Thoughts on Antiquity, Patristics, putting things online, information access, and more
The Taurobolium was a pagan Roman ritual in which the worshipper stood in a pit and was drenched in bull’s blood. It was supposed to confer immortality, or something of the kind, although I’ve not researched it. Sometimes people assert that this was part of the cult of Mithras, which seems to be untrue; the […]
Does anyone have access to M. J. VERMASEREN, Mithras de geheimzinnige god, (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1959)? If so, can they locate the passage for me which appears on pp.103-4 of the English translation (not made by Vermaseren), and reads: Justin records that on the occasion of the meal the participants used certain formulae comparable with the […]
Christopher Ecclestone writes a very informative post on al-Masudi referencing a possible shrine of Mithras in Antioch next to the Grand Mosque; and follows it up by discussing ancient “universities.” There is a charming quotation from Libanius, who was unable to get many (paying) pupils until he took over a shop near the marketplace and […]
It’s almost midsummer, and the weather is definitely settling into hotter weather. The brightness, the intensity of the sun, gives energy and we all start rushing about. I’ve been in my garage, pulling stuff out on to the driveway, and throwing things away, donating others, and repacking. There is little urge to sit in front […]
When you finish a project, there are always two competing feelings. The first is to rush into something else, another project of the same kind. But looking around my desktop, I do seem to have caught up. The only folder left is to the translation of Eutychius “Annals.” This 10th century Arabic Christian chronicle is […]
This is a manually compiled index of the material available for download from this site. The post is linked to, in which they were placed online. The date of that post follows; then a direct link to the PDF and the Word document for each, where possible. Except where the author is indicated, all of […]
The Roman military site of Aquincum near Budapest in Hungary is already known for five temples of Mithras. A housing development in the area has uncovered a sixth temple, discovered in the summer and just now reported by Oliver Kovács in a Hungarian archaeological website, Muemlekem.hu. There are a number of photos with the article! […]
Among the monuments of Mithras is CIMRM 584, a relief showing the tauroctony, Mithras killing the bull. It was probably found in Rome, but is today in Venice, as part of the Zulian bequest. I came across a photograph online, and added it to the catalogue of Mithraic monuments. While googling, I found another photograph […]
I’ve now returned working on the letter of Aurelius and Mizonius, to which the breviarium or summary of the canons of the council of Hippo was attached, and with which it is usually transmitted. This is basically done, although I’ve had to look up a few phrases. It was much easier to do, after spending so […]