in many parts very obscure, and may be suspected to be corrupt. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 15 may suppose this spot to have been a volcano formerly, with burning craters, now extinguished for want of fuel."* It will occur at once to the reader, that this description is totally inapplicable to Vesuvius as it now exists. The general form of the mountain is too well known to need description, and certainly its elevated cone can by no stretch of words be characterised as a level top. It seems probable, from various considerations, that this cone is of compara- tively recent origin. It stands within a circular volcanic ridge, called Somma, broken away to the south, where there is still a projection, called the Pedamentina, apparently marking the continuation of Somma. The most experienced observers seem agreed that this ridge is the remains of an ancient volcano, much larger than the existing one, and was once surmounted by a cone like that of JEtna, which, being subject to constant degradation, and requiring constant supplies of fresh materials to maintain its height, sunk down into the earth, in the long period of inactivity which we know to have occurred antecedent to the Christian era. Parallel instances may be found in the lakes of Avernus and Agnano, which are evidently the sites of ancient volcanic cones which have fallen in, not craters of eruption. The reawakened fires of Vesuvius soon blew out the mass of materials which choked their former vent, and have formed around that vent a second cone, concentric with and similar to its predecessor, but of smaller dimensions. Instances exactly similar to this also occur. We may mention Barren Island, in the Bay of Bengal, where an active volcano rises out of the sea, in the centre of what is evidently a sunken cone. The cone of the Peak of Teneriffe also rises in the middle of a circular enclosure, like Somma, and a process analogous to the formation of the cone of Vesuvius may now be frequently observed going on within the crater of that mountain, in which, during its periods of activity, a minor mountain is continually rising, f Finally, some volcanic mountains are known to have fallen in or to have been dispersed, as Papaudayaug, in the island of Java, * Strabo, lib. v. c. 4., 5 8. Such parts of the original as do not bear en our subject have been omitted. t Campi Phlegra:!, pi. 2. where there is a minute representation of the cnanges thus produced in the form of the mountain. 16 POMPEII. which, in the year 1772, was reduced in height from 9000 to about 5000 feet. So also, in the province of Quito, a great part of the crater and summit of Carguirazo fell in during an earthquake in 1698.* Supposing, therefore, that the present cone is based upon the ruins of a larger mountain, it probably did not exist when Strabo wrote the above description, but was thrown up in the first-recorded eruption, in the year 79, or at some later period. This will agree with the negative testimony of other authors, who make no mention of it, or speak cursorily of it ; not as we might expect them to mention so prominent a feature as it now is, in the much admired scenery of Baiae and Naples. In Virgil the name occurs only once ; and then it is introduced to commend the fertility of the soil. The great battle between the Eomans and the Latins, in B.C. 340, in which Decius devoted himself to death, was fought at Vesuvius, j" It was on Vesuvius that Spartacus encamped, with his army of insurgent slaves and gladiators. " The Romans besieged them in their fort, situate upon a hill that had a very steep and narrow ascent to it, and kept the passage up to them : all the rest of the ground round about it was nothing but high rocks hanging over, and iipon them great store of wild vines. Of these the bondmen cut the strongest strips, and made thereof ladders, like to ship-ladders of ropes, of such a length and so strong that they reached from the top of the hill even to the very bottom : upon those they all came safely down, saving one that tarried above to throw down their armour after them, who afterwards by the same ladder saved himself last of all. The Romans mistrusting no such matter, these bondmen compassed the hill round, assailed them behind, and put them in such a fear t with the sudden onset, as they fled every man, and so was their camp taken. "J This passage also is totally inconsistent with the present state of Vesuvius. Its lofty summit would be ill suited for an encampment, nor could the wild vine ever have flourished there; but both Plutarch and Strabo will be clear, if we suppose that the even summit of Somma, then probably more perfect than it now is, was the highest part of the mountain, and that it was only accessible by a chasm, such as that * L yell, 1 Principles of Geology, ch. xxv. p. 436, 445. ) Liv. viii. 8. | North's Plutarch, Crassus. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 17 which gives admission to Avernus. While the Romans were guarding this spot, they might reasonably feel confident that the enclosed enemy could find no other outlet. After many centuries of repose, the volcano broke out with great violence, and in its first eruption destroyed Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiae. This calamity is described by an eye- witness, the younger Pliny, whose narration will form part of the next chapter. It is also mentioned more than a century later by Dion Cassius. The passage seems to indicate, as far as it is intelligible, that the present cone did not exist when he wrote ; and is further curious, as proving that the old fables of the Battle of the Gods and Giants, and of the inhumation of the latter, were not forgotten even in the third century. " During the autumn a great fire broke out in Cnmpania. Vesuvius is a mountain on the coast near Naples, which con- tains inexhaustible fountains of fire ; and formerly it was all of the same height, and fire rose in the middle of it (for the only traces of fire were in the middle), but the outer parts remain fireless to this day. Hence, these continuing un- injured, but the centre being dried up and reduced to ashes, the encircling crags still retain their ancient height : but the burnt part being consumed, in lapse of time has settled down and become hollow, so that to compare small things to great, the whole mountain now resembles an amphitheatre. And the top is clothed with trees and vines, but the circular cavity is abandoned to fire ; and by day it sends up smoke and by night flame, so that one would think all sorts of incense vessels were burning there. This contimies always with more or less violence, and often, after any considerable subsidence, it casts up ashes and stones, impelled by violent blasts of wind, with a loud noise and roaring, because its vent-holes are not set close together, but are narrow and concealed.* " Such is Vesuvius, and these things take place in it almost every year. But all eruptions which have happened since, though they may have appeared unusually great to those even who have been accustomed to such sights, would be trifling, even if collected into one, when compared to what occurred at the time of which we speak. Many huge men surpassing human stature, such as the giants are described to have * This description is not very clear, but neither is the Greek. C 18 POMPEII. been, appeared wandering in the air and upon the earth, at one time frequenting the mountain, at another the fields and cities in its neighbourhood. Afterwards came great droughts and violent earthquakes, so that the whole plain boiled and bubbled, and the hills leapt, and there were noises under- ground like thunder, and above ground like roaring, and the sea made a noise, and the heavens sounded ; and then suddenly a mighty crash was heard as if the mountains were coming together, and first great stones were thrown up to the very summits, then mighty fires and immense smoke, so that the whole air was overshadowed, and the sun entirely hidden, as in an eclipse. " Thus day was turned into night, and light into darkness, and some thought the giants were rising again (for many phantoms of them were seen in the smoke, and a blast, as if of trumpets, was heard), while others believed that the earth was to return to Chaos, or to be consumed by fire. There- fore men fled, some from the houses out into the ways, others that were without, into their houses ; some quitted the land for the sea, some the sea for the land, being confounded in mind, and thinking every place at a distance safer than where they were. Meanwhile, an inexpressible quantity of dust was blown out, and filled land, sea, and air, which did much other mischief to men, fields, and cattle, and destroyed all the birds and fishes, and besides buried two entire cities, Herculaneum and Pompeii, while the population was sitting in the theatre.* For this dust was so abundant that it reached Africa, Syria, and Egypt, and filled the air above Eome, and overclouded the sun ; which caused much fear even there for many days, men neither knowing nor being able to conjecture what had happened. But they thought that every thing was to be thrown into confusion, the sun to fall extinguished to the earth, the earth to rise to the sky. At the time, however, these ashes did them no harm, but sub- sequently they produced a pestilential disease."f It does not appear that any lava flowed from Vesuvius ; the * The wording leaves it doubtful which theatre is meant. The theatres of both cities have been explored, and no remains found. The eruption may have come on while the people were assembled, but they were not destroyed in the theatres. f Dion Cassius, lib. Ixvi. 23. HISTORY OF VESUVIUS. 19 ejected matter consisted of rocks, pumice, and ashes, which seem, from the operations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, to have been partly changed into liquid mud by torrents of rain. Being reawakened, the volcano continued in pretty constant activity. It is evident from the passage just quoted, tiiat from this year until the commencement of the third century, when Dion wrote, eruptions of more or less violence were continually recurring. Other eruptions are mentioned in the fifth and sixth centuries. Procopius, who died about the middle of the sixth, speaks of the mountain emitting rivers of fire.* He describes it in terms which correspond somewhat with a cone and crater; and, like Dion, conveys the idea of its being constantly at work. " Vesuvius is very precipitous below, encircled with wood above, terribly wild and craggy. In the centre of its summit is a very deep chasm, which we may suppose to reach quite to the bottom of the mountain, and it is possible to see fire in it, if a man dare peep over. Usually, the fire returns upon itself ( e'' eavrijv oT-pe'^erat), without molesting those who live in its neigh- bourhood ; but when the mountain utters a roaring noise, in general it emits soon after a vast body of cinders." He adds, that these ashes were often carried a vast distance, even to the coast of Africa and Byzantium, in which city so much terror was once caused by the phenomenon, that a solemn supplication was established in consequence, and continued yearly.f The first stream of lava, of which we have authentic account, broke out in the year 1036, during the seventh erup- tion from the resuscitation of the volcano.^ Another erup- tion occurred in 1049, another in 1138 or 9 ; after which there was a pause of 168 years, till 1306. From this year, to 1631, there was a cessation, except one slight eruption in 1500. During this long pause, a remarkable event occurred in another part of the Phlegraean fields. In little more than * Bell. Goth. iv. 35. t Procop. Bell. Goth. ii. 4. J The six previous eruptions were those of 79, 203, 472, 512, 685, and 993. That of 472, recorded in the Chronicon of Marcpllinus, ad. ann., seems to have been a very violent one. It may be inferred, from Procopius' descrip- tion of the eruption of 512, that lava was ejected on that occasion: ptti 8e KO.I p\ia tvravBa irvpbs (K rrjs a.Kpwpeia.5 Kararflvwv &XP 1 * s vp6TToSa /cat en Trp6