Pompeii eventually became a resort town for Roman war heroes and businessmen. The rich men and women of Pompeii led sophisticated lives that included: seeing Greek tragedies at the theater; going to lectures, music and mime performances; passing time at the public baths; and enjoying a variety of sporting events in the huge sports arenas. The servant class was allowed to attend performances of the Greek tragedies at the amphitheater and gladiator fights at the sports arena.

It seems like life was pretty good in Pompeii, as long as you weren’t a slave. I can definitely see why it would have been cool to live there, especially if you didn’t know the kind of trouble that was coming.

In 62 A.D. there was a major earthquake that destroyed a lot of buildings in Pompeii. Now we know that this should have been a warning sign to the people who lived there that Vesuvius would soon become dangerous.

Unfortunately, people at that time did not know that there could be a connection between earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. In addition, there was no record or memory of Vesuvius having erupted. So once the earthquake of 62 A.D. was over, local people put the experience behind them and started rebuilding the city in the same location.