Pompeii

 

Photo by K. Jones. Pompeii, 8 Oct 1985.

In October 1985, while our family was living in Germany, my parents took my sister and I on a trip to Italy. One of the highlights of that trip was a walk through the ruins of Pompeii, a city destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. This was a formative visit for 11 year old me, capturing my imagination for history and travel. I later minored in History and Classics in college. This week National Geographic released a three part docu-drama, Pompeii Out of Time, with Tom Hiddleston (see trailer on YouTube).

The Nat Geo program focuses on the story of three Romans during the disaster, interwoven with Tom consulting various experts to understand how these people might have reacted and survived. I like that it tries to tell the stories of these people and the locations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in an interesting way. Yes, there's some cheesy bits with Tom freezing and rewinding time, but just watch.

Me & my sister in Pompeii. Oct 1985.

"History gives us facts - names, dates, places - and while all of this evidence is critical, it will never give us the full picture. How people felt, how people lived, how people loved...I hope that by combining these two things - evidence and empathy, history and story...I hope I've told their historia." Tom Hiddleston, episode 3.