Pomponianus was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

who was present at

Stabiae Stabiae () was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km (2.79 miles) southwest of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, and being only from Mount Vesuvius, it was largely buried by tephra ash in ...

during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. He attempted to escape by ship, but was stuck on shore because the prevailing wind was not favorable. His personal friend, the noted author and military commander

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, sailed from across the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

to rescue him. Amidst the ongoing disaster, Pomponianus and Pliny waited in the town overnight for the wind to change, after which their party was forced to decide whether to remain inside and risk the collapse of the roof above them due to the build-up of falling

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of extremely vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicula ...

and ash, or to attempt to escape outside and risk being buried. Pliny the Elder subsequently died during the attempted escape. Pomponianus was probably the son of Gaius Tullius Capito Pomponianus Plotius Firmus.

References

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

. "Eye-Witness Accounts of the Eruption by the Younger Pliny." ''Pompeii and Herculaneum: A Sourcebook.'' ed. Alison E. Cooley; M. G. L. Cooley Routledge. (1 October 2013). pp. 46–. . {{Expand German, topic=bio, Pomponianus, date=April 2013 1st-century Romans Year of birth missing 79 deaths Deaths in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD