The eruption of 122 BC was unusual for Etna in being explosive, and significant amounts of ash and lapilli were deposited on the southeastern flanks of the volcano, causing great distress in Catania, which required the provision of state aid. Records suggest that the city of Catania was partly destroyed by lava in c.693 BC and in 425 BC. The paper concludes with a discussion of what can and cannot be gleaned about the eruptive behaviour of Etna during the classical period by using literature-based and geological sources of information in combination. To a large extent Etna's volcanic activity was ascribed by early writers to mythological figures, but other authors, such as Empedocles and Lucretius, stand apart from this tradition by seeking more rational explanations. First, the role of Etna as a stimulus to the development of myth and legend is considered, and is followed by a discussion of more 'scientific' explanations of the volcano's activity. In this paper, literary sources are used to explore three aspects of human response to the activity of Etna during the classical period. its considerable agricultural potential, in particular its plentiful supplies of water. Both the Romans and Greeks settled at the foot and on the lower flanks of the volcano and it seems likely that they were attracted to the region by. Volcanoes and eruptive activity played a part in the lives of many people in southern Italy during the classical era, no more so than on the flanks of Mount Etna (Sicily), a volcano that has been continually active throughout the historical period. The book argues that Livy portrays a world in which military calculation and human reason constantly fail - a world in which events occur beyond normal human comprehension, but where everything is governed by a hidden moral structure. Chapter Five brings material from the other chapters together to give a broad account of Livy's concept of historical causation. Chapter Four deals with battle scenes, with particular reference to how victory or defeat is determined. Chapter Three deals with his characterization of individuals and his sophisticated but ambivalent attitudes towards non-Romans. Chapter Two looks at his use of literary allusion and his handling of his source-material, especially in his relationship to the earlier Greek historian Polybius. Chapter One examines Livy's construction of his narrative, looking at the division into ten books, his handling of chronology, and the connections he draws between the different parts of his story. This book studies Livy's Third Decade (Books 217-30), our fullest source for one of the most crucial wars of all time, the Second Punic War (also known as the Hannibalic War) between Carthage and Rome in 219-202 bc.
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