Exploring symbolism across myth, religion, and culture — from ancient traditions to modern film.
Terra Symbolica is the channel of Dr Mario Baghos. A defining feature of the channel is its use of GoPro-style, live recording — capturing ideas as they unfold in real time. Whether walking through historical sites, visiting churches, travelling between locations, or even heading to the cinema, the channel operates as a form of live journaling rather than studio production.
It also features Terra Symbolica Movie Reviews (TSMR), where Dr Mario Baghos and philosopher Russell Gore analyse films immediately after cinema viewings, combining symbolic interpretation with spontaneous discussion and debate.
Across the channel, this same approach is applied to religious art and architecture, mythological traditions, and conversations with scholars and practitioners — bringing together theology, philosophy, and cultural analysis through direct, on-location experience.
TERRA SYMBOLICA
Glad to hear that first issue of Jonathan Pageau's The Symbolic World magazine was published and released during their annual Summit in mid-May this year. I sent my article entitled 'Images and Centres of the World: The Garden, the Temple, and the Lord Jesus Christ' way back in 2022 and it's good to know that it has finally seen the light of day. I hope to receive a copy soon...
Some of you may know that I was interviewed twice by Jonathan for his TSW channel in 2021. The first video was on The Mythical Constantinople (youtube.com/results?search_query=mythical+constant…) and the second on The Immortal Emperor on the last emperor of Byzantium Constantine Palaiologos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSst-...). I also published a few articles for the TSW website.
6 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 19
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
On May 29th 1453 the city of Constantinople, Orthodox Christian capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, fell to the Ottomans. Revisit the tragic history and its subsequent mythologisation in 'Walls, Gates, and the Marble King of Byzantine Constantinople': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-G3e...
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
Shout out to my hilarious Christology students for capturing my love of Byzantium in an AI generated image featuring me as, emperor Constantine? :) Antonios, Jono, and Anthony, thank you for your excellent participation in this course and for this awesome gift -- it's my new work mug!
4 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 16
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
My latest article, 'Elder and New Romes: Constantinople and its Predecessor in Late Antique Historiography,' published in Ancient West and East 24 (2025): 69-100.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore the tension between the elder and New Romes addressed in the Byzantine historians – Philostorgius of Borrisus, Socrates of Constantinople, Sozomen of Bethelia, and Theodoret of Cyrrhus – as well as Latin pagan and Christian historians – Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Paulus Orosius – in order to account for the shift of emphasis from the first Rome in Italy to the New, Constantinople, within them in the fourth-fifth centuries. It is demonstrated that this shift involved the appropriation of motifs borrowed from Eusebius of Caesarea’s description of the reign of Constantine the Great and its relationship to the old Rome – which was paradigmatic in the emergent Christendom of late antiquity – to reflect the current circumstances in Constantinople in the fifth century. These motifs were deployed differently by Latin authors, who still clung to the elder Rome even as Byzantine authors extolled the New as the capital of the empire. Finally, it will be made clear that Alaric’s sack of Rome – despite the mitigation of its severity by authors such as Paulus Orosius – set the wheels in motion for the final eclipse of that city by Constantinople in late antiquity.
Free, pre-publication version: www.researchgate.net/publication/404712358_Elder_a…
Paid version: poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?url=issue&journa…
1 month ago | [YT] | 13
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
TERRA SYMBOLICA asks, "Where's David Lynch?" 😉 More reflections by Russell and me on Lynch's oeuvre coming soon to the channel...
1 month ago | [YT] | 12
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
NEW TO TERRA SYMBOLICA...TWIN PEAKS, DESCENTS INTO HADES (THE BLACK LODGE), AND DALE COOPER AS A NEW ORPHEUS w/Dunne and Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjvcm...
#movies #moviereview #movie #television #tv #tvserial #religion #greekmythology #cinema #cinematic #twinpeaks #BlackLodge #DaleCooper #DavidLynch #Orpheus #Mythology #FilmAnalysis #Surrealism #LauraPalmer #TwinCitiesPodcast #hades #hell #katabasis
2 months ago | [YT] | 8
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
A DAMN FINE VOLUME!
Just received a pertinent Holy Saturday Easter gift—a copy of John Anthony Dunne and Kris Song’s magisterial collective volume on ‘Theology, Religion, and Twin Peaks’ published by Bloomsbury. I was honoured to be one of several scholars to read and endorse the book with a short blurb on the back cover (and a longer one on the website).
And in a rare providential twist of Jungian synchronicity that Dale Cooper couldn’t resist, the volume arrived after our interview last Monday (at the beginning of Holy Week) for John and Kris’ (et al.) Twin Cities podcast where we discussed Dale Cooper as a new Orpheus descending into hell (the Black Lodge) to retrieve his own Eurydice, namely Laura and Annie. “Symbolism happens” when you do such a talk/receive such a gift on the week/day of Christ’s descent into hell before his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Thanks for the the discussion and the book, friends. To more in the future!
P.S. The Twin Cities podcast episode will be out in June, but a video version will up on TERRA SYMBOLICA in a fortnight. Stay tuned!
2 months ago | [YT] | 17
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
With the erudite and indefatigable Stan Grant! My head of school Angus Brook and I have been talking about inviting Stan for some studies of religion projects that we are thinking of getting off the ground at UNDA. Quite independently I’ve also spoken to my friend and collaborator Vassilis Adrahtas. Providence is as providence does… This is the second time I’ve serendipitously approached Stan at Glebe, this time at Gleebooks. We spoke for about half an hour about multiculturalism, politics, and faith, and he is more than willing to participate in what we’re planning. Stay tuned!
4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 13
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
With my amazing colleagues (L to R): Dr Heath Williams (not pictured), Dr Christian Stephens, Dr Sylvie Magerstaedt, Sr Susanna Edmunds OP, and Revd Dr Paschal Corby OFM Conv. (not pictured) at St Fiacre's Church Leichhardt, Sydney, for a Round Table on Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' (based on the novel by Shusako Endo). Organised by Dr Williams, see the video of part one of our Round Table posted on TERRA SYMBOLICA (TS) last week (it's been viewed almost 500 times, with a total of 30 hrs of viewing so far). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SWzK...
Part two will premiere on TS on Monday 2nd of Feburary at 6pm. Join the queue here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZkdB...
4 months ago | [YT] | 11
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TERRA SYMBOLICA
On December 29, 1170, the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was murdered by four of King Henry II's knights - seemingly on orders from the King. St Thomas was canonised three years later. See our TERRA SYMBOLICA video on THE CHURCH OF ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY, LEWISHAM w/Chris Wolter here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYRgA...
5 months ago | [YT] | 5
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