Human Gods: More Names

We have come across two more names to add to our list of deified mortals from ancient Rome: Diva Paulina and Divus Valerian II.

Paulina was the wife of Emperor Maximinus Thrax and died in 235 or 236 ce.  We know very little about her. An inscription gives her name and titles as Diva Caecilia Paulina Pia Augusta.  She is given the title of Diva – divine – on Roman coins and is sometimes called thea – goddess – on Greek coins. The title of Pia – pious – might give some indication of her character.  She is favorably, if very briefly, mentioned in the surviving text of the Histories written by Ammianus Marcellinus in the fourth century ce, more than a century after her death. Her husband Maximinus appears to have been rather a bad egg and was executed by his own soldiers after a reign of only three years.

Valerian II was never an emperor, but was in line for the imperial succession. He was given the title of Caesar, at the age of 15 or 16, by his grandfather the Emperor Valerian I. His father was the Emperor Gallienus, son and co-emperor of Valerian I. After his appointment to the position of Caesar, Valerian II was sent to the Illyrian provinces, where he died soon after in suspicious circumstances in 257 or 258 ce. Suspician fell upon his principal administrative advisor, a man whose whose name I shall not mention, who promptly started a revolt against Valerian I, but was quickly suppressed.  Other than his parentage, we know even less about Valerian II than we do about Paulina. He did not have much time to accomplish anything in his short life. An Imperial teenage boy, a sacrificial victim to the murderous intrigues that had infected the ruling class of that era. And yet, he was rememberd afterward.  

Remember that all of the divi and divae are real people, who once walked this earth as mortal human beings. There are stories, whether triumphant, tragic, or trivial, behind their names. Unfortunately, most of the stories have not survived.

Paulina

 

Paulina being carried to heaven by a peacock. Auction price in 2013: $750.

 

Valerian II

 

A silver antoninianus issued in honor of Valerian II by the mint in Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne).

Youthful portrait of Valerian II, with reverse showing Valerian being carried to heaven by an eagle. Auction price in 2013: $200.

Thanksgiving Potnia Demeter

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. A day on which to be thankful for the circumstances that have resulted in good things in your life. Primarily food, perhaps, but all good things.

Potnia is a Greek word meaning “Lady” or “Mistress”. It comes from classical Greek, and from Mycenean Greek, and it might ultimately come from the lost Minoan language. It was a title given to Demeter, Persephone, and Artemis, among other goddesses.  I think that Demeter should be the presiding deity over the Thanksgiving Day celebrations.

I placed my new statue of Demeter on a pedestal next to the altar today, and I say this to the Goddess:

Potnia! Potnia! Potnia!

Potnia Demeter!

Hail and thanksgiving to Demeter, Great Goddess.

Praise to Demeter, queen of earth goddesses;  patroness of crops and cultivation; guardian of fields, groves, and gardens, mistress of the growing earth; lady of the grains.

Accept our praise, Great Goddess Demeter, and our thanks for the food which sustains us, and may you grant us abundance.

Praise the Goddess, Potnia Demeter.

Last Days of Pompeii Review

This is a review of the 1984 television epic mini-series “The Last Days of Pompeii”, based on the 1840’s novel by Edward Bulwer Lytton. This has been filmed many times. I have seen versions filmed in 1913, 1926, 1935, and 1959. This is certainly the closest to the original story than any other film version ever made. It has long been available in Europe (Region 2) but has only recently been available in the United States (Region 1).

Good actors, good acting, well presented story line, and amazing technical quality. It appears that many of the rooms and background street scenes were copied directly and accurately from the real rooms and streets of Pompeii. If you want to see what Pompeii looked like before it was wrecked by earthquake and volcanic eruption, this film will show you. Amazing in its details and accuracy.  The ancient world was a colorful world. The reconstructed views of the Temple of Isis are breathtakingly beautiful and actually match the archaeological evidence. The costumes are good too. Upper class women’s hairstyles and jewelry are a bit overdone perhaps, a little too much glitter, but still follow ancient precedents. All the male characters wear short skirted tunics or long robes, which is correct for that era. I have noticed that recent films set in the ancient world usually show the men wearing trousers and exposing their bellies down to crotch level, which of course is not at all accurate.

The story line is the usual mix of Christian propaganda with a bit of Hollywood drivel: the evil pagans are persecuting the pathetic Christians while the murderous priests of Isis are plotting to subvert the Empire. The disturbing bit occurs at the very end when a character declaims that the destruction of Pompeii was a good thing because it showed the Christian god destroying any who did not follow him, thus being a harbinger of the destruction of the Empire and the triumph of Christianity. In real life there is no evidence that there were ever any Christians in or near Pompeii. One technical error: there were no lions in Pompeii’s amphitheater, and no evidence of any caged animals being kept there. Overall, this is an excellent film, if you overlook the Christian crap.

Warning: this is a two disc set from the Choice Collection label. It is supposed to be used with “play only” DVD devices. I was concerned about that limitation, but the thing played successfully after some finagling. Technical quality is superb: bright clear full screen presentation, sharply defined, no glitches. Other editions might be available.

Day of Doom August 24

August 24 can be a dangerous day. In old Rome this is a day of the Mundus Patet, a day when the gateway between this world and the underworld can open, permitting the passage of baleful influences and spirits. In the Circus Maximus in Rome an altar buried in the earth would be dug up and revealed and sacrifices performed.

On August 24 in the year 79 ce Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and many other places. Many thousands must have died. Herculaneum was totally buried beneath volcanic debris and mud flows,  as was much of the surrounding countryside.  The taller buildings of Pompeii would have been still standing above the ash deposits but the city was never rebuilt. Its territories were reassigned to neighboring communities. This would indicate that most of the people of Pompeii must have died.  A great deal of salvage work was carried out at Pompeii after the eruption. Modern archaeologists have characterized this salvage work as “looting”, but it is really the modern archaeologists who are the looters, desecrating temples and tombs, and carefully using the surviving evidence to support their own pet theories about life in ancient times. The date for the eruption has become a matter of controversy. Maybe it was August, but maybe it was September, October, or even November. The surviving manuscripts are not consistent.  Much of the doubt about the traditional August date centers around a silver coin discovered in Pompeii. The coin is known to have been minted after August 79 ce, so how could it have been found at the destruction level? Very easily, actually. After the site was safe to approach, it must have been swarming for months afterwards with workers conducting salvage operations. One such person could easily have dropped a coin which made its way into the debris level.

 

On August 24 in the year 410 ce, the city of Rome was sacked by a horde of Christian Goths led by King Alaric. The Goths only held the City for three days, but caused quite a lot of damage, along with mass rape and murder. The Goths seized mostly portable items: coin, jewels, precious objects, silks, spices, and food. The city was stripped of food supplies.  Thousands of people were carried away as captives when the Goths left the City. Many of these people were killed when Alaric died soon after. Some of the buildings burned by the Goths seem a bit peculiar: the Tabularium, Basilica Aemilia, and Basilica Iulia. The basilicas and the Tabularium contained many government records regarding court cases, taxes (who is paid up and who isn’t), property ownership, leases, wills, inheritances, settlements, etc. Someone benefited from the destruction of so many official records, and it wasn’t the Goths, in my opinion.

 

On a lighter note

In the calendar of Neos Alexandria, today is the Festival of Inebriation, in honor of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. Sekhmet had decided to destroy humanity, but was given a bowl of beer dyed red, to imitate blood. Having become happily drunk after sipping from the bowl, Sekhmet decided to spare humanity. After all, a people who had invented beer couldn’t be all bad.  So, drink a toast to your favorite cat, and reflect a bit on just how ferocious a cat can be.

Gender, Passports, and Antoninia

Citizen membership in the Antonine Imperium is open to all interested persons who are 18 years of age or older. The requirement that prospective citizens provide gender identification in their citizenship applications has been discontinued as of November 3, 2764 AUC (2011 ce). Gender identity is of a personal nature and is of no particular interest or relevance to the Antonine State.

Antoninia, as a sovereign state, issues passports to its citizens who request such documents. Passport applications require sex or gender identification. The only choices are male or female, and they refer to the physical identity of the citizen. This requirement is being retained in order to make Antonine passports conform to current international law and practice. Antoninia is seriously intended as a real and legitimate sovereignty project and nation, and it will adhere to current international laws and practices when it is possible and practical to do so.

Applications for Antonine citizenship, and for passports, may be made directly to the Emperor, Quintus Poppaeus Sabinus, at antoninestate@aol.com . Citizenship is free, and passport application fees have been waived at the present time. Requirements for formal application forms have also been waived at the present time, and applications may be made directly via email.

Augustus Caesar Praetoria Blog

Someone on the Ekklesia Antinoou yahoo group recently discovered an interesting blog with a pile of fascinating pictures. Interesting people in fabulous Roman reconstructionist costumes. Visit this site:http://augustuscaesarpraetoria.blogspot.com/

The site is in French, which I can not read, so I don’t know exactly what it says. The site seems to be devoted to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Most of the pictures seem to be about a Roman reenactment legion’s activies in Arles. This is how to do it, people, if you want to dress up like in olden times.

My own attempts at Imperial regalia are rather modest in comparison. The picture shown  here is from five years ago, and I don’t even have all of the costume anymore. Humphh. I am beginning to feel more and more very late Byzantine – hiding in my decaying palace with the barbarians at the gates.

 

Q Poppaeus Sabinus at Pantheacon 2007

 

Dionysos Coin

Here is a proposed design for a coin to Dionysos. This is a possible future project of the Antonine Imperium.

Dionysos dupondius coin

Zeus Ammon Coin

Here is a proposed design for a coin to Zeus Ammon. This is a possible future project of the Antonine Imperium.

Zeus Ammon sestertius coin

Ownership of Antiquities

Concerning the Ownership of Antiquities

Official Policy Statement of the Antonine Imperium

Senatorial and Imperial Decree of April 19, 2765 AUC, 2012 ce

All living persons have the inherent and inalienable right to own and use objects and property, including antiquities. In recognition of this fact, the Antonine Imperium condemns without hesitation or reservation the attempts by certain organizations and governments to improperly regulate the markets in antiquities, and the attempts by these organizations to seize items of property that rightfully and lawfully belong to the persons who own them.

Antiquities can include, among other things, pottery, glassware, metal ware, tools, utensils, dishes, tiles, mosaics, objects of wood or fabric, coins, jewelry, gems, statues, sculptured reliefs, inscriptions, books, scrolls, paper items, paintings, frescoes, architectural elements, decorations, ornaments and ornamental items, religious or artistic objects of all types, and even entire buildings. These things can be owned by both individual persons and by various kinds of groups and organizations.

The Antonine Imperium does not recognize the claim of any government or organization to own cultural property merely because the property in question is of a certain age or originated in a certain geographic area, or is alleged to be of cultural importance to any particular group of people. The Antonine Imperium condemns as theft, cultural vandalism, and a denial of human rights any attempt by any government or organization to seize antiquities that properly belong to individual persons, or to restrict the ownership, use, or sale of antiquities by individual persons.

Hypatia and Agora

The famous Neoplatonist philosopher Hypatia died in the Spring of the year 415 ce, at the beginning of the Christian season of Lent.  The exact day does not seem to be known, but Neos Alexandria observes it on March 22 and the Ekklesia Antinoou observes it on March 25. Hypatia was a wealthy educated woman who was also a mathematician, astronomer, probably astrologist, and writer. Even though she could not vote or hold government office, she was an active participant in the cultural and political life of Alexandria in the late fourth and early fifth centuries ce. She eventually roused the ire of Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, who arranged, whether directly or indirectly, for her death. She was set upon by a Christian mob, led by stinking black robed Christian monks. She was taken to the Christian Church that had been installed in the Caesareum, which had formerly been dedicated to Julius Caesar. She was killed, dismembered, and the flesh was scraped from her bones. The resulting messy bits were then burned in front of the Church. Cyril was a nasty evil person, and he is still revered today as a holy saint by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The characterization of the monks as stinking and black robed is literally true. Early Christian monks wore black and they did not bathe. Bathing, and personal cleanliness in general, was regarded as indulging in the devilish weakness of earthly desires by the monks of that era.

Remember Hypatia and remember who killed her.

The movie “Agora” is a biography, of sorts, of Hypatia. The movie covers the period from the destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria in 393 ce to the death of Hypatia in 415 ce. The film is well acted, well produced, and is worth seeing. It shows the violent conficts between Pagans, Christians, and Jews in Alexandria. Hypatia’s pagan religious connections are not particularly emphasized, but the violent oppression of both Pagans and Jews by the Christians is clearly shown. The film is controversial. The Vatican tried to have it banned in Italy, apparently Church officials were afraid that the film would create anti Christian sentiment if the ancient Christians were honestly portrayed as the nasty people that they were. “Agora” has been widely welcomed and praised by the various Pagan communities of our own era. perhaps uncritically so.

So here are some criticisms of the film “Agora”. The background sets for the city of Alexandria are not very well done. The scenes involving the Serapeum and the destruction of the statue of Serapis do not match the ancient surviving descriptions, or the actual archaeological site. The depiction of Christian viciousness is rather subdued when compared to what we know of actual Christian behaviour in Alexandria in that time period. The movie writers invented a fictional would be lover of Hypatia, who strangles her at the end of the film so as to spare her from the attack of the mob. That is a really stupid idea. Still, this is probably the only movie that has yet been made that actually tries to give an idea of what actually happened, and that does not whitewash the Christians.