ante diem ix kalendas septembres
rites in honour of Luna at the Graecostasis
mundus patet -- the mundus was a ritual pit which had a sort of vaulted cover on it. Three times a year the Romans removed this cover (August 24, Oct. 5 and November 8) at which time the gates of the underworld were considered to be opened and the manes (spirits of the dead) were free to walk the streets of Rome.
72 A.D. -- martyrdom of Batholomew at Albanopolis
79 A.D. -- Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae
410 A.D. -- Alaric sacks Rome
1971 -- death of Carl Blegen (excavator of Pylos)
1997 -- death of Philip Vellacott
rites in honour of Luna at the Graecostasis
mundus patet -- the mundus was a ritual pit which had a sort of vaulted cover on it. Three times a year the Romans removed this cover (August 24, Oct. 5 and November 8) at which time the gates of the underworld were considered to be opened and the manes (spirits of the dead) were free to walk the streets of Rome.
72 A.D. -- martyrdom of Batholomew at Albanopolis
79 A.D. -- Vesuvius erupts, burying Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae
410 A.D. -- Alaric sacks Rome
1971 -- death of Carl Blegen (excavator of Pylos)
1997 -- death of Philip Vellacott