On the morning of August 24, 79 AD, Vesuvius came to life. A tall cloud, like a great pine tree, arose, at one moment white, then turning dark and mottled from its freight of soil and ashes. Red-hot boulders soared in the air and hailed down on the resort city of Pompeii (pop. 20,000), inflicting great damage and loss of life. Next came two "rainfalls," first of pumice-stones, then of ashes, each six to eight feet deep. The darkened air was filled with not only sulfureous fumes and hydrochloric acid, which asphyxiated fleeing victims, but also thunder and lightening created by the eruption.

Ten miles away, the luxurious town of Herculaneum (pop. 4,000) was buried by waves of volcanic mud, which flowed down dry stream-beds on the side of Vesuvius with sufficient force to crush some buildings, yet inundated others so delicately that fragile ornaments and dishes remained unbroken. Farther off, the town of Misenum was rocked by earthquakes and shrouded with ashes. The seas boiled. It was, people thought, the end of the world.

But the lethal elements which destroyed these towns also preserved them; and much of what we know about daily life in the Roman Empire derives from excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried at mid-day. Meals were on tables; commerce was being conducted in the marketplace. As archaeologists have reclaimed buildings, they have found loaves of bread in the ovens, dishes of walnuts on tables, and even fish scales wonderfully preserved. Beautiful frescoes and mosaics adorn interior space, and political slogans and graffiti cover public walls, since it was an election year. Fountains, statues, and frescoes grace courtyards. From these artifacts, we learn much about these people:

• They surrounded themselves with beauty, but most of their art was copied, borrowed, and even stolen from other civilizations, especially the Greek. Moreover, they had a great fondness for erotic art, which today seems immoral and obscene.

• Although they could be irreverent in the portrayal of their gods, religion was deeply ingrained in their way of life. The official state religion honored the Olympic gods and deified emperors, and citizens kept images of special deities in household shrines, called lararia . Many belonged to the mystery cults, worshipping exotic foreign gods, and a few may have even been followers of early Christianity.

• While many citizens appreciated poetry and music and attended performances at the two theatres, many times more attended the beast-fights and gladiatorial games in the amphitheatre. Over sixty gladiators perished in their barracks at Pompeii.

• Although the leading Roman philosophers were Stoics, who urged self-restraint and personal responsibility, the people lived by an easy-going Epicureanism: "Have a good time while you can."

Archaeologists, historians, art historians, philosophers, and students of religion can tell us much about these people, citizens of a powerful nation which sought to establish and maintain world order and peace. By viewing their arts and learning about their culture, we can ask ourselves: How much are they like us and what can we learn of ourselves from this ancient society?