Arseny
@elstersen.bsky.social
Symbols, myths, anthropology, art, linguistics, history. This is a notebook of TILs: things I wish I could learn more about!
he/him. For my daytime alter-ego, see @khakhalin.bsky.social
Support Ukraine! 🇺🇦
he/him. For my daytime alter-ego, see @khakhalin.bsky.social
Support Ukraine! 🇺🇦
Reposted by Arseny
1/ 🚨 New working paper alert. We (@essobecker.bsky.social @jeanetbentzen.bsky.social and myself) thought there is still much to learn about the link between religion and gender, so we write a survey 🥁
“Gender and Religion: A Survey" 👉 warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...
“Gender and Religion: A Survey" 👉 warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...
November 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
1/ 🚨 New working paper alert. We (@essobecker.bsky.social @jeanetbentzen.bsky.social and myself) thought there is still much to learn about the link between religion and gender, so we write a survey 🥁
“Gender and Religion: A Survey" 👉 warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...
“Gender and Religion: A Survey" 👉 warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/econ...
til skyscrapers in North America have no 13th floor as ppl are afraid of numbers. (Except for Vancouver that banned this practice!) In most Asian countries the same fate befalls the 4th floor as in many languages (!) it sounds similar to "death". Italy skips 17th hotel rooms, but not 17th floors 🤯
Humans: capable of building entire skyscrapers but still afraid to put the scary number on one of the floors
November 10, 2025 at 2:15 PM
til skyscrapers in North America have no 13th floor as ppl are afraid of numbers. (Except for Vancouver that banned this practice!) In most Asian countries the same fate befalls the 4th floor as in many languages (!) it sounds similar to "death". Italy skips 17th hotel rooms, but not 17th floors 🤯
Reposted by Arseny
I always forget that henry the 8th had a gun. it's like giving pippin from lord of the rings a gun.
November 10, 2025 at 11:27 AM
I always forget that henry the 8th had a gun. it's like giving pippin from lord of the rings a gun.
Reposted by Arseny
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
‘Google Maps’ for Roman roads reveals vast extent of ancient network
Nature - A high-resolution digital map nearly doubles the known length of the ancient road network.
go.nature.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:08 AM
A high-resolution digital map allows people to plan their routes along the ancient roads of the Roman Empire
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
go.nature.com/4nHZmoM
Reposted by Arseny
This manuscript is notable for many reasons. One is that most of the stories (biblical, legends) are set in contemporary England. So many of the biblical figures wear chain mail, the narratives are embroidered through daily life, the architecture reflects what was prevalent in England at the time.
“God the Creator”, opening illustration to a stunning 14th-century manuscript known as the Holkham Bible Picture Book. Explore more of its glorious depictions of bible scenes here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/holkham-bible
November 7, 2025 at 9:23 PM
This manuscript is notable for many reasons. One is that most of the stories (biblical, legends) are set in contemporary England. So many of the biblical figures wear chain mail, the narratives are embroidered through daily life, the architecture reflects what was prevalent in England at the time.
A cool question on r/askhistorians : why european architects are so keen of lions, and not bears, while Europe doesn't have lions, but has lots of bears?
The main answer: history! Europe used to have lots of lions, and they became mythological from there
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
The main answer: history! Europe used to have lots of lions, and they became mythological from there
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
November 8, 2025 at 6:26 PM
A cool question on r/askhistorians : why european architects are so keen of lions, and not bears, while Europe doesn't have lions, but has lots of bears?
The main answer: history! Europe used to have lots of lions, and they became mythological from there
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
The main answer: history! Europe used to have lots of lions, and they became mythological from there
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Reposted by Arseny
3,900 Pages of Paul Klee’s Personal Notebooks Are Now Online, Highlighting His Bauhaus Teachings (1921–1931)
3,900 Pages of Paul Klee’s Personal Notebooks Are Now Online, Highlighting His Bauhaus Teachings (1921–1931)
Paul Klee led an artistic life that spanned the 19th and 20th centuries, but he kept his aesthetic sensibility tuned to the future.
www.openculture.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
3,900 Pages of Paul Klee’s Personal Notebooks Are Now Online, Highlighting His Bauhaus Teachings (1921–1931)
Reposted by Arseny
This little bird survived a volcanic eruption!
Buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, this Roman fresco of a little bird pecking at fruit re-emerged looking as delightful as it did some 2,000 years ago!
Villa Poppaea, ancient Oplontis, Italy
📷 by me
#FrescoFriday
#Archaeology
Buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, this Roman fresco of a little bird pecking at fruit re-emerged looking as delightful as it did some 2,000 years ago!
Villa Poppaea, ancient Oplontis, Italy
📷 by me
#FrescoFriday
#Archaeology
November 7, 2025 at 1:48 PM
This little bird survived a volcanic eruption!
Buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, this Roman fresco of a little bird pecking at fruit re-emerged looking as delightful as it did some 2,000 years ago!
Villa Poppaea, ancient Oplontis, Italy
📷 by me
#FrescoFriday
#Archaeology
Buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, this Roman fresco of a little bird pecking at fruit re-emerged looking as delightful as it did some 2,000 years ago!
Villa Poppaea, ancient Oplontis, Italy
📷 by me
#FrescoFriday
#Archaeology
Religion is a universal human pursuit, just like music, sports, or literature. Not all people are religious, same as not everyone plays sports or listens to music, but most do. Most have at least some vague interest in this direction.
But you know what it means?
But you know what it means?
November 5, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Religion is a universal human pursuit, just like music, sports, or literature. Not all people are religious, same as not everyone plays sports or listens to music, but most do. Most have at least some vague interest in this direction.
But you know what it means?
But you know what it means?
Reposted by Arseny
November 3, 182 CE: An enslaved child named Epaphroditus (8) falls from a window straining to see the castanet-dancers at a festival in the village of Senepta in Roman Egypt (P.Oxy. 3 475). A public physician (accusative: ‘δημόσιον ἰατρὸν’) is called for & a proper burial papyri.info/ddbdp/p.oxy;...
![HGV: P.Oxy. 3 475 [source] [xml]
Title Report of an Accident
Publications P.Oxy. 3 475 More in series P.Oxy.More in series P.Oxy., vol. 3
W.Chr. 494
Sel. Pap. II 337
C.Pap. Hengstl 95
Support/Dimensions Papyrus
Post-Concordance BL Entries BL-online; I 323; V 76; VIII 235; IX 180; XI 144; XII 135
Translations Winter, Life and Letters (1933), S. 133; Lewis, Life in Egypt (1983), S. 106.; Burnet, L'Égypte ancienne (2003), Nr. 197; Straus, L'esclave (2004), Nr. 11.; Pap. Lup. 11, 2002, S. 174f.
Origin Oxyrhynchos More from Oxyrhynchos
Material Papyrus
Date 3. Nov. 182 More from the period between 182 CE and 183 CE
Commentary Zu Z. 20 vgl. ZPE 133, 2000, S. 190. Neudruck: Pap. Lup. 11, 2002, S. 173-175. Vgl. Marcone , Medicina e società, S. 194-202.
Mentioned Dates
Z. 13-35:3. Nov. 182
Print Illustrations Ancient Faces (1997), 249, S. 186f.
Subjects Anweisung des Strategen an einen Amtsdiener; zusammen mit einem Arzt die Leiche eines Sklaven zu untersuchen; der einen Unfall hatte; Kopie der Anzeige des Unfalls bei einem Fest
Images https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24685/lot/207/?category=lis...
License Creative Commons License © Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis der griechischen Papyrusurkunden Ägyptens. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Trismegistos: 20611 [source]
Publications P. Oxy. 3 475 (Grenfell, Bernard P. / Hunt, Arthur S.; 1903) = Chrest. Wilck. 494 (Wilcken, Ulrich / ; 1912) = Sel. Pap. 2 337 (Hunt, Arthur S. / Edgar, Campbell Cowan; 1934) = Hengstl, Griechische Papyri 95 (Hengstl, Joachim / ; 1978) = Winter, Life and letters in the papyri p. 133 (Winter, John Garrett / ; 1933) = Lewis, Life in Egypt p. 106 (Lewis, Naphtali / ; 1983) = Burnet, L'Égypte ancienne 197 (Burnet, Régis / ; 2003) = Straus, L'esclave. Recueil de documents papyrologiques 11 (Straus, Jean A. / ; 2004) = Capasso (ed.), Dal restauro dei materiali (Pap. Lup. 11) p. 173-175 no. 23 (Tedeschi, Gennaro / ; 2002 [2003]) = Keenan e.a. (ed.), Law and legal prac…](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:byohyhodi6iknxngf3oypcge/bafkreih7msk5djkz4mmodktpg6hhngjasvoarnbiybb4xpdg34njfs5m5i@jpeg)
November 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM
November 3, 182 CE: An enslaved child named Epaphroditus (8) falls from a window straining to see the castanet-dancers at a festival in the village of Senepta in Roman Egypt (P.Oxy. 3 475). A public physician (accusative: ‘δημόσιον ἰατρὸν’) is called for & a proper burial papyri.info/ddbdp/p.oxy;...
Gamelan + EDM feels like such an obvious mix, and yet all i can find on spotify are gamelan-like synths in boring western log-termpment. All xenhamonicity - lost 😔
October 31, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Gamelan + EDM feels like such an obvious mix, and yet all i can find on spotify are gamelan-like synths in boring western log-termpment. All xenhamonicity - lost 😔
Yesterday at about 9 pm: walking past the gates that lead from our inner yard to the street. Someone is clearly trying to open the gate, but failing.
We opened the gate... Two racoons!! They hesitated for a good minute, then left the yard, both of them, disappeared into the outer dark
We opened the gate... Two racoons!! They hesitated for a good minute, then left the yard, both of them, disappeared into the outer dark
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Yesterday at about 9 pm: walking past the gates that lead from our inner yard to the street. Someone is clearly trying to open the gate, but failing.
We opened the gate... Two racoons!! They hesitated for a good minute, then left the yard, both of them, disappeared into the outer dark
We opened the gate... Two racoons!! They hesitated for a good minute, then left the yard, both of them, disappeared into the outer dark
And they say modern dating is hard! Not a phone in sight, but a stomach full of scales...
October 31, 2025 at 2:07 PM
And they say modern dating is hard! Not a phone in sight, but a stomach full of scales...
til Ola is a super-versatile name
in Scandinavia it's masc, a short for Olaf
in Arabic-speaking countries it's a normal fem name
in Russian, it's a short for Olga, itself Scandinavian Helga
in Polish, it's a short for Oleksandra, which is a South Polish / Ukrainian pronunciation of Alexandra
in Scandinavia it's masc, a short for Olaf
in Arabic-speaking countries it's a normal fem name
in Russian, it's a short for Olga, itself Scandinavian Helga
in Polish, it's a short for Oleksandra, which is a South Polish / Ukrainian pronunciation of Alexandra
October 31, 2025 at 1:03 PM
til Ola is a super-versatile name
in Scandinavia it's masc, a short for Olaf
in Arabic-speaking countries it's a normal fem name
in Russian, it's a short for Olga, itself Scandinavian Helga
in Polish, it's a short for Oleksandra, which is a South Polish / Ukrainian pronunciation of Alexandra
in Scandinavia it's masc, a short for Olaf
in Arabic-speaking countries it's a normal fem name
in Russian, it's a short for Olga, itself Scandinavian Helga
in Polish, it's a short for Oleksandra, which is a South Polish / Ukrainian pronunciation of Alexandra
An informative thread on AskHistorians about past cases when demographics in a country "flipped" (or shifted from marginal to sizable minority) because of different birthrates:
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Mention: Lebanon, Russia, Ireland, Serbia, China, S Africa, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkey, USA
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Mention: Lebanon, Russia, Ireland, Serbia, China, S Africa, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkey, USA
October 31, 2025 at 10:10 AM
An informative thread on AskHistorians about past cases when demographics in a country "flipped" (or shifted from marginal to sizable minority) because of different birthrates:
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Mention: Lebanon, Russia, Ireland, Serbia, China, S Africa, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkey, USA
www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...
Mention: Lebanon, Russia, Ireland, Serbia, China, S Africa, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Turkey, USA
I checked, and it's true, it's not a joke! She left him for a lover tho, and then he got angry, converted to hardcore Catholicism, opposed non-Latin mass, and hated the welfare state. I had no idea. I will forget it again probably.
October 31, 2025 at 9:56 AM
I checked, and it's true, it's not a joke! She left him for a lover tho, and then he got angry, converted to hardcore Catholicism, opposed non-Latin mass, and hated the welfare state. I had no idea. I will forget it again probably.
Reposted by Arseny
The Haunt, 1969, painting by by L.S. Lowry (The Lowry). #NorthernArt
October 31, 2025 at 8:14 AM
The Haunt, 1969, painting by by L.S. Lowry (The Lowry). #NorthernArt
Turnip. Only turnip. Always turnip.
October 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Turnip. Only turnip. Always turnip.
Hanifism = pre-Islamic Arab Abrahamic monotheism distrinct from either Christianity or Judaism. Wikipedia isn't sure if they really existed.
Sabianism = may be Mandaeans, but it's not clear. Could also be Manichaeans, or some other syncretic/gnostic sect. (I love to think they were Mandaeans tho!)
Sabianism = may be Mandaeans, but it's not clear. Could also be Manichaeans, or some other syncretic/gnostic sect. (I love to think they were Mandaeans tho!)
This map by @xruiztru shows the diverse religious landscape of the Arabian Peninsula at the beginning of the 5th century, a century before the rise of Islam.
October 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Hanifism = pre-Islamic Arab Abrahamic monotheism distrinct from either Christianity or Judaism. Wikipedia isn't sure if they really existed.
Sabianism = may be Mandaeans, but it's not clear. Could also be Manichaeans, or some other syncretic/gnostic sect. (I love to think they were Mandaeans tho!)
Sabianism = may be Mandaeans, but it's not clear. Could also be Manichaeans, or some other syncretic/gnostic sect. (I love to think they were Mandaeans tho!)
Reposted by Arseny
A pretty cool collection of Tuareg amulets on ebay; saving it here for visual reference
June 29, 2025 at 3:53 PM
A pretty cool collection of Tuareg amulets on ebay; saving it here for visual reference
Reposted by Arseny
Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, Damascus r/brutalism
October 29, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, Damascus r/brutalism
til @brutalibre.bsky.social exists, and they have just posted new awesome recent photos from Alt Erlaa!
Been to Alt-Erlaa in Vienna yesterday, thought my fellow brutes might enjoy the sight r/brutalism
October 30, 2025 at 8:34 AM
til @brutalibre.bsky.social exists, and they have just posted new awesome recent photos from Alt Erlaa!
Oh so Anglicanism is now splitting into conservatives (GAFCON) and normies?? The theological dispute seems to be on whether homophobia and sexism are a critical part of church identity or not. I never heard of gafcon until today, but apparently there are lots of them!?
October 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Oh so Anglicanism is now splitting into conservatives (GAFCON) and normies?? The theological dispute seems to be on whether homophobia and sexism are a critical part of church identity or not. I never heard of gafcon until today, but apparently there are lots of them!?
Huge WWII-era flakturm (anti-aerical bunker cannon defense thing) in the middle of Hamburg, repurposed to housing, with gardens on top! A lovely thread of photos👇
October 29, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Huge WWII-era flakturm (anti-aerical bunker cannon defense thing) in the middle of Hamburg, repurposed to housing, with gardens on top! A lovely thread of photos👇
Classical English literature is often dunking on older males, fathers and uncles, writing "useless memoirs" or pious boring tomes about all the things they believe should be right. But look, it's so much better than nothing! I wish my father had written a boring book before dying. I'd read it.
October 29, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Classical English literature is often dunking on older males, fathers and uncles, writing "useless memoirs" or pious boring tomes about all the things they believe should be right. But look, it's so much better than nothing! I wish my father had written a boring book before dying. I'd read it.