Classical deities, modern worship. • This blog focuses on the academic study of ancient Mediterranean religions, mythology, philosophy, archaeology, history, literature, art and the modern worship of the Greek and Roman deities and heroes. • I am utterly opposed to racism, identitarianism, nationalism, misogyny, misandry, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, ageism, antisemitism, and xenophobia. There’s probably a few more; you get the idea. • honorthegods has been vetted by the Valkyrie Squad as a safe space within the Pagan and Heathen community. • honorthegods proudly signed and fully supports the Xenia Declaration. - I invite you to sign, too! • All who seek wisdom, praise virtue, and strive to be just are welcome here, regardless of race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, or thinking style. • Click here for The Monster Compilation of Free Online Resources for Classical Studies, my compendium of links to information about the ancient Mediterranean world, including archaeology, art, culture, history, language, literature, magic, mythology, philosophy, religion...and much more! • Click here for my Resources for Hellenic & Roman Polytheism" • Header Image Base: The Pantheon, Rome by Macrons, via Wikimedia Commons
Conceived in two parts, this double-gallery exhibition explores the origins of Tarot in Renaissance Italy and its ongoing relevance as a sou
This exhibition is the first time the majority of the surviving cards from the 15th century Viconti-Sforza deck have been displayed together. Tarot cards and tarot-related art from later artists, notably Pamela Colman Smith, are included in this exhibit.
Through October 4, 2026
The Morgan Library and Museum, New York: https://www.themorgan.org/
Mythical home of the ancient Greek gods designated alongside the D-day landing beaches in Normandy
Γιούπι! As of today, it's finally official!
26 July 2026
By Helena Smith in Athens
The head of Greece’s Unesco delegation in Busan, Georgios Koumoutsakos, hailed the decision as one that would ensure the site’s preservation.
“It reaffirms our unwavering commitment to safeguarding Mount Olympus for the benefit of present and future generations,” he said. “As Greek mythology wisely reminds us, it is always best to remain on good terms with the gods.”
Many historians assumed ancient Roman farm women were housekeepers. A closer look suggests female managers oversaw wine production and other
From "Not just a housekeeper: a new look at the work of the Roman vilica" By Tamara Lewit
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 July 2026
"Through closer examination of textual, iconographic, and archaeological evidence, we can see that the vilica’s principal role was to oversee not the domestic sphere, but rather a range of vital productive activities on the farm. In particular, she seems to have been responsible for wine and oil making and for important rituals linked to production. This has implications for our understanding of the roles of women within Roman farming and the Roman economy."
Ancient Egyptian princesses actually knew how to use the weapons they were buried with, according to a new study published in Frontiers in E
17 July 2026
ByJess Cockerill
They were buried with a powerful arsenal of weapons, traditionally associated with males – something that really confused French egyptologists back in 1894 – and which archaeologists have continued to dismiss as "purely symbolic or 'votive' tokens for the afterlife," Hashesh said.
There's plenty of evidence the princesses knew how to use them, based on the state of the muscle attachments on their bones, and the signs of injuries these women sustained in life.
found myself unexpectedly emotional at a moment in seneca's thyestes when the chorus (a group of argives) sing in horror,
Are we of all generations
in human history judged worthy
of being crushed by the world's collapse?
Is ours the final age of man?
and it made me realize that surely one of the oldest fears of humanity has to be the idea of the world ending within our lifetime; seeing the end coming and being alive to experience it. i worry about it, and here's an ancient roman expressing it, by making a people of an ancient-to-him mythological past worry about it. in every generation someone's been certain the world will collapse very very soon, and here we still are.
Today, July 25, is the Roman festival of Furrinalia. Furrina is the patron deity of a sacred spring and grove on the eastern slope of the Janiculum hill (modern Gianicolo), a spot on the right bank of the Tiber which once lay beyond the western walls of Rome. Her cult may have originated with the Etruscans. Furrina was among the deities considered of such significance to the Roman state as to have been assigned a flamen (priest) to administer her annual rites. Her cult persisted until the end of the 4th century.
The ancient location of Furrina’s sacred precinct is believed to be quite near to this fountain at the Villa Sciarra, now part of a peaceful public park and botanical garden within the city of Rome. Her festival, which was designated as a day to refrain from all but the most urgent physical labor, must have been a welcome respite from the heat of summer, and her shady sanctuary and refreshing waters provided - and still provide - a pleasant spot for meditation and relaxation.
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Featured image: Fountain of the Cherubs, Villa Sciarra, Rome. Photo by Lalupa, 2010.
"When it comes to the name “Odysseus” itself... while the true origin of the name is unclear, the poem itself offers a folk etymology: “hated by gods and men.” In “The Odyssey,” Odysseus recounts that his grandfather so named him because he was destined to suffer and make others suffer, too."
Today, 23 July, is the first day of the two-day Neptunalia, which concludes on 24 July. This Roman festival dedicated to Neptune was one of several held during the height of the summer dry season, offering respite and recreation to humans and domesticated animals, as well as honoring the god of fresh water and the sea.
This festival was celebrated with games, especially horse races, and picnics. Temporary huts made of laurel branches were constructed in fields and along the shores of lakes and rivers to provide celebrators shade from the heat of the summer sun and sleeping accommodations for overnight camping.
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Featured Image: The Triumph of Neptune, Roman mosaic from La Chebba, Tunisia, late 2nd century CE.
Image description: In a central circle, Neptune rides through the waves in a quadriga chariot drawn by four hippocampi. A male figure stands behind his right shoulder, possibly his son Triton. A female figure stands behind his left shoulder, perhaps his wife Salacia. Each corner of the mosaic holds a female personification of one of the four seasons, framed with a garland of seasonal plants. Agricultural scenes line the sides of the mosaic and the entire panel is framed with a border of stylized waves. From the collection of the Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia. Photo by Tony Hisgett, 2003.
I start studying archaeology (BA) in September. Do u have any erudite tips?
Hello, congratulations on starting your studies! I think most of the advice I have for you is about existing in a higher education environment rather than archaeology specific, with the possible exception of keeping your eye out for field schools.
The first and most important piece of advice I have is to communicate with your instructors. Speaking as an instructor, I am much happier to help you if 1) I already know who you are and the first time I am hearing from you is not when you need something, and 2) if you reach out for help before a due date passes or you get too deep in a hole. As long as your email is polite and professional, we are not going to be angry with you for asking for help.
Take advantage of what your school has to offer. Colleges and universities always have all sorts of events going on, and they can be fun, interesting, and good opportunities to meet people professionally and personally. Your school probably has a web page where they list events, and I recommend keeping an eye on it! This also goes for the health clinic and their free vaccinations and testings.
Time management is a learned skill. Start consciously developing it. High school is hyper structured whereas college is almost entirely free reign, and navigating this transition is one of the things I see students struggling with the most. Experiment with different strategies— setting calendar reminders, keeping a planner, turning off your phone, working in public— and figure out what works best for you.
Do not let academics be the only thing in your life. This may seem counterintuitive, but chances are, you're going to have a bad semester. When that happens, having other things that also bring you joy and bolster your self-worth will be incredibly important for your mental health. Likewise, it can be good to have friends in different circles. College friend groups occasionally implode and it can be very lonely if you have no one else.
Sleeping and eating well are so so so important. If you eat like shit and sleep like shit, you are going to feel like shit. This goes back to the fact that in an unstructured environment, it can be both easy and tempting to go off the rails. By all means, have a little fun and take the opportunities that are presented to you, but don't do so at the expense of your health.
I also have an #academic advice tag that has more posts about both college in general and archaeology specifically.
Keep one day to yourself. This is your rest day. It’s for sleeping in, binging TV, going hiking, playing video games, or whatever else you do to relax. It is vital to carve out one day a week for yourself. Your homework can wait. Your reading can wait. Your health can’t.
I'm Jewish, so Saturday (Shabbos) is my Me Day. But maybe your You Day depends on your schedule. Don't have classes on Wednesday? Congrats, that's your You Day. Maybe your You Day is actually one afternoon and the next morning. It's just gotta be 24 hours where you can Chill
There will be courses that are not required by your program that would nevertheless be a huge career asset to have taken. They might lead you to a specialization within your field or they might be an unwritten prerequisite for grad school. It is your job to find out what these are and take them.
Befriend upperclassmen and grad students in your department. Volunteer in your professors' labs. Learn from their mistakes wisdom. Ask them questions. They might have suggestions for which non-major courses to take, which prerequisites are technically optional, which field schools are worth applying to, any CRM companies in the area that hire summer students.
Do yourself a favour and buy a copy of Writing in Anthropology: A Brief Guide by Shan-Estelle Brown. It does a great job of breaking down and explaining the various types of writing you'll be expected to do for your anthropology courses. Do not assume your professors will tell you the difference between an annotated bibliography and a literature review (ask me how I know).
Fun fact about profs: they all come pre-loaded with special interests you can ask about to start a conversation. Just ask them about their research. A lot of the time it'll be really cool stuff you'll want to know about, it'll give you a chance to connect with them so they know who you are, and the more you know about what they're working on the more likely you'll hear about any opportunities like field schools and student research positions.
Archaeology is a fantastic field, but it's not your typical academic field in a lot of ways. It's a study of things, and how people made things, and what people used things for. I might be biased with my 5000 hobbies and background in trades, but personally I believe the best way to understand how and why people make and use things is to also make and use things yourself.
It doesn't have to be huge and complex. You don't need to go out and build a canoe (although if the opportunity presents itself, take advantage; we had a couple canoe building seminar classes at my school), butyou should at least try doing something. You'll look at bone needles completely differently if you've used steel ones; you'll understand the lengths ancient people went to shaping antler and bone if you've tried to do the same with modern tools; you'll be able to look at a ceramic container and picture the steps it took to make it the shape it is now if you've made pottery yourself.
So if you don't already have physical hobbies, I recommend giving some a try. Start small, or start accessible. Do whatever has a club at your school. Join any experimental archaeology sessions will give you a shot at throwing spears or making stone tools. It's all context you can use to understand the artefacts you'll be working with.
Hiccups and delays aside, here it is. Xena is equipped as an early hoplite; (my headcanon is that, owing to her immense, perhaps semi-divine strength, the bronze is between 4 and 8mm thick- too much for any muscle powered weapon to handle from any angle) packing an early Doru, a Boeotian shield, and a Makhaira sword.
Gabrielle’s Amazonian outfit is a composite of Scythian grave finds; she wields a composite bow and Akinakes sword, wears an elaborate phrygian cap, and the trousers and moccasins of a culture seriously weird to Greeks.
Other avenues are still waiting to be explored! Don’t forget to reblog, and tell me what you think.
I’m absolutely willing to defend my questionable use of snarling Gorgoneiona. Fight me.
Mount Olympus, the mythological home of ancient Greece’s 12 Olympian gods, may soon join UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
By Costas Kantouris and Elena Becatoros Updated 12:49 PM EDT, July 18, 2026
LITOCHORO, Greece (AP) — Snow-capped for much of the year, Mount Olympus, mythological home of ancient Greece’s 12 Olympian gods, has captured the imagination through the millennia. Rising to 2,918 meters (9,573 feet) from a base practically at sea level, the ancient Greeks believed the throne of Zeus, king of the gods, stood on the highest of its craggy, often mist-shrouded peaks.
Now, modern-day Greeks hope their tallest mountain will be inducted into UNESCO’s World Heritage List as a mixed cultural and natural site. The nomination is to be discussed when the World Heritage Committee meets in Busan, South Korea from Sunday through July 29.
Mount Olympus was declared Greece's first National Park in 1938, and became a World Biosphere Reserve in 1981.
Moon day celebrates the historic Apollo 11 mission which culminated with a landing on Earth's moon, 20 July 1969.
This is the Project Apollo insignia, adopted in 1965.
The name "Apollo" for the U.S. project to land an astronaut on the moon and return the astronaut safely to earth was suggested by NASA's Abe Silverstein, referring to the Greek and Roman god Apollo's chariot, which traverses the sky each day. The face on the golden moon was intended to represent Apollo. The art seems to have been a collaboration by several NASA employees and contract workers.
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