Babylonian Month: October-November

Neptune's Dolphins

The eighth month of Mesopotamia calendar is focused on the ending of the ploughing season. In Sumer, this month was called “Apin Du-a,” “the month that the seed plough is let go.” During the afczta festival, the plough is taken in a procession to its “home” – the shed where it is hung until the next ploughing season. (This farming implement is used only from the fourth month to the end of the seventh.) The “Disputation Between the Hoe and the Plough” is read as part of the festival.

Another festival held during this month is the Na-ab-ri-um. The focus is on divining for the coming agriculture year. Babylonians are well-known for their divination by liver (extispicy). Other divining methods used are oil in The Water (lecanomancy) and incense (libanomancy).

The name for the eighth month of the Standard Mesopotamia Calendar is odd. Usually the months are…

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GODS OF THE MONTH: OCTOBER

Neptune's Dolphins

My devotional calendar is an organic thing that grows and changes, as I learn more about the Gods who I venerate. Since I follow a Roman-centric practice, I use many sources for Roman festivals (fasti). Starting with that basis, I work out the Gods of the Month.

For the Romans, October is a month to focus on the affairs of the state and of the community. Fides (Good Faith), Felicitas (Good Fortune) and Venus Victrix (Venus Victorious) are honored for the protection of the people and the continuing favor of the Gods. Di Penates (the Gods of the Pantry) are also given sacrifices for protecting the food stores.

Also, October is a month of transitions. The campaign season is over and soldiers return home. They and their weapons need to be purified before they can rejoin the civilian population. Meanwhile, welfare of the people are prayed for by…

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What if the KRS is a pre-Columbian artefact? — TOM THOWSEN

into a foreign land, where you have realized that you would not survive. Then you probably leave a message behind. But if you had foreseen that people would call your message a hoax … based on your grammatical errors … you likely got horrified …

What if the KRS is a pre-Columbian artefact? — TOM THOWSEN

Cretan Footprints Challenge Darwin’s Out of Africa Theory, Says Study

Quelle: Cretan Footprints Challenge Darwin’s Out of Africa Theory, Says Study

The Necropolis of Hierapolis — ferrebeekeeper

Oh gosh, October is really flying by this year. I guess we might as well jump to this year’s spooky Halloween topic right now so that we will be able to enjoy (?) these posts as we approach Halloween. Topics in previous years have included the undead, the mother of monsters, flaying, and dark clowns. […]

The Necropolis of Hierapolis — ferrebeekeeper

3500-year-old Babylonian Ghost Image Discovered in British Museum Vaults!

Quelle: 3500-year-old Babylonian Ghost Image Discovered in British Museum Vaults!

Neue Langhäuser aus dem 6. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bei Tübingen entdeckt — ArchaeoNow

Nordwestlich von Tübingen-Unterjesingen liegt in der Flur Ammenbühlen, westlich des Enzbachs, eine prähistorische Siedlung. Obwohl die Fundstelle bereits 1926 entdeckt wurde, war mit Ausnahme weniger Lesefunde kaum etwas über das Areal bekannt. Im Zuge aktueller Geländeforschungen konnten nun wichtige Erkenntnisse zur Siedlungsstruktur und Befundsituation gewonnen werden. Rekonstruktion eines linearbandkeramischen Langhauses (M. Steffen/Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im […]

Neue Langhäuser aus dem 6. Jahrtausend v. Chr. bei Tübingen entdeckt — ArchaeoNow

Ollantaytambo (Sacred Valley of the Incas), Peru

Where in the world is Riccardo?

The 14th century Inca city of Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley of the Incas; note the stone granary built into the mountain, about 1/3 of the way up, center-right; Peru

Quaint Ollantaytambo (known to locals and visitors alike as Ollanta), Peru, is the best surviving example of Inca city planning, with narrow cobblestone streets that have been continuously inhabited since the 13th century.   The town is in the Sacred Valley of the Incas at an altitude of 9,160 feet (2,792 meters) above sea level, near Cuzco in the Southern Sierra region of Peru.  This is where the Incas retreated after the Spanish took Cuzco in 1533.  Much of the town is laid out in the same way as it was in Inca times. 

„The Incas built several storehouses (Quechua: qollqa) out of fieldstones on the hills surrounding Ollantaytambo.  Their location at high altitudes, where there is more wind and lower…

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Hotly Debated Origins of Pre-Inca Civilization of Tiwanaku Revealed by Genetic Study

Quelle: Hotly Debated Origins of Pre-Inca Civilization of Tiwanaku Revealed by Genetic Study

How To Live The Good Life: Epicureanism — Ben Caufield

How do you live the good life and what is the single biggest thing causing you unhappiness? The answer may well lie in the ancient philosophy of Epicureanism. It’s a philosophy that’s often given a bad rap, but it might actually help you find happiness.

How To Live The Good Life: Epicureanism — Ben Caufield