Roma, Day 2 (Pompei)

From the Giulianis' to Pompei involved taking the car, train, subway, and train. After spending a tiring Tuesday in Rome I was tempted to forego our plans to investigate Pompei. Boy, are we glad we continued with original plan. Pompei is a very old city. It became a Roman city in 80BC. It was destroyed during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius (seen in second photo below) in AD79. The volcano buried the city under many feet of ash and it was lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. We arrived at the ancient city around 2:00 and spent over three hours touring the ruins. Things are remarkably well preserved. In many places the painting on the walls of the homes and businesses can still be made out. The streets are precisely as they were in Roman times; notice the sidewalks and the stepping stones for use when the streets were full of water or mud.Pompei was not only a thriving economic and cultural centre, it was also well known for its sexual immorality. One of the best preserved building in the ruins is a brothel, of which there were nine. Someone had scribbled on a Pompei wall, "Sodoma Gomora" because of its moral decadence. The destruction of Pompei was sudden and without warning. We do know that 10 days before the volcano erupted the wells in the city went dry and the cattle on the hillside were acting strangely. But no one expected such quick destruction. By the end of the second day after the eruption Pompei was buried under 20 feet of stone and ashes. Some estimate that 20% of the population perished though the number could be much higher if the gases from the volcano were particularly toxic. During excavations of an ancient orchard, casts were obtained in 1961 by pouring plaster into the spaces left by decomposed bodies in what became known as the "Garden of the Fugitives." When the dirt was removed after the plaster had hardened, thirteen adults and children were found huddled together, making futile attempts to shield themselves from the onslaught of volcanic dust, pumice, stone, and ash. These plaster casts can be found on display throughout the city, many of them in poses which suggest that they were trying to protect themselves from the onslaught of the volcano. One has a mother covering her baby; another has a man lying flat on the ground; another of a man plugging his nose to protect himself from the dust or gas. In the picture of the "Garden of the Fugitives" seen below you can only imagine the horror of those last minutes for these people.

Sudden destruction like what happened in Pompei is a sobering thought, a thought that is given particulary poignancy when one sees these plaster casts. What urgency there is to be found in Jesus Christ because there is no escaping God's certain judgement if we neglect so great a salvation as is freely offered to sinners in him.