#ancientrome

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✨Perseus and Andromeda, the villa at Boscotrecase✨

This fresco captures moments from the myth of Andromeda and Perseus. Perseus is swooping in stage left to rescue Andromeda—trapped on a crag at centre stage—from the sea monster Kêtus. The monster takes up most of the lower left of the fresco panel. Perseus can be easily identified by his accoutrements: the winged sandals and lyre. The upper right of the fresco shows Perseus in conversation with Andromeda’s father, Cepheus, the king of Aethiopia. This part of the fresco seems to allude to the agreement on the marriage of Andromeda (without her input, which was standard in Greek myth).

From the villa of Agrippa Postumus at Boscotrecase, now held at the Met. Description from the museum: “Perseus is about to rescue Andromeda from the ketos, a snaky sea monster painted in a brilliant blue-green palette. The creature raises his head with gigantic open jaws and frightful teeth toward Andromeda, who stands with outstretched arms in the center of the panel. One hand appears to be chained to the crag; the other elegantly placed on the rocks. Perseus flies in from the left with his lyre in one hand, winged shoes on his feet, and a windblown cloak over his shoulder. In the upper right portion of the fresco, he is greeted by Andromeda's grateful father, a scene that alludes to the myth's “happy ending” the marriage of hero and princess.“

Oh hey there! It’s your Roman history ladies here and we’re excited for on September 27 and being part of The Memory Collective is livestream event to celebrate history and podcasting!

The livestream is happening Saturday, September 27th at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central/ 12 PM Eastern. For our friends in Australia, the livestream kicks off at 2 AM AEST on Sunday, September 28th BUT the livestream is planned to last for 10-12 hours, so everyone has a chance to join in on the fun!

We'll provide links to the livestream as we get closer to the date. This event is an opportunity for our audiences to get to know other members of and contributors to the Memory Collective. Learn more about the podcasts involved here: https://www.mythsbaby.com/mnemosyne/podcast-network

There lots of exciting activities planned including Listener Q&A sessions, Myth and History Trivia, a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure: Survive Pompeii Quest, …

We'll provide links to the livestream as we get closer to the date. This event is an opportunity for our audiences to get to know other members of and contributors to the Memory Collective. Learn more about the podcasts involved here: https://www.mythsbaby.com/mnemosyne/podcast-network
The livestream is happening Saturday, September 27th at 9 AM Pacific/11 AM Central/ 12 PM Eastern. For our friends in Australia, the livestream kicks off at 2 AM AEST on Sunday, September 28th BUT the livestream is planned to last for 10-12 hours, so everyone has a chance to join in on the fun!
As part of the International Podcast Day celebration, we are also holding a raffle fundraiser for the Memory Collective! You can purchase raffle tickets for the chance to win a book, most of which were written by members of the Memory Collective. Tickets are priced at £1,50 approximately $2 USD)
Dr G and Dr Rad smiling in front of bookshelves.

✨Hercules captures the Cretan bull✨

This Campana relief is ancient Roman terracotta tile that would once have been part of a larger frieze created by tiles placed in sequence. Hercules’ strength is on display and he is depicted in the heroic nude style.

The Campana reliefs are named after the Italian collector Giampietro Campana, who first published them (1842). This example was discovered in 1828 in Quadraro (Roma Vecchia) and is held by the Vatican Museums, accession number: 14477. Photo credit to Jean-Pol Grandmont.

On a rectangular roof tile, Hercules is depicted in relief holding the Cretan bull by the horns. The bull is rearing up slightly on its rear legs but Hercules (heroically nude) seems to have everything under control. The tile is also decorated with an egg and dart style design at the top and a more floral geometric pattern at the bottom.

We’re springing into an Antipodean spring with this flurry of cat and bird.

This mosaic comes from Pompeii and the different planes suggest those ducks at the bottom are quite oblivious to the danger they face from the cat above. Meanwhile the other bird is possibly having the worst of times. Photo credit This image was first published on Mary Harrsch via Flickr. The mosaic is now held by the MAN Napoli.

Mosaic shows a cat catching a bird in the upper register and two ducks seemingly in a completely different scene, relaxing in the lower register.

A Companion to Families in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Beryl Rawson, 2025 draws from both established and current scholarship to offer a broad overview of the field, engage in contemporary debates, and pose stimulating questions about future development in the study of families.

Provides up-to-date research on family structure from archaeology, art, social, cultural, and economic history

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444390766

@bookstodon




Features illustrations of families, children, slaves, and ritual life, along with maps and diagrams of sites and dwellings. 2011 edition: https://archive.org/details/a-companion-to-families-in-the-greek-and-roman-worlds