I have always been fascinated by monuments or memorials to the deceased and the psychology behind them, as well as the physical structures themselves. This post initiates an occasional series on monuments to long-dead Romans and other figures of antiquity by looking at the Şekerhane Köşkü; very likely the platform for a temple of the Deified Emperor Trajan . . .
Category: General
Today (21 February 2020) marks the 2016th anniversary of the passing of Gaius Caesar. “Who?”—you ask? He was once the presumed heir to the throne of the new Roman Empire; now largely forgotten, much as his monumental cenotaph in Turkey. This brief remembrance of that structure is the latest in an apparently very occasional series … Continue reading What Might Have Been: The Gaius Caesar Cenotaph at Limyra
I do not wish to downplay other tragic locations associated with the term, but “Ground Zero” was originally used only for the surface location closest to the detonation point of a nuclear explosion. Mississippi is home to one of those fortunately rare spots. The Salmon Site (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, 2018) … Continue reading Mississippi’s Ground Zero Monument
NOTE: I am re-posting this to social media for Black History Month; inspired in large part by readings for the World War II course I am taking this term. The first sentence is obviously now out of date, but the story deserves continued notice. Today—12 October 2019 (as I write this)—would be the 100th birthday … Continue reading A Man Named Doris
The first Emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus, died on this day, 19 August, AD 14.[1] Occasioned by the 2005th anniversary of that event, this post is a brief follow-up to “Monuments to Dead Romans: The Şekerhane Köşkü,” featuring a probable Temple to the Deified Emperor Trajan (d. AD 117). Since that entry (first in a … Continue reading An August Mausoleum or August?
A.D. 