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Following Hadrian

@followinghadrian.bsky.social

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Hadrianophile "omnium curiositatum explorator" #Hadrian1900 https://followinghadrian.com/

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · Jun 17

[New Post] Late Spring AD 125 - Hadrian visits Sicily to climb Mount Etna and returns to Rome #Hadrian1900
followinghadrian.com/2025/06/17/l...

Late Spring AD 125 – Hadrian visits Sicily to climb Mount Etna and returns to Rome (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

In the late spring of AD 125, after visiting Delphi and possibly spending some time in Dyrrachium (see here), Hadrian set sail to return to Rome, having completed a four-year journey across the wes…

followinghadrian.com

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 15h

Happy #WorldOctopusDay! 🐙

Fresco from Rome with an octopus clutching a moray eel and a lobster in its tentacles. Dated to the 2nd quarter of the 2nd century AD.
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.

An octopus on the early 4th-century mosaic floor in the Basilica of Aquileia, Italy.

Mycenaean terracotta stirrup jar with octopus 1200-1100 BC.

An octopus battling with a lobster on a mosaic from Pompeii.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 1d

Marble bust of Antinous depicted as Dionysus with a bronze vine wreath on his head.
The bust, found at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, was part of Marquis Giampietro Campana's collection and was regarded as one of his finest sculptures. Emperor Alexander II of Russia bought it in 1861 for the Hermitage.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 2d

Perhaps #OnThisDay in AD 117, Hadrian left Antioch for Rome "by way of Illyricum" (HA Hadr. 5.10). Epigraphy tells us that he reached Mopsucrene in Cilicia on October 13.

I retraced Hadrian's journey in July 2017 as part of my #Hadrian1900 project.
👍 followinghadrian.com/2017/10/13/1...

Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 2d

#MosaicMonday - Mosaic panels from the elaborate mosaic floor in the 8th-century AD Church of St. Stephen in Umm al-Rasas (Jordan) depicting cities near the Jordan River. Esbounta (Hesban), Askalon (Ashkelon), Eleutheropolis (Beit Guvrin), Philadelphia (Amman).

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 7d

Happy 1st day of October!

October takes its name from being the eighth month of the ten-month Roman calendar (octō = eight). October marked the end of both the military and farming seasons. October was under the protection of Mars, the god of war and the protector of agriculture and fertility.

3rd century AD mosaic from Hellin (Spain) showing a helmeted deity riding on a genius with the claws of Scorpio, the zodiac sign starting in October, in his hair. The helmeted deity is clearly associated with Mars, the god of war. On October 19, the Romans celebrated the Armilustrium, a festival for the purification of arms, marking the end of the military campaigning season.

October from the Mosaic with the months of the year from Thysdrus (El Jem). This panel depicts two men facing one another and pointing to a star. According to one theory, it celebrates the birthday of Alexander Severus on October 1 AD 208. It depicts the brilliant star said to have appeared in the sky throughout the day of his birth.

"It is said that on the day after his birth, a star of the first magnitude was visible for the entire day at Arca Caesarea..." The Life of Severus Alexander (13.5)

The mosaic dates to the 1st half of the 3rd century AD. Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia.

Square panel detail of the Monnus Mosaic with the personification of the month of October (Bacchus with thyrsus and wreath). From a Roman domus in Augusta Treverorum (Trier), late 3rd century AD.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 8d

#EpigraphyTuesday - Inscription by soldiers of the legion XIII Gemina at the entrance to the archaeological site of Oudhna, ancient Uthina, in modern-day Tunisia. Uthina was founded by Augustus, who granted the town to the veterans of Legio XIII Gemina as a reward for their services.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 9d

Antinous as Aristaeus, god of the shepherds and bee-keeping (Louvre Museum, Paris). ❤️

This statue was part of the collection of antique sculptures purchased in Rome by Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) for his château in Poitou.

The favourite of Hadrian is here represented as Aristaeus, a minor Greek god, the son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene, known as a benevolent deity of rural and useful arts, such as beekeeping, olive cultivation, sheep herding, and cheese-making.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 9d

[New post] Uthina
followinghadrianphotography.com/2025/09/29/u...

Uthina

The site of Oudhna, ancient Uthina, lies southwest of Tunis in the fertile Wadi Meliane plain. Founded as Colonia Iulia Tertiadecimanorum Uthina by veterans of Augustus’ 13th Legion, it prospered f…

followinghadrianphotography.com

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#AncientSiteSunday - Little Petra, located 6 km north of Petra, was a key stop on the Nabataean caravan route. The 350-metre canyon, mainly carved in the 1st century AD, features rock-cut cultic structures, including temples, cave dwellings and a biclinium decorated with Nabataean wall paintings.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - Silver, partly gold-plated, fibula (disc brooch) with the depiction of the River God Danuvius (Danube). From Vindobona (Roman Vienna), dated to AD 150-250.

Römermuseum, Wien.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - The Danube River in Austria. The Danube is a large and historically important river that flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, originating in the Black Forest, and then flowing southward to the Black Sea. It was a frontier of the Roman Empire.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - Altar dedicated to Rhenus Pater ("Father Rhine") by legatus Augusti Oppius Severus. Dated AD 122-134.

Musée archéologique de Strasbourg, France.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDayWorldRiversDay - Stone sculpture of the River god Rhenus (Rhine), part of a tomb from the 2nd century AD.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - The Rhine River in Germany, a major European waterway flowing 1,232 km from its source in the Swiss Alps to the North Sea. The name "Rhine" comes from the Gaulish name Rēnos, which was adapted into Latin as Rhenus during the Roman period.

Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - Statue from Hadrian's Villa of the Tiber River with Romulus and Remus, an allegory of the river that waters the city of Rome. The Tiber is depicted as a middle-aged man, bearded and reclining, in accordance with the typical pattern for representations of river gods.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

#WorldRiversDay - The river-god Euphrates depicted as a reclining man leaning on a vase/jar from which the water flows. Mosaic from Zeugma, dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD.

Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Gaziantep, Turkey.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 10d

Marking #WorldRiversDay with photos of the Euphrates River in Turkey.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

followinghadrianphotography.com/2025/09/24/m...

Mactaris (Makthar)

The archaeological site of Makthar (Mactaris) is situated on a high plateau in central western Tunisia, on the northern edge of the Tunisian ridge. Originally a 5th-century BC Numidian settlement, …

followinghadrianphotography.com

Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

#RomanSiteSaturday - The New Forum of Mactaris (Makthar, Tunisia), a stone-paved square, laid out in the 2nd century AD. Porticoes on three sides surrounded the 1,500 m² forum square, and an arch dedicated to Trajan formed its entrance. In one corner of the forum is a small market square (macellum).

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

#WorldTourismDay ✈️
Exploring Mount Nemrut - A Meeting Point Between East & West
www.worldhistory.org/article/1589...

Exploring Mount Nemrut - A Meeting Point Between East & West

Set within the Anti-Taurus mountain range in southeastern Turkey, beyond the borders of Adiyaman, is the archaeological wonder of Mount Nemrut. Forgotten for centuries, the spellbinding peak of Nemrut...

www.worldhistory.org

Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

#WorldTourismDay ✈️
Top 10 Sights along Hadrian's Wall
www.worldhistory.org/article/2074...

Top 10 Sights along Hadrian's Wall

The 1,900th anniversary of the visit of the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE) to Britain and the construction of the wall that bears his name will be observed in 2022. A year-long festival will...

www.worldhistory.org

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

#WorldTourismDay ✈️
Exploring Western Crete's Archaeological Treasures
www.worldhistory.org/article/1391...

Exploring Western Crete's Archaeological Treasures

As the cradle of European civilization and a meeting place of diverse cultures, Crete is a magical island that stands apart in the heart of the Mediterranean sea. Its prominent place in world history....

www.worldhistory.org

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 11d

#WorldTourismDay ✈️
Ancient Cyprus: A Travel Guide
www.worldhistory.org/article/1351...

Ancient Cyprus: A Travel Guide

Lying at the crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean, the island of Cyprus has long been a meeting point for many of the world's great civilizations. Situated where Europe, Asia and Africa meet, its.....

www.worldhistory.org

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 12d

#OnThisDay in 46 BC, Julius Caesar dedicated the Temple of Venus Genetrix in Rome to Venus, the mythical ancestor of his family, fulfilling a vow he had made at the Battle of Pharsalus in Central Greece.

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Following Hadrian @followinghadrian.bsky.social · 12d

#FrescoFriday - Fresco depicting a Cupid hunting. From the cryptoporticus of the House of the Deer in Herculaneum.

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