“Health, Life, Joy, Peace, Happiness, Hope” (late Roman-era mosaic from Halicarnassus)

Long before Google and Wikipedia, there was the phone-in library reference desk. ☎️ A fascinating and evocative reminiscence from The Hedgehog Review: hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-var…

Wall fragment with a Roman woman on a balcony, about 9 BC – AD 14. Getty Museum.

A View of an Ancient City (detail), Hermann Burghart (Austrian, 1834 - 1901)

I was so saddened to hear of Edmund White's passing. I was privileged to meet him a few times. Someone once said that he was usually the most important person in the room, but he made you feel like you were. I'd wholeheartedly concur with that. He was so kind and generous. R.I.P.

Young Man Reading, by Romanian painter Octavian Smigelschi (1892). Brukenthal National Museum.

Αρμονία (Harmony) - Nikolaos Gyzis

A new AI tool developed to fill in the blanks on partial #Roman inscriptions - used properly this could be great for the field, but I hope it doesn't mean that we stop exploring the inscriptions ourselves... theguardian.com/science/2025/j…

A welcome profile of Dave Hurwitz, one of the great characters of YouTube and a man who knows more about classical music than almost anyone on the face of the earth. If you don't follow his videos already, you should! 🎶

The Arch of Titus, 19th.century, Franz Kaisermann, Swiss (1765-1833). Medium: gouache/paper.

The Household Gods, 1880. John William Waterhouse (1849 – 1917)

An Italian map of Ireland from c. 1560

Flying couple, fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD, House of the Dioscuri, National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

A stunning recreation of the Hallaton Roman helmet, one of the finest Roman cavalry helmets ever discovered in Britain, thought to date to around the time of the Roman invasion of the island in 43 AD...🧵

The Walls of Pompeii, Stephan Bakalowicz, 1885

Today marks Gore Vidal's centenary. I wanted to write something to mark the day, reflect on his legacy, and consider what he might make of developments since his death: 'The Ghost of Gore Vidal - Gore at 100': quentinbroughall.com/journal-entrie…

Diogenes, by English painter John William Waterhouse (1882). Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Raffaello Sorbi - "Phidias sculpting the statue of Minerva" (1869)

Vasily Polenov - "Erechtheion" (1882)

Writing implements: stylus, wooden writing tablet, ink wells, Roman, 1st century