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avelera · 1 month

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Let's Play: What's Wrong with this Sculpture?

Following in the theme of sharing astonishing moments of ancient sculpture pedantry here on Tumblr, based on my brief undergraduate stint as a T.A of ancient art history, I thought I'd share one of my other proudest moments of being an absolutely insufferable know-it-all about ancient sculptures.

In the process, I hope I can also share some of the sort of largely useless (from a practical perspective) information that Tumblr tends to glory in, so buckle up buttercups.

This question was posed to me on a walking tour of the Capitoline Museum in my ancient art history class while I was living abroad. Our professor, a delightfully curmudgeonly Belgian, stopped in front and asked us to figure out why this sculpture is just plain wrong.

I intend to walk you through the process of how I got the right answer and, after gaining my teacher's rare approval, glowed with enough serotonin to power a small nuclear reactor.

So, let's return to the original question: what is wrong with this sculpture?

Because if you are truly eagle-eyed you should be able to spot what very famous sculpture this actually is, before an overly imaginative Frenchman brought it back wrong.

Hint #1: It was incorrectly restored.

Look closely at the the difference of the patina, or color of the stone. It's a bit hard to tell in this photo, but the head was added later. It's a paler white than the core of the torso, which is what we have of the original sculpture.

Hint #2: It was incorrectly restored in the 18th century by a Frenchman (Pierre-Étienne Monnot) who made some, shall we say, creative interpretations of what's going on here.

You can tell it's by an 18th c. Frenchman because the facial features are so delicate. Ancient statues tend to have less narrow and delicate chins and noses. In general, that is a dead giveaway when something is 18th century French vs. Ancient Greek or Roman.

Here's a good example. The first sculpture is 18th c. French, the second is the famous Venus de Milo. Note her blockier chin and less delicate features. So in the future, you can tell these sort of later additions to Greek or Roman sculptures if they added a new head because 17-19th century sculptors in Europe had tools (like finer drill tips) and tastes (beauty standards that favored more delicate men and women) that led to a pronounced difference in the faces.

Hint #3: Check out the anatomy of his lower shoulder. That's another addition, that arm should not be coming straight out of a torso where the muscle, if you look closely, is turned inward.

Seriously, that looks painful.

Hint #4: The sword he's holding up is just total nonsense for the Roman era. I mean, the restoration makes no secret of the fact that this sword is a later addition, but it's also just an absolute nonsense sword with its silly little curved cross guard. This Frenchman literally just made it up.

Here's an ancient sculpture with a sword in it that actually looks right:

From the Ludovisi Gaul, a famous Hellenistic Baroque work of Greek sculpture. Note the much blockier sword though I will admit, it could be a later addition, I don't know for 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure it's the original. Regardless, it fits the sculpture much better and let me add that sword I'm criticizing is completely made up for the sculpture we're talking about and is not there in the original sculpture that was incorrectly restored.

Ok, so those are all the hints.

Look closely at the body of the first sculpture. Cut away the arms that are not connected to the body correctly, the sword that shouldn't be there, the face that was far too delicate. When you separate those later additions out, can you tell me what sculpture that actually is?

Because here is the reveal!

The Discus Thrower, aka, the Discobolus by Myron.

The French restorationist got carried away by his own imagination, saw a twisted torso and thought it could only possibly be a warrior in the midst of twisting around to fend off a blow, not an athlete in the midst of a demonstration of skill. It's a martial, fanciful read that completely misinterpreted the subject.

This is why most restoration today employs a much lighter touch, rather than trying to reattach pieces incorrectly, they tend to just outline where the missing pieces are with a light sketch of an educated guess of what might have actually been there. Faulty restorations like the Capitoline Discobolus is one reason for this modern stylistic principle when it comes to restoration work.

When my professor asked us to identify the correct original sculpture that day on the museum tour, it was the sword that pinged me as wrong first, but zeroing in on the core of the sculpture, the torso, is what revealed the true statue underneath.

This notoriously difficult to please professor was very proud when I blurted out, "It's the Discus Thrower!" and the high-octane serotonin I got from his approval probably could have propelled me into the sun that day, and brought to you Yet Another Moment of Ancient Sculpture Pedantry.

#ancient history #ancient rome #art history #discobolus #there are very few things I'll brag about but naming this sculpture correctly is one of them #in part because there was so little to be gained lol oh well might as well make a tumblr post about it

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callisteios · 2 years

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oh hello! i made a little uquiz assigning you a historical period (and maybe i call you gay)

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johnadamsbignaturals · 1 year

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#well. yeah.#me and half my mutuals are getting our asses served on a silver platter with the og tweet #history fandom #historical figures #rome #ancient greece #alexander the great #winsome’s wailings

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cerise-on-top · 2 months

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What kind of dates would Gaz, Laswell, Valeria, and Alejandro take you on? (Assuming they had the time lmao)

I'm sick as hell but your blog gives me lots of lovely things to think about while I recover- have a wonderful day ❤️🙏

Hello! I hope you'll get better soon, being sick is just about the worst thing you can be, I was sick not too long ago as well! I'm glad to hear my blog can give you something nice to think about, that was my intention!

Dates with Gaz, Alejandro, Valeria and Laswell

Gaz: He’s a simple man, so he’d likely take you on rather simple dates. Something along the lines of going to the cinema, or maybe taking a walk in the park with him. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy for him, sometimes he just likes being able to spend time with you alone as well, so it’ll be an indoor date where you watch a movie and cuddle with each other on the couch. Gaz can be a rather touchy guy if you allow him to be, so he’ll likely nuzzle into you a bit as he holds you close. If it was up to him you’d be blankie burritoed until you couldn’t move and would be reliant on him to carry you to bed. However, he also loves watching movies. While he may not be the biggest fan of anime he’ll watch it with you if you absolutely insist on it. Loves, and I mean loves, discussing the movies you’ve watched together afterwards. From the soundtrack to the visuals, the story to its message, he loves spending time with you and telling you all his thoughts about the movie. Saying something sophisticated makes him feel smart, and you actually agreeing with him makes him feel good too. Even if you’re not as movie-literate as he might be, he can still appreciate you listening to everything he has to say about it. If you do listen to him then he’ll invite you to another bucket of popcorn, it’s all on him, even if you insist on paying for him instead. Gaz just loves winding down with the one he loves, so he doesn’t always need to have the most exciting dates. As long as he gets to spend time with you, even in complete silence as you both do what you want, he’s a happy man.

Alejandro: I can see his dates being a bit more exciting than Gaz’. Alejandro is a rather active man and loves some action, so he’d likely love something along the lines of going to an amusement park. His stomach can handle quite a lot, so even the rougher rides won’t be too much of an issue for him. He just hopes that you can take just as much as he can. However, if you like going to amusement parks then you’ve scored with him. It doesn’t only have to be the rollercoasters you’ll be riding, though, sometimes he just loves going to a haunted house with you as well. He’d love it if you’re a scaredy cat about this sort of stuff who clings onto him for safety and reassurance. He’ll laugh a bit about you being so absolutely adorable, and call you out on being a bit scared, but he won’t shoo you away for holding onto him. In fact, he’ll encourage it. Alejandro doesn’t scare easily, he thinks haunted houses to be quite funny, especially with you. Please do hold onto him, though, he loves feeling like the stronger, trusted person who’s with you until the end of it all. He wants nothing more than to be someone you can rely on, even if it’s just something stupid. He certainly also wouldn’t mind going to a tunnel of love with you. Since he doesn’t need to always be so serious with you, he likes goofing around and giving you a big old kiss when he can. His favorites are the rollercoasters, though. He’s loved those ever since he was a child and wants to share that joy with you. Just hearing you scream and laugh with joy makes his heart flutter. He enjoys looking at you as the rollercoasters get to the scary part, all the while you’re either pale or laughing. It warms his heart to spend such a wonderful day with you and no one else.

Valeria: Unlike Gaz and Alejandro, even on date nights she needs to show off just how powerful of a woman she is. Ergo she’ll take you on dates where you’ll be eating some fancy food. Don’t even think about paying yourself. Besides, chances are if you’re a normal worker, then you likely won’t be able to afford the food anyway. However, going to a restaurant every once in a while would be kind of boring in and of itself, so Valeria would like to couple something like that with something else. The Christmas market is in town? There’s a musical you’d like to see? You just wanna go stargaze? Valeria is down for it all. Although she’d need some convincing to go stargazing with you since being outside is a huge risk for her, being seen even more so with you. Other than that she’d amuse herself greatly upon watching a play. She never got to see any when she was a child, even if she had always wanted to see something along the lines of a good musical. And now that she can she won’t let anything at all take that away from her. You better be ready to hear about some new musical or opera in town that you’ll be visiting. An opera she’s always wanted to see would be Carmen, so if that one’s ever in town she’ll be taking some days off to watch it with you, doesn’t matter what she has to do. As long as she gets to be fancy with you and show off to you just how great of a partner she really is, she’s happy. Besides, would you really pass up the opportunity to see her in either a beautiful gown or a fancy suit? Whichever she wears entirely depends on how she’s feeling that evening and how dominant of a person you are.

Laswell: Like Valeria, she’d prefer something fancy. Laswell can afford it these days, so she, too, would take you to a fancy restaurant before going somewhere else. I guess it would entirely depend on what you’re into. If you’re really into astronomy then you’ll go to a planetarium, if you’re really into marine biology then she’ll be taking you to the biggest aquarium nearby. Laswell is flexible like that, but she does prefer something where she can learn a thing or two as well, so she’d love it if you were into going to museums. Doesn’t matter what kind, it’s hard to gross her out with anything, or even bore her with whatever it is you’re into. As long as there’s a museum or an exhibition nearby you can be certain you’ll be going there at some point. However, if she has a few days off, then Laswell isn’t above flying somewhere with you either. A vacation with her is also her ideal version of a date. Just you and her spending time with each other, in the city, in the mountains, at the beach. Doesn’t matter where, Laswell has seen enough in this world, but she never gets to see any of it with you, which is a real shame in her eyes. Besides, she knows a lot of languages as well, so it’s not like you’ll ever have to actively worry about not being understood wherever it is you’re going, she’s got you covered. Laswell loves getting to see all sights with you, so you can be certain she’ll take a few pictures with you as well. Whether you’re doing a goofy pose in front of the tower of Pisa, looking tiny in front of the Sphinx, or absolutely beaming as you regard a temple in Kyoto, Laswell will treasure all of these moments in her entirety for as long as she can. The pictures are just an added bonus.

#cod #cod x reader #kyle gaz garrick #kyle gaz garrick x reader #gaz x reader #alejandro vargas #alejandro vargas x reader #valeria garza #valeria garza x reader #kate laswell #kate laswell x reader #this reminded me of the fact that I haven't been on vacation in almost ten years #I went to Rome at some point when I was in high school #but that was roughly six years ago or so now #I wish I had someone who I could travel around with a bit I wanna see the world as well #Laswell would be the best person to go on vacation with #she knows a lot of the local customs and can speak to just about anyone. I like to think she too knows eight languages #maybe she knows even more than eight though who am I to say~#either way I just like the idea of going on vacation with her it would be lovely and relaxing since she can handle herself #you will not be robbed as long as she's with you I can assure you of that. you will be safe and sound with her #Laswell is a good woman like that. another reason why I like her as much as I do: She knows what she's doing #I can't say the same thing about myself haha

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happyk44 · 4 months

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lol Jason recovering his memories piece by piece and telling Leo and Piper that he was (is?) praetor and they're like the fuck is a praetor and he explains it and all they can think is him bodyslamming campers during capture the flag and shaking his whole body off when it rains like a dog and constantly biting enemies and being a feral menace and they're trying so hard to put together wolf boy Jason who is actively staring down a nearby chicken with his lower jaw shaking lightly and this new image of pristine golden boy Jason who was apparently voted to be in charge of an entire army and act a major magistrate within their government, and not just the guy they sicced on a Titan like some kind of overpowered hunting dog

#jason grace #wolf!jason #happy talks pjo #nah but free and happy and wolfish jason slowly turning into stressed out teeth clenched leader jason before their eyes #as his memories click back in and he starts to become the thing he never wanted to be because. well. that's what everyone wanted. right?#he hears his father and his stepmother and lupa's voices remind him of his true purpose more and more louder and louder #a leader of rome (a weapon of the gods). the golden child (the lone wolf). infallible and undefeated (unloved and scarred)

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sulfies · 10 days

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Wolves in Romé pt1

Desmond ran. His paws trotting on the stone floors of Rome, with the wind licking at his maw, he did not stop.

They were after him… the crazy furry cult.. the followers of Romu- Romunucu… or whatever Shaun had called them. They weren't so silly once they appeared to be real and very much after Desmond.

Desmond who had a tail and two furry ears and paws and a whole wolf body. Desmond who had woken down at the sanctuary that held that ugly armour, covered in fur, no longer human.

Did Rome even have wolves?

An arrow flew past him and he stopped his flashback with a sad inhuman yelp to keep on running. Didn’t these guys worship wolves, shouldn’t his species be considered sacred to them or something?

His paws slipped slightly on the smooth dirty stones as he took a left to an empty alley. He was glad it was dead of night, Desmond did not think crowds could handle a wolf running up and down the streets.

Another arrow flew past as Desmond tried to plan his route, he remembered that there was an entrance to a forest he could maybe get to if he took a turn two streets down to the left… or was it to the right? He never had to do this without the animus map on his right corner before.

Desmond howled suddenly as pain shot through his back leg.

He got hit…

One of them had to hit eventually but damn it hurt. He took a sharp right, eyes blind in pain and crashed muzzle-first onto a dead end.

The kicked puppy noises that left his inhuman form were pretty sad.

“There you are finally! Come here doggy”

3 cackling shadows came over him as he backed into the end, laid low, teeth bared, snarling.

Desmond knew he was fucked. His new wound was hurting and he was tired, he didn't think he could take all three of them with these odds but at least one would come down with him if he did.

One of the cultists, the one at the front, stepped up holding his sword between them to put distance between his very biteable arm and his sharp teeth. Desmond barked at him and bit the air… teeth clanking in a clear sign of step the fuck away but the man only grinned.

“We have been waiting for you little pup, come on now don't make this hard for us. Romulus is not the most patient…”

Desmond only snarled and growled back again, thunderous rumble from his chest never stopping as the other man swung his sword around his face.

Suddenly, a landing shadow on the clothesline above them caught the corner of his eye. As he snarled and dripped sylva everywhere for his life he could see the shadow shift and move right above the other two wolf furries slowly, like a predator eyeing its catch.

“Come on you stupid dumb mutt…”

The sword's tip slashed at his muzzle and Desmond's attention shifted back to his main threat as he growled once more, his snarl fully on display as he started tasting blood from the dripping wound. Oh, how he wished he had his gear.

Busy with keeping the sword in his line of sight, Desmond only saw a glimmer of metal before the two men staying behind, laughing at his desperation, crumbled onto the cold stone road behind his main attacker. There was no other sound as Desmond saw his savior rise from the bodies that cushioned his fall and make his way over in small steps.

If he had lips he would have the biggest grin right now.

“Why don't you leave the poor dog alone Amico, I’m sure we can find a lady that is more of your…taste”

Ezio spoke.

Desmond knew that voice as if it was his own.

The remaining follower whipped his head around and Desmond saw his opening.

He lunged at the man's arm holding the sword, bringing the man down in a scream with his soft arm in-between his very sharp teeth. They slammed down to the hard ground in a roll and the man, to his credit, managed to land a punch on his nose, kicking him onto a stack of empty crates. Desmond would have been madder if he hadn't taken a chunk of the man's flesh between his blood-soaked muzzle as he was thrown across.

The man's agonized screams filled the alley and left as quickly and abruptly as they started. Desmond could not see what happened from where he was thrown into but he could guess where one or two pointy metal objects could end up in a screaming man on the floor.

When Desmond could get the dirty cover they put over the half-rotten crates out of his eyes and tangled limbs he saw Ezio leaning over the man with a chunk of an arm missing.

Ezio turned his head to where he was lying down, wiping his blades on the dead man's robes.

”You poor thing must have been scary to get chased by these lunatics.”

Yes, it was.

Desmond stayed where he was, breathing heavily as the adrenaline slowly started to leave him.

“Let me look at you little pup… I think I saw his sword hit but it's too dark.”

Desmond huffed what was supposed to be a snort when he saw Ezio slowly get on his knees, hand stretched out, crawling closer over to where Desmond decided to lay inside the old broken crates.

“Come here Cucciolo…” snapping his fingers, he whistled.

He whistled. He didn’t think Desmond was actually a dog…surely. It was dark but he was clearly larger than a village dog with way sharper teeth even in pitch black.

“Come on I won't harm you~”

Yea, I, might harm you!

If he had been a regular wolf that is, Desmond thought.

Another whistle and Desmond gave up trying to teach Ezio common sense.

“There you are mi Bello…” Crawling under the boxes and bits he could see Ezio take in his size. “You are a bigger thing than I thought huh, couldn't see much at this hour but not a puppy I recon…”

Yes… He was very much not a puppy. Desmond rolled his eyes as he stopped in front of Ezio shaking his coat to get rid of bits and dust. Moonlight on his fur the assassin was now finally able to get a real good look at him.

“Definitely not a puppy… oh boy… Not even a dog are you?”

The hand he held in front of him wavered a bit, clearly wasn't sure if he wanted to keep the limb so accessible now that he knew the animal in front of him wasn't the friendliest of spiciest or a man's best friend.

Ezio wanted to laugh, Desmond also did because why the fuck was Ezio Auditore alone in an alley at night face to face with a wolf he rescued from some crazed bastards. And why was his arm still out!?

“H-how about you don't hurt me?”

Of course, only Ezio would try to bargain with a wild animal. Stubborn dumbass, but this was a better scenario than having Ezio put him down for a rampage a wolf could cause on the streets.

As the man tensed further, Desmond trotted closer with his eyes on Ezio. His hand was still but he could see from Ezio's face how much he wanted to move it away.

Once again, stubborn dumbass.

He heard the man take a sharp inhale as he brought his wet nose to his palm, he waited a bit sniffing mostly for show and for Ezio to let go of the breath he held. Slowly, placed his maw onto the open palm, his blood-soaked fur dirtying the man's gloves.

“No way…”

He looked back up to Ezio to find the man's eyes twinkling with glee he had never seen in any memories he watched. Tilting his head into the palm Desmond felt the man finally get the courage he needed to start petting him as his fingers twitched between his sticky fur.

“Leonardo is going to lose his mind… Pazzesco! I am petting a real wolf…”

He wouldn't be alone, Desmond was losing it for sure. Well, he had been losing it actively since the animus but becoming a wild animal in the 1500s Renaissance? I think he got to a point past therapy on day one of Abstergo kidnapping.

He was a wild animal in Ezio’s Italy…. He was getting pets from THE Ezio Auditore in THE Renaissance.

“Who's a good boy~ Look at that tail wag!”

Oh god, and his tail wagged….

Desmond turned his head to look at the betraying limb but when he did the twist bumped his back leg right onto Ezio’s knee. He jolted in a yelp as pain shot through him, he had almost forgotten he had an arrow to his glute.

“Oh Cucciolo... wait a second boy”

Desmond stayed in a low whimper as Ezio dug into his pouches. Getting bandages and a flask, he looked over to the wolf with sympathy.

Lips pressed flat Ezio spoke in a teasing tone his face did not reflect ”Facciamolo… we are going to make a little deal you and I” He placed a gloved hand to his own chest “I promise to help you heal…” then pointed at him…

Desmond looked into his eyes unimpressed as Ezio tried to bargain with, again, a literal wolf. He hoped his animal face was expressive enough to get his point across.

“...and you have to promise not to bite, Capisce?”

His hands scratched at his ears and Desmond had to admit it felt nice, like a relaxing massage on just the right spot. “This will hurt, I am sorry.” Then the same hands moved slowly toward his legs. Desmond knew Ezio talked from experience when he said his warning.

God and he couldn’t even have alcohol to ease the pain that was about to come!

Ezio’s eyes darted between his wound and his face a few times.

He was clearly expecting to be bitten.

Then again what wild animal would not if you yanked an arrow out of them? Desmond could not blame him really for thinking of his limbs when he was making a chew toy out of one a minute ago…

Ezio's hand closed around the arrow shaft in a gentle pressure.

Both of them took a deep breath.

“Please don't bite me!”

Yank.

Desmond was not proud of the voices that came out of him…

#there are infact wolves in rome #its italys national animal lmao #well probobly not in rome rome but... italy has em #It is aslo Turkeys national animal so twinnnns #fanfic #assassin's creed #desmond miles #ezio auditore #this took longer than I thought lmao #poor desmond always ends up blacking out at the end of my fics huh

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365filmsbyauroranocte · 1 year

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Stefania Sandrelli in Io la conoscevo bene (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)

#Io la conoscevo bene #Stefania Sandrelli #Antonio Pietrangeli #1965 #back #windows #Italy #black and white #Pietrangeli #summer #hot #faces #beauty #Rome #architecture #church #I knew her well

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acecroft · 11 months

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RICHARD ARMITAGE as Father Quart in The Man from Rome (2022)

#richardarmitageedit #armitageedit #filmedit #richard armitage #the man from rome #moviesedit #mygifs #usermichi #mancandykings #filmgifs #cinemaspam #useroptional #moviegifs #WELL.....#that's all i'm gonna say

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canisalbus · 7 months

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I've got to say, I've been doing a lot of research on Italy recently and I literally can't stop thinking about your boys. I'm over here trying to read about whatever Crusade and my brain is just a constant loop of "isn't Machete a cardinal? And Vasco was from like Verona, right?" Not super conducive to learning anything, but I am enjoying myself and thought you should know.

Thank you for your lovely art and for sharing your darlings <33

That's adorable ;^; But also sorry the lads keep distracting you, hah.

I'd argue that getting invested in your characters and their stories and having to do background research for them is actually a great way to accumulate knowledge about various subjects. Often it's stuff you probably would never get around to reading about otherwise. I'm not saying it's always information you'll have many practical uses for, but learning about new things is fun and it's beneficial to you and your brain in the long run.

Vasco is from Florence actually! It's usually considered to be the birthplace and the main hub of the entire Renaissance movement. Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo lived and influenced there and Dante Alighieri (author of The Divine Comedy/Dante's Inferno) was florentine as well, albeit he lived several centuries prior to them.

#Verona is a stunning historically significant city as well but it's a bit too far from Rome in this case #nowadays the fastest train ride from Rome to Florence takes around a hour and a half it looks like #travelling was slow and took a lot of effort in the 1500's but it was still a manageable distance #answered #nnnnnnnothingtoseehere #for real though the stuff you end up googling when you try to piece together a character is pretty funny #like #the evolution of breeches #history of bathtubs #history of sofas #timeline of peach cultivation #the cost of gyrfalcons #winemaking techniques #ear infections on dogs #how Italian surnames are formatted #the rise and fall of the Medici dynasty #are there any beaches near Venice #can you survive being stabbed in the liver #can you survive a hemlock poisoning #can you survive severe malaria

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lapithai · 4 months

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Virgil, famed poet and author of the Aeneid

#ancient rome #roman history #tagamemnon #virgil #I drew this back in January but never finished #well it's finished now! yay

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fluffbyday-smutbynight · 4 months

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When in Rome...

Lately I've been rotating the Rome scene in my mind like a rotisserie chicken. It's a very short one -exactly 1 minute of screen time- and yet it feels pivotal in showing the evolution of Aziraphale's and Crowley's relationship. It also includes some interesting references, and it just feels... different from the other flashbacks.

I've been thinking about it so much that I had to go back and rewatch the flashbacks leading up to it. Take my hand (take my whole life too) as I take you on a journey...

3004 B.C. - Mesopotamia

Aziraphale is the one breaking the news to Crowley: God, displeased with the humans, is going to wipe them out with a flood of catastrophical proportions. But fret not! He immediately downplays it: it's probably just the locals. And Noah's family and the animals on the ark are going to be fine. And then God will give them a "rain-bow"! Whatever that is, it's the promise it won't happen ever again.

That... doesn't sit too well with Crowley. "Not the kids! You can't kill kids!" he points out (does he mean human kids or goat kids? Probably both), and he scoffs at the rain-bow thing.

But quick comes Aziraphale's rebuttal:

You can't judge the Almighty, Crowley!

... perhaps too quick, like a line he's been fed and he internalized. Like he's subconsciously trying to justify God's actions to himself, more than to Crowley.

As it starts to rain, the crowd around them stands unaware of their own imminent fate.

2500 B.C. - The Land of Uz

Aziraphale learns, very much to his disbelief, that despite Job being a good man, his fate has been determined by a bet between God and Satan.

Here, he gets both to see Job's despair first-hand, and to exercise his own free will.

He teams up with the "enemy"; he lies to Gabriel; he gets a taste of self-agency and a taste of the oxrib (aka worldly pleasures). He gets to do the right thing and save the kids (human and goats alike), learning in the process that his and Crowley's conditions are not too dissimilar: they both feel lonely.

By the end of it, Aziraphale is sure he will get punished by God.

And then... nothing happens.

33 A.D. - Golgotha

Aziraphale and Crowley witness the crucifixion of Jesus.

"Your lot put him on there." "I'm not consulted on policy decisions, Crowley."

Unlike with Job, Aziraphale has no say and no power to stop what's happening. Despite that (and in contrast to the flood scene) he empathizes with Jesus: asking if Crowley knew him; recoiling as he watches him being nailed to the cross; acknowledging that all it took was him saying "be kind to each other".

Notice how the events shown in the flashbacks get progressively close and personal.

From the undefined crowd at the flood, to Job and his family, to this "very bright young man": yes, God has honoured the promise to not wipe humanity out ever again; that doesn't make the smiting/destruction/suffering any less painful and unjust.

There doesn't seem to be any logic, nor compassion, to God's decisions. There doesn't seem to be any immediate consequence, too, to going against them (if you're clever enough about it). I think that -as much as Aziraphale wants to keep believing in God's ineffable plan- he must feel, in some capacity, that it's all rather... pointless.

I think that here, in front of the grueling, graphic death of a single man, Aziraphale's moral journey reaches its (first?) breaking point.

In fact, where do we find him next?

"8 years later" (41 A.D.) - Rome

Aziraphale and Crowley meet again very shortly after - relatively speaking, at least (even the scene's title card highlights that: just "8 years later".)

This time around, there's no grand event happening: it's seemingly by chance, they run into each other in a tavern. Well, Crowley is there for "a quick temptation", which is not out of order considering the setting: Caligula's Rome, *the* time and place for decadence and dissolution. And Aziraphale?

He's just... there.

Well, in a scrapped scene from the script book he said he was there to "influence a boy named Nero, get him interested in music". But that didn't make it on screen - though maybe it's still relevant, as you'll see in a moment.

Thing is, he's been there for a while. Unlike Crowley with his odd-looking attire, Aziraphale blends in with the locals and with their customs: wearing a rather pretty tunic; toasting with a "salutaria"; playing a Roman board game by himself. Drinking wine and planning to check out "a new restaurant".

...if he's even talking about an actual restaurant, that is. It's all in this post (check out the comment section too) - but to sum it up: the first thing Aziraphale does is inviting Crowley out (actually, tempting him!) to try "Petronius' new restaurant". Petronius, the notorious "master of elegance" at Nero's court. And by "master of elegance", we mean he was in charge of everything concerning luxury, aka making the court's parties as lavish as possible. Petronius, who was described as a hedonist and an excess seeker. Aziraphale has heard "he does remarkable things to oysters". If that doesn't sound like tongue-in-cheek for some pleasure other than just food, I don't know what does.

In short, it looks like Aziraphale is on vacation, and a rather enjoyable one.

I think he's had about four thousand years to let everything sink in: where Heaven and Hell stand, God's plans and what they mean to humanity (and I'm not even considering what we didn't see: the first war, or Sodom and Gomorrah, or any other horror he might have witnessed).

I think that after Jesus' crucifixion, he was like: fuck it, where can I take a break from all this? Where's *the* place I can most indulge in... being as much human as I can get to be?

And of course he ended up right there. And as the saying goes... when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

I think Aziraphale is having his hot girl summer, and not even God knows what he's been up to.

#good omens #good omens meta #well “meta” might be a generous term lol. musings?#aziraphale #crowley #oh how I wish the Rome flashback showed us more #to be expanded on/continued? possibly ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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