Nova Britannia General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXIX

Monday, February 2, 2026, 6:19 p.m. - 7:41 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
   Titus Ovidius Nonus
    Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   The meeting started 19 minutes late because I had not sent the Zoom link to the Nova Britannia list the preceeding night as I had thought. T. Ovidius Nonus pointed out that there should have been a meeting. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia was the first to join once the link had been sent.  
Sibylla and I spoke about our current activities for a while.
    Turning to Roman topics, I brought up a recent discovery in Britain (https://archaeologymag.com/2025/01/roman-road-and-mercury-temple-in-germany/), though I didn't remember any details. We talked about how modern roadwork often turned up archaeological discoveries, and whether the Romans might similarly have turned up items from earlier eras when they were excavating roads. I speculated that certain antiquarians might have been interested in purchasing interesting artifacts which were found. 
    Around this time, T. Ovidius Nonus joined us. The three of us continued discussion of archaelogists in ancient times. I pointed to the preservation of certain historical sites, notably Pindar's house, as a sign that people in the ancient world respected their history.
This eventually turned to the topic of witches who were said in ancient times to dig up bones for use in their spells, something about which Nonus had recalled hearing. I also remembered having heard of a character in the Civil War (De Bello Civili/Pharsalia by Lucan) who was described as practicing that type of magic, though I hadn't read the poem.
     This brought us around to discussing other items on our reading lists. Sibylla was reading about WWII submarines. I had just discovered the Dionysica, an epic poem discussing the invasion of India by Dionysius, and read a long excerpt in translation. Nonus commented that not only was this right in his area of interest, but that since it was written by another Nonnus he would really have to read it. I admitted that I hadn't read the history by M. Velleius Paterculus and probably should. Also, Sibylla had not read the Sibyline Oracles. Nonus had read these oracles however and not only recommended them highly but also offered to send Sibylla a PDF, which she accepted, as this would complement her previous interest in and research into divination.
    Nonus brought up the topic of ancient archaeology again, having looked up some information. There were people involved in such activities, he'd read, but more in the spirit of treasure hunting rather than the more methodical study of the past we associate with archaeology today. We discussed recovered shipwrecks from ancient times and more recent ones, with Sibylla telling us about the recovery of the Swedish warship Vasa and about ships which were deliberately sunk around harbours in wartime as a defensive measure. Sibylla also talked about the entrepot and its role in trade.
    We talked about recent usage of Latin, including by Carl Linnaeus, who not only used Latin in his classification system but titled and wrote books in Latin. In part this may have been because he was Swedish and Latin was more widely understood at the time than his native language.
We talked a bit about plans for MithraCon, before Zoom ended the call.
    Once we had reconnected, we talked about potential for meeting(s) to take place in Maine where Nonus was located.
    We discussed whether the Romans ever tried to cross Atlantic. The answer appeared to be "no", and the reason appeared to have been there was no need. During the Age of Exploration, the Ottomans blocked the Spanish & Portugese from traditional spice routes, motivating them to look for another route. With those trade routes still open, the Romans didn't have the same motives to go searching unfamiliar seas. I recalled some northward exploration which took place during ancient times (the voyages of the Greek explorer Pytheas being the prime example.
    Nonus asked about a claim one of his professors had made: that crepes at Candlemas dated back to Roman tradition. I brought an old message on the Nova Britannia list which had actually touched upon a similar topic (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia/message/93 and the original article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9265655/Second-century-pancake-recipe-proves-Romans-similar-sweet-tooth-modern-day.html).
    I asked about how the cats who now populated Rome had first gotten there. This lead to a discussion of the domestication of cats more generally. We learned in researching the topic that a separate species of cat had been domesticated independently in China.
    We discussed some other interesting facts about domestication. Nonus brought up as story he'd encountered about river otters trained by villagers in South Asia. It was reported that dogs diverged from wolves thousands of years prior to domestication and that the dingo descended from dogs domesticated in China.
    We also discussed potential pre-Colombian Chinese contact with new world before turning in for the night.

Book Review: Mystery Cults of the Ancient World by Hugh Bowden

     This is a fairly comprehensive overview of mystery religion in ancient Greco-Roman world, ranging from the best known (e.g. the Eleusinian Mysteries, the cults of Isis & Mithras) to the obscure (e.g. mysteries at Andania and Lycosura). The definition of "mystery cult" used by the author is broad and flexible, so as to include both one-time initiation rites and recurring (often ecstatic) ceremonies like those dedicated to Dionysus/Bacchus and Magna Mater. One chapter is even dedicated to the gold tablets found in certain tombs, which Bowden suggests may not have been linked to any ceremony in which the deceased had participated in life at all (despite the opinion of others that these were specifically buried with Orphic initiates).

     If there is a flaw in this text, it may be that Bowden is a bit too confident at times in reconstructing the broad outlines of some of the better-known rites, but all of his conjectures are grounded in either literary or archaeological evidence, frequently both. He does admit uncertainty at times and at least mentions some of the scholarly theories he rejects, such as the use of mind-altering substances by participants in the mysteries of Eleusis. Where there is a clear gap in evidence, this is disclosed as well.

    Particularly in the introduction and final chapter, Bowden draws interesting comparisons with contemporary religions, especially those Christian churches in which snake-handling is practiced. While such comparisons could be overstated (which Bowden is careful not to do), they do seem to provide some insight, as does Bowden's contrast between "doctrinal" and "imagistic" forms of religion.

    On the subject of images, this book had many, some in colour.

    Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of mystery cults.

A Fortuitous Discovery

  A search for "Fortuna" on the web today happened to turn up this page, part of an enormous project to catalogue lesser-known goddesses, including the many titles/aspects of the well known and powerful.
   The Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, and Phoenician pantheons are being covered in addition to the Roman, which so far has the most articles at 97.

All-Around Piety

   The definition of pietas on our page concerning the Roman virtues is:

"Dutifulness" More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others. [emphasis mine]

This page with suggestions on places to donate in honor of various gods, offers some ideas for those who would like act with pietas on multiple levels.

Thanks to Drew Jacobs for providing this link on The Heroic Life.

Date Set for Next Year's MithraCon

   The 15th MithraCon, the annual convention of Mithraic enthusiasts held in New Haven, has just been scheduled for April 11-13 of next year.
   Having been to this year's convention, I recommend the event to anyone able to afford the registration fee, provided of course that they have an interest in the study of Mithraism. Even without being very familiar with this topic, I was still able to participate in the various activities and other participants were glad answer my questions about the ancient mystery cult.