Corner La Trin: Pompeii

Arielle swiftly dodged the lords wine glass, muttering to herself, "Well, Lord Tiveus is drunk again, ah well, a servants life for me..."

Pompeii was home to Arielle, a servant of Lord Tiveus. Tiveus was cruel, and had many wives. But he did give her her wages, and a bed to sleep on. A bed of hay. And minuscule wages. She had been beaten hundreds of times, abused even more, and cursed thousands of times. The third wife, however was kind and gentle, especially to Arielle. Arielle couldn't understand how such a pretty, lovely woman could fall in love with such a cruel man. But there were lots of things Arielle didn't understand. Thinking about all this as she served wine to Tiveus, she bowed down low and and poured his wine. All of a sudden, the ground started shaking and Arielle lost her grip on the jar. Her eyes widening in fear, she looked up at Tiveus, whose face was now getting purple.

"How dare you spill wine in the house of my grace! " Tiveus thundered at Arielle. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a cat o nine tails whip, with glass shards within it. Arielle's face was streaming with tears, praying for forgiveness as she eyed the whip. But Tiveus was not one for forgiveness. Tying her to a column, he started whipping her with all his might. Arielle screamed and sobbed, writhing in pain. Tiveus's cruel, beady eyes gleamed with greed to cause pain and suffering to Arielle. Blood was pouring down Arielle's back, soaking her simple robes. The third wife, Helena, heard Arielle's screams and came rushing into the room. She started pleading with her husband to stop, but came to no avail. Tiveus was unstoppable.

Suddenly, the ground started shaking violently and a deafening "BOOM" filled the whole town. Tiveus collapsed on the floor, unconscious, and Helena ran to free Arielle of the ropes. They rushed out to investigate.

Helena screamed and Arielle went pale as they saw the sight outside. Mount Vesuvius, the volcano they had thought a mountain, was spewing molten lava. Ash was starting to faintly shroud the town, and the air had become sulphurous. They started running as fast as they could. The house had been on the outskirts of town, so it was easy to run out. A lot of other townsfolk had started running too. They found a horse and chariot at the stables, which they quickly boarded, before anyone else could get it. Arielle whipped the horse as hard as she could, so that they were going very fast. They were soon far away from Pompeii. About two hours later of solid riding,they finally looked back, to faintly see a huge ash and sulphur cloud enveloping their hometown. Pompeii was gone, buried under ash.

"Trin! Trin! TRIN! Come on! The tour is leaving! Move along! TRIN!!!" my mum's yells yanked me out of my reverie. The ancient ruins of Pompeii that sat atop volcanic rock were filled with ancient wonders, unsolved mysteries. Ruined walls formed buildings, buildings that had once housed Pompeiians. I ran along to catch up with my mum and the tour group, marveling at the ruins.

Pompeii was amazing. Incredible. Laneways led off the cobbled main street, and collapsed houses lined the streets. There were a couple of theaters, for the poor and the rich. They had scattered marble decorations, patterned with leaves and flowers. It was very historical.

The main square of Pompeii was large and busy. Ancient statues and columns were scattered around, and the temple of Jupiter was a large, ruined platform in the centre. Off to the side was the wool market, a large, green square where merchants would sell their wool. On the other side were some cages with skeletons of dead Pompeiians, covered with clay. It was very imposing.

The temples, I could tell, used to be very large and grand. Columns rose out of the ground like stone fingers, embellished with decorations. Sacrificial altars were in each one of them, and marble decorations were on the walls. Yes, the temples had been grand.

Houses of the rich were large and luxurious. They had fountains in the entrance room, and then gardens at the back. They were often two stories, the main floor being the first one, because the second one usually only had two or three rooms. They would've been beautiful houses.

On the bus ride back from Pompeii, I realized just how amazing it was. I thought about what life would've been like, and the social hierarchy. The rich on the main street, the poor on the laneways. The size of the houses, the cobbled stone street. It was a lot to take in. It would never leave me.

Teatro Grande of Pompeii - Entertainment was free for all pompeiians

We have traveled back in time to become pompeiians

Our entertaining tour guide telling us all the intriguing stories

The Forum used for meetings by all the pompeiians

One of the streets in Pompeii

Artifacts from Pompeii ruins

I bought a book called "Pompeii Reconstructed" and I would like to share some of the before/after photos with you.

One of the Pompeii streets - Before