Exploring Pompeii: Learn About The City Frozen in Time
In an age where even distant lands are only a few flights away, it is easy to visit new places in the world. Covering long distances is no big challenge for a modern traveler like you, but how often do you get to travel through time?
Whether you are a history lover or a curious student looking for a new unforgettable adventure, you’ll love learning about Pompeii, the city frozen in time!
Step into the past as you read about what happened on a fateful day in the 1st century C.E., what remained in the aftermath, what the place was once like long before and up to the event, and how you can experience the past through an EdOdyssey adventure in Pompeii!
A FATEFUL ERUPTION AND EVENTUAL REDISCOVERY
Mt. Vesuvius, standing at over 4,000 feet above sea level and holding the unique status as mainland Europe’s only active volcano, made history on a fateful day in 79 C.E. It erupted and destroyed cities several miles away, leaving them buried in ash for centuries. Among the places it demolished was Pompeii, a city that, despite being wiped out by the eruption, became known as a city preserved by the same volcano that destroyed it.
The volcanic ash that had forced out the city’s residents protected the ruins from erosion long after the 1st century C.E.
The ruins of the city were eventually uncovered and studied by archaeologists starting from the 16th century, and from then on, it became a top destination for curious scholars, adventurers, and tourists alike. While the city is not fully intact, the pieces that are still standing are recognizable as parts of massive structures like temples and houses, and the Latin inscriptions on the city’s signs and grave monuments are still legible to the naked eye. Most eerily, the human side of everyday life seems to be frozen in the moment of the eruption.
Archaeologists have been able to reconstruct the last moments of the people fleeing their homes by making casts out of the voids their bodies left in the ash after Mt. Vesuvius erupted over the city.
In the past, EdOdyssey has helped high school groups visit Pompeii as part of its immersion programs in Italy! Students not only got to walk through the streets of the ancient city, but also climb to the peak of Mt. Vesuvius for an incredible view of the Italian coast!
DIVERSE CULTURES AND STRUCTURES OF POMPEII
Even though many associate Pompeii with the ancient Romans, the first people to settle there were from native Italic tribes in the southern Italian peninsula. The place had different cultural influences from native peoples and Greek settlers before it became a Roman city later in the 4th century B.C.E., after the region of Campania, which is where Pompeii and Naples are today, merged with other Roman lands after a series of wars between the Roman Republic and the local tribes in the area.
From the 3rd century B.C.E. onward, people in Pompeii followed customs that were a mix of the ancient traditions practiced by the native tribes and the Greco-Roman traditions that were brought to the area by outsiders like the Romans; many wall paintings that are still visible in the archaeological park today show the diversity of cultures and art styles in the city.
Up to the infamous eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E., Pompeii was a busy, growing city. The population had been growing since the Romans had incorporated the area into their territory during the time of the Republic, and the increasing number of residents in the city lead to rapid repairs and construction of roads, vast villas, and several public spaces like the open forum, eateries like thermopolia (places that served hot meals), and temples for different deities, both local and foreign. There were also a large number of different occupations for the people of Pompeii, such as bakers, actors, priests, priestesses and government officials.
The bakers who made and sold bread for the community ,the actors rehearsed and performed plays in the massive amphitheatre in city, both priests and priestesses tended to sacred rituals in the temples, and officials who handled governmental business on behalf of the Roman Empire.
As part of our custom itineraries in Italy, EdOdyssey arranges opportunities for high school students to take closer looks at the cultural gems like art from different eras of history. Through expert-led walking tours of Pompeii, students can enter the ancient villas of the wealthy Romans and admire the colorful paintings that are still on the building walls!
POMPEII TODAY
You can still walk through the cobblestone streets of Pompeii through entering the Parco Archeologico di Pompei in Campania, Italy. It is one thing to learn about Pompeii through books and documentaries – there is no shortage of those, considering the widespread interest in the famous place – but another to experience Pompeii in person.
The ruins alone are massive enough and already seem larger-than-life upon just a single glance, but the fact that the structures of the city were once larger and full of people who carried out their daily lives there is astounding.
You can imagine that ancient people who might be around your age or around the ages of other people you know walked the streets or entered buildings like you can and lived their lives like any other person in the world. You can almost picture people conducting business in the public forum or heading to events at temples and theatres like you can see with people in modern cities.
Being there in person makes the city come to life, and there is no substitute for the unforgettable experience. Follow us on social media to learn see all the places you can go with an international adventure!
Sources
Britannica, Encyclopaedia. “Vesuvius.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Inc., 19 May 2020, www.britannica.com/place/Vesuvius.
Jashemski, Wilhelmina Feemster. “Pompeii.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., 17 Mar. 2020, www.britannica.com/place/Pompeii.