#hellenistic

Diophantus of Alexandria – Scientist of the Day

Diophantus of Alexandria was a Greek mathematician of, we believe, the 3rd-century C.E., although he could have lived 300 years earlier and we could not tell.

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The so called Alexander Sarcophagus, Date: 4th Century “BC”

Detail of the lid of an ash urn in the form of an old married couple. From Volterra. Late second-early first century BCE. Terracotta. H. 41 cm. Volterra, Museo Etrusco Guarnacci

Object 18: Ash Urn Lid: Old Married Couple (Volterra)

Themes: Portraiture and aging, marriage, regional funerary tradition, terracotta ash urns

Visual Description

A terracotta ash urn or lid (hollow, with circular holes in each head for ash insertion) depicting an old married couple lying on a couch, found in the Ulimeto necropolis, Volterra (discovered 1743; collected by Mario Guarnacci). The man wears a tunic, mantle, and thick wreath on his receding hairline; he leans on cushions, resting a veined, be-ringed hand on a drinking bowl, gazing into the distance. The woman lies in front of him on her stomach in a contorted position — sleeveless tunic and mantle — her face in profile turned toward him with a grim, bitter expression. Her elegantly waved hair is gathered in a bun. The woman’s forearm (missing) was probably raised to caress his cheek.

Significance

Sometimes called ‘the portrait of marriage,’ this urn is among the most emotionally powerful surviving Etruscan works. The man’s apparently individual features (deep furrows, veined hand) are in fact paralleled on other Volterran urns, confirming that even 'realistic’ features are generic Hellenistic portrait types with age-indicating additions. The woman’s grim expression — in poignant contrast to her loving gesture — has been read as a 'life full of care.’ The hollow terracotta construction (ashes could be inserted through the heads) is a uniquely Etruscan solution uniting the ash container with the image of the deceased. The choice of terracotta (rare in Volterra, where alabaster was common) may be a deliberate archaizing gesture.

Broader Themes & Connections

Realistic vs. idealized portraiture in Hellenistic Etruria; the ash urn as surrogate body; marriage as a theme in funerary art (compare Sarcophagus of Ramtha Visnai); terracotta as an archaizing material choice; Northern Etruscan funerary traditions; the Guarnacci Museum and the preservation of Etruscan heritage.

Key Terms Volterra, ash urn, married couple, Guarnacci Museum, realistic portraiture, terracotta, Hellenistic, aging, marriage, archaizing

Sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa. From Poggio Cantarello near Chiusi. Second quarter of second century BCE. Painted terracotta. L. 1.83 m.

© The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Object 16: Sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa

Themes:

Elite funerary sculpture, idealized vs. real portraiture, terracotta production, women’s identity

Visual Description

A terracotta sarcophagus found alone in a small chamber tomb at Poggio Cantarello, Chiusi, dated end of 4th to mid-3rd century BCE. The architectural pedestal box has a frieze of alternating triglyphs and rosettes. The lid (in two parts) shows a mature woman resting on a mattress and pillow, dressed in a sleeveless high-girt chiton and mantle. She holds a circular lidded mirror in her left hand and raises the edge of her mantle in a bridal gesture with her right. Her face has an idealized classicizing beauty (almost straight profile, slightly open lips); her jewelry (tiara, earrings, necklace, bracelets, rings) is restrained. Extensive remains of polychrome paint survive.

Significance

The sarcophagus is a landmark for the study of Etruscan portraiture and the gap between idealized representation and biological reality: skeletal analysis of bones reveals a woman of 50–55 who suffered serious injury (possibly from a horse or cart), resulting in arthritis, spinal curvature, and jaw deformation — none of which appears in the idealized image. The lady’s name (cut into the wet clay) belongs to two known Chiusine aristocratic families. The bridal gesture of lifting the mantle, the mirror, and the careful polychrome finish all constitute a specific visual language of elite female Chiusine identity. The terracotta medium reflects regional economic patterns.

Broader Themes & Connections

The gap between idealized funerary portraiture and biological reality; the mirror as a symbol of female identity and status; the bridal gesture in Etruscan art; aristocratic family identity preserved in inscribed names; terracotta versus stone as regional economic choices; Chiusi as a center of sarcophagus production.

Key Terms

Seianti Hanunia, Chiusi, terracotta sarcophagus, idealized portrait, mirror, bridal gesture, polychrome, skeletal analysis, elite identity, Hellenistic

Marble head of a Ptolemaic queen (Greek, circa 270–250 BCE).

The head has been identified as Arsinoe II, who ruled together with her brother, Ptolemy II, from 278 B.C. until her death in 270 B.C. She was worshipped as an Egyptian goddess in association with Isis and also separately as a Greek goddess.

Images and text information courtesy The Met.

Help does anyone have any tips on how to make a good alter to a Hellenistic god/goddess, I already have candles, incense, stones, dice, and tarot cards. Is there anything else essential or needed?

(well I’ve just had a very unimaginably frustrating situation with an Etsy order)

(I was trying to order some Hellenic style boots so that I don’t have to wear sandals for the Renaissance Fair next month and the seller has somehow given me two boots that are literally the same size but one is size 8 for men’s and the other one is 7 for mens and have no clear difference whatsoever)

(I’m either assuming that they were trying to do a placebo effect by sending me the same size shoe with a different number on it or they just genuinely do not deviate from that size)

(I do not know)

(but I’m not going to be a dick about it I’m just going to send both of them back…. In considering how DHL is it’s probably going to cost me more than both of these damn boots combined) 🫩

me: what should I give up for lent?

me: …

me: oh right I’m pagan. I can eat whatever I want!

So this is the first time in a long while that I’ve done any shadow work and realized something kind of hilarious that I need to share to avoid full out crying (shadow work am I right?)

So I’m starting out my shadow work session with my new oracle deck, first time i’ve worked with an oracle deck too. So because I’m Hellenistic pagan obviously I have offerings burning at Apollo’s alter asking him to sit in because I feel alone, not asking to participate or answer any questions directly just for company and minor guidance.

So I’m sitting here crying over questions about love, and opening up to others, and how it connects to balancing all the other crap in my life like; work, and my relationship with my sister, and how to pick between the three romantic options I have, am I being selfish for wanting just physical relationships with these three individuals when I’m pretty sure they will want more, am I really ready for romance or do I only want something physical, what if I catch real feelings, what if I don’t and they do, what if I hurt someone unintentionally, do I still need to work through self hate and attachment issues and process my last relationship blah blah blah-

Suddenly I realize.

shit.

I’m working with apollo.

the first card I pulled was a sun card in the under dark. (The Fablemakeer’s deck of many things it’s based off DND basically the visual representation of reverse tarot I think idk I’m still new to Oracle decks. also It’s nighttime when I’m doing this of course Apollo would be in the “underdark”)

this is literally apollo’s myth’s and romantic tragedies and of course this is the right god to turn to for the emotions I’m feeling especially the myths about Hyacinth and Daphne.

Gods dam it.

FUUUUUCK.

fuck

Irony is a bitch sometimes.

anyways I’m going to finish my shadow work because I clearly need it hahaha

How it feels to have a hangover

(finished set of banners! It’s a shame I can’t keep all of them)

E-offering for Hermes🪽

Golden dice, a letter, gold coins, Moly and Citrine💌

ㅤㅤ“You haven’t drawn Aphrodite,” she said softly.

ㅤㅤ“I haven’t?” I asked, looking at the charcoal lines.

ㅤㅤ“No,” she replied, finally picking up her silk robe and draping it over her shoulders with a liquid grace. “You’ve drawn a woman who is tired, and hungry, and very much real.”

Cynthia, a sculptor living in the shadow of her father’s rigid expectations, is tasked with carving the perfect goddess. But when Dorothea, a renowned hetaira, arrives to be her muse, Cynthia finds herself drawing something far more human, and far more dangerous, than marble.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ❤ READ HERE ❤

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤDIVIDERS
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤDIVIDERS
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤDIVIDERS

Hi guys are there any other black helpol worshippers 😭😭😭 I’ve only seen like one other one there HAS to be more of us

(Greek festival time, yey, spany and wine makes my day just a little bit more happy) 😋

Dear Lord Hades,

What offering do you I need to give so that you’ll let your wife, Lady Persephone, return to us sooner? I’ll give chocolate and coffee, if that’s okay. Thanks

Sincerely, a worshipper stuck in -30 Celsius cold weather, like I’m in what is considered currently the coldest place on Earth right now please set me free it’s so cold here

(colored banners)

I am built from The Mothers hands

There is beauty in my skin

In my scars thare are constellations

In my eyes there is daylight

In my voice there is wind

In my hair there are trees

I am part of nature

And nature is beautiful

And i am beautiful

So praise be, Lady Aphrodite,

For you have made beauty everywhere

Gold stater (Greek, Early Hellenistic, circa 323/2–315 BCE).

Minted at Amphipolis in the years immediately after the death of Alexander the Great.

Images and text information courtesy The Met.

hey, everyone!

on here i go by lily (she/they) and i’ve just recently started practicing hellenism. i live in a VERY christian household, so it’s not possible for me to practice openly. i’m currently worshipping lady aphrodite for now, and i’d appreciate any resources or advice any of you have

at some point i’d also like to start worshipping persephone, so any resources on that would be much appreciated

hail aphrodite 💗