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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 8h

Whether playfulness or naughtiness was the desired idea, a sarcophagus like this makes our hearts ache for the parents who buried their child far too young. 🏛️ Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme di Diocleziano via the Melbourne Museum. #AncientRome #Sarcophagus

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 8h

This is a sarcophagus for a young child with a motif of erotes. This relief includes a striking image of one reaching their hand through a theatrical mask, which is other contexts has been interpreted as a young satyr playing at the role of Silenus (the old satyr).

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 23h

Special K. For #EpigraphyTuesday, we look at two instances of the archaic K in the word EVOKATVS, normally EVOCATVS, recalled veterans who were "called out" of retirement to re-enlist, with many privileges for doing so. This one, Ingenuus, was a career soldier. #AncientBluesky 🏺

FUNERARY MONUMENT FOR AN EVOCATUS, 200-250 CE. CASINO DELL'AURORA LUDOVISI

A weathered marble funerary altar standing outdoors, surrounded by the fallen leaves of autumn. The front face features a carved relief of a standing Roman soldier wearing a heavy military cloak and proudly holding the baton of his rank. Below is a Latin inscription which translates to: "To the departed shades. For Quintus Vetius Ingenuus, veteran of the Third Praetorian Cohort, from the province of Lower Germany. Marcus, an evocatus (recalled veteran), his heir and fellow citizen, made this for a well-deserving man." Unlike many Roman epitaphs, Ingenuus's sole heir and dedicator is a fellow soldier and countryman. This suggests a life wholly dedicated to military service, devoid of a traditional family structure. According to epigraphic analysis, the monument dates to the first half of the third century CE.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

This delightful mosaic once decorated the courtyard of the so-called House of the Drinking Contest, near the port of Antioch-on-the-Orontes. The mosaic is thought to date to C3rd CE and depicts erotes frolicking among Mediterranean marine life. #MosaicMonday #Dolphins

This mosaic depicts three erotes riding dolphins. The erotes cast their fishing lines into a sea filled with marine creatures, including a long, thin garfish; brightly colored wrasses; gray and red mullets; a shrimp; and a clam.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

We were just in Melbourne catching the Rome exhibition and they had a whole arena crowd creating a tense atmosphere for any gladiators who may have happened to stroll in… #AncientRome #Gladiator

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Gladiators: Warriors of the Ancient World is now out in Australia! You can catch all the episodes of the documentary over on Binge 🥳

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Cam Hawkins @camhawkins.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Curious about what the Roman Emperor #Hadrian did to earn that fancy monumental arch in Athens? Wonder no more! In our new episode, we talk about Hadrian’s love for #Athens… havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have...

havetogawilltravel.com

Hadrian in Athens (or, When a Roman Emperor Gave a Greek City a Reno) | Have Toga, Will Travel

Athens was the city the Roman Emperor Hadrian loved most in the world, and he left his mark there by commissioning a bunch of new monumental public buildings...

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Ancient History 101 Podcast @ancienthistory101.org · 30/09/2026

We didn't mean to schedule our series 1 finale for International Podcast Day, what a happy little accident. But this does provide a perfect opportunity to thank our contributors and all of our lovely listeners! Also, allow us to show some love to other indie podcasts that we listen to and admire:

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Missing his nose, but that distinctive hair style gives Augustus away. In this sculpture from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale Firenze visiting the Melbourne Museum, Augustus sports a laurel wreath as well! #Augustus #AncientRome

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Featuring artefacts from the Museo Nazionale Romano and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze, it was a great chance to see ancient Roman things in the Australian context! Venus approved 💖 #AncientRome

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

✨Rome: Empire, Power, People✨ We journeyed back in time today to soak up the details of this exhibition at the Melbourne Museum.

Dr Rad hangs out with C2nd CE Capitoline style Venus. The goddess of appears to have just emerged from her bath.

Dr G hangs out with C2nd CE Capitoline style Venus. The goddess of appears to have just emerged from her bath.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Perhaps a clue to how it was situated originally.

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

For this #MosaicMonday we look up into the spectacular presbytery vault of San Vitale in #Ravenna. To me, the Ravenna #mosaics are an astonishing collection, the last magnificent product of late antiquity. But whose empire does this shimmering C6 CE ceiling actually represent? #AncientBluesky 🏺

PRESBYTERY VAULT MOSAICS, C. 547 CE. BASILICA OF SAN VITALE, RAVENNA

A view looking straight up into the vaulted ceiling of the presbytery. At the apex within a starry medallion is the Lamb of God. The central wreath is supported by four white robed angels, a visual inheritance from classical winged Victories. They stand upon blue globes, an ancient symbol of cosmic dominion. The vault sections are filled with a lush paradise of acanthus vines and birds, echoing Augustan imagery of abundance. This shared classical vocabulary reflects the complex political reality of C6 CE Ravenna. The basilica was begun under Ostrogothic rule, a regime using Roman art to present themselves as theoretically still part of the empire. When Justinian consecrated the church in c. 547 CE he did not have to replace the Ostrogothic aesthetic. The Gothic kings' official style was already Roman, allowing this final flowering of late antiquity to bridge two competing empires.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This marble anemoscope was used to indicate the direction of the wind. The names of the winds and their personifications in the act of blowing (hot?) air are engraved on the disc. It's thought to date from the C5th CE and can be found today in the Parco Archeologica del Celio, Rome. #AncientRome

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

A #Roman glass bowl, in a beautiful cobalt blue with an irregular swirling white pattern. It looks amazing - especislly given that it is nearly 2000 years old! #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

You were never mine, never mine. This #FrescoFriday we're admiring a #megalography, a large-scale #fresco, from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at #Boscoreale, now in the #MANN. Perhaps the lower woman is Stateira II, dejected that #Alexander preferred #Hephaestion. #AncientBluesky 🏺

FRESCO FROM BOSCOREALE, C1 BCE. MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE DI NAPOLI

A large Roman fresco from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor set against a brilliant red background. On the left an allegorical female figure representing Macedon sits on a rock wearing a greyish tunic, a purple cloak and a flat Macedonian kausia hat while grasping a tall spear. Between them rests a bronze shield embossed with the Argead star of the Macedonian royal house. On the right a seated woman representing defeated Persia wears a pale gown, a blue mantle and a yellow head wrap. She rests her chin on her hand sadly, looking up to seek female solidarity in the eyes of her captor but finding none. This figure of subjugated Persia may be a portrait of Stateira II, daughter of the defeated Persian King Darius III, taken as a political trophy wife by Alexander the Great. She had ample reason to be dejected, as Alexander's primary romantic devotion was to his companion and cavalry commander Hephaestion.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

We don’t mean to scare anyone, but sometimes when we get into toga mode the knives come out. #AncientRome #Podcast #Toga

Dr Rad avoids a blade from Dr G while both wear bedsheets in an attempt to get into an ancient Roman state of mind.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I always try to appeal but sometimes it doesn’t work out 🤷‍♀️

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

✨New to Patreon - Mark Antony with Alex Gough✨ We sit down with @alexgoughauthor.bsky.social to learn more about his historical fiction series on Mark Antony which explores Antony’s career and follows him all the way through to his demise.

Book cover for ‘Caesar’s Nemesis’ by Alex Gough which shows a Roman soldier looking over a naval battle with a flaming shield in the background.

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A roar of loneliness. For #ReliefWednesday, this beautiful late C4 BCE Etruscan terracotta askos. Its deeply modelled mane echoes the frescoes of the François Tomb where it was found. The tomb's dispersion proves that scattering a collection destroys its context. #AncientBluesky 🏺

ZOOMORPHIC LION ASKOS FROM THE FRANÇOIS TOMB, LATE C4 BCE. VILLA GIULIA, ROME

A terracotta vessel shaped like a crouching and snarling lion, resting on a narrow black-glazed base decorated with a wavy pattern. The surface combines painted and heavily modelled relief-like decoration, featuring deep tongue-shaped locks forming the mane and short hatched brown brushstrokes indicating the hide. The open mouth ingeniously serves as a secondary pouring spout. Discovered in 1857 in Vulci, this beautiful object is currently on loan from the British Museum, serving as a stark reminder of the tragic dispersion of the grave goods of the François Tomb. While the famous C4 BCE frescoes were stripped from the tufo walls, objects like this askos were scattered through sales to foreign collectors and institutions. This permanent dismemberment of a unified context is the curse of Italian cultural patrimony. It mirrors the fate of medieval polyptychs broken into isolated panels, Roman mosaics ripped from their architectural settings, monastery libraries sold off piecemeal, and intact family archives pillaged for individual gain. When private greed triumphs over the public good, the original meaning of these masterpieces is gravely diminished and the connective tissue of our history is lost.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This pastel colourisation may less vibrant than the original finish, but it is gorgeous in its own way. #ReliefWednesday

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The ‘Tellus’ panel from the Ara Pacis is one of the most striking pieces of relief work from the Augustan era. The central divine figure has a layered iconography that has led to a variety of theories as to her identity including Ceres and Roma.

The Tellus panel depicts a goddess (variously identified as Tellus, Roma, or Ceres amongst other theories) surrounded by the abundance of nature. She’s accompanied by two personified winds and she holds two infants (potentially the twins Romulus and Remus). Various animals and plant life make for a rich scene.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A beautiful #Roman glass bottle, in vivid shades of blue, green, & gold. It was probably originally used to hold perfume or some other cosmetic product, some 2000 years ago #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We are starting the week on the Oppian for #MosaicMonday. These late C1 CE wall #mosaics from beneath the #BathsofTrajan show Roman maritime villas. But they look like ghosts, because Trajan's engineers despoiled the glass tesseræ of the water. #AncientBluesky 🏺

MOSAIC OF A MARITIME VILLA, 64-98 CE. MUSEO DELLE TERME DI TRAIANO

This is part of the lower register of the Great Mosaic, one of a row depicting maritime villas, seemingly floating on a rough, blank mortar background. The structure features long colonnaded porticoes extending into the sea on two moles, terminating in tower like pavilions known as diaetae. This architectural pincer enclosed a private harbour, creating a protected mooring that displays the extreme luxury of the C1 rich. The villa appears to float in empty white space because the original background was destroyed. The ocean and sky were likely made of expensive glass paste tesseræ. These were picked out for recycling by Trajan's demolition crews, a state-sanctioned salvage operation also evident in the Polyphemus mosaic of the Domus Aurea. Only the less valuable stone and terracotta pieces forming the architecture were left behind before the hall was walled up to serve as foundations for the Baths of Trajan.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Do you feel like you’ve just been tossed unceremoniously into a chariot race? Welcome to the all new *empathetic* #MosaicMonday where your feelings about still having to engage in capitalism while tech billionaires ruin it for us all are validated by ancient mosaics. #AncientBluesky🏺

Image description from World History Encyclopaedia: Mosaic representing four charioteers from different parts of a Roman circus and their horses, Roman work (end of the 3rd century CE) from the villa located near the Baccano wood, and exhibited at the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome (Italy). Photo credit to Jean-Pol Grandmont.

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Sistory History Podcast @sistoryhistory.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

A scene of animals hunting at the #Roman villa in Desenzano del Garda. 📸 Us #MosaicMonday #Archaeology #AncientBluesky #Classicsbluesky #AncientRome

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Is that her challenge? Oh dear, Bluesky strikes again!

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Andromeda is trapped and chained as a sacrifice to the sea monster Cetus. Turns out that some parents are not only willing to anger the gods but to also then offer up their child to get back in the gods’ good graces… #AncientGreece #AncientBluesky🏺 #FrescoFriday

Description from The World History Encyclopaedia: “Fourth style fresco depicting Perseusfreeing Andromeda from her chains on the rock, from the House of the Dioscuri in Pompeii, National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
Andromeda, chained helplessly on the rock, a prey to pacify a sea monster sent by Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, who had boasted of her daughter's beauty. Perseus comes face to face with the beautiful Andromeda, immediately falls in love with her and rushes off to kill the sea monster. Photo credit: Carole Raddato.”

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I am shamelessly returning to the #CittàDipinta (late C1 CE) in the Museo delle Terme di #Traiano for #FrescoFriday. This upper left detail is the urban centre of the idealised cityscape: walls for strength, an emporium for commerce, a temple for piety, and a theatre for art.

DETAIL OF THE CITTÀ DIPINTA, LATE C1 CE. MUSEO DELLE TERME DI TRAIANO

Rather than serving as a literal topographical map, this section of the fresco functions as an ideological checklist of Romanitas. The painter has condensed the essential elements of civilisation into a single, idealised bird's-eye view. Heavily engineered walls and a naval gate project military and infrastructural strength, while an emporium portico and an adjacent open-air theatre symbolise commerce and the arts. A gabled temple topped with a statue represents civic piety, and the surrounding residential blocks feature rooftop pavilions for the otium of the elite. The physical history of the fresco itself is visible at the bottom left, where the painted plaster curves over the edge of a structural brick arch. Originally a window or doorway in this Neronian- or Flavian-era pavilion (a dating supported by stylistic ties to the nearby Domus Aurea, including the exquisite sfumatura of the Egyptian blue pigment of the water), the void was pragmatically walled up when Trajan's architects entombed the entire structure in darkness to serve as foundational terracing for his imperial baths.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The cuckoo in the nest. For #ReliefWednesday we have the magnificent Ara Casali from the late C2 CE, now in the #VaticanMuseums. Its reliefs show the domino effect of myths that led to the founding of #Rome. But the name of the dedicator is a later insertion. #AncientBluesky 🏺

ARA CASALI, C. 170-190 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS

A richly carved marble altar showing the front and right side. On the front, a circular wreath encloses a dedication by Tiberius Claudius Faventinus from c. 230 CE, carved into an erased surface likely resulting from the Severan purges of the 190s CE. Above and below this palimpsest are reliefs of Sol and the lovers Mars and Venus. The altar operates like clockwork to narrate Roman destiny. The visible right side and unseen left side feature scenes of the Trojan War, leading to the inevitable conclusion on the unseen back depicting the discovery of Romulus and Remus. This repurposed monument was a happy purchase for Faventinus, allowing him to benefit from an implied connection to the first imperial house. The Julio-Claudians famously claimed descent from both Mars, via Rhea Silvia, and Venus, the divine ancestress of the Julian line.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Just a little tour of Livia’s garden fresco. #AncientBluesky🏺

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

For #MosaicMonday, a colossal discovery. This is the Great #Mosaic, which I visited last Tuesday beneath the #BathsofTrajan in #Rome. Though fragmentary, this wall mosaic almost defies comprehension due to its quality and vastness. Let's have a look. #AncientBluesky 🏺🧵

HALL OF THE GREAT MOSAIC, 64-98 CE. MUSEO DELLE TERME DI TRAIANO

A steep downward perspective into a subterranean space beneath heavy brick vaulting. A vast vertical wall dominates the centre, covered in the remains of a monumental mosaic. This hall measures 10 by 15 metres and is 12 metres tall. The ground level has not yet been excavated, and the lower three metres, still buried, were originally faced with marble slabs. At the centre of the long wall, part of a rectangular niche is visible, which must once have contained a statue. It is far too large to be part of a private domus and is built on lands expropriated by Nero for the Domus Aurea, whose main Oppian pavilion is nearby. The gigantic size and high quality of the surviving mosaic suggest an imperial commission, but of what? And was it a Neronian building or a Flavian or Domitianic one? At the very bottom right edge, a modern blue metal railing provides a sense of the staggering scale.

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A mummy portrait from #Roman Egypt, depicting an older woman with loosely-curled grey hair, a gold wreath, & gold-pearl earrings. Unlike portraits of younger women, she doesn't seem to be following the fashions of the Imperial court - just her own sense of style? 🏺 #AncientBlueSky

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Cam Hawkins @camhawkins.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The emperor #Hadrian didn’t just build a wall across Britain! During a career that involved a “world tour” to pretty much every province of the Roman Empire, he rubbed elbows with provincial aristocrats... #AncientBlueSky #Classics havetogawilltravel.com/podcast/have...

havetogawilltravel.com

Hadrian Tours the Roman World | Have Toga, Will Travel

The emperor Hadrian didn’t just build a wall across Britain! During a career that involved a “world tour” to pretty much every province of the Roman Empire, he...

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Dr Jo Ball @drjeball.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A #Roman cheese press, found at Balmuildy fort on the #AntonineWall (Scotland). The cheese was put in the press & pressed down by a weight, forcing out any moisture through the holes. The resulting cheeses would have the concentric circle pattern from the press 🧀 #Archaeology #AncientBlueSky

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hoping a swift return to floors of interest and a smooth process with floors that are misbehaving!

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

For this #MosaicMonday, the dolphins and cantharus at Bradford on Avon some years ago; now covered over. Apologies for oblique pic. Any blurring is because of the excitement of seeing the excavation.😉🐬 1/3 📷2003 #AncientBlueSky 🏺

An oblique view of a colourful Roman mosaic in a straight-sided apse. In the centre is a cantharus/crater with its base to the right and mouth to the left in this photo. It is flanked by dolphins whose heads point towards the corners of the apse and whose tails are on level with the cantharus/crater handle.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Our interview with @greekmythcomix.bsky.social about “You Are Odysseus” is out now wherever you enjoy excellent podcasts 🎙️ We get into the nitty-gritty, including the role of aidos and kudos when thinking about kleos (glory). #AncientGreece #Odysseus partialhistorians.com/2026/09/10/s...

Image: Odysseus and the Sirens by Edmund Dulac (1882–1953). It is an illustration of three sirens calling Odysseus on his way back from Troy. Superimposed below Odysseus’ ship is the title of Jenkinson-Brown’s book ‘You Are Odysseus’.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

✨New Episode - You Are Odysseus with GreekMythComix✨ We chat with Laura Jenkinson-Brown about her amazing book ‘You Are Odysseus’ which shakes up Homer’s epic poem by placing the reader in the centre of the story and all its complexities.

Book cover for 'You Are Odysseus' with a boat, an eye, a siren, and other ancient motifs on a teal background.

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

For #FrescoFriday, the astonishing "Città Dipinta" unveiled this week at the #Oppian Hill. Painted on the exterior of a pre-Trajanic basilican hall, it might have been an ideological billboard promoting good government, before being buried as a foundation wall for Trajan's Baths. #AncientBluesky 🏺

FRESCO OF THE CITTÀ DIPINTA, LATE C1 CE. MUSEO DELLE TERME DI TRAIANO

This large fresco fragment depicts a rare bird's-eye view of a fortified city. Defensive walls with crenellated towers enclose a dense urban landscape featuring residential buildings, a theatre, and porticoes rendered in sophisticated perspective. The artwork was painted on the exterior wall of a three-aisled hall on the Oppian Hill. This building perhaps functioned as an administrative basilica connected to a nearby schola for a collegium of scribes. While the adjacent mosaic hall follows a strict north-south orientation aligning with the Domus Aurea and the Sette Sale reservoir, this hall sits on a different axis. In an administrative context, the fresco would have served as an ideological billboard projecting Roman urban prosperity to those conducting business. Dating to the Neronian or Flavian period, the building and its masterpiece of urban topography were later deliberately buried to serve as retaining walls for the Baths of Trajan.

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