The Paris Olympics are taking place this month, and if you are looking for somethint relevant, look back at the May post.

   This month let's think about a couple of verses in St. Paul's first letter to the congregation in Thessalonika. Chapter 4, verses 16-17 speaks about Jesus returning to earth and taking living people through the air into Heaven. What is this about?

   The picture is the back of an ancient mirror (maybe 200 years B.C.E.) and shows the story of Helle and Phrixus. They were twins and their step-mother wanted to murder them, so their birth-mother (who was a goddess) arranged for a magic golden ram to fiy them far away to the east end of the Black Sea. But Helle fell off and was drowned in the Hellespont (which was named for her). I suppose the winged woman in the background is their mother.

   The point is that, in ancient mythology, every person who flew in the air came to a bad end. Icarus flew too close to the sun, melted the wax on his wings, and fell. Bellerophon tried to fly the winged horse, Pegasus, to Mt. Olympus, and Zeus made him fall. And on and on . . .

  St. Paul is saying that Jesus can keep us safe in the air. Jesus can keep us safe anywhere. That's Paul's important point. You can see this mirror in the Roman National Museum, Rome, Italy, inv. #394155. Feel free to use this picture as long as you give credit to Richard Davies. No commercial use, please.

   Feel sorry for the lady represented in this statue. She is devoted to Aphrodite/Venus and wants to be just like that goddess. We find nude statues of Aphrodite/Venus in a similar pose, and that's how we know what this woman imagines herself to be.

   Probably she once looked the part and could play the role of Aphrodite/Venus in a popular mime play . . . but not now. No matter who we are, our bodies change over time and we cannot hide our age, but many of us are not able to realize that our age is so obvious to others. We are too vain.

   Last month we looked at a gravestone for a woman who wanted to spend eternity looking like her favorite goddess, and, in comparison, her image didn't look as bad as this image. Maybe that woman, Silvia, died young. If so, this unnamed woman should rejoice in her old age, but she probably cannot rejoice.

   St. Paul talked about our eternal bodies and said that our eternal body will not be like this earthly body. Rejoice in that.

(See 1 Cor. 15 and 2 Cor. 5.)

   This statue is from Italy, about 250 BCE. It is perhaps a foot high. You can see it in the British Museum, GR1856, 12-26.548.

Photo by Richard Davies. Please give credit to the photographer and do not use it for commercial purposes.

   We have looked at quite a few pictures of Aphrodite/Venus, and this is not surprising because she was one of the most popular deities. This month the picture looks a bit like Aphrodite: she is holding a trademark golden apple in her right hand, and her robe is falling off, supported by her left hand. She is mostly naked.

   But this is not Aphrodite. We are looking at a gravestone for a woman we'll call "Silvia," and for this woman Aphrodite was special. Silvia hoped that, in death, she could be like Aphrodite. The inscription at the bottom pays tribute to Silvia, especially recalling her "grace." This is "grace" in the sense of physical and social charm, not the "grace" that St. Paul talks about. Not the "grace" that God Almighty gives to us.

   It was fairly common for people to be represented on tombstones as one deity or another, and Aphrodite was populat this way. Many women wanted to be Aphrodite.

   We'll take a different look at this sort of thing next month.

   You can see this gravestone on display in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the Roman Forum Muesum. This photograph is by Richard Davies. Feel free to use in under a creative commons license, provided you give credit to Richard Davies and do not use it for commercial purposes.

  Let's think about an English word, "agony." It comes directly to us from Greek, the language of the New Testament, but it did not exactly mean "agony." What the word did mean was "struggle." Sometimes it was used in reference to courtroom debate. Sometimes in reference to any contest. Sometimes it referenced raw combat.

  This word was also used specifically for compeition in sports, especially wrestling. This month's photo shows two men wrestling, clearly struggling.

  Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 2, reminds the people of that congregation about how much opposition he and his companions faced when they first came to them. He uses our word.

  In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, at the end of chapter 9, he draws a comparision between the work of proclaiming the Gospel and athletic contests, and he uses our word twice in verses 24-27. He speaks not only of the need to struggle against opposition, but also the need to struggle against onself, that is, to train by denying self.

  When he uses this word, he does not focus on struggling against people. Instead he is concerned about impersonal obstacles and dangers. In other words, a Christian should not look around to find someone to complain about or look for an "enemy." Instead, the Christian should strive to overcome problems.

  This bronze sculpture is from the time when St. Paul was doing his work. It is 8 or 10 inches tall. You can see it and a couple of similar bronze representations of wrestlers in the Louvre. This statue is identified as Br 366. Photo by Richard Davies. Use under creative commons license. Please no commercial use.

  Martin Luther is often credited with the saying, "Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?" The point is that church music should be lively, attractive and fun.

  In the New Testament book of Revelation we are told that those who dwell in Heaven play music (Rev. 5:8, 14:2, 15:2). Furthermore, earthly merriment will cease (18:22). St. Paul uses the musical instrument as a comparison to the Christian message (1 Cor. 14:7), and the early church leader, St. Ignatius makes a similar comparison in his letters to Ephesus (4:1) and Philadelphia (1:2). 

  The musical instrument in all these passages is the ancient "kithara," which is almost always translated into English as "harp." The kithara was very popular in the Greek and Roman world, and was often played in disreputable contexts. The prophet Isaiah referred to disreputable music played on the kithara by harlots (23:16).

  The picture shows Aphrodite (Venus), the goddess of love/lust, playing a kithara, and even though the terra cotta representation is very rough, you can see it is not a harp. The ancients knew it was not a harp. They had a distinction between a kithara and a lyre (which is more like a harp). See Pausanias, Description of Greece on Laconia, 17.5.

  The kithara is more like a guitar. Here, Aphrodite is using a pick to pluck the strings, just as if it were a guitar. Sometimes the guitar is thought to be a disreputable instrument, and certainly Aphrodite is a disreputable musician, but, in spite of that, the kithara is played in Heaven. It seems that each of us, when we get to Heaven, will be issued a guitar, not a harp.

  This statue is in the archaeological museum of Pella, Greece. Photo by Richard Davies. Use with the usual restrictions.

  This year, 2024, in the Western church calendar, Easter is the last day of March. Let's think about Easter as a celebration. How might we celebrate it?

   In the first half of the 20th century, one of the most popular songs was "Easter Parade," and the lyrics began, "In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it . . ." The thought was that a man would sing this to his girlfriend as they strolled along the avenue on Easter day, both of them dressed in their finest clothing.

  What has this to do with Easter? Nothing. However we secularize everything.

   I hope you find this month's picture funny. It is a Roman-era statue of Aphrodite getting ready for some big affair. She is wearing jewelry and apparently had a mirror in her left hand and some make-up held by the thumb and forefinger of her right. Then there is the hat. Wow! Maybe she is getting ready for the Easter Parade.

   Easter is a promise of new life and eternal life, but the guys and gals in the Easter Parade are no more aware of this than was Aphrodite.

   Isn't there a better way to celebrate Easter than wearing big hats and walking on the avenue to show off your clothes?

   This statue is approximately 1 foot high, and is in the Louvre, Paris, #Br4423. Feel free to use this photo for non-commercial purposes, as long as you give credit to the photographer, Richard Davies

   In the USA, February seems to be a special month. In the Western Christian calendar, Ash Wednesday is in February about 80% of the time. The two most esteemed U. S. Presidents (Washington and Lincoln) were born in February. And, in the secular calendar, Valentine's Day is in February.

   It was once thought that, in ancient times, there had been a church saint named Valentine but the church has concluded that this saintly fellow did not exist. Even so, that saint's day is culturally important. On that day, restaurant business increases, and it is one of the most profitable days to sell cut flowers.

   Valentine's Day indicates that it will soon be Spring, a time for amorous love. This month's picture shows a woman dressed for an evening out. What sort of evening is indicated by the fact that she is being bedeviled by two erotes (or cupids). Of course Eros (Cupid) was the son of Aphrodite (Venus), and he was one character, but he seems to have multiplied. We find images of many cupids.

   Can you read the expression on the woman's face? I cannot. Maybe she is thinking about the future. Maybe she is doubtful about the man she is to meet. Or maybe she is dreaming about a wonderful future, or just a wonderful evening. What do you think?

   In any case, people share similar thoughts and impulses theoughout all ages.

   This vase is in the Louvre, Paris, item MN718 (N3371). Photo by Richard Davies. No commercial use, please, and give credit to the photographer.

   Here is a portion of a simple scene from a Greek vase. The entire scene includes four figures: a seated man offering a gift of love to a woman. (The gift is probably an egg.) Eros flying above them. And the fourth figure is the woman we see here.

   In this picture, as shown here, we can see the man is holding a crown or other adornment he will probably offer to the woman. Above, we can see a similar adornment held by Eros (or Cupid) to confirm the love affair.

   The focus of this particular pictue is the other woman, looking directly at the event. In her right hand she holds some article of clothing or adornment that, I think, she has taken off. With her left hand she pulls at her garment. I have seen this gesture in many Greek vase paintings, and it always seems to symbolize some sort of distress.

   I see this as a picture of jealousy. St. Paul was concerned about jealousy as a negative emotion that harms us and others. (Rom. 13:13, Gal. 5:19-21.) We are beginning a new year, and maybe you need a good New Year's Resolution. Take some time with Rom. 13 and Gal. 5. See if there is a resolution there that fits you. See if you can curb whatever negative emotion disturbs your world.

   This vase is displayed in the Art Institute of Chicago: Anonymous loan, 67.2012. The photo is by Richard Davies. Please do not use this photo for commercial purposes, and if you do use it, give credit to the photographer.

  In April 2019 a fire broke out in the roof section of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and the Cathedral was almost destroyed. News reports indicate that repairs to the Cathedral are almost complete, and it will soon be open to the public.

   Prior to the fire, among the many things displayed in the Cathedral were a large set of wood carvings depicting events in the life of Christ. They were large carvings, perhaps half-lifesize. They were carefully painted. They depicted people with great expressiveness. And they were old, having been made around 1350.

   Did they somehow survive the fire? Will anyone be able to see them in the future? I do not know.

   Several years ago I visited Notre Dame and photographed the carvings. For the December blog I thought it might be appropriate to show one of these photos: the Magi bringing gifts to the young Jesus (Matt. 2:1-12). This obviously didn't happen on Christmas Day, and it may have happened when Jesus was around two years old, but it has made an impression on many. I might think the visit of the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20) was more important, because if Jesus came for shepherds, clearly Jesus came for everyone. But the ones who carved these scenes gave scant attention to the shepherds and exalted the "kings." We can think of the "kings" as representing the entire world.

   If you have a chance to visit Paris, take time to meditate and pray in the Notre Dame Cathedral, regardless of what your faith tradition may be.

   Please don't use this photo for commercial purposes, and give credit to Richard Davies as the photographer.

The myth of "Jason and the Golden Fleece" is well-known, and sometimes is considered a children's story. Unfortunately the full story is not appropriate for children. Jason was assisted in getting the golden fleece by a witch named Madea, who then ran away with Jason and became his wife. She did unspeakably evil things to help their escape from her home. 

   In the ancient world, magic was considered to be real, and it was never used for good. Myths about witches and their magic told that witchcraft was always bad. Since people expected magic to yield bad results, we are told in Acts 8:9ff about the condemnation of a magician named Simon. In Acts 19:19ff we are told about people destroying expensive writings that gave instructions for performing magic, also because magic was never used for good. 

   This month's picture is from a scholarly book about ancient magic. The book, "The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation," edited by Hans Dieter Betz, gives us thousands of ancient magical spells. The spell shown here is for winning a horse race. You were to inscribe the two strange symbols on the horse's hoof along with an appropriate prayer to the demons.

   It all seems very strange to us, but it was very real and important in the ancient world.

The ancient Psalmists sang lyrics such as, "The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night" and "You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day." (Ps. 121:6 and 91:5.) The promise is that God is with us at all times, both day and night. In day time the ancients had fears about warfare and sunstroke, but the fears at night were worse, because the dangers were unseen. Demons were especially active at night, so the prudent person would work to mollify the night demons.

   Here we see a vase on which a woman is shown in a ritual to mollify the night demons. She is burying some sort of cake to satisfy their cravings. When the ritual is complete, she hopes to be safe for a while.

   Last month we saw an elaborate vase showing the story of Medea, a powerful witch. Witches were important, because they knew the secrets of the demons. Probably a witch had instructed the woman on this month's vase.

   In contrast, the Psalmist sings about the person who meditates on God's law during the day and the night. (Ps. 1:2) The vase is about 2,400 years old, and the Psalm may also be about the same age. They were two entirely different views of how powerful demons are (or are not).

   You can see this vase in Munich, Germany, in the Antikensammlungen, item number 559. Photo by Richard Davies. Please do not use it for commercial purposes and please give credit to the photographer.