🏛️🛣️What have the #Romans ever done for us? A common answer is that they built many of the roads across #Europe, but in fact, it is possible that their building techniques dated back to pre-Roman cultures.
This infographic illustrates the typical structure of #AncientRoman roads, one of the most enduring engineering achievements of the #AncientWorld. While the Romans are credited with revolutionizing road construction, they likely adopted many foundational techniques from the #Etruscans and refined them over time. As the #RomanEmpire expanded, Roman engineers incorporated methods and materials from local cultures, adapting their designs to different terrains while maintaining a standardized core structure.
At its height, the Roman road network stretched over 85,000 kilometers (53,000 miles), linking the vast territories of the #empire—from #AncientBritain to #Mesopotamia, and from the #Danube to #Spain and #NorthAfrica.
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This infographic illustrates the typical structure of #AncientRoman roads, one of the most enduring engineering achievements of the #AncientWorld. While the Romans are credited with revolutionizing road construction, they likely adopted many foundational techniques from the #Etruscans and refined them over time. As the #RomanEmpire expanded, Roman engineers incorporated methods and materials from local cultures, adapting their designs to different terrains while maintaining a standardized core structure.
At its height, the Roman road network stretched over 85,000 kilometers (53,000 miles), linking the vast territories of the #empire—from #AncientBritain to #Mesopotamia, and from the #Danube to #Spain and #NorthAfrica.
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The so-called death mask of #Agamemnon - the king of #Mycenae in Homer's #Iliad. Whilst he is an important figure in #GreekMythology, there are no historical records of a Mycenaean king of that name. The grave mask itself was found in a shaft grave (Grave Circle A, Mycenae) dating from around the mid-16th century BCE. It is therefore too old to fit any possible Agamemnon candidate that also fits with a chronology of the #TrojanWar; nevertheless, it remains evidence of #Homer's description of Mycenae as 'rich in gold'. To whom the death mask belonged to still remains a mystery...
📷: Xuan Che, National Archaeological Museum, #Athens.
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📷: Xuan Che, National Archaeological Museum, #Athens.
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#Sappho of Lesbos (c. 620-570 BCE) was an #ancient Greek lyric #poet whose work was celebrated so widely that she appeared on statues, coins, and pottery centuries later. Her name inspired the terms 'sapphic' and 'lesbian', both referencing female same-sex relationships. Even though of the nine volumes of her work only 650 lines survive, Sappho is still seen as one of the greatest poets of #Greek #literature.
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🌾 History Fact of the Day: In Norse mythology, Freyr, the god of fertility and harvest, was also the mythical ancestor of the Swedish royal dynasty, the Ynglings.
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🐈 A mummified cat from Egypt, late Ptolemaic Period. Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose, California. Photo by Mary Harrsch.
🐈⬛ Bronze figure of an Egyptian cat playing with one of her kittens and feeding another, Saite 26th Dynasty period (664-525 BCE). The goddess Bastet, who had a cat’s head, was one of the many gods in the polytheistic Egyptian religion and had her own temple in Bubastis, in the Nile Delta.
Gulbekian Museum, Lisbon, Inv. No.21. Photo by Shadowgate.
🐱 Hollow cast bronze statue depicting a seated cat wearing golden earrings, a nose ring and a silver wedjat (Eye of Horus) pectoral. Possibly from Saqqara, Egypt, c. 600 BCE. Bequest of Major Robert Gayer-Anderson, 1939. The British Museum, London. Photo ©️ by Osama S.M. Amin.
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🐈⬛ Bronze figure of an Egyptian cat playing with one of her kittens and feeding another, Saite 26th Dynasty period (664-525 BCE). The goddess Bastet, who had a cat’s head, was one of the many gods in the polytheistic Egyptian religion and had her own temple in Bubastis, in the Nile Delta.
Gulbekian Museum, Lisbon, Inv. No.21. Photo by Shadowgate.
🐱 Hollow cast bronze statue depicting a seated cat wearing golden earrings, a nose ring and a silver wedjat (Eye of Horus) pectoral. Possibly from Saqqara, Egypt, c. 600 BCE. Bequest of Major Robert Gayer-Anderson, 1939. The British Museum, London. Photo ©️ by Osama S.M. Amin.
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🐎 Today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples!
The Native Peoples of North America (also known as American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous Americans, and First Americans) are the original inhabitants of North America believed to have migrated into the region between 40,000-14,000 years ago, developing into separate nations with distinct and sophisticated cultures. These autonomous nations spread from Alaska, through Canada, and the lower United States.
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The Native Peoples of North America (also known as American Indians, Native Americans, Indigenous Americans, and First Americans) are the original inhabitants of North America believed to have migrated into the region between 40,000-14,000 years ago, developing into separate nations with distinct and sophisticated cultures. These autonomous nations spread from Alaska, through Canada, and the lower United States.
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🔥 Today is the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples!
☀️ A wide photo of the ancient Uluru sandstone rock formation located in Central Australia (the Northern Territory).
Uluru is home to many ancient tribes of Indigenous Australians that have inhabited the area for nearly 30,000 years and still do to this day. Uluru is also a very sacred site, housing a plethora of ancient petroglyphs and rock art. Photo by Angelo Giordano.
🪨 Pictographs known as Wandjina in the Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia. Photo by Graeme Churchard.
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☀️ A wide photo of the ancient Uluru sandstone rock formation located in Central Australia (the Northern Territory).
Uluru is home to many ancient tribes of Indigenous Australians that have inhabited the area for nearly 30,000 years and still do to this day. Uluru is also a very sacred site, housing a plethora of ancient petroglyphs and rock art. Photo by Angelo Giordano.
🪨 Pictographs known as Wandjina in the Wunnumurra Gorge, Barnett River, Kimberley, Western Australia. Photo by Graeme Churchard.
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👑 On this day in 30 BCE: Cleopatra VII poisons herself with the bite of a snake (traditionally an asp, though most scholars today believe it was an Egyptian cobra).
Cleopatra VII (l. c. 69-30 BCE, r. 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Although arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was actually Greek and a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE), which ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE).
Cleopatra was fluent in a number of languages, is reported to have been extremely charming, and was an effective diplomat and administrator. Her involvement with both Caesar and Mark Antony came about after she had already successfully ruled and steered Egypt through a difficult period.
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Cleopatra VII (l. c. 69-30 BCE, r. 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Although arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was actually Greek and a member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE), which ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE).
Cleopatra was fluent in a number of languages, is reported to have been extremely charming, and was an effective diplomat and administrator. Her involvement with both Caesar and Mark Antony came about after she had already successfully ruled and steered Egypt through a difficult period.
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Mary, Queen of Scots was the #queen of both #Scotland (r. 1542-1567) and briefly, #France (r. 1559-1560). Obliged to flee Scotland, the queen was imprisoned for 19 years by Elizabeth I of #England (r. 1558-1603) and finally executed for treason on 8 February 1587.
Brought up in France and then marrying the heir to the French #throne, Mary's world was turned upside down when her husband Francis II died in 1560 one year into his reign. The #queen returned to Scotland but her Catholic views clashed with Protestants there and two more #husbands and murder plots further discredited her reign. Following her forced abdication by Scottish nobles, Mary fled to England where she plotted unsuccessfully to oust her cousin Elizabeth I of England.
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Brought up in France and then marrying the heir to the French #throne, Mary's world was turned upside down when her husband Francis II died in 1560 one year into his reign. The #queen returned to Scotland but her Catholic views clashed with Protestants there and two more #husbands and murder plots further discredited her reign. Following her forced abdication by Scottish nobles, Mary fled to England where she plotted unsuccessfully to oust her cousin Elizabeth I of England.
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A c. 1767 oil-on-canvas #portrait by David Martin of #BenjaminFranklin (1706-90). This portrait depicts Franklin as a scholarly figure of the #Enlightenment with a bust of Isaac Newton gazing at him. The portrait was commissioned by Robert Alexander of William Alexander & Sons, a prominent #Scottish family business based in #Edinburgh during the 18th century. The portrait shows Franklin holding one of Alexander’s deeds. The #painting has been called the 'thumb portrait' due to Franklin's pose.
Green Room of the White House, Washington, D.C.
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Green Room of the White House, Washington, D.C.
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