Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Monte Vesuvio, Latin: Mons Vesuvius) is a stratovolcano on the Gulf of Naples, Italy. It is about 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of Naples. It is the only volcano on the mainland of Europe that erupted in the last 100 years. The last major eruption was in 1944. Two other important active volcanos in Italy, Etna and Stromboli, are on islands.

Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in A.D. 79 which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.^[1] They were never built again. The towns were buried in ash so completely that later people who lived there forgot about them until they were accidentally discovered in the late 18th century.

The eruption also changed the way the Sarno River flowed, and raised the sea beach. Because of this, Pompeii was not on the river nor next to the coast anymore. Mount Vesuvius was also greatly changed. Many of the plants there died, and the top of the mountain looked different because of the strong eruption.

Vesuvius has erupted many times after that. Today, it is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. About 3 million people live near this explosive volcano. More people live near Mount Vesuvius than any other volcano in the world.^[2]

Vesuvius has a long tradition of history and literature. A serpent (snake) called "Vesuvius" has been used in frescos of many lararia (household temples) from Pompeii. In Capua, the words "IOVI VESVVIO" (Jupiter Vesuvius) show that he was worshipped as a power of Jupiter.^[3][4]

The historian Diodorus Siculus said that there was a story that Hercules once passed through the country of Cumae when he was going to Sicily. There, he found a place called "the Phlegraean Plain" (phlegraion pedion, "plain of fire"). It said that it was "from a hill which anciently (from a long time ago) vomited out fire ... now called Vesuvius."^[5] Giant "sons of the Earth" lived inside it. With the help of the gods, he helped the people there and went on. An ode by Martial in AD 88 suggests that Venus and Hercules were worshipped in the place that was destroyed by the eruption in AD 79.^[6]

1. ↑ Gay, Peter; Time-Life Books (1966). "A Vogue for Sentimentality". Age of Enlightenment. Time. pp. 97.
2. ↑ McGuire, Bill (16 October 2003). "In the shadow of the volcano". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
3. ↑ CIL x.1, 3806.
4. ↑ Waldstein 1908, p. 97
5. ↑ Book IV, Chapter 21.
6. ↑ Waldstein 1908, p. 108 re Epigram IV line 44.