A Collective Thought

Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it. || 23 || they/them

[honorthegods]

The Classical Association of Scotland is once again proud to present Ancient Voices language school for 2026! This will be running from the

The aim of Ancient Voices is to offer accessible entry points to the ancient world (broadly conceived) to as wide a global audience as possible. This will be running from the 1st until the 28th of June via online classes so you can learn from the comfort of your own home.

Click the link for fees and class schedule.

[enlitment]

Snake jewellery across centuries ✨

They had many snake rings on display at the British Museum!

The signs explained that snakes were viewed as symbols of healing and renewal (think Asclepius, maybe because of the shedding of the skin?)

I guess it would be due to the later Christian symbolism that people nowadays associate snakes with evil.

Bonus point: Tiresias' story means that snakes are demonstrably about gender, too 🙏

[panthermouthh]

“If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; if not, why, then this parting was well made.”

May’s postcard and sticker design for my patreon mail club, Panthermouth post! Sign up by May 25th to receive yours. I’m also including a hand written element this month… you can read all about it below!

Patreon

This months postcard and sticker design is a little different!! I had been feeling uninspired by my regular workflow, and i wanted to try making something that you could find on ancient pottery or on a tapestry. Ive been hugely inspired by the work of artists like @mischevious.dog, a long time influence of mine, who makes a lot of gorgeous ink artwork featuring animals.

I wanted to see if I could do something in a similar fashion but with human figures. I wanted to make two symmetrical figures interacting in some way, and this image of two soldiers holding hands came to mind.

Are these two warriors friends, brothers, lovers? Are they taking a moment to say goodbye, knowing they’re heading to a battle they may not come back from?

This months mail club wont only contain the print and sticker, but a written element too… I’ve decided I will start including hand written selected poems or written pieces to go along with my art, since my work is so often inspired by works of literature. I can’t wait to share!

Sign up before may 25th!!

[i-merani]

[artandbeauty71]

Something about the fact that Eros and Psyche's story is basically about Love being a victim of his own weapon and falling in love with the Soul and the Soul falling in love with Love, and how they're both flawed because the Soul is insanely beautiful but wants to reach places it shouldn't, and Love is just as gorgeously tender as it is petty and cruel and always wears a mask, never shows its true face, not even to the Soul. The Soul needs to suffer in order to be united with Love, and most importantly, it cannot do it alone. It needs help, compassion, someone who comforts and sustains it during its trials. And when Love and the Soul are finally reunited, no more suffering is generated from their union, only Delight

[gwynedd-chronicles]

nature worshipper

[lionofchaeronea]

The so-called "Farnese Lar," a white marble statue of the 2nd century CE by an unknown artist, depicting the Genius Populi Romani. In Roman religion, each male individual was believed to have a genius, a personal spirit who came into existence at his birth, guided the course of his life, and departed with his death; the female counterpart was a Juno. The Roman populus as a collective whole -- imagined as male, thanks to its origins in the ideology of the citizen body as men capable of bearing arms -- had its own genius, whose favor was essential to the city's prosperity and imperial expansion. As Rome became a major power in the Mediterranean, its genius achieved prominence on coins and in other forms of visual art, corresponding to the Tyche or Fortune of Hellenistic cities.

The Farnese Lar holds a cornucopia in his left hand, symbolizing abundant good fortune, and a patera (flat serving dish) in his right, used for pouring libations and hence reflective of Roman pietas toward the gods. As with many marble statues based on bronze models, he has a supporting pillar adjacent to his right leg. Found in excavations at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the statue is now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Photo credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen | Wikimedia Commons | Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic

[artandbeauty71]

okay this is kinda obvious, but eros 100% wins the title of most smoochable face in all of olympus lmao

like, aphrodite "kisses him passionately" after asking him to go hit psyche with his arrow (not gonna bother asking why she'd do that but hey, it's greek gods we're talking abt here...). then psyche, upon seeing him for the first time, is described "covering him with quick, fervent and open-mouthed kisses" (fair reaction tbf). and even zeus randomly kisses him when eros asks him to support his cause for his and psyche's marriage totally out of nowhere lol 😭

[lionofchaeronea]

"It is better for fools to be ruled than to rule." --Democritus, fr. 68B75 D-K, trans. Jonathan Barnes

[twobeesornottwobees]

when i was in my early 20s people told me pretty often that grad school would ruin my life and you know what they were not wrong woooo boy were they not at all incorrect they should've said it more in fact, like way more way way way more and of course i would not have listened to them (because of my mental illness) and of course they did in fact mentioned that i would be impoverished but to be fair to me they MAYBE should have told me that all universities have functionally identical administrators that categorically SUCK as both people and professionals and they should have PROBABLY i would have to spend a significant amount of my free time that does not exist asking my own fucking university to please remember that i am a Person and as such deserve Compensation for my Labor and they DEFINITELY should have said that PhDs are being valued less and less by the wider public, especially those in humanities and any stem field associated with women, and they really REALLY REALLY should have mentioned that i would have to deal with this shit all while listening to idiots on the internet tell me how colleges these days are way too fucking liberal (HA) and wait where was i going with this

[circleofcrows]

Abaris the Hyperborean — Sage of Apollo and the Northern Wind

Hyperborea sits at the edge of the ancient imagination: a distant, sunlit-utopian north beyond the reach of normal geography. From this mythic horizon emerges one of Greek antiquity’s most mysterious figures—Abaris, the wandering priest of Apollo.

Who Was Abaris?

Abaris the Hyperborean appears in Greek sources as a priest, healer, and prophet of Apollo. He is said to have traveled far from Hyperborea during a time of plague or divine mission, carrying with him a sacred arrow of Apollo.

This arrow is no ordinary weapon—it is a symbol of divine favor, sometimes described as allowing Abaris to:

Fly or travel without eating or drinking

Heal illnesses thorough ritual knowledge

Deliver prophecies inspired directly by Apollo

In some later traditions, Abaris is even associated with near-miraculous mobility, appearing suddenly in distant lands without visible travel.

The Arrow of Apollo

The famous “arrow” functions as both object and metaphor:

A sign of Apollo’s direct blessing

A ritual tool of divination

A symbol of speed, truth, and divine transmission

Some ancient writers interpret it as a kind of shamanic instrument—suggesting Abaris belonged to a class of wandering holy men who bridged human and divine knowledge.

Abaris and Pythagoras

Later philosophical traditions (especially Neoplatonist writers) connect Abaris with Pythagoras.

In these ancient accounts, Abaris becomes:

A student or ally of Pythagoras

A transmitter of “Hyperborean wisdom”

A figure linking Greek rational philosophy with older ecstatic religious traditions

Weather historical or symbolic, the pairing reinforces Abaris as a liminal figure between myth, mysticism, and early philosophy.

Celtic Connections: Northern Priests and Shared Mythic Memory

One of the most intriguing interpretive traditions place Abaris in contact—directly or conceptually—with early Celtic religious culture.

While no ancient text explicitly states a Celtic encounter, later comparative mythology draws connections between Hyperborean priesthood and Celtic druidic traditions:

1. The Northern Sacred Geography

Greek authors often located Hyperborea in the far north—sometimes imagined beyond Scythia, sometimes drifting toward the Atlantic edge of the known world. Later interpreters associated this with the northern European an Atlantic Celtic zones.

This overlap encouraged speculation that Hyperborea sages like Abaris symbolized an idealized version of northern “wise peoples,” similar to Celtic druids.

2. Druids and Wandering Wisdom Figures

Celtic religious specialists—later known as Druids—shared traits that echo Abaris traditions:

Oral transmission of sacred knowledge

Strong association with nature, prophecy, and healing

Perceived independence from material needs in mythic accounts

Role as intermediaries between divine forces and human communities

While historically distinct, the mythic archetype overlaps strongly: the wandering northern sage who carries divine knowledge without relying on written tradition.

3. Apollo in the North

Some Greek and Roman writers (notably in interpretive or philosophical contexts) suggested Apollo had special northern sanctuaries or seasonal migrations to Hyperborea.

This idea creates a mythic bridge:

Apollo → Hyperborean priesthood → Abaris

Northern sanctuaries → later mapped onto Atlantic “edge lands”

Cultural memory → blended with Celtic sacred geography in later imagination

In this reading, Abaris becomes a symbolic envoy of a northern solar cult that resonates with Celtic solar and seasonal traditions.

A Myth Between Worlds

Abaris the Hyperborean ultimately belongs less to biography and more to mythic pattern:

A messenger from a perfect northern land

A carrier of divine light (Apollo’s arrow)

A figure of healing, flight, and prophecy

A bridge between Greek philosophy and northern sacred imagination

Weather viewed as legend, philosophical allegory, or cultural memory, Abaris stands at the crossroads of Mediterranean and northern mythic worlds.

Sources & References

Herodotus, Histories (mentions Hyperborean traditions)

Pindar, fragments referencing Hyperborea and Apollo

Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras (Abaris-Pythagoras traditions)

Strabo, Geogaphica (discussions of northern myth geography)

Modern comparative mythology studies in Hyperborean and Celtic parallels

[circleofcrows]

Abaris (disambiguation)

Abaris usually refers to Abaris the Hyperborean, a legendary sage, healer, and priest of Apollo known to the Ancient Greeks.

Abaris may also refer to:

Abaris the philosopher — a figure associated with later Pythagorean traditions and ancient philosophical writings.

Abaris of the Caucasus — A lesser-known historical or regional figure mentioned in classical sources.

Abaris — various literary, occult, and esoteric adaptions inspired by Abaris the Hyperborean.

See also

Apollo

Hyperborea

Pythagoras

[circleofcrows]

HII I SAW YOUR POST ABOUT LIKING HISTORY AND MYTHS AND I WOULD LOVE TO CHAT

(Im not that informed on them pls rant to me)

Hello hello! Sorry I’m responding to this so late I’ve been sick with an ear infection for like two to three weeks now lol! I am very tempted to straight up just copy and paste some of the myths specifically more so leaning towards Celtic mythologies because those books are so hard to get a hold of but I also think it would be just really neat to have all my references in one place as well. So yeah!! Let me know your thoughts on that I will def be sliding into your dms to rant VJVJFJFKF

[writercultureis]

Writer Culture is writing 5000 words in one sitting for fun, but can’t even write a 100 word paragraph for school.

[blueiscoool]

A ROMAN AMBER GLASS BOWL CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

[queam]

Bringing Zevran on your team at any time

[luminote]