Pompeii: The Last Day

***Pompeii: The Last Day*** is a British dramatized documentary produced by the BBC. It was originally narrated by Alisdair Simpson and aired in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2003; later, it was narrated by F. Murray Abraham and aired in North America on the Discovery Channel on January 30, 2005.

## Plot

The film tells the story of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from the point of view of assorted inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum whose and occupations are unknown, including a local peddler, his wife, and two gladiators. Historical characters include Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger, drawing heavily on the eyewitness account of the latter as well as historical research and recent discoveries in volcanology.

### Death throes

When the fourth pyroclastic surge hit, most of the people who were in Pompeii either died instantly or suffocated to death.

* The death throes of the family of **Julius Polybius** are based on the 1975 discovery of the skeleton of a heavily pregnant girl (Julia) surrounded by her family, in the actual House of Julius Polybius. Julia's husband, **Sabinus**, is shown to have most likely poisoned himself and presumably was the skeleton lying near the foot of the bed where Julia's body was found, along with the bones of her fetus.
* The death of **Stephanus the Fuller** is based upon a cast found of a man in the fetal position (the cast is locked up in an onsite warehouse for safekeeping).
* The death of Stephanus' wife, **Fortunata**, is based upon the discovery of the body of a rich bejeweled lady in the gladiator barracks, alongside those of gladiators.
* In Herculaneum, the death throes are much simpler, as most people were found during excavations either on the beach or inside the boat houses. Additionally, unlike Pompeii, when the pyroclastic surges hit Herculaneum, people there were instantly killed, whereas most Pompeiians slowly suffocated, although some died instantly.

## Cast

* Jim Carter as Julius Polybius, a wealthy Pompeiian, husband of Epidia and father of Julia
* Chrissie Cotterill as Epidia, a wealthy Pompeiian, wife of Julius and mother of Julia
* Katherine Whitburn as Julia, Polybius and Epidia's daughter and Sabinus wife, who is seven months pregnant
* Leigh Jones as Sabinus, Julia's husband
* George Yiasoumi as Felix, Polybius' slave who has a wife and two children
* Jonathan Firth as Stephanus, a wealthy Pompeiian and owner of a fullery, and husband of Fortunata
* Rebecca Clarke as Fortunata, Stephanus' wife
* Inika Leigh Wright as Hedone, Stephanus' slave and lover
* Neji Nejah as Restitutus, one of Stephanus' slaves
* Robert Whitelock as Celadus the Thracian, a Pompeiian gladiator and friend to Africanus
* Chad Shepherd as Africanus, a Pompeiian gladiator and friend to Celadus
* Tim Pigott-Smith as Gaius Plinius Secundus, a Roman Navy Commander, brother to Plinia and uncle to Pliny the Younger
* Martin Hodgson as Gaius Plinius Caecilius, nephew of Pliny the Elder and son to Plinia
* Rachel Atkins as Plinia Marcella, Pliny the Elder's sister and Pliny the Younger's mother
* Tony Amendola as Pomponianus, friend of Pliny the Elder who lived in Stabiae
* Emily Canfor-Dumas as Slave Girl, a slave from Herculaneum
* Omar Berdouni as Callistus, a Pompeiian working for Polybius and father to seven-year-old Claudia.

## Home media

Main article: *Pompeii: The Last Day (Home video)*