#theodosius i

[twofielder]

Coin of the Day #49 (6/22/2024)

A nice LRB with a large die break on the reverse…

Roman Empire

AE24 - 5.67g

Theodosius I 383-388 AD

Heraclea Mint

Obverse D N THEODOSIVS P F AVG

Bust of Theodosius I right, pearl-diademed, draped, cuirassed

Reverse VIRTVS EXERCITI

Emperor standing right, holding labarum and globe, left foot on captive, •SMHA mint

RIC IX 24b

[lightdancer1]

With Theodosius I the end of the Imperial biographies:

And out of the great historical hero-Emperors Theodosius had the most lasting impact. Constantine the Great legalized Christianity and marked a dramatic sea-change in the Empire. It was Theodosius who turned legalizing Christianity into the persecution of paganism. Like Constantine Theodosius faced a divided empire, like Constantine he won a sequence of battles that left it united. In his clashes with Bishop Ambrose of Milan he began the long history that would culminate in the Pyrrhic victory of the Holy Roman Emperors in the Investiture Controversy of rivalry between the great magnates of the Church and the great lords of the state.

In this sense one can say that Late Antiquity began with Diocletian and that it was under Constantine and Theodosius that the Empire began to grapple, slowly and in complete unawareness that this is what was actually happening to it, with the transition to the medieval world. Neither would Theodosius have seen, nor expected, that his actions to re-establish the Empire all but assured the final fall of the Western half and the rise of the foundation of the future European state system.

Such is the cruel whim of irony and of historical chance.

9/10.

[brother-emperors]

the way the valentinian and theodosian dynasties intermarried gives me a headache, so we'll just (hand waving) the marriage of licinia eudoxia and valentinian iii, also some normal ribbing between theodosius ii and valentinian iii

can you believe that we got another set of co-emperors with the theodosius-valentinian name set after the absolute disaster of the first pair? incredible!

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[thepastisalreadywritten]

FUN FACT:

In 393 CE, Emperor Theodosius I (347–395) banned the Greek Olympics due to the religious element of the celebration.

He considered the Olympics to be a pagan festival, which had no place in his Christian empire.

As a consequence, the games were cancelled and didn’t start up again for over 1,400 years — until 1896.

[ghoul-haunted]

okay I'm done with valentinian 3, back to drawing comics about valens

[hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy]

Hey so my internet went out when I came home for New Years so this is very very late

Happy New Year. And uhhh

Happy 1/1 day to the Thomas mf

[theodosius-the-great]

My feet are as fat as Eugenius, I hope this 10 year old can rule.

[longthymenosee]

(he's 27)

[artifacts-archive]

Tetradrachm (Coin) Depicting the God Zeus

Greek, Reign of Phillip II (359–336 BCE)

The official record of quadrennial games honoring the supreme Greek god Zeus at a sanctuary dedicated to him at Olympia began in 776 BCE. With few interruptions, they took place every four years for about 1,100 years. In 394, CE the Christian emperor Theodosius I (reigned 379–95) abolished them as pagan rites. The most prestigious competition remained the footrace, but eventually it was supplanted in popularity by the horse races. Horses were symbols of socioeconomic status, since only the privileged could afford to buy, feed, and train them and transport their teams and trainers to Olympia every four years. In time, many of the victors in the horse races included kings and tyrants. Philip II, king of Macedon, who minted this coin, owned the horse that won the race in Olympia in 356 BCE. The same year his son was born; he would grow up to become Alexander the Great (356–332 BCE). The head of Zeus on the front referred to Philip’s claim that his family descended from the god. On the back Philip commemorated his victory in the horse races of the Olympic Games with an image of a jockey astride his mount.

[chthonic-sorcery]

All me and my homes hate Theodosius I

[wandering-cemeteries]

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, built in 5th century. It is thought to contain the tomb of Galla Placidia (died 450), the daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Someone accidentally burned the contents of the tomb in 1577. Emperor Valentinian III or Emperor Honorius and Galla’s husband Emperor Constantius III may still be buried in the tomb. Ravenna, Italy

[scottsbifh]

Posted from @ganymedesrocks which was posted on his account today:

In their infinite wisdom, the Ancient Greeks decided that clothes were more of a hindrance than a help when it came to sporting prowess, so athletes competed in their birthday suits. But then Roman Emperor Theodosius I came along and abolished the tradition in 393 AD, banning the games as a blasphemous pagan festival in order to promote Christianity.

From running and wrestling to the pankration (a brutal mix of boxing and wrestling) the ancient events, held in honor of Zeus every four years at the sacred site of Olympia in the western Peloponnese, were as intense as they were unclothed. The lack of clothing added an extra layer of challenge, not to mention a certain amount of spectacle. The stands would be filled with men (and only men, as women were strictly banned from attending), who cheered on their favorite naked athletes with gusto. It was a celebration of the human form in all its glory, with no room for modesty or self-consciousness. The athletes were heroes, not just for their skills, but for their boldness and bravery in competing as nature intended. Competing naked was a tribute to the gods, a display of physical perfection, and, quite practically, a way to avoid the encumbrances of clothing. After all, who needs a tunic flapping in the wind when you’re trying to hurl a discus?

[brother-emperors]

many thanks @twobeesornottwobees for helping me out with the theodosius biography!! at long last, agrippa makes a reappearance on my blog! and additionally octavian because it feels wrong to draw agrippa without him

[mybeingthere]

Ausfärbungen auf Federn / Teintures sur Plumes or Shades on Feathers is a sample book from 1915 with dyeing instructions and an 18-section foldout containing 143 dyed feathers. Published by the Bayer Company of New York City in English, French

and German, the book begins with instructions for dying feathers (clean them in soap and ammonia, then boil in salts and sulphuric acid).

Humanity has been colouring things for millennia. Scientists have found evidence of the first natural reds and oranges in tombs back to 2600BC.

Written in Greek, the Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis (also known as the Stockholm papyrus) is a 4th century CE codex of craft recipes compiled in Egypt. The work’s 15 leaves contain 154 recipes for the manufacture of dyes and colours used in fashioning artificial stones.

Recipe 101 is as follows:

“Cold Dyeing for Purple which is Done in the True Way”

“Keep this as a secret matter because the purple has an extremely luster. Take scrum of woad from the dyer, and a sufficient portion of foreign askant of about the same weight as the scum – the scum is very light – and triturate it in the mortar. Thus dissolve the alkanet by grinding in the scum and it will give off its essence. Then take the brilliant color prepared by the dyer – if from kermis it is better, or else from kirmnos – heat, and put this liquor into half of the scum in the mortar. Then put the wool in and color it unmordanted and you will find it beyond all description.”

Back then, purple was the marker of rank and class.

The most well-known shellfish dye was the Tyrian purple, royal purple or imperial purple as it was called, which came from sea snails in the Eastern Mediterranean in the ancient city of Tyre. This dye was very special for all the civilisations around the Mediterranean and its use spanned whole centuries. It was the most expensive dye in the whole of ancient world, as the colour it produced was very bright and colourfast. Because of its properties, its use was restricted for royals, members of the royal family, and senior public officers and priests.

Archaeological evidence points out that the ancient Phoenicians first discovered and used it (Tyre was an important Phoenician city). From them, it became known to ancient Greeks, Romans and through them in Byzantium and Medieval Europe. It was so sought after that the Byzantine emperor Theodosius I prohibited its use from the lower classes or the penalty was death. The privilege of using this purple dye is so profound that the phrase “born in purple” was born in that period. In Western Europe, it was replaced in prominence around the 12th century, and finally went out of fashion around the 19th century, when a synthetic purple was invented and thus it became more accessible to the wider masses.

https://flashbak.com/shades-of-feathers-a-beautiful.../

[ghoul-haunted]

ngl for all the 'people are obsessed with the roman empire' jokes, I keep running into roman emperors who don't have dedicated biographies

[leonstoenailunderhisbed]

RE Villains and my psychological opinion (+mini history lesson hehe.)

I really like the way CAPCOM writes their villains. Everyone talks about the main protagonist(s) such as Chris, Leon, Jill, Claire, etc. I think we should definitely give some credit to the evil guys of the franchise. I have my own two favorite villains, Lord Saddler (RE4/RE4R), and Svetlana (Damnation). I wish I could write about ALL the characters but that would almost be a book's length.

(I am no expert in psychology, i barely survived my spring semester lol. I am not licensed and i most certainly am not a doctor. The history part is true, but the psychology is just me being hyper fixated on the minor details. Once again, take this lightly. Also, i have my psych final soon and I'm so ready to kick ass.)

There's just something so alluring to me about the obsession with one being known as a God or God's messenger. Lord Saddler really got me thinking about how easy it is for a narcissist to make a cult about, essentially, themselves. Everyone knows the story about Narcissus, the mythological Greek God, and how he fell in love with his own reflection and basically starved himself to death. Hence why the term narcissism derived from the myth of Narcissus. Narcissism goes deeper than just one being self-centered. A narcissist is much more evil- they lack empathy and exploit others for their own goals/achievements. I would like to believe that Lord Saddler definitely has a narcissistic disorder because he took it upon himself to become, and as I like to call it, The God of Plaga. I mean, the dude literally created his own "bible" and his own insignia. He, like James in RE0, believe that they can conquer the world using the parasite. But the psychology behind it, or least in my humble knowledge, is really just a narcissist playing God. Saddler's psychological disorder is being projected onto religion, maybe in a response to a traumatic event. Freudian theory states that projection is a psychological defense mechanism where an individual projects unwanted thoughts, feelings, and motives on another person/group. I'd like to think that Saddler is a narcissist that projects his own motives as defense mechanism using religious methods.

I'm no expert on modern religion but I do like to think myself as someone well versed in BCE and CE religion. As i played through the game, I couldn't help but notice some similarities between Saddler and his cult and some ancient religious beliefs. Ancient civilizations often believed that their God's power was absolute, thus making religion an important part of their culture. The village in which the game takes place obviously contains a small church and then a castle- followed by the peasant village in the beginning of the game. We know that this is a remote location in Spain and since Spain was known as Hispania during the Roman Empire, it would be safe to say that maybe MAYBE CAPCOM was inspired by the history of the country that had followed all the way to CE. I'd like to believe that Saddler was probably inspired by the ruling of the Roman Empire after Emperor Theodosius (who declared Christianity as the state religion of the empire.) Saddler, much like Theodosius, created his own religion but it was considered a minority. Once Saddler had recruited more people, his "empire" expanded, much like Christianity all across Europe in CE. His plan was obviously to expand his domain and control the world with Las Plagas. Of course, this is just my own theories and observations.

I really loved Svetlana's character as a villain. She's cunning, diplomatic, and very goal oriented. It fascinated me the way she handled situations, as if she already knew everything from the start (except the temporary unification of Russia and the US). We know she used to be a combat instructor, or still is maybe. To me, she's the definition of a wolf in a sheep's disguise. Which again brings to my point on my analysis on Saddler- a narcissistic will do anything to make sure they accomplish their goals, regardless of whose lives are at risk. Svetlana, unlike Saddler, has international support and can manipulate ambassadors to be in her favor. She already has control over her republic as president, she only needs a little more help from her international supporters. This is not only a trait from a businessperson but also someone who is very smart and probably knows how to use people at their expense. But that's every politician, in my opinion. Greed and money are basically what sugar is to kids for politicians and government officials. The way she smirked and basically declared her victory when she was talking to Buddy through the barrier was literally so evil of her part, but it made sense. At the end of the day, I'd like to think that she really just had this urge of not messing up the country since she probably faced a lot of pressure from being the first female president of the country.

Svetlana is very smart. She resigned of her position right after the civil war ended because she knew the consequences of basically breeding Nemesis’s cousins (LOL) A narcissist is never dumb and if they are then they aren’t narcissists. Narcissists are extremely smart and extremely manipulative with no sense of guilt.

I would like to talk more about James and then deeper in Resident Evil Village bc that game is literally so well written I’m like 😍🫶🏼