I'm always interested in how a scene from myth is shown in different media. Here we have Achilles - in women's clothing! - hiding out among the daughters of King Lykomedes on the island of Skyros. Always shown at the moment of discovery by Odysseus (in cap). 1/
1st example: a sarcophagus made in Athens, ca. AD 180-220, depicting scenes from the life of Achilles. On the right side is the scene from Skyros, with Achilles hiding behind his shield, the young, pregnant Deidamia hanging from his neck, pleading him to stay. #GettyVilla 2/
2nd example: a fresco this time, from the House of the Dioscuri in Pompeii. Odysseus - in his pileus cap - discovers Achilles hiding on Skyros, dressed in women's clothing (fetching thigh!). Diomedes, King of Argos, grabs the warrior from behind. #MANN 📸 @carolemadge 3/
3rd example: a 2nd/3rd c. AD mosaic which once decorated the bottom of an impluvium in the House of Poseidon, Zeugma (Turkey, now in Gaziantep 😔). The waterspout can still be seen in the middle. Achilles is once again in drag as he's discovered. 📸 @carolemadge 4/
4th example: Roman glass! This example is decorated with pigments and gilded with gold leaf. The moment of discovery is chaotic, and once again, Achilles' shield is featured prominently. 3rd c. AD, found in Cologne, Romisch-Germanisches Mus., Cologne. 📸 @carolemadge 5/
For those of you wondering *why* Achilles was hiding amongst the daughters of King Lykomedes on Skyros, it was due to a prophecy which foretold that a Greek victory in the Trojan War was assured only if Achilles fought, but that he would die in the process. His mommy hid him. 6/
It should be noted that Achilles isn't just dressed in women's clothing in this fresco. He also has the milky pale skin of a woman, versus the sun-burnt reddish-brown skin of the male warriors.
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With the discovery of the tomb of Marcus Venerius Secundio in #Pompeii (and his mummified body) came the discovery within his burial enclosure of the tomb of Novia Amabiles, her glass urn preserved together with those of three children, in a bronze container. 1/
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The tomb of Secundio was an unusual inhumation burial and his mummified body was inside, retaining some hair and an ear.👂Secundio was a freedman, once a public slave, who became one of the Augustales, a well-off priest of the Imperial cult. 2/
Below is the marble columella gravestone bearing the name of Novia Amabiles, who is thought to have been Secundio's wife. The children sharing her urn were probably their offspring. 3/
The only surviving Roman draco (dragon) standard was this gilded bronze version found in the ruins of the Limes fortress in Niederbieber, Germany. It would have originally had a fabric ‘windsock’ attached which would billow out behind the head. 1/
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📸 Codrin.B (Wikimedia)
In the 2nd c. CE, Arrian writes that the Romans adopted the draco from the Scythians, but he probably meant the Sarmatians/Dacians, as we can see from spolia represented on the base of Trajan’s Column and a relief from the Hadrianeum in Rome. These were more wolf-like. 2/
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The earliest representation of a Roman draco standard is on the 2nd c. CE Portonaccio sarcophagus (1st pic, top). A more snaky version can be seen on the 3rd c. Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus (2nd pic, top). It would emit a hissing sound, installing terror in enemies. 3/
One-stop statuette to pray to multiple gods! Silver statuette with gilding, of the Gallo-#Roman goddess Tutela, with a double cornucopia and a mural crown worn as a protector of a city. She holds a patera (libation dish) in her right hand. Let's identify the gods ... 1/
The double cornucopia holds the heads of Diana and Apollo, and her upright wings carry the busts of the Dioscurii, Castor and Pollux. Above them is a stand with the busts of several other gods ... 2/
The seven gods at the top of Tutela's wings represent the seven days of the week. Starting with Saturn, the eldest, then Sol (sun), Luna (moon), Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus. ALT tag for more.
Ca. 150-220 AD. Excavated in Mâcon, France. #BritishMuseum (1824,0424.1). 3/
Another day, another clusterf**k from Twitter. Apparently, the platform is removing text message two-factor authentication, which will henceforth only be for (snicker) Twitter Blue subscribers. It must be turned off, or you lose access to Twitter. OK, so let's do it ... ah. 😆
I mean, sure, turn off a security feature that's standard on most platforms, just so your CEO can say 'suck it, losers' to all non-Twitter Blue subs. Unbelievable.
Of course, this is some kind of hacker-dream b.s. Removing two-factor authentication will make hacking your Twitter account *so* much easier. I've never heard of a platform charging for security. Musk is a childish loser.
The emperor is dead *and* immortal! And a blonde. My newest digital restoration is Augustus as Jupiter, the king of the gods. A melding of Roman realism with Greek Classicism. A lot to unpack here … #polychromy#archaeology#art 1/
The statue was unearthed in Cumae, a wealthy Roman city near Naples, once a Greek colony and home to the prophesying sybil. The restorers were able to use ancient coins and cameos depicting the Olympian #Zeus and Augustus as Jupiter to guide their reconstruction work ... 2/
Coins like the one below, depicting Augustus as Jupiter Terminus, holding a winged thunderbolt and Victoria. The goddess is also shows up on the reverse of the coin that Augustus minted after the battle of Actium: Victoria on a globe, holding a wreath. 3/
My new digital restoration is this remarkable 2nd c. AD #sculpture of #Eros (Cupid) on a dolphin, approximating how it might have once appeared in the garden of an ancient Roman villa. But who’s captured who here? #polychromy#art#archaeology#romanhistory@MANNapoli 1/
The statue is on display at the Nat'l Archaeological Museum in Naples, but I can’t find information on its history or find spot. Once apparently part of the #Farnese Collection, a copy of a bronze #Greek original. 📸@MumblerJamie and Darren Puttoc. 2/
A few close-ups reveal that the head is likely modern - probably 18th c. (?), and quite good - but everything else, aside from a couple of fingers, appear to be ancient. The modern curls are very Botticelli-esque! 3/