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The world Pompeii originates in Greek mythology from the word pumpe. This word was used to refer to the parade that took place in honor of Hercules' victory against the giants.
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Pompeii had rich soil because of earlier volcanic eruptions, which provided prime farmland for growing olive trees and grapes.
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Pompeii was famous in its time for a fish sauce produced there called Garum.
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There had been earthquakes to warn of the possibility of Mount Vesuvius erupting, but Roman science did not yet know about the connection between volcanoes and earthquakes.
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Mount Vesuvius had not erupted for 1,800 years, and the Romans had no idea it was a volcano.
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The Amphitheater of Pompeii dates back to 80BC, and it is the oldest known stone building in the world.
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Pliny the Younger recorded the destruction of Pompeii in a letter in which he also wrote about his uncle Pliny the Elder's death.
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Mount Vesuvius erupted only one day after the Roman's celebrated the religious festival to celebrate the Roman God of fire = Vulcan.
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Pompeii's walled city is 150 acres in size and is the largest archaeological and excavation site in the world.
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It is estimated that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius released approximately 100,000 times the energy of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
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The initial blast of the volcano's eruption is believed to have killed more than 13% of Pompeii's people.
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The ash that fell on Pompeii preserved many artifacts. These artifacts have been used to learn about the people of Pompeii and their way of life.
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Pompeii was not discovered until workers were building King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon's palace in 1738 and stumbled its' upon its remains buried in the ash.
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When the ash fell on Pompeii's people, many of them died on the spot. Over the centuries their bodies disintegrated, but left perfect holes in their body's shape. Archaeologists poured plaster in many of these holes, allowing them to make casts of the people of Pompeii, showing the position they were in when they died.
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More than 2.6 million people visit Pompeii's ruins each year.
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UNESCO declared Pompeii a World Heritage Site in 1997.
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Pink Floyd recorded a live concert in Pompeii's Amphitheater in 1971.
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Many TV shows and films have been made with Pompeii as their setting and backdrop.
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