Sunflowers

The sunflower is a plant native to the New World and common throughout the US. Its stem can grow up to 10 ft (3 m) tall, and its flower head, commonly having yellow rays, can reach 1 ft (30 cm) in diameter. The sunflower was domesticated around 1000 BCE in the Americas, where the Incas venerated it as an image of their sun god, and it reached Europe in the 16th century. It is valued today for its oil-bearing seeds that can be made into bread. The sunflower is the state flower of what US state? More… Discuss

today’s holiday: Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (2015)

Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (2015)

This feast is a commemoration in Malta of the shipwreck of St. Paul on the island in 60 CE, an event described in the New Testament. Paul was a prisoner on a ship, and when storms drove the ship aground, Paul was welcomed by the “barbarous people” (meaning they were not Greco-Romans). According to legend, he got their attention when a snake bit him on the hand but did him no harm, and he then healed people of diseases. Paul is the patron saint of Malta and snakebite victims. The day is a public holiday observed with family gatherings and religious ceremonies and processions. More… Discuss

today’s birthday: Augustus Caesar (63 BCE)

Augustus Caesar (63 BCE)

Augustus Caesar was the first emperor of Rome. Known as Octavian for the period of his life prior to 27 BCE, he came to power after defeating Mark Antony and Cleopatra. He ended years of civil war and gave Rome an era of peace, prosperity, and imperial greatness. Although he preserved the outward form of the Roman Republic, he ruled with extraordinary powers for more than 40 years and filled the Senate with sympathizers who named him “Augustus.” What was the significance of this title? More… Discuss

Masada

Masada is a mountaintop fortress in Israel. According to the ancient historian Josephus, it was fortified by Herod the Great in the 1st century BCE. In 66 CE, at the beginning of the Jewish uprising against the Romans, a group of rebels captured Masada. They retained control of the fortress until 73 CE, when, besieged by the Romans, they committed mass suicide rather than surrender. Excavated in the 1950s and 60s, Masada is now a major tourist attraction. How do visitors reach the top of Masada? More… Discuss

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TODAY’S SAINT: FEAST OF ST. PAUL’S SHIPWRECK

Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck

This feast is a commemoration in Malta of the shipwreck of St. Paul on the island in 60 CE, an event told about in the New Testament. When storms drove the ship aground, Paul was welcomed by the “barbarous people” (meaning they were not Greco-Romans). According to legend, he got their attention when a snake bit him on the hand but did him no harm, and he then healed people of diseases. Paul is the patron saint of Malta and snakebite victims. The day is a public holiday, and is observed with family gatherings and religious ceremonies and processions. More…

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Villa of the Papyri

The Villa of the Papyri, as it is now known, was a private home owned by Julius Caesar’s father-in-law in the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum. In 79 CE, the eruption of Vesuvius covered the entire city with volcanic ash, including the villa, which was situated halfway up the volcano‘s slope. Its remains were excavated in the 18th century, and therein was found a library containing 1,785 carbonized papyrus scrolls, many of them expounding the ideas of what school of philosophy? More… Discuss

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