Five days to the light

[resolute]

It was the Roman emperor Aurelius who fell in love with Mithra, Sol Invictus, a sun god originally from Syria who had morphed into the sprawling Roman pantheon. Aurelius declared the Mithra would have a place of great prominence. This lasted for a while, a hundred-ish years, I think? (I'm not pausing to wiki this, sorry.)

Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, was celebrated around the winter solstice. I get it, I do.

I imagine the legions, the ones on the Germanic border, the ones in Gaul or, for pity's sake, in Britannia, in the winter. Soldiers from Tunisia, Egypt, and Persia. Laborers from Iberia and Greece. In their forts and houses, tramping the snow-covered paths between buildings, collecting yet more wood for the fire, savoring the garum when they could get it, all of them, all of them, peering at the sky and waiting for the days to lengthen.

Hail, the Unconquered Sun.

Comments

[pameladean]

Hadrian's Wall is at latitude 55 N. They must have been so confounded. I do think of that when the days here are shortest. I remember finding out that Minnesota's growing season is effectually lengthened by the very long summer days, and I suppose it may be the same there, where the days are even longer. But it is very odd to think of that right now.

P.

[resolute]

Yep!