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This section contains two letters written by Pliny the Younger in praise of his uncle, Pliny the Elder.
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A Day in the Life of Pliny the Elder: About the Author
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF PLINY THE ELDER
by Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger, Letters, Book III.5; lines 9-11,14-16
About the author
To find out about Pliny the Younger's life and works, <*Stage79&view_and_hide_section=5click here.
A Day in the Life of Pliny the Elder: English Translations & Latin Texts
English Translations & Latin Texts
The complete letter in English; the Anthology extract starts half-way through at line 9:"Before daybreak he used to wait upon Vespasian...", cutting out lines 12-13, and finishes at the end of line 16.
The rest of the letter is also worth reading!
Scroll down to Letter 5 to view the whole of the letter to Baebius Macer (Book III, Letter 5). Note that there are variations to the Anthology extract which starting at line 9, is cut in places and has different word-order in some sentences.
A Day in the Life of Pliny the Elder: Analysis
Analysis
To find out about Pliny the Younger's life and works, <*Stage79&view_section=5click here.
Good, detailed biography. Vespasian (ruled AD 69-79) was a man of action who gave the empire a period of stable and efficient government. Tacitus tells us that "he, unlike his predecessors, was the only emperor who was changed for the better by his office".
Good description of the Roman ritual of salutatio or "greeting", whereby men regularly visited their higher-status patrons.
More links on Patronage can be found in Stage 31.
For information on the Roman day, its division into hours, and the way the Romans typically spent that time, see the links for Anthology selection The city, hour by hour.
For links to Roman Food and Dining, see Stage 2.
For links to Baths and Bathing, see Stage 9.
For links to Roman Writing, see Stage 4
A simple chair or more elaborate enclosed bench that was carried on the shoulders of slaves.
Another more luxurious mode of transport for important Romans was the portable couch known as a lectica, known in English as a "litter".
The Death of Pliny the Elder: About the Authors
THE DEATH OF PLINY THE ELDER
by Pliny the Younger
section
Pliny the Younger, Letters, Book VI.16; lines 1,4,7-20 (with some adaptation)
About the author
To find out about Pliny the Younger's life and works, <*Stage79&view_and_hide_section=5click here.
The Death of Pliny of Elder: Listen
Listen to it...!
Terrific, precise translation produced by Stephen O'Brien and Clive Madel of the Camden School for Girls, London.
Depending on your default audio player, you may need to save the file on your computer before opening it.
The Death of Pliny of Elder: Read
Read it...!
The complete letter (VI.16) written to Tacitus by Pliny the Younger describing his uncle's death during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79.
This is followed by a follow-up letter (VI.20) to Tacitus describing how Pliny the Younger himself experienced the eruption. Well worth a read!
The Death of Pliny of Elder: Watch
Watch it...!
This excellent animation shows a timelapse of the eruption of AD 79.
The Death of Pliny of Elder: Analysis
Analysis
For general information about Pliny the Elder see the separate weblink section below.
A detailed article on the life and works of Tacitus which amply reveals how little we really know about this important Roman historian.
Tacitus wrote also about Britain, providing a vivid account of our "wild" island in his work Agricola. To read his description, see Stage 28.
Misenum was northern headland of the Bay of Naples. It was also the name of the adjoining harbour and town,
It was the largest base of the Roman navy during the early empire, with the fleet making use of several natural and man-made harbours.
Map 1 of the Misenum headland.
Map 2 of the Misenum headland showing Roman naval harbours.
Map 3 of the Misenum headland (line drawing).
Map 4 of the Misenum headland, Vesuvius and the rest of the Bay of Naples.
The Roman fleet's presence is still hinted at by the massive, underground cistern, today known as the Piscina Mirabilis (photo 1, photo 2) which is located here. It once held the fresh drinking water needed for the thousands of sailors. The pillars supported the cistern's ceiling, and would have been submerged by the water that poured into the cistern from an aqueduct. Explore it in this video and plan.
In AD79 there were two imperial fleets at the ready: one based at Ravenna on the northern Adriatic coast of Italy, and the other based at Misenum in the Bay of Naples on the west coast.The Misenum fleet was the more important and remained in service for four centuries. There may have been over 10,000 sailors at the time of Nero manning perhaps 50 ships.
This website gives details, known from inscriptions, of the boats in the fleets.
Have you heard the one about the fleet? It's a classic!
The Latin word for fleet, classis, derived from its original reference to one of the five wealth bands or "classes" that the early Romans had been divided into for purposes of military taxation. Later in the Roman period, its adjectival form, classicus or "classical" was applied to literature considered "top class" and worthy of imitation. And it's from this term refering to high quality literature that today's term "classic" and the alternative names for Latin and Greek - "Classics" - derive.
Terrific possible reconstruction of the libunica or liburnia which was a relatively small warship with two banks of oars (thus a type of bireme) that was renowned for its speed and agility. Developed by the Liburnians (from modern Croatia), it was adopted by the Roman navy from the time of Augustus.
Another view showing arrangement of rowers who sit on the same level, although the oars sit at two levels. These reconstructions are based on the ships depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome.
The famous wall-paintings of biremes from the House of the Vettii in Pompeii show biremes, but there is not sufficient detail to specify the type of bireme.
Rectina and her husband or lover Tascius are otherwise unknown.
Many commentators regard Tascius as the same person as the later-mentioned Pomponianus - Tascius being his nomen (family-name) and Pomponianus his cognomen (nickname); however, it is surprising that abandoned Rectina is not mentioned again by either Pliny or her "husband" Pomponianus.
A quadrireme was a large Roman warship, the exact form of which is unknown, but which was probably fitted with either a single bank of oars with 4 men at each oar, or two banks of oars, one above each other with 2 men at each oar - either system providing 4 men close to each other - and so satisfying its designation as a quadrireme or a "4er". (The systematic reckoning that there were four banks of oars, following from the known use of two banks in biremes and three banks in triremes, however, can no longer be applied on practical grounds).
This ship was a development of the highly succesful Classical Greek trireme, a modern reconstruction of which has dispelled any doubts that such awkward-looking ships (in this case with 3 banks of oars; 1 man at each oar) could in fact be rowed.
There are loads of informative links and images about the eruption of Vesuvius in AD79, Vesuvius today and volcanoes in general in Stage 12...
But to whet your appetite here's an exclusive link to the terrific painting illustrated in the Anthology:
Marvellous painting of the 1774 eruption by Joseph Wright of Derby.
In the Derby Museums and Art Gallery.
Dramatic 18th-century painting depicting Pliny the Elder's final moments.
Entitled "The Eruption of Vesuvius" it was painted in 1779 by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes.
In a private collection.
The Death of Pliny of Elder: and finally...
and finally...
Background notes, cultural and literary analysis courtesy of Godfrey Evans of Chelmsford County High School for Girls.
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