Vesuvius Myth by Evelyn

Vesuvius and Lena

Vesuvius was a nice mountain but sometimes he got angry at the passing river alongside him, because she had the power to bring happiness to the world and she could move. He also had some love that he wanted to share with this river. When the mountain was angry from deep inside him a terrible volcano would arise who had the power to bring hatred and sadness to all things. When he got very angry he would spill a shower of lava and spit out some ash. The river led to a wonderful ocean and the poor volcano called Vesuvius was becoming even more and more sad and  self centered.

Vesuvius was not always a volcano and the river Lena was not always a river steaming through the remote valley. Lena and Vesuvius were once people living in Naples, Italy together on a farm next to a small mountain and a soundless stream. But one day they had a fight about who got the land to build a civilization on. That day Lena started to build on the mountain without including Vesuvius. The mountain cursed Lena and said, “Curse you old woman may you and your partner live in pain and anger.  You shall become a river and your partner will become a hot burning volcano that only brings hate to you. Curse you curse you!”.

Lena was heartbroken so she pretended that she wanted to run away so Vesuvius would wonder why he had become a volcano. But when Lena tried to run away she never could.

That day she melted down into a river and Vesuvius became rock and grew till he was as tall as the sun. Lena could never speak to him again. Vesuvius would howl and wail to her why he was a lonely Volcano. One day when the sun was scorching down on the city, Lena suddenly dried out.  Vesuvius cried his stone heart out and brought on a volcanic eruption and exploded. Hot burning Lava ran down the stream, which Lena used to be, into the ocean and overflowed the city and caused and death, destruction and sadness to all those around.

And that is why Mount Vesuvius erupted!

By Evelyn Scanlan