#sebasteion

[uncleclaudius]

Claudius subduing Britannia, a panel from the Sebasteion, a temple dedicated to the Julio-Claudian dynasty in Aphrodisias, in the Roman province of Caria.

[ukdamo]

Today's Flickr photo with the most hits: taken in the museum at Aphrodisias, Turkiye. One of the bas-reliefs from the monumental decorative frieze of the Sebasteion, showing Aeneas fleeing Troy.

[ancientcharm]

The Sebasteion, discovered in southwestern Türkiye in 1979, was a majestic temple dedicated to the emperors of Julio-Claudian dynasty and was decorated with a lavish sculptural program of which much survives.

[sebastophanes]

Khairete! Salvete!

My name is Origen. Welcome to the Sebasteion, my online home away from home, which is primarily oriented around my cultic practice with the Theoi Sebastoi/Divi Imperii (deified Roman Emperors) within the religion of Byzantine Paganism. As a Byzantine Pagan I also serve as a priest of the Sebastoi within the Classical Church of Byzantium Novum.

I am a “cis” male of 27, and have been ‘working with’ (I know, I know) the Divine Emperors for the last twelve or so years — about as long as the revived Empire itself has been around. If you’re curious as to what exactly I mean by “deified Roman Emperors” up there, by the way, you can read this. I am also oathed to the Emperors as a godslave — like godspouses, but bet— different.

I don’t believe in DNIs as I reserve the right to mock goons and their nonsense; including but not limited to racialists, radicals, and people who whine about the colonialist proclivities of the Roman Empire. The sole exception to this is persons — and they do exist — who dismiss, profane, or insult the Imperial Cult writ large. Such persons will be castigated bitterly and then blocked.

Pax et bonum!

(h/t Aterios for the user box)

[5reisende]

Welterbe (auf)gespürt und (er)fahren - TR - Aphrodisias

Die Stadt Aphrodisias und ihre Marmorbrüche stehen seit 2017 auf der UNESCO-Welterbeliste. Aphrodisias wurde im frühen 2. Jahrh. v. Chr. als Stadtstaat gegründet. Der Aphrodite-Kult war der wichtigste Kult in der Stadt, der Tempel mit der markanten Kultstatue der Göttin Aphrodite spielte eine zentrale Rolle. Die Aphrodite von Aphrodisias kombinierte Aspekte der lokalen archaischen Fruchtbarkeitsgöttin mit denen der hellenischen Göttin der Liebe und Schönheit. Die Stadt teilte den Kult mit Sulla, Julius Cäsar und dem Kaiser Augustus. Sie erhielt vom römischen Senat einen privilegierten Status und entwickelte sich während der Kaiserzeit, befördert durch die nahe gelegenen Marmorsteinbrüche, zu einem künstlerischen und bildhauerischen Zentrum. So entstanden viele kunstvoll verzierte Bauwerke und Marmorskulpturen. Die Fähigkeiten der aphrodisischen Bildhauer waren im gesamten Reich und besonders auch in Rom gefragt, wo sie einige der schönsten erhaltenen Werke schufen, z.B. in Hadrians Villa in Tivoli. Am Beginn des Rundgangs stehen eine Reihe kunstvoller Sarkophage, Skulpturen und Reliefs.

Lagepläne geben Auskunft über die benachbarten Marmorsteinbrüche und die Objekte in der Ausgrabungsstätte. Quelle : http://www.aphrodisias.org.uk/ Von den ehemals rechtwinklig angelegten Straßen ist nur noch wenig zu erahnen, doch das reich verzierte Tormonument, das Tetrapylon, steht weithin sichtbar am eingang der Stadt.

Die Stadt besaß ein sehr großes Stadion und ein beeindruckendes Theater.

Die Bedeutung der Aphrodite von Aphrodisias reichte noch weit bis ins Christentum, ihr Tempel wurde erst um 500 n. Chr. zur Kirche umgebaut. Von beiden sind noch Ruinen zu sehen.

Auch hier gab es eine hervorragende Badekultur, wovon die Bäder des Hadrian zeugen. Der Boden des großen Bassins war reich mit Mosaiken verziert.

Die Frühlingssonne scheint warm, doch in der Ferne sind noch die schneebedeckten Berge zu sehen.

Die Besichtigungstour endet am Sebasteion, einem wunderschönen Gebäude, das dem Kaiserkult gewidmet war. Wer mer sehen möchteh, kann auch noch das Museum besuchen.

Resümee

Aphrodisias ist eine äußerst interessante Ausgrabungsstätte mit einer langen Geschichte. Hier gibt es eine Vielzahl wunderschöner Marmorreliefs und Skulpturen zu bewundern. Besonders bemerkenswert fand ich, dass sich hier der Ursprung vieler Meisterwerke befindet, die der eine oder andere so wie ich in den antiken Stätten in und um Rom bereits sehen konnte. Read the full article

[sebastophanes]

tbh the Sebasteion is my journal

lil’ pagan tip/idea- dedicate a journal to your deity!

a journal can be useful for a lot of reasons. not only it is an easy way to feel closer to your deity or deities, but it can be super convenient if you’re a person who travels a lot or need to worship in secret.

things to write or put in your journal could include:

prayers

pressed flowers/leaves/herbs

sketches or doodles of things that remind you of them

devotional poems or art pieces

song lyrics

experiences you’ve had with them

dreams they’ve sent you

recipes

stickers

spells / rituals (especially ones you have done or would want to do with them)

photos

notes on offerings and devotional acts

list of crystals, herbs, colors, etc. you associate with them

and these are only a few ideas :)

the journal can also work as a mini-altar that you can put offerings on! since taking care of myself is one of the ways i honor my deity, sometimes i’ll place a glass of water or juice on the journal i have and i can keep it next to me to sip from while i’m doing something. again this can be really helpful if you travel a lot, worship discreetly, or if you don’t have a lot of space for a full altar.

additionally, you can dedicate a few pens or markers to your deity too (because everything is better with fun colors!)

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Nero and Agrippina Minor, relief from the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias.

Date: A.D. 54-58

Medium: Marble

Provenience: Aphrodisias, Archaeological Museum

[pandaemoniumpancakes]

Aphrodisias: Sebasteion; Augustus Sebastos (or Claudius?)

   “The deified Roman emperor Augustus Sebastos as he was depicted in the Sebasteion (shrine to the imperial cult) at Aphrodisias, Turkey. Note that the museum at Aphrodisias identifies this figure as the emperor Claudius. Shown in a dynamic pose, with Greek-inspired heroic nudity, the highly idealized representation of the emperor is flanked by allegorical beings that represent land (left) and sea (right), the former lifting a cornucopia and the latter a ship’s rudder. Now in the museum at Aphrodisias. Dated to the first century C.E.”

[kumimonster]

2020 October 29 - Aphrodisias

[owlask]

Sometimes I wonder what people are on in order to come up with the craziest theories

[uncleclaudius]

Agrippina crowning her son Nero, Sebasteion, Aphrodisias, modern Turkey.

[ukdamo]

Today's Flickr photo with the most hits: Hercules prepares to wrestle Antaios; he hangs his cloak up on a herm, depicting Pan, before the bout.

[eucanthos]

Aphrodisias

Tinatin Mangasarian photo

Stalked Heads of Aphrodisias (Roman city founded on the site of a rural sanctuary of Aphrodite). Today Turkey.

Known as the most magnificent of the cities dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty in mythology, Aphrodisias took its place among the best sculptor centers of the Roman period. The city pool, Tetrapylon Gate, Sebasteion Temple, ancient theater, bath, and especially the stadium which have had a maximum capacity for around 30,000 spectators, are the areas that attract the most attention in the ancient city.

https://web.facebook.com/athenologio/posts/pfbid06mQfEHcAGWMVuo1JXbTCoMvivgHffPQ11brjeTjPRRAEyXtbVAhZfi28dfsBCAhbl

[m1male2]

Sebasteion, Aphrodisias (1st century) Turkey, dedicated to the Imperial Sebastos, a Greek name for the Roman Emperor Augustus. It was covered with mythological reliefs and Roman emperors. With this monument we wanted to highlight the divine origin of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

[classicalmonuments]

The Sebasteion and its Propylon

Aphrodisias, Asia minor (Turkey)

1st century CE

12 M high

The Sebasteion was a grandiose temple complex dedicated to Aphrodite and the Julio-Claudian emperors. Its construction stretched over two generations, from c. 20 to 60 CE, from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero. The complex was paid for by two prominent Aphrodisian families. It consisted of a Corinthian temple and a narrow processional avenue (90 x 14 m) flanked by two portico-like buildings, each three-storeyed (12 m high), with superimposed Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders. These North and South Buildings, which defined the processional avenue, carried marble reliefs in their upper two storeys for their whole length. The reliefs were framed by the columnar architecture so that the two facades looked like closed picture-walls. Some 200 reliefs were required for the whole project, and more than 80 were recovered in the excavation. They featured Roman emperors, Greek myths, and a series of personified ethne or 'nations' of Augustus' world empire, from the Ethiopians of eastern Africa to the Callaeci of western Spain. The Sebasteion reliefs are close to contemporary historical interest in the visual culture and city life of the Greek East under the Roman empire.

The South Building was sponsored by two brothers, Attalos and Diogenes, and their family. Some eighty percent of its reliefs survive, and its program can be followed in detail. The third storey juxtaposed figures of the traditional gods with figures of the early Roman emperors and scenes of their conquests (Claudius over Britannia, Nero over Armenia). The emperors are here shown as new, active members of the traditional Olympian pantheon. In the lower storey, there was a remarkable series of mythological scenes, featuring Greek and local heroes and their exploits (Herakles, Telephos, Bellerophon, Achilles, Aineias). The heroes, great benefactors of mankind, make clear points of comparison for the emperors above. Some of the reliefs also make closer connections between the local goddess Aphrodite, her son Aineias, and the Julian emperors in Rome. The sequence of the reliefs can be reconstructed from their find-places in the excavation.

The subjects of the reliefs in the third storey are Roman emperors, imperial victory, and the Olympian gods. The emperors are represented as powerful warrior divinities and are mixed with the old gods as near-equal partners. They are, as one of the building inscriptions calls them, Theoi Sebastoi Olympioi, or 'Olympian Emperor Gods'. World rule is secured by the pantheon of old and new divinities. The reliefs were arranged in groups of three: a wider relief flanked by two narrower ones, with the wider relief placed above the doorway into each of the 15 rooms behind the façade. The main early Roman emperors are present: Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero, with younger princes and imperial women. Their most important activity is victorious war over barbarians, and they are represented in hellenistic heroic style.

The North Building was built by two brothers, Eusebes and Menandros, and their family. Its third storey featured a series of universal allegories (Day, Ocean) mixed with imperial scenes (Nero with his mother Agrippina). This series is the least well-preserved of the complex. The second storey contained the long series of personified nations of the Augustan empire, each pictured as a statue between the columns of the architecture. An inscribed label named each figure -- for example, ethnous Dakōn, 'of the people of the Dacians'. The idea was a visual listing of Augustan world empire. The places and peoples were among those claimed as conquered or brought into the empire under Augustus. The selection emphasised wilder peoples on the edges of empire. Few in Aphrodisias can have heard of many of them. The idea, the list, and the images were probably borrowed directly from a monument in Rome.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

[zerogate]

Historians have often assumed that reverence for emperors as gods or heroes was a matter of political expedience, not piety. But Oxford historian Simon Price has brilliantly shown that the matter looked very different to the Asian citizens who built the Sebasteion. The distinction between religion and politics would have made no sense to them—or, for that matter, to most of their contemporaries. Revering the ruler was less a matter of worshipping a human being than of showing respect for the gods who had placed him there, and so shaped the destiny of nations. The citizens of Asia Minor who commissioned the Sebasteion and funded the annual festivals, sacrifices, and athletic games to honor the emperors chose to interpret their submission to Roman rule not as defeat but as submission to the will of the gods. Offering such honors to the Roman emperor and his gods could not only ingratiate them to their rulers but could also ease the harsh reality of subjugation to Rome, and lend it meaning.

Elaine Pagels, Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation