Mount Vesuvius--Origin of Name--Former Condition--Eruption of A D
79--Death of Pliny--Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum--Appearance
of the Mountain before and after Eruption--Formation of
Monte Nuovo--Eruption of Boiling Water--Coloured Vapours--Cascade
of Lava--Discovery of Remains of Herculaneum and Pompeii--The
Buildings of Pompeii--Street of Tombs--Skeletons--Sundry Shops--Ascents
of Vesuvius--Crater--Temple of Serapis.
Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the continent of
Europe, and it is highly interesting both from its historical
associations and the frequency of its eruptions. It is situated on
the coast of the Bay of Naples, about six miles to the eastward of
the city and at a short distance from the shore. It forms a
conspicuous feature in the beautiful landscape presented by that
bay, when viewed from the sea, with the city in the foreground.
Mount Vesuvius was in ancient times held sacred to the deified hero
Hercules, and the town of Herculaneum, built at its base, was named
after him. So also, it is said, was the mountain itself, though in
a more round-about way. Hercules, as you will doubtless learn, was
feigned to have been the son of the heathen god Zeus and Alcmena, a
Theban lady. Now one of the appellations of Zeus was Υης,
which was applied to him as being the god of rains and dews--the
wet divinity. Thus Hercules was Υησουυιος, the son of Ves. How
this name should have become corrupted into "Vesuvius," you can be
at no loss to perceive.
Vesuvius was not always a volcano. It was for many ages a very
peaceable and well-behaved mountain. Ancient writers describe it as
having been covered with gardens and vineyards, except at the top
which was craggy. Within a large circle of nearly perpendicular
cliffs, was a flat space sufficient for the encampment of an army.
This was doubtless an ancient crater; but nobody in those times
knew anything of its history. So little was the volcanic nature of
the mountain suspected, that the Roman towns of Stabiæ, Pompeii,
and Herculaneum had been erected at its base, and their inhabitants
dwelt in fancied security.
In the year A.D. 63, however, the dwellers in the cities got a
great fright; for the mountain shook violently, and a good many
houses were thrown down. But soon all became quiet again, and the
people set about rebuilding the houses that had fallen. They
continued to live in apparent safety for some time longer. They
danced, they sung, they feasted; they married, and were altogether
as merry a set of citizens as any in southern Italy. But the 24th
of August A.D. 79 at length arrived. Then, woe to Stabiæ! woe to
Pompeii! woe to Herculaneum!
Pliny the elder was that day in command of the Roman fleet at
Misenum, which was not far off. His family were with him, and,
among others, his nephew, Pliny the younger, who has left an
interesting account of what happened on the occasion. He observed
an extraordinary dense cloud ascending in the direction of
Vesuvius, of which he says:--"I cannot give you a more exact
description of its figure, than by resembling it to that of a pine
tree; for it shot up to a great height in the form of a tall trunk,
which spread out at the top into a sort of branches. It appeared
sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and spotted, as it was either
more or less impregnated with earth and cinders"
On seeing this remarkable appearance, the elder Pliny, who was a
great naturalist and a man of inquiring mind, resolved to go ashore
and inspect more narrowly what was going on. But a rash resolve it
proved. Steering towards Retina (now Resina), a port at the foot of
the mountain, he was met, on his approach, by thick showers of hot
cinders, which grew thicker and hotter as he advanced--falling on
the ships along with lumps of pumice and pieces of rock, black but
burning hot. Vast fragments came rolling down the mountain and
gathered in heaps upon the shore. Then the sea began suddenly to
retreat, so that landing at this point became impracticable. He
therefore steered for Stabiæ, where he landed, and took up his
abode with Pomponianus--an intimate friend.
Meanwhile, flames appeared to issue from several parts of the
mountain with great violence--the darkness of the night heightening
their glare. Pliny nevertheless went to sleep. Soon, however, the
court leading to his chamber became almost filled with stones and
ashes; so his servants awoke him, and he joined Pomponianus and his
household. The house now began to rock violently to and fro; while
outside, stones and cinders were falling in showers. They,
notwithstanding, thought it safer to make their way out from the
tottering mansion; so, tying pillows upon their heads with napkins,
they sallied forth. Although it was now day, the darkness was
deeper than that of the blackest night. By the aid of torches and
lanterns, however, they groped their way towards the beach, with a
view to escape by sea; but they found the waves too high and
tumultuous. Here Pliny, having drunk some cold water, lay down upon
a sailcloth which was spread for him; when almost immediately
flames, preceded by a strong smell of sulphur, issuing from the
ground, scattered the company and forced him to rise. With the help
of two of his servants he succeeded in raising himself; but, choked
by some noxious vapour, he instantly fell down dead.
[Illustration: Vesuvius Before the Eruption of A.D. 79.]
Nor was he alone in his death; for although many of the inhabitants
of the devoted cities were able to effect their escape; yet, so
suddenly did the overwhelming shower of ashes, cinders, and stones
fall upon them, that not a few of them perished in their dwellings
or their streets. As for the cities themselves, they were utterly
buried completely out of sight, and, like other things that are
long out of sight, they soon became also buried out of mind. For
many centuries they remained entirely forgotten.
You will doubtless like to know how Vesuvius looked, after doing so
much mischief. Here is a picture showing what like it was
immediately before the eruption; and one showing its appearance
soon after the event. On comparing the two, you will observe the
mountain had undergone a great change. It was no longer flat on the
top, but had formed for itself a large cone, from the summit of
which dense vapours ascended. This cone was composed entirely of
the ashes, cinders, and loose stones, thrown up during the
eruption. It had become separated by a deep ravine from the
remainder of the former summit, which afterwards came to be
distinguished by the name Monte Somma. The whole of the forests,
vineyards, and other luxuriant vegetation, which had covered that
portion of the sides of Vesuvius where the eruption took place,
were destroyed. Nothing could be more striking than the contrast
between the beautiful appearance of the mountain before this
catastrophe, and its desolate aspect after the sad event. This
remarkable contrast forms the subject of one of Martial's Epigrams,
lib. iv. Ep. 44. It is thus rendered by Mr. Addison:--
[Illustration: Vesuvius after the Eruption of A.D. 79.]
"Vesuvius covered with the fruitful vine
Here flourished once, and ran with floods of wine.
Here Bacchus oft to the cool shades retired,
And his own native Nysa less admired.
Oft to the mountain's airy tops advanced,
The frisking Satyrs on the summit danced.
Alcides [1] here, here Venus graced the shore,
Nor loved her favourite Lacedaemon more.
Now piles of ashes, spreading all around,
In undistinguished heaps deform the ground.
The gods themselves the ruined seats bemoan,
And blame the mischiefs that themselves have done."
[1. Hercules]
Since the eruption of A.D. 79, Vesuvius has had many fits of
activity with intervals of rest. In A.D. 472, it threw out so great
a quantity of ashes, that they overspread all Europe, and filled
even Constantinople with alarm. In A.D. 1036 occurred the first
eruption in which there was any ejection of lava. This eruption was
followed by five others, the last of which occurred in 1500. To
these succeeded a long rest of about a hundred and thirty years,
during which the mountain had again become covered with gardens and
vineyards as of old. Even the inside of the crater had become
clothed with shrubbery.
In this interval, however, there was an extraordinary eruption--not
of Vesuvius itself, but at no great distance from it, in the Bay of
Baiæ, on the opposite shore of the Bay of Naples. The whole of
this neighbourhood is a volcanic country, and was anciently named
the Phlegræan Fields. It contains a crater in a state of subdued
activity, called the Solfatara; an extinct volcano having a large
crater called Monte Barbaro; and Lake Avernus, also supposed to be
an extinct volcanic crater. Between Monte Barbaro and the sea,
there was formerly a fiat piece of ground bordering on the Lucrine
Lake, which is separated from the Bay of Baiæ by a narrow strip of
shingle. On the 29th of September 1538, the flat piece of ground
above mentioned became the scene of a great eruption, which
resulted in the throwing up of a new elevation to the height of
four hundred and thirteen feet, and with a circumference of eight
thousand feet. It received the name of Monte Nuovo, and is now
covered with a luxuriant vegetation.
In 1631 there was another dreadful eruption of Mount Vesuvius,
which covered with lava most of the villages at the foot of the
mountain. To add to the calamity, torrents of boiling water were,
on this occasion, thrown out by the volcano, producing awful
destruction.
There have been since that time numerous eruptions, which it would
be tedious to mention in detail; but two of them are worthy of
notice. During an eruption in February 1848, a column of vapours
arose from the crater about forty feet high, presenting a variety
of colours; and a short time afterwards there arose ten circles,
which were black, white, and green, and which ultimately assumed
the form of a cone. A similar appearance had been observed in 1820.
More recently, in May 1855, a great stream of glowing lava, about
two hundred feet in breadth, flowed towards a vast ravine nearly a
thousand feet in depth. The first descent into this chasm is a
sheer precipice, over which the lava dashed heavily, forming a
magnificent cascade of liquid fire.
Of the buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii no traces were
discovered till the year 1713, when some labourers, in digging a
well, came upon the remains of Herculaneum about twenty-four feet
underground. Little attention, however, was paid to the discovery
at that time; but in 1748 a peasant, digging in his vineyard,
stumbled on some ancient works of art. On sinking a shaft at this
spot to the depth of twelve feet, the remains of Pompeii were
found. This discovery led to further researches, and the exact
positions of the two cities were erelong ascertained. The work of
disinterment has continued with little interruption from that to
the present time, and many valuable specimens of ancient art have
been brought to light.
The greatest progress has been made at Pompeii; because the stuff,
in which it was buried, is far looser than that which covers
Herculaneum. In the former city, although it was anciently reckoned
only a third-rate place, there have already been discovered eight
temples, a forum, a basilica, two theatres, a magnificent
amphitheatre, and public baths. The ramparts, composed of huge
blocks of stone, have also been exposed. One of the most remarkable
places is the Cemetery. It consists of a broad path covered with
pavement, and bordered on either side with stately monuments,
placed over the tombs of the wealthy citizens of the place, and in
which whole families have been interred.
The houses were found filled with elegant furniture, the walls of
the apartments adorned with beautiful paintings. Numerous statues,
vases, lamps, and other elegant works of art, have been recovered.
Many skeletons have also been found, in the exact positions in
which the living men were caught by the deadly shower of
suffocating ashes. The excavators came upon the skeleton of a
miser, who had been attempting to escape from his house, and whose
bony fingers were still clutching the purse which contained the
treasure he loved. There were also found in the barracks at Pompeii
the skeletons of two soldiers chained to the stocks; and the
writings scribbled by the soldiers on the walls are still quite
legible. In the vaults of a villa in the suburbs were discovered
the skeletons of seventeen persons, who had probably sought refuge
there, and been entombed. The stuff in which they were imbedded had
been originally soft, but had become hardened through time. In this
substance was found a cavity, containing the skeleton of a female
with an infant in her arms. Although nothing but the bones
remained, the cavity contained a perfect cast of the woman's
figure--thus showing that she must have been imbedded in the
substance while alive. Round the neck of this skeleton there was a
gold chain, and on the fingers jewelled rings.
In many of the houses the names of the owners over the doors are
still legible, and the fresco-paintings on the inner walls are
still quite fresh and beautiful. The public fountains are adorned
with shells formed into patterns; and in the room of a painter
there was found a collection of shells in perfectly good order. A
large quantity of fishing-nets was found in both the cities, and in
Herculaneum some pieces of linen retaining its texture. There also
was discovered a fruiterer's shop, with vessels full of almonds,
chestnuts, carubs, and walnuts. In another shop stood a glass
vessel containing moist olives, and a jar with caviare--the
preserved roe of the sturgeon. In the shop of an apothecary stood a
box that had contained pills, now reduced to powder, which had been
prepared for a patient destined never to swallow them--a happy
circumstance for him, if he eventually escaped from the city. Very
recently there has been laid open a baker's shop, with the loaves
of bread on the shelves, all ready for his customers, but doomed
never to be eaten. These loaves are of the same form as those still
made in that country, and on being analyzed were found to consist
of the same ingredients as modern bread.
Mount Vesuvius rises rather abruptly from the plain on which it
stands. The circuit of the base is about twelve miles, and the
height of the summit above the level of the sea about three
thousand feet. This latter measurement, however, alters from time
to time, owing to the variable height of the cone. Its moderate
elevation, and the ease with which it may be approached, have
induced many travellers to ascend the mountain; and not a few have
recorded their experiences. So frequent are the eruptions of the
volcano, however, and so much do they change the aspect of the
crater, that any description remains correct for only a limited
time.
Within the last hundred years the crater has been five times wholly
altered, in consequence of its interior having been completely
blown out, and its walls having crumbled down. When Sir William
Hamilton ascended the mountain in 1756, it had no less than three
craters and cones, one within another. The outermost was a very
wide-mouthed cone. Within it rose centrically another, smaller in
size and narrower in the mouth; and within that again was the third
and highest, having a smaller base and still narrower opening at
the top, whence the greatest volume of vapour ascended. In 1767
this innermost cone merged in the second, which was greatly
enlarged; and by a subsequent eruption the interval between the
first and second was obliterated, so that only a single cone
remained. In 1822 the whole interior of the cone was blown out, and
its walls crumbled down, so as to lower the height of the mountain
several hundred feet. But within the vast gulf, nearly a mile in
diameter, which was thus left yawning open, there soon began to be
formed a new cone, which showed itself erelong above the jagged
edge of the crater. Eventually this cone increased, by the
accumulation of ejected matters, to such an extent as to obliterate
the division between it and the rim of the former crater--thus once
more establishing a continuous cone. Since that time, the cone and
crater have twice undergone similar changes.
The most usual appearance of the crater, when in comparative
repose, is that of a vast circular or oval hollow basin, with
nearly perpendicular walls, broken in their continuity, every here
and there, by large projecting dykes, formed by the injection of
more recent lavas into fissures rent in those which had previously
become consolidated. Below the perpendicular walls is a rapid
slope, composed of fine ashes or sand, descending to the floor of
the crater, which is, for the most part, nearly flat. It is much
rent by fissures, which during the night are seen to glow with a
ruddy glare, emanating from the hot materials beneath, and giving
to the floor the appearance of being overspread with a fiery
tissue, like a spider's web. From the bottom there usually rise one
or two small craters of eruption, whence continually issue
sulphurous fumes, and which, at pretty regular intervals, discharge
showers of stones heated to whiteness.
The exterior of the cone is composed entirely of loose cinders,
ashes, and stones, so that the ascent is very laborious. The region
of the mountain beneath the cone presents no difficulties, and that
part of the ascent may be performed on donkeys or mules. The view
from the top is magnificent. The contrast between the desolate
aspect of the interior of the crater, and the smiling prospect
which may be seen from its edge, has been well compared to looking
out of Tartarus into Paradise.
Near Puzzuoli, in the Bay of Baiæ, and not far from Monte Nuovo,
stand the ruins of the Temple of Serapis, so interesting to
geologists. These remains, consisting chiefly of the shafts of
three marble columns, still erect, though with a slight inclination
sea-ward, afford distinct proofs, confirmed by other phenomena in
the neighbourhood, that, since the beginning of the Christian era,
the level of the coast in relation to that of the sea has changed
twice--the land having first sunk and been then raised again, each
time to the extent of upwards of 20 feet. The evidence of the
submergence of the pillars consists mainly of a zone commencing at
the height of about 12 feet above their pedestals, and extending 9
feet upwards, in which are numerous perforations, made by a marine
bivalve mollusc. The upraising again of the ground on which the
temple stands, to nearly its original height, appears to have
occurred about the time of the formation of Monte Nuovo.