The Last Days of Pompeii

Glaucus, a Roman centurion, returns home to Pompeii after service in Roman Palestine. He spots Ione losing control of her chariot and narrowly saves her life. This encounter marks the start of a developing bond between them.

On the road toward the city, Glaucus intervenes when Antonius is being severely punished by the Praetorian Guard Gallinus. He pleads for mercy and interrupts the punishment, earning cautious trust from Antonius. The act foreshadows a growing conflict with Gallinus and Pompeii's authorities.

Glaucus discovers that his father's house has been looted and his father murdered by hooded thieves who leave a cross painted on the wall. The personal vendetta behind the unrest becomes clear. He vows revenge against the killers.

Ascanius, the Consul of Pompeii, orders a citywide festival to project calm and normalcy amid rising tensions. The festival is meant to reassure the Emperor and stabilize the city. It sets the stage for later confrontations and reveals hidden loyalties.

During the festival, Antonius drunkenly robs a soldier and steals his money bag, which contains a ring that belonged to Glaucus's father. He entrusts the ring to Glaucus's friend Marcus, who follows the thief to the Temple of Isis. Marcus is killed by Arbaces, and his body bears a Christian cross, hinting at a larger conspiracy.

That night, Glaucus crashes a party at Ascanius's house during the festival. Gallinus tries to rape Nydia, Ione's blind slave, while the crowd looks on with amusement. Glaucus defeats Gallinus in a fight and rescues Nydia.

The next day, Marcus's funeral is held with Glaucus and Antonius in attendance. Antonius reiterates his anti-Christian prejudices, contrasting with Nydia's quiet Christian faith. The tension between Christians and pagans tightens.

Nydia, who is Christian, hints to Antonius that there is a secret gathering where Christians meet to avoid persecution. Gallinus overhears the plea and uses the information to round up and imprison all Christians that night. The prisoners are tortured and condemned to death.

Glaucus and Ione confess their love and plan a future together. He travels toward Herculanum to seek the blessing of Ione's father, who has left Pompeii. Along the way he is ambushed by hooded men, but he survives and arrives injured at Ascanius's retreat.

Antonius tracks Marcus's killer to the Temple of Isis and discovers that the hooded men operate under Arbaces's orders. He goes to Herculanum to inform Glaucus and Ascanius of the conspiracy and reveals that the stolen treasures are hidden in the temple.

At the temple, Glaucus fights Arbaces and Gallinus. He is hurled into a secret ditch and ends up in a waterlogged chamber wrestling a crocodile, but he defeats it and escapes. The trap exposes the criminals' scheme and raises the stakes.

Julia, the Consul's Egyptian mistress, is revealed as the mastermind behind the crimes and the dirty dealings of Gallinus and Ascanius. She stabs Ascanius, blaming Glaucus for the murder, and Glaucus is imprisoned alongside Christians; Ione is imprisoned after converting to Christianity.

The Christians are condemned to the arena to be devoured by a lion, but Glaucus breaks free, slays the lion, and defeats other killers. Bow-men—Antonius and Glaucus's masked allies—shoot from the royal box, killing Gallinus. The uprising gains momentum as chaos spreads.

Mount Vesuvius erupts, plunging Pompeii into chaos and corpses into the streets. Julia and Arbaces are crushed by Isis's toppled idol while attempting to retrieve their treasure. Nydia is mortally wounded, and Antonius stays by her side as the city sinks into ash.

Glaucus escapes by swimming through the burning harbor and, with Ione, sails toward the open sea. They survive the catastrophe and begin a new life away from the ruins of Pompeii.