#AncientGreece

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✨A monument of Delos ✨

If you’ve ever wondered where the Roman fascination for phalluses came from, look no further than Delos. The Greek island is home to some monumental phallic sculptures dedicated to the god of wine and revelry, Dionysus.

This particular example is enhanced by the plinth which is decorated with a relief of a creature part cock and part phallus!

@AimeeMaroux

Photo of a large stone phallus (now partially broken) on top of a tall rectangular plinth with an animal (a cockerel?) with the head of a phallus. Image credit to the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World via Flickr.

The King Must Die: A Novel "The story follows Theseus's adventures from Troizen to Eleusis, where the death in the book's title is to take place" Sale: $17.99 to $2.99 by Mary Renault Rating: 4.3/5 (1,928 Reviews)

The King Must Die: A Novel

✨The dance of the maenads✨

This is one of four reliefs depicting maenads dancing held by the Museo del Prado. The exceptional detail and sense of flowing movement is simply exquisite. These are Roman reinterpretations of Greek reliefs from the fifth century BCE and were designed to honour the maenads’ chosen god, Dionysus. The original reliefs were purported to be crafted by the sculptor Callimachus (ca. 410-400 BCE).

This relief depicts a maenad dancing wildly with her head thrown right back and her flowing gown swishing around her from the movement. She holds a thyrsus in her right hand, an object often connected with Dionysos in iconography.

Ancient Greek Lyrics by Willis Barnstone, 2009

Ancient Greek Lyrics collects Willis Barnstone's elegant translations of Greek lyric poetry—including the most complete Sappho in English, newly translated. This volume includes a representative sampling of all the significant poets, from Archilochos, in the 7th century BCE, through Pindar and the other great singers of the classical age, down to the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods.





William E. McCulloh's introduction illuminates the forms and development of the Greek lyric while Barnstone provides a brief biographical and literary sketch for each poet and adds a substantial introduction to Sappho—revised for this edition—complete with notes and sources. A glossary and updated bibliography are included.

UC Berkeley: How Greek myths and Hollywood hits can help us understand AI today. “In her new book, UC Berkeley researcher Nina Beguš explores how art, history and literature provide a window into AI development, revealing a hopeful — and cautionary — path forward for humanity.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/03/uc-berkeley-how-greek-myths-and-hollywood-hits-can-help-us-understand-ai-today/

I was reminded today that Meta/Facebook's data center project is called Hyperion. Here are some facts about that name that may or may not be of interest.

Hyperion's name comes from two Greek words that together mean "watcher from above" or "he who goes above".

Hyperion was a Titan, the ancient Greek gods that preceded the Olympian gods like Zeus, Athena, etc. Prometheus, Atlas, and the word Titan itself are frequently used to name tech projects. A fun web search is "COMPANY_NAME Titan"; try it. It seems lost on these folks that the Titans were deposed by the Olympian gods and condemned to an eternity in Tartarus, a kind of hell. In other words they're the loser gods, if you want to be simplistic and vulgar about it.

It is believed that one of Hyperion's offspring, Helios, as well as all of Helios's offspring, were imagined as being black-skinned.

My …

Here’s Bellerophon in all his heroism!

This we recognise the glorious artistry of this second century CE mosaic that depicts Bellerophon riding Pegasus while killing the Chimera.

The Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing creature from Lycia. It was often depicted as a lion with a goat's head protruding from its back and a tail ending with a snake's head.

Bellerophon was a Corinthian hero, the son of Poseidon and Eurynome, a Megarian princess who became a queen of Corinth. Bellerophon was known as one of the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, before the days of Heracles.

Description from Wikipedia: “The Bellerophon Mosaic is a 2nd century AD ancient Roman mosaic, discovered at Autun in 1830 and now in the musée Rolin. It shows Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus killing the Chimera.”

Have a courageous Day of Ares aka Mars' Day aka Tuesday 🗡️

"Sisyphos bound Thanatos (Death) fast, so that men ceased to die, until Ares came to the rescue, released Thanatos, and gave Sisyphos into his power."
Aeschylus, Sisyphus the Runaway (lost play)

🏛 Red-figure vase painting

Red-figure vase painting of Persephone overseeing Sisyphos and probably Ares leaving.

😴Hypnos, the personification of sleep💤

We’re celebrating all the delights of restful slumber with this beautiful bronze head of Hypnos (not sure about where the rest of the body may be!). Hypnos’ has a twin brother Thanatos and both these likely characters were thought to be the sons of Nyx (Night) and to live in the underworld with Hades!

Description from the BM: “Bronze head from a statue of Hypnos. Wings are shown sprouting from his temples, and his hair is arranged into a series of locks, some falling freely, others tied in a knot at the back of the head. Museum number: 1868,0606.9. © The Trustees of the British Museum.“