A fresco from Pylos (the palace of Nestor). Is this a friendly soldier? Or perhaps an enemy? Late Bronze Age.
"The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the river Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos, and Dorium [...] These were commanded by Nestor, knight of Gerene, and with him there came ninety ships."
Homer - The Iliad II
Translated by S. Butler
A Hadrianic Sestertius (I am not 100% sure thou, Roman coins are really difficult to deal with unless you know what you are doing), thus minted only some 50 years after the letter cited below.
"Flavius Archippus the philosopher has prevailed with me to give an order that [1]six hundred thousand sesterces be laid out in the purchase of an estate for the support of him and his family, in the neighbourhood of Prusias, his native country. Let this be accordingly done; and place that sum to the account of my benefactions."
1: I would use this letter only with caution. This translation fix the number of Sestertii to 600.000 which seems to correspond with J. Earls, 1751, translation (even thou his edition actually reads fix hundred thoufand fefterces (it seems as if the the letter F is commonly mixed up with the letter S throughout the edition). The translation I normally use at home, however, reads till ett värde av ca 100.000 sesterier (translated by A. Mattsson 1983). It's unfortunately getting even worse when you look at the original Latin at The Latin Library as that edition is either missing a large chunk of the letter or simply rendering alternative tradition - I do not know which it is (even thou I suspect that they have simply miss typed/scanned the passage).
Pliny the Younger - Letters X. 58
Translated by W. Melmoth
Boar tusk's helmet
"Meriones found a bow and quiver for Ulysses, and on his head he set a leathern helmet that was lined with a strong plaiting of leathern thongs, while on the outside it was thickly studded with boar's teeth, well and skilfully set into it; next the head there was an inner lining of felt."
Homer - The Iliad X
Translated by S. Butler
The plain of Stymphelus.
"And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia; of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had sixty ships. Many Arcadians, good soldiers, came in each one of them, but Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea, for they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters. "
Homer - The Iliad II
Translated by S. Butler
A plain on Cyprus, seen from the Bronze Age site of Hala Sultan Tekke.
"Cyprus, which lies opposite to the shores of Cilicia and Syria, running east and west; in former times it was the seat of nine kingdoms. Timosthenes states that the circumference of this island is 427 miles, Isidorus 375"
Pliny the Elder - Naturalis Historia (the Natural History) V.35
Translated by J. Bostock and H.T. Riley
A Roman ring from Marion on Cyprus, ca 350 AD.
"The worst crime against mankind was committed by him who was the first to put a ring upon his fingers: and yet we are not informed, by tradition, who it was that first did so. For as to all the stories told about Prometheus, I look upon them as utterly fabulous [...] It was the hand, and a sinister hand, too, in every sense, that first brought gold into such high repute: not a Roman hand, however, for upon that it was the practice to wear a ring of iron only, and solely as an indication of warlike prowess."
Pliny the Elder - Naturalis Historia (the Natural History) XXXIII.4
Translated by J. Bostock and H.T. Riley
This relief from the Ara Pacis depicts the passage below.
"And that this nightly vision may not seem
Th' effect of fancy, or an idle dream,
A sow beneath an oak shall lie along,
All white herself, and white her thirty young.
When thirty rolling years have run their race,
Thy son Ascanius, on this empty space,
Shall build a royal town, of lasting fame,
Which from this omen shall receive the name."
Virgilius - The Aeneid VIII
translated by J. Dryden
An ancient Greek living quarter, next to what is now the Street of Dionysus. Could there be ghosts in these houses? The passage below is a ghost story as it was told by Pliny the Younger around 100 AD.
"I am extremely desirous therefore to know whether you [Sura] believe in the existence of ghosts, and that they have a real form, and are a sort of divinities, or only the visionary impressions of a terrified imagination.[...] There was at Athens a large and roomy house, which had a bad name, so that no one could live there. In the dead of the night a noise, resembling the clashing of iron, was frequently heard, which, if you listened more attentively, sounded like the rattling of chains, distant at first, but approaching nearer by degrees: immediately afterwards a spectre appeared in the form of an old man, of extremely emaciated and squalid appearance, with a long beard and dishevelled hair, rattling the chains on his feet and hands.[...]The noise increased and advanced nearer, till it seemed at the door, and at last in the chamber. He looked up, saw, and recognized the ghost exactly as it had been described to him: it stood before him, beckoning with the finger, like a person who calls another. Athenodorus in reply made a sign with his hand that it should wait a little, and threw his eyes again upon his papers; the ghost then rattled its chains over the head of the philosopher, who looked up upon this, and seeing it beckoning as before, immediately arose, and, light in hand, followed it. The ghost slowly stalked along, as if encumbered with its chains, and, turning into the area of the house, suddenly vanished. Athenodorus, being thus deserted, made a mark with some grass and leaves on the spot where the spirit left him. The next day he gave information to the magistrates, and advised them to order that spot to be dug up. This was accordingly done, and the skeleton of a man in chains was found there; for the body, having lain a considerable time in the ground"
Pliny the Younger - Letters VII.27
Translated by W. Melmoth
Fresco from Rome, 125-150 AD.
"Palisades were placed before them [the fish pickling tubes], but these the polypus managed to get over by the aid of a tree, and it was only caught at last by calling in the assistance of trained dogs, which surrounded it at night, as it was returning to its prey; upon which, the keepers, awakened by the noise, were struck with alarm at the novelty of the sight presented. First of all, the size of the polypus was enormous beyond all conception; and then it was covered all over with dried brine, and exhaled a most dreadful stench."
Pliny the Elder - Naturalis Historia (the Natural History) IX.48
Translated by J. Bostock and H.T. Riley
A bird (sparrow?) from the villa at Oplontis, also known at Villa Poppaea (it is, however, far from certain that she owned the villa).
Sparrow, favorite of my girl,
with whom she is accustomed to play, whom she is accustomed to hold in her lap,
for whom, seeking greedily, she is accustomed to give her index finger
and to provoke sharp bites.
When it is pleasing for my shining desire
to make some kind of joke
and a relief of her grief.
I believe, so that her heavy passion may become quiet.
If only I were able to play with you yourself, and
to lighten the sad cares of your mind.
Catullus - Poem nr II
Translated by J. Fortaperus
