Lo, dawning o’er yon mountain greyThe rosy birth-day of May!Glen-Shira knoweth well ‘tis Beltane’s blissful day. — Evan MacColl Summer is a-comin’ in! May 1 is the date of the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, which marks the first day… Read More ›
Celts
The Setantians, Volantians, and Carvetians: The Ancient Celtic Tribes of Northwestern England
Introduction I subscribe to several ancient Roman history groups on Facebook, and on one of these, a conversation arose regarding the Celtic tribes of Britain. Specifically, there was a lot of focus on one tribe in particular – that of… Read More ›
July 19-21 – The Lucaria: The Festival of the Sacred Grove
Photo by Jason R. Abdale (June 29, 2018). Trees are wonderful – most people will agree with that. They provide oxygen for us to breathe, they remove pollution and excess carbon dioxide from the air, they give us shade on… Read More ›
October 15 – The Ludi Capitolini: The Capitoline Games of Ancient Rome
Introduction The ancient Romans named the middle part of each month as the “Ides”, and each of these days was dedicated to Jupiter, King of the Gods. Sometimes, these days were marked for holding special celebrations. The Ides of October,… Read More ›
October 13 – The Fontanalia: The Blessing of the Fountains
Pompeii Street, painted by Eduardo Ettore Forti (1897). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pompeii_Street_by_Ettore_Forti.jpg. By the reign of Caesar Augustus, the city of Rome had a population of a million people. With so many crammed into such a small area, disease was a big problem. Having… Read More ›
October 5 – The Opening of the Pit of the Underworld
Manes, Lares, and Lemures. © Jason R. Abdale (August 21, 2021) “Then I saw an angel coming down from Heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that… Read More ›
August 3 – “Woe to the Vanquished”
On August 3, 390 BC, the unthinkable happened – the city of Rome fell to the barbarians. But first, some background information… After a ten year long civil war, the Roman Republic was officially created in 499 BC. Ever since… Read More ›
Map of the Celtic Tribes of the British Isles, circa 50 BC
Map of the Celtic tribes of the British Isles, circa 50 BC. Abbreviated names listed in alphabetical order: Caer. = Caereni; Carno. = Carnonacae; Dec. = Deceangli; Erd. = Erdini; G. = Gadini; Ive. = Iverni; M. = Manapians; Rhob…. Read More ›
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 