Dan & Lily's Roman History

Dan & Lily's Roman History l am a retired academic with two Bachelor & four Master Degrees. Mediterranean & Aegean regions feature heavily. Army reenactment & photographers are used.

Pompeii & Herculaneum feature with descriptions given on all photos with citations included.

COH•IIX LEG•X•GPF looking good as always in the late 1st to late 2nd century AD, such as the eras of Trajan and Marcus A...
06/09/2026

COH•IIX LEG•X•GPF looking good as always in the late 1st to late 2nd century AD, such as the eras of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius. The reinforcing work done to the Gallic-Type Helmet in photo 1 and the extreme modifications around the paragnathides (cheek guards) and the extended upper visor guard on the Centurion's Bronze helmet are immediate clues to the time period.
See comments section for more photos.

Photos: Radek Hajek Fotograf.
Dan & Lily's Roman History

Legio. XXI Rapax on display in full military panoply with arguably the most important and respected men in the Legion; t...
05/09/2026

Legio. XXI Rapax on display in full military panoply with arguably the most important and respected men in the Legion; the Standard Bearers. Following are nine quality images showing just how aesthetically wonderful these boys really were. Some of these photos are amongst the highest viewed according to the Facebook algorithm.

Photos: the usual crew that handle the important task of making RAPAX look both ferocious and elegant at the same time.

Dan & Lily's Roman History

The Etruscan Monteleone Chariot.This is something truly special in the Met, NY. Jason Martinez took this shot of a 2500 ...
05/09/2026

The Etruscan Monteleone Chariot.

This is something truly special in the Met, NY. Jason Martinez took this shot of a 2500 year old bronze Etruscan war chariot, known as the Monteleone decorated with images of the Archetypal Greek Hero, Achilles.

The Etruscans were the people that prospered during the 800s to 400s BC along the Italian Peninsula. Had it not been for the rise of Rome and the inevitable Etruscan-Romano wars, they could have dominated the ancient world and not the Romans.

As you can see the Etruscans were a people of exquisite culture, the tomb artwork is remarkable, their work with precious metals in jewellery and bigger items (just look at the chariot) Most museums consider the Etruscans the forerunners (or equals) to the Romans.

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Photo: Jason Martinez photography.

Dan & Lily's Roman History

The Athenian Treasury at the Sacred Delphi Sanctuary, Greece. As can be seen it has been heavily 'reassembled' and recre...
04/09/2026

The Athenian Treasury at the Sacred Delphi Sanctuary, Greece. As can be seen it has been heavily 'reassembled' and recreated sections are in a different colour so tourists understand what they are looking at. It is common practice to use very pale coloured stone when recreated sections are used so you know original from modern. These weather over time to match the original stonework.

Dan & Lily's Roman History

A fresco depicting the three-headed Lernaean Hydra (sources differ on the number of heads, see last paragraph) found in ...
04/09/2026

A fresco depicting the three-headed Lernaean Hydra (sources differ on the number of heads, see last paragraph) found in the "Tomb of the Infernal Quadriga" in Sarteano, Italy. The tomb is also referred to as the "Tomb of the Infernal Chariot" because another fresco shows a demon driving a chariot pulled by lions and griffins. It has been dated to the 4th century BC.

A four-horse chariot driven by a mythological figure, possibly Charun, who was the earlier Etruscan iteration of Charon, the figure that steered the ferry across the river Styx to the afterlife.

The Hydra has a long and extremely different mythology across cultures. The number of heads could range from three, five to fifty or even one hundred, according to various sources. Nine is the number usually thought of due to the Heracles myth. A common theme is when one head is removed, two replace it.

There is always a dominant head and in that fresco the front head and neck girth is definitely larger. It is the same with the Gorgon Medusa as she originally had wings and snakes but eventually the wings which began to disappear over time.

Image 1: Three headed serpent/hydra.
Image 2: The Quadriga (Infernal Chariot)
Image 3: All relevant frescoes insitu.

Photos: CC-BY-SA Public Domain.
Dan & Lily's Roman History

The bronze dancers of Herculaneum from the Villa Papyri, on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The...
04/09/2026

The bronze dancers of Herculaneum from the Villa Papyri, on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The first image was taken in 1976 and the second recently. These ladies have been amazing the world for nearly 50 years.

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Photo1: Peter Hocks.
Photos 2: Imaish - Flickr.
Dan & Lily's Roman History

Ah, the lads from Monty Python... 😀
04/09/2026

Ah, the lads from Monty Python... 😀

Three years ago I posted about an amazing 5 on 5 soccer match played in a 2000 year old Roman Amphitheatre in Pulla Croa...
03/09/2026

Three years ago I posted about an amazing 5 on 5 soccer match played in a 2000 year old Roman Amphitheatre in Pulla Croatia. The new sport replaces the old 'blood' sport. A creative use of this wonderful structure. In case anyone asks, no, this caused no damage to the structure.

Photo: CC-BY-SA Public Domain.
Dan & Lily's Roman History

Usually when I post reenactment images they are from the 1st Century BC to 2nd Century AD. I now want to start looking a...
03/09/2026

Usually when I post reenactment images they are from the 1st Century BC to 2nd Century AD. I now want to start looking at the 4th Century AD where we see monumental changes in the aesthetics, equipment, strategy, legionary leadership and organisation and even the Empire splits into two halves, with two Emperors, each with a Second in Command.

This new system which split bureaucratic from military issues, left them free to concentrate mostly on beurocratic issues and new military leadership structures were put in place. Pictured are three men from the Group "MAGISTER MILITUM" who specialise in the 4th Century.

As you can see the overall appearance of the commanders and even just regular troops became starkly different to what most of you may be used to. Decorative everything was the order of the day. I will go into clothing and equipment in later posts, just admire these magnificent looking commanders and the quality of the photos.

Pictured are the three most powerful men in the Empire besides the Emperors.

The 1st photo is the Magister Militum who had total control of the theatre of war.

The 2nd is the 'Magister Peditum' who controlled all of the Empire's infantry forces.

The last image is the Magister Equitum, sole commander of the cavalry. This title had been in existence since Republican times as the 2nd in command to a dictator.

Look in the comments section for loads more amazing images.

Images: Mike South Photography.
Dan & Lily's Roman History

Flavius Stilicho was born in 359 AD and executed on 22 August, 408. He was the regent (394–408) for the Roman Emperor Ho...
02/09/2026

Flavius Stilicho was born in 359 AD and executed on 22 August, 408. He was the regent (394–408) for the Roman Emperor Honorius and one of the last great Roman military commanders in the West. He fought in highly successful campaigns against the barbarians, opposing the invading Visigoths under Alaric in the Balkans and Italy and repelling an Ostrogothic invasion of Italy in 408.

He was the last of the truly great Western Generals to defend the West and have the trust of his men. The Emperor saw this amazing rise to power, the numerous victories and the love of his troops and knew something had to be done.

Foregoing the bother, a brave and honest Flavius presented himself to the Imperial Guard. He was summarily executed at the early age of 49, in 408 AD.

Following and in the comments are some images of Flavius Stilicho during his career, in various panoplies.

Dan & Lily's Roman History

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