Raving Atheists Forum - Nero's Domus Aureus Reopens in the New Year

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If Cal has developed your taste for Ancient Rome, this one is for you :

Life In Italy reports :

Quote:

(ANSA) - Rome, December 27 - One of Rome's prime tourist
attractions, the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea, is set to
reopen to the public next month.
Visitors will be allowed back in to the fabled 'Golden
House' as from January 30, according to the Culture Ministry,
which said tours would be allowed even while repair work on
the structure's leaky and flaking walls and ceilings
continued.
The ministry said a special visitors' route had been set
up amid the scaffolding which would allow them to tour the
site in safety.
The Domus has been closed since December 2005.
The 32 rooms that were open to the public were declared
unsafe after patches of brick and plaster showed signs of
detaching.
In recent years, there have been at least two incidents
in which holes in the ceilings have appeared.
The top of the Domus on the Oppian Hill is covered with
parks, trees and roads whose weight and possible polluting
effect was highlighted by some experts when the site was
re-opened six years ago.
Archaeological experts are now trying to unearth more of
the massive baths that Emperor Trajan built over the Domus.
The Golden Palace of the ill-famed Emperor Nero (37-68
AD) re-opened in June 1999 after 21 years in which it was
Rome's best-kept secret - open only to art officials and
special guests.
Some five billion lire (2.5 million euros) were spent in
refurbishing the visitable rooms filled with surprisingly
fresh and lively frescoes of weird animals like winged lions,
griffins and tritons which led to the original coinage of the
word 'grotesque', from the Italian word for cave (grotto).
After Nero's suicide in 68 AD the Flavian emperors who
succeeded him proceeded to bury all trace of the man who
already in life was a byword for dissolution, cruelty and
excess.
The Flavian amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum,
was built on the site of Nero's palace-side lake, while
Trajan built his baths on top of the main part of the
sprawling pleasure dome, located mainly on Rome's Colle Oppio
(Oppian Hill).
Ironically, the Colosseum is so-called because of the
massive statue of Nero that his successors dragged beside
their own monument - after changing the head, according to
some ancient accounts.
Another irony is that, by burying the place, they
actually preserved it so that the finest wall-paintings
outside Pompeii, with almost equally vivid colours, can be
admired today.
Other interesting touches are the chalk and tallow marks
left by Renaissance masters like Raphael who were let down
through a hole in the roof to admire its splendours.
At the time of its re-opening in 1999, officials said it
would take another 50 billion lire to uncover all 150 rooms
of the palace.
They said the Domus Aurea had the potential to become a
site rivalling that of the Palatine with its palaces of the
first Caesars.
Among the highlights of any visit will be the frescoes,
of course, many of them illustrating the emperor's taste for
the exotic in scenes from Homeric myth.
Architecturally, the piece de resistance is the
eight-sided Sala Ottagonale where Nero is supposed to have
entertained his guests with his singing and lyre-playing, all
on a rotating floor.
At suitable moments in the fun, the sybaritic emperor is
also reported - by Roman historian Suetonius - to have given
the signal for marble panels to slide back, showering guests
with petals and perfume.
When it was completed, a 50-hectare complex covering
most of the Palatine, Celian and Oppian hills, Nero was
reputed to have remarked that finally he was beginning to be
housed like a human being.

Life In Italy (News)

AHHH..the Domus Aurea...The Christ-psychotics have given Nero great injustice!..they made him look like a monster. NONE of what they say about him is true. Lucius Ahenobarbus ( his real name) was a clever man, but a product of his time. He was an Archiereus Megistus, aka Iesous Christos ( anointed mesiah, redeemer) aka POntifex Maximus ( great builder of bridges), Holy FATHER, Father of the country etc. He INHERETED this title of CHRISTOS ( great builder of Bridges aka head priest) from the divine Iulius Caesar NOW IN HEAVEN and worshiped in the temple of Divus Iulius at the Forum and in temples THROUGHOUT the Empire!.

Nero wanted immortality and to have something the PEOPLE would REMEMBER him by!!. This is what the ignorant retarded idiot delusional Christians do not understand!! Nero created the golden house also for the PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! and to impress the whole world. During the fire of 64 ce ALL RELIGIONS and GODS throughout the empire were WELCOMED. The more the merrier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. There is a building in Rome called the PANTHEON ( Building for ALL gods including the unknown one).

There were NO CHRISTIANS in Rome as we know them today. There were FOLLOWERS of CODI ( Cult of Divus Iulius). Nobody mentions this was the RELIGION, repeat RELIGION of the WHOLE ROMAN EMPIRE. It was the #1 RELIGION in the WHOLE EMPIRE, which included ALL of the PROVINCES i,e JUDEA, Hispania, etc. At the time each province, including JUDEA, had developed their OWN VERSION of the RELIGION of the god Caesar. I refuse to call it a 'cult" since it was a RELIGION that lasted till 325ce..Where are the texts that give us the DOGMA, the worship and rituals of CODI? Well, the Church took care of that!!! They BURNED THEM. We know about ALL religious beliefs in the Roman empire EXCEPT one!!!!!!!!! the must important one. That of Caesar. It amazes me nobody asks WHY? It was the State religion for over 300 years!!..then, it suddenly disappeared along with Mithraism!..another SUN-CULT like that of Caesar, though Caesar was a real person.

It is laughable that Nero would blame a CULT for the fire that consumed Rome. The ONLY followers of ANY HOLY, POWERFUL, INFLUENCIAL, FORGIVING GOD, MARTYRED-GOD, GOD-LIKE MAN remotely resembling a Christos ( anointed man) would be the followers of god CAESAR. The most important WORSHIPED GOD throughout the empire. There is NO EVIDENCE of a Jesus during this time in history, ZERO.

Nero would have blamed for the fire SPECULATORS..the speculators of the empire were its MERCHANTS and TRADERS..and guess who these people were? the people of JUDEA and ARABIA. The name given to these folks was CHRESTAI.

We know of ALL of the mistranslations and distortions that occur throughout history specially in the course of 2000 years!....Alas, even names of cities, languages, traditions, behavior, cultures EVOLVE and MUTATE.

I'm certain Nero would have blamed the CHRESTAI ( speculators) for having set the fire. The difference between the words Chrestai and CHRISTIANI ( followers of an anointed holy man who was CAESAR) are only few letters, but the MEANING CHANGES. ALL RELIGIOUS BELIEFS were ACCEPTED in Rome, so blaming a particular religious followers for setting a fire doesn't compute, it is UTTERLY RIDICULOUS and only shows IGNORANCE of history on the part of those who make this claim.

Nero committed suicide ( I laugh very hard when the Christ-psychotics say a Christian servant of Nero help him commit suicide!!...) then after 3 emperors ( Iesous Christos) later Vespacian ( commander of the legions in JUDEA) became emperor, BURIED Nero's Golden House ( fortunately), filled the huge lake at the grounds of the palace where a COLOSSAL statue of Nero as Sol Invictus stood, and begun to build an Amphiteater as a gift to the people. The Flavian amphiteater became the Coloseum...so, Nero was throwing the Christians to the Lions on the Coloseum? :lol::lol::lol::lol: retards!!

it is interesting to realize that due to the discovery of the Domus Aurea by accident in the 16th Century, the Renaissance would start. Men were digging a hole and penetrated the roof of the Domus. They saw amazing PAGAN frescoes and artists like Raphael and others begun imitating them, to the dismay of the Church. One must realize that during this time people did NOT KNOW that Caesar was a GOD and had temples all over..he had already mutated into Christ, and since the architecture was the same! Also during this time the Egyptian civilization was UNKNOWN. NOBODY knew how to read their hieroglyphs or cuneiform writing. This knowledge would not begun to be acquired till 1798 with ATHEIST Napoleon I, expedition to Egypt.

The Catholic original Christian church has been the greatest contributor to INTELLECTUAL STAGNATION in the history of humanity, and they still at it!! retards.
Here is a picture of the JESUS CHRIST ( Head Priest and god) emperor Claudius wearing his CROWN OF THORNS ( from the Akantha thorny leaves symbolic of the Sun-God Apollo) See those tiny holes? GOLD THORNS, representing the Akantha thorny bush leaves who was a NYMPH turned into this thorny bush by a pissed off Apollo, when he could not get a peace of ass from her, were inserted there when the bust of the DIVINE emperor was displayed in ancient times!
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...civiccrown.jpg
and here is one of the Jesus Christ ( Head Priest and god) NERO. The reason many of the statues of the emperors do not have a crown, is because they were made out of GOLD and placed on the statue's head. Nero as Sol Invictus ( like holy father who is in heaven Caesar)modify the crown with the spikes seen in the crowns of kings today.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2.../nero_head.jpg
Here is a coin of Volusian., emperor that reigned over 200 years after Nero.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...xaugobv240.jpg

Wow, that bust doesn't look anything like Nero.

He actually looked a lot like Peter Ustinov (fat, with a beard). I know this is accurate, because I saw it in a movie (Quo Vadis). :D

Quote:

nkb wrote

Wow, that bust doesn't look anything like Nero.

He actually looked a lot like Peter Ustinov (fat, with a beard). I know this is accurate, because I saw it in a movie (Quo Vadis). :D

Yes. It is amazing that there was actually research on how Nero looked like!...it was the ONLY historically accurate thing in the whole movie. I was 13 when I first saw the movie..I love it..I used to play Nero laying on the couch wearing a white sheet, have the servants bring me grapes and call me divinity!..:lol:.......when my parents were not at home...

Nero's undoing was his inability to keep a balance between the political manipulations of the senate, the pretorians under Tigellinus, the nobility ( optimates) the blebes ( popularis) and the priests ( flamines)...then he decided to recklessly perform in theaters as an actor, charioteer. This infuriated the upper class since Nero was viewed as a god by the populace. These activities disrobed him of his divinity.

The problem was that Nero was an atheist ( stoic
-Epicurean) who was under the tutelage of the stoic philosopher Seneca, and lost control of the minds of the people.

Christian COPIED Seneca's wise morals precepts and as usual CLAIM them their own 250 years later, during the mutation of CODI ( Cult of Divus Iulius) to Christianity.

Here are is an excerpt from Seneca's of the Tranquility of MIND in Latin, those who know LAtin can make some interesting observations in the translation:

" 4. studiorum quoque quae liberalissima impensa est tam diu rationem habet, quam diu modum. quo innumerabiles libros et bybliothecas, quarum dominus vix tota vita indices perlegit? onerat discentem turba, non instruit, multoque satius est paucis te auctoribus tradere, quam errare per multos. 5. quadraginta milia librorum Alexandriae arserunt; pulcherrimum regiae opulentiae monimentum alius laudaverit, sicut T. Livius, qui elegantiae regum curaeque egregium id opus ait fuisse. non fuit elegantia illud aut cura, sed studiosa luxuria, immo ne studiosa quidem, quoniam non in studium sed in spectaculum comparaverant, sicut plerisque ignaris etiam puerilium litterarum libri non studiorum instrumenta sed cenationum ornamenta sunt. paretur itaque librorum quantum satis sit, nihil in apparstum. 6. 'honestius,' inquis 'hoc se impensae quam in Corinthia pictasque tabulas effuderint.' vitiosum est ubique, quod nimium est. quid habes, cur ignoscas homini armaria e citro atque ebore captanti, corpora conquirenti aut ignotorum auctorum aut improbatorum et inter tot milia librorum oscitanti, cui voluminum suorum frontes maxime placent titulique? 7. apud desidiosissimos ergo videbis quicquid orationum historiarumque est, tecto tenus exstructa loculamenta; iam enim inter balnearia et thermas bybliotheca quoque ut necessarium domus ornamentum expolitur. ignoscerem plane, si studiorum nimia cupidine erraretur. nunc ista conquisita, cum imaginibus suis discripta sacrorum opera ingeniorum in speciem et cultum parietum comparantur. "

This English translation misses important points IMHO:

" 4- Even for studies, where expenditure is most honourable, it is justifiable only so long as it is kept within bounds. What is the use of having countless books and libraries, whose titles their owners can scarcely read through in a whole lifetime? The learner is, not instructed, but burdened by the mass of them, and it is much better to surrender yourself to a few authors than to wander through many. 5. Forty thousand books were burned at Alexandria; let someone else praise this library as the most noble monument to the wealth of kings, as did Titus Livius, who says that it was the most distinguished achievement of the good taste and solicitude of kings. There was no 'good taste' or 'solicitude' about it, but only learned luxury -- nay, not even 'learned,' since they had collected the books, not for the sake of learning, but to make a show, just as many who lack even a child's knowledge of letters use books, not as the tools of learning, but as decorations for the dining-room. Therefore, let just as many books be acquired as are enough, but none for mere show. 6. 'It is more respectable,' you say, 'to squander money on these than on Corinthian bronzes and on pictures.' But excess in anything becomes a fault. What excuse have you to offer for a man who seeks to have bookcases of citrus-wood and ivory, who collects the works of unknown or discredited authors and sits yawning in the midst of so many thousand books, who gets most of his pleasure from the outsides of volumes and their titles? 7. Consequently it is in the houses of the laziest men that you will see a full collection of orations and history with the boxes piled right up to the ceiling; for by now among cold baths and hot baths a library also is equipped as a necessary ornament of a great house. I would readily pardon these men if they were led astray by their excessive zeal for learning. But as it is, these collections of the works of sacred genius with all the portraits that adorn them are bought for show and a decoration of their walls. "

Here is Senecas book: " Stoic Philosophy of Seneca Essays and Letters "

A commentary:

"The Good Book, November 17, 2004
Seneca's one hundred and twenty four letters to Lucilius constitute a secular bible, an ethical catechism written in a gnomic and epigrammatic style that sparkles as it enlightens. So impressed were the early church fathers with Seneca's moral insights that they advanced (fabricated?) the speculation that he must have come within the influence of Christian teachings. T.S. Eliot sneers at Seneca's boyish, commonplace wisdom and points out that the resemblances between Seneca's 'stoic philosophy' and Christianity are superficial. For those seeking a practical, modern manual on how to do good and how to do well, written in the 'silver point' style that values brevity, concision and memorable expression, Seneca's letters are indeed the Good Book. "

It is called a "Secular Bible". I believe the despicable Christian plagiarists STOLE, as usual, many of his moral teachings...made Nero a Monster...made themselves the victims been thrown to lions..place themselves in the 1st Century when the HISTORICAL truth is that Christianity did NOT exists at the time, unless by Christians we are referring to the PIOUS FOLLOWERS of the Divus Iulius cult or #1 Religion of the EMpire.. This is very easy to do by merely changing few letter to the name of the Archiereus Megistus (head priest) or anointed Archiereus aka Christos. EVERYTHING mutates with time. Didn't The COMET of CAESAR ( Sidus Iulius) which represented the SOUL of the SAVIOUR Caesar who had ASCENDED to heaven after his blood sacrifice, mutated into the Chi-Ro or Christ INITIALS which the Catholic church uses today? this in itself is CLEAR evidence Caesar a GOD mutated with the passing of three centuries into the Christ worshiped today! Alas, COINS do not lie!
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...IuliustoXP.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...dusiuliusd.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ropaeum011.jpg