This Etruscan fresco is thought to date to c. 475 BCE. It is part of a tomb decoration from Tarquinia, legendary home of the Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Priscus though long after his time!
A striking, nuanced biography of Nero—the controversial populist ruler and last of the Caesars—and a vivid portrait of ancient Rome.
“This exciting and provocative book grabs the reader while supporting its arguments with careful classical scholarship.”—Barry Strauss, author of The War That Made the Roman Empire.
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
"They say he [#Hermes] was responsible for profit and an overseer of the businesses: consequently they set up the statue of him weighing a purse."
Suidas s.v. Hermes
Roman marble head of Constantine I ~ c. 325–370 CE
The style of this portraiture is thought to be designed to evoke a connection back to the optimus princeps himself, Trajan. It might be a couple of centuries later but he was still the one to emulate!
This coin was minted circa 206 CE, during the reign of Caracalla. The obverse depicts the laureate head of Caracalla facing right. The reverse type features #Mars, naked save for cloak hanging from his shoulder, holding a branch and spear.
That’s a wrap on the Intelligent Speech Conference for 2023!
It was an absolute pleasure to chat about the challenges Augustus faced when thinking about who’d be his heir (in the elite family sense) and how his approach to this seemed to change as his political power became more entrenched with the principate. If only he and Livia could have had a son…
I wrote a short piece on safe #menstruation tracking apps, expanding on a few tweets I posted at the time #RoevWade was overturned. Incidents of testing women for abortion drugs in the UK prompted me to turn it into an article:
This coin was minted circa 206 CE, during the reign of Caracalla. The obverse depicts the laureate head of Caracalla facing right. The reverse type features #Mars, naked save for cloak hanging from his shoulder, holding a branch and spear.
"The Astera (Stars) hide away their shining form around lovely #Selene (the Moon) when in all her fullnesss she shines over all the earth." #Sappho, Fragment 34
🏛️ Luna-Selene, relief on the pediment at the Roman Baths
#Halloween is neeeearly here! With the spooky times nearly upon us, it’s time to consider how best to propitiate the chthonic divinities. We hear they like libations of wine…
This fresco depicts Polyphemus and the nereid Galatea in a landscape. Galatea is sometimes also the name of the statue that Pygmalion creates, though these were likely different story traditions…
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
#Aphrodite-Venus with her iconic top-bow hairstyle as she puts on an anklet or a sandal. The gold of the jewellery and red of her lips really stands out against her dark skin.
🏛️ #Venus statuette with gold jewellery from #Pompeii. Today in the National Archaeological Museum, #Naples
The first temptation is to assume the nude Pan has been up to no good, but he seems to be riding the mule with some modesty. Now, the same cannot be said for the mule…
It's the Day of Zeus / Jupiter's Day / #Thursday! ⚡
This solid bronze statuette of the Roman god #Jupiter (associated with #Zeus) was probably part of the domestic furnishings of a Roman 'domus' or 'villa'. The highest deity in the Roman pantheon, he is the god of international relations and guarantees the observation of treaties.
🏛️ Bronze statuette, #ancientRome, 1st century CE. Today in the Museu d’Art Medieval, #Barcelona.
This beauty is one of the absolute gems at Herculaneum! So much so that the findspot is named after the two figures: the House of Neptune & Amphitrite.
The gorgeous gradations of blues sets this piece apart 💙
This scene of a wild hunt has been carefully restored to capture the vibrancy and beauty of the animals. Big cats chase a variety of animals evoking Egypt or further south into Africa.
Ahhh the Romans’ most fortunate day of the week. Here we offer dubious honour to Priapus, the god often most found holding a fruit basket. That’s no cornucopia!