People of Pompeii
Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account of the destruction of Pompeii reveals just how the tragedy unfolded from his country house in Misenum. Mount Vesuvius exploded on August, 24th 79 AD, and its lava engulfed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum, killing thousands of people. These cities were destroyed because they thrived near the base of the mountain, which was at the Bay of Naples.
Pliny the Younger’s account gives an insight into the reaction of men, women, and infants of Pompeii in the face of the eruption: “You could hear the shrieks of women, the wailing of infants, and the shouting of men.” I believe people were in a panic attack because they were unsure of the exact actions to take. They did not know if they were to take shelter in their houses till the end of the eruption or run to safety outside the city.
He talks of how people turned to their gods for guidance and protection while they were frightened: “Many besought the aid of the gods.” However, amid the confusion, other people were convinced that the eruption was a sign of the death of their gods. Pliny the Younger says,” But still more imagined there were no gods left.” Since people thought their gods were no more, I think, at that point, they knew they were going to die from the eruption. The demise of their gods meant that the world was coming to an end.
This account shows that the people of Pompeii perished because they lived in the wrong geographical location. I imagine they had believed Mount Vesuvius wound remain dormant forever. It is also worrisome that nobody in Pompeii and its neighboring cities ever noticed any signs of the eruption days before the tragedy happened.
Although Pliny the Younger represents the primary source of information about what happened in Pompeii, I think his information may have been inaccurate. This is because he wrote his account after the eruption happen. He may have changed or forgotten some details about events that happened during the eruption.