History Challenge
The background of this image is a fresco on the wall of the House of the Golden Bracelet in Pompeii. Some years ago I visited Pompeii and Herculaneum. I remember wincing at the plaster impressions of the final agony of people felled by the suffocating ash as they tried to flee on August 24, 79 AD. 
However I was even more touched by the simple and human objects that had been chiseled out of the ancient Vesuvian layers. In one villa room in Herculaneum, an infant’s charred cradle lies next to it’s parent’s bed. The lines of raised stepping stones on the narrow roads are placed so that people won’t get their feet wet while crossing in the rain. Loaves of bread now carbonized, still sit on shelves in bakery shops where they were placed for sale on the day that time stopped for the prosperous Roman city of Pompeii.
Roman Couple
girl with stylus and tablet
( my daughter declares the woman with stylus reminds her of me!! I know I’m reincarnated of course! lol)
Portraits of family members painted on the walls of homes in the manner of today’s photographs seem to reach across time in a whispering “Ave” (this is us! we were here)! The frescoes are wonderfully preserved and often depict symbolic religious and mythological scenes as well as their beloved gardens.
The Romans had made an art out of leisure time. Their houses were built around the garden and the gardens were filled with roses, lilies, violets, honeysuckle, rosemary, bird baths and fountains.
This is a beautiful virtual tour of a well-to-do Roman house. When I sat in the Garden of Julia Felix I remember thinking that here, in this capsule of eerie stillness and profound silence, time was only a blink or a fold in the veil of cosmic vision and if I was alert I might from the corner of my eye catch the sweep of a toga or stola, and glimpse a sandaled foot passing by the columns of the surrounding peristyle. I too, am now stamped on a drift of this suspended tapestry.
beautiful re-creation and mood by “Ancientvine”
The Romans also loved to write about their gardens
With no cultivation
the earth pours forth it’s little gifts
climbing ivy everywhere with cyclamen
and colocasia mixed
with smiling acanthus.- Virgil
“it is pleasing now to lie under an old oak tree, in the clingy grass, And meanwhile waters flow into full streams, and the birds are complaining in the woods”– Horace
We often think of the Romans historically as rather cruel and ruthless despots or immoral epicures, who sat cheering the bloodshed in Colosseum and arenas, but their poetry and essays on gardens, love, death and friendships are as moving and insightful as if written today. There is also Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account of the Vesuvius disaster and his escape with his mother from Misenum. Though his mother begged him to leave her and save himself he would not. He was the nephew of Pliny the Elder, a naturalist and philosopher who started out to scientifically observe the phenomenon, but eventually died heroically trying to rescue people from the area by ship. Volcanologists today still refer to the younger Pliny’s description of this catastrophic and tragic event. For years it was thought his incredible story was more a fiction but the observation of modern day volcanic eruptions verified and vindicated his account.
_________________________________
Also check out this video from the Melbourne Museum Masterpiece Exhibit of the sequence of events of that day-
an absolutely terrifying (and amazing) reconstruction of the eruption
the runes of the gatekeeper's daughter- dedicated to Nick 
What a great idea of blending a fresco with your image. Very nice!
LikeLiked by 1 person
so glad you liked that!! Thank you!
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Truth Troubles: Why people hate the truths' of the real world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you!!!
LikeLike
Great article, thank you for posting it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
pleased you like it! Thank you!
LikeLike
Love history and have always found Pompeii to be both tragic and something that touches on a constant reminder of the powers of nature. Wonderful post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
yes!! thanks for that great comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love what you have done with the pompei pictures, I have tons of them and I have tried to keep them as real as possible. I should try this kind of editing…just beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it’s fun to try new things and thank you so much Ritva. I have some old pics pre digital but they don’t scan well so I try a little creativity lol!
LikeLike
Great photos. And I love the video of the wonderful Roman house.
I’m sorry I haven’t been around here for a while:
I’m in the middle of a process of selling house – and buying a flat – and I’m SO busy with all the things that must be done when you have lived somewhere for many years and you suddenly have to pack, clean up, throw out and move. And at the same time putting the new housing in order and prepare for arranging this. So I did not drop by your blog for a long time – but I soon hope I will have time to follow you more again!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have just been going through the throes of moving too! No worries Truels! Thanks for visiting! Anytime!
LikeLike
Wonderful post, Cybele! I would be the same, sitting there, hoping for a fleeting vision of the past reaching out to me, and wondering at the sense of peace in a place once so devastated by trauma. Pompeii has fascinated me since childhood, yet still I’ve never made it there… one day, I hope.
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh I hope you do! It really evokes so many thoughts and feelings! Thank you Ali! Glad you enjoyed the post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Quite beautiful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks so much for visiting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Romans, certainly were the masters and knew to live their lives artistically. Enjoyed the post Moon. 🙂 And the wild summer rose perfectly fits the post as homage to a lost city and its people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
pleased you enjoyed it Norma. Hope you are well!! you haven’t posted in awhile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for asking Moon.:) But I’m doing fine, just got busy with a lot of other things. I might soon do a post about it. I hope you too are doing good in your life. 🙂
Hope you don’t mind my asking, have you shifted in your new house? I’d remember that you were looking for one at that time. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am way behind on WP anyway lol! Yes I’m moved and still so much to do!! Glad you are doing well!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s good to know. Congrats on moving to your new place, Moon. 😀
Wish you great joyous memories in the new place. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
many thanks Norma- a lot of work still to be done here too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The famous Pompeii history, amazing. Love the first one photo. Dreaming about the past through your photos Cybele, awesome! ❤ 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
so glad you enjoyed it Della! Thank you!
LikeLike
Wow! I just finished watching the video at the end and I’m awestruck by the destructive powers of nature. The Earth is in a cycle that will surprise us one day. Love your post immensely, Cybele. ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
so pleased you popped over to read it. Thank you for a lovely comment!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your summary about the romans is exactly how I felt when I was reading your post about Pompeii etc. I was thinking…wow the romans were so violent but then as I was reading a long I noticed you were speaking about the beautiful things like the roses. Then at the end your summary. Voila!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you like that Laura. They were people – perhaps not much more cruel than we can be but definitely with a profound and sensitive side!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I fear the more material and political the world gets, the farther we are from spirituality. imho
LikeLiked by 1 person
very sadly true!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such an interesting post .. I have been to Italy but missed Pompeii more the shame. Love your rose image
LikeLiked by 1 person
Next time!! Thanks so much Julie!
LikeLike
Ah well, you’ve got me here, Cybele, I’m a fan of Roman history anyway, and professionally previously into volcanoes too, albeit submarine ones. As usual, I very much like your images, and for me the final still here is really outstanding. A 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much my friend. I also find the history fascinating and complex! Were you a diver?
LikeLike
No, not a diver – I can’t even swim! 🙂 Just worked on submarine lava flows many hundreds of million years old, and then some that are far younger – geochemistry of pillow lavas >>> how obscure is that??? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m impressed!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful images, as usual, Cybele 👍👍
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you Nurul!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pompeii and Herculanium are definitely places on my ‘to visit’ list. I’ve read so many articles and seen so many documentaries that I already feel like I know the place, but nothing ever comes close to physically visiting such places. It’s so easy to think of people of the past as being different to us, when they really weren’t in so many ways.
I love the rose, by the way – a beautiful edit. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much Louise! I agree about people being people. One future day we may be thought of as quite barbaric too! PS: I am still quite behind and will be for a bit more! So much work!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A most excellent post dear Cybele… I have been always thrilled by the statues from Pompeii´s lava flow… and how bodies and time remained “frozen” somehow. Sending love and wishing you a great tuesday (even if it is Tuesday 13th!) Aquileana 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
many thanks Aquileana! Enjoy the week!
LikeLike
Everything is so beautiful and artistic. You’re right — it’s not how they are usually portrayed! What a sad and tragic event with so much of it locked in time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
so glad you saw their sensitivity too! Thank you Linda!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The rose seems so alive to be the last
Love the history lesson
As always Sheldon
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Sheldon! Still up to my ears so late in responding!
LikeLike
Stunning ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
many thanks Alchemi for popping over!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s a beautiful rose, Cybele! And thanks for the tour of the Roman house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it is quite lovely isn’t it- the tour! Thank you Crow!
LikeLike
so beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
so glad you like it Gavin! Thanks!
LikeLike
Beautifully presented, thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
and thank you Maverick! 🙂
LikeLike
Sumptuous!
LikeLike
yes! thanks Sarah!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful, Cybele!
LikeLike
thanks so much Emilio!
LikeLike
Love what you did with the rose.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you Sherry!
LikeLike
A beautiful post, Cybele.The story of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 is one that inspires a multitude of emotions in most people. Like you, I’ve visited Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the effects of that eruption are there for us all to see. Your write up about the event is lovely and it’s hard not to imagine ourselves in the place of these unfortunate people. The portraits and charred remains are heartbreaking as we imagine the happiness people shared before this tragedy struck. The virtual tour was excellent and I really enjoyed being transported 2000 years back in time.
I watched a BBC documentary some years ago about Pliny the Younger. His story is one of bravery and dedication to science and learning, but it ends very sadly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s such a fascinating period of history and yes, the place is very poignant.There seems to have been a good and prosperous life there until the terror and chaos of that day and now the silence! It really affects the visitor, at least it did me. It always gives me shivers but I am so moved as you are by those human touches. I put a link to Pliny’s account as well and wonder if anyone else might read it. That virtual tour was amazingly done! I watched the series Rome a few years back. it was, though violent of course, so well done and really seemed to capture the mood and essence of the period. Thanks for reading Millie!
LikeLike
Such beautiful, reflections in words & images. Thank you!
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you so much for stopping by!!
LikeLike
It’s amazing for what they had accomplished and the living standards they had. Great photos, as always.
Thanks for the video link!
LikeLiked by 1 person
they really were techs of their day! Thanks so much Amy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your image is a tribute to time’s intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed your homage to a period of history that has layer upon layer of insights into the human condition.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it does!! Thanks so much Sally!
LikeLike
Love the first and third images, Hannah!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you Sue!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😀
LikeLike
We were in Italy in 2001 and visited Pompei. Other than a few electronic gadgets, people have not really changed much in the way they live and associate.
Thanks for the virtual link.
LikeLiked by 1 person
agreed!! thanks for popping over!
LikeLike
What a beautiful post. Enjoyed the magic!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks Tiny!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
the last of the summer roses….beautiful image
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks Brenda!
LikeLike