The Partial Historians 🏺

Description from Wikimedia Commons: “The peplos-clad woman in this fresco is labeled as an 'offerant', which is appropriate since she's carrying a silver offering tray with herbs, food, and other implements to perform a ritual offering to the gods. Found in the diaetae ('day rooms') facing the gardens at the ancient Villa San Marco, in Stabiae.” This artefact is held by the MAN Napoli, inv. 8890a. Image credit to Chapps.

✨A woman makes an offering✨

This #FrescoFriday we travel to the Villa San Marco in Stabiae to enjoy this beautiful depiction of a woman carrying a tray that has food an implements associated with making a ritual offering.

Photo credit to @chapps.bsky.social ☺️

Your restraint is commendable! Also, what fortunate students!

Great question but sadly I’m not able to confirm the nature of the white stuff 🤣 In other news, Min was associated with a type of lettuce that gave out white sap when the leaves were broken… coincidence, I think not

Very neat and tidy 🤣

This relief shows Min standing before a well-ordered pile of offerings. Any help with what the hieroglyphs say is most welcome! Photo credit to Carole Reeves

✨Fertile Min✨

This #PhallusThursday we step away from ancient Rome (briefly) to visit ancient Egypt. Min was a god venerated since the 4th millennium BCE!

Usually Min is depicted as a male figure with an erect phallus and he holds a flail. In later Greek thinking, Min was associated with Pan.

I do love the story of the legs and the fight to reunite them. Are there illustrations showing Della Porta’s legs as part of the statue?

This sculpture is from the third century CE signed by Glykon and was part of the baths of Caracalla. The sculpture was recovered from the baths in 1546 and became part of the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (hence the name).

#AncientRome #AncientGreece

This statue of Herakles, known as the Farnese Herakles, is thought to have been modelled on a bronze by the famed fourth century BCE Athenian sculptor Lysippos.

Image is a photo of the statue of Herakles at rest carrying fruit in his right hand. The left forearm is restored in plaster. Herakles leans on his club, which has the skin of the Nemean lion draped over it. The sculpture is held by the MAN Napoli.

Like many of the amazing sculptures from ancient Greece, they survive in the legacy of the Romans who are thought to have faithfully reproduced them.

It’s making recording a real nightmare!

Dr G is dressed in a Medusa-style costume while Dr Rad looks to have become frozen as still as a statue! Why is Dr Rad frozen in black and white? Well, only the gods know!

✨The gaze is here✨

Things have taken a turn at the Partial Historians HQ with Dr G transforming into Medusa and Dr Rad frozen in time and space. Let’s hope we can shake off this situation before our next episode release 👀👀

#AncientRome #AncientGreece #Medusa #Mythology

Ooooo yes! Thank you ☺️

Truly - even with such limited colours, this mosaic is quite striking and evocative

Certainly is! This mosaic comes from the Casa di Paquius Proculus in Pompeii ☺️

This is gorgeous!

Doing the celestial work!

This mosaic comes from the Casa di Paquius Proculus in Pompeii. The mosaic depicts a black dog with a red collar chained to a pillar. Also depicted are what look like a labrys (double axe) and a shield and spear.

✨Cave Canem✨

The dogs of ancient Roman were often deployed to guard homes. Mosaics of dogs in guarding roles can be found at the entrances of homes mimicking the guarding function AND potentially offering warning of the real life guard nearby.

#MosaicMonday #AncientRome #History

Oh that is truly horrifying. And for reelection as well - dystopian!

Uh oh!

Basically twins!

More details please!

The Dying Gaul is an ancient Roman marble semi-recumbent statue now in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is a copy of a now lost Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) thought to have been made in bronze.

✨New Episode – The Gallic Sack of Rome – Part 2✨

We rejoin the Romans and the Gauls in 390 BCE at the place where the Tiber river intersects with the Alia river. Turns out that when a bunch of Fabians upset the Gauls, those Gauls decide to march south towards Rome…

It is not the Roman way 🤣

Episode 167 - The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 2 - The Partial Historians - Ancient Roman History with smart ladies The Romans and Gauls meet at the Battle of the Alia in 390 BCE. We explore how the battle ends and what happens in the wake of the clash.

How many Gauls and how many Romans met at the rivers’ edge? Well, the numbers are probably unreliable but the Romans are pretty sure they are outnumbered 👀

Catch all the details here: partialhistorians.com/2025/11/27/e...

#AncientHistory #Podcast

The Dying Gaul is an ancient Roman marble semi-recumbent statue now in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. It is a copy of a now lost Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) thought to have been made in bronze.

✨New Episode – The Gallic Sack of Rome – Part 2✨

We rejoin the Romans and the Gauls in 390 BCE at the place where the Tiber river intersects with the Alia river. Turns out that when a bunch of Fabians upset the Gauls, those Gauls decide to march south towards Rome…

Still on our to be watched list. We’ve heard some good things!

The Haterii are known as a family involved in construction particularly under the Flavians. The building is a funerary monument shaped as a temple.

This piece is held by the Musei Vaticani. Image credit to Dan Diffendale via Flickr.

#ReliefWednesday

Description from the Musei Vaticani: The “relief shows a funerary monument in the form of a small temple: at the top the funeral bier can be seen; on the left appears what seems to be a machine used in its building, a sort of crane which is powered by a large wheel worked by slaves.“

✨ The Tomb of the Haterii ✨

This tomb relief is a special one for the insights it offers about building practices. The crane to the left seems to be the manned by many people (likely enslaved).

Neither of us is a numismatist. I’d trust Prof Yarrow’s expertise on this

Dr Rad holds a sword and is grinning. Dr G is wearing a miniature Roman style helmet, holding a scabbard and looking terrified. Both are wearing sweatshirts and tracksuit pants with Roman inspired armour printed on them.

First of all, we’ve got a brand new episode out later this week 🥳

Second, despite the fact that both of us are dressed up as accurate Roman soldiers (add the asterisks you need here and then move on), we have a serious question for you. Which of us is the Gauls c. 390 BCE in this picture?