Chapter 26 Pompeii: A harbinger of the end of the world

Not only the Mayans predicted the end of the world, but the ancient Romans also made very accurate predictions, but in the end such predictions became a ridiculous joke. The ancient Roman philosopher Seneca, who died in AD 65, predicted that the earth would disappear into nothingness.Seneca said: "All of us will witness this moment, and the earth will be reduced to ashes in the fire of heaven, and a happy new world will be born from then on." Some ancient Romans also buried Pompeii in 79 AD. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius as a harbinger of the end of the world. The world-famous city of Pompeii disappeared after a volcanic eruption.Today, thousands of years later, we can only catch glimpses of history among the remnants.The isolated city of Pompeii was built in the 8th century BC and was included in its own territory by the Romans in the 3rd century BC.The Roman Empire grew stronger and stronger, and Pompeii gradually prospered.Pompeii is one of the most beautiful and prosperous cities in the world. The people living in it have strong chariots and democratic politics.Pompey, however, was doomed.

One day in August 79 AD, the disaster in Pompeii fell from the sky.Mount Vesuvius erupted without warning.Hot magma rolled in, mercilessly burying the entire city.And Pompeii has been frozen at this moment ever since. On this day, the scorching sun and the sultry weather have already shown various abnormalities, but people never thought that Mount Vesuvius, not far from the city, would erupt.The small earthquakes in the past few days made the volcano look like an angry bull. A strange-shaped cloud rose on the top of the mountain, like a huge flat-topped pine tree, with countless branches and buds stretched out to both sides, and a little bit Spread to the sky.The glare of the sun was blocked, and a deafening explosion opened the prelude to the disaster.The magma was ejected 10,000 meters high, covering the whole world, and the flames spewed out the core of a man-eating snake like lightning.For a time, an army composed of volcanic ash, gravel, and magma marched towards the ancient city of Pompeii.

Thirty minutes after the eruption, a layer of frivolous ash covered Pompeii as a vanguard.The unique heat of sulfur gas is unbearable.After another 4 hours, the increasingly thick mulch completely collapsed the roof.Pompeii also came to the end of its life. Pompeii, the most prosperous city in the ancient Roman Empire, disappeared after 18 hours due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.Thousands of years later, people re-discovered the ancient city of Pompeii. It seems that everything has returned to the past. The Pompeii people still don't know that once this volcano that has gathered strength for hundreds of years erupts, everything they own will be destroyed beyond recognition in an instant.The catastrophe of Pompeii really came. Until the moment of the disaster, the people of Pompeii did not know that the fertile soil under their feet was actually a gift from the volcano not far away.

The city of Pompeii is located just south of Mount Vesuvius, where the soil is fertile, the climate is pleasant, and the products are abundant. Among the rows of grape racks and olives, the Pompeii people planted grains, vegetables, as well as figs and rosemary.However, all of this was created by the volcanic ash ejected by Mount Vesuvius over millions of years.Success is Xiao He, failure is Xiao He, these fertile volcanic ash built Pompeii, and at the same time destroyed it in the end. The volcanic rubble and ash ejected from the most violent volcanic eruption in the history of the earth once blocked the sky for several years, causing countless life species to become extinct one by one in the darkness without sunlight.And like Mount Vesuvius, there are no less than 1,500 volcanoes that use a peaceful appearance to hide their surging hearts. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius is completely reasonable.

Among the cultural relics unearthed in Pompeii is a silver cup inscribed with the words "enjoy life to the fullest, tomorrow is uncertain".When this person wrote this sentence, he probably didn't know that Pompeii would really be destroyed one day.In the wine room where the silver cup was found, the remains of a woman were also unearthed.Such a comparison seems a little ironic. In the minds of the Pompeys, God is omnipresent. There are a large number of temples built in Pompeii.Among them, the Temple of Apollo occupies the largest area.The Pompeians believed that Apollo was not only in charge of light, youth, medicine, animal husbandry, music, and poetry, but also called the oracle on behalf of the main god, and could also predict the future.Among the relics discovered today, the former splendor of the temple can still be felt from the 48 temple columns and magnificent steps.And Venus, the God of love, also occupies a high position in the hearts of the Pompeii people.

After entering civilized society from the primitive state, the only thing that can maintain the spiritual strength of the Roman "state" is the myth of the ancestors and the demigod worship of the "contemporary" emperor.Therefore, the temples of the public household gods (Penates) and the temple of Jupiter, the main god of Rome, can be seen everywhere in Pompeii. But none of the gods enshrined in these temples could protect Pompeii from this accident.People fled like birds and beasts as fiery volcanic debris rained down on Pompeii from the sky.They seem to believe that this is the end of the world predicted by the philosopher Seneca.The Pompeys who survived the gravel attack had their eyes and chests blocked by the cloud of ash, which eventually caused them to suffocate.Before dying, someone wrote: "The most tragic moment of my life has come."

In 79 AD, 18 hours after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, volcanic debris buried the entire city of Pompeii, with the deepest depth reaching 19 meters. Pompeii, once known as a beautiful paradise, disappeared from the earth. However, the philosopher Seneca was only half right in his prediction.This volcanic eruption was definitely an inescapable doomsday for Pompeii.But apart from Pompey, the world is still safe and sound.