Following Hadrian

@followinghadrian

Hadrianophile "omnium curiositatum explorator" #Hadrian1900

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Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6h

For #WorldLizardDay 🦎, a bronze lizard sculpture from the Hellenistic era with blue glass eyes. Beneath the lizard, a hollow in the block contains an object, possibly the remains of the tamed lizard, making this object a memorial. Cinquantenaire Museum, Brussels.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 2d

Happy #WorldElephantDay 🐘

Detail of an elephant from the 6th-century AD mosaic floor of Constantinople's Great Palace in Istanbul.

Etruscan plate depicting a war elephant being driven by three black mahouts, and a calf following. Dated to the late 4th/early 3rd century BC.
National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, Rome.

Terracotta oil lamp with heart-shaped spout and scene of a fight between a bear and an elephant.

The Great Hunt Mosaic from Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily, depicting the boarding of an elephant at the port of Alexandria in Egypt onto a ship. Dated to the 4th century AD.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 4d

#MosaicMonday - Mosaic depicting the Judgment of Paris from Antioch on the Orontes, the former capital of the kingdom of Syria, where Hadrian became Emperor #OnthisDay in AD 117. Dated AD 115-150. This mosaic adorned a dining room in the house of a wealthy Antiochian family. Louvre Museum, Paris.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

This means I am celebrating the 9th anniversary of my #Hadrian1900 project today! followinghadrian.com/hadrian-1900...

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

This means I am celebrating the 9th anniversary of my #Hadrian1900 project today! followinghadrian.com/hadrian-1900...

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

Paying my respects to the deified Trajan, who died #OnThisDay in AD 117 at Selinus in Cilicia. followinghadrian.com/2017/08/08/8... His death led to the city being temporarily renamed Trajanopolis. A large rectangular building is believed to have been built as a cenotaph for Trajan.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

In honour of #InternationalCatDay, here’s a throwback to my latest visit to Delphi in the footsteps of Hadrian! 🐱 followinghadrian.com/2025/05/28/s...

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

Guardians of Ephesus 🐈‍⬛🐈🐱 #InternationalCatDay

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 6d

Happy #InternationalCatDay! 🐱🐈‍⬛🐈 Mosaic depicting a cat attacking a quail, from the House of the Faun at Pompeii. Dated to the late 2nd century BC.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· 8d

#PortraitThursday - Over-life-size bronze head of a high-status individual, imitating the appearance of Hadrian, with glass-inlaid eyes. Dated to the 2nd century AD, found in Qena, a city in Upper Egypt. Greco-Roman Museum, Alexandria.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 22

#MosaicMonday - Mosaic of the Judgment of Paris from Antioch (Antakya, Turkey), dated AD 115-150. This panel decorated a dining room floor, redesigned after a devastating earthquake. Inspired by Hellenistic painting, the artist used opus vermiculatum to create a vivid stone-and-glass “painting.”

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 21

#AncientSiteSunday - Zeugma, founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, grew into a thriving Roman city on the Euphrates. Famous for its luxurious villas, frescoes, and mosaics, it reached its peak in the 2nd century AD. Many of its mosaics are on display at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 21

#ArtefactSunday - These two quite wonderful gilded-bronze peacocks, symbols of eternal life, originally decorated the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome (Castel Sant'Angelo). They are believed to have stood outside the mausoleum, along the bronze fence surrounding the monument. New Wing, Vatican Museums.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 21

Happy first day of summer! ☀ These Roman mosaic roundels depict personifications of #summer (Latin aestas, Greek ΘΕΡΟΣ).

Mosaic pavement with a representation of the Summer season. Late Roman, from Carthage.
British Museum, London.

Allegory of Summer. From a mosaic depicting busts of muses and poets, seasons, and a Dionysian procession. From Gerasa/Jerash (Jordan). Dated to the 3rd century AD.
Altes Museum, Berlin.

Summer on the Mosaic of the Four Seasons. From Ain Beida near Timgad. Dated to the 2nd century AD.
Musée national des Antiquités, Algiers.

The personification of Summer, crowned with a garland of ripened grain. Detail of the God Pan mosaic from Italica.
Palacio Lebrija, Seville.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 20

Four years ago today, I had my first dig at Vindolanda! ⛏ I dug there again in 2023 and at Magna in 2024, and I can't wait to dig at Magna again in 9 days. followinghadrian.com/2022/08/21/d... followinghadrian.com/2023/07/22/d...

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 20

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The Amphitheatre of Capua, built in the late 1st century AD, was the second largest after Rome’s Colosseum. Restored under Hadrian and inaugurated by Antoninus Pius in AD 155, it had a decorated façade and a hypogeum for gladiators, animals, and machinery.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 19

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Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 19

#TheatreFriday - The Theatre of Kibyra in Lycia, built on a slope and seating about 8,000, dates to the Hellenistic period. The upper cavea and two-storey stage were added in the 2nd century AD. Traces of wooden posts for a velarium to shield spectators remain on the cavea.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 18

#PortraitThursday - This remarkable silver bust portrays the Roman emperor Lucius Verus (r. AD 161–169). Crafted from a sheet of silver using the repoussé technique, it preserves a strikingly realistic image of the emperor. Found crushed near Marengo in northwestern Italy, it was restored in 1936.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 16

#HadrianFactTuesday - Did you know that Hadrian’s Wall may already have been under construction when Hadrian arrived in Britannia in AD 122? The emperor's orders were likely issued months earlier. By the time Hadrian reached Britain to inspect the frontier, work on the Wall may already have begun.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 15

#MosaicMonday - Mosaic of Aion, the god of eternity, and Tellus, the earth goddess, from a Roman villa in Sentinum (Italy), ca. AD 200–250. Aion stands within a celestial sphere with zodiac signs, while Tellus is at his feet with four children, possibly personifying the seasons. Glyptothek, Munich.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 14

#ArtefactSunday - The Parabiago Plate, found near Milan from the late 4th century AD, is a masterpiece of late Roman silverwork. This decorated dish depicts Cybele and Attis in a lion-drawn chariot, amid personifications of the sun, moon, earth, sea, time, and seasons. Archaeological Museum, Milan.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 13

#RomanSiteSaturday - The Barbegal Aqueduct and Mills in southern France, built in the 2nd century AD, used water from two aqueducts to power 16 water wheels, creating the greatest concentration of mechanical power in antiquity. The mills likely supplied much of the flour for nearby Arelate (Arles).

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 13

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The semi-amphitheatre of Andesina (Grand, France), built around AD 80, is a large Gallic arena. Carved into a hillside and 149 metres long, it could seat about 17,000 spectators. It was part of a pilgrimage complex dedicated to Apollo Grannus, a Celtic-Roman healing god.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 12

#TheatreFriday - The Theatre of Thugga is a top Roman theatre in North Africa, part of the UNESCO site of Dougga in Tunisia. It was completed around AD 168-169 and was funded by Publius Marcius Quadratus, a member of a wealthy family. Quite modest in size, it could seat 3,500 people

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 11

#PortraitThursday - “The Beauty of Palmyra”, a funerary bust from Palmyra (AD 190–210) that depicts a woman with an elaborate jewelled headdress, necklaces, and decorated garments, showcasing Palmyrene portraiture. Traces of paint reveal its vivid colours. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 10

#ReliefWednesday - Relief frieze of the 2nd-century AD Parthian Monument commemorates the Roman victory over the Parthian Empire, featuring Lucius Verus on Helios' chariot, driven by Nike. Ephesos Museum, Vienna, Austria.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 8

#WorldOceanDay - Two Roman altars dedicated to Neptune and Oceanus by the Sixth Legion Victrix Pia Fidelis, showing symbols associated with each deity. The altars are thought to have formed part of a shrine on the Pons Aelius bridge (Newcastle), which the legion helped build around AD 120/2.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 8

For #WorldOceanDay, four Roman mosaics depicting the marine god Oceanus. Oceanus, the eldest Titan and son of Uranus and Gaia, personified the freshwater river Oceanus, believed to encircle the earth and be the source of all gods and creatures.

Mosaic panel from a fountain basin depicting the sea-god Oceanus, from Carthage. Dated to the 3rd century AD, restored in the 19th century.
British Museum, London.

Head of Oceanus, detail of a mosaic from the Baths of Themetra near Sousse. Dated to the beginning of the 3rd century AD.
Sousse Archaeological Museum, Tunisia.

Mosaic with a huge portrait head of Oceanus, surrounded by four Nereids and three lines of Latin verse. From Ain Temouchent near Sétif. Dated to the late 4th or early 5th century AD.
Musée national des Antiquités, Algiers, Algeria.

Oceanus with lobster claws protruding from his head and dolphins and fish escaping from his beard. Dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD, found in 1959 at the Plaza de la Corredera.
Salón de los Mosaicos (Hall of Mosaics), Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs, Córdoba.

Following Hadrian@followinghadrian· Jun 6

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The Amphitheatre of Salona in Croatia, built in the late 2nd century AD, is a major Roman arena that seated up to 18,000. It features vaulted chambers and shrines to Nemesis beneath. The site later became linked to Christian martyrdom during Diocletian's persecutions.