Roman Religion

The most original and shocking interpretation of Lucretius in the last 40 years.

Thomas Nail argues convincingly and systematically that Lucretius was not an atomist, but a thinker of kinetic flux. In doing so, he completely overthrows the interpretive foundations of modern scientific materialism, whose philosophical origins lie in the atomic reading of Lucretius' immensely influential book De Rerum Natura.

This means that Lucretius was not the revolutionary harbinger of modern science as Greenblatt and others have argued; he was its greatest victim. Nail re-reads De Rerum Natura to offer us a new Lucretius--a Lucretius for today.

The Materiality of Magic is an exciting new book about an aspect of magic that is usually neglected. In the last two decades we have had many books and proceedings of conferences on the concept of magic itself as well as its history, formulas and incantations in antiquity, both in East and West. Much less attention, however, has been paid to the material that was used by the magicians for their conjuring activities. This is the first book of its kind that focuses on the material aspects of magic, such as amulets, drawings, figurines, gems, grimoires, rings, and voodoo dolls. The practice of magic required a specialist expertise that knew how to handle material such as lead, gold, stones, papyrus and terra cotta—material that sometimes was used for specific genres of magic. That is why we present in this well illustrated collection of studies new insights on the materiality of magic in antiquity by studying both the materials used for magic as well as the books in which the expertise was preserved. The main focus of the book is on antiquity, but we complement and contrast our material with examples ranging from the Ancient Near East, via early modern Europe, to the present time.

"Le présent ouvrage est consacré à une des facettes les plus hellénisées d’Isis, qui fait d’elle une déesse liée à l’élément marin. À l’aide de nombreux documents tant écrits que figurés, et souvent trop méconnus, l’auteur offre une synthèse sur les divers et difficiles problèmes que soulève cette prérogative.
Dans un premier chapitre, il est question des origines de cette Isis “marine”, étrangère aux anciennes conceptions pharaoniques, mais qui doit sans doute beaucoup à Arsinoé II. Ce nouveau trait sera mis en avant dans les textes arétalogiques qui sont ensuite examinés. Cette arétè d’Isis amènera à voir en elle l’inventrice de la voile. Le troisième chapitre est consacré aux problèmes des traductions iconographiques choisies pour illustrer la maîtrise de la déesse sur les eaux. La formule la plus typique nous la montre tenant une voile gonflée et/ou un gouvernail. Une statue récemment découverte à Messène et la documentation numismatique corinthienne permettent de supposer l’existence de statues d’Isis à la voile, une hypothèse autrefois réfutée par Ph. Bruneau. Ensuite sont examinés les qualificatifs qu’on lui attribua pour manifester ce nouveau pouvoir (Euploia, Pharia, Pelagia, etc.). Le cinquième chapitre étudie les questions de culte : existence de temples réservés à la déesse, Dame des flots, signification des lampes naviformes avec types isiaques, puis examen des deux grandes fêtes (Navigium Isidis et Sacrum Phariae) qui marquent, l’une la réouverture solennelle de la navigation avec participations des navarques et des triérarques, l’autre, l’arrivée à Ostie de la flotte frumentaire placée sous la sauvegarde d’Isis et de son époux. À ce dernier est consacré un chapitre qui nous montre que Sarapis fut lui aussi, mais dans une moindre mesure, un Pelagius.
"

It has been forty-one years since I presented my initial work on the Etruscan language to the curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. It was about this time of the year and at the time I was thirtyeight years old. The curator kindly met with me but was not able to help me beyond suggesting meeting with some professors at the Sorbonne University. I was looking, of course, for the scholastic world s interest in the work and help in pursuing it in detail. I went to the Sorbonne without any positive result. I had been working then on the Etruscan language for about ten years, having been curious about Michael Ventris decipherment of Linear B, a writing system used in Crete by the Mycenaean civilization. Having spent some time on it and Linear B (which continues to be undeciphered, I switched to the examination of a curious Etruscan lead tablet called the Magliano Disk which had an inscription in the form of a spiral or meander. The Magliano Disk has been date to be around 500 B.C. Another document like the Magliano Disk is the Phaistos Disk which dates to 2,000 B.C. The Magliano Disk prompted me into searching out all of the Etruscan texts I could find, the results of which are provided on my Etruscan Phrases web pages. All written documents are intended to be understood and assume that the reader knows the value of the characters used to communicate the ideas expressed in a document. The Etruscan characters posed a unique problem, since they are almost the same as the Roman or Western alphabet and one is tempted to assign the values we know and understand to the Etruscan writings. But there is a problem with this, since the Etruscan writing often did not separate characters, phrases, or sentences, and separating distinct words in the texts is a challenge. Complicating the reading of the texts is the problem peculiar to Phoenician and later Hebrew texts where vowels are omitted. The omission of vowels in the Etruscan texts, however, did not appear to be systematic. The values of the Etruscan characters turn out to be not the same as our alphabet. The V, for instance, is not the Roman v but used as a u and o. The Etruscan F is interesting since it serves both as a consonant and a vowel. It is a v and a u, as in the word for Dionysus, Bacchus, L. Euias, Euan, which is Etruscan EFAIS, Euais. Euan is Etruscan EFAN. These and other similar relationships will be seen in the Copeland-English-Etruscan Dictionary (as well as the Etruscan Glossary A). In any event, it is now October 17, 2022 after preparing the Introduction to the Etruscan Language and further pursing the draft findings of this document, identifying specific declension and grammatical applications, another document has grown out of the work which is the Copeland-English-Etruscan Dictionary. It has been compiled using a worksheet at the end of this document called the Etruscan Glossary. Since the Etruscan Glossary is an excel spreadsheet, it could be used to organize refine and translate the Etruscan words of the Etruscan texts. Associated with preparation of the Etruscan Glossary is my Indo-European Table1 which is in 11 parts, available on academia.edu at: Introduction to the Etruscan language 2 https://www.academia.edu/35148685/Etruscan_Phrases_Indo_European_Table_1_Update_02_06_22_ The purpose and function of the table can be easily discerned by one s first look at the table and its succeeding 10 parts. Its 11 parts can also be easily accessed at: http://www.maravot.com/indo-european_Table.html. The Indo-European Table is not what I intended it to be, for it has grown into a table and worksheet on Eurasian languages. Each language represented in the Table reveals relationships that may be surprising. For instance, those who are interested in the origins of certain English words will see entries on origins (taken from The Concise American Heritage Dictionary, 1987 Houghton-Mifflin Company. Many of the English source or origin entries may not be correct, as will be seen in the Table. What does all this have to do with the Etruscans, who date from about 1,000 B.C. in Tuscany, Northern Italy? A good part of the English language derives from Latin, and Latin is very closely related to Etruscan (an older civilization that the Latin/Roman civilization). Civilizations influence on another, either by trade or conquest or both. We know the relationship of English-Latin, or French-Latin, etc. because of the Roman conquests. The Etruscan-Latin relationship is more perplexing, since the Etruscans had an established civilization long before, hundreds of years before, Rome came into existence. There were Latin-speaking tribes that were neighbors of the Etruscans but since the relationship between them and the Etruscans was before Rome came into existence we can t speak to the history of the Etruscans and Latin-speaking people. Could they understand one another? It s hard to say. We can assume that old Latin was closer to Etruscan than Roman Latin. The name of Hercules, for instance, in Etruscan is HERCLE, in old Latin it appears to be the same. In French the name of Hercules is Hercule. There is a possibility that we can write a history the Etruscan world from the Etruscan point of view and that is through the translation of the Etruscan texts. This leads you to the Copeland-English-Etruscan Dictionary, currently in preparation. There are 136 pages in the document and growing, as I convert the Etruscan Glossary A data into a working dictionary. The final Etruscan dictionary will be in excess of 300 pages, estimated to include about 3,000 words.

Often treated in the general framework of the feast, the religious ceremonies are rarely the object of full studies. Nevertheless, from an anthropological perspective, religious ceremonies, as significant sociocultural constructions, are rich in information. As a religious experience, a ceremony is characterized by diverse determining elements (places of celebration, actors, moment, a purpose and a scenario consisted of words and codified gestures) and it also implies a certain solemnity, a shape of pomposity and dramatization which allow the exacerbation of the identity message.

The suppression of the Bacchanalia in Rome 186 BCE was the first major religious persecution in Europe. The essay provides a new analysis, referring to the political theory of Eric Voegelin. It shows that the suppression was a reaction of the Roman commonwealth to a cult which challgenged the meaning of political existence within the republic. Ultimately, the Bacchanalian affair is a collision of two types of religiosity, the political religiosity of the public cult and the orgiastic and apolitical religiosity of the Bacchic underground. Both types are based on particular religious experiences, the experience of gods preserving and fostering the political community and the experience of a god promoting the fulfilment of bodily desires. As the essay shows at the example of Euripides’ Bacchae, the worship of Bacchus-Dionysus had always represented the apolitical dimension of human existence; already in the ancient myths the “alien god” appears as the enemy of rulers and politicians. Finally, this reconsideration of the Bacchanalia helps to understand why the early Christians were likened to the Bacchants.

I am still on the first stretch of this nomadic exploration, but I think I can begin to answer the question that is guiding this exploration—'how can the Natural-Indigenous Worldview support our understandings of the potential for an anarchist society (i.e. for social order without hierarchical domination)?' The key of Natural-Indigenous Worldview that opens the lock of an anarchist society, of a society without hierarchical domination, comes in the Natural-Indigenous Worldview's spiritual ecology. When we develop the four R's (responsibility, reciprocity, respect, relationships [Young 2015]) through relating to the world in a manner that is facilitated by the spiritual ecology that rises from the Natural-Indigenous Worldview and thus ascribes spirit to all things without regard for the Colonial Modernist Worldview's distinction between 'animate' and 'inanimate', we come to see the world as a single, living, conscious being. The illusion of a discrete distinction between self and other breaks down and we come to see the self (and other selves) as strands in the unified, conscious web of creation. We come to care for all of creation as we would care for our children, for our partners, for our parents and for our self. Transcending the illusion of discrete individuality we develop a lovingly reciprocal, responsible, respectful and relational orientation to the world that begets virtuous thought, feeling, behavior and being without recourse to hierarchical authority (to punishment and fear of punishment). Engaging with the world through the spiritual ecology that rises from the Natural-Indigenous Worldview allows the sprouts of human nature to grow to fruition without recourse to hierarchical domination (i.e. without recourse to attempts to 'help sprouts grow' by pulling on them and the death of the sprouts of human nature portended by such hierarchical folly [Meng Zi 2016, 2A2]).

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions
Key words: mythological mosaic, House of Aion, Nea Paphos, Late Antiquity, Roman art, allegorical narrative, allusive language of mythological pictures, wordplay (Marsyas-Messias), Jesus Christ, anti-Christian polemic, Dionysos, Cassiopeia, Apollon, Nereides, Abstract Personifications, Greek Mythology, ΚΥΠΡΟΣ

The article focuses on the author's research on the chronographical background of the Zodiac Mosaic Calendar in Synagogue at Hammath-Tiberias. He researched to find the origin of mosaic decoration, the twelve zodiac sign, the four seasons, and Helios, which was found in synagogues in two parts of Palestine, Galilee and Judah. The chronograph of the mosaic art was extensively debated. The author further studied the history of Palestine Jews in the 4th century. Most of the work was done during the period of Hillel II.
The author concludes that the mosaic from the Stratum IIa synagogue with the Zodiac Calendar was executed in the time of Hillel II, who said to have died around 365 CE. He proposes the new date of the execution of the Zodiac Mosaic from Hammat-Tiberia (Stratum IIa) after the earthquake in 363, that is, in 364 or 365.

Paul has been regarded as being uncritical of the Roman Empire for a long time, not least because of his apparent call to obey the state in Rom 13:1-7. However, recent scholarship has questioned this assumption by pointing to "hidden criticism" in the letters of the apostle. But how can we decide, in a methodologically sound way, whether such a counter-imperial message lies beneath the surface of the text? On the basis of insights from the philosophy of science, Christoph Heilig suggests several analytical steps for examining this paradigm. He concludes that the hypothesis that we can identify critical "echoes" of the Roman Empire in Paul's letters needs to be modified for it to be maintained. In particular, concern over the danger of overt criticism and subsequent persecution do not sufficiently justify this interpretative hypothesis. Nevertheless, Heilig concludes that the search for a counter-imperial subtext in Paul could turn out to be heuristically fruitful so long as the limitations of the approach are heeded. Hence, a re-evaluation of Pauline passages in light of Paul's engagement with ideas from his Roman environment is encouraged.

This dissertation argues that martial virtues and images of the soldier’s life represented an essential aspect of early Byzantine masculine ideology. It contends that in many of the visual and literary sources from the fourth to the seventh centuries CE, conceptualisations of the soldier’s life and the ideal manly life were often the same. By taking this stance, the dissertation challenges the view found in many recent studies on Late Roman masculinity that a Christian ideal of manliness based on extreme ascetic virtues and pacifism had superseded militarism and courage as the dominant component of hegemonic masculine ideology.

Throughout history, the Druids have always been seen as sorcerers who had a strong bond with nature. Ancestral knowledge holders within Celtic society, directed all religious activity as the highest authority linked to the gods, practiced human sacrifices and festivals organized as Imbolc, Beltaine, Lugnasad or Samain, etc.. all aspects of which are discussed in this article.

Romalılar, Antik Çağ'daki en geniş ve en etkileyici imparatorluklardan birini oluşturmuşlardı. En güçlü olduğu dönemde sınırları, kuzeybatıdaki İngiltere'den, Mezopotamya'daki Dicle nehrine kadar uzanmakta ve Kuzey Afrika'nın, Ön Asya'nın ve Avrupa'nın büyük bir bölümünü içinde barındırmaktaydı. En önemlisi de, İmparatorluk ikiye ayrılıp, Doğu'daki büyük İmparatorluğun (Bizans) ömrü sayılmazsa bile, 1000 yıldan fazla bir süre ayakta kalmasıdır. Tüm bu geniş topraklarda, siyasi hâkimiyetlerini sağlamalarının yanında, MÖ. 4. yüzyıldan itibaren Hristiyanlığın, imparatorluğun resmi dini olduğunun kabul edilmesi ile birlikte bu din, imparatorluğun en uzak topraklarına bile yayılmıştır. Ayrıca Romalılar, tüm bu topraklara, sonraki gelecek nesillerin de kullandıkları, kanunlarını ve yaşayış düzenlerini de aşılamışlardır. Konuştukları Latince ise, sonradan göçlerle gelen barbar kavimlerin ve sonraki modern Avrupa halklarının konuştukları Fransızca, İtalyanca ve İspanyolca gibi diller üzerinde çok geniş tesirler bırakmıştır. Romalılar, özellikle Devlet idaresi, yönetim, askeri organizasyon ve mühendislik alanlarında bilgili ve teşkilatlıydılar. Bu özelliklerine destek olarak eğitimli ve sıkı disipline sahip askeri birlikleri ve güçlü bürokrasileri ile bu kadar geniş topraklar üzerinde uzun bir süre hâkimiyet kurabilmişlerdir. Buna rağmen Romalıların, diğer entelektüel olgular konusunda bu kadar öncü ve etkili oldukları görülmez. Romalıların ortaya koydukları sanat eserleri, edebî yapıları, felsefi düşünceleri ve hatta dinleri, çoğunlukla Yunanlardan gelmektedir. Roma Panteonu'ndaki tanrılar düzeni ve mitlerinin çoğu

What do we really know about Celtic religion? The aim of this paper is to explore the gravity of sociocultural change between the late Iron Age and the Roman period, and its consequences for local religions, attempting to identify possible "relics" of late Iron Age cults in the Principate. We recognise the development of new "hybrid" religions that have been taking up substance from Greek, Roman and "native" cultures over many centuries, a process that intensified after the Roman conquest.

La ricerca su Valenze del lupo nel mondo romano, concentrata sul periodo monarchico e repubblicano, è finalizzata all’indagine di un tema, quello del lupo nel mondo romano, già oggetto di numerosi studi che hanno riguardato in alcuni casi la raccolta e l’analisi filologica delle fonti storiche, in altri la catalogazione di materiali figurati e la loro analisi iconografica e iconologica, in altri ancora l’interpretazione in chiave religiosa e socioculturale. Ne deriva che l’argomento non è mai stato trattato in maniera organica, sulla base cioè dell’utilizzo integrato di fonti storiche, documentazione archeologica e analisi comparativa, strumenti che solo se utilizzati insieme riescono a dare del problema un quadro esaustivo. Non basta. Poiché l’oggetto in esame, il lupo, non costituisce un’entità astratta, bensì un’entità reale, oggetto di approfonditi studi nel campo della zoologia, si ritiene opportuno partire dai dati scientifici relativi a tassonomia, distribuzione, morfologia e etologia per stabilire corrispondenze con i dati messi a disposizione dalla ricerca storica. A questo tipo di approccio è da riferire anche l’analisi della licantropia come forma di delirio di origine neurologica, secondo la classificazione della medicina moderna, ma così interpretata già a partire da Galeno.  La ricerca, che si avvale anche di fonti e testimonianze che esorbitano il periodo prescelto qualora si tratti di espressioni che possano essere riferite a tradizioni antiche, si articola in tre parti. La prima, costituita dalla raccolta della documentazione, dove si analizza il lupo con i dati messi a disposizione dalla scienza moderna; si procede alla raccolta delle fonti sul lupo nel mondo romano, con particolare approfondimento degli episodi legati al lupo e relativi alla leggenda di fondazione della città di Roma, l’analisi del complesso dei Lupercalia e dei racconti e degli eventi prodigiosi che, nell’ambito del periodo indagato, presentano una connessione con il lupo. La fase di documentazione è completata dall’analisi topografica dei luoghi che, nella città di Roma, presentano una relazione con il lupo o con i rituali ad esso collegati nonché dall’analisi di materiali figurati significativi. La seconda parte riguarda la comparazione e si occupa di verificare le valenze del lupo nel mondo indoeuropeo, con un’attenzione particolare all’area occupata da popolazioni elleniche, per la quale si registrano il maggior numero di fonti, e, tra gli altri popoli, alla presenza del tema in questione presso gli Etruschi, ma senza tralasciare indicazioni utili che possono provenire da altre culture, anche da quelle non direttamente in contatto con il mondo romano, ma originate dallo stesso sostrato. L’ultima fase della ricerca riguarda l’analisi dei dati raccolti.

The emergence during the Roman Empire of new religious forms and groups alongside the collec ve cults of the city and ruler worship invites analysis in terms of various kinds of network theory. Some of the main version of network theory currently in use are examined, and their applicability to ancient material is discussed and assessed. Network thinking turns out to be very useful, but the problems in conduc ng a more formal network analysis are formidable. Network theory does allow us to approach religious change from new direc ons and two models of change in current use – conversion as contagion, and religious change as the spread of idea – are examined. Thinking about religious change in these terms forces historians to formulate more precise descrip ons of change as a process that involves socializa on and the rou niza on of new habits and rituals, as well as a process of learning a new way of imagining and describing the cosmos.

The paper discusses the cult of the Hirpi Sorani, comparing it with other wolf cults of central Italy (Roman Lupercalia, Etruscan reliefs possibly depicting the cult of Calu), analyzing the common elements of these cults, and suggesting that the cults have a common origin.

A detailed analysis of CIL XIV 2112 = ILS 7212, an inscription detailing the status and life of an association (collegium) of worshipers of Diana and Antinous in Lanuvium. A new edition of the text with English translation is also provided.

For the edition of the text, enter "Bendlin" in the publication field in http://oracle-vm.ku-eichstaett.de:8888/epigr/epigraphik_en.""

Roman cult of Mithra has its origin from Indo-Iranian religions. This article examines in detail how it arrived in the west and finally flowed into Christianity. Every major religion has its own passionate controversies and opinions regarding its origin and associated mythology. The author wants to emphasize the intent of this article is not to offend any religious beliefs of the followers but share the historical knowledge of cultural exchanges among various civilizations. The ultimate creator that created all of us, however, we have named him, are the master of the universe and our cosmos. Any religion that produces peaceful coexistence and message of universal brotherhood should enjoy equality and respect of all mankind. The subject of this article is discussed by many scholars for several decades and it may continue in the future, but from the historical point of view, the civilization exchanges had allowed people to practice from polytheisms phase of worshipping to monotheism phase of worshipping. In the ancient world, everyone practiced polytheism of worship involving the natural forces that governed the birth, lives, and death of the ancients.

Buddhism was one of the earliest monotheist faith that was propagated from India beginning in 19th century BCE, after Buddha’s death, the dating is adjusted to reflect the correction of the chronological error in Vikram Savant (Hindu era) and dating mistake created by the colonial historian related to misidentification of contemporary Indian kings. Please see my article at
https://www.academia.edu/40451947/Mahavira_and_Gautama_Buddha_were_not_contemporaries_as_we_thought_Introduction

, as a field of scientific research, is a set of stories, mythos in Greek meaning ‗story' or ‗legend' and logos ‗word'. Usually, the myths are works of literature. The term mythology may include all the myths of religion or culture. Throughout history, these stories have circulated as works of literature, folk tales (ballads, odes, songs, songs of bravery) or based on historical sources written at different ruler's courts or monasteries. In this paper I will present a number of similarities between Greek and Roman deities and the slavic ones, basing my research as much as possible on the information provided by an etymological analisys, a description of the deity as well as rituals, offerings, sacrifices and celebrations dedicated to the deities. As a main source for Slavic deities, I used a compilation of medieval and religious texts written in the Kievan Rus' by monk Nestor, called the Russian Primary Chronicle or Nestor's Chronicle. This script presents Russian history and Kievan Rus between 850-1110 years, written in Kiev during Iziaslav Sviatopolk the second's (Grand Prince of Kiev 1093-1113) reign. The Chronicle is German-Scandinavian inspired, since the Prince Sviatopolk's (the principality's ruler) policy was pro-Scandinavian. Also, I could list following volumes: Dictionary of Slavic mythology by Ilie Danilov and Slavic mythology by Sorin Paliga. In addition to these works, information about Slavic mythology can be found in the following books:

Secondo la tradizione storiografica romana, Roma sarebbe stata dotata, dal 509/507 prima della nostra era, delle sue principali istituzioni repubblicane: due consoli annuali, eletti dai comizi centuriati secondo le prescrizioni che avrebbe lasciato il re Servio Tullio, e aventi un potere coercitivo contro il quale il cittadino ottenne, dai primi anni della Repubblica, il diritto d'appello (lex Valeria de provocatione); un Senato di trecento membri che controllava l'attività di questi magistrati; e un sistema di assemblee popolari definite dalle loro unità di voto che giustapponeva, dai primi decenni del V secolo, comizi curiati, centuriati e tributi. Altri elementi istituzionali avrebbero rapidamente completato la "costituzione" repubblicana: nel suo trattato su La Repubblica, Cicerone considerava che non ci fossero state piú innovazioni maggiori dopo il Decemvirato e la pubblicazione della legge delle xii Tavole, e un passaggio oscuro di Polibio può lasciar supporre che per lo storico greco, ugualmente, l'essenziale delle istituzioni repubblicane fosse in atto dalla metà del V secolo. 1 Questo insieme che si oppose alla monarchia e che viene chiamata "Repubblica" sarebbe dunque, agli occhi degli Antichi, e implicitamente ancor oggi agli occhi di numerosi Moderni, apparsa in uno stato già definitivo a partire dai primi anni del regime, come Minerva sarebbe uscita tutta armata dalla testa di Giove. Si tratta però di una visione storica erronea dovuta alla natura e allo stato delle nostre fonti sulla storia politica e istituzionale della Repubblica romana: la maggior parte delle nostre fonti storiografiche data in effetti alla fine della Repubblica o all'inizio dell'epoca imperiale, ed è ispirata ad autori piú antichi (tra i quali il primo "annalista" romano, Fabio Pittore), comunque non anteriori all'epoca della seconda guerra punica (218-201).

"The present study describes the history and the archaeological evidence of the passes and mountain roads in the eastern Alps from the beginning of Roman influence in the 1st half of the 2nd century BC to late antiquity. Based on ancient literary sources, which describe the Alps, their geography, their economic system and their political history, this study is an extension of research by ancient historians, who explored the slow expansion of the Roman Empire into the eastern Alps, and the special relationship between ancient human beings and the hostile environment of 
the high alpine regions. 
Ancient writers handed down the knowledge of their time about the extension, the height and form of the Alps. In addition to that, we have the names of the most important passes, mountain ranges and rivers, as well as descriptions of the typical products of the alpine regions from cheese to ferrum Noricum. There are also descriptions of the harsh climate and various dangers that faced travellers willing to make the journey over the Alps. These dangers effected special religious behaviour and rites on top of the passes in hopes of attaining the mercy of the gods. 
While Roman trade relations had already expanded from Aquileia since the 1st half of the 2nd century BC into the eastern Alps, the leading political groups in Rome showed little interest in that area and pushed ahead a very defensive policy which tried to define the Roman border along the first mountain ranges of the Carnian and Julian Alps. That policy was changed only near the end of the 1st century BC and between 15 BC and the middle of the 1st century AD, when the eastern Alps were integrated into the Roman Empire. From that moment, the first big street building programs were carried out, beginning with the renowned Via Claudia Augusta. 
Until the first 
Marcomannic invasions 160-180 AD, a heavy road net was build, mainly determined by economic considerations. During this period, not only are there archaeological traces on the most important passes used by the cursus publicus, but also on many smaller passes used by local traffic. Unfortunately, the fully developed Roman road system allowed access to the Germans, who invaded as far as northern Italy, 
crossing the pass Ad Pirum in the Julian Alps. Nevertheless, emperors like Septimius Severus carried out new road building projects and renewed the old traffic lines in Raetia and Noricum, until c. 270 AD, when the Roman Empire fell into general crisis and certain important roads were deserted and not maintained for many years. 
In late antiquity, with the reforms of Emperor Diocletian, the situation stabilized for many decades. A new phenomenon can be observed along different passes: the building of fortification systems and walls to protect the entrances to Italy. At the end of the 4th century AD, the final deterioration of the roman road system begins and Roman traffic came to a nearly complete end with the destruction of Aquileia in 452 AD. 
From numerous passes in the eastern Alps we have Roman evidence and small finds: stations along the most important connections like Immurium under the Radstädter Tauern pass (Salzburg), several milestones, well preserved remains of Roman road constructions as on the Korntauern and Mallnitzer Tauern, exact dated streets like in the Via Claudia Augusta in the Lermooser Moos (Tirol), street building inscriptions like on the Plökenpass (Venetia – Carinthia), sanctuaries and shrines with small cultic statues in high alpine regions like at the Hochtor under the Großglockner (Salzburg) or large fortification systems like on the pass Ad Pirum (Slovenia). 
This evidence shows a very diverse picture of Roman life in the highest areas of the eastern Alps and it can be compared easily with the much more famous evidence from the passes of the western Alps."

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions

A chapter on religion at Rome (rather than on "Roman religion"), written - per the volume's aims and purposes - to provide an accessible introduction to religious life in the city of Rome and to highlight some of the scholarly controversies in the field.

Faced with a world which desensitizes about the person, works and purposes of Satan, cries for a new world order and rampant violations of the word of God this work is intended to refocus attention on the second coming of Jesus, and  God’s vengeance on the sin, deception and lies of Satan.  The world has accepted Satan as a condition of normal, so-called, modern life; life and the Godly as nonsense and abnormal The word of God is being perverted, misquoted and defaced by adept Satanist who hides behind church robes, national leaders and corporate management. Christians must have confidence in their salvation, and the truth of the word of God which is summed up in Jesus Sermon on the Mount of Olives: “The sign of the second coming of Jesus, and of the end of the world.”
Dake’s structure of theology is definitely dispensational.
He recognized 9 distinct dispensations in Scripture.
1. Dispensation of God’s rule in eternity past.
2. Dispensation of Innocence.
3. Dispensation of Conscience.
4. Dispensation of Human Government.
5. Dispensation of Promise.
6. Dispensation of Law.
7. Dispensation of Grace.
8. Dispensation of Divine Government.
9. Dispensation of God’s rule in eternity future.











Table of Contents
Chapter One:                Unfulfilled Prophecy: When and Duration
Chapter two:                  Who
Chapter Three:              Where
Chapter Four:                Who
Chapter Five:                  Who?
Chapter Six:                    When and by which signs? Deception! Rumors.
Chapter Seven:              Travail of Israel
Chapter Eight:                The sign of the actual start of The Tribulation
Chapter Nine:                Flesh vs. Spirit
Chapter Ten:                  Birth Pains
Chapter Eleven:              Mid-Tribulation
Chapter  Twelve:            Time
Chapter Thirteen:          Sign of His second coming
Chapter Fourteen:          Abomination of desolation
Chapter Fifteen:              Babylon
Chapter Sixteen:            Structural Planetary Topographical changes
Chapter Seventeen:        When/Time
Chapter Eighteen:          Duration
Chapter Nineteen:          Katabole vs. Themelioo
Chapter Twenty:            Mid-Tribulation
Chapter: Twenty One:  The remnant
Chapter: Twenty Two:  Satan’s Work
Chapter: Twenty Three: Discernment
Chapter: Twenty Four:  Soul, Spirit and Body
Chapter: Twenty Five:  A Supernatural Day
Chapter: Twenty Six:    Spirit of Devils
Chapter: Twenty Seven: Marriage Supper of the Lamb

The study of ancient mystery cults was long dominated by Franz Cumont (1868-1947) until the appearance of Walter Burkert’s (1931-2015) small book Ancient Mystery Cults (1987). Despite his synchronic discussion of the mysteries, Burkert established once and for all that the ‘Oriental religions’ were cults rather than religions, that they were not that Oriental and, moreover, that they did not all promise otherworldly salvation.  Perhaps not surprisingly, Burkert concentrated on the major and well-known mysteries, such as those of Eleusis, Samothrace, Isis and Mithras, but not on the so-called imperial mysteries. That is why these will be studied here, the more so as these have not received any detailed scholarly attention for about half a century. In an Appendix I print the highly interesting reaction of Burkert to my book on the Mysteries (2014).