Caecilius

The Caecilius family, a middle-class Roman family of four, lived in Pompeii in A.D. 79, just before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Family members

• Father: prosperous marble merchant Lucius Caecilius Iucundus
• Mother: devout housewife Metella Caecilius Iucundus
• Son: rebellious youth Quintus Caecilius Iucundus
• Daughter: concecrated priestess Evelina Caecilius Iucundus

They were spared the fate of their fellow Pompeiians by the Tenth Doctor's timely intervention. By early A.D. 80, the family had resettled in Rome. (DW: The Fires of Pompeii) One of the family--likely Lucius--wrote an account of their escape from Pompeii; the scroll was recovered in a 1923 archaeological expedition by Professor Livesy-Smythe.

Behind the scenes

• The Caecilius family are based on stock characters used in Latin textbooks.
• In the Latin textbooks, only Quintus survives the eruption and Evelina did not exist.
• The Caecilius family did actually exist, but without Evelina, and you can still see their house at Pompeii.
• Caecilius was actually a banker.
• Caecilius may not have experienced the volcano as his banking records stopped shortly before a earthquake in 62 A.D almost 20 years prior.