#rome 100 ce

[palabrasdoradas]

Discovered in the sarcophagus of Emperor Alexander Severus near Rome in 1582, the vase passed through the Barberini family, British ambassador Sir William Hamilton, and finally to the 2nd & 3rd Dukes of Portland who gave it to the British Museum. Author Thomas Windus (1778-1854), an English coachbuilder and collector of engraved gems, explores the iconography on the vase depicting Augustus, his family, and his rivals, as well as marine creatures such as sea snakes, and a marriage scene. This is an early and important study of this rare masterpiece of Roman glass.  

Source: A New Elucidation of the Subjects on the Celebrated Portland Vase (si.edu)

The scenes on the vase are divided into two parts by a bearded head (perhaps with horns), one under each handle. The first scene has four figures which include a young man leaving a shrine in the countryside and wearing a cloak. The man holds the arm of a semi-naked woman sitting on the ground preoccupied with stroking an animal resembling a snake. Above the woman is the flying figure of Eros with his customary bow and a torch in his right hand. On the right is a bearded male standing between two trees and depicted in a contemplative mood with his chin resting on his hand.

The second scene on the other side of the vase shows three figures all sitting on rocks with a background of a single tree. On the left is a young male next to a column or pillar, whilst in the centre is a young woman with her arm raised to her head and holding a torch which hangs down to the ground. On the far right is another half-dressed woman who holds a sceptre or staff in her left hand.

The exact significance of the scenes is not known for certain, but a commonly held speculation is that it is the wedding of Thetis and Peleus from Greek mythology that is being shown. Other interpretations include the dreams of Olympias, Alexander the Great's mother. This would make the reclining female figures in both scenes Olympias, the snake Alexander's father Zeus, and the young male leaving the temple as Alexander. Another interpretation is the similar story of Julia Mammaea and Roman emperor Alexander Severus. Finally, some have suggested the scene with Eros shows Mark Antony and Cleopatra, whilst the reverse scene has Augustus consoling Octavia with the goddess Venus looking on.

Source: The Portland Vase - World History Encyclopedia

Glass cameo vase, Roman, 1st century AD

from The British Museum

[artschoolglasses]

Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian, Roman, 130-38 CE

[whencyclopedia]

Growing Old in Ancient Greece & Rome

Although life expectancy was lower in ancient Greece and Rome, many people survived into old age. Those who reached old age tended to accumulate wealth and political power. However, the societies of the ancient Mediterranean were also often hostile to the visibly aged and infirm. The experience of old age in antiquity, and the extent to which the elderly were marginalized by society, depended on their wealth, gender, and social class.

Reaching Old Age in Antiquity

Contrary to popular belief, people in the ancient world did not have extremely short lifespans. Although the average life expectancy in the ancient world was between 20 and 30, this statistic is skewed by very high rates of infant mortality. Almost everyone who survived childhood would live to middle age, and it was not uncommon for people to reach their 60s and 70s. However, before modern medicine, lifespans were still shorter and health concerns were more debilitating. Karen Cokayne estimates that approximately 1.6 % of Romans reached 80 years of age, and only 0.05% reached 90.

in antiquity, there was no strict definition of old age or a formal retirement age. Instead, the transition from middle age to old age varied between individuals, based on their health and social life. In ancient Greece and Rome, the onset of old age was generally considered to begin around the age of 60 for men and around 50 for women. These ages corresponded to the time when people began to have difficulty performing physical labor, and when women typically reached menopause. Men were also excused from mandatory military and civic service after this age. These changes signaled the end of childbearing and the ability to fully participate in agricultural work, meaning that people could shift to a new role in the community, with a different set of social responsibilities.

brings about the renunciation of manual labour, toil, turmoil, and dangerous activity, and in their place brings decorum, foresight, retirement, together with all-embracing deliberation, admonition, and consolation; now especially he brings men to set store by honour, praise, and independence, accompanied by modesty and dignity.

(Tetrabiblos, 4.8.206)

The Athenian statesman Solon (c. 640 to c. 560 BCE) considered the average lifespan to be 70 years, which could be divided into seven phases of life. The astronomer Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria (c. 100-170 CE), in his astrological treatise, the Tetrabiblos, similarly divided the human lifespan into seven phases of 12 years. The final stages of life were associated with old age, when men stepped away from hard labor and risk-taking, to focus on retirement and wiser decision-making.

Continue reading...

[sillysybilsden]

To Janus. To Jupiter. To the Roman gods.

🪔

𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

I. Introduction

II. Gods

III. Mythology

IV. Calendar

V. Ritual

VI. Epilogue

VII. Resources

🪔

𝐈. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Hey there everyone! This is Sybil (fka Clever Crow). As a Roman polytheist, “Roman polytheism is just a carbon-copy of Greek polytheism” is something I hear on a weekly basis. Whether on YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest or, heck, even academic resources, there seems to be a widespread belief that these two religions are identical. Today, I want to focus on this piece of misinformation and try to debunk it by using historical evidence and examples.

Just a small disclaimer: I will be discussing this topic from a hard polytheistic and revivalist point of view. Soft polytheism is absolutely valid, but in this case it might not be of use when highlighting differences between gods.

Also, I want to thank the following people: Cristina, Mystix, @spiritual-entries and @camssecretcave . They made sure that all information provided here is factual and reliable, and I will be forever grateful to them for their help.

🪔

𝐈𝐈. 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬

“Are the Greek and Roman pantheons one and the same?” This is the first question we will attempt at answering within this chapter. To do so, we must introduce a very important concept in Roman religion: interpretatio romana. Before that, though, let me provide you with some historical context.

Ever since the founding of Rome in 753 BCE, Romans were exposed to influences from other Italic peoples: Sabines, Etruscans, Volsci and so on. Because of that, we can indeed say that there has never been a 100% “native” Roman religion.

We can nonetheless differentiate two “phases” of Roman polytheism: pre-hellenisation polytheism and post-hellenisation polytheism (“hellenisation” being the process that merged Greek and Roman cultures and religions during the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE). For simplicity’s sake, in this post we are going to compare the pre-hellenisation version of Roman religion and Hellenism.

Back to interpretatio: what is it? To put it simply, it is the comparison of two different pantheons (which is used to find matches between the gods). It was used so that, when describing other populations’ religions, one could just name a more familiar, local deity instead of fully describing a foreign one (which, obviously, would take much more time). Just imagine being a Roman historian and having to discuss Greek religion: instead of saying “Ares is a god of war, battle and courage”, you could just say “Ares is like our Mars”.

Does that mean that these gods were seen as identical? Absolutely not! Actually, this shows us that Roman gods were a thing long before Greek gods started being adopted in the pantheon (which is the reason why a god like Janus does not have a Greek counterpart).

Sticking with the same example we have used before, we can say that Mars was already Mars before he was equated to Ares. And, because of that, at a closer look, the two are extremely different: while Ares is blood-driven, Mars shows a much calmer nature; contrarily to Ares, Mars has some pretty important ties to royalty (his son being Romulus-Quirinus) and agriculture; while Ares has a relationship with Aphrodite, Mars is married to Nerio; and so on. It is only after hellenisation that these two (as well as all of the other gods) started merging into one single Greco-Roman figure.

As I said before, though, this does not mean that Rome was against syncretism. Quite the contrary, actually: whenever Romans ran into a deity who could be of use to them and did not have a counterpart in their pantheon, they would consider adopting them. This is the reason why Apollo was worshiped by both societies (Romans adopted him in 431 BCE in order to fight a pestilence; his Greek nature never went unacknowledged: for him, ritus graecus was performed).

Fun fact: interpretatio was not only directed to Greece. Roman priests tried to include the prophet Jesus Christ into the Roman pantheon. He was described to them as “a god of love”, so they used interpretatio to connect him to Venus.

🪔

𝐈𝐈𝐈. 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲

As I said before, during hellenisation Greek and Roman gods started merging. As a consequence, so did their mythologies…

Actually, no, scratch that: except for a few exceptions, Roman gods did not have a mythology to begin with. Mythology that is Roman in origin revolves around men, not deities (and that is the reason why it is also referred to as “mythic history”, as the protagonists are pseudo-historical figures). Myths in Ancient Rome were used as exempla, examples to teach teens and men how they should behave in a virtuous way.

For example, one of the most famous figures from Roman mythology is Lucius Junius Brutus, the founder of the Republic: he was intelligent (he tricked the cruel king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus into sparing his life), loyal (he never deserted the Romans) and strong-willed (he took the matters into his own hands and kicked out of Rome the cruel king), and every Roman had to aspire to be like him.

In Greece, on the other hand, myths had the task of explaining why something happens. Why do we have a colder season and a warmer one? That is because Persephone comes back from and goes to the Underworld. How do we know how to use fire? Prometheus gave it to men. How did the hyacinth, the flower, get its name? It comes from Apollo’s lover Hyacinth. On top of that, Greek mythology revolves a lot more around deities than the Roman one (which is the reason why there is a pretty intricate divine family tree in Hellenism).

With this in mind, we can say that, with hellenisation, the Roman gods received myths and genealogies (as well as iconographies, in some cases) of their own for the first time ever. However, these myths and these genealogies were not altered to better fit the deity.

This is the reason why Nerio, Mars’ original wife, was forgotten in favor of Venus (Aphrodite’s Roman counterpart). This is why Saturn, an extremely benevolent agricultural deity, started being depicted as a cruel entity devouring his children (yes: I am looking at you, Goya). And this is also why Minerva, who used to have nothing to do with Medusa, started to be seen as she-who-cursed-Medusa (now I am looking at you, Ovid).

🪔

𝐈𝐕. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫

Calendars were of extreme importance in polytheistic societies. After all, they were deeply intertwined with their religious mentality… which is the reason why we are briefly going to discuss this matter in this blog.

When it comes to Ancient Greece, the calendar we have the most evidence on is the Athenian one (which, because of this, has become the most widely used in modern Hellenic polytheistic communities). It is lunisolar (keep this in mind!). When it comes to Ancient Rome, on the other hand, we have quite some evidence on three different calendars that modern Roman polytheists can choose from: a lunar one, a lunisolar one and a solar one (the latter happens to be the calendar still in use today).

One similarity that needs to be addressed is the one between Noumenia and Kalends (both being a celebration of the first day of the month). In the Roman version, however, we would also have to add Nones and Ides as recurring monthly festivities.

Another similarity that many seem to highlight is the one between Kronia and Saturnalia, two festivities where abundance is celebrated (as well as, respectively, Kronos and Saturn, who later merged) and the Golden Age is remembered. However! Kronia is celebrated during the Summer, roughly during the Summer solstice; Saturnalia is celebrated during Wintertime, roughly during the Winter solstice. It might not seem like a big difference at first, but it is if we consider this: during Kronia, the harvest is celebrated while it is happening, while the mature crops are being collected; during Saturnalia, the harvest that has already happened during the past Summer is celebrated, as well as the one that is to come.

Last but not least, let us highlight a Roman-only peculiarity. Back in Ancient Roman times, every day had a “quality": they could either be faustus or nefastus (as well as a lot more nuances which we will not be taking into account here). They were of great importance on a religious level, as nefastus days could bring bad luck to a practitioner if they were to take big decisions. Something similar also happened with dies religiosi, during which it was forbidden to go to work (or do anything that was not a life-or-death matter).

🪔

𝐕. 𝐑𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥

Now that we have discussed the more “theological” matters, such as the nature of the gods, myths and festivities, we can briefly talk about the more practical side of things.

Let us start with an all-time favorite: veiling. Nowadays, a lot of pagans (no matter their path or their gender) veil for a variety of reasons: protection, modesty or devotion. And that is, no doubt, valid. Historically speaking, though, things kind of different. While both in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome veils were used by women in order to express their modesty, in Italy they were also mandatory whenever performing rituals (for women and men alike).

Another big difference resides in the views of these two societies over divination. When we think of “divination” and “Ancient Greece”, one of the first things that comes to our minds is probably the Oracle of Delphi (and rightly so!). This figure was said to be able to channel the messages of the gods, and they did so by going into a trance-like state.

In Rome, this practice was seen as unreliable (even though, surprisingly, there are a couple of instances where Romans have asked the Oracle for guidance), as the only reliable forms of divination were those that could be performed when completely conscious (augury, haruspicy, etc). Dreams, too, were seen as an untrustworthy form of communication by Romans.

🪔

𝐕𝐈. 𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐥��𝐠𝐮𝐞

There is something we still need to address: if these two cultures, societies, religions were so different, why do so many people believe otherwise?

Well, the answer can be found in 19th century’s anthropological and religious studies. Back then, scholars used to be very fond of the comparative approach (which is a “strategy where characteristics or parts are compared across different research situations to identify differences or similarities”, according to www.sciencedirect.com) and the Indo-European theory.

Too focused on stressing the similarities between Greeks and Romans, intellectuals “forgot” to highlight the differences. Even though nowadays, academically, these hypotheses have been marked as outdated, they are still ever-so widespread.

I hope that this blog will contribute to debunking this piece of misinformation. And I hope that I managed to introduce you, reader, to Roman polytheism… Not just a carbon-copy of Hellenism!

Sybil

🪔

𝐕𝐈𝐈. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬

The majority of my knowledge on Greek religion comes from “Archeologia greca” by Enzo Lippolis and Giorgio Rocco and theoi.com, as well as some high school classes dedicated to Hellenic mythology.

The following resources talk specifically about this post's subject:

Roman vs. Greek religion (YouTube)

Greek mythology: A second masterpost (Tumblr)

You can check out my full list of resources on Roman polytheism here.

🪔 Check out this post on Amino as well! 🪔

[psychologeek]

Free!

"Leave our country alone!" they say "This isn't your land - go back to where you came from!"

And as my brother's being shoot, And my sister's being paraded naked - For their great sin of: living [Re'im, Israel, 2023]

As my great-grandfather was pushed down in the streets And his beard was brutally shaved As they raped and enslaved and murdered- [Birkenau, Poland, 1943]

[just like in 1941 Farhud, Iraq ; Jedwabne pogrom;  1945 Tripoli pogrom, the 1946 Kielce pogrom, and the 1947 Aleppo pogrom]

In 1934 there were pogroms against Jews in Turkey and Algeria.

Other parts of my family were lucky enough to survive the 1929 Hebron massacre during the 1929 Palestine riots. [Mandatory Palestine under British administration]

In 1919, soldiers marched into the center of town accompanied by a military band and engaged in atrocities under the slogan: "Kill the Jews, and save the Ukraine." They were ordered to save the ammunition in the process and use only lances and bayonets during the Proskurov pogrom.

[Proskurov, Ukraine, 1919]

[100 years, and nothing changed, huh?]

You know, my grandma's arab. I still remember sitting in class in high school, hearing about the 1840 Damascus affair, and thinking: hu.

I'll skip several years and countries, but:

Their grandparents were there to witness as the outbreak of violence against Jews (Hep-Hep riots) occurred at the beginning of the 19th century.

The 1821 Odessa pogroms marked the beginning of the 19th century pogroms in Tsarist Russia

That's  Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648–1657 in present-day Ukraine.

So they said, during the attacks against Jews also took place in Barcelona and other Catalan cities during the massacre of 1391.

Their ancestors were cast away and murdered in Spain, 1492.

The same way we were banished and cast away from  Bern (1427) and Zürich (1436) for almost 400 years?

Let us not speak of  the alaughter on Holy Saturday of 1389, a pogrom began in Prague that led to the burning of the Jewish quarter, the killing of many Jews, and the suicide of many Jews trapped in the main synagogue; the number of dead was estimated at 400–500 men, women, and children.

Brussels massacre of 1370.

Or - do you want to hear about the 510 jewish communities that were destroyed? (1348-1350)  including in Toulon, Erfurt, Basel, Aragon, Flanders[16][17] and Strasbourg.[18]

Just like Rhineland massacres in 1096

Some of them made it to England, around 1060. It took less than 30 years for the first Podrom in 1189-90 in England, 

Oh, and let us not forget 1066 Granada massacre [again, in Spain].

Or the  Alexandria in the year 38 CE, followed by the more known riot of 66 CE.

The Jewish population of the land on the eve of the first major Jewish rebellion [66 CE] may have been as high as 2.2 million. The monumental architecture of this period indicates a high level of prosperity.

In 66 CE, the Jews of Judea rose in revolt against Rome, sparking the First Jewish–Roman War. The reverse seized control of Judea and named their new kingdom "Israel"

The revolt was crushed by the Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus. The Romans destroyed much of the Temple in Jerusalem and took as punitive tribute the Menorah and other Temple artifacts back to Rome. Josephus writes that 1,100,000 Jews perished during the revolt, while a further 97,000 were taken captive. The Fiscus Judaicus was instituted by the Empire as part of reparations.

[And here we come to a full cycle of blood, land, and pain].

And those are only those I found out about. Only those we have a record of. Only those we know to this day. They were so massive, or left enough impact so we still remember.

[I could go on, this is just a short list.]

It seems like no matter what we do, we'll always be accused for

Let me know, please - where can I be a jew, and just

Live?

[theromaboo]

The Eighth Day of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar did not go to Germany in 50 CE, because he was already dead for almost 100 years by then.

This beautiful beautiful time line of Germany is in the Houston Museum of Natural Science. It's a museum, so it has to be accurate, right?

It's definitely a little tiny bit confused about Roman history. Or shall I say, Holy Roman history.

This is killing me! The Holy Roman Empire ruled middle and Northern Germany from 700 BCE to 400 CE!! Wow, I never knew the Holy Roman Empire existed that long ago! I never knew the Holy Roman Empire lasted that long either!

Huhuhuh they definitely mixed up the Holy Roman Empire with the Roman Empire. They clearly also fundamentally screwed up with exactly when the Roman Empire possessed middle and northern Germany.

Rome did not rule Germany from 700 BCE to 400 CE. That's like, from the foundation of the city to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It would be very funny if this timeline was accurate. What did Roman territory look like during 700 BCE? A teeny dot over where Rome was and Germany.

It reminds me of how people over or underestimate the Roman Empire's size.

Once I heard someone saying that "At the Roman Empire's height, Rome ruled over most of Italy." Wow, I wonder about that part of Italy that Rome did not rule over during its height.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, once I heard someone saying that "By the fifth century BC, Rome ruled over most of the known world." Wow, I didn't know the known world was... the smallest slice of Central Italy.

[barbucomedie]

Bronze Bust of Young Man from Rome dated between 100 BCE - 100 CE on display at the Burrell Collection in Glasgow, Scotland

Roman artists copied Greek sculptors, who used mathematical formulas to work out what they thought were people's perfect proporations. This has been wrongly use to promote racist ideas about the ideal proportions of faces.

Photographs taken by myself 2023

[roxannepolice]

Outside the boundaries of the universes lie the raw realities, the couldhave-beens, the might-bes, the neverweres, the wild ideas, all being created and uncreated chaotically like elements in fermenting supernovas.

Just occasionally where the walls of the worlds have worn a bit thin, they can leak in.

And reality leaks out.

Thank you, sir Terry, for once again providing me with an excellent opening quote for a Doctor Who rambling. That probably has nothing to do with the fact that both DW and Discworld fall into the Gulliverian satire poetic.

So yeah, about what's grown to be called a Truman show theory, and I cannot stop making it clear, me critically poking at it is not me hating it especially if Ruby's story ends up throwing shade providing metatextual insight on the mystery baby extravaganza of 2010s (am I the only one who thought that Splice looks like Rey?).

But the problem is, how far would the revelation go? Is it just the endgame for the season? Did it start when Fourteen invoked a superstition at the end of the universe, as the text implies? Or does it go further back, as the Newton and apple story is unreal, too (HOT TAKE: THEY'RE IN VOLTAIRE'S BRAIN. THE CRITICISM OF ORGANISED RELIGIOM CONFIRMS THAT). Or was it already there when Fourteen regenerated in new clothes (he does talk of "canon" in the Dalek Mini-sode)? All of this is just digging deeper into figuring out just how clever the Cave is. But let's dig even deeper, shall we?

Ok, maybe it's Flux. Flux definitely messed up a lot of things, such as replacing Russia with Sontarans. Except...

There's Robin Hood in season 8. And not just a guy called Robin Hood, it's the Robin Hood of legend. Twelve is explicitly confused by that.

In fact, fourth wall breaking was probably most recurrent in Twelve's run.

Though let us not forget Thirteen looking straight into the camera to explain humans must recycle or else we'll turn into props.

Hey, remember how in Let's kill Hitler Eleven is like "The British are coming" and Hitler reacts with fear? In 1936? When the alliance between Third Reich and UK looked like a very realistic prospect? When the Windsors were enthusiastic over what was going on in Germany? PROPAGANDA MUCH?

Bashing on the royals will definitely go down better than my next point on this anarcho-communist coffeeshop AU website, but if you guys think the Red Army's involvement in WWII was fresh faced boys so filled with faith in equality for all people that they came to fight its eternal enemy of fascism then no. Nonononononono. No. NO. Go read about Ribbentrop-Molotov pact NOW. Sincerely, a person living east of the Berlin wall.

Seventh era is also when we get a hint there's a Doctor Who show on BBC.

I'm not going to go through every single time DW has leaned into a made up version of events (wonder if the Doctor ever changed their mind about Mao Zedong, though), but you're getting the drift, but there is one last point to be made.

Nero didn't start the great fire of Rome. The eternal city was a densely packed stack of wood and would go up in flames quite often, though the one from 64 CE was a particularly nasty one and putting it out could have been coordinated better. Still, the idea Nero intentionally started it is 100% made up.

Why should this be important? Well, The Romans are from the 2nd season of Classic Who, from 1965. While we're at it, season 1 historicals are also based more on simplified ideas about Marco Polo, the reign of terror, or Aztec human sacrifices (Barbara Wright Victorious, my love) than true facts (probably because documentary about everyday life of the Aztecs would work better as a way to get children to sleep than to get them hooked on history), but that's more a matter of how than what. In case you want to somehow reconcile this via the Pantheon, then the Toymaker first appeared in season 3, and that after the Doctor visited the Trojan war and Vicki stayed there with Troilus as actually faithful Cressida.

So. The thing about Truman show revelation is. It's either groundbreaking on a last episode ever, goodbye yellow brick road, level, or not meaningful at all. I just can't see it work as a seasonal endgame, because if the episode from 2023 is in unreality, then so is the one from 1965. Just, where do you go from here? It's either waking up in the crude reality or. y'know. acknowledging the convention, which is what the Truman show theory kinda set out to negate in the first place.

Again, I genuinely want to discuss! I myself am never sure if hot take posts are open to discussion, which is why I made a separate post, so I want to make it clear, I want to have the holes in my own rambling explained!

[longwindedbore]

The sick world of ultra-conservative Christianity.

Pastor confesses to statutory rape and gets standing ovation from the congregation

‘A sexual encounter’ with someone underage is statutory rape.

[Victim Jules] Woodson said Savage drove her home after a church event in 1998. She said he took her to an empty road and Savage assaulted her.

Woodson claims the day after the incident, she went to leaders at that church in Texas, but according to her, they did not contact authorities, never told her parents the whole story, and allowed Savage to resign.

[In response to the allegations] Andy Savage responded with a statement saying in part:

"As a college student on staff at a church in Texas more than 20 years ago, I regretfully had a sexual incident with a female high school senior in the church. I apologized and sought forgiveness from her, her parents, her discipleship group, the church staff, and the church leadership, who informed the congregation... I was wrong and I accepted responsibility for my actions."

For Woodson, this wasn't enough.

"His apology isn't enough because number one, he's lying about how he handled it. He never came to me, the church told him he couldn't talk to me and they told me I couldn't talk to him," she explained.

Highpoint Church declined an interview…but in a statement they said they were already aware of this incident and are 100 percent committed to Pastor Savage.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Oh. That was in 2018. You do realize that this isn’t the end of anyone’s career. Two years later…

“Not only has my abusive pastor @andysavage started his own church,” Jules Woodson tweeted Sunday (August 9), “but the pastor that hired him and supported him (and was subsequently fired), Chris Conlee, is coming back to Memphis to start a new church. Where and when does the madness end?”

Of course in 2024 ‘Pastor’ Savage is back at the pulpit:

https://www.gracevalleymemphis.org/leadership/items/andy-savage

====================================

Imagine if this Pastor’ had been a High School teacher. And his Principal supported him in front of a crowd of Parents after his confession

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The various Denominations of Chritianity have a grooming process that involves scaring the curiosity out of five and six year olds. Because the Denominations argue that curiosity leads to questioning authority figures placed over you. That questioning opens the door to Satan to tempt you and therefore Eternal Burning.

The Denominations argue that THEIR religious ‘leaders’ all have received a silent ‘calling’ only they can hear from their denomination’s version of the Invisible-Narcissist-in the-skywho only communicates with those called.

NO ONE DARE QUESTION THE SUPREME NARCISSIST’s CHOICE of who is ‘CALLED’ or El Supremo will be very very very very angry.

So the applause is from those groomed at an early to worship authority rather than the precepts of Jesus.

Just as the Roman Emperors Constantine and Theodosius intended when they executed their hostile takeover of the Jesus movement. Put their Neoplatonic upper class bishops in control (Nicea 325 CE)

Granted the Patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople the power of summary execution of any who didn’t adhere to Nicean Triniterianism (Edict of Thessalonia (380 CE). All of which precede d the assembly of a Christian Bible.

Been teaching the ass-kissing of Narcistic Patriarchy and it’s toxic managers ever since.

[estbela]

Romania's physical age over the years (my headcanons)

* may be subject to change

Probably born in the 100s CE

Slowly grows, by 271, when the romans pulled out of the region he is roughly 4-5 years old.

6 years old by the fall of Rome in 476

6th century- 7 years old

7th century- 8 years old

8th century- 9 years old

Remains 9 for some time, until maybe the 10th century turns 10 years old.

is 10 years old during the Uprising of Asen and Peter (basically what kickstarts the Second Bulgarian Empire).

By the end of the 12th century is 11

Turns 12 in the 13th century

By the 14th century, is 13

15th century- 14

16th century-15

17th century-16

18th century-17

19th century-18 at first, by the end is 21

20th century, ages a bit faster, by the end is maybe 24-26

In the present, at most I'd say...26?

[aurianneor]

Limiter la richesse individuelle

Les frères Gracchus, Gaius et Tibérius, étaient tribuns, l'équivalent de nos députés et ils ont voulu s'attaquer aux problèmes de l'époque. Les riches étaient peu nombreux mais possédaient presque toutes les terres. Comme ils produisaient toutes les céréales, ils se mettaient d'accord entre eux pour fixer un prix élevé et faisaient venir des étrangers pour travailler à des salaires très bas que les citoyens romains n'acceptaient pas. En 133 avant J-C, Rome était plongée dans une pauvreté généralisée qui tourmentait Rome. Les frères Gracchus ont fait voter une loi qui s'appelait propriété et elle affirmait que la propriété avait une limite en quantité au-delà de laquelle elle était toxique pour la société et une limite d'usage selon laquelle ce n'est pas parce que c'est à moi que je peux en faire ce que je veux. Les frères Gracchus ont été saisis par les riches et leurs hommes de main et jetés dans le Tribe. S'en est suivi 100 ans de guerre civile entre la plèbe et les riches avant que l'empereur Auguste n'instaure les lois des frères Gracchus profitant de l'émoi causé par la mort de Jules César. Quatre cent ans de paix et de prospérité ont suivi. 

En 1930, en France, des juges ont crée le service public de l'eau, nationalisant les sources. Cela a montré que la propriété privée n'est pas sacrée. Ils ont exproprié les propriétaires, et c'était normal. Léon Blum a été harcelé et a quitté sa fonction. 

La victoire du Labour en 1945 au Royaume-Uni a permis d'exproprier les propriétaires de mines. La propriété n'est pas absolue. Les propriétaires sont devenus moins riches et cela les a fait passer en-dessous de la limite de toxicité.

Le 24 novembre 2013, en Suisse, est votée une loi limitant les salaires à 250 fois le salaire minimum. Cela veut dire que pour que les salaires les plus hauts augmentent, il faut augmenter les salaires les plus bas. A titre de comparaison, en France en 2019, les patrons du CAQ40 gagnaient 1128 fois le salaire de leurs employés les plus modestes. Les riches sont très heureux en Suisse.

En 2022, en Ukraine, profitant de l'opportunité de pouvoirs exceptionnels liés à la guerre, le président Zelensky a nationalisé les banques, les chaînes de télévision et les industries possédées par les oligarques. Ceux-ci étaient tellement riches qu'ils décidaient de tout dans le pays, les caisses ukrainiennes étant vides.

Quand Elon Musk intervient dans la guerre en Ukraine, c'est trop. Quand Mark Zuckerberg favorise l'élection de Trump pour s'enrichir, c'est trop. Quand une personne est suffisamment riche pour avoir un propre programme spatial ou a plus d'argent qu'un pays, c'est trop. Quand tes décisions peuvent ruiner la vie de millions de gens alors que tu n'as pas été élu, c'est trop. Quand les 1% les plus riches de l'humanité émettent 100 fois plus de gaz à effet de serre que ceux qui émettent les 99% autres, c'est trop. 

Ces gens méritent d'être riches mais pas à ce point. Ils n'ont jamais rendu à la société ce que la société leur avait donné en premier lieu. La société a formé leurs employés avec des écoles et des universités; ceux-ci sont en bonne santé grâce aux hôpitaux, il y a des routes, des chemins de fer et des aéroports pour transporter leurs biens. Il y a une police et une armée pour les protéger et une justice pour faire valoir leurs droits. Il y a des ressources naturelles pour alimenter leurs industries, etc.

La Columbia University estime que 100 millions de dollars est une limite. C'est largement suffisant pour la personne et pas assez pour être toxique. (Putting a Limit On Wealth - Stephen H. Unger: http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~unger/articles/wealthLimit.html)

What, if Anything, is Wrong with Extreme wealth: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/19452829.2019.1633734?needAccess=true&role=button

Having too Much - Ingrid Robeyns: https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0338

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Les autorités illégitimes: https://www.aurianneor.org/les-autorites-illegitimes/

“The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-world-has-enough-for-everyones-need-but-not/

You can’t get enough… Enough!: https://www.aurianneor.org/you-cant-get-enough-enough-the-same-companies/

Qui se cache derrière le drapeau?: https://www.aurianneor.org/qui-se-cache-derriere-le-drapeau/

Riche: https://www.aurianneor.org/riche-cetait-une-belle-journee-et-le-paysage/

Liberté et vivre ensemble: https://www.aurianneor.org/liberte-et-vivre-ensemble/

Tomorrow – Chap 4: La démocratie: https://www.aurianneor.org/tomorrow-chap-4-la-democratie-the-panama/

Solidarité Hélvétique: https://www.aurianneor.org/solidarite-helvetique-democratie-semi-directe/

[justinewt]

Meet Aldea Corsi - THOSE ABOUT TO DIE REWRITE OC

[THOSE ABOUT TO DIE-MASTERLIST]

Do not use my character without my consent thanks <3

warning: any arts and pictures you’ll see are not mine (I found them on pinterest or used AI) and I also chose Spanish actress Inma Cuesta to portray my oc, Aldea is a character 100% created by me, Justine but the style of the bio has been inspired by bios made by director Guillermo Del Toro <3

words: 2.2k

ALDEA CORSI bio by me <3

INFORMATIONS

NICKNAME: the Spaniard princess (by Scorpus)

DATE OF BIRTH: sometime in 56 AD

AGE: around 24yo (AD 79); 20yo (AD 75 - when she first got to Rome)

SEX : Female

ORIGINS: Spanish (Baetica // Andalusia)

OCCUPATION: farmer (formerly); slave (formerly)

STATUS: low-born // plebeian

HOBBY: anything to do with horses (from riding to tending to them), caring for her little brother

FAMILY

PARENTS: Her parents are unnamed, but her father is alive, while her mother died in childbirth. The siblings also lived with their grandfather but she doesn't know if he's alive or dead at this point.

SIBLINGS: She had three brothers, the youngest, Elia, aged 20, Fonsoa, her fraternal twin, aged 25 1/2, and Andria, the eldest of the four children, aged around 28. (ages as of summer 79 CE)

LOVER: Unnamed Andalusian boy from her village (71-72 CE // same age as her so 16-17); Roman sailor, Aelius (74- july 75 CE // aged 21-22); Tenax (january 76 CE-??) // also, not related to their relationship but I headcanon him as being in his mid 30s in 79 CE, he says Felix is him "20 years ago" aka in 59 CE after he escaped the fire and reached Rome when he was his age, and Felix is around 11 or 12 (age range 32 to 34) so he was around 28-30 in 75 CE)

(Aldea, aged 17-20 on the picture, just ignore the bangs alr XD)

EALRY LIFE: Aldea was born sometime in AD 56 in the south of the Baetica region, after two brothers, Andria, the eldest, born three years earlier, in AD 51, Fonsoa, born just a year and a half before her, in AD 54, and their younger brother, Elia, born in AD 59. Unfortunately, their mother died giving birth to her youngest son. Only Andria was old enough to remember her well and after she died, he had even more responsibilities that fell upon him. He had to help his father around the farm and care for his younger siblings, but he never complained. But as he was always off with the horses, it fell to Fonsoa and Aldea to take care of their younger sibling. He was especially spoiled by Aldea, who became his sole mother figure. They lived a modest life, with these 5 mouths to feed, along with their grandfather, but they made do with what they had, living in the middle of the hills, and were quite self-sustaining with their crops and horses, sometimes riding to the nearest town to sell some things at the market, and buy others.

As a young child, Aldea wanted to do everything like her brothers. The siblings were an inseperable group. One couldn't go anywhere without the others following suit. Her father, having lost the only other woman in the house, had no idea how to deal with a girl so for most of her life, he didn't really treat her any different than his sons and though he wasn't especially desmonstrative in his affection, he loved her and his sons a great deal. She grew up around horses and came to know everything there was to know about those beasts. Her father saw his wife in her and was very protective of her, always repeating to the boys to protect her whenever they were going to town. She, overall, had a modest but good and happy childhood. She was very lucky in that sense.

At the age of 14, in AD 69, she bled for the first time and was terrified. She thought there was something wrong with her as she had no idea this was something that happened to all women. Luckily, she didn't bleed through her tunic and her period was rather light and she realized it only lasted a few days. She would use a wrapped cloth and figured out a way to make it stay in place and would attempt to wash it at night. She hid from her father and brothers for half a year but eventually he found one of the bloody cloth and confronted her about it, thinking she had gotten hurt or something like that. He was as clueless as her when she told him she began to bleed every month but she assured she could deal with it on her own and he trusted her. He had no other choice anyway. People in the village also began telling him to marry her off, saying she was grown enough but he wouldn't do it.

From the age of 16 to 17, AD 71 to 72, she had a teenage romance with a boy from the village and his father began to wonder whether to marry them or not but one day, the teenage boy fell from his horse and got trampled, dying less than an hour later. Then, two years later, in AD 74, as they were doing business in town as usual, she ventured around the port and saw a great ship moored there, with over two dozens sailors busying themselves around the docks. She asked about it and was told that it was the ship of a Roman merchant. It got her thinking of Rome for the first time. She had never given it a second thought before. She crossed the gaze of a young sailor, probably just a couple years older than her and he came to talk to her before she left. She returned to see him a couple times that week but then one day the ship was gone. She was told he had gone back to Rome. So she waited, hoping they would return and they did, a little less than a year later, and there he was. They saw each other again during another one of her trips to town, in AD 75, with her brothers, and then one night, she took a horse and ran off to see him. He was there, standing on the docks, waiting for her. He sneaked her on the ship's deck and they watched the stars, eventually sharing a kiss and sleeping together.

Eventually they actually fell asleep, cuddling in a corner. They woke up abruptly, a bucket of water thrown at them, as they still slept in the shadow of piled up crates and sacks but they had been caught together by other sailors and the merchant. They were upset to see this unknown woman on their ship, which was already moving, going back to Rome. All she could think about was her family, who would be looking for her everywhere. She begged the merchant not to throw her off board, and after she asked if he could take her back and he refused, she affirmed she could be of use until they reached Rome. She didn't have in mind the same use as he did, she thought she could help fixing things around the ship etc. The merchant, towering the 20-year-old girl, asked what she would even do when they reached Rome and why he should agree to give her a free ride just because she happened to be there. She said she would do anything to be useful until then and she didn’t understand what king of devilish contract she signed when he agreed to let her stay. He later asked if she was intact, and she didn’t understand at first but he rephrased it and she understood and lied, telling him that she had never shared a bed with a man. He asked about the sailor, and she lied again, and said they only watched the stars. It seemed she was good at manipulating the truth as he always seemed to believe her, or maybe she wasn't and he just didn't care that much.

He told her she would sleep in his cabin and she was almost relieved because she didn’t want to stay with the dozens of sailors under deck. All those foreign men intimidated her. But that night, and almost every single one of the 8 nights until they reached Rome, he forced himself on her. She tried to fight him at first but after he hit her so hard he broke her clavicle, she was rendered helpless and in utter pain. The trip lasted about 9 or 10 days. She could barely move her arm and her shoulder looked out of place and drooping, as if she was dragging along a ballchain, but she was never given anything for the pain and had to endure. She cried and thought only of her family. When they arrived to Rome, the merchant, who had no further use for her, sent one of his men to sell her at the market. She could only hide her pain so much, and gritted her teeth to keep her composure. She had this defiance and anger in her gaze as she glared at the crowd, and even tried to get out of the seller’s grip but he unknowingly grabbed her bad shoulder and she pressed her lips, closing her eyes shut for a second, letting out a low groan of pain as she was forced to stay still. Some bidders were uninterested in her because of the fact that she wasn’t intact, as well sexually as physically but to her luck, a man who owned one of the betting taverns in the city, happened to walk across the street, stopped by for a second and crossed her gaze as she glared at him but he got intrigued, seeing an anger-fuelled strength in her eyes and bought her to get her off that stage. He had more compassion and sympathy for her that he cared to admit.

(AI depiction of the kind of clothes she might wear during the story)

PERSONALITY: Aldea was always a good-natured girl, ever since she was a child, she had always been sweet and well-behaved. Her brother, Fonsoa, wasn't even 2 years older so they were extremely close in age, while Andria was already 4 or 5 when she was born (the three children were mostly taken care of by their mother while their father and grandpa worked with the horses). By the time he was 6, Andria began working with the horses as well and Fonsoa helped his mother take care of his little sister. She was, obviously, very relient on Fonsoa in the early years of her life and they shared a very close-knitted bond. She followed him everywhere for the next 4 years, until Elia came around, their mother died and their 8-year-old brother, always away with the horses, left them to care for the newborn. She was a "natural", incredibly maternal with Elia, probably subconsciously copying her mother as she took that role in Elia's life, creating an kind of "mother-son" bond with him.

This serious role she took upon herself at such an early age and for the rest of her life definitely shaped her into the woman she later became. An empathetic and caring young woman, who contented herself with what life gave her and she was happy. She's also somewhat of a "woman of her time", meaning she took in all the codes of conduct of the women she encountered, 90% of those mannerisms coming from her mother, meaning even if she doesn't like it, she "stays in her place" in certain situtations where she is ought not to speak her mind, unless in private settings. If she feels as though she is supposed to stay silent, she will. She's also incredible patient and resilient, the latter of which was exacerbated after she was basically traffiked to Rome and sexually/physically abused. She was already this way and it didn't make her any stronger but it forced her to "push through it" in order to survive, which goes on to show she's the embodiment of resilience.

When it comes to her relationship with Tenax, all her personality traits shine through her behaviors and how she interacts with him. She stays on her guards at first but she's observant and quickly realizes she can trust him, so it doesn't take much time for her to let herself rely on him in her everyday life. She sees through him and his façade and especially so when she meets the orphan that he took under his wing. She has taken care of a child since she herself was one - she knows that if those children look up to him so much, there's a reason and she then sees the way he cares for them. Again, she's quiet but observant and speaks her mind when they're alone. In more serious situations, she can tell when it is not her place to speak, because she shouldn't undermine Tenax's credibility in front of others by cutting him off or questioning him (especially as a woman in a machist/patriarchal society that is ancient Rome). She's also extremely patient, even more so when she knows and trusts the person with whom she is being patient. If there's something she doesn't understand right away and she's not in a place where she feels she can just straight up ask Tenax, she'll watch and wait for him to give her the answers to her questions, without her asking anything and then they'll talk about it in private.

APPEARANCE: i'm too lazy to write a paragraph lol just look at the pics (only comment i'll make is she's the spitting image of her mother)

For most of the story, except flashbacks, she wears a light beige stola and tunic held together by a brown leather belt and regular sandals, and a toga or cloak around her shoulder held with a brooch, but she also wears a specific necklace (see description in one of the prologue chapters). At some point, later in the series, she begins to wear all black atire.

The pictures below show Tenax and Aldea's son, Amatus Corsi (idk Tenax's last name so I just put Aldea's) - He is portrayed by spanish model Daniel Illescas, but here on the pics he's like in his 20s or something, it's just to show what he will look like, having his mother's wavy dark brown hair, olive skin color and his father's clear eyes, his eye shape also kinda reminds that of his late uncle Fonsoa and his face shape/bone structure is similar to both but his jaw is even more like Tenax's. When he's done growing and is an adult, he will be around 177 cm, taller than both his parents (and he will remain the tallest of all the children they might have after him, despite being the only one born preterm)

[THOSE ABOUT TO DIE-MASTERLIST]

Published (07/27/2024) by Andrea

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Dionysiac Procession, Roman, about 100 CE The British Museum, London

The marble relief was made in the Roman period, but the figures derive from Classical Greek prototypes of the 4th century BCE. From the Villa Quintiliana on the Appian Way, south of Rome.

[whencyclopedia]

The Gospels

The New Testament contains four gospels attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The four gospels are not biographies of Jesus, nor are they history as we define it. What each gospel attempted to do was write a theological explanation for the events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. By narrating his life, his ministry, and his death, The Gospels argued that these events should be interpreted in relation to the history of Israel.

The word 'gospel' derives from the Anglo-Saxon for 'good news', and the writers are deemed 'evangelists' from the Greek euangelistes (bringer of good news). In this context, the 'good news' is the message of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth that the kingdom of God foretold by the prophets of Israel was imminent.

The gospels were produced from c. 70 CE to perhaps 100 CE. Their portraits of Jesus, who he was, and why he was here, differ in relation to both later reflections and changes in the demographics of the earliest Christian communities over time. The four gospels vary in some of the details of Jesus. The two nativity stories of Matthew and Luke are thrown together under the Christmas tree, although they differ in many ways. (Matthew has the star and the Magi; Luke has the stable and the shepherds.) However, when the gospels agree on details, this does not indicate four different sources. Mark, being first, was used and edited by the other three.

Authorship

The original texts of the gospels had existed for about a hundred years with no names. The Church Fathers in the 2nd century CE assigned the names; none of the writers signed their work. The gospels are not eyewitness accounts; none of the gospel writers ever directly claimed to be an eyewitness. One exception is Luke, who says he interviewed witnesses but gives no further details. In their attempt to provide backgrounds for the writers the Church Fathers tried to align them as close to the original circle of Jesus as possible. They were also aware of a fundamental problem; the first disciples of Jesus were fishermen from Galilee who could not read and write the level of Greek in these documents.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke wrote that Peter had a disciple named John Mark who accompanied Peter in his travels. By the 2nd century CE, the legend that Peter had died in Rome under Roman emperor Nero (r. 54-68 CE) emerged and so the Church Fathers claimed Peter dictated this gospel to Mark in Rome. In Mark and Luke, when Jesus called the tax-collector to follow him, that individual is named Levi. In Matthew’s gospel, he is named Matthew. The Church Fathers identified this writer by this clue, thus the name. It was believed that there had been an earlier form of Matthew's gospel in Hebrew. This gave it more credible historical roots and so they placed it first in the New Testament.

The Church Fathers knew that the third gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were written by the same individual, but there was no Luke in the list of disciples. However, the second half of Acts relates the missionary journeys of Paul. In one of Paul’s letters, he mentioned a traveling companion named Luke. For the Fathers, this was eyewitness testimony to the missions. The fourth gospel, John consistently refers to a character by the name of "the beloved disciple". The Church Fathers knew of someone named John the Elder in Ephesus who was supposedly an original disciple and so assigned this gospel to him and claimed that he was John, the brother of James (the sons of Zebedee).

Continue reading...

[eretzyisrael]

by Rabbi Menachem Levine

Rome is Europe’s oldest Jewish community; Jews have lived for over 2,000 years, often suffering terrible oppression and decrees. It is mentioned dozens of times in the Talmud and Midrash, ancient commentaries on Jewish texts.

The Jewish community in Rome can be traced at least to 161 B.C.E. when Jason ben Eleazar and Eupolemus ben Yochanan came as emissaries of the Maccabees to join an alliance against the Seleucid Greeks. This was only four years after the Hanukkah story took place. The Romans eagerly agreed to the alliance because of their ambition to overpower the Greek empire and capture its lands for Rome. Some Jewish community leaders moved to Rome to continue this alliance and founded the Jewish community there. The Talmud also records a number of times that Jewish community leaders and scholars traveled to Rome and appealed to the Emperors on behalf of the community in the Land of Israel.

Treated with Respect

Overall, the early Roman Emperors treated the Jews in Rome with tolerance. Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.E.) accorded privileges to the Roman Jews and allowed them to own property and administer their community affairs. He exempted them from military service due to their requirement to observe the Jewish dietary laws and the Sabbath. After his assassination, it is recorded that Jews mourned with much weeping.

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Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) also treated the Jews with respect. In addition to their continued rights, he approved collecting an annual tax from Roman Jews for the Temple in Jerusalem. He even arranged, with his wife Empress Livia, to send ongoing gifts of a bull and two lambs to be given as burnt offerings in the Temple.

Antisemitism did appear during this period, often in response to the Romans' concerns that the Jews were trying to encourage conversion to Judaism, which was severely punished. As Jews do not proselytize, it is possible that this resentment was directed at the Early Christians, who did promote conversion among the Romans and who, at the time, were still viewed as Jews.

In response to this concern, twice during this period, in 19 C.E. and 49-50 C.E., Jews were exiled from Rome. Jewish religious observances became targets for criticism during the first and early second centuries C.E. by such well-known literary figures as Pliny the Elder, Seneca, and Tacitus. In defending someone accused of swindling Jews, the famous orator and lawyer Cicero complained that too many Jews were present in the courtroom.

[francology]

Riding the Wave of Ocean Heroes: Conservation & Sustainability

Hello lovelies ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა I hope you've been doing great since the last entry hehe. I just wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your ongoing support and interaction with my weekly updates. This post will be my last (at least for a while). I really hope you've managed to pick up a thing or two from my blog. Thank you for being here, and I appreciate all of you (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡

Now, let's dive into something super cool today – marine conservation and how we can be kinder to our oceans.

Did you know? Around half of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast. That's a lot of people living near the sea, right?

Coastal places by the sea are like gold mines for our planet. They help out the global economy, and they do some pretty amazing stuff, like storing carbon (which is great for the environment), protecting our shores, and providing us with yummy food (Mcleod et al. 2011; Barbier et al. 2011).

You see, more than 775 million people really rely on the sea and its coastal wonders (Selig et al. 2018). For example, fish is a big deal, giving about 3.2 billion people some of their protein. It's even more crucial in places where people are still developing their countries (FOA 2018). Plus, it's not just food; it's like a vitamin boost in your meal. And, tons of people make a living out of fishing and farming seafood, almost 57 million of them! (FOA 2018).

Now, when we talk about tropical spots near the sea, they're like treasure chests. There are amazing places like coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrasses that are teeming with life, and they help out our planet in so many ways. That's why a bunch of groups and campaigns are working hard to keep these places safe and sound.

Let's focus into how people in Malaysia are doing for a sec. Here are some rock stars doing their part to save these coastal wonders:

ICRI (International Coral Reef Initiative) Malaysia: These people are all about creating safe spaces in the sea for our underwater buddies to thrive. Right now, only 1.4% of Malaysia's waters are protected. They're on a mission to change that!

The Dugong & Seagrass Conservation Project: This one's all about saving dugongs (those adorable sea cows) and the seagrass they munch on in the Bay of Brunei, Lawas, Sarawak East Malaysia. It's a big deal because these seagrasses need some protection from overfishing and other stuff that could hurt them. The locals are getting in on the action too.

Tropical Research and Conservation Centre: These ocean heroes are based in the Celebes Sea, and they're all about saving sea turtles and fixing up coral reefs that got bashed up by fish bombing practices in Malaysia. They're on a mission to keep our underwater world vibrant and healthy.

So, there you have it! These incredible peeps are working hard to make sure our oceans stay awesome. It's all about taking big steps and little steps, but together, we can keep those secret underwater gardens thriving 🌊⋆｡°்⋆

Author's note: One of my all-time favorite YouTube channels recently released a new video that I believe is absolutely worth your time. His videos are like compelling stories paired with stunning cinematography. In this latest video, he highlights the alarming issue of the world's coral reefs deteriorating. It's crucial to shed light on real-world issues that are overlooked.

References:

Barbier, EB, Hacker, SD, Kennedy, C and Koch EW 2011, ‘The value of estuarine and coastal ecosystem services’, Ecological Monographs, vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 169 - 193. 

FOA 2018, The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2018 (SOFIA), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.

Mcleod, E, Chmura, GL, Bouillon, S, Salm, R, Bjork, M, Duarte, CM, Lovelock, CE, Schlesinger, WH and Silliman, BR 2011, ‘A blueprint for blue carbon: toward an improved understanding of the role of vegetated coastal habitats in sequestering CO2’, Frontiers in Ecology and the Envinronment, vol. 9, no. 10, pp. 552 - 560.

Selig, ER, Hole, DG, Allison, EH, Arkema, KK, McKinnon, MC, Chu, J, Sherbinin, Ad, Fisher, B, Glew, L, Holland, MB, Ingram, JC, Rao, NS, Russell, RB, Srebotnjak, T, Teh, LCL, Troeng, S, Turner, WR, and Zvoleff, A 2018, ‘Mapping global human dependence on marine ecosystems’, Conservation Letters, vol. 12, no. 2, p. E12617.