Vesuvius

Lore & Background

Vesuvius has a long historic and literary tradition. It was considered a divinity of the Genius type at the time of the eruption of 79 AD, appearing under the inscribed name Vesuvius as a serpent in decorative frescos of household shrines surviving from Pompeii. An inscription from Capua to Iovi Vesuvio indicates he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter, that is, Jupiter Vesuvius. The Romans regarded Mount Vesuvius as being devoted to Hercules, and the historian Diodorus Siculus relates a tradition that Hercules passed through the region and found a place called 'the Phlegraean Plain' (fiery), from the mountain which of old spouted forth a huge fire.

Reader's Guide

Mount Vesuvius is significant as the only volcano on Europe's mainland to have erupted in the last hundred years and is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, marked as one of the Decade Volcanoes. Its eruption in 79 AD is one of the most famous in history, destroying several Roman cities and providing the only surviving witness account through two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. The volcano has erupted many times since, with eruptions varying greatly in severity but distinguished by explosive outbursts dubbed Plinian after Pliny the Younger. Vesuvius is still regarded as an active volcano, although its current activity produces little more than sulfur-rich steam from vents at the bottom and walls of the crater.

Did You Know?

• The eruption of 79 AD ejected a cloud of stones, ash, and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi).
• More than 1,000 people are thought to have died in the 79 AD eruption, though the exact toll is unknown.
• Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera, resulting from the collapse of an earlier, much higher structure.
• The volcano's name may derive from an Indo-European root meaning 'shine' or 'burn', or from Greek words meaning 'unquenchable'.