The Partial Historians🏺

Dear beautiful listeners, we’re on lots of social media platforms and look forward to connecting with you on them. Hope to catch you on another corner of the internet ☺️

#ClassicalReception ‘A Coign of Vantage’ (1895) by Lawrence Alma Tadema. The imagined scene shows elite women gathered at a great height gazing down at the vessels on the water far below or out towards some far (presumably azure) horizon.

For #MosaicMonday we're back at the #LateranBaptistery in #Rome to look closely at the gorgeously restored C5 #mosaic of one of the apses of the entrance porch. Some think that the strange central element refers to the lance of St Longinus, but I'm not having it.

#SpoliaSunday this week leads us through the hordes in the #Colosseum in #Rome to find a quiet corner devoted to #spolia in the #Flavian #amphitheatre. Part of the marble seating was prised up, its top hollowed out to serve as a container for holy water in a now-lost church.

#MosaicMonday This mosaic appears to be a portrait and is thought to date to the early-mid imperial period. Maybe it’s the neatness of the piece but I’m curious about full provenance which is not provided by the Brooklyn Museum.

In case you missed it… Here are some of the stats from our upcoming book. We’ve platformed 117 writers, 79.5% of whom identified as working class, and 81.2% went to a state school. For many, this is their first physical publication. We’re so proud of them all!

Seeing as everyone is loving Greek archaeology, how about we delve into one of my favourite topics- SCULPTURE! Greek sculpture had a massive impact on the evolution of art, but not many people know how it developed or who the main artists were. So, let’s dive into it! 🧵1/

ANNOUNCING... A Periodic Table of Greek Mythology - our first book! 🎉 📅Available 5th Feb 2025 (but you can preorder now) 🤝 In collaboration with @contubernales2 ✍️ 117 different writers 🖼️ Periodic Table Poster by @drcorabeth 👇 Read more...

#FrescoFriday Hera and Zeus decide to make a go of things with a wedding. Let’s not ruin the magic of their special day by telling them just how things are going to turn out! 📍House of the Tragic Poet, Pompeii 🏛️MAN Napoli 📸@chapps

#ReliefWednesday takes us all over #Rome, from the #CentraleMontemartini where this splendid relief is displayed, to the #Colosseum where it was discovered, and possibly all the way to the #theatre of #Balbus from which it originated. The indifferent ferocity of the lime kilns.

Wishing you and yours a very happy #NYE and all the very best for the year ahead! Yes, the ancient Romans had quite a different calendar. The early Romans started their year around March and dabbled in a ten-month cycle.

#MosaicMonday brings us (📸 CSR Restauro Beni Culturali) back under the #BathsofTrajan in #Rome to see a marvel discovered in 2011, a detail of a huge wall #mosaic, probably #Flavian, from the exterior of a large public building buried by order of #Trajan.

#SpoliaSunday takes us back to the golden days of #spolia in the early #Renaissance in #Rome, when if you were an important #cardinal you could override the civic authorities and use even the most prestigious ancient sites as your own private #marble quarry.

#MosaicMonday Well, we’re deep within a period of feasting and we hope you too are breaking bread and relaxing in the company of good people. This C2nd CE mosaic comes from a villa at Tor Marancia, near the Catacombs of Domitilla. A good feast was the Roman way as well!

💫New Episode ~ From Delphi, with Love💫 In 398 BCE the Romans have received some worrying signs from the gods. What could this mean for their fortunes in the ongoing siege against Veii? As the year rolls over into 397, Rome decides they need answers! partialhistorians.com/2024/12/26/epi…

For #EpigraphyTuesday something not related to Christmas Eve, because I'm sick of the whole holiday already: a beautiful late #JulioClaudian #inscription from #Pompeii, now in #Naples, with its own tiny history of a nobleman's downfall.

This #MosaicMonday we recognise the recent passage of the winter solstice (for those in the north) and the summer solstice (for us in the hot antipodes). This depiction of winter is looking somewhat grumpy and we hope their days (and yours!) are looking better soon ☀️