Greece - The cradle of Europe

So, what is this new plan? As I left Rome yesterday no more days in Rome can be presented here, at least not in the form that I have done it this far.

The blogg will therefore, from this point forward until my next trip abroad, use a thematic form. I will for a few weeks, even months, present a subject. This will be done by posting one picture every day with a little more in depth information than what you may be used to by now.

Then, what theme will I start with. I have though of a number of possibilities as Pompeii, The Roman Forum, foreign cults, Roman art and so on. I feel though, in the end, that a break from Rome is needed and my attention will there for be on Greece for some time. All pictures will, of course, still have been taken by me.

Let me therefore introduce you to my new theme. Greece - The cradle of Europe.


Posting a picture of Parthenon would be far to easy. This is the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, which was begun by Peisistratus during the mid 6th century BC and was finished by the Roman emperor Hadrianus in the early 2nd century AD. It is therefore a good start on this theme as it represent both original Greek architecture and the Roman period.

Day 71.

The last day in Ravenna has passed by and I found, to my great joy, an exhibition on Stabia which is one of the towns from 79 AD (Together with Oplontis, Pompeii and Herculaneum).


A lararium from Stabia. A lararium is a household altar where the domestic divinities are celebrated.


A fresco depicting a boar hunt.


A stucco from a bath in Stabia. It's lovely to see it close up for once.


Another stucco, I couldn't resist to post another one.

Day 69.

Ravenna. A beautiful city in the northern Italy, a jewel from the medieval Italy. I've now spent three days there and returned to Rome and I will post the pictures as soon as possible. Other than that, I'm dead tired, but eager to return to my explorations of the past, and some rest is going to be needed before tomorrow.




A mosaic from the San Vitale in Ravenna, depicting the emperor Justinianus who reigned the (eastern) empire 527-565 AD.


An on the other side was his empresses.


The bishop seat in the same basilica. Kinda looks like a throne, doesn't it? It's probably very intentionally.


The paintings in the dome, redone during the baroque.


One of the many round campaniles in the city which makes for an excellent shot.

Day 67.

Well this has been an interesting day. I started off by walking to the “local” market, a claustrophobic place filled with people. Needless to say, I left very quickly. And why shouldn’t I? The Capitoline museum was way more fun. I also snuck down to the mithradeum at San Clemente – the labyrinth of rooms down there is amazing! Too see another mithradeum look here.
Things have been interesting back at the institute as well, I was called to a spontaneous Latin lecture in the middle of my very hasty dinner. However the power went down after about an hour, something that wasn’t very much to worry about back then – my food is slowly melting now however, six hours later. It’s also been very interesting to see how people get paralyzed by the loss of electricity. We always spend a few hours at the balcony drinking wine eating but now nobody knew what to talk about since we had no power…

Anyway that is why these pictures are a little bit late. I hope that you enjoy then none the less.



The dying Gaul is a classical motif. It is connected to the Guals being defeated by Pergamun in the 3rd century BC.



Didn’t anyone tell baby Hercules not to play with snakes?



Thanks God this is from late antiquity. The technique is called Opus sectilum and you find further examples of this here from day 24.



A mosaic from the villa of Hadrianus (now in the Capitoline museum).



A statue. I cannot quite remember how the museum interpreted it unfortunately. It could be an Amazon as one breast is left uncovered, but they normally have short dresses. Artemis would be a good guess, but she also wear a short dress and there are normally animals in the composition. Venus should be all naked so it's probably not her and it can't be either Athena nor Hera. Hygienia is possible, but it doesn't look like her and her attributes are missing (snake and a vessel). The nine muses are normally all covered up and carry the instruments of the arts. It could of course be a minor goddess or simply a mortal female, something that always make those interpretations very difficult.

Day 66.

Another busy day in Rome, or actually outside of Rome as I've been to Tivoli visiting the Villa of Hadrian and Villa d'este. I could easily post a hundred pictures from today but you will have to live with five!



The very famous Maritime Theater, one of the many fabulous places in the villa. I might add that the villa probably is as big as Herculaneum.


A beautiful column.


A (medieval?) castle in Tivoli that I passed by randomly.


Things were very much different 500 years ago. Priests weren't supposed to be humble, just look at this private waterfall in the garden of Villa d'este at Tivoli, build by a cardinal.


A painting (one of many, many, many) in the same villa. No expense saved. Notice that it's depicting Hercules as a "warrior" in the front scene and a herdsman in the background scene. The later is a ancient interpretation of Hercules, which was very strong in Tivoli.

Day 65.

Today I've followed the Via Tiburtina from Tivoli to Rome, taking a a special look at some sites.



A church next to the Aqua Alexandrina built to celebrate the jubilee year 2000 (and to give the area a new church).


The inside of the church.


The Augustan gate in the republican walls where the Via Tiburtina comes in to the city. Unfortunately is only one out of three vaults preserved.

Day 45.

Time passes quickly here and today has not been an exception as I and Fredrika went to Ostia to investigate the ancient city. What a site! I'm already planning on going back!


On of my favourite shots , counting the last months! Incredible to just fine a statue (hopefully a copy) like this in an ancient building.


Someone like dolliae (a name for a big vessel)


A street in Ostia with the characteristic insuae. I wish I could tell you the name of the street, but I will have to come back on that one as I know exactly where it is, but can't find a good map.


A mysterious underground niche under a drainage and over a cistern. Very cosy.


A Horae, grain magazine.