Emperor Worship at Herculaneum Part 2

In a previous post I shared some images and thoughts on what I believe is the only completely preserved building dedicated to the worship of Roman Emperors in the First Century A.D.  I want to complete the posting of images from the main room where the statue of the Emperor was located.  In these two frescos, the Emperor is portrayed as the mythical hero Hercules!

On the left is Hercules with his club, lion’s skin, and a bow and arrows.

View looking at the north wall of the cult room of the Sacellum (chapel) of the Augustales (priests in charge of Emperor Worship).  The central panel is flanked by two slender spirally fluted columns.  It appears that there is an attempt to portray this central panel as a hanging tapestry.  On the left is Hercules with his club, lion’s skin, and a bow and arrows.  The nude figure next to him is a river deity that is attempting to snatch away Hercules’ wife, Deianeira.  Hercules is about to rescue her!  Tuck suggests that this is a metaphor for the Emperor as Hercules who protects/rescues his people.

Flanking the central piece are “windows” that look out on to the world.  Note especially the two chariots with horses in the upper two corners.

Hercules, without club or lion’s skin, is sitting nude. The female in the foreground is the deity Minerva and in the back, between the two of them, is Zeus’s wife, Hera.

View looking at the south wall of the cult room of the Sacellum (chapel) of the Augustales (priests in charge of Emperor Worship).  The central panel is flanked by two slender spirally fluted columns.  It appears that there is an attempt to portray this central panel as a hanging tapestry.  Hercules, without club or lion’s skin, is sitting nude.  The female in the foreground is the deity Minerva and in the back, between the two of them, is Zeus’s wife, Hera.  Tuck believes that this is a representation of Hercules about to be taken up to be with the gods (= apotheosis) and that he and Hera are here reconciled—Hera had attempted to kill him.  Tuck believes that this is a metaphor for the apotheosis (- ascension?) of the Emperor—being represented as Hercules.  In other words, Vespasian, like Emperors before him, was taken to be with the gods—and thus became a god!  And of course, the Emperor’s successor (even if adopted), would be “a son of god.”

To view 6 images of this important room Click Here.

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Professor Tuck (see below) suggests that this room was renovated shortly after the death of Vespasian in A.D. 79, early in the reign of Titus—which implies that the room was soon buried by the pyroclastic flow from Vesuvius—ca. 24 August 79.

I am indebted to the explanatory comments of Steven L. Tuck in his engaging “Worshipping the Emperors at Herculaneum,” Lecture 21 in Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City.  Produced by the Great Courses/The Teaching Company, Course No. 3742, 2010.

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Paul’s Shipwreck on Malta — Part 4 — “sensed they were approaching land”

In the book of Acts we read that after spending fourteen days in a storm at sea, at midnight

Acts 27:27  . . . the sailors sensed they were approaching land.  28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.

What is a “sounding?”  A “sounding” is where sailors lower weights into the water and let them sink to the bottom to measure the depth of the water.

Ancient Sounding Weights from the Mediterranean Coast of Israel. On display in the museum near the archaeological site of Tel Dor, Israel.

Sounding weights served to measure the depth of the water and to check the type of sediment at the sea bottom. This was done in order to identify anchoring areas as well as fishing grounds. Their upper part is perforated for the attachment of a sounding line, and on the bottom is a cavity (tallow cup), smeared with grease, for sampling the sea bottom.

 

“found it was ninety feet deep”

28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep.

Note that Gatt found his Isis – Sarapis anchor stock in about 118 feet of water—which fits reasonably well with the Acts 27:28 passage, as do the location of the anchor stocks and artifacts found by Scicluna (on the map above = “Ancient Anchors + Artifacts).”

Acts 27:38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

This would also have been the are where some (much) of the cargo was tossed into the sea to lighten the ship—but not the actual place of the shipwreck.

The TWO Ships that Paul Traveled On

A model of a Roman Merchant Ship of the first century A.D. that is on display in the Malta Maritime Museum.

Roman Cargo ships were rounded vessels with a forward-leaning fore–post, a high stern and a high bent stern post that was often decorated in the form of a swan’s neck.  To view a large, but less than full, modern reconstruction of such a coastal cargo ship see Here.

It should be remembered that on his way from Caesarea to Rome Paul traveled on two ships.

The first was a “coastal vessel:”

Acts 27:2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.

This was evidently a NOT a large Alexandrian Grain ship, but rather a smaller vessel (like the model above) that carried goods from port to port stopping at many ports along the way.  Note that Paul’s vessel stopped at Sidon before proceeding to Myra (port Andriace).

It was there at Myra/Andriace that the party boarded a second ship—a much larger “Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy” (Acts 27:6)—the one that carried grain PLUS 276 passengers and was headed straight to Italy!  Some of the Alexandrian Grain Ships were at least 180 feet long and could carry tons of cargo: wheat, oil, wine, grinders, statues, etc.!  This is the type that was shipwrecked on Malta.

Although many ancient shipwrecks have been discovered, I don’t think the remains of an Alexandrian Grain Ship has been found.  All the discovered wrecks are vessels that plied the ports along the coastlines and the various islands.

A Photo Resource for 2 Samuel

Todd Bolen recently released another volume in his series Photo Companion to the Bible. This time for Second Samuel. It contains 2,900 slides that illustrate the book, chapter by chapter. They are in PowerPoint format and contain ancient sites, artifacts, and cultural scenes. In addition, there is very useful descriptive commentary on each photo as well as interpretative graphics on some of them.

This “volume” will be useful for instruction as well as for personal Bible Study. Highly recommended!

It is on sale for a limited time for $39.00. Click HERE for details.

Athens: The Acropolis Museum Online

In my opinion, the most beautiful museum in Athens is The New Acropolis Museum” which is “world-class” not only in its design and presentation but also in its contents.  It contains over 4,250 objects that were found on or near the acropolis.  A good number of these are so famous that they appear in almost all western Art History books.

Looking down, from the top of the Acropolis, on to the New Acropolis Museum in Athens

Visitors to Athens have a limited time to spend in its museums.  How much of can you absorb in a museum such as this one in say a 2-hour visit?

Well, the Greeks have come to the rescue!  The New Acropolis Museum in Athens has launched a new sophisticated online platform featuring artifacts from its permanent collection as well as information about its temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and more.  This digital collection includes over 2,156 artifacts with extensive descriptions, photographs, bibliographies, etc.

On its home page, it features 60 “highlights!” — some of the most famous objects in the collection.  Included under each there are several clear photographs and authoritative descriptions of the object.

The “Calf-Bearer”—or Moscophors found on the acropolis. 5 ft. 5 in high.

Among them, for example, is the famous “Calf-Bearer” (image above while in the old museum).  It is a statue depicting someone (Rhombos?) bringing a lamb as a sacrifice to the goddess Athena—dated to 570 BC!  [maybe we should not think of many, somewhat similar statues from the Christian era as “Good Shepherd” statues?]  Click here to view and read the museum commentary on this object.

IMHO — there is much to learn from this website.  Enjoy!

Personal “New Year’s Resolution” — to avoid “indigestion,” I have bookmarked the museum website and plan on reading about one object each day until I get through the 60!

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How did they move the precious objects from the top of the acropolis down to the new museum?  Using three Tower-Cranes, of course!

Two of the three Tower-Cranes used to move the precious artifacts from the top of the acropolis down to the New Acropolis Museum.  January 2009.

This is a view looking west-northwest at two of the three tower-cranes that were used to move objects from the Old Acropolis Museum to the New Acropolis Museum. The old museum was located on the summit of the acropolis in the area just behind where the white crane is located. The new museum is located off the lower left side of the image but is not visible in the photograph (see image above).

The white tower-crane fetched objects from the top of the acropolis, pivoted, and then they were transferred to the second, orange, tower-crane. The orange tower-crane, in the middle of the image, pivoted and transferred the objects to the third crane, not visible, which was off the left side of the image. The third tower-crane pivoted and the objects were deposited into the new museum. The distance covered was approximately 310 yards—using the three tower-cranes.

This picture was taken in January 2009. The whole process of transferring the objects took four months.

Nazareth: Perfect Crusader Capitals — Scenes from the Gospels and Acts

One of the places in Nazareth that is rarely visited is the Archaeology Museum of Nazareth.  It is actually located below the plaza on to which visitors to the Church of the Annunciation exit!  Of the displays, pride of place must go to the five capitals of the crusade era, unearthed by Father Viaud at the beginning of the 1800s, in a grotto dug to the north of the crusade Basilica, close to the grotto of worship.

View of the only rectangular capital called the “Fides–Ecclesia.” Click on Images to Enlarge and/or Download.

The central capital shows a scene that has been open to several interpretations and represents a crowned woman holding a cross, while she travels to the left accompanied by a barefoot man among figures of the devil.
Some academics see the scene as the Byzantine theme of the liberation of Adam through the decent of Christ to the underworld. On the other hand, others identify the crowned woman with the Church Mother, holding the hand of an apostle, helping him to stand up to temptations, represented by the demons armed with bows and ready to shoot their arrows.

The capitals are made of high quality “sultan” stone.  The background surface is rough while the figures are very smooth.  The five, apparently unused, capitals from the Crusader Period depict episodes from the canonical apostles and from apocryphal writings regarding the life of the apostles.

View of one of the four octagonal capitals called the “Capital of Saint Peter.”

This capital represents two images of scenes from the life of the apostle Peter, taken from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.
The three arches on the right in all likelihood represents the episode of the apparition of Jesus to the apostles, after the resurrection, at the lake of Tiberias. Peter, throwing himself from the boat to reach the shore, holds his hand out to Jesus, who is calling him. Below the three left arches there is a scene of the resurrection of the disciple Tabitha, in the city of Jaffa, by the hand of Peter, as told in the Acts of the Apostles. The apostle lifts the disciple from her deathbed, while three witnesses observe the prodigious miracle.

View of one of the four octagonal capitals called the “Capital of Saint Thomas.”

This capital is one of the four octagonal capitals. Below six arches, a unique scene is depicted, narrating the episode of the meeting between Saint Thomas and Jesus Christ, after the resurrection.
Thomas, absent at the time of the first apparition, is put to the test by Jesus who is showing the apostle the wound on his ribs, which Thomas had previously not believed in when hearing the take from the other apostles.
Christ is recognizable by the halo and the cross. The other saints present at the scene are the apostles: among these can be noted Peter, to the right of Christ and the brothers James and John in the arch on the left [not visible in image].

 

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The Crusader Period in the Holy Land is from 1099 until 1291.  However, after the battle of the Horns of Hattin on July 4, 1187 the rule of the Crusaders was doomed.

Gezer Standing Stones

In Israel, Gezer is exciting site visit.  One of its features is an unusual assemblage of large Standing Stones that R.A.S. Macalister found.

View looking northeast at 7 of the 10 standing stones that were excavated by Macalister (early 1900’s) and re-excavated by Dever (in the 1960’s).

They date to the Middle Bronze II Period (ca. 1800—1550 B.C.).   On the left side of the image the square basin, carved out on the top, which may have formed the base into which a standard was placed.

Image courtesy of the Palestine Exploration Fund. This is what the standing stones looked like when excavated by Macalister.

Macalister covered up what he had found because he was afraid, probably correctly, that the locals might recycle (euphemism) the materials to use in their own construction projects.

The function of these stones is not certain, but it has plausibly been suggested that they were set up by 10 tribes (one for each tribe) who made a treaty (covenant) among themselves, and that these stones were set up as a memorial/witness to commemorate that treaty.

Note how the Israelites set up stones at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:1–8) in a covenant establishing context:

24:1    Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance,  2 but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

3     When Moses went and told the people all the LORD’S words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the LORD has said we will do.”  4 Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said.    He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD.  6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.  7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.”

8     Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (NIV)

And at a covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem (Josh 24:26–28) a stone was set up as a “witness:”

Joshua 24:26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD.

27     “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

28     Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.

To view additional image of Gezer (including the original Gezer Calendar; the MB II gate; the water system; etc.) Click Here without obligation.

Domus Galilaeae — Near Korazin

Visitors to Israel will often stop at the Second Temple/Talmudic site of Korazin (Chorazin: Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13) where an impressive basalt synagogue has been partially reconstructed.  To the west of Korazin, on the south side of route 8277 is beautiful is a Roman Catholic retreat center known as Domus Galilaeae.  It opened in 2000 and was blessed by Pope John Paul II.  It is generally not open to visitors so I thought I would share a few of my images of the place.

View from the patio of Domus Galilaeae of Jesus teaching his disciples
In the background is the Sea of Galilee — 3 mi. distant

The main chapel of Domus Galilaeae

Library Reading Area
Inside of the beautiful deep blue plexiglass reading area
Note the desk and in the center is a scroll of scripture

To view additional images of the retreat center Click Here.

How Can We Live to Please God? (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)

Source: How Can We Live to Please God? (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)  Long reminds us of some very important truths!  Please also take time to open 1 Thess 4 and read this passage in context.

Nazareth: Perfect Crusader Capitals — Scenes from the Gospels and Acts

One of the places in Nazareth that is rarely visited is the Archaeology Museum of Nazareth.  It is actually located below the plaza on to which visitors to the Church of the Annunciation exit!  Of the displays, pride of place must go to the five capitals of the crusade era, unearthed by Father Viaud at the beginning of the 1800s, in a grotto dug to the north of the crusade Basilica, close to the grotto of worship.

View of the only rectangular capital called the “Fides–Ecclesia.” Click on Images to Enlarge and/or Download.

The central capital shows a scene that has been open to several interpretations and represents a crowned woman holding a cross, while she travels to the left accompanied by a barefoot man among figures of the devil.
Some academics see the scene as the Byzantine theme of the liberation of Adam through the decent of Christ to the underworld. On the other hand, others identify the crowned woman with the Church Mother, holding the hand of an apostle, helping him to stand up to temptations, represented by the demons armed with bows and ready to shoot their arrows.

The capitals are made of high quality “sultan” stone.  The background surface is rough while the figures are very smooth.  The five, apparently unused, capitals from the Crusader Period depict episodes from the canonical apostles and from apocryphal writings regarding the life of the apostles.

View of one of the four octagonal capitals called the “Capital of Saint Peter.”

This capital represents two images of scenes from the life of the apostle Peter, taken from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.
The three arches on the right in all likelihood represents the episode of the apparition of Jesus to the apostles, after the resurrection, at the lake of Tiberias. Peter, throwing himself from the boat to reach the shore, holds his hand out to Jesus, who is calling him. Below the three left arches there is a scene of the resurrection of the disciple Tabitha, in the city of Jaffa, by the hand of Peter, as told in the Acts of the Apostles. The apostle lifts the disciple from her deathbed, while three witnesses observe the prodigious miracle.

View of one of the four octagonal capitals called the “Capital of Saint Thomas.”

This capital is one of the four octagonal capitals. Below six arches, a unique scene is depicted, narrating the episode of the meeting between Saint Thomas and Jesus Christ, after the resurrection.
Thomas, absent at the time of the first apparition, is put to the test by Jesus who is showing the apostle the wound on his ribs, which Thomas had previously not believed in when hearing the take from the other apostles.
Christ is recognizable by the halo and the cross. The other saints present at the scene are the apostles: among these can be noted Peter, to the right of Christ and the brothers James and John in the arch on the left [not visible in image].

Most of the above information is from the Custodia Terrae Sanctae: Sanctuary Nazareth.

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The Crusader Period in the Holy Land is from 1099 until 1291.  However, after the battle of the Horns of Hattin on July 4, 1187 the rule of the Crusaders was doomed.

When Christians Were Atheists

A succinct 5 minute read on the interface of Early Christians with their cultural context. Well worth much more than 5 minutes of study.

Larry Hurtado's Blog

Early Christians were atheists! At least, that’s how some people of the time viewed them in the earliest centuries, and it’s not difficult to see why. Most importantly, they refused to worship the traditional gods. But also, judged by Roman-era criteria, they didn’t even seem to practice a recognizable form of religion. In the crucial first couple of centuries at least, they had no shrines or temples, no altars or images, and no sacrificial rites or priesthood.[1]

Granted, early Christians were accused of various things. There were the wild claims that Christians engaged in cannibalism and sexual orgies, claims that circulated mainly among the rabble. More sophisticated critics, however, portrayed them as deeply subversive of the social, religious, and political structures of the Roman world. One of the other labels hurled against Christianity was that it was a superstitio, a Latin term that designated bad religion, the kind…

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