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Ishmael
In: Toronto
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| His personal life was a bit of a mess, Elagabalus married and divorced five women... |
Have to emphasize this point.
Henry VIII also married and divorced five women. He was outlived by the sixth. The chances of this statistical outlier occurring twice in history are beyond all estimation!
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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From Sun God and Moon Goddess towards Sainthood.
| Saint Constantine the Great and his mother, Saint Helena of Constantinople, were recorded as saints in the late Byzantine liturgical calendar, followed by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, some Lutheran Church and the Eastern Catholics. Although he is not officially canonized by the Orthodox Church and he was not recognized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church (Latin rite), Constantine I honours by adding "The Great" to his name because of his contributions to Christianity. His feast day as a saint of the Orthodox Christian Church is celebrated with his mother on 21 May, the "Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helena, Equal to the Apostles". |
One of the great mysteries is why there is so little contemporary christian iconography associated with Constantine, who motivated his soldiers through visions of christ.
Maxentius organized his forces—still twice the size of Constantine's—in long lines facing the battle plain, with their backs to the river.[159] Constantine's army arrived at the field bearing unfamiliar symbols on either its standards or its soldiers' shields.[160] According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers ... by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields."[161] Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or "with this sign, you shall win";[162] in Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night, in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.[163] Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place,[164] but it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins. |
Of course a Triumphal Arch was built to celebrate said victory.
[The Arch of Constantine (Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312.[a] Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch.[1] The arch spans the Via triumphalis, the way taken by the emperors when they entered the city in triumph.
Though dedicated to Constantine, much of the decorative material incorporated earlier work from the time of the emperors Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), and is thus a collage.[2] The last of the existing triumphal arches in Rome, it is also the only one to make extensive use of spolia,[3] reusing several major reliefs from 2nd century imperial monuments, which give a striking and famous stylistic contrast to the sculpture newly created for the arch. This earned it the derisive nickname of Cornacchia di Esopo Aesop's Crow.[4] |
Unfortunately nothing Christian on the Arch.
In short no physical real evidence of Christian Constantine (that Wiley can trace) other than this medallion......
http://www.constantinethegreatcoins.com/symbols/medallion.jpeg
One commentator more thorough than Wiley discovered that 1% of coinage "might" have some christian iconography on it....still we haven't much evidence for...... have we?
In fact there is not much out there to say Constantine was a christian, he had of course a death bed conversion, according to Eusebius.....there again he most probably needed to turn a corner as he had killed his son Crispus by cold poison and in a neat reversal he then killed his second wife Fausta by hot boiling......
The coin evidence shows overwhelmingly that Constantine like all emperors before him from Augustus was a sun worshiper wearing a radiate crown, with inscriptions to sol invictus, he minted gold solidus coins (like a sun disc) rather than silver, he makes Sunday a rest day for all citizens...(Geddit). A bit like Akhenaten he moves his capital, to Constantinople, and starts afresh... leaving Helena to mind Rome.....
http://houseofconstantinecoins.reidgold.com/Sol_other.html
So what about Helena?
| Helena, or Saint Helena (Greek: Ἁγία ἙλÎνη, HagÃa HelénÄ“, Latin: Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta; c. 250 – c. 330), was an Empress of the Roman Empire, and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. Born the lowest of commoners,[1] possibly in Drepana, Bithynia in Asia Minor, she became the consort of the future Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus (reigned 293–306) and the mother of the future Emperor Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337). She ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity and of the world due to her influence on her son. In her final years, she made a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem, during which she allegedly discovered the True Cross. Pious beliefs also associate her with the foundation of the Vatican Gardens. |
| Megalithic Empire wrote: | | Helen is associated with Troy but the christians presented a British Helen as the mother of Constantine the Great and discoverer of the True Cross. Helen or Selene is a moon goddess like Artemis or Hecate and, since as it were Constantine founded Christianity ie is a latter day Jesus, Helena, becomes in a matter of thinking, the mother-of-God. |
Helena is often depicted wearing a diadem with pearls. Maybe a solar lunar thing going on.....
Anyway, for balance an orthodox article about Christian symbols on coins that I discovered after first drafting. I don't really think it changes my view.......
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Christian/ChristianSymbols2.html#Mag
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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Whenever you get a deathbed conversion.....
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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Another interpretation which fits neatly (arguably too neatly) would be to interpret the the chi rho as a monogram of Chronos (whose name also begins with a Chi-rho), the god of time.....
That would also explain of course the Arch
| Though dedicated to Constantine, much of the decorative material incorporated earlier work from the time of the emperors Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138) and Marcus Aurelius (161–180), and is thus a collage. |
The thinking is circular........
Happily the coins because of their so called "Christian" chi rho connection are much sought after and valued.......
Chi rho.....The chariot is a well known symbol in many culture associated with sun worship and features on Roman Coins and of course sol is on the triumphal arch above in his chariot.
For the Greeks and Hebrews, the solar year began at the spring equinox, when the sun rises to the east and sets to the west .
For Christians since the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, (whatever) the date of Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon following this March Equinox. So the date traditionally attributed to the resurrection (aha) of Christ on the cross is therefore directly related to the balance between the Sun and the Moon, in particular, the so called "rebirth" of the solar cycle (ie cyclical time).
You will notice it's about 9 monthes before Christ's birth.....
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Ishmael
In: Toronto
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What evidence links the Arch to Constantine?
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Ishmael
In: Toronto
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Constantine is Henry 7.
Also duplicated as Henry 5.
And the emblem of Constantine is a very familiar symbol. (Hint: It's not any of the symbols Historians suggest but it's one all of you know).
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Again the question before us is why the Christians selected Constantine to be the initiator of Official Christianity. One theory, we have explored elsewhere, is that Constantine did indeed initiate a new State Religion, Mithraism, and that would explain both the similarities between Christianity and Mithraism as well as all the battles between Orthodoxy and Gnosticism, Orthodoxy vs Arianism, Orthodoxy vs Bogomilism etc etc. The enemy always being the remnants of Mithraism in various guises.
It is noticeable the old Graeco-Roman Pantheism seems not to have held up the Christians very much despite it having been the State Religion for centuries. Apart from the mysterious interlude of Julian the Apostate.
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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Helena apparently dies in 328 AD whatever, and her remains are placed in a "mausoleum" which had originally, so we are told, been designed to house the remains of Constantine.
Let's take a look.
Architecture
The building is on the circular plan, and is constituted by two cylinders, the upper one being of smaller diameter (27.74 metres (91.0 ft), internal diameter 20.18 metres (66.2 ft)). The original height was 25.42 metres (83.4 ft), while today it has reduced to some 18 metres (59 ft).
Internally, the lower cylinder has an octagonal shape. At the vertexes are niches, alternatively rectangular and semicircular; one of them housed the entrance. In correspondence with the niche, in the upper ring, were eight arcaded windows. In order to obtain a lighter dome, it included fragments of amphorae (such as in the Temple of Romulus or the Mausoleum of Villa Gordiani), which are now visible after the vault has collapsed. This led to the medieval name of the mausoleum, Torpignattara (Torre delle pignatte, meaning "Tower of the Vases"), today also used for the quarter which has grown around.
The rectangular niche facing the entrance most likely contained the sarcophagus of Helena, in red porphyry. The external walls of the sarcophagus are decorated with war scenes, as it was probably originally to be used for Helena's son, the emperor Constantine. |
It's all a bit perplexing. The building and the sarcophagi do not look Roman, to the modern eye. The cavalry appear not to be of the 4th century.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Helena#/media/File:Villa-fiori_092.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Helena#/media/File:Helena_tomb.jpg
The essential features of a Roman mausoleum are a circular wall covered by a conical mound. Circle and cone over a square base. The cone was covered in ornaments..... However you don't get to see this as many mausoleums were converted to forts during the middle ages......
Their mounds were removed, their walls were heightened for defensive purposes, and crenellations were added around the top. This military link ties up with the soldiers on the sarcophagi.....
| After the death of Helena, Ad Duas Lauros was assigned to the Roman popes. The mausoleum was damaged by the use of its materials for other constructions. In the 8th century it became a defensive fortress. However, it continued to house Helena's tomb until the 11th century, when the sarcophagus was brought to the Lateran (currently it is in the Vatican Museum). |
So Helena was moved in the 11th century.......
Other Mausoleums also converted
Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, 28-23 BC....Castle......Tomb of Caecilia Metella, Rome, c. 20 BC......castle......Mausoleum of Hadrian, Rome, AD 135-39....castle........
Anyway the Romans apparently developed their ideas from the Etruscans at Cerveteri Circa 500 BC Whatever.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1158
Right.....
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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Helena appears to have been a collector of relics.......
Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace's private chapel, where they can be still seen today. Her palace was later converted into the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries.
Tradition says that the site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with earth brought from Golgotha by Helena[24][e] to symbolically unite the blood of Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians, who died in the persecutions of Nero.[24]
According to one tradition, Helena acquired the Holy Tunic on her trip to Jerusalem and sent it to Trier.
According to Byzantine tradition, Helena is responsible for the large population of cats in Cyprus. Local tradition holds that she imported hundreds of cats from Egypt or Palestine in the fourth century AD to rid a monastery of snakes. The monastery is today known as "St. Nicholas of the Cats" (Greek Άγιος Îικόλαος των Γατών) and is located near Limassol.[25]
Several relics purportedly discovered by Saint Helena are now in Cyprus, where she spent some time. Among them are items believed to be part of Jesus Christ's tunic, pieces of the holy cross, and pieces of the rope with which Jesus was tied on the Cross. The rope, considered to be the only relic of its kind, has been held at the Stavrovouni Monastery, which was also founded by Saint Helena. |
Rather confusingly just a couple of hundred years earlier was another Helena.....she is connected with alignments.
| "Helena had a golden candlestick made over the door of the Temple," to which statement is added that when the sun rose its rays were reflected from the candlestick and everybody knew that it was the time for reading the Shema'.[8] She also made a golden plate on which was written the passage of the Pentateuch[9] which the priest read when a wife suspected of infidelity was brought before him.[10] |
Our earlier Helena.....is believed to be buried in Jerusalem, in a pyramid type structure.
https://www.bibleplaces.com/tombofkings/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_of_Adiabene#/media/File:Helena_of_Adiabene_Sarcophagus_1.JPG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_of_Adiabene
moon>>>sun
Mother>>>son
https://russianicons.wordpress.com/tag/sun-mother-of-god-icon/#jp-carousel-3212
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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We big this connection up in The Megalithic Empire (which was written before various enormities came to our attention). The 'collector of relics' angle is critical. Since relics'n'pilgrimages were the mainstay of the medieval Christian economy it follows that the practice must be inaugurated by the mother of the founder of Christianity. Sweet Mary, mother of God.
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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| Ishmael wrote: | | What evidence links the Arch to Constantine? |
There is an inscription
"To the Emperor Caesar Flavius Constantinus, the greatest, pious, and blessed Augustus: because he, inspired by the divine, and by the greatness of his mind, has delivered the state from the tyrant and all of his followers at the same time, with his army and just force of arms, the Senate and People of Rome have dedicated this arch, decorated with triumphs."
Still when was the inscription done? There is a lot of doubt from academics......about when and why?
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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| Mick Harper wrote: | | The 'collector of relics' angle is critical. Since relics'n'pilgrimages were the mainstay of the medieval Christian economy it follows that the practice must be inaugurated by the mother of the founder of Christianity. Sweet Mary, mother of God. |
There are few references in the gospel accounts to Mary the (mother)....during Jesus' life. On each occasion he refuses to meet, or when she is at the foot of the cross, asks for her to be taken away. His mother is invisible, she must not obscure him. Mary gives birth, then arrives at the cross shortly before his death.
Mary Bethany has the lead role in anointing Jesus feet, feet are important in sunrise and sunsets. Cf Cloak(ing) and Dagger.Cf Heel/Hell.
John 12:1–8
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." |
Nard is an amber fluid, it's sun worship.....
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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Likewise Jesus is unable to preach in his hometown.
Jesus has to move/rise to start ministry.
Time and Place were circular. Historians have rearranged time to become more linear, whilst place has largely been left alone, ie ancient folks go on incredible travels where they have some sort of revelation.
Revelation/revolution.
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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| Wile E. Coyote wrote: |
Time and Place were circular. Historians have rearranged time to become more linear, whilst place has largely been left alone, ie ancient folks go on incredible travels |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Hardrada
See what I mean....region of Norway, Kiev, Denmark, Constantinople, Sicily, Lombardy, Constantinople, Bulgaria, Kiev, Norway, Scotland, York......
With regards to religion, Harald had, according to DeVries, a "religious inclination towards Christianity" and was "publicly close to the Christian Church", although he was influenced by the Eastern Christian culture of Russia and the Byzantine Empire, having spent most of his life there. He was clearly interested in advancing Christianity in Norway, which can be seen by the continued building and improvement of churches throughout his reign. Despite this, DeVries notes that Harald's "personal morality appears not to have matched the Christian ideal", citing his marriage arrangements.
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We might add that he was involved in the odd scrap ....
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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| Mick Harper wrote: | | Again the question before us is why the Christians selected Constantine to be the initiator of Official Christianity. |
Wiley's answer would be something like....because Diocletian martyred a lot of Christians according to "Eusebius"
The reign of the emperor Diocletian (284−305) marked the final widespread persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. The most intense period of violence came after Diocletian issued an edict in 303 more strictly enforcing adherence to the traditional religious practices of Rome in conjunction with Imperial cult. Modern historians estimate that during this period, known as the Diocletianic or Great Persecution and extending several years beyond the reign of Diocletian, as many as 3,000−3,500 Christians were executed under the authority of Imperial edicts.[1]
The church historian Eusebius, a Bishop of Caesarea who lived through both the "Little Peace" of the Church and the Great Persecution, is a major source for identifying Christian martyrs in this period. Martyr narratives flourished later as a genre of Christian literature, but are not contemporary with the persecutions and are often of dubious historicity. This article lists both historical and legendary figures traditionally identified as martyrs during the reign of Diocletian. | |
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