BookWyrm

The Partial Historians

The twins Romulus and Remus are depicted being nursed by the shewolf in the presence of the shepherd Fastulus and Acca Larentia. This piece is thought to date to the C2nd CE and is heavily restored.

🏛 Galleria Borghese

#AncientRome #History

Description from the museum: “The panel depicts the myth of the foundation of Rome, with the twins Remus and Romulus nursed by the She-Wolf while Faustolus and Acca Larentia look on. The scene takes place on the banks of the Tiber. There is a fragment of the personification of the river in the left corner. The ficus ruminalis, the tree at the foot of the Palatine Hill described in ancient sources as where the she-wolf nursed the two infants, is seen in the background.
Although some scholars have doubted its authenticity and the relief is in any case heavily restored, it seems to be datable to the second century CE.”

The Partial Historians

#MosaicMonday

The Magerius Mosaic ~ C3rd CE

Four hunters are in contest against four leopards. Both hunters and leopards are named. In the centre is a figure with four bags each of 1000 denarii…

📍 Smirat, Tunisia
🏛 Sousse Archaeological Museum

#AncientRome #History

Description adapted from wikipedia: “Depicted in the mosaic is a beast hunt, and four named hunters are shown killing four, also named, leopords. At the centre of the mosaic a steward is shown with four moneybags on a tray. Each moneybag symbolises a thousand denarii. The steward is surrounded by four named leopards, being speared by four named hunters. A figure striding forward on the left is usually identified as the goddess Diana. Another figure, with a saucer-shaped object in his right hand, and a staff in his left, is usually identified as Bacchus or Liber Pater.”

The Partial Historians

#FrescoFriday

Fresco from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor ~ c. 50–40 BCE

This fresco is filled with detail including the representation of architectural features, a boukranion, garlands, a snake emerging from a basket, a mask of a satyr, and a cymbal.

🏛 The Met

#AncientRome #History

Description from the museum: “This large painting fragment comes from the west wall of the exedra (Room L), opening off the rear of the villa's peristyle. A sacrificial bull's head (boukranion) originally occupied the center of the wall, from which an opulent garland of fruits and leaves is suspended to left and right against a brilliant wall of simulated masonry. Preserved are parts of four of the original five red slabs of the central zone, separated by golden bands and crowned by a white molding. There follows a course of alternating green and golden blocks that bears an elaborate entablature consisting of a white architrave, a purple frieze decorated with brackets in the form of bearded horned snakes with interlacing tails, and a white cornice. Hanging from a red cord tied in the bull's mouth is a wicker basket, the cista mystica, its lid removed to reveal a snake uncoiling from a bed of ivy. Suspended from the garland also in red cords are a cymbal and a satyr mask.”

The Partial Historians

#PhallusThursday

What makes a wall really great? Phalluses. The Romans knew it. Hadrian’s Wall is a great example with a great many phalluses to be found along the structure such as this one.

📸 Carole Raddato
@AimeeMaroux
#AncientRome #History

A stone from Hadrian’s wall with a raised circle in the centre with a phallus in relief.

The Partial Historians

✨Brand New Episode - Factional Foibles✨

It's 402 BCE and Rome and Veii are tooth and nail in siege mode. Rome seems to be on the front foot, but can they stay there? We're about to find out!

#AncientRome #History @histodons @antiquidons

https://partialhistorians.com/2024/06/13/episode-151-factional-foibles/

The Partial Historians

One of us is Rome and one of us is Veii. The year is 402 BCE. Who is who?*

*Answer to be revealed in our brand new episode coming out later this week!

#AncientRome #History #Podcast

Dr Rad holds a sword and smiles broadly. Dr G holds a sword and looks uncomfortable. They are dressed inspired by Roman goddesses and stand in front of bookshelves.

The Partial Historians

#FrescoFriday

Another newly revealed figure from Pompeii! This beauty is thought to be one of the Horae, goddesses who personified the seasons. Just beautiful 💙

📍Regio IX, Pompeii

#AncientRome #History

A goddess stands against a blue background. She is naked from from hips up. She holds a tray of fruits and what appears to be an instrument for use in agriculture.

Erotic Mythology (hire me) 🌈

For the first #PhallusThursday in #PrideMonth, I present to you a beautiful bisexual ring from #ancientRome with a phallus on the left for scale. Which part of this love chain do you prefer?

A Roman silver ring with erotic intaglio, 3rd century CE

@antiquidons @phistorians #GreekRomanArt

A Roman silver ring with erotic intaglio depicting two men and a woman engaging in a "love chain" with the woman reclining on a couch, receiving one of the men and the other man fucking him in the butt. A large phallus is depicted on the left to the scene, possibly for good luck.

#ReliefWednesday

These fragmentary reliefs from Ephesus depict personifications of rivers, gods, and cities. Though many details are missing it seems that cities in particular were key to the imagery of this piece emphasising the long reach of Roman influence.

🏛 KM, Vienna

#AncientRome #History

Description from museum: “on the left, wearing the armour of a general, we see Mars, the city’s first ancestor and patron deity; the female figure on the right is Roma. Their heads flank the Roman she-wolf (lupa Romana) suckling the twins Romulus and Remus. The river god below personifies the Tiber. There are, however, not many cities that can be identified as easily; one of them is Alexandria/Egypt, thanks to the female figure’s characteristic corkscrew locks, fringed cloak with a tyet, and the ibis in her hand. The female figure clutching a small flag bears the arms of a city (crescent moon and star) but this is unfortunately recorded for a number of ancient municipalities in Asia Minor. We are also unable to name beyond doubt the city on the best-preserved tablet: grain basket and prow ornament clutched by the figure on the left may refer either to fertile Mesopotamia or grain-rich Sicily.”

The Partial Historians

The museum that holds these fragments notes that they were found together and the torso is from an older sculpture that was reused. Certainly the head does rather look a might too small to go for the body Vespasian in all his discombobulated glory?

🏛 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

#AncientRome #History

Description from the museum: “The portrait head (inv. no. I 654) of Vespasian and the torso of a robed statue were found together, but the connection between the two parts is missing. The torso - which for stylistic reasons can be dated earlier - was obviously reused for the emperor's statue.”

The Partial Historians

#MosaicMonday

Never underestimate the importance of chickens in ancient Rome! These fine cocks appear to be facing off, but chickens were important beyond sport. Their feeding patterns offered chances for divine interpretation.

🏛 MAN Napoli

#AncientRome #History

This mosaic panel shows two cocks with teal tails face off in a fight. Behind them on a table is a palm frond, a caduceus, and a small bag.

The Partial Historians

#ReliefWednesday

Surely a lesser known relief held in the Torlonia Collection. The inscription has been restored and we see two women tending to poultry and other butchered animals.

#AncientRome #History

One woman sits and works with a bird. Another woman stands by and seems to be talking with the first. To the right six animals hang upside down.

The Partial Historians

Portrait of a matrona ~ c. 40 BCE

This piece captures the realism that characterised Roman portraiture of the late republic. The identity of the woman is not known but it is intriguing as statues for women were considered rare in this period.

🏛 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

#AncientRome #History @antiquidons @histodons

Description from the museum: “The old woman is wearing a mantle pulled across her head. Beneath the mantle a visible hair-band lies tight across her forehead. Hair-bands were also worn by priestesses, and the portrait’s subject may have performed this function in a cult. Covering the head was regarded as a gesture of chastity (Latin: castitas).
The portrait shows clear signs that the woman has aged, but they are not pronounced and underscore the high esteem and dignity of the elderly in the society of the Late Republic, familiar to us from numerous tomb portraits. The simple hairstyle is a development of a late-Hellenistic ideal and was in fashion for only a short time. This provides an important clue in dating the portrait to the time after the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC.”

The Partial Historians

#MosaicMonday

The Villa of the Birds mosaic is something to behold. There are 33 individual birds represented, each with their own frame. Just stunning!

📸 Frédéric Lecut

#AncientRome #History

A rectangular mosaic showing 33 bird portraits in individual frames. The central motif has had parts removed. The whole section has an additional geometric border.

The Partial Historians

#FrescoFriday

This scene is from the private baths at the so-called Villa Poppaea from Oplontis. A god or a hero? An offering of fruits, a golden ribbon. Do these clues add up to a recognisable myth to you?

📸 Matthias Kabel

#AncientRome #History