Herculaneum
Ἡράκλειον).
1.
A town in Samnium.
2.
A city of Campania, on the coast, and not far from Neapolis (Naples). The form Herculānum is modern. Nothing is known respecting the origin
of Herculaneum, except that fabulous accounts ascribed its foundation to Hercules on his
return from Spain (Dion. Hal. i. 44). It may be inferred, however, from a passage in Strabo,
that the town was of great antiquity. It may be reasonably conjectured, too, that Herculaneum
was a Greek city, but that its name was altered to suit the Latin or Oscan pronunciation. At
first it was only a fortress, which was successively occupied by the Osci, Tyrrheni, Pelasgi,
Samnites, and lastly by the Romans. Being situated close to the sea, on elevated ground, it
was exposed to the southwest wind, and from that circumstance was reckoned particularly
healthful. We learn from Velleius Paterculus that Herculaneum suffered considerably during
the civil wars (cf. Florus, i. 16). This place is mentioned also by Mela (ii. 4). Ovid
likewise notices it under the name of Urbs Herculea (
Met. xv. 711). Herculaneum, according to the common account, was
overwhelmed by an eruption of Vesuvius in the first year of the reign of Titus, A.D. 79.
Pompeii and Stabiae, which stood near, shared the same fate. It is possible, however, that
the subversion of Herculaneum was not sudden, but progressive, since Seneca mentions a
partial demolition which it sustained from an earthquake (
Nat. Quaest. vi. 1).
After being buried for more than sixteen hundred years, these cities were accidentally
discovered—Herculaneum in 1719, by labourers in deepening a well; and Pompeii some
years after. It appears that Herculaneum is in no part less than forty feet, and in some
parts one hundred and twelve feet below the surface of the ground. Little was done to exhume
the city until 1738, when some regular excavations were made. Above the city stand the two
modern villages of Portici and Resina in the suburbs of Naples; and to the fear of
undermining their buildings is due the fact that so much of the ancient city is still beneath
the earth. The chief edifice of Herculaneum that has been disinterred is a fine theatre,
built only a short time before the eruption and capable of accommodating 8000 persons. Part
of the Forum, a colonnade, two small temples, and a villa have also been recovered, besides
ruins of baths. Many other valuable remains of antiquity, such as busts, manuscripts, etc.,
have been found in the ruins of this ancient city, and are deposited in the Museo Nazionale
at Naples. See Barré,
Herculaneum et Pompéi, 8 vols.,
with 800 plates
(Paris, 1837-40); Comparetti and De Petra,
La Villa
Ercolanese dei Pisoni (Turin, 1883); the works mentioned in Furchheim's
Bibliography of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae (Naples,
1891); and the articles
Papyrus;
Pompeii.
