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The finding of phallus symbols are not uncommon in the Roman Empire. This could potentially be an example recently discovered at Vindolanda. This could represent a fascinus which is a phallic amulet or depiction used to invoke divine protection. Below are just two of the many posts about the phallic symbolism found throughout the Empire. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/archaeologists-uncover-possible-phallus-carving-at-roman-vindolanda/151753 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascinus

Agamemnon (Ἀγαμέμνων) ressembles Memnon (Μέμνων) King of Aeithiopia. In the myth of Perseus, he goes to Aeithiopia and takes away Andromeda, by comparision, Paris goes to the Peloponnese and takes away Helen, as if the Myth of Perseus is in opposition to the Trojan War. Peloponnese (Πελοπόννησος) means Πέλοπος νῆσος "dark-face Island" and so Αἰθιοπία is a synonym and the rocks in which Andromeda where chained are the Scironian rocks in the Isthmus and also the naming was transposed to the dangerous rocks near Joppa, Phoenicia, hence also interpreted to be Aeithiopia.

The young-horse here is the same as the Trojan Horse and it makes its leap when the Pleiades sets. The Pleiades constellation is important to ancient Mediterranean sailors as its setting marked the season of sailing, when Pleiades sets below the north-western horizon around Sprin , the little-horse (Equuleus, Eculeus) launches its leap, this constellation is also adjacent to the Delphinus constellation, maybe the reason why the dolphin-horse or hippocampus is a symbol of sailing. In Aeschylus the word leap, πήδημα is 𐤌𐤐𐤎𐤇 or 𐤐𐤎𐤇 in Phoenician, that derives Pascha, so originally a Phoenician rite at the beginning of the sailing season, the Persian modified Phoenician mythology producing the myth of Moses basing him on Cambyses and changing the whole meaning, but the Red Sea in context is the Mediterranean Sea adjacent to Phoenicia, which is called Pamphylian Sea in Josephus.

This vase depicts Orestes mourning his father Agamemnon, instead of a tomb there is a pillar (στήλη, κιών, σταθμός) on a raised platform (βωμός) This verse reveals that the Peloponnesians cremated the dead and placed the ashes or bones into an urn, so similar fashion to Romans, cf. cremation of Julius Caesar. So here Orestes was also cremated and his ashes were put into a small urn. These are the ancient ruins of Mycenae and there is a doorway, like a Torii, entrance to the Necropolis and there is a single pillar. Here is another example of a pillar-grave, this is placed beside the gate leading to the Isthmus, which is associated with Melikertes (Μελικέρτης) also known as Palaemon and Portunus. Here the associated with Isthmus (probably from σταθμός) with Melicertes, Palaemon hence also Portunus, Melqart and Hercules. This is very important context for the word κενοτάφιον means "empty-tomb" and are made to honour those perished at sea, hence unable to recover the bodies for cremation and burial, hence the connection with Melicertes who died at sea. This is from Aeschylus on the death of Agamemnon and its clear the poetry here is cryptic and uses similar vocabulary in regards to Melicertes who is placed in a λέβης which was thrown into the sea, it also reads πίτνει δ᾽ ἐν ἐνύδρῳ τεύχει "He falls in a vessel of water" and so this maybe interpreted that Agamemnon died at sea, hence why in epigraphy it depicts a pillar-tomb or a cenotaph. Melicertes dies at sea. This is a depiction of Herakles and he is inside a tub with the sea inside of it, this affirms my theory that Agamemnon and Herakles are one and the same, one similarity is that Herakles killed his family, where-as Agamemnon kills his daughter. Herakles was killed by his wife, Deianeira when she gave him a poisoned robe stained with the blood of the centaur and in Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1125, Agamemnon is killed by his wife Clytemnestra by goring him with a robe. This is Bāal Hammōn depicted as if he were a pillar and this is also Agamemnon. Ἀγαμ > Γἀαμ > Βάαλ = Bāal έμνων > έμμων = Hammon Bāal is the Phoenician sun god, same as Sol and Ἥλιος (ἠέλιος, ἀβέλιος, ἀέλιος, ἄλιος) and in Homer, Ἥλιος is paired with Ὑπερίων "Hyperion" which is 𐤏𐤋𐤉𐤅𐤍 in Phoenician, but this proper Phoenician noun is translated into ὕψιστος so that Ἥλιος Ὑπερίων is perverted into Ἥλιος Ὕψιστος becoming both Heliogabalus and Zeus Hypistos and the Romans built temples for these in Syria, probable origin of Sol Invictus. Hammon Bāal might be the same as the name Hannibal meaning Ἥλιος ἐγέννησε (Ἥλιογενής) "Sun begat" and also Ζεύς ἐγέννησε (Διογενής) "Zeus begat", although some interpret Hammon to mean κάμινος oven, furnace. cf. Apollodorus, Library 3.4 - Ino threw Melicertes into a boiling cauldron (

day-dreamy vibes

Appian opens his chapter with this statement, putting the founding of Carthage fifty years before the capture of Troy. The Romans think it was founded by Dido, but the Aeneid makes her contemporary and consort to Aeneas, a veteran of the Trojan War and thus a chronological contradiction. Aeneid also makes Aeneas the founder of Rome so that both Carthage and Rome were founded at the same time. There is also the problem with Cádiz (Gádeira, Gādes) and how it fits into the founding myths of Carthage and Rome. The traditional founding of Cádiz is dated to 1100 BCE, but this falls within the Bronze Age collapse of the Eastern Mediterranean, so it could not have been founded by Tyre at that time and how could Cádiz be founded before Carthage? Numa Pompilius is an alternative founder of Rome, of Sabine descent said to be colonists from Lacedaemon, this name is used interchangeably with Sparta and situated on the Peloponnese. The Trojan War was a war between Peloponnesians and Trojans and so there is a Trojan founder and a Peloponnesian founder of Rome. Pompilius resembles the name Pummay on the Nora Stone, which mentions a war with the Sardinians, the Trojans are also called Dardanians and so could this be the same way? Trojans are the antagonists of the Iliad and so why would the Trojans be made into the founders of Rome instead of the Greek heroes?

A sculpture of a snake-bodied Roman-German deity was found at the Roman fort of Stuttgard, Germany. “Despite the erosion of stone, you can still see how its arms rest on the upper body and its hands on the hips and legs. However, the latter do not have a human shape, instead merging into a kind of snake body.” https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/04/the-sculpture-of-a-snake-bodied-deity-a-hybrid-from-roman-germanic-mythology-found-at-the-roman-fort-of-stuttgart/ https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/fort-excavation-uncovers-roman-sculpture/151730

Scene from the latest movie “Boudica: Queen of War” The topic of Boudica has been discussed before. (Caldrail wrote an interesting post about Rome’s relationship with Boudica and the Iceni tribe. See below.) Here is a good video about finding the site of her final battle:

The coin above is a silver cistophorus of Augustus depicting the mythological Capricorn, a half goat / half fish creature. Below are two articles by NGC Ancients that discuss some of the mythological iconography on ancient coins. https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/12798/ https://www.ngccoin.com/news/article/5055/NGC-Ancients/

I would say these articles show that more is needed to verify even 5% that any particular elite of that time period lived there. Sounds like the so-called Villa Poppaea nearby which was associated with Nero's wife of that name on the barest random clue and lots of hope. There may be more to the story, but the Poppaea one is only 5%

Japanese archaeologists have found evidence of the suspected Villa of Augustus during excavations at Somma Vesuviana, at Naples, Italy. The area was a resort site for the Roman elite. It is believed that Augustus died there in AD 14. Radiocarbon dating, along with chemical analysis of layers of volcanic pumice, confirm that the area was inhabited in the 1st century AD before Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. Suspected furnace believed to heat the baths at the site https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/excavation-uncovers-possible-traces-of-villa-augustus-at-somma-vesuviana/15161 https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/augustus-villa-somma-vesuviana-0020672 https://www.turkiyenewspaper.com/amp/culture/21985

But why is the economic idea dismissed. It’s seems like a much more reasonable objective than just glory right?

On this page, the only icons I see in the top upper right corner now are three: one for "unread content", a plus sign, and the search icon. My name doesn't appear anywhere at the top. No drop down menu icon. In the past I always logged in here. I have Forums discussions page bookmarked and enter the site that way, not the home page. When I do go to a home page, I don't see any place to log in or out. Maybe it's my browser. I had already emailed Peter about an issue with not being able to access the site at all due to an icon on my toolbar telling me it was "not secure". Obviously that got resolved as I am here. I think I actually logged in finally by requesting to create a new post and was told to log in. Was able to, but that option has disappeared. I'll wait awhile and try again or contact Peter.

Read David Livingstone's Ordo ab Chao, page 46-7. He explains how worshippers of Cybele, Ishtar, Rhea, Astarte, Venus, Magna Mater, Queen of Heaven (and her many other thousand various names) was worshiped by Attis (standing watch in New York City's harbor as "Larry Liberty" currently) and his followers with ritualistic floggings, castrating themselves, and the like. "The cult of the Magna Mater also involved a ritual called the taurobolium, where a bull was sacrificed above a pit into which a devotee descended, and was drenched in its blood, as a form of baptism." This is also the ancient roots of the modern form (just reappropriated and altered like "Jewish" sacrifices/pagan sacrifices) of Christianity's "water" baptism/consecration to the goddess/god.

Is the function at the upper right corner scroll down by your name (at the top of the page)?

A Greco-Illyrian helmet has been discovered during excavations near Zakotorac, Croatia. The helmet dates to the 6th century BCE. Previous excavations in the area had recovered a 4th century BCE helmet. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/well-preserved-greco-illyrian-helmet-found-near-zakotorac/151542 https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/70001 Here is a post on the Greco-Illyrian helmet found earlier in the area:

An intact wooden Roman cellar from the first century AD has been found in Frankfurt, which was the Roman city of Nida. The city of Nida flourished under Trajan. During other excavations, three Mithraea (temples to Mithras) have been discovered in the area. Seen in the pictures, a five-step staircase was recovered. It was transported to the Archaeological Museum of Frankfurt (pictured below). Nida underwent a decline after AD 259 under pressures from Alamanni. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/02/excavation-uncovers-preserved-wooden-cellar-from-roman-period/150812#google_vignette https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nida_(Roman_town)

So I finally found a way to log in, but now I can't find the "log-out" option. 😕

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would. Right from the beginning, it had a certain modern day political vibe to it. Subtle messages throughout. Those were done well, but overall not a good production - my opinion anyway.

At Pompeii, frescoes in a suspected banquet hall have been recently discovered. https://www.artforum.com/news/roman-frescoes-uncovered-in-banquet-hall-pompeii-552190/

Kathy Sledge performs well in the Verona Arena, which is also featured in toldinstone video (3:43) on faked Roman reconstructions:

After a long absence, water has returned to the Baths of Caracalla https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-water-returns-to-romes-baths-of-caracalla.html Here is a wonderful older 3D view of the baths:

The road discovered is thought to be a crossroads with the Via Domitia, which was the Roman road that linked Italy with Hispania through Southern France. The remains were discovered between the two roads: In Ancient Rome the cemeteries were traditionally located outside of the religious boundaries (pomerium) of towns and cities. Tombs and elaborate burial monuments lined the roadsides. Burial graves and monuments along the Appian Way near Rome

Here is an article further describing the Roman finds as well as the Roman road uncovered with the finds in Nîmes, France: https://www.inrap.fr/des-tombes-et-des-buchers-en-bord-de-voies-romaines-nimes-gard-17952#

I would add that the Roman Empire was decentralised until the Dominate. Provinces were governed locally, by their own people though usually in emulation of Roman practice because that pleased the Senate and potentially earned them status, tax breaks, or commercial advantages. Roman governors were not rulers, they were there to represent Rome and be the last word in Roman and native law. Having said that, most of them were there to get rich quick, though it did involve military responsibility too.