Baró Galeria’s Post

Propaganda or Praise? The Age of Augustus Dear Classical Wisdom Reader, This is our last week of summer. Next week, we won't start school or return to the office... We will fly back to winter, to the just-above-freezing temperatures of Buenos Aires, where I will find nice reading spots two inches in front of the radiators and gloves I can wear inside. I’m not a fan of the cold and, as such, I’m enjoying the heat, eyeing up the pools and beaches and trying to make the most of doing nothing. It’s something I do to connect with the ancients... Indeed, if you are also enjoying a -no doubt- much needed holiday, please relish in the fact that you too are partaking in a time honored tradition... one that dates back 2,000 years. But why is the month of August a time when, every year, the cities that occupy the region of the old Roman empire empty out into the seaside and countryside towns and suddenly no one does anything? Well, it has to do with the history of August itself... Originally named Sextilis, August was the sixth month in a ten month year. It switched to position number eight in 700 BC when January and February were added to the year before March by King Numa Pompilius, who also gave it 29 days. Then in 8 BC it was given its modern term in honor of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. Perhaps Augustus picked the now eighth month in reverence to his pre-Imperial name of Octavian... or maybe he just reasoned in all his wisdom that it's just too darn hot to do anything in August...so everyone should just take a holiday. A popular move, no doubt. And to kick off proceedings, he introduced Feriae Augusti, or the festival of Emperor Augustus, in 18 BC. This beloved holiday linked the various August festivals to provide a longer period of rest, called "Augustali", which was felt necessary after the hard labor of the previous weeks. This was, of course, in addition to its propaganda function... Indeed, many argue that there was no ancient better at propaganda than Augustus, as indicative of the great works left behind... but Augustus brought peace and prosperity to the Empire, he was literally a god on earth, and he rebuilt a decrepit and decaying Rome, so why then is there any doubt that the poets winged worship was anything other than genuine? That, dear reader, is an excellent question! Classical Wisdom Members, please enjoy today’s in-depth look at the man, the legend, and this month’s namesake: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. We’ll look at how he was depicted by the writers of the day, and whether or not their praise of him was honestly fawning...or fake. Members, you can also enjoy our Ebook on the Age of Augustus, below as well as the original text - Suetonius’ work tracing the Life of Augustus: From Boy to Emperor. So please, kick up your heels, sit back and relax and learn about the man who not only gave everyone a holiday, but also turned the Eternal city from bricks into marble. All the best, Anya Leonard Founder...

From the mystical manuscripts of Hildegard of Bingen to the revolutionary brushstrokes of Andrei Rublev, here are the stories of ten Medieval artists who forged a path of creativity in the face of adversity.

Nothing can be built out of nothing. A construction presupposes a previous destruction, even if this is simple empty space; the object, the "non-object" marked by the boundary, the consciousness of the object itself, in their "corporeal" union will give rise to the phenomenon of the transformation of form. The remains of the old temple will be used for the construction of the new temple; the same stone blocks will tell the eternity of form. Memories of the concept of transformation in various philosophies and sciences, where nothing is truly created or destroyed, but rather transformed from one state to another. from "Design of new words" and Revelation Fourth Movement by Ionone Music #ionone #music #art #transformation

EXPLORE THE SACRED ORIGINS OF INDIAN ART IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF RENAISSANCE https://lnkd.in/genPQkNz

Humble prayer and high culture! David Clayton published his remarks about Sarum Vespers and sacred art on Scala's blog. 1,000 heard these remarks live, and many more on the video of the lectures. But check out the blog for his spoken remarks and a few additional points, which I've excerpted below! "The beauty of the art, the architecture and the music participates in the beauty of the cosmos, which bears the thumbprint of the Creator. This transforming beauty harmonises with the poetic language of the psalms, and of the hymns and the prayers of the liturgy so that the worship stimulates our spiritual imaginations and impresses the pattern of Christ upon our souls. Then we go out and contribute, gracefully and beautifully, in all that we do to the pattern of human life in society. By this, we establish once more a beautiful culture that, like the cosmos, bears the mark of Christ, who did not create it directly but inspired its creation by people.  The Scala Foundation has a mission of transforming American and, hence, Western culture through beauty in education and worship so that we are formed by grace to change society, one personal relationship at a time. To the degree that each of us contributes to this ideal, we will help to create culture of beauty that speaks of the Christian Faith and Western values. Some may wonder how much an ancient English liturgy such as this might be relevant to Americans in Princeton today...The American nation emerged out of English culture and the values it incarnated and which were formed by its pre-Reformation liturgy and faith, primarily the Sarum Use of the Roman Rite. It is a truth that worship is the wellspring of culture. These values of English culture were preserved in America subsequently through the liturgical cousins and liturgical descendants of the Sarum Use, and their associated churches formed by them. These are as well as the Catholic Church, the Anglican, Episcopalian and all Christian churches which routinely sang the psalms especially those that used the psalter from the Book of Common Prayer. The Book of Common Prayer developed directly from the Sarum liturgy. The practice of praying the psalms can, it occurs to me, be a principle of unity for the American nation today. I speak with such hope, and as one who was born and grew up in England and recently became an American citizen. The hope is that the beauty and the dignity of the worship we participate in tonight, may be simultaneously grounding and elevating for us... We may not be able to match the great skill and sublime beauty of this occasion, but in our own humble way, we can daily participate in the ideal it presents. This grounding, humble prayer can be elevating in that it inclines us to cooperated with grace and inspire us in our daily activities, contributing to a noble and accesible culture of beauty. Humble prayer and high culture! That is the motto we bring to you."

The exact origins of April Fool's Day are a bit of a mystery, lost to the mists of time. Historians have various theories, but there's no definitive answer. Here are some of the leading contenders for the origin story: Roman Festival: Some believe it might be linked to the Roman festival of Hilaria, held around March 25th, which involved merriment, costumes, and merriment. Medieval New Year: Another theory suggests a connection to the shift from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. In the Julian calendar, New Year's Day fell on April 1st. People who clung to the old calendar might have been seen as fools, thus sparking a tradition of pranks on that day. Spring Celebrations: There's also a possibility that April Fool's Day emerged from ancient spring festivals that celebrated renewal and often involved playful trickery. While the exact origin remains elusive, there are records of April Fool's Day pranks dating back to the 16th century in Europe. It gradually gained popularity across the world, becoming a beloved tradition for lighthearted fun and mischief.

Last chant of this series dedicated to the Divine Comedy composed of nine songs from Hell, three from Purgatory and nine from Paradise. In all of them I have maintained an aesthetic close to two authors who represent the introspective consciousness projected towards the knowledge of the invisible worlds but connected with human nature, namely William Blake (1757-1827) and Alfred Kubin (1877-1959), both writers, painters and engravers, with a century of difference. Despite their stylistic differences, they converge in many respects, both in their imagery and in their approach to thought. The videos have been recreated using AI, Deforum-Stable diffusion, with editing and post-production. The music has also been generated with AI through the Suno AI platform. La Divina Comedia, Paraíso-Canto IX In this chant, Dante converses with the soul of Folco, who recalls the influence of Venus he received in the world and the great amorous passion he experienced in his youth. Folco utters an invective against the ecclesiastical hierarchy, which, because of greed, leads humans astray, and foretells that the Vatican and other parts of Rome will soon be freed from adultery. #divinacomedia #dantealighieri #deforum #stablediffusion #aianimationvideo #ai #aiartwork #aiart #aiartist #aimusic #aimusicvideo https://lnkd.in/dMZM6AWe

Today’s article examines the artistic legacy of the Etruscans, proto-Romans with vast trading links with the Greeks. The result is a combination of styles that is evocative, distinct, and despite the disparate influences, entirely its own. Neither Greek nor Roman, Etruscan art shows their society to be notably different from what we might expect from the ancient world. Not least in its portrayal of women! Read on here: https://lnkd.in/dnkXvCN7

The concept of "baul" as a term referring to performance is closely tied to the idea of baul songs these days. This tradition and practice can be traced back to agrarian lifestyles, which form the foundation of baul culture. It's important to note that their lifestyle is not defined solely by their music but encompasses their worldview, practices, and material and immaterial culture. When in a nationalist-heritage-oriented branding of the baul tradition began to emphasize the celebration of their music over local culture and practices, it became a tool for radicalizing the local culture, and baul songs became a standard to that end. This shift led influential figures like Lalon’s songs to be reinterpreted in a more secular light, placing greater emphasis on the lyrics and authorship of their work, therefore leading to the question of authorship. The question arises: are Lalon's works independent of his time and the prevailing rhetoric? Is the standard of literacy and authorship enough to underscore folklore tradition and mark the idea of folklore as opposed to singular authorship and, hence, folklore as a collective creation?

Here's my latest article published on the Paranormal Globe website. In it, I explore the fascinating world of British historical ghosts, examining why certain eras seem to dominate our ghostly narratives. From Roman legionnaires to Tudor monarchs and Victorian spirits, I delve into the cultural and historical factors that keep these spectral beings alive in our collective imagination. Check out the full article for a journey through time and the supernatural!