Construct - Blog Posts
Construct 35: Chainsaw, a massive weapon capable of both destroying obstacles and melee combat (Sword + Drill)
The first combination construct I have created for Andra’s arsenal. A combination construct is a combination of 2 or more base constructs, (0-9) to create more powerful constructs
Construct 18: Rocket Gauntlet, a gauntlet twice the size of Construct 1, this giant fist is much stronger/more durable, along with having rocket propulsion at the elbow to increase speed and power in a single attack. (Gauntlet + Plasma Cannon)
Construct 5: Drill, a melee based weapon used mainly for destroying obstacles rather than actual one-on-one combat
Construct 8: Plasma Cannon, a heavy duty ranged weapon usually used on the right arm. It has poor speed and mobility, but makes up for it in sheer firepower
Construct 3: A large sword
One of the many weapons I have designed for an OC of mine, Andra Hertz (I haven’t settled on a design for her yet, but I have designed much of her arsenal)
Construct 1: Gauntlets, can either be constructed as a single gauntlet or as a pair. They give Andra a boost in her physical strength in exchange for speed and maneuverability
Beautiful!
I call this hairstyle ‘ticking time buns’
The funeral monument of Countess Matilda di Canossa, Pope Gregory VII's great champion against the Emperor Henry VI. The monument was conceived by Bernini who began it in 1633. The statue of Matilda is by Andrea Bolgi (1605-1656). The central bas-relief which shows Henry IV kneeling before Gregory VII on January 28th, 1077 after waiting or three days and three nights to be received, is the work of Stefano Speranza. The two cherubs supporting the inscription are by Andrea Bolgi (on the right) and Luigi Bernini, the brother of Gian Lorenzo (on the left).
locaantiqua:
Atrium Vestae (Vestal Virgin’s Home) - Rome, Italy
cheshicat:
Courtyard of the Vestal Virgins
The Virgins were chosen as young girls. They had to be free of defects, physically & mentally, have 2 living parents, and had to be daughters of citizens of Rome. The Virgins had a highly sacred and important job. Awarded many privileges, the Virgins were also given great responsibility and failure to live up to their job could mean a punishment as severe as death
harvestheart:
Vestal Virgins
The priestesses of the goddess Vesta were known as the Vestal Virgins. They were responsible for maintaining the sacred fire within the Temple of Vesta on the Forum Romanum. Other duties included performing rituals in regards to the Goddess Vesta, and baking the sacred salt cake to be used at numerous ceremonies in the year. They were the only female priests within the roman religious system. The head of the college of Vesta was called the Virgo Vestalis Maxima, and she was under the direct authority of the Pontifex Maximus.
The college of Vesta had 18 members, though 6 were considered actual Vestal Virgins at any given time. They were selected from distinguished patrician families at an age from three to ten, and such appointments were considered a top honor for any family to receive. They each served thirty years, the first ten years as novices, then ten years as actual vestal virgins, and finally ten years as supervisors responsible for training the novices. After the thirty years of duty they were released from their duties and could then maintain a private life, including the right to marry. For men, arranging a marriage with a former vestal virgin was highly prestigious, regardless of age or the ability to have children.
The vestals vowed to live in chastity for the thirty years their tenure lasted. In return they were allowed many privileges not given to ordinary Roman women. As one example, the vestals were not subject to the pater potestas of their fathers. Essentially they were allowed to handle their own properties and engage in legal contracts, they were allowed to travel around the city in a carriage and they had special seats in the front row at the various games, where, in contrast women were normally relegated to the back seats. They were considered inviolable and sacred and their blood could not be spilt without fear of terrible repercussion from the gods. So sacred and divine-like were these priestesses, that if a person sentenced to death met a vestal virgin on his way to the execution, he would be automatically pardoned. Of course, special care would be taken to prevent or to make sure this would happen, depending on the circumstances.
While enjoying many benefits, including a rather luxurious life in the House of Vestal Virgins, punishment for breaking the rules were severe. The punishment for breaking the vow of chastity was death by burial alive as this was the adopted to kill a vestal without shedding her blood. Such executions would take place in the “Evil Fields”, or Campus Sceleratus, just outside the Servian Wall. Their lover would be flogged to death on the Comitium. While these executions took place several times, it was obviously a rare event that carried all sorts of negative omens with it.
While the Pontifex Maximus continues to the present day as an office of the higher order in the Catholic Church, the order of the vestals was disbanded in 394 AD, when non-Christian cults were banned by Theodosius. The Church, wisely trying to keep the general population with a sense of familiarity, readily adopted the use of convents and position of nuns that held many of the same rules and customs as the Vestals.
http://www.unrv.com/culture/vestal-virgins.php
Two-sided amulet. On the front, the Raising of Lazarus. On the reverse are three lines of Greek magic words.
Jerusalem, Bible Lands Museum. Soft gray stone, 33 mm.
Magic amulets with Christian imagery were produced by an unusual workshop operating in 5th-century Palestine. Most of the amulets were crudely cut from very soft stones that could be easily carved with a sharp tool rather than with the drills used by experienced gem cutters. All were pierced to be worn suspended. The amulets generally draw on popular Christian imagery, including the Sacrifice of Isaac, the Raising of Lazarus, and Jesus with the apostles
Although some of the inscriptions on the amulets are in Greek, other inscriptions are badly blundered or in a pseudo-script, sometimes imitating Hebrew. The amulet makers appear to have had a superficial knowledge of both pagan and Jewish magic but were evidently serving Christian clients.
Ceiling Mosaic - Christus helios, the mosaic of Sol in Mausoleum M, which is interpreted as Christ-Sol (Christ as the Sun).
Detail of vault mosaic in the Mausoleum of the Julii. From the necropolis under St. Peter's Mid-3rd century Grotte Vaticane, Rome.
Mosaic of the Vatican grottoes under St. Peter's Basilica, on the ceiling of the tomb of the Julii (Pope Julius I). Representation of Christ as the sun-god Helios or Sol Invictus riding in his chariot. Dated to the 3rd century AD.
"Early Christian and pagan beliefs are combined in this third century mosaic of Christ as a sun-god. The triumphant Christ/god, with rays shooting from his head, is pulled aloft by two rearing horses in his chariot. The Dionysian vines in the background become the vines of Christ."
Title: Christ as Sol Invictus Late 3rd century
treasuredthings:
statue of Sophie Auguste Friederike (Catherine the Great)
