Neither alive nor dead, but a secret third thing

XXX | They / Them | Tired Bisexual Italian | Jr. Concept Artist | The Original Phantom Blot maven™ | 💀 COMMISSIONS ARE OPEN! | Ko.fi 💀

[sandmandaddy69]

[imboredtvofc]

[ducissatenebrarum]

In this Roman mosaic, the Greek phrase for 'know thyself' is written beneath the skeleton figure.

The mosaic once decorated the floor of a tomb on the Via Appia in Rome. It was discovered in 1865 near Santa Maria Nova, in the vicinity of the Villa dei Quintili. Dating back to the 2nd century AD, the artwork is currently on display in the Terme di Diocleziano section of the Museo Nazionale Romano.

The inscription at the bottom, ΓΝΩΘΙ ϹΑΥΤΟΝ, is the Greek phrase γνῶθι σαυτόν, or gnōthi sauton. It translates to 'know thyself.' This saying was one of the ancient maxims associated with the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

In a Roman context, this phrase didn't just mean knowing your character. It also carried another meaning: know your limits, know that you're human, and know that you're mortal.

That's why the reclining posture of the skeleton is significant. Resting against a cushion, the figure evokes the tradition of reclining that we recognize from Roman banquet scenes. However, this mosaic doesn't come from a dining room, but from a tomb setting on the Via Appia.

The concept of death wasn't foreign to Roman banquet and dining culture, either. Two silver goblets adorned with skeletons from the Boscoreale treasure serve as a similar reminder: conveying to the drinker that life's short and death is inevitable...

There's no lengthy text on this mosaic. The message is direct: to know thyself is also to know that you're mortal.

[duckbunny]

one of the many reasons to insist upon chronological timelines is that it's much, much harder to scroll forever if you can catch up with yourself. if you can run out of tumblr because you reach yesterday, that is a good and helpful prompt to do something else.

[becherdireinen]

nobody talks about how exhausting it is to live in that space between "things will get better" and "i can't handle this anymore." it's like your emotions are constantly swinging. leaving you both hopeful and defeated in the same day.

[0jj]

That one mutual who likes all your personal posts

[beyonceprivilege-deactivated201]

Omg I just got unreasonably nostalgic about In the End by Linkin Park. like the generation of deep 14 year old boys posting lyrics to that song as their status is over.

[asgardreid-deactivated20180407]

It really makes you realize that time is a valuable thing, watch it fly by as the pendulum swings

[igorafvckassbowlcut]

there are days where NO ❌️ video games are played and there are days where video games are played for 10 or maybe 14 hours straight

[wildspringday]

"came back wrong" but it's from work

[nongunktional]

i do think the negative interpretations of "im probably nonbinary but i have a job right now" are kind of reaching. it's obviously a waste of time to theorize the op's intended meaning, so instead i think it's better to recognize how the phrase can be a useful framing device to criticize how much of a fucking hassle it is to get gendered correctly. "but i have a job" e.g. will face discrimination that could threaten livelihood; e.g. don't have the mental bandwidth to explain gender to others; e.g. don't have the time and energy for the soul-searching necessary to confirm. all three of these are labor issues. yes you could interpret it as "but being nonbinary isn't important enough to worry about", despite that being a blatantly bad-faith read. it's more useful to interpret it as "but being publicly nonbinary requires a lot of social effort that, in many cultural contexts, will create more problems that you can't afford to deal with". like cmon it's a really good jumping off point for productive conversations about queer labor rights

[mens-rights-activia]

[murdaawasthecase-deactivated202]

Lmaoooo who is making these

[mens-rights-activia]

Mens-rights-activia

[jerreeeeeee]

not every mutual fits neatly into an archetypal medievalism but there are some mutuals that im like yeah addressing you as “my liege” would come strangely naturally

[jerreeeeeee]

what mutual is prev

my liege lord

my loyal knight

my wise wizard

my evil advisor

my brother in arms

my lady muse

my wild mermaid friend

my fellow alchemist

my dashing rapscallion

my monstrous foe

Remaining time: 2 days 10 hours

[splattergutz]

i feel like i’m cursed forever but other than that i’m doing alright

[turnipfritters]

[kosmogrl]

[monster1994]

happy june everybody i hope you get fucked and/or sucked this month

[kazokuhouou]

what if we don't wanna be?

[monster1994]

then i hope for peace

[fujoshiwarrior]

(replying to my mutual's post about their day) We have to kill the people who make you suffer

[scunthotter]

People who are making posts telling us what is happening over on threads, twitter, and Instagram are like war correspondents sending us reports from the front.