“Though my mind shrinks from remembering, I will begin.” Pliny the Younger quoting Virgil’s Aeneid Pliny the Younger and his mother, Plinia Marcella, watched with trepidation as the Roman navy sailed away from Misenum. Plinia was a widower. Her brother had taken her in and adopted his seventeen-year-old nephew as his son and heir. Now, the man of the household was heading into unknown [...]
Falling rock and blocked shallows had forced Pliny the Elder and his navy from the shore at Herculaneum. Skirting the edge of the rock fall, they made their way down the coast to Stabiae, which lay south even of Pompeii. An area of numerous ornate villas, both for leisure and farm estates, it lay at the base of the peninsula. The blast from [...]
Despite close proximity to Mount Vesuvius, many of the citizens of Herculaneum seem to have escaped the volcano’s devastation. Being so close may well have saved them. A smaller, seaside resort town, the city lay directly under the shadow of the volcano. Early rumbles and growls convinced most to flee. For years, historians and archeologists believed all the citizens had successfully evacuated, but [...]
Pompeii is an amazing park. It plunges the visitor into a vision of Roman life, and also brings its human tragedy into sharp focus. Yet years of digging, poor early oversight, and improper protection of the site have forced frequent rebuilding. Many buildings are not ancient, but reconstructions meant to return the city to some semblance of its former glory. It doesn’t detract [...]
Pompeii was one of the Roman cities that enjoyed the volcanic soils of Campania, the region surrounding Vesuvius. Pliny the Elder once called the area one of the loveliest places on earth. Vesuvius had not erupted since the Bronze Age, and the Romans believed that the volcano was dead. Although occasional earthquakes rocked the area, the most violent being in 62 or 63 A.D., [...]
Just a few decades prior to the first Punic War with Carthage, Rome tangled with another perilous enemy. The second cousin of Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus of Epirus inherited his relative’s genius for military strategy. The Carthaginian general Hannibal ranked Pyrrhus as second only to Alexander as the greatest general ever to have lived. Though he eventually met an ignoble end, Pyrrhus won [...]
South of the ancient Egyptian Empire, along the banks of the great river, was another Nile civilization, one that even historians often overlook. It existed for thousands of years, built beautiful pyramids, and raised strong rulers. One fierce queen of Meröe, Amanirenas, even fought Rome. Its own name was lost centuries ago, along with its language. The Egyptians and Judeans referred to it [...]
According to legend, Cyrus the Great himself founded Persepolis around 515 B.C.. It became a ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, though it remained unknown to the Greeks until Alexander the Great arrived in 330 B.C. and took devastating revenge on the city. Get our app on Apple store Get our app on Google play Encounter with the Greek Captives: Having defeated the [...]
Memphis was established as far back as 3000 B.C., legends say by the pharaoh Menes. It soon became the capital of ancient Egypt, and remained so for centuries. In 332 B.C., Alexander the Great and his Macedonians marched into the city. The Egyptians, subjugated by the Persians for years, welcomed them as liberators, and officially crowned Alexander as their pharaoh. While in Egypt, [...]
Situated on the northeast of the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece, Argos was inhabited as early as 7000 B.C.. In the Classical Period, Argos was one of the most powerful cities on the Peloponnese. Yet in the 6th century B.C., the city faced extinction until Telesilla, arguably the most famous female poet of her age, came to the defense of Argos and became a [...]