Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOGAS, TRIUMPH & TERROR
Under the Romans, the Bay of Naples sparkled with lavish villas, thermal spas and cashed-
up out-of-towners. Farmland and forests covered Vesuvius' lower slopes, while VIPs in-
dulged by the coast. Notables holidayed in Stabiae (Castellammare di Stabia), Nero's
second wife, Poppea, entertained in upmarket Oplontis and Julius Caesar's father-in-law
kept a home at Herculaneum. West of Naples, Puteoli (Pozzuoli) became a major interna-
tional port, docking everything from Alexandrian grain ships to St Paul, who reputedly
stepped on shore in AD 61. Further west, Misenum (Miseno) boasted the ancient world's
largest naval fleet.
Despite the Romans' stronghold on the re-
gion, the citizens of Neapolis never completely
gave in to their foreign occupiers, refusing
(among other things) to relinquish their lan-
guage. While the Romans may have tolerated
the linguistic snub, the Neapolitans' opposition
to Rome during the Roman Civil War (88-82
BC) was another story, prompting Cornelius
Sulla to take the city and slaughter thousands. Equally catastrophic was the unexpected
eruption of Mt Vesuvius in AD 79, which drowned nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum in
molten lava, mud and ash. Coming just 17 years after a massive earthquake, it was a dev-
astating blow for the rural plebs (plebeians) already struggling in the region.
Inside the city walls, Neapolis was booming: General Lucullus built an enviable villa
where the Castel dell'Ovo stands and even Virgil moved to town. Offshore, Capri became
the centre of Emperor Tiberius' famously debauched operations.
Yet, as Neapolis' welfare was by now tied to that of the Roman Empire, the death of the
last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, in AD 476, saw the city pass into barbarian
hands.
Get to grips with the history, peoples and wars
of ancient Greece by logging on to
www.ancientgreece.com
, which gives com-
pact histories of all the key characters and
places. It also has an online bookstore.
