Hi Students,
As promised, here are the answers to the test you received on Monday.
Short Answer Questions
Where did Pliny the Younger watch Vesuvius’ eruption, in AD 79?
- Misenum
List two of the historians that write about Pompeii. What language do they write
in?
- Pliny the Younger, in Latin
- Strabo, in Greek
What estimate is usually given for the population of Pompeii?
- 20,000
What is the main source that describes the eruption of Vesuvius?
- Pliny the Younger’s Letter to Tactius
What is a fullery?
- A workshop where clothes were washed in urine,. (Alternative answer: A
place that bleached clothes with sulphur
In what year was Pompeii rediscovered?
- 1594
Source Questions
Identify two reasons why Pliny wrote the letter.
Options: Tactius asked him to write something about the death of Pliny’s uncle.
Pliny wanted to ensure his uncle was ‘transmit[ted] to posterity’. Pliny wanted
to ensure his uncle was included in Tactius’ history. He wanted to be included as
a source that was cited in Tacitus’ history.
In what ways can this source be considered reliable? List two reasons
Options: It provides extensive descriptions of Vesuvius’ eruption. Pliny would not
be asked for an account, if Tacitus did not think he was trustworthy. The letter
goes into a lot of detail about Pliny’s uncle’s death. It is a source from an
eyewitness.
Why might Pliny’s letter be unreliable, as a portrayal of Vesuvius’ eruption? List
two reasons.
Options: Pliny’s focus is on the drama of his uncle’s death – the eruption provides
a background to this event. Pliny is preoccupied with describing his uncle’s death
in a supernatural or dramatic way, so that people reading Tacitus’ history would
think his uncle was a great man. Pliny did not sail with his uncle (De Carolis and
Patricelli state that Pliny got this information most likely, from Pomponianus, or
his uncle’s men who survived). Pliny was not close to the eruption, and was
probably busy fleeing Misenum after feeling a tremor there (See the Last Day of
Pompeii, or Pliny minor, Epistulae 6.20) . There was a large time-gap between
Vesuvius’ eruption and when Pliny wrote this letter.
How is Pliny’s letter useful, for telling us about …
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
Vesuvius’ eruption
Roman aristocrats
Pliny’s family
How Romans regarded slaves
Pliny the Elder’s personality
Pliny the Younger’s personality
(a) Extensive descriptions give a sense of how it would have been viewed at
the time.
(b) Roman aristocrats (nobiles) were expected to take a military role (Pliny
the Elder was an admiral). They often lived in villas, or in areas close to
the ocean (such as Misenum). Nobiles communicated often via letters. If
Pliny the Elder provides any indication, they had a strong sense of duty –
as he immediately set sail to rescue the wife of a friend, Rectina.
(c) Pliny minor took his uncle as a role model. (A Good answer would make
reference to the fact that the elder Pliny adopted Pliny minor, after his
parents died. His family owned a villa at Misenum, was brought much
prestige by the work of Pliny major (as the letter tells us that he wrote
extensively, and these were quite popular. Pliny major was also an
admiral).
(d) This was a trick question – there is not much in the letter that suggests
much about Roman attitudes to slaves.
(e) Pliny major had a strong sense of duty to his friends, setting sail with
ships as a result of hearing of one. However, considering the number of
ships that he took (an admiral is in charge of many vessels), it can be
suggested that he set out to rescue other people in the area, as well. This
evidence suggests that Pliny major was civic-minded. He enjoyed writing,
was curious about science and as he wanted to get closer to the eruption
upon observing it, he had an intense curiosity.
(f) Pliny minor was more introverted at the time of Vesuvius’ eruption, and
preferred to remain at Misenum. It also shows that he admired his uncle
from afar. He states, ‘Happy are they, in my opinion,, to whom it is given
either to do something worth writing about, or to write something worth
reading most happy, of course, those who do both’ in his letter to Tactius.
While he appreciated his uncle’s curiosity, he did not believe in putting
himself in harm’s way for others, or for the sake of science. This said, he
has a strong sense of loyalty to friends and family, as he still holds his
uncle in high esteem, as he is writing 20 years after Vesuvius’ eruption.