"LITTLE POMPEII" IN FRANCE YIELDS STUNNING MOSAICS

A “little Pompeii” is how French archaeologists are describing an entire ancient Roman neighbourhood uncovered on the outskirts of the southeastern city of Vienne, featuring remarkably preserved remains of luxury homes and public buildings.

“We’re unbelievably lucky. This is undoubtedly the most exceptional excavation of a Roman site in 40 or 50 years,” said Benjamin Clement, the archaeologist leading the dig on the banks of the Rhone river, about 18 miles (30km) south of Lyon.

The city of Vienne – famous for its Roman hippodrome (above) and theatre and temple – was an important hub on the route connecting northern Gaul with the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis in south-eastern France.

The site unearthed on land awaiting construction of a housing complex covers an area of nearly 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) – an unusually large discovery in an urban area that has been labelled an “exceptional find” by the French culture ministry.

The neighbourhood, which contains homes dating to the 1st century AD, is believed to have been inhabited for 300 years before being abandoned after a series of fires.

Many of the objects in place when the inhabitants fled were conserved, transforming the area into a “real little Pompeii in Vienne”, according to Clement, referring to the Roman city-state that was largely preserved after being buried by volcanic ash.

Among the structures to have partly survived are an imposing home dubbed the Bacchanalian House after a tiled floor depicting a procession of maenads (female followers of the god of wine, known as Dionysus or Bacchus) and joyful half-man, half-goat creatures known as satyrs.

A blaze consumed the first floor, roof and balcony of the sumptuous home, which boasted balustrades, marble tiling, expansive gardens and a water supply system, but parts of the collapsed structure survived.

The archaeologists believe the house belonged to a wealthy merchant.

"We will be able to restore this house from the floor to the ceiling,” Clement said.

In another house, an exquisite mosaic depicts a bare-bottomed Thalia, muse and patron of comedy, being kidnapped by a lustful Pan, god of the satyrs.

The mosaics are being removed with infinite care and taken away to be restored, with a view to being exhibited in Vienne’s museum of Gallo-Roman civilisation in 2019.

Among the other finds are a large public building with a fountain adorned by a statue of Hercules, built at the site of a former market. Clement believes it may have housed a philosophy school.

VIVACIOUS, ANDROGYNOUS PETE BURNS IS A SAINT OF ANTINOUS

PETE BURNS, the vivacious and androgynous frontman for British pop and New Wave band Dead or Alive, is a saint of Antinous.

Born 5th August 1959, he died 22 October 2016 from cardiac arrest at age 57.

Dead or Alive's biggest hit was also its first ... "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" ... which charted around the world and peaked at No. 11 in the U.S. in 1985. 

The band, known as much for its proto-Goth style as its music, had a handful of lesser hits including "Brand New Lover" and "Something in My House."

Burns, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, went through extensive rounds of plastic surgery around that time and significantly altered his appearance.

He talked openly about his ever-changing looks in interviews and a television special. 

At one point he won a significant settlement from his surgeon for a lip procedure gone wrong.

Burns was married to Lynne Corlett in 1980, and the two separated in 2006. A short time later he married Michael Simpson, a union that lasted less than a year.

"He was a true visionary, a beautiful talented soul, and he will be missed by all who loved and appreciated everything he was and all of the wonderful memories the has left us with," said Priest Uendi in nominating him for sainthood.

"He was a visionary artist and all of his fans are devastated by the loss of this special star who will inspire millions forever," she added. "He never conformed to gender rules. He inspired a generation of people to be all that they could be and to settle for nothing less than their ultimate goal."

GERMAN SCIENTISTS ARE AFRAID TO DECANT THIS BOTTLE OF ANCIENT ROMAN RED WINE

SCIENTISTS in Germany would love to decant a bottle of Ancient Roman red wine which has been aging for more than 1,600 years ... but they are afraid to open the bottle.

The sealed glass bottle was found in a Roman tomb in 1867 and put on display at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in the western German city of Speyer.

Museum directors fear that a moment's carelessness could shatter the bottle, destroying its priceless content. Though scientists would like to test it to figure out exactly how old the wine is and where it comes from, as well as perhaps seeing how it tastes – cracking it open is out of the question. 

"It's not clear what would happen if air gets into the wine," said Ludger Tekampe, who heads the department responsible for storing it. 

There's also the danger that, after all this time, it could have become poisonous, although scientists suspect the alcohol would not be dangerous, but just taste disgusting.

In any event, the ultra-old wine has survived a lot, including ancient drinkers, handling on its way to the museum, and two world wars, with nary a problem. 

Tekampe said he hasn't observed any changes in the wine or its container in his 25 years at the museum, the bottle appears to have been carefully constructed by the Romans to prevent the wine from decomposing.

"The content is remarkably stable," Tekampe said. 

Still he's the only one who handles the bottle. Everyone else is just too afraid.

"I held the bottle in my hand twice during renovations. It was a strange feeling," Tekampe said.

SUPPLICIA CANUM IS THE DAY WHEN ROMAN DOGS WERE PUNISHED

THE 3rd of August is the day when Ancient Romans would truss up a live dog spreadeagle on a cross and carry it through the streets of the Eternal City ... as an admonition to other dogs not to fall asleep on guard duty. In the same procession, geese were decked out in gold and purple, and carried in honor ... for saving Rome from the Gauls in 390 BC.

This was the "supplicia canum" ... roughly "let this be a lesson to all dogs."

Romans generally loved dogs and even erected tombs to them (see photo) but the Gallic Siege of Rome so traumatized Romans that they never forgot how guard dogs let them down ... and how a flock of sacred geese saved the city.

The Gauls had not only crossed the Rubicon, they had also defeated a Roman legion led by a swaggering but inept general ... and marched on Rome in June 390 BC.

Residents of the city fled in disarray ... all able-bodied residents, that is.

The elderly, invalids, the infirm and women heavy with child were led up the steep slope of the Capitoline Hill by the few brave soldiers who had stayed behind ... to the temples of Jupiter and Juno, where priests shared their accommodations and foodstuffs.

Among the huddled humanity atop the hill were the Vestal Virgins who ... of course ... were sworn never to leave the city lest the Sacred Flame go out.

Amidst the mad scramble up the hill ... the Gauls battering down the gates of the city ... the Vestal Virgins had maintained a modicum of decorum and had solemnly brought the Sacred Flame with them, chanting and burning incense as everyone else panicked.

The Gauls took their time sacking the city ... content in the knowledge that sooner or later the defenders atop the hill would relent from hunger and thirst ... upon which time the temple treasures would be theirs for the taking.

Indeed, food and water were quickly gone as the siege stretched into the final days of July 390 BC.

Everyone was dying of hunger and thirst ... except for the Sacred Flock of Geese at the Temple of Juno who continued to be pampered with grain and water by the priestesses.

The mob eyed the fat geese greedily ... but the priestesses stood firm ... reminding them that Juno would protect the city only as long as the city protected her Sacred Geese.

Things looked dire when, on the night before the 3rd of August 390 BC, the besieged refugees were so weak that they fell into a stupor ... they were dying ... and the Gauls saw that their chance had arrived.

The Gauls stealthily scaled the undefended Tarpeian Rock side of the hill ... content in the knowledge that the Roman guards and even the watch dogs had fallen asleep.

But the Gauls hadn't counted on the Sacred Geese ... who squawked loud enough to wake the dead ... and roused the guards, who quickly hurled the invaders from their siege ladders.

As dawn broke, the defenders saw clouds of dust on the horizon ... every available legion from the provinces was rushing to defend Mother Rome.

This time it was the Gauls who retreated in disarray ... dropping most of their loot and fleeing in disarray.

By nightfall, Roman soldiers had retaken the city and were feeding the starving residents ... and the Vestal Virgins were putting the Sacred Flame back into its temple niche in the Forum temple.

The defenders were henceforth heralded as heroes of Rome ....

... all except for the night watchmen and the guard dogs ... who were hurled from the Tarpeian Rock to their deaths.

Every August 3rd after that the Sacred Geese were honored ... and a dog was symbolically crucified.

A BROKEN ANTINOUS CALLS TO US FROM A SHATTERED SYRIA By Flamen Antonius Subia

WITH the beginning of August we enter the second year of the sacred peregrination cycle, which is a recurring 3-year cycle commemorating the journey of Antinous and Hadrian through the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire. 

It is at this time that we believe the Imperial Entourage arrived at the ancient city of Antioch, founded by Seleuces I Nicanor, one of Alexander's generals and the founder of the Hellenistic kingdom of Seleucia. 

Antioch was the greatest city in the province of Syria during the Roman age, and was the command center from which Trajan conducted his war against the Parthians. It is very likely that Hadrian would have based his court at Antioch during his visit to Syria making excursions throughout the province. 

Antioch is known as the cradle of Christianity, because it was where the majority of Hellenized Jews lived at the time, those who had embraced the Hellenic culture of the previous Seleucid empire, and then of the Romans, and had essentially created a culture with both Greek and Jewish influence, these were of course the first to embrace Christianity. 

This had taken place only over the course of 100 years before, so Antioch was a city full of mixed cultures and cults and beliefs, but it was in Antioch that Hadrian and Antinous may have first encountered significant opposition and ridicule to their relationship from the Christian factions. 

After traversing the deeply Hellenic provinces of Asia Minor, who loved and adored Hadrian, even proclaiming him to be the living Zeus, and lavishing adoration upon his beautiful young Ganymede, it must have come as a shock to be reviled and openly insulted by the Hellenized Jews and early Christians of Antioch. 

For us, Antioch represents the first serious encounter with Homophobia that they have even experienced. There was of course, so much more to come as they progressed deeper towards Jerusalem.

It is significant that now, Syria is in a state of total chaos and war, based on the very same ideological beliefs that were growing in Antioch at that time. The war in Syria has the potential to bring the entire world into global disaster, as if Trajan's conflict has never ended.

But Syria for us, for gay people, represents something new. Apart from the many horrors and atrocities that have been committed there, like genocide, mass executions, sex slavery, public burning alive, and stoning, there is a new form of execution reserved for gay people, which is throwing us from the top of a high building..and if that does not kill us, then we are to be killed with stones. 

This is new and it is happening now.

Antinous was there!

He walked upon the now contested ground of Syria where gay men are thrown from rooftops.

I am probably the least disturbed person by all the violence that is occurring now against our people across the world, because many years ago, in 2004 I think it was, Antinous revealed to me in a bath ceremony, that the greatest holocaust that gay people have ever known was coming. 

It began almost immediately afterwards, when they hung the two boys in Iran, but it has grown exponentially since then and we are only in the start of it...there will be much worse to come.

The irony is that it all began when Antinous set foot in Syria.

Recently there was an auction of an Antinous bust that sold for $28 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for an ancient bust...but of course it was for Antinous. And it was not just any Antinous, but the only image of Antinous with his name engraved upon it. 

The engraving says:

ANTINOO HEROON
M. LUCIUS FLACCUS

Or: Dedicated to Antinous the Hero by Marcus Lucius Flaccus

It was found in the now disputed Golan Heights region of Syria and has been owned by privately since the British occupation.

It made celebrity news for an antiquities sale, because of course it is Antinous.

Taken from the same land where so many gay people are being tortured and executed...with no realistic end in sight, the bust has vanished again into private hands...but it is one of the few Antinous images from the tumultuous middle-east, and even broken it is one of the most precious and significant, the one and only Antinous image with his name carved onto it and the name of the believer, our brother from ancient times who had it made!

This is what the beginning of the Second year of the Peregrination cycle means to us now:

It means entry into the darkness and suffering that we must not turn away from, but with the sign that Antinous was there, and that his believers were among the same people and that there is hope, there is even word of an LGBTQ group of soldiers who have banded together under the rainbow flag (photo above left).

May Antinous of Antioch be with them and with all of us in our struggle.

~ANTONIUS SUBIA
Flamen Antinoalis

YOU CAN COPY BRITISH MUSEUM TREASURES THROUGH 3-D PRINTING

LONDON's British Museum is about to revolutionize the gift shop experience by allowing visitors to download and 3-D print replicas of its priceless antiques and artifacts ... including the famous Townley bust of Antinous as Dionysus shown above.

You can now buy a resin replica of the bust from the Museum's Grenville Shop or ONLINE for £300.

Given the size of the museum's collection it will hopefully be posting hundreds of artifacts for visitors to download and 3D print.

But for now there are just 14 3D models available in the first batch (pictured above).

They are offered on Sketchfab, including everything from a bust of Amenemhat III, an iconic Hoa Hakananai'a statue from Easter Island, and even an Egyptian granite sarcophagus—although you'll have to settle for a plastic version if you're making a copy at home with your 3D printer. [Sketchfab via SlashGear]

ANTINOUS AND HADRIAN ENTER THE GOLDEN CITY OF ANTIOCH

ANTIOCH was called the "golden" city because of its wealth and gilded architecture and statuary.

On August 1st the Religion of Antinous commemorates the entry of Hadrian and Antinous into Antioch. It was founded by one of the generals of Alexander the Great, who reportedly had camped on the site and said it would be a good location for a great city.

Indeed it was, and Antioch rivaled Alexandria as the most important city in the Eastern Empire.

The emperors preferred Antioch. Julius Caesar visited the city. Tiberius and others showered favors on Antioch because it was far more strategically important than Alexandria.

Alexandria was between the desert and the sea. Antioch was at the crossroads of major trading routes and military roads.

Antioch was a pure Hellenistic city refounded by Augustus in 25 BC as a Roman colony. Hadrian felt very much at home here in this Hellenistic atmosphere.

Antioch was to be the base of Hadrian's Imperial administration until early spring of 130. This prolonged stay was spent visiting the regions of Syria. Starting with Antioch, the whole atmosphere of the Imperial Tour began to change. Antioch is a turning point.

Unlike the cities of Asia Minor, which had opened their hearts to Hadrian and proclaimed him a living god, the people of Antioch were cold and critical of Hadrian's policies.

The large Jewish population resisted the policies of Hellenization, which Hadrian promoted. They would not cooperate with the new religious order of unity, and condemned the whole effort as blasphemous.

The Christians were equally seditious, and defiant. They were disgusted by the presence of Antinous by the side of the Emperor, and called the whole affair an abomination. 

Antioch was the center of Christianity in the ancient Roman world. It had been the base from which Paul the Apostle operated, and was considered to be his seat. 

It was from Antioch that Paul wrote the Epistle to the Romans that is now part of the Bible, which specifically forbids and condemns homosexuality, and thereby dictates the position of the Christian religion on same-sex love (a position never taken by Jesus).

Flamen ANTONIUS SUBIA explains the significance of the visit to Antioch:

"Antioch represents the enemies of homosexuality as embodied by the Apostle Paul. It was here that Hadrian and Antinous first discovered that their love was considered to be unholy, a reality that was to over cloud the religion of Antinous and of same-sex love for centuries to come.

"We observe that when Antinous entered Antioch, the darkness of hatred for homosexuality was born. Our enemies in the Christian Church took inspiration from the beauty of Antinous and used his deification as a weapon for our destruction. It was in Antioch that homosexuality was crucified.

"We lament the misery brought against our kind, and we remember those countless souls who were brutalized and murdered for our cause, and for our form of Love. Through Antinous, upon whom the hatred of Antioch fell, we pray for salvation as we enter the second year of the Sacred Peregrination. "

Antioch today is a pile of ruins ... periodic earthquakes have taken their toll on the Roman forum and the beautiful marble palace where Hadrian and Antinous resided in August of the year 129. The tremors of their tour of the Eastern Empire sent shock waves which reverberate to this very day.