April is the month of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and April 1 was one of several days in the Roman calendar dedicated to her. April is also the month of Apru, the Etruscan goddess of love; her name… Read More ›
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March 31 – The Feast of the Moon
March 31 was the day held in honor of Luna, the divine personification of the Moon. As Ovid says, “The Moon rules the months: this month’s span ends with the worship of the Moon on the Aventine Hill” (Ovid, Fasti,… Read More ›
Tyrannosaurus rex juvenile, two years old
Hello everyone. This is drawing which I made of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex, two years old. The anatomy is based upon the skeletons of juvenile Tarbosaurus (a tyrannosaur from Asia which is closely related to Tyrannosaurus) as well as from… Read More ›
March 25 – The Hilaria: The Festival of Joy
As a famous ancient Roman proverb says, “Don’t worry, be happy”. Well, not really, but that was the general feeling in Rome every March 25th. Why? Because this was the date of a festival called the Hilaria. If this word… Read More ›
March 23 – The Tubilustrium: Hear the Trumpet’s Call
Ancient Roman re-enactors marching at Xanten, Germany. Photograph by Judith Meyer (June 23, 2012). CC0 Creative Commons. March 23 was the date for an ancient Roman festival called the Tubilustrium. This was a day of important social and military significance,… Read More ›
March 19 – The Feast of Minerva
March 19 marked the beginning of the Quinquatria, “the Festival of Five Days”, spanning from March 19 to 23. This was a five day long celebration of the goddess Minerva, the Roman version of the Greek goddess Athena. She was… Read More ›
March 17 – The Feast of Mars
Today is March 17, Saint Patrick’s Day. While people all over the world celebrate everything that it means to be Irish, things would have been different two thousand years ago. Tradition states that Saint Patrick died on March 17, but… Read More ›
March 16 – The Procession to the Argei
By mid-March, Spring had definitely come to central Italy. The weather was getting warmer and the first green shoots were emerging from the soil. It was also a date of important astrological significance. As the poet Ovid states, “When the… Read More ›
March 15 – The Ides of March
La Morte di Cesare (“The Death of Caesar”), painted by Vincenzo Camuccini (1805). Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome, Italy. Beware the Ides of March! Or should you? Well, for Julius Caesar, he certainly had reason to be wary of the… Read More ›
My book “The Great Illyrian Revolt” is on sale – order today
Hello everybody. I am happy to report that I have received hundreds of congratulations messages from people all over the world regarding the publication of my latest history book The Great Illyrian Revolt: Rome’s Forgotten War in the Balkans, AD… Read More ›
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 