Completely satisfied 1949th birthday, Hadrian!
Consistent with custom, I made a birthday cake for Hadrian. This time, I determined to bake a Roman honey cake.. 🎂
Substances:
Directions:
Whip eggs with
a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat them till they’re stiff and type peaks. Slowly pour within the honey and proceed to combine till effectively included. Add the flour in small quantities at a time by folding it into the egg combination. Proceed this till all the flour has been included. Pour the combination right into a greased 17cm cake tin, and bake for 30-40mins at 200°C. It’s b—
In celebration of Hadrian’s birthday, I additionally opened a bottle of Hadrianus Etna Rosso 2016, a purple wine from Terre Siciliane within the space of Etna in Sicily. It’s constituted of Nerello Mascalese, an indigenous grape selection from Etna’s slopes that already existed on the island when the Greeks first appeared throughout their colonization of Sicily within the sixth century BC. The slopes of Etna, wealthy in minerals and volcanic ash, create a great surroundings for rising grapes. Pink wines, reminiscent of Etna Rosso DOC, are distinguished by their aromas of ripe purple fruit, spices, and mineral notes, accompanied by elegant tannins and good acidity.

Hadrianus Etna Rosso celebrates Hadrian’s go to to Sicily in AD 125 when the Emperor climbed Mount Etna to witness the dawn from its summit. I plan to make the ascent myself subsequent month as a part of my Hadrian1900 venture.
“Afterwards, he sailed to Sicily, the place he climbed Mount Etna to see the dawn, which is many-coloured, it’s stated, like a rainbow.” Historia Augusta, The Lifetime of Hadrian 13.3
“That they had instructed me a lot of the curious colors of daybreak on the Ionian Sea when beheld from the heights of Aetna. I made a decision to make the ascent of the mountain. We handed from the area of vines to the beds of lava and onto the snow; the agile youth pretty ran on these steep slopes, however the scientists who went with me climbed by muleback. On the summit, a shelter had been constructed for us to await the daybreak. It got here: an immense rainbow arched from horizon to horizon; on the icy crest, unusual fires blazed; earth and sea unfold out to view so far as Africa, nearby, and as Greece, which we merely guessed at. That was actually an Olympian top in my life. All was there, the golden fringe of cloud, the eagles, and the cupbearer of immortality.” Marguerite Youcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian

One thousand 9 hundred years in the past, Hadrian seemingly celebrated his forty ninth birthday in Athens or someplace within the Peloponnese. After attending the Eleusinian Mysteries (learn right here), the philhellenic emperor spent a lot of the winter of 124/5 touring the Peloponnese. His presence at a sequence of well-known cities, reminiscent of Argos, Sparta, and Corinth, is effectively documented. On his method again to Rome from Greece, Hadrian went to Sicily and climbed Mount Etna.
Hadrian’s first go to as emperor to the province of Achaea in 124/5 constituted the start line of a second Golden Age. He adorned the cities with every kind of buildings, constructed temples, made monetary donations to sanctuaries and organisations, and reformed native laws. The measures the Emperor undertook have been so widespread that he was given the title of Restitutor Achaeae (restorer of Achaea).

© The Trustees of the British Museum (hyperlink)
The upcoming weblog publish on #Hadrian1900 will element Hadrian’s journey via the Peloponnese in early AD 125!