The Forgotten Voices of Pompeii
Dorothy K. McAllen
Abstract
History is often based on perceived or observable truths written in a body of
literature devoted to historical events. Unfortunately, even when archaeological
discoveries and scientific evidence conflict or contradict some of these historic
truths, we cling to our beliefs based on knowledge learned from books, letters,
stories, and other documents. A quote often credited to Winston Churchill,
“History is written by the victors”, indicates that historiographies are often-times
written by those in power, those of wealth who have the means to document
events, or even as memoirs of the victors. Thus, the truth or history of events as we
know them may instead be a paradigm of beliefs, mistakenly centered on the
perception or observation by others.
Key Words: Pompeii, forgotten voices, Herculaneum, Pliny the Younger.
*****
1. Pompeii: A History of Heroes
Acquired knowledge about the ancient world is many times misleading.
Extensive changes and alterations that occur to sites over time may prevent
researchers from gaining a clear understanding and sufficient knowledge of what
exactly transpired.1 Thus, investigators rely on historical writings to support their
interpretation of life or events. One well-known example is the eruption of
Vesuvius in 79 AD and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Several
historical documents written or dictated by wealthy patrons, detailed the events
surrounding the eruption as well as actions by the inhabitants of Pompeii. One of
the earliest known accounts was recorded by Pliny the Younger who witnessed the
events from a safe distance. Letters written by Pliny the Younger to the historian
Tacitus were considered a factual account of what took place regarding not only
the eruption, but the heroic efforts of his uncle, Gaius Plinius Secudus, also known
as Pliny the Elder.2 Upon the eruption of Vesuvius, Pliny the Elder, who was the
military commander of the Roman fleet sailed his ship closer to Herculaneum and
Pompeii to see about aiding any survivors. During the sail, he dictated his
observations to his secretary that were later, upon his death, given to his nephew.
In extoling the heroic efforts of his uncle as he set sail to Pompeii on a “question
for knowledge”, Pliny the Younger wrote:
He ordered a boat made ready. He offered me the opportunity of
going along, but I preferred to study – he himself happened to
have set me a writing exercise…He hurried to a place from which
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others were fleeing, and held his course directly into danger. Was
he afraid? It seems not…In order to lessen the other’s fear by
showing his own unconcern he asked to be taken to the baths. He
bathed and dined, carefree or at least appearing so (which is
equally impressive).3
While sharing the actions of bravery shown by his uncle, Pliny the Younger chose
to also include segments from his uncle’s dictation relating to the fear and apparent
terror of the inhabitants of Pompeii.
To alleviate people’s fears my uncle claimed that the flames came
from the deserted home of farmers who had left in a panic with
the hearth fires still alight…that they were mere fires in villas
deserted by their peasants.4
In a follow-up letter to Tacitus, Pliny the Younger expanded on his original letter
to include his own heroic efforts during Vesuvius’ eruption.
We [my mother and I] sat on a small terrace between the house
and sea, I sent for a volume of Livy, I read and even took notes. I
hardly know whether to call it bravery or foolhardiness…We
decided to leave the town finally. ..You could hear women
lamenting, children crying, men shouting. Some were calling for
parents, others for children or spouses…I might boast that no
groan escaped me in such perils, no cowardly word, but that I
believed that I was perishing with the world, and the world with
me, which was a great consolation for death.5
Thus, the historical events of 79AD as written by Pliny the Younger, will
forever be remembered for the bravery demonstrated by him and his uncle in the
face of terror-stricken citizens fleeing the cities that surround Vesuvius.
2. Pompeii’s Destruction: God’s Retribution
There were other less famous and forgotten historical writings, however, that
perpetuated the religious beliefs of the time, equating the destruction by Vesuvius
to an act of god inflicted on a city whose inhabitants brought on their own
destruction. The oldest classical evidence of the eruption of 79 AD and the burial
of the towns is credited to a Jewish author whose testimony was written around 80
AD. In a passage from the IV book of the Libri Sibillini, an anonymous Jewish
writer who witnessed the catastrophe of the Vesuvian towns, declared the
devastation as “…one of the many punishments deriving from the destruction of
Jerusalem” and from the evil done “to the pious men who lived around Solomon’s
Dorothy K. McAllen
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Temple”.6 The Christian author Quintus Tertullian noted in his writings that
because of the “impiety of their inhabitants, Pompeii was destroyed by a rain of
fire”.7 Later, in an epigram written by the Roman poet, Marcus Valerius Martialis,
he extolled the beautiful region where “satyrs used to join their dances”, “a place
where “Hercules left his name”, and “a haunt of Venus”. Yet, Martialis eventually
concluded, “Even the gods regret that their powers extended to this.” 8
Archaeological evidence uncovered in Pompeii initially supported a Sodom and
Gomorrah theme of destruction. Early excavations in 1755 that were designed
only to recover works of art, found statues, paintings, frescoes, and monuments
depicting people and animals in various sexual poses, imbibing copious amounts of
spirits, and cavorting in ways that were considered morally corrupt. Jews were
mimicked in art, such as in the House of the merchant Publius Cornelius Tages
where statues depicting Jewish vendors in various grotesque and mocking
representations, objects of derision, were found. 9
Archaeologists also found graffiti on frescoed walls that was written by looters
who immediately after Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash, burrowed into the
homes of wealthy nobles only to come upon the numerous bodies of victims frozen
by death. In the house of the Golden Morini, the looters found Poppea, an
inhabitant of the house, and an unknown man. The looters wrote on the wall,
“Thus, … after the very recent cataclysm, stones and ashes now cover the cup with
which he was making libations to the adulteress [meaning Poppea].” 10 Graffiti
found on another wall read, “Against the frozen peoples, the sun strengthens the
people who are pleasing to God.”11 This was a reference to those people of
Pompeii who were not Christians and who because of their actions brought the
destruction on themselves
Even the inhabitants of Pompeii questioned whether the destruction of the city
was of Biblical derivation as burning ash and pumice fell down on them in death.
Found on the interior wall of a house in large black letters were the words SODOM
and GOMOR(ra) referring to the biblical passage found in Genesis 19:24, “Then
the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out
of heaven”. This reference to two cursed cities reflects a belief in the divine
punishment of Pompeii through a reign of fire.
3. The Forgotten Voices
Today, after 150 years of unearthing artifacts, inscriptions, and frescoes, the
evidence suggests that the historical events surrounding Pompeii, its inhabitants,
and their culture may be different from those portrayed by ancient writers.
Historical documents written shortly after the destruction by Vesuvius portrayed
the citizens as fleeing in terror, screaming, and fighting to preserve their valuables.
Yet through precise techniques and preservation, archaeologists have uncovered
artifacts and other evidence that illustrates the untold story of bravery and heroics
by those citizens of Pompeii. Examination of artifacts show people who stayed
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behind with family members physically incapable of escaping the fire and
devastation, slaves who remained with their masters, mothers covering their
children with their own bodies to protect them from burning ash, and families
huddled together in their homes. Additionally, we also know that religious
retribution did not play a part in the thousands killed by Vesuvius. The statues,
icons, human plaster casts, frescoes, and other artifacts which were originally
interpreted as proof of the morally corrupt lifestyle in Pompeii, is now better
understood. Pompeian material culture is cumulative and must be understood in
totality of the cultural norms of the time period12. Through the forgotten voices of
the many artifacts that emerged during the excavation, a new understanding,
respect, and admiration of Pompeii, the people, and their culture was revealed.
Notes
1
Laurence, Ray, Roman Pompeii. (London: Routledge, 2007), 5-7.
Pliny, Epistle 6.16. Letter written to historian Tacitus.
3
Pliny, Epistle 6.16.
4
Pliny, Epistle 6.30. Letter written to historian Tacitus.
5
Pliny, Epistle 6.16.
6
Giordano, Carlo and Isidoro Kahn. The Jews in Pompeii: Herculaneum, Stabiae
and in the cities of Campania Felix (Napoli: Procaccini Editore, 1979), 18.
7
Ibid., 16.
8
Martal, Marcus, Epistle 4.44. translated by Cynthia Damon,
9
Giordano and Kahn, The Jews in Pompeii, 61.
10
Ibid., 108.
11
Ibid., 110.
12
Laurence, Roman Pompeii.9-11.
2
Bibliography
Giordano, Carlo, and Isidoro Kahn. The Jews in Pompeii: Herculaneum, Stabiae
and in the cities of Campania Felix. Procaccini Editore, 1979.
Laurence, Ray. Roman Pompeii: Space and Society. London: Routledge, 2007.
Martial, Marcus. Epistle 4.44, translated by Cynthia Damon. 1 December 2013.
http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Martial%20Epigram%204.44.htm
Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus). Epistle 6.16, translated by
Cynthia Damon. Viewed 28 November 2013.
http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Pliny%20Letter%206.16.htm
Dorothy K. McAllen
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Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus). Epistle 6:30, translated by
Cynthia Damon. Viewed 28 November 2013.
http://www.pompeiana.org/Resources/Ancient/Pliny%20Letter%206.20.htm
Dorothy K. McAllen, PhD is an instructor at Eastern Michigan University. While
interested in archaeology and cultural studies, particularly of the first century AD,
her current research focus is innovation and emotional intelligence in the
management of technology.