Misenum
Misenum is the site of an ancient port in
Campania, in southern
Italy. It is located on a cape on the western end of the gulf of
Puteoli, on the
Tyrrhenian Sea.
According to mythology, Misenum was named after Misenus, a companion of
Hector and trumpeter to
Aeneas. Misenus is supposed to have drowned near here after a
trumpet competition with the sea-god Triton, as recounted in
Virgil's
Aeneid.
In 38 BC, Misenum was the site of a short-lived pact made between
Octavian , and his rival
Sextus Pompeius.
In ancient times, Misenum was the largest base of the
Roman navy, since it was the base of the
Classis Misenensis, the most important Roman fleet.
Encyclopedia
Misenum is the site of an ancient port in
Campania, in southern
Italy. It is located on a cape on the western end of the gulf of
Puteoli, on the
Tyrrhenian Sea.
According to mythology, Misenum was named after Misenus, a companion of
Hector and trumpeter to
Aeneas. Misenus is supposed to have drowned near here after a
trumpet competition with the sea-god Triton, as recounted in
Virgil's
Aeneid.
In 38 BC, Misenum was the site of a short-lived pact made between
Octavian , and his rival
Sextus Pompeius.
In ancient times, Misenum was the largest base of the
Roman navy, since it was the base of the
Classis Misenensis, the most important Roman fleet. It was first established as a naval base in 27 BC by
Marcus Agrippa, the right-hand man of the emperor Augustus.
With its gorgeous natural setting close to the naval base and the nearby important Roman cities of
Puteoli and
Neapolis, Misenum became the site of Roman luxury
villas.
Pliny the Elder was the
praefect in charge of the naval fleet at Misenum in AD 79, at the time of the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius, visible across the bay. Seeing the beginnings of the eruption, Pliny left for a closer view and to effect a possible rescue, and was killed by the eruption. The account of his death is given by his nephew Pliny the Younger, who was also resident in Misenum at the time.
Misenum is portrayed in Robert Harris' novel,
Pompeii as the location of the Piscina Mirabilis where the protagonist, Attillius, worked as an Aquarius.
