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Dio Cassius (1 Viewer)

Louis XIV

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Was wondering if anyone knew why Dio Cassius account of the Vesuvius eruption is unreliable.

Thank you thank you thank you... thanks
 

prettypinkheart

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I read in a book that his account was unreliable because:
- His sources are unknown
- Probably using his own experiences of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 202 when he claimed to have heard the detonation as far away as Capua

Hope that helps.
 

Shoelia

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Yeh he wasn't alive at the time.

I'm not sure if it was him, might have been someone else, but the only copy we have is a medieval source, so it could have been changed or lost in translation.
 

~Fire Jade~

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Apparently, Dio Cassius really enjoyed putting lovely, false, irrelevent snippets of gossip into his works...therefore his work should be considered with care. Hey also, is his name Cassius Dio or Dio Cassius?
 

Faesy

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I think its Cassius Dio and its true, he made up stories about people and like to exaggerate a fair bit more than other sources.
 

stillwaters

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^ yea, dio cassius/ cassius dio kinda... said things were true if there was the slightest possibility they were true...
another source for the eruption of ad 79 is pliny the younger- he was watching it from i think either misenum or something and he had to flee. also, his uncle pliny the elder decided to go off and investigate via going on a boat towards the vulcano (hmm... slightly um... stupid?) and then he died.
i think it was a letter to someone, and it's from his description of the cloud of ash and crap, the different stages of the eruption that modern hisotirans are able to piece together what probably happened. however, there's some things that make it a bit unreliable e.g. he's writing it about 20 or 30 yrs after he experienced it, he's also trying to immortalise his uncle and make him into some great hero... so maybe exaggeration? also uses lots of sparkly language like comparing the eruption to storm gods or something running around (???)
mmm... sorry for the chunk of writing... >< yep, dio's unreliable ^^
 

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