on its summit a vast crater, 2000 feet in diameter, and 500 in
depth.




CHAPTER III.

Mount Vesuvius--Origin of Name--Former Condition--Eruption of A D
79--Death of Pliny--Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum--
Appearance of the Mountain before and after Eruption--Formation of
Monte Nuovo--Eruption of Boiling Water--Coloured Vapours--Cascade
of Lava--Discovery of Remains of Herculaneum and Pompeii--The
Buildings of Pompeii--Street of Tombs--Skeletons--Sundry Shops--
Ascents of Vesuvius--Crater--Temple of Serapis.


Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the continent of
Europe, and it is highly interesting both from its historical
associations and the frequency of its eruptions. It is situated on
the coast of the Bay of Naples, about six miles to the eastward of
the city and at a short distance from the shore. It forms a
conspicuous feature in the beautiful landscape presented by that
bay, when viewed from the sea, with the city in the foreground.

Mount Vesuvius was in ancient times held sacred to the deified hero
Hercules, and the town of Herculaneum, built at its base, was named
after him. So also, it is said, was the mountain itself, though in
a more round-about way. Hercules, as you will doubtless learn, was
feigned to have been the son of the heathen god Zeus and Alcmena, a