Pliny the Younger is credited to giving us first-hand accounts of the eruption that took place in what is now Southern Italy in 79AD in his letters to Tacitus. These letters are vitals sources that give us insight into what happened on the day of the eruption. Pliny was 17 years old when Vesuvius erupted, devastating the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder set off towards the eruption for both discovery and rescue. 25 years later, Pliny wrote to the historian Tacitus explaining the events that he observed. His uncle, Pliny the Elder died during the eruption-so the purpose of these letters describe and glorify his death. In a scientific light, the letters are significant because we can see our own knowledge of these types of eruptions-Plinian-mirrored in his letters.
(Right) A dramatization of the events as accounted by Pliny's letters to Tacitus |
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