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@anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social Sep 19, 2026, 9:00 PM

Into the West. For a late #SarcophagusSaturday, this Roman marine thiasos in the #VaticanMuseums depicts a horizontal journey to the afterlife. Stretching from #Hesiod to #Tolkien, it is a vision of eternal #ataraxia, mastering the turbulent sea of life. #AncientBluesky 🏺

MARINE THIASOS SARCOPHAGUS, C. 140-150 CE. VATICAN MUSEUMS

A rectangular marble sarcophagus on carved supports. The front features a high relief marine thiasos, with nude Nereids riding ichthyocentaurs and coiled sea monsters. Early modern scholars viewed these creatures literally as psychopomps carrying the dead across the river Oceanus to the western Isles of the Blessed. However, modern readings prefer a philosophical allegory, noting the conspicuous absence of any central figure representing a soul. Instead, the ocean represents the turbulent sea of life. The nymphs gracefully taming wild beasts symbolise the achievement of ataraxia, a state of profound inner peace and freedom from anxiety. This horizontal, westward journey to a maritime afterlife, entirely distinct from a skyward ascent or underworld descent, reflects a poetic continuity stretching from Hesiod in c. 700 BCE to Tolkien in the C20.

@djp1974.bsky.social Sep 10, 2026, 7:59 PM

This word did the Muses speak to me first of all:
“we know how to tell many lies resembling the truth; and we know, when we want, to utter what is true.”

- #Hesiod, ‘Theogony’ 24

@thewaywardabbey.bsky.social Sep 8, 2026, 7:23 PM

Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.
#Hesiod

#Women have been #vilified for ages, whether you're talking about Pandora, Eve or even the modern "gold digger."

Consider her actual actions before judging.

~Blessings~Courtney

#quotes

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