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Ancient Rome - Blog Posts
Ahhhhhhh, the Roman Empire, one step in the right direction for the gays but 20 steps in the wrong direction for healthy masculinity.
interests yay!
all in the tags below if anyone was curious.. heh (IM NOT WEIRD I SWEAR PLEASE LETS BE FRIENDS IF U LIKE ANY OF THESE THINGS!!!) (I DIDNT ADD EVERYTHING I LIKE... JUST ASK IF I LIKE SMTH!)
The Roman republic wouldn’t have fallen if they gave Caesar some estrogen can’t lie
Another Digital Offering to Lord Hermes
And today is a special day because it is the day of Mercury, which means that it is the day of Hermes, because it is Wednesday.In Spanish it is better understood because Wednesday is miércoles (mercurio/mercury)
Happy Julius Caesar murder anniversary everyone!
Easily in the top 5 national holidays
Greek/Roman Inspired Clothing: 2nd dress by Hana Touma, 3rd dress on ebay, 4th dress found here, 5th dress by Madame Gres ,6th dress by Kaufman Franco , 7th dress by J.Mendel, 8th dress by Madame Gres, 9th dress by Jean Desses, 10th dress by Marchesa, 11th dress by 33Jewls, 12th (last) dress by Samuelle Couture
study wip
Not generally, but now I do
Do you ever think about how many of the items now considered priceless artifacts were once commonplace items? The coins we now marvel at from behind the glass at a museum were once tossed around, stepped on, and traded around. The pottery painstakingly pieced back together was somebody’s favorite wine jug. The decorative pin now rusted and bent once held together the shoulder of someone’s chiton. History is simply a trail of ordinary people going about their day, and I think there’s an odd sort of beauty in that.
Happy ides of march everybody!
Tenax.
It was long time since I’ve done anything like not a sketch but full art.
“what do you call someone who sacrifices peace to fight for liberty? a hero” — my history teacher talking about bread and circuses???
Hunger Games names and their meanings
Panem: Panem is named after "panem et circenses," which is latin for the phrase "bread and circuses." bread and circuses refers to how in Rome, the emperors would give the poor food and entertainment to keep them satisfied. Their living conditions were often poor, with unsafe and unsanitary homes. However, the elites and rulers figured they could distract them, and they did. While bread and circuses refers to (primarily, but not exclusively) grain and circuses refers to, as you guessed, circuses, it is different in Panem. Food refers to the monthly tesserae allocations so long as they put their name in the reaping bowl one time per recieval, and the circuses refer to the Hunger Games. With these, the people are kept silence.
Katniss: At surface level, Katniss refers to the arrowhead plants. She knows this is where her name comes from, and we learn very early that her father used to tell her if she could find her namesake, she could always eat. I'd like to add additional interpretations to this. Katniss relies on people a lot, not in a dependent way, but as in she grows to lean on people when she does not expect to. However, at her core, she is independent. She doesn't often put herself first, but she trusts her own judgment and knows what she can do. As long as she continues being who she is at her core, she can live and eventually thrive.
Peeta: I probably should've added this right after Panem to better explain, but I've already written Katniss' explanation and it gets confusing moving things around. Anyway, while Suzanne Collins has not explicitly revealed the origins of Peeta's name, the general consensus is that he is named after pita bread. This is likely due to his family business at a bakery, but there is also a clear parallel: Panem and Peeta. In fact, it's a distinct contrast between the two. Panem represents everything horrible, at least until the end of Mockingjay. However, Peeta is constantly showed as an amazing person, clever and kind. One thing I've not seen anyone mention is how Panem grew better, and Peeta grew worse. Panem became a democracy, and while we don't know how good the state became, we know it became better than it was. In contrast, Peeta's hijacking ruined him for quite some time. This is probably all a stretch, but it is how I see the naming.
Coriolanus Snow: There is much more emphasis on his last name throughout both the main trilogy and the prequel, the meaning of his name is mostly rooted in his first: Coriolanus. He is named for Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus, who may be a real person or who may be a legend. However, mostly, it's based on Shakespeare's tragedy of a man by the same name, who (as I've read on the internet, though I have not read Shakespeare's story of him) seems to be a dramatized version of G. Coriolanus. I'll be referring to Shakespeare's portrayal of him in this explanation. Coriolanus (the name he goes by, given to him for his marvelous feats) ran for consul, the ruler position during the Republic of Rome. At first, he was in favor of the lower class called the plebeians. However, two enemies rallied the plebeians against him, making Coriolanus explode in distaste. He quickly flies into a rage and explains that plebeians being allowed to vote shouldn't be allowed because they are lesser. He is exiled from Rome—this suggestion is not allowed. He reaches a new region and requests help to launch an attack against Rome, but is dissuaded by his mother and agrees to sign a peace treaty. However, when he returns to the region to explain this, he is killed for his betrayal. (Note: This information is from Wikipedia because that was the easiest-to-read source. If any Coriolanus experts are reading this, feel free to correct me.) G. Coriolanus directly mirrors Coriolanus Snow. Both of them are feverishly against the poor, seeing them as lesser beings, even going so far as comparing them to animals (G. Coriolanus described plebeians as "crows pecking at eagles" in the context of voting). They are both ruthless and care more about power than the people.
Cato: I can't find exactly how Cato is named, but there are two relevant items. One: Cato's name means "all-knowing." He's seen as intimidating to Katniss, but not quite revered for his intelligence. This does not go to say he isn't, because we only see Katniss' perspective. However, you do not get that far into the Hunger Games without wits. He is, almost certainly, fairly smart. Despite this, another explanation for his name would be the Shakespeare character named Cato. He is a soldier, which is definitely how Hunger Games Cato is portrayed. However, despite their deaths, that is as far as their similarities go. Shakespeare's Cato is a follower of the Roman Republic, and a humble man. This is very unlike the Hunger Games iteration. Their deaths, while extremely different, can also find similarities. Shakespeare's Cato dies before Julius Caesar's (the man who would've become the first emperor if not for the senate murdering him) legion arriving by suicide. He stands so much for the Republic that he'd die, as many Romans would. In The Hunger Games, Cato does not stand for a republic. He stands for the exact opposite of what Shakespeare's Cato stands for: an empire. In spite of this, they stand for their opposing views in the same way. Cato volunteered for the Games, and while he may have expected to win, he accepted he may die. He believed in his country, for better or for worse.
I will write more, but it's night and I have actual homework to do after spending an hour writing and researching just these four names. idk when i'll update this, but i swear i will (i'll reblog it to add on more, not edit this post.) i doubt anyone read all of this because it's really just me yapping about stuff i don't know much of (i know everything about the hunger games, but not Shakespeare). if i got anything wrong, pleaseee tell me and i'll edit the post because i'm definitely no expert. byeeeee
No more Ship of Theseus, in this house it’s the Hut of Romulus
About the Pantheon in Rome, Italy…
The Pantheon in Rome
The Pantheon in Rome, now a church, was built as a temple to all the gods. It has been a shrine for architects since the Renaissance. It is also a worthy tribute to the skills of the ancient Roman masons and engineers who built it and the incredible alchemy of their concrete mix.
If there Was a competition to find the most durable and beautiful concrete structure ever built, the Pantheon in Rome would most surely win the prize. It also stands as a monument to the genius of Roman concrete.
Commissioned by Hadrian (who was emperor 117-138 CE) as a temple to all the gods, the Pantheon replaced Agrippa’s earlier temple following a fire. It is still the most visited site in Italy, having weathered centuries of tourists, floods, wars and earthquakes.
Its huge concrete dome – 43.4m in diameter and 21.75m high – was unrivalled in size until the building of Florence Cathedral in the 1400s, and is still the largest ever made with unsupported concrete.
“The mastery of building something so daring and having the structure resist essentially without any structural support for more than 19 centuries is simply extraordinary,” says Renato Perucchio, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Archaeology, Technology, and Historical Structures Programme at the University of Rochester in the US.
So how did the Romans do it, what were the secrets of their concrete recipe and what lessons can architects and civil engineers learn from its construction today?
As every builder knows, foundations are everything. One of the most overlooked aspects of the Patheon’s remarkable construction lies below its famous dome. Although Rome is not on one of Italy’s major seismic zones, it has known earthquakes. Many historians believe seismic activity caused damage to the Colosseum. Moreover, until some of the River Tiber’s tributaries were buried in the late 19th century, it was also subject to major flooding.
The foundations of the Pantheon were made of concrete, originally 4.7m deep and 7.3m thick. During construction, however, they cracked due to the marshy, clay land below. “For this reason, a second reinforcement ring was built, projecting three metres beyond the original perimeter,” according to the Archeoroma website. Thick buttress walls were also built to the south of the building anchored to the Basilica of Neptune next door. “This had the effect of stabilising the structure by counterbalancing the forces and weights at either end of it,” Archeoroma writes.
Romans did not invent concrete. It had already been around for hundreds of years before the Pantheon was built.
Curiously that accolade probably goes to the Nabatean Bedouin tribes of the land that is today southern Syria and northern Jordan, who were using it to create hidden underground water cisterns around 700BC.
The basic concrete recipe the Romans followed can be found in the Roman architect Vitruvius’s book ‘De Architectura’, published 100 years before the building of the Pantheon. He described how to make concrete out of lime and pozzolana sand, a type of volcanic ash found near Naples, all mixed with stone mass.
Different aggregates were used to give the concrete diverse densities. Travertine limestone gave the Pantheon’s foundations a density of 2,200kg per cubic metre, while lighter rock was chosen for the dome.
Pozzolans, made of siliceous and aluminous materials, possess little or no cementitious value, but when mixed with water, react chemically with calcium hydroxide at ordinary temperature to form cementitious compounds.
It was the chemistry of this material that formed the basis of the durability of the dome, enabling it to survive two millennia without the steel tension rods used today.
Indeed, the Romans understood that the bigger the structure, the stronger it was, because the simplest way to keep concrete in compression is to put heavy stuff on top of it, like more concrete.
It is a trick still used today. Many large concrete dams are either gravity or arch structures that rely on their own weight and geometry to withstand water.
However, the circular structure of the dome meant that before the ancient engineers could start making its concrete ceiling, they needed to figure out how to direct the weight away from the centre. If they didn’t, and removed the wooden structure holding it in place, the 3,000 tonnes of concrete used to make the dome would have pushed outwards and the whole edifice would have collapsed under its own weight.
Even the kind of scaffolding framework used to support such a framework is still under discussion. “Think of the design of the scaffolding that holds a structure of that weight,” says Perucchio. “They [the ancient Romans] had a high mastery in using timber framing in a way that no other earlier cultures had developed.”
Today when we build in concrete, we introduce a steel tension rod which picks up half of the stresses in the concrete. The Romans used their ancient concrete recipe, and an abundance of highly skilled artisan labour, who tamped the stiff mixture into moulds and walls, rather than pouring it as is done today.
To build the dome, the Roman builders constructed a solid base, a wall six metres thick in the shape of a rotunda, to act as the foundation for the ceiling. They then used the vertical walls on either side to buttress the dome itself.
As the ceiling rose towards its apex, the master craftsmen mixed increasingly lighter aggregate materials into the concrete.
This principle of using different weights of aggregate goes from the heavy travertine used in the base right up to the top of the dome.
“It doesn’t look like it from the inside but on the outside it’s a very thick dome, but relatively light,” says Norbert Delatte, head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University.
In some parts, the ancient builders mixed in small clay vases, called amphorae, to control the weight.
The aggregate of the concrete used to make the upper dome region consists of alternating layers of light tuff, found in abundance north of Rome, and pumice stone, the material we use today to file off rough skin. The concrete substance at the top of the dome had a density of just 1,350kg per cubic metre.
To make the ceiling even lighter, masons moulded recessed concrete waffle-like panel bricks called coffers; five layers of these bricks formed the interior ceiling. They pounded the concrete into the moulds using some kind of tamper, most likely made of wood or iron.
This meant that aesthetically, they had allowed an area of the dome to be decorated while simultaneously reducing the amount of concrete necessary for the dome itself.
At the top, the Pantheon’s crowning glory is an open oculus, 7.8m in diameter, which allowed light to shine in, adding to the sense of wonderment the building still incites today. But most importantly, it meant the apex of the dome was made of the lightest material of all, air.
Today, engineers all over the world are looking at the chemical properties of Roman concrete to see if it can be reproduced today to make buildings that last longer. Although the basic ingredients were set out by Vetruvius, modern measuring technologies are making it easier to ascertain the exact chemical properties from just small samples of material.
Yet the clever use of engineering and the unique Roman concrete material is not the only reason this enduring temple to all the gods is still there to inspire awe today. History also played a role in its staying power. The event that probably most ensured its long destiny happened in 609 AD, nearly 400 years after it was built.
The Emperor Phocas, the Byzantine emperor in the east, gave the Pantheon to the Catholic Church in Rome. The Vatican has used it as a place of worship ever since, while its formidable structure also still serves a shrine for architects and engineers the world over.
By Hilary Clarke.
Clotho
“Willingly give thyself up to Clotho, allowing her to spin thy thread into whatever things she pleases.”
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
Illustration by Sir William Russell Flint, 1909.
Selene
See enlarged image (Wikimedia.org)
Selene (accompanied by Phosphoros and Hesperos).
Roman altar. 2nd century CE.
Селена (с Фосфором и Геспером).
Лувр. Римский алтарь, мрамор, II век.
Happy Ides of March!!!
🗡️🔪🗡️
🔪🗡️🔪
🗡️🔪🗡️
🔪🗡️🔪
🗡️🔪🗡️
🔪🗡️🔪
🗡️🔪🗡️
🔪🗡️🥳
🎉🎉🎉.
Fascinating insights about Floralia and Flora’s cult.
The Floralia is a Roman festival honoring Flora, the goddess of spring, flower gardens, and crops. It was held each year from April 27th or 28th to May 3rd. She is married to Favonius, the God of the West Wind. Flora was one of the most important goddesses in the Roman pantheon, one of only 15 deities to have a cult administered by a state priesthood consisting of a married couple, who were appointed for life.
The celebration of the Floralia included theatrical performances, competitive games, and a sacrifice to Flora, presumably at her temple on the lower slope of the Aventine Hill near the Circus Maximus.
About the base image:
Flora, or the Primavera of Stabaie; 1st century CE fresco from Stabaie, Italy. Collection of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli via Wikimedia Commons (X). Image license: Public Domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer and in the United States - published anywhere (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before 1926.
Manipulation: I 'healed' some of the fresco's more obvious flaws and added the floral border.
These are hilarious!
The Romans and Friends on Karaoke Nights
Caesar: Is the only one sober. Only sings bc the others beg him to. Does "All of Me" and is surprisingly good with the high notes
Pompey: Performs "Crocodile Rock." Throws up into someone else's hat that he thinks is his. Did not come in a hat.
Cleopatra: Nails "Hello", has the others crying
Brutus: is very shy and only gets up to sing when he's sufficiently inebriated and Cassius goads him into performing. Surprises everyone with how impeccably he sings Jeff Buckley's cover of "Hallelujah"
Antony: Drunk off his ass, sings mostly hit classics like "Mr. Brightside", "What's my Age Again", and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" bc he has a *type* for music and it's all 2000s nostalgia
Octavia: Sings "Love Story" and "White Horse" by Taylor Swift while mildly tipsy, trips slightly on the stage but goes on singing
Cassius: Will only sing Fallout Boy. Gets really into his performance of "Centuries" but passes out afterwards and asks for more shots the moment he wakes up
Octavian: Sings "Bad Guy" by Billie Eilish while making unnerving eye contact with Antony
Cicero: gets too drunk and throws up in bathroom without ever singing, cries about his divorce when Cleopatra sings "Hello"
what qualifies as a “bad” omen?? asking for a friend
Sounds fairly accurate to how they responded in real life surprisingly.
Antony: oh my God, they killed Caesar!
Cleopatra: You bastards!!
Apart from Cleopatra, who would probably be double majoring in linguistics and history, these are largely accurate.
The Romans and Friends as College Majors
Caesar: Political Science
Cleopatra: Medicine
Brutus: English
Cassius: Philosophy
Antony: Kinesiology (he's a student athlete and got paid to be there)
Cicero: Law
Octavian: Psychology
Crassus: Business
Pompey: General Studies
You combined two of my favorite things. Ancient Rome and John William Waterhouse. Thank you!
A Roman Offering, 1891, John William Waterhouse
Medium: oil,canvas
https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-william-waterhouse/a-roman-offering
A timely reminder of how multi-cultural the ancient world really was.
Seated Buddha Bronze, 1st to mid-2nd century, Gandhara (modern Pakistan). Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (X).
This is one of the earliest depictions of the Buddha in human form. Gandharan artists were familiar with Greek and Roman art from military expeditions, diplomacy, and trade. This Buddha’s unique halo is reminiscent of depictions of the god Helios in Greek and Sol in Roman art. The drape of the tunic echoes Hellenistic and Roman garments, as well as depictions of the Iranian god Mithra, and the Roman god Mithras.
See also:
Soper, Alexander C. “Aspects of Light Symbolism in Gandhāran Sculpture.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 12, no. 3, 1949, pp. 252–283. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3248387. Accessed 18 Dec. 2020.
