#Roman Emperors

[boomer-mythology-destroyer]

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Gods And Goddesses of the Countryside, Arch of Trajan at Beneventum, 114 CE

These gods and goddesses represent the prosperity of the countryside: Bacchus, god of the vine with his thyrsos (a fennel-stalk staff); Ceres, goddess of corn and the harvest, with a torch; Diana, goddess of hunting and wild animals; and Silvanus, god of woods and fields, who holds a pine branch (in situ, west side, attic).

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

[djoseph-quinn]

“How often do you think about the Roman Empire?”

Constantly.

[memories-of-ancients]

The Roman Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

In ancient history the pharaoh was the head of state and ruler of the country. However, he was not just a secular ruler, but a divine being on Earth who acted as an intermediary between the spiritual world and the earthly world. In essence he was a mortal representative of the gods. Interestingly, one did not have to be an Egyptian to be an Egyptian pharaoh. The act of conquering and ruling Egypt qualified one to be a pharaoh. As a result there were many foreign pharaohs throughout Egyptian history including those who were Persian, Nubian, Libyan, Hyksos, Kushite, and Macedonian Greek.

In 30 BC Cleopatra VII became the last ruler of Egypt from the Macedonian Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty. Cleopatra had backed the losing side of a Roman civil war, opposing Octavian and supporting Marc Antony. Octavian won, she was deposed, she committed suicide, and Egypt became a Roman province. When Octavian became Augustus and founded the Roman Empire, the Egyptians also recognized him as the official Pharaoh of Egypt. Afterwards successive Roman emperors were also declared pharaohs, until around the 4th century when Christianity became the dominant religion in Egypt.

Truth be told, most if not all Roman emperors didn't give a damn about being pharaohs. Most emperors never even stepped foot in Egypt and it didn't seem like they took their role as pharaoh very seriously. Regardless Egyptian iconography and art was crafted depicting Roman emperors in Egyptian style wearing Egyptian royal regalia and interacting with Egyptian gods. Some interesting examples are...

Gigachad Pharaoh Augustus

Tiberius

Nero

Nero again

Trajan making sacrifices to Hathor

Domitian

Domitian with Horus

Caracalla

Marcus Aurelius

[blueiscoool]

A ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT BUST OF THE EMPEROR LUCIUS VERUS ANTONINE PERIOD, LATE 2ND CENTURY A.D.

Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Marcus Aurelius marked the first time that the Roman Empire was ruled by more than one emperor simultaneously, an increasingly common occurrence in the later history of the Empire.

Born on 15 December 130, he was the eldest son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, first adopted son and heir to Hadrian. Raised and educated in Rome, he held several political offices prior to taking the throne. After his biological father's death in 138, he was adopted by Antoninus Pius, who was himself adopted by Hadrian. Hadrian died later that year, and Antoninus Pius succeeded to the throne. Antoninus Pius would rule the empire until 161, when he died, and was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius, who later raised his adoptive brother Verus to co-emperor.

As emperor, the majority of his reign was occupied by his direction of the war with Parthia which ended in Roman victory and some territorial gains. In the spring of 168 war broke out in the Danubian border when the Marcomanni invaded the Roman territory. This war would last until 180, but Verus did not see the end of it. In 168, as Verus and Marcus Aurelius returned to Rome from the field, Verus fell ill with symptoms attributed to food poisoning, dying after a few days (169). However, scholars believe that Verus may have been a victim of smallpox, as he died during a widespread epidemic known as the Antonine Plague.

Despite the minor differences between them, Marcus Aurelius grieved the loss of his adoptive brother. He accompanied the body to Rome, where he offered games to honour his memory. After the funeral, the senate declared Verus divine to be worshipped as Divus Verus.

[mapsontheweb]

Birth and death locations of Roman Emperors (Augustus to Theodosius), modern borders.

[strugglingclassicist]

"bow to me, Hadrian, your favourite Roman emperor" like what a notification to suddenly get from the chess.com app, I guess this is how they try to get me back and yes it might be working...

[seianusfanboy]

ANCIENT ROME FAMILY TREES !!

(that I've written down so far)

- THE JULIOCLAUDIANS (until Claudius, sorry Nero! - starting from Brutus' ancestors)

- MARCELLUS AND HIS FAMILY (down to Messalina!)

- THE FAMILY OF AELIUS SEJANUS (the only one whose family isn't a circle)

[lily-s-world]

As it should be.

[marsfilms]

Happy Ides of March! Do not forget to stab your nearest authoritarian politician.

[aesthetic--mood]

Gladiator Movie Aesthetic

[thesilicontribesman]

Trajan Recruits Soldiers. Arch of Trajan at Beneventum, 114 CE

A cuirassed military god in the centre presents a recruit to the roman emperor. The new soldier stands feet together: his height is being measured by a wooden frame held by the soldier on the right (in situ, west side, middle zone)

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

[enlitment]

The Octavianus Fragrance: for a price you can barely afford, you too can smell like sickness and desperation!

[wav3y-zzz]

omg it's bestie😛🤞

[blueiscoool]

Archaeologists May Have Found the Villa Where the Roman Emperor Augustus Died

Excavations north of Mount Vesuvius revealed Roman ruins buried by the eruption in 79 C.E.

After decades of excavations in Italy, archaeologists have discovered a villa that could have belonged to Augustus, the first emperor of Rome.

Since 2002, researchers from the University of Tokyo have been exploring Somma Vesuviana, an archaeological site north of Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that extinguished the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 C.E. Recently, these excavations revealed a structure destroyed by the same eruption.

Researchers think this site could be Augustus’ lost villa. According to the team, Roman sources say Augustus died in a villa north of the mountain in 14 C.E., but the building’s location has never been verified.

“There is a description that [the villa] was consecrated … but its existence has not been identified to this day,” says Mariko Muramatsu, leader of the university’s Somma Vesuviana excavation project, in a translated statement. “In recent years, our excavations have uncovered parts of buildings that were buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E. This means that for the first time in this area, a building contemporary with the villa of Emperor Augustus has been found with scientific support.”

The ruins in question actually include two separate villas: one buried in the 79 C.E. eruption and another built on top of it later, reports All That’s Interesting’s Amber Breese. Until recently, researchers had only been aware of the newer structure.

In the older villa, archaeologists identified four rooms containing portions of wall, roof tiles and other ruins. In one chamber, researchers discovered 16 amphorae—tall ancient Roman jars—which were used to transport and store wine. In another, they found “large amounts of charcoal and ash” from a fire they believe was used to heat water for a private bathhouse, “indicating that the villa belonged to a person of great wealth and influence,” per All That’s Interesting.

In the mid-second century, people began constructing new buildings atop the site of the buried villa, using its footprint as a guide. The new construction featured a grand hall filled with brick arches, marble columns and marble statues. Around the fourth century, the site transformed again, becoming a large-scale wine production site. This villa was preserved by another eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 472.

Historians previously thought the damage from Vesuvius’ 79 C.E. eruption at this site was “minor compared to the southeast of the mountain,” but the older villa’s ruins suggest “there was also a destructive impact in this area,” reports La Brújula Verde’s Guillermo Carvajal. Researchers think the structure collapsed due to pyroclastic flows—dense, fast masses of ash and gas expelled by the volcano.

The researchers theorize that Augustus could have once occupied the older villa. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, the young man was granted the name Augustus—the “exalted one”—by the Roman Senate in 27 B.C.E. While Augustus didn’t use the title of “emperor” in his lifetime, he was a pivotal figure in Roman history who more than doubled the empire’s size during his 40-year reign.

Researchers from the Somma Vesuviana excavation project hope to expand the scale of their digs. As Muramatsu says in the statement, further exploration could reveal “another Pompeii,” helping historians “trace the achievements of Emperor Augustus and the beginnings of the Roman Empire.”

By Sonja Anderson.

[parumpantheraart]

Bronze bust depiction of Caligula, oil pastel and colored pencil on paper.

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