Pompeii and Pliny II

Monday 7/12/10

With friends near the entrance to Pompeii

 We went for a second visit to Pompeii today. It was just a few stops away on the train but we were gone for a full day. Two highlights for me were seeing the house of L. Caecilius Iucundus, whose family is featured in the Cambridge Latin Course my classes use, and  seeing the Villa of the Mysteries again. We also saw the house of Julius Publius. That was cute: you needed a special ticket to get in, and there were sound effects and Disney-style ghosts of the residents who came and told the crowd about their final days. Their corpses were found in the house: an old man, supposedly Julius Publius, embracing a pregnant younger woman, perhaps his daughter. Her fetus lived for 7 seconds longer than the mother, and they all suffocated, according to the drama. I got most of the mother's story on video, but, unfortunately, the English version wasn't working, so it's in Italian. For more pictures from this trip, visit this set on Flickr.

 

At the house of Caecilius Iucundus from our Latin texts, the Cambridge Latin Course

Thermopolium with a lararium at the back of the room

 We had a rather long translation session when we got back, but we read both of Pliny's letters about the eruption, and that was rather fun. Teri also gave a great presentation about the bodies found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. I find I am a rather strong reader of Latin compared to some of the middle school teachers who do not regularly have to read as challenging a text. I guess that makes sense.

 Tomorrow we spend a half day in Oplontis and then either more Herculaneum or rest. I plan to rest. It looks like the pace will be less frantic the rest of the week. My swollen feet and ankles will be happy to slow down. My knee is feeling  better for the exercise, though.

I would like to thank the National Endowment for the Humanities for funding this portion of our trip.