Pompeii and Beyond--by Sela

Story by Sela, pictures and captions by Kelli

Today we started off at Oplontis, the villa of the second wife of the emperor Nero. We explored the site and especially enjoyed seeing the frescoes on the walls. This was more intact than other places that we have visited, so it gave us a better idea of what these villas would look like as we were walking through it.

Villa Poppaea in Aplontis

Our second stop today was Pompeii. Out of all the ruins and museums we have visited, these were probably the most intact. Walking through the city, we were able to see for ourselves the detail and layout of a town from this time. This was the first time we were able to walk through architecture that looked so similar to the way it did when it was being used. Because it was so much better preserved, it gave us a better idea of what ancient Roman towns were like. 

My favorite part of this was the gladiator barracks. Because the city is so well-preserved, we recognized what they were right away, and I liked how we could actually look inside the rooms and see exactly how big they were when they were being used.

Pompeii:

Mt. Vesuvius 

The Dog of Pompeii 

Vibrant Frescoes

Then we visited the ruins of Cuma, a Greek colony that the Romans eventually took. I found these to be really interesting because Vergil wrote about this place in the Aeneid, which is what my Latin class is reading now.  I liked how this was so relevant to what we are learning, and it was really cool to be able to see places that the book is referencing. 

Cuma, near an opening to The Oracle Sybil's Grotto. 

Translating with Trevor

The view from the Acropolis.