Armand and Jimmy plunge into the smoke and ash of one of Ancient Rome’s most haunting eyewitness accounts: Pliny the Younger’s letters describing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. With ash raining from the sky and the sea vanishing before their eyes, the Roman world seemed to collapse in real time. But beyond the drama lies a deeper story – of science, courage, superstition, and family. Why did Pliny the Elder sail toward the disaster? What made these letters survive two thousand years? And how did a volcano help shape both the mythology of Roman nature writing and our understanding of imperial control? Expect crumbling cities, singing dolphins, volcanic gods, and one of the most vivid ancient accounts of catastrophe ever written.

Thank you to Genn and Jenny from the Ancient History Fangirl podcast for their suggestion of this week’s topic and the main text explored: Pliny the Younger’s Epistulae

Presented by Armand D’Angour and Jimmy Mulville

Produced by Diggory Waite

A Hat Trick Production

For more on the charity Classics For All, who support state schools to introduce or develop the teaching of classical subjects sustainably on the curriculum or as an after school activity, visit www.classicsforall.org.uk