Following Hadrian
@followinghadrian.bsky.social
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Hadrianophile "omnium curiositatum explorator"
#Hadrian1900
https://followinghadrian.com/
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[New post] Plancia Magna and the role of a Roman benefactress in Perge
followinghadrian.com/2025/12/04/p...
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Plancia Magna and the role of a Roman benefactress in Perge FOLLOWING HADRIAN
The ancient city of Perge, located on the coast of southern Asia Minor in the Roman province of Pamphylia, provides a fascinating case study of elite benefaction in the Roman East. In Perge, Roman …
https://followinghadrian.com/2025/12/04/plancia-magna-and-the-role-of-a-roman-benefactress-in-perge/
29 days ago
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#FrescoFriday
- The magnificent Garden Fresco from the triclinium of Livia's villa at Prima Porta. This Second-Style fresco depicts a variety of plants, fruits, flowers, and birds rendered in a naturalistic way. It is one of the most stunning frescoes from the Roman world!
about 16 hours ago
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Happy New Year and Happy January! The month of Ianuarius, as the Romans called it, was named after Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, endings, gates, and time. One face looks to the past, the other to the future.
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Wishing you Health, Life, Joy, Peace, Good Cheer, Hope. This lovely ancient message was inscribed in Greek on a mosaic in Halicarnassus 1600 years ago.
#2026NewYear
2 days ago
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Wishing all my friends and followers a great 2026! 🎉
#2026NewYear
Annum novum faustum felicem! A happy and prosperous New Year! Here are some New Year’s wishes from Roman oil lamps, which were traditionally given as presents on New Year’s Day.
3 days ago
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#OnThisDay
in AD 192, Emperor Commodus was murdered in his bath by a wrestler named Narcissus after an attempt to poison him failed. Commodus’s death ended his tyrannical rule and ushered in the so-called Year of the Five Emperors, a period of chaos and power struggles in the Roman Empire.
3 days ago
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EpigraphyTuesday - Inscription commemorating the restoration of Surrentum's horologium (clock) by the Emperor Titus after the earthquake of AD 79. Museo Correale di Terranova, Sorrento. AE 1902, 00040
edh.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/edh/inschrif...
4 days ago
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Happy birthday to Emperor Titus, born
#OnThisDay
in 39 AD in Rome.
4 days ago
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#MosaicMonday
- Mosaic pavement from Sepphoris (Diocaesarea), Israel, depicting a centaur draped in a leopard-skin cloak and holding a large bowl inscribed with the Greek phrase "Helpful God". Dated to the 5th century AD.
5 days ago
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#OnThisDay
in AD 537, the construction of the new church of Hagia Sophia was completed and inaugurated by Justinian I, who supposedly exclaimed, "Oh Solomon, I have outdone you!"
7 days ago
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What a wonderful Christmas gift! I can’t wait to get it! 💀
8 days ago
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Relief with a Tauroctony scene and a dedicated inscription to Sol Invictus. Emperor Aurelian dedicated a temple in Rome to Sol Invictus, the unconquered Sun,
#OnThisDay
in AD 274. Sol Invictus became an increasingly important deity, with his festival day occurring on the 25th of December.
9 days ago
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Hadrian and his mother-in-law, Matidia. Today marks the 1906th anniversary of Matidia's consecration following her death in December AD 119. Hadrian granted her extravagant honours. Read more 👉
followinghadrian.com/2019/12/23/2...
11 days ago
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It's the last day of the Saturnalia festival. Io, io! 🌟🌟 December 23 was a day of gift-giving when candles and small clay or wax figurines (sigillariae) were exchanged.
followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/i...
#Saturnalia
🪔
11 days ago
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#OnThisDay
in 119, Hadrian says farewell to his beloved mother-in-law, Salonia Matidia.
followinghadrian.com/2019/12/23/2...
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23 December AD 119 – Hadrian commemorates his mother-in-law, Salonia Matidia (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN
In December of the year 119, Hadrian faced a personal tragedy. He said farewell to his beloved mother-in-law, Salonia Matidia, who passed away in her early 50s. Immediately after her death, Hadrian…
https://followinghadrian.com/2019/12/23/23-december-ad-119-hadrian-commemorates-his-mother-in-law-salonia-matidia-hadrian1900/
11 days ago
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#MosaicMonday
- Mosaic panel from Hadrian's Villa depicting a rocky landscape with goats by a stream and a statue of Dionysus. Musei Vaticani, Gabinetto delle Maschere.
12 days ago
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Happy
#WinterSolstice
! Here's Winter depicted on the Mosaic of the Four Seasons from Ain Beida near Timgad, 2nd century AD. National Museum of Antiquities, Algiers, Algeria.
13 days ago
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It's the third day of the Saturnalia festival. Io, io! 🪔 Drinking and being drunk in public was an important part of the festival. These 4th-century AD Roman glass cage-cups bear the inscription BIBE VIVAS MULTIS ANNIS - 'Drink and live many years!' 🍷
followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/i...
15 days ago
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It's the second day of the
#Saturnalia
festival. Io, io! 🌟 Celebrations continued at home, where individuals conducted their private religious rituals. People bathed early, made a sacrifice and ate a suckling pig, a Saturnalia favourite! 🐷
followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/i...
15 days ago
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What are you doing to celebrate the start of the Saturnalia festival? I am having my traditional Saturnalia feast with some delicious ancient Roman food and wine! 🍷
#Saturnalia
🪔
16 days ago
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Io Saturnalia!🌟🪔 "Long awaited, the seven Saturnalia are now at hand." Macrobius
#Saturnalia
was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, beginning on December 17. It was a time of feasting, drinking, games, gift-giving, and role reversal.
followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/i...
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Io, Saturnalia! FOLLOWING HADRIAN
Happy Saturnalia! December 17 marked the beginning of Saturnalia, one of the most popular festivals in Ancient Rome. The midwinter celebrations lasted for several days (the number varied over the R…
https://followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/io-saturnalia-2/
17 days ago
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It's Saturnalia Eve! 🌟🌟 How are you going to celebrate tomorrow? I will have my traditional Saturnalia feast with some delicious ancient Roman food and wine!
#Saturnalia
🪔
18 days ago
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Happy birthday, Lucius Verus! 🎂 Lucius Verus was born
#OnThisDay
in AD 130. He was the son of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian’s first intended successor. Lucius Verus ruled jointly with Marcus Aurelius for eight years, from AD 161 to 169.
worldhistory.org/Lucius_Verus/
18 days ago
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#MosaicMonday
- Detail of a Roman floor mosaic with a glass bottle protected by a sheath of straw, and a glass cup. From Thysdrus (El Jem), dated to the 3rd century AD. National Museum of Bardo, Tunisia.
19 days ago
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Only 3 days to go until the start of the Saturnalia celebrations! 🌟 Getting ready for our Saturnalia feast on Wednesday with some delicious food and wine from Apicius.
#Saturnalia
🪔
followinghadrian.com/2017/12/17/i...
20 days ago
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Four days to go before the start of the Saturnalia celebrations, and Hadrian is already wearing his pileus!
#Saturnalia
The pileus was a Greek-style conical felt cap given to Roman slaves upon freedom. During Saturnalia, everyone, including slaves, could wear it, creating a temporary role reversal.
21 days ago
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#FrescoFriday
- Fresco from Herculaneum showing a wine advertisement with four jars (cucumae) of various colours and prices, ranging from cheap wine to premium quality. The advertisement was painted at the entrance of a wine shop called "Ad Cucumas" ('At the Jugs').
22 days ago
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#EpigraphyTuesday
- Inscription in Greek honouring Plancia Magna as the daughter of M. Plancius Varus, niece of King Alexander, and wife of Gaius Julius Cornutus Tertullus. Erected by her freedman, M. Plancius Pius. Found in the public square in front of the Hellenistic city gate.
25 days ago
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Here's an up-to-date map showing all the archaeological sites and museums I have visited in Turkey with links to my Flickr photo collections and blog articles.
#ArchaeologyTravel
#Turkey
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/e...
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Archaeological sites and museums visited in Turkey - Google My Maps
Archaeological sites and museums visited in Turkey
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1D0hezRFr1d3kINqRZPDWtK8Nc6U&usp=sharing
25 days ago
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#MosaicMonday
- Central panel of a mosaic floor with the head of Medusa. From Rome, via Ardeatina. Dated to the 1st-2nd century AD. National Museum of Rome, Baths of Diocletian, Rome.
26 days ago
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#FrescoFriday
-Fresco depicting Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian saint and Bishop of Myra, Lycia. The fresco adorns the St. Nicholas Church in Demre (Turkey), built in AD 520 on the site of an earlier Christian church where St. Nicholas served as a bishop and is buried. Tomorrow is his feast.
29 days ago
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[New post] Plancia Magna and the role of a Roman benefactress in Perge
followinghadrian.com/2025/12/04/p...
loading . . .
Plancia Magna and the role of a Roman benefactress in Perge FOLLOWING HADRIAN
The ancient city of Perge, located on the coast of southern Asia Minor in the Roman province of Pamphylia, provides a fascinating case study of elite benefaction in the Roman East. In Perge, Roman …
https://followinghadrian.com/2025/12/04/plancia-magna-and-the-role-of-a-roman-benefactress-in-perge/
29 days ago
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I recently visited the archaeological site of Perge! I took tons of photos, especially of everything connected to Plancia Magna, who never ceases to fascinate me. I’m now diving into writing an article about her for my FH blog. Aurelia Paulina will also get a well-deserved mention! Stay tuned!
about 1 month ago
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#EpigraphyTuesday
- Legionary insignia of Legio X Fretensis and tabula ansata with inscription dedicated to Hadrian. From the High Level Aqueduct of Caesarea at Beit Hananya (Israel). The Tenth legion took part in the building of the new aqueduct commissioned by Hadrian in AD 130.
about 1 month ago
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Happy December! December was originally the 10th month in the Roman calendar (from the Latin decem, meaning ten). When the calendar was reformed to add January and February, December became the 12th month but retained its name. Now looking forward to the Saturnalia celebrations! 🌟🌟🌟
about 1 month ago
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As is tradition, I am celebrating Antinous' birthday 🎂 with a bottle of Mantinia Moschofilero, a dry white wine from Arcadia in the Peloponnese in Greece. 🍷
semeliestate.gr/wine/mantinia/
🍇 Moschofilero 🍷 Mantinia (Mantineia) PDO
about 1 month ago
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Exhibition: ‘A Portrait of Antinous, in Two Parts’ in Rome.
followinghadrian.com/2017/02/12/a...
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Exhibition: ‘A Portrait of Antinous, in Two Parts’ in Rome FOLLOWING HADRIAN
An international team, including members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palazzo Altemps Museum in Rome and the University of Chicago, used new technologies to make an incredible discovery abo…
https://followinghadrian.com/2017/02/12/a-portrait-of-antinous-in-two-parts/
about 1 month ago
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Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Antinous: an encounter, 19 centuries later’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
followinghadrian.com/2018/06/18/e...
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Exhibition: ‘Hadrian and Antinous: an encounter, 19 centuries later’ at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN
In the context of “The Unseen Museum” rotating-object programme and the temporary exhibition “Hadrian and Athens Conversing with an Ideal World”, currently on display in Gal…
https://followinghadrian.com/2018/06/18/exhibition-hadrian-and-antinous-an-encounter-19-centuries-later-at-the-national-archaeological-museum-of-athens-hadrian1900/
about 1 month ago
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Exhibition: ‘Antinous: Boy made God’ at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK).
followinghadrian.com/2019/03/06/e...
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Exhibition: ‘Antinous: Boy made God’ at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford (UK) FOLLOWING HADRIAN
Antinous has attracted renewed fascination since the High Renaissance. In the early 1500s, several portraits of the ‘boy-favourite’ were known in Rome, and numerous works of art were mo…
https://followinghadrian.com/2019/03/06/exhibition-antinous-boy-made-god-at-the-ashmolean-museum-in-oxford-uk/
about 1 month ago
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Life-size marble statue of Antinous in the guise of Apollo, discovered in 1894 during excavations in Delphi, dated AD 130-138. Aphrodisian workshop, crafted in Göktepe marble from the province of Asia. Height 180 cm. From the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Delphi Archaeological Museum.
about 1 month ago
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Happy birthday, Antinous! 🎉
antigonejournal.com/2022/02/look...
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Looking for Antinous
CAROLE RADDATO The immortal image of Hadrian's lost love.
https://antigonejournal.com/2022/02/looking-for-antinous/
about 1 month ago
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Happy birthday to Antinous, born
#OnThisDay
ca. AD 110 to a Greek family in a rural locality called Mantineion, just outside the metropolis of Bithynion-Claudiopolis in Bithynia. 🎂
about 1 month ago
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#MosaicMonday
The Lucky Hunchback mosaic from Antioch. The inscription reads "you also" in Greek. This image of an ithyphallic hunchback has apotropaic symbolism against the evil eye and wishes good fortune to those entering or leaving the house. Hatay Archaeology Museum, Turkey.
about 1 month ago
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#RomanSiteSaturday
- The Fullonica of Stephanus, one of the laundries in Pompeii, with large masonry tanks to rinse fabrics. The textiles were washed in basins by trampling them after soaking in urine-containing liquid. Rooms featured frescoes with red panels and architectural motifs.
about 1 month ago
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#FrescoFriday
- Wall painting depicting a riot that broke out between Pompeians and inhabitants of Nuceria in Pompeii in AD 59 during a gladiatorial show. According to Tacitus, many Nucerians were wounded, and the event led to the amphitheatre's closure for 10 years.
about 1 month ago
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The Roman emperor who died from eating too much cheese.
www.nationalgeographic.com/history/arti...
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The Roman emperor who died from eating too much cheese
Lots of emperors met ignominious ends. And then there was Antoninus Pius.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/roman-emperors-augustus-nero-antoninus-pius
about 1 month ago
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Greek-era vineyards found north of Marseille, two kilometers from the ancient walls of Massalia.
www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/10/g...
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Greek-era vineyards found north of Marseille, two kilometers from the ancient walls of Massalia
A team of archaeologists from the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) has unearthed, in the heart of Marseille’s 15th district, traces of an organized winegrowing operati...
https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2025/10/greek-era-vineyards-found-north-of-marseille-two-kilometers-from-the-ancient-walls-of-massalia/
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
Following Hadrian
Happy
#WorldToiletDay
! 🚽 How the Romans did their business: images of Latrines throughout the Roman world.
followinghadrian.com/2013/05/09/h...
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How the Romans did their business: images of Latrines throughout the Roman world FOLLOWING HADRIAN
In Roman times, toilets were public and convivial places. An epigram from Martial reveals just how public privies were among the most frequented places in the city for socialising: “In omnibu…
https://followinghadrian.com/2013/05/09/how-the-romans-did-their-business-images-of-latrines-throughout-the-roman-world/
about 1 month ago
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#WorldToiletDay
🚽 A single latrine in the Lupanar of Pompeii.
followinghadrian.com/2013/05/09/h...
about 1 month ago
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#WorldToiletDay
🚽 The latrine of the Great Baths complex at Ancient Dion in Greece, constructed for the convenience of visitors to the city and people staying at the nearby guesthouse.
followinghadrian.com/2013/05/09/h...
about 1 month ago
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#WorldToiletDay
🚽 The public latrine in the Agora of Scythopolis in Judaea featured an open, colonnaded, courtyard, a paved floor, and a mosaic floor. The latrine was part of a larger bathhouse complex.
followinghadrian.com/2013/05/09/h...
about 1 month ago
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