Images courtesy of Egypt Exploration Society
Posted on 08/26/2012 8:21:11 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
A just-deciphered ancient Greek poem discovered in Egypt deifies Poppaea Sabina, the wife of the infamous Roman emperor Nero, showing her ascending to the stars.
Based on the lettering styles and other factors, scholars think the poem was written nearly 200 years after Nero died (about 1,800 years ago), leaving them puzzled as to why someone so far away from Rome would bother composing or copying it at such a late date.
In the poem, Poppaea ascends to heaven and becomes a goddess. The ancient goddess Aphrodite says to Poppaea, "my child, stop crying and hurry up: with all their heart Zeus' stars welcome you and establish you on the moon."
Nero was one of the most infamous rulers who ever lived. Ancient writers say that he killed his own mother, Agrippina, and his first wife Octavia. He is also said to have killed Poppaea herself with a kick to her stomach while she was pregnant. If that wasn't enough, the well-known line -- "Nero fiddles while Rome burns" -- is an apocryphal phrase related to a great fire that ravaged Rome for six days during his reign.
Poppaea herself is also depicted in a less-than-positive light by ancient writers. When Octavia was killed, Poppaea was said to have been presented with her head. Some sources also speculate that she was the power behind the throne that encouraged Nero to murder his mother.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
|
|
|
| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
|
|
To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
|
|
|
|
Well, then.. History repeats......and we have Obama.
“To the moon, Poppaea” doesn’t have the same ring to it . . .
There was also the poem written by Seneca 50 years after Claudius died, “The pumpkinification of the God Claudius” but it aint exactly historically accurate;)
Hillary's running.
I don't know what else ya'll need - this is damn near proof.
Poppaea - great ancient porn name.
Uh, disregard that last comment. I misread something...oops.
OMG, that just made me spit out my breakfast cereal!
Hahahaha...brilliant!
Heh, was that the Roman equivalent of Crystal or Amber?
Is that the next Senator from the state of Illinois?
Say what you will about Nero, he is one of the few people noted for using the Latin verb “perire”, “to die, perish”, in the first person singular, present tense, indicative mood. Latin, or any other language.
http://aureliomadrid.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/qualis-artifex-pereo/
From the snippets in the article, it sounds like a touching story, beautifully told. The Greeks (and their Roman imitators) were the masters of this art. A beautiful woman dies young, and is installed in heaven as a goddess, where she is reunited with her two dead children, only to pine for the company of her husband, whom she watches over from the North Pole. Expect a Hallmark movie any day now.
< sob> Can I have a hankie, please? < /sniff>
It’s even better if you recognized the original image from “The Exorcist”...
I hope Valeria Messalina became a goddess. I always liked her!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
