On 8 August AD 117, after a 19-year reign of military glory, Emperor Trajan died at the coastal town of Selinus in western Cilicia (present-day Gazipaşa, about 180 km East of Antalya on the southern coast of Turkey). According to Cassius Dio, Trajan fell seriously ill after an unsuccessful siege of the Mesopotamian city of… Continue reading 8 August AD 117 – Trajan dies at Selinus (#Hadrian1900)
The Italian State Mint will issue a new collector coin in March 2017 to mark the 1900th anniversary of the beginning of Hadrian's reign (117 - 2017). The obverse shows a bust of Hadrian's facing right. It was inspired by a portrait of Hadrian which is housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Around the bust… Continue reading 10€ gold coin to commemorate Hadrian
The Arch of Constantine, dedicated on 25 July AD 315, stands in Rome between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill at what was once the beginning of the Via Triumphalis. Its attic inscription commemorates Constantine's victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on 28 October AD 312 over the tyrant Maxentius, who had ruled… Continue reading The Hadrianic Tondi on the Arch of Constantine
In 2016, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem hosted an exhibition titled 'Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze'. The exhibition was curated by David Merovah (Curator of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Archaeology) and Rachel Caine Kreinin (Associate Curator) from the Israel Museum, together with Thorsten Opper (Curator of the Department of Greece and Rome) from the… Continue reading Exhibition: ‘Hadrian: An Emperor Cast in Bronze’ in Jerusalem
The Forum Antique de Bavay, located in northern France, is currently hosting a small exhibition devoted to the book Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian), a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of Hadrian. The exhibition sheds light on the genesis of Mémoires d'Hadrien and presents archaeological objects and ancient texts. It provides… Continue reading Exhibition: “Marguerite Yourcenar and Hadrian” in Bavay (France)
Hadrian and his travels have often served as the guiding thread for my travels. However, my recent trip to Turkey had a different focus, the Hittite civilization, with one of the highlights being a visit to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. After dazzling at the magnificent artefacts on display on the museum's main… Continue reading The cuirassed statue of Hadrian from Ancyra’s theatre (Ankara, Turkey)
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a dark grey limestone relief decorated with mythological scenes. The relief was unearthed in 1769 during excavations undertaken by the art dealer and archaeologist Gavin Hamilton, who sold it to Lord Lansdowne. The latter was an avid collector of antiquities who owned a fine collection of classical sculptures… Continue reading Art and Sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: The Lansdowne Relief
This month's sculpture from Hadrian's Villa is a marble head of Hypnos, the Greek god of Sleep. Hypnos is represented as a young man with wings attached to his temples (now lost). The head must have been part of a full-length statue showing Hypnos running forwards, holding poppies and a vessel from which he presumably… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble head of Hypnos
No other Roman emperor travelled as much as Hadrian. He was famed for his endless journeys around the empire and we can say that Hadrian, with the exception of the years during which he remained in Rome (119-120, 126-127 and the final years of his reign), devoted at least half of his reign to the inspection… Continue reading My Hadrian 1900 project
