The citizens of Pompeii are a group of individuals depicted within Mystic Manor in Hong Kong Disneyland.
Description[]
Origins[]
Pompeii was a city located in ancient Italy which was built adjacent to a mountain known as Mt. Vesuvius. Unknown to the ancient citizens of the city, Vesuvius was a near-active volcano. In the year 79 A.D., Vesuvius erupted in a volcanic event which lasted for two days straight.
During the first stage of the incident, meteor-like volcanic rocks fell from the sky for 18 hours as ash clouds blacked out the sun. Following this, massive clouds of dense volcanic ash flowed from the mountain across the city at high speeds on the ground. This caused everything caught in the clouds to be wiped out and destroyed. These clouds were the main source of death throughout the area, killing the majority of the population by incinerating them on impact, causing them to pass from overheating, and/or suffocating them to death in dense ash.
An estimated 16,000 people died in this incident, about 2000 of which were citizens of Pompeii. Many of the bodies found in the town were mummified alive due to the large amount of ash in the air.
Background[]
A few wealthy citizens of Pompeii were depicted on a mural, enjoying a meal on a patio with the infamous Mt. Vesuvius in the background. This mural came into the ownership of one Lord Henry Mystic who brought it to his home in the colony of Mystic Point in Papua New Guinea. By the 1910s, it would become part of his personal collection of Greco-Roman antiquities in his Mediterranean Hall exhibit.
History[]
The nature of the moving mural which changes to show a grizzly tragedy is in homage to the Haunted Mansion's changing portraits as designed by Marc Davis.
Appearances[]
Mystic Manor[]
In the attraction Mystic Manor, this mural is among those brought to life by the magic of the Balinese Music Box which was opened by Lord Mystic's pet monkey, Albert. When guests see the mural, smoke emerges from Vesuvius in the background before lava erupts and fills the majority of the image. The citizens of Pompeii have their arms sticking out from the lava and clink their cups together.
Trivia[]
- The portrayal of the eruption and causes of death within the mural is considerably incorrect. Namely because Pompeii was never exposed to lava-flow and even if it were, the citizens would have been killed by the falling rocks, heat and pyroclastic clouds before they'd have the chance to be killed by magma.
- Additionally, even if they were exposed to high amounts of molten lava, they would not be submerged in it. Lava is too hot and too dense for this to be possible as the heat would instantly evaporate all of their bodily fluids resulting in them being propelled to the lava's surface. The surface of the magma itself would be too dense for any body (especially lightened by a lack of water weight) to be able to sink in it.