In 79 AD, Vesuvius had been quiet for as long as anyone in the region could remember—so quiet, in fact, that no one who lived in its shadow knew it was a volcano. The Romans had no word for “volcano,” and they made no connection between the earthquakes that shook the region and any potential eruption of the mountain they viewed as a benign protector. Their mythology explained these earthquakes as the struggles of giants banished beneath the earth by the Roman god of fire, Vulcan, whose feast day, Vulcanalia, was celebrated each year on August 23rd.

On August 24th, just one day after Vulcan’s feast, the eruption began. Around lunchtime, Vesuvius erupted with a roar. A great plume of ash and small volcanic stones, known as lapilli, were ejected from the volcano. The column of ash, estimated to have reached a height of 20 miles, eventually covered the sun and plunged the area into darkness. Because of the prevailing winds, Pompeii, Oplontis, and Terzigno were showered by ash and lapilli. No one knew what was happening, and people’s initial reactions certainly must have varied. Curiosity, superstition, and finally fear would all have been factors as residents made their decisions to stay or flee.