Diary of Dorkius Maximus in Pompeii
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Decima thinks it’s a stupid idea, of course. But I’m only being prepared. I bet she’ll wish she’d bothered to make a ghost-frightener if we DO run into some spirits.
August IV
It was after midnight when we reached the Salt Gate. I could hear voices from deep inside the town. Ghosts? I lifted the Medusa pan to my face. Unfortunately, this made me bump into the side of the gate, so I had to lower it again.
I crept down the dark street. The houses didn’t seem to have been burned at all. Maybe the damage was all on the other side of town.
We reached the road leading to the forum and I peered down it. My heart raced. There was a figure coming towards us. I lifted the pan to my face again and made a hissing noise. I could hear footsteps approaching and a ghostly laugh.
Well, it wasn’t THAT ghostly, really. It was more of a giggle. I peered over the top of the pan and saw a woman pointing and laughing at me. She didn’t look like a ghost, but I ran away anyway, just in case.
I caught up with Decima just in time to see two more dark figures lurching towards us. They didn’t much look like ghosts, either. In fact, they looked exactly like Pontius and Spurius.
As they approached, Spurius pointed at us and said, ‘Dorkius and Decima, the children from Rome who were eaten by the mountain demon last week.’
Pontius smiled and waved at us.
‘How are you still alive?’ I asked.
‘I eat plenty of fresh vegetables and take regular exercise,’ said Pontius. ‘That sort of thing.’
‘But what about the lava and rocks?’ I asked.
‘Never tried them,’ he said. ‘Is this some sort of Roman fad diet?’
I stared at Pontius in confusion. Either the poisonous gasses had warped his mind even more than usual, or there hadn’t been ANY lava or rocks here. Which meant our families were safe.
I turned to Decima. ‘I think we’d better check on our parents.’
She nodded and limped off down the street. I darted back home and stormed into the atrium.
‘Mum! Dad!’ I shouted.
I heard Dad’s voice from the bedroom. ‘I told you he’d come back. He always does.’
Mum rushed out and hugged me. As soon as I could breathe, I asked her what had happened. Apparently, the tremors had continued after we’d left town, and Pontius and Pullo ordered the sacrifices to be stepped up even further.
According to Mum, this made the demon so angry he tore a hole in the mountain and made fire shoot into the sky. He farted deadly gas at Pompeii and scattered it with grey dirt. But the gods were finally satisfied with the sacrifices and they stepped in. They sent strong winds to blow the smoke and the demon away.
As for the rivers of fire, they’d all flowed down the other side of the mountain and hadn’t come anywhere near Pompeii.
I tried to tell her our version of events, but she didn’t want to listen. She’s convinced the demon kidnapped us, so I’m not going to bother trying to tell her the truth.
I was TOTALLY starving, but all I got to eat was a plate of carrots and turnips. Apparently, all the animals have been sacrificed, so there’s no meat left in town.
Mum’s chickens strutted past me and clucked as I ate the boring vegetables. I wish the heat had roasted them. I could just do with a nice plate of chicken right now.
August V
Decima’s parents have agreed to leave town, but mine are still refusing to go because they’re CRAZY.
Mum’s convinced the demon has gone and we’re no longer in any danger. Dad’s insisting on staying until the tax is paid. If that mountain explodes again there’ll be no one left for Caesar to tax.
UPDATE
Hang on. I’ve just had a BRILLIANT idea to get us out of this place once and for all. I’ll need Decima’s help and some of her dad’s things, but I think it might just work ...
August VI
After midnight, I made my way to Decima’s house. She was waiting for me in the atrium with the stuff I’d asked for from her dad’s room.
I’d worked out that if we both wore a wolf headdress and held candles in front of our faces, this way we would create a perfect likeness of the two-headed demon.
Well, almost perfect. Good enough for a really dark room, anyway.
We sneaked down the street to Pontius’s house and found him sleeping in a bedroom off the atrium.
‘Awaken!’ I growled in the deepest voice I could manage and lifted the candle in front of my face. ‘I am the fire demon.’
Pontius opened his eyes and screamed. ‘Demon attack!’ he shouted. ‘Help!’ He leapt out of bed and hurled a statue at us.
‘Stop!’ I hissed. ‘You need to listen to us.’
Decima nudged me and I realized I’d forgotten to put my demon voice on.
‘I mean ... do not try to call for help or I’ll take over your body and control it, just like I did with that cool kid, Dorkius, from Rome.’
‘Leave me in peace or I’ll make the gods chase you away again,’ shouted Pontius. ‘Don’t think I haven’t prepared for this.’
‘I will do you no harm,’ I said. ‘But first you must do something for me.’
Pontius clasped his trembling hands to his ears. ‘Don’t try and trick me with your clever words, demon.’
‘This is no trick,’ I said. ‘I am making you a genuine offer.’
Pontius let his arms fall back to his sides. ‘Alright. What?’
‘I’ll leave this town forever if you agree to pay Caesar’s new tax demands with your emergency funds,’ I said.
‘Oh,’ said Pontius, looking confused. ‘I suppose we could. But why do you care? Isn’t tax a bit boring for fire demons?’
‘Do not question me,’ I shouted. ‘Or I shall aim one of my deadly farts at you. Remember how bad they smelt when I did them on the mountain? Now imagine how bad they are close up.’
‘Okay, okay, anything but THAT,’ said Pontius, his eyes terrified and widening. ‘I’ll do anything you say.’
August VII
Pontius came round to our house today at the crack of dawn. Dad started to try and talk to him again about the taxes. But without saying a thing, Pontius plonked a bag of coins on Dad’s desk, enough to pay all the tax, and then he hurried away.
Dad was so suspicious he inspected each coin before announcing the best news I’ve ever heard. We can go back to Rome!
Mum was really upset, which proves how bonkers she is. She’d rather stay next to a dangerous mountain than return to the best city in the world.
I was packed and ready in minutes, but we couldn’t go because last week Mum gave away both our horses for sacrifice. I can’t believe she got rid of our ONLY means of escape. She should make her silly superstitious friends pull the wagon instead.
August VIII
Dad went to Herculaneum to buy new horses today. The only ones he could find were a pair of flea-bitten old nags that looked like they’d barely make it back to Pompeii, let alone to Rome. But he couldn’t even buy those horses, because Pomponious Falto found out, and he’s banned everyone from selling animals. Looks like we’re stuck here after all.
UPDATE
I’ve just thought of something. When I was dressed as the demon, Pontius said ‘Don’t think I haven’t prepared for this!’ What if he’s been secretly storing animals in case he needs to make more sacrifices? I wouldn’t put it past him.
But where would he keep them? And would they be strong enough to tow a cart all the way to Rome?
August IX
I wandered around town all day trying to work out where Pontius was hiding the animals. I saw plenty of people who looked and smelled like animals, but I’m pretty sure they were all human.
Pontius must be keeping them somewhere really secret, but where?
August X
Of course! There isn’t anywhere in the town you could hide a load of animals, but there is somewhere just outside it – the fish-sauce factory. I’m off there right now to investigate. If this is the
last thing I ever write, it’s because I’ve died of foul, fishy fumes.
UPDATE
I made it to the factory. I held my breath and ventured between the rows of stinky jars. There was a large hut right at the end, so I rushed inside.
Just as I’d suspected, it was full of animals. Unfortunately, they were all pigs. I wondered if it would be possible to ride a pig all the way to Rome. I realize it wouldn’t be a very dignified way to travel, but it would be better than nothing.
I was about to try sitting on one when I noticed another door at the side of the room.
I pulled it open. Ta da! There stood both of our horses. Pontius must have been holding them back in case he needed to really impress the gods.
I led them back to our house triumphantly.
UPDATE
Brilliant news. Dad has said we can leave first thing tomorrow. ROME ... I’m coming home!
August XI
We’re on the way back to Rome now and that horrible mountain is almost out of sight.
I really hope it doesn’t explode again. No one deserves to be swamped with liquid fire, not even the silly people of Pompeii. But I have done everything I could to warn them. If they want to risk living there, it’s up to them ...
About Pompeii and Vesuvius
Dorkius wrote his scrolls in the fourth decade BC, and they’re the only existing record of an eruption of Vesuvius in that era. But a much more famous one occurred over a hundred years later in AD79.
Following a series of tremors, the volcano shot millions of tonnes of lava, pumice and ash into the sky on the morning of August 24th. That night, the ash and rocks fell on Pompeii and buried two thousand people.
The town stayed buried until the middle of the eighteenth century, when excavations began and the site became a popular tourist destination.
In the nineteenth century, a man called Giuseppe Fiorelli took over. He created casts of the people who’d died by pouring plaster into the holes left by their bodies. The results were remarkably detailed, showing the straps of sandals and the fabric of tunics. One cast even showed a dog that had died struggling to free itself from its chain.
Millions of people still visit Pompeii every year to see its ruins, mosaics, wall paintings, and statues, and to get a unique glimpse into life almost two thousand years ago.
Ancient Roman Words
Dorkius’s scrolls probably contain some words from Roman life that you won’t know. Here are some brief explanations:
Amphitheatre – A large round structure used for gladiator fights and beast shows. The one in Pompeii could fit 20,000 people.
Atrium – The main hall of a Roman house, which led to the other rooms. Unlike today’s hallways, it featured an open ceiling, a small pool and no embarrassing photos of you as a baby.
Basilisks – Legendary serpent-like creatures that could kill you just by looking at you. They don’t seem to be around anymore. Maybe they all accidentally glanced in mirrors.
Caesar Cipher – A code that replaces each letter with the one three letters down the alphabet. It’s named after Julius Caesar who used it in his private correspondance to protect against snoopers.
Cleopatra VII – An Egyptian queen who ruled between 51BC and 30BC. Find out what happened when Dorkius met her and her nasty brother Ptolemy in the book called Dorkius Maximus in Egypt.
Forum – The main square of a Roman town, which contained the temples, markets and law courts.
Freedmen – Former slaves who had been set free. Though some went on to become rich, some people still looked down on them for spending their money on tacky things.
Garum – A sauce made from fermented fish intestines that was hugely popular with many ancient Romans, but not Dorkius.
Gladiators – Ruthless fighters who were pitted against each other in huge arenas. They sometimes fought to the death, though not as often as most people think. After all, trained fighters were valuable, so why waste them willy nilly?
Gorgons – Mythical creatures with snakes for hair that could turn you to stone with a single glance. You’d be quite literally petrified if you ever saw one.
Herculaneum – A town to the west of Pompeii that was also destroyed in the volcanic eruption of AD79. The remains of some of the victims have recently been found near there, and have helped us understand more about Roman life.
Julius Caesar – A famous Roman leader with a famously silly hairstyle. Find out how Dorkius saved Caesar from assassins in Diary of Dorkius Maximus.
Litter – A covered chair carried by slaves that was a popular mode of transport with the rich. It would probably still be popular with the rich today if they were allowed to get away with that sort of thing.
Manticores – Legendary creatures with the body of a lion and the head of a man. Like a centaur, but much cooler.
Saturnalia – An ancient Roman celebration that took place in mid to late December, and is thought to have influenced the customs of Christmas.
Tablet – A portable writing surface made from wood covered with a layer of wax. They were eventually replaced by pens and paper. Now some people think pens and paper are about to be replaced by computer tablets, which would be fitting.
A Note On Roman Numerals
Ancient Romans didn’t use the numerals we usually use today. They used a combination of the letters I, V, X, L, C, D and M. Roman numerals are still used on posh watches and movie sequels.
Here’s a quick guide:
1 = I
2 = II
3 = III
4 = IV
5 = V
6 = VI
7 = VII
8 = VIII
9 = IX
10 = X
11 = XI
12 = XII
13 = XIII
14 = XIV
15 = XV
16 = XVI
17 = XVII
18 = XVIII
19 = XIX
20 = XX
21 = XXI
22 = XXII
23 = XXIII
24 = XXIV
25 = XXV
26 = XXVI
27 = XXVII
28 = XXVIII
29 = XXIX
30 = XXX
40 = XL
50 = L
60 = LX
100 = C
200 = CC
500 = D
1000 = M
1500 = MD
2000 = MM
2020 = MMXX