How Pompeii Was Destroyed

This is a myth I wrote for school, but I thought it was quite good, so here it is. I have this on my Fanfiction account too. The link is in my profile. Enjoy!

  A long long time ago, there was a Roman city called Pompeii, near Naples, Italy. The city of Pompeii had been a large and beautiful city with thousands of inhabitants. Posh houses lined the streets and a beautiful mountain stood proudly in the middle of the city. Little did the citizens of Pompeii know, the mountain they were all so proud of, Mount Vesuvius, a dormant volcano, will be their downfall.

  The people of Pompeii were proud. They had a gorgeous city, an endless supply of denarii and a glamorous lifestyle. The gods of Mount Olympus were irritated by the mortals’ hubris but didn’t do anything, until the fateful day Marcus angered the gods.

  Marcus was a proud man. His ancestors were powerful people, rulers, kings, emperors and senators. He was always bragging about his ancestry and so everyone disliked him. He was a member of the senate of Rome, but he resided in Pompeii. He had never been impressed by the “silly superstitions” the people of Pompeii had about the gods of Olympus, but he still followed their tradition and made daily offerings to them.

  The day before Mount Vesuvius erupted was Vulcanalia, the festival of Vulcan, the Roman God of Fire and the Forge. The Romans of Pompeii were all out at the temples praying and making offerings, watching special gladiator fights or holding parties in which Bacchus, the God of Wine and Theatre enjoyed immensely… that is, everyone except Marcus. He was in a frighteningly terrible mood.

  “Senate meeting from nine to three, does it HAVE to be that long? Tea with Senator Theseus and Procurator Gaius Plinius Secundus from three to half past four, then signing papers and MORE senate meetings from four to eight… Humph, that leaves one hour for me to actually enjoy myself, party at Octavia’s? After that, I’ll have to sign more papers…”

  Marcus thought that gods and goddesses ruling the world was absurd, but Roman festivals always provided the perfect opportunity to have a decent party. Today, though, the Senate were discussing an important issue about the import and export business that wasn’t going too well. Therefore they would have meetings for most of the whole day. Marcus was definitely not happy about that. His bad mood got worse when, halfway through the Senate meeting, a very loud “discussion” started between him and his oh-so-perfect cousin on what measures should be made to deal with the problems Rome was facing.

  “WILL YOU TWO SHUT IT? Holy Jupiter, you act like little children!” Titus, the head of Senate shouted.

  The day went downhill from there. The Senate meeting went horribly, what with all the yelling and finger pointing. Tea wasn’t any better. Theseus and Gaius Plinius Secundus (also known as Pliny the Elder) were both very upset with Marcus as his and his cousin’s act of foolishness caused the Senate to prolong their meeting. They refused to speak to him and stalked off to have tea with “a Senator with a brain that he can use”. The following Senate meeting was, like the first one, a disaster. It went on and on with tempers flaring and voices rising. In the end, Marcus had absolutely no time left to go to the party and was forced to work until late at night.

  When Marcus finally finished all his work, he stormed off to Vulcan’s temple and started yelling obscenities at his statue.

  “It’s YOUR festival! Shouldn’t you at least try to make all of us happy? I had so much work to do! You good for nothing, horrible, insufferable “god”!”

  Thunder boomed and it started to rain buckets. Lightning flashed and suddenly, Marcus found him face to face with a man with a metal leg, a crooked nose and boils and blotches all over his face. In short, he was the most hideous man Marcus had ever seen. Marcus backed up a few steps, tripped and landed on his bottom.

  “Who—who are you?”

  “I am Vulcan, God of Fire and the Forge. And you, Marcus Levitus Brutus, have angered me and the other gods so, we have decided to wipe you off the face of this Earth!” The man boomed.

  In a flash of light, Vulcan and Marcus were standing on top of Mount Vesuvius, right on the rim, with lava bubbling behind them. Marcus was clearly in shock, his usually proud face was pale, and he looked horror-struck. Vulcan lifted his arms and started to chant. His hands glowed and his words were filled with power.

  “Let the holy fire consume this offender and criminal, for he has sinned against the almighty gods!”

  The mountain rumbled and smoke spewed out from the opening. Marcus’s eyes widened as the meaning of Vulcan’s words dawned on him. He fell on his knees in front of the god and begged, something he has never ever done.

  “Please, my Lord, I beg you! Spare my life! I will be loyal to the gods and to Rome! I beg you my Lord!”

  Vulcan just laughed at his piteous attempts and continued to chant.

  “Mount Vesuvius! I wake you from your sleep and order you to destroy this scourge and all those arrogant citizens of Pompeii!”

  Mount Vesuvius shook. A giant hand made of lava seemed to reach out and grab Marcus. He screamed at the searing touch of the fiery hand and was slowly and painfully consumed by the lava licking at his body. After a few minutes, all that was left of him was a pile of ashes.

  “That’s one out of the way,” Vulcan said smugly, looking at the pile of ashes. “And now, for the rest of you!” He directed the lava towards Pompeii. Just burning Pompeii did not satisfy Jupiter, the Lord of the Sky and the King of the Gods, though. He wanted the Romans of Pompeii to be buried alive. So, with an almighty yell, he threw a thunderbolt at the volcano, creating a even larger cloud of poisonous gas and smoke than before. The cloud of gas rolled over Pompeii, burying everything and suffocating the arrogant and proud citizens of Pompeii.

  There have been many versions of this story told, my friend, but no one has ever told the true one. The gods have cursed Pompeii, and, if one were ever to spread it around, then woe betides him who has to face the wrath of the gods. This is the story of how Pompeii was destroyed, all because of mankind’s arrogance. Senatus Populusque Romanus, my friend, and watch your tongue.