2.2 The Eruption of Vesuvius (79 CE)

An eyewitness

In two famous letters to the historian Tacitus, Pliny describes the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius, which buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. They are our best eyewitness account of the disaster.

The Elder's death

Pliny the Elder sailed toward the eruption to rescue people and observe it, and died on the shore at Stabiae, overcome by fumes — a death Pliny frames as scientific curiosity and duty combined.

The cloud

Pliny famously compares the eruption cloud to an umbrella pine (pinus) — a tree with a tall trunk spreading into branches at the top, a vivid and precise image still cited by volcanologists.

Key terms

79 CE eruption

Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum

Addressed to Tacitus

Pliny wrote the eyewitness account to the historian

The umbrella pine

Pliny's famous simile for the eruption cloud

Pliny the Elder's death

at Stabiae, overcome by fumes

Eyewitness value

our best surviving account of the disaster

Try an AP-style question

Pliny compared the eruption cloud's shape to…

1. a ship's sail
2. a lion
3. an umbrella pine tree
4. a mountain goat