The other major city destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was Herculaneum. It too has been extensively excavated however not to the degree of Pompeii, which is a much larger site, which has being dug off and on for 150 or so years… and still is not even half excavated! Herculaneum was right on the bay and many tried to escape by boat. In the little Herculaneum museum we have a boat dredged up from that very place. ... Read more
One of the most prolific writers of good historical fiction is Paul Doherty, and he’s been at it a long time. He has several long running historical novel series, more than one of which focus on English history of the Middle Ages. For my money the best of these series is the Hugh Corbett series set in the late 12 hundreds and early 13th century A.D. dealing in particular with English kings Edward I and II. The stories are full... Read more
Joseph in Jail The Joseph saga encompasses Gen. 37-50 and provides a fitting and fascinating finale to the book of Genesis. It is very different from what precedes it, not least because it appears to be a narrative composed by one very skilled writer of Hebrew, rather than being a compilation of a variety of oral traditions about the patriarchs like what precedes it beginning with the Abraham narrative. Unlike what precedes it, Gen. 37-50, God plays a different role... Read more
What you are looking at is two mementos from our years in Durham England. The first is the picture of the high altar in Durham Cathedral, the most spectacular Norman church in the world, built after the famous William the Conqueror came to England in 1066 winning the battle of Hastings in that year, and establishing a Norman presence in England, the most impressive of which is seen in this remarkable cathedral. You will notice the small curio below it... Read more
The women of Pompeii did indeed participate in a variety of kinds of religious expressions and cults, including the mystery cults, depicted at the Villa of the Mysteries at Pompeii. And rituals required religious equipment so to speak… Here is a woman with a kiste box probably, containing incense or myrrh. Are these items to be used to add music to the rituals or something else? Almost always in these villas we find jewelry of various sorts, and again... Read more
We have not discussed women and their gardens, but various of these villas had both flower and fruit gardens. The semi-tropical climate allowed the residents to have fruit trees, This peristyle garden in Pompeii may well have had both flowers and fruit but today it is just a flower garden. One of the more surprising finds is the watering systems. Not only have pipes and sprinkler systems been found in these gardens, but the use of gravity, by having large... Read more
This is a fascinating and whimsical fresco— we have a mother playing dolls with her daughter, we have a slave hanging out the laundry, and we have a man or angelic. figure in a bird cage with the bird on top of the cage….! This is Poppaea, born in Pompeii but she became the second wife of Nero, noted for her beauty. Next to her is an amphora… This last figure is the most beautiful on exhibit and it... Read more
There is plenty to see in the streets of Pompeii, including graffiti, advertisements, shop names, and lots of statues, including statues that have been turned into fountains… hence the big mouth on the statue….. Check out the items below. The baby appears to be holding a little bird, and I’ve seen a little statue elsewhere in Italy with such a motif. The statue has next to it a mask which represents comedy. Read more
There is so much to see in this exhibit, and various of the items are probably on loan from the nearby archaeology museum in Naples. Here below is a very interesting statue of a woman, which I’m not sure what it signifies. Women along with their servants were normally in charge of most tasks within the house, including in charge of food, cleaning of various items including glass items. Believe it or not the item below is a loaf of... Read more
Sometimes matrons in a villa would sit for a portrait of some sort, sometimes in the form of a large cameo— But normally they would go with frescoes of other male or female figures…. If your wondering about the heads these figures are holding in their hands they are images of comedy or tragedy, i.e. the usual masks suggesting the matron is a patron of the arts. Below however is a matron sitting for a traditional portrait, and below that... Read more
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