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In 2022, the Royal Australian Mint issued a $2 coin decorated with honeybees. Around 2,400 years earlier, a mint in the kingdom of Macedon had the same idea, creating a silver obol coin with a bee stamped on one side.Over the centuries between these two events, currency demonstrating a symbolic link between honey and money is surprisingly common.In a recent study in Australian Coin Review, I trace the bee through numismatic history—and suggest a scientific reason why our brains might naturally draw a connection between the melliferous insects and the abstract idea of value...Ancient Malta was famous for its honey....

By the ancient world’s tradition, it was on July 21, 356 — the night of Alexander the Great‘s birth* — that a theretofore forgettable man set fire to the wooden rafters of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus. Situated on the Hellenized coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selcuk, Turkey, Ephesus was one of the great cities of the Mediterranean. It counted Artemis (Diana) its patron deity, and gloried in a jaw-dropping marble temple, bankrolled two centuries before by the Lydian king Croesus, that would have nearly covered a modern football pitch. Ephesians took their Artemis seriously: 400-plus years later,...

The feast day of Saint Flavian, martyr, falls on February 18. Flavian was archbishop of Constantinople from AD 446 through 449. Though he lived long after the traditional age of Christian martyrs, Flavian is nonetheless accounted one of their number, though he was slain by men calling themselves Christians--indeed, he died either during or in the immediate aftermath of a Church Council. As one of the principle parties at the so-called Robber Council of Ephesus, Flavian found himself on the wrong side of the powerful Patriarch of Alexandria, Dioscorus, and a veritable army of monks led by the Syrian archimandrite,...

The remains of the oldest public library in Germany, a building erected almost two millennia ago that may have housed up to 20,000 scrolls, have been discovered in the middle of Cologne. The walls were first uncovered in 2017, during an excavation on the grounds of a Protestant church in the centre of the city. Archaeologists knew they were of Roman origins, with Cologne being one of Germany's oldest cities, founded by the Romans in 50 AD under the name Colonia. But the discovery of niches in the walls, measuring approximately 80cm by 50cm, was, initially, mystifying... "But what they...

The ancient city of Ephesus and the Diyarbakir Fortress and its surrounding Hevsel Gardens have become the latest historical sites in Turkey to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July. Turkey’s next nomination is the Stone Age cult site of Gobeklitepe, located in Sanliurfa province not far from the turbulent Syrian border. The site’s discovery began with a coincidence reminiscent of a movie plot. In 1983, local farmer Mahmut Kilic found a carved stone while plowing his field in the village of Orencik. He took it to the Sanliurfa Museum, where it was to wait a decade...

The Austrian archeological team that has been carrying out excavations in Ephesus enlarged the scope of their activity in the past months to cover the nearby tumulus Cukuricihoyuk. The team has uncovered archeologically unique relics in the ancient tumulus[.] Traces of ancient settlements were unearthed during excavations of a tumulus located to the southeast of the ancient city of Ephesus. The Austrian archeological team that has been conducting excavations in Ephesus near the city of Izmir for more than a year expanded the scope of their activity in recent months to include the nearby tumulus of Cukuricihoyuk. Led by Dr....

part one of three For document sources noted, see Abbreviations Contents IntroductionSecond letter of Cyril to Nestorius - approvedSecond letter of Nestorius to Cyril - condemnedpart two Third letter of Cyril to Nestorius - approved Twelve Anathemas Proposed by Cyril and accepted by the Council of Ephesus The judgment against Nestorius Synodical letter about the expulsion of the eastern bishops (et al.) Definition of the faith at Nicaea [6th session 22 July 431]part threeDefinition against the impious Messalians or Euchites Resolution : that the bishops of Cyprus may themselves conduct ordinations Formula of union between Cyrill and John of Antioch...

Papal Homily at Marian House in Ephesus "Christ Is Grace; Christ Is Peace" EPHESUS, Turkey, NOV. 29, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily Benedict XVI delivered today during the Mass celebrated in front of the Meryem Ana Evi (the House of Mother Mary) shrine near Ephesus. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, In this Eucharistic celebration we praise the Lord for Mary's divine motherhood, a mystery solemnly confessed and proclaimed in Ephesus at the Ecumenical Council of 431. To this place, so dear to the Christian community, my venerable predecessors the Servants of God Paul VI and John Paul...

Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by believers in front of 'Mary's House' near Ephesus November 29, 2006, where the Virgin Mary is reputed to have lived and died. This morning, the Pope celebrated what John Allen called the "smallest crowd in recent memory for a papal Mass," swinging through Ephesus on pilgrimage to the original "Mary's House": In a fitting pastoral touch, Benedict XVI spoke the opening collect of the Mass in Turkish, drawing appreciative nods from the assembly. Predictably, the pope’s message centered on Mary. The Sanctuary of Meryem Ana Evì (the “House of Mary”) was founded by...

ROBERT CREW PHOTO Thousands of visitors —both Christian and Muslim — visit Mary’s House each year. It is in a green, tranquil setting, high on a mountain outside Ephesus. Just the facts Mary's House (Meryemana) is open from dawn to dusk. A cab ride from Selcuk costs about $16 (all figures Cdn.) and admission is $1.60. Guided tours of Ephesus are recommended. They cost from around $60 per person to $175 or more for a one-on-one tour, and often include St. John Basilica, Ephesus Museum and Mary's House. They can be booked in advance or in Selcuk. Ephesus is...

TURKEY Miracle of Mary’s House in Ephesus, spared from the flames An enormous fire destroyed 1,200 hectares of forest, but the flames stopped one metre short of the shrine. Here is the account of a monk who witnessed what people did not hesitate to describe as a “miracle”. Ankara (AsiaNews) – People are saying it is a miracle while religious admit the incident was indeed “extraordinary”. A devastating summer fire in Turkey wiped out 1,200 hectares of forest and came to a halt barely a metre away from the House of Mary, near Selcuk, a shrine that is the destination...

Qolo: Assumption Entrance Hymn Tune: Fsheeto Alleluia! O Mother who gave Life to us, petition on our behalf the Son who appeared from you: may he remove from us the blows of punishment, and keep away divisions and disputes. May he lead us in the path of life in which we journey at all times. On your memorial day, we sing praise to your only Son. Alleluia! Blessed are you, O Mary, for God, who feeds all creatures, was nourished by you and rested on your breast. O Wonder! The Son of God was nourished by a human creature! He...

FAMILY FEUD The manuscripts and their classifications and reading will be studied in later pages. What we shall do now is closely scrutinize the centers from which our extant manuscripts have originated. It will be revealed in later study that Biblical manuscripts(MSS) are divided into two major groups. These two groups have been found to disagree with each other in many areas. Every English Bible in existence today will be found to proceed more or less from one of these two groups. The fact that there is ONE God plainly tells us that there cane only be ONE correct reading...