Hellenismos, otherwise known as Greek Reconstructionist Paganism, is the traditional, polytheistic religion of ancient Hellas, reconstructed in, and adapted to, the modern world. It's a vibrant religion which can draw on a surprising amount of ancient sources. Baring the Aegis blogger Elani Temperance blogs about her experiences within this Tradition. For contact, please use the gmail address 'baring.the.aegis'.
The Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands and flourished from approximately 3650 to 1400 BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans. Historian Will Durant referred to it as "the first link in the European chain."
It was not until roughly 5000 BC in the late Neolithic period, that the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared in the Aegean, marking the first signs of civilization. The term "Minoan" refers to the mythic King Minos. Minos was associated in Greek myth with the labyrinth and the minotaur, which Evans identified with the site at Knossos, the largest Bronze Age Minoan site. The poet Homer recorded a tradition that Crete once had 90 cities.
The Minoans were primarily a mercantile people engaged in overseas trade. Their pottery provides the best means of dating. As traders and artists, their cultural influence reached far beyond the island of Crete — throughout the Cyclades, to Egypt's Old Kingdom, to copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan, and the Levantine coasts beyond, and to Anatolia. Some of its best art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri, on the island of Santorini, very near the Thera eruption.
Though we cannot read their language (Linear A), and there is much dispute, it is generally assumed there was little internal armed conflict in Minoan Crete itself, until the following Mycenaean period. The armed Mycenaeans or the eruption at Thera are two popular theories for the eventual demise of Minoan civilization around 1,400 BC.
Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Οἰδίπους Τύραννος), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Hellenes, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from another of Sophocles' plays, Oedipus at Colonus. In antiquity, the term “tyrant” referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.
Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.
Oedipus Rex is regarded by many scholars as the masterpiece of ancient Hellenic tragedy. In his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre.
I'm a little short on time, so it's time for a video! This one is called "The Minotaur Island" and it's pretty cool!
"The mysterious island of Crete has always loomed large in imagination, as the home of the Minotaur -- that monstrous creature, half-man half-bull -- imprisoned in Daedalus' labyrinth. Before Crete collapsed in fire and violence, it gave birth to Europe's first civilization nearly 5,000 years ago, and boasted an advanced, prosperous Mediterranean civilization with hinged doors, flush toilets, and magnificent palaces."
Oh, this is fun! Podcaster Dan has created a historic tour of Ancient Hellas using Assassin’s Creed The Odyssey to create a magnificent view of the Acropolis back in its glorious days. Learn about the history of ancient Hellas both in audio and video and check your understanding at the end of the episode.
I'm a little short on time today, so for your entertainment, I have a digital visit to the Acropolis Museum for you. It should keep you entertained for a little while!
Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Οἰδίπους Τύραννος), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Hellenes, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from another of Sophocles' plays, Oedipus at Colonus. In antiquity, the term “tyrant” referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.
Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.
Oedipus Rex is regarded by many scholars as the masterpiece of ancient Hellenic tragedy. In his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre.
Far from the town and port of Aegina, on a hill on the northeast side of the island where a pre-Dorian deity was worshipped, the Aeginetans erected the first stone temple to the goddess Aphaia in c. 570 BC. It was a Doric limestone building with a prostyle porch, destroyed by fire around 510 BC.
Following the destruction of the first temple, the Doric limestone peripteral temple which survives today was built in the late 6th–early 5th c. BC. This is one of the best-preserved temples of ancient Greece, now restored. The exceptional marble sculptures on its pediments, depicting the mythical expeditions against Troy in which Aeginetan heroes of the Aeacid dynasty (including Ajax and Telamon) distinguished themselves, are a landmark in the history of ancient Greek sculpture.
Worshippers entered the temple courtyard via a propylon entrance in the south side of the peribolos enclosure delimiting the levelled area. Sacrifices to the goddess were offered by the priests on the altar outside the temple to the east. An inclined paved platform connected the temple to the altar. Votive offerings, such as the tall column topped by a sphinx, adorned the sanctuary.
The temple has 12 columns on the long sides and six on the short sides. It consists of the rectangular cella (inner chamber), the pronaos (portico) and the shallower opisthodomos (rear chamber), with two columns between the pronaos and the opisthodomos. The cella is divided into three parts by two rows of five columns on two levels. The place where the cult statue stood is visible in the central space. There was a doorway between the cella and the opisthodomos. Balustrades with doors blocked the gaps between the four central columns of the narrow façade and the two ends of the long walls, as well as the gaps between the columns of the pronaos and the opisthodomos.
Every visible part of the temple was coated in a painted layer of white plaster to protect the limestone. The metopes were undecorated. The roof was covered with terracotta tiles, apart from the first layer with the palmette-shaped antefixes, which was made of marble. The gutters were carved with lion’s-head spouts. Both the central palmette acroteria were also of marble, with a kore in Ionian dress standing on either side.
The temple, built at the peak of Aegina’s prosperity by an unknown architect, is one of the best examples of the Doric style.
Disease has many stories, some told by individual sufferers, others by health care practitioners and researchers, and yet others by historians of medicine. This seminar examines disease stories found in ancient Greek literature and discusses how specific cultural expectations and attitudes influenced the ways these stories were told.
Jennifer Clarke Kosak received her Ph.D. in Classical Philology from the University of Michigan and her B.A. from Harvard-Radcliffe. She has research interests in the areas of ancient Greek medicine, ancient Greek theater, gender studies (particularly masculinity) and intellectual history. Her book, Heroic Measures: Hippocratic Medicine in the Making of Euripidean Tragedy (2004), argues that Greek tragedy and Greek medical writing draw upon a common stock of ideas to construct their views on human nature and the processes of disease and treatment. She has also written articles that demonstrate the importance of Greek medical thought for understanding other authors and areas of classical Greek culture. Currently, she is writing a book on masculinity and medicine in ancient Greece.
I love to stumble upon random college bits. And with corona measures in place, it's a lot easier this days to learn a little something extra. I'd like to share a course with you today as taught by Philippe-Antoine Hoyeck who teaches at Carleton College in Canada.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Love is sometimes described as a form of madness, a formidable irrational force that overpowers our will, a condition that we fall into and that can bring either bliss or destruction. In this course, we will challenge this view by adopting a different starting point. Through a survey of the Western philosophical tradition, we will explore the possibility that, far from being beyond intelligibility, love (and sex) can be understood and that an ‘art of love’ can be cultivated.
Our investigation will lead us to question many aspects of our experience of love by considering its socially constructed nature, its possible objects, and its effects –a process that will help us to better appreciate the role of love and sex in a flourishing human life. We will pursue our inquiry in a diversity of contexts such as friendship, romantic love, family love, and self-love. Exploring ancient and contemporary texts that defend diverging views on love will help us cultivate precious philosophical abilities such as intellectual flexibility, definitional clarity and critical awareness.
The first lecture can be viewed here, in two parts:
Totally swamped today, but I found the cutest thing yesterday: the animated history of Sparta. Enjoy!
Sparta, the home of the legendary 300 Spartans, discover the history of this great city-state, from its first years, how it rose to dominance over ancient Greece, and how its power came to an end.
Lovely readers, are you fans of classical music? I quite enjoy many classical pieces although I am definitely not well versed. I have found though that the subject matter matters a great deal, so how about some classical pieces with Hellenic influences?
Carl Nielsen's Helios Overture, Opus 17, was first performed by the Royal Orchestra, conducted by Johan Svendsen, on 8 October 1903 in the large hall of the Odd Fellows Mansion in Copenhagen. In 1902, Nielsen signed a contract with the publisher Wilhelm Hansen, which allowed him to go to Athens, Greece, to join his wife Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, who was one of the first sculptors allowed to make copies of the bas-reliefs and statues in the Acropolis Museum. Nielsen's stay in Athens gave him the inspiration of a work depicting the sun rising and setting over the Aegean Sea, an overture which he called Helios. He began work on it in March 1903, and finished it on April 23 the same year. The score is written for three flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.
The work begins as the sun ascends over the Aegean Sea, while strings, divided horns and woodwind sound a melody. This rises out of the darkness to a full orchestra, where fanfaring trumpets begin a striding theme, which returns later in the piece. From there woodwinds begin a graceful tune, from which brass sound. Strings begin to play, which draws the orchestra into a reprise of the striding theme and its fanfare. In the final measures, the music subsides as the sun sinks over the horizon of the sea. The average playing time is between ten and twelve minutes.
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. The piece was first performed in Vienna on 5 October 1762. The two hour opera is split into three acts. In the first a grieving Orpheus--Orfeo--Amore appears, telling Orfeo that he may go to the Underworld and return with his wife on the condition that he not look at her until they are back on earth. In the second act, Orfeo visits the underworld and is reunited with Euridice, and in the third, they head out and he looses her again when he looks back to check if she is really there.
Karl Goldmark, also known originally as Károly Goldmark and later sometimes as Carl Goldmark was a Hungarian composer who lived from May 18, 1830, to January 2, 1915. The Op. 36, the Prometheus Bound Overture, features Prometheus and is concerned with the torments of the Hellenic mythological figure Prometheus who defies the Gods and gives fire to humanity, for which he is subjected to eternal punishment and suffering at the hands of Zeus.
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was an Austrian composer, violinist and silvologist who lived from 2 November 1739 to 24 October 1799. Among his 120-or-so symphonies are twelve programmatic ones based on Ovid's Metamorphoses, although only six have survived (and have also been recorded). They are entitled: 'The Four Ages of the World', 'The Fall of Phaeton', 'The Metamorphosis of Acteon Into a Stag', 'The Rescue of Andromeda by Perseus', 'The Transformation of the Lycian Peasants into Frogs', and a sixth untitled one.
Mortuary portraits were popular as an artistic medium in the 1st century AD during the Roman Empire's rule over Egypt, which was dominated by an upper class of ethnic Greeks. This blending of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian cultures in the imperial province of Egypt resulted in a unique art form that drew influences from Classical Greece and Egypt while at the same time utilizing materials provided by Rome's flourishing economy.
I am short on time today, so have a video about the ancient wonders of ancient Hellas! It's an older one but quite enjoyable.
"Greece, a land of breathtaking beauty and light. A land where science, art and inspiration from the gods combined to produce some of the world's greatest marvels of architecture and design. The ancient Greeks used buildings and structures to reflect the variety of life at the core of their civilisation - they built the first theatres, staged the first sports events and worshipped in some of the most spectacular temples ever built.
From prehistoric palaces to bold symbols of victory, this programme explores the Seven Ancient Wonders of Greece - the Theatre of Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi, the Colossus of Rhodes, Santorini, The Palace of Knossos and the greatest masterpiece of them all - The Parthenon. Revealing the true icons of this incredible civilisation, we explore how and why the seven wonders of Ancient Greece still retain the power to amaze the world today. By recounting the stories behind the people who designed and oversaw their construction and unravelling the tales and myths of those who lived within them, we unearth the secrets behind The Seven Wonders of Ancient Greece."
Busy, busy, busy, so have a video today. This lecture was taught by Professor Eric H. Cline, Ph.D., He is a Professor of Classics and Anthropology and the current Director of The George Washington University (GWU) Capitol Archaeological Institute.
He holds a Ph.D. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from Yale University, and a B.A. in Classical Archaeology modified by Anthropology from Dartmouth College. He is also a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright Scholar, and a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Public Scholar.
In this video you can "Follow the exploits of Heinrich Schliemann, a 19th-century amateur archaeologist who was determined to find the site of Homer’s Troy. Learn about his dig through nine stratified cities, the astonishing finds, and the intense debates concerning which city was the actual Troy. Trace subsequent work at the site and examine the compelling conclusions."
I'm a little short on time, so it's time for a video! This one is called "The Minotaur Island" and it's pretty cool!
"The mysterious island of Crete has always loomed large in imagination, as the home of the Minotaur -- that monstrous creature, half-man half-bull -- imprisoned in Daedalus' labyrinth. Before Crete collapsed in fire and violence, it gave birth to Europe's first civilization nearly 5,000 years ago, and boasted an advanced, prosperous Mediterranean civilization with hinged doors, flush toilets, and magnificent palaces."
Sorry, low on time, so I'm leaving you with a pretty awesome comparison video between real life Greece now and the graphics in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. It makes my heart hurt and sing at the same time o see these sites as they could have been in their full glory. Can you miss something you never knew?
Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Οἰδίπους Τύραννος), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Hellenes, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from another of Sophocles' plays, Oedipus at Colonus. In antiquity, the term “tyrant” referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.
Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.
Oedipus Rex is regarded by many scholars as the masterpiece of ancient Hellenic tragedy. In his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre.
What is it with these busy days this week? I'm going to leave you with this very interesting podcast about life as a woman in ancient Hellas. More tomorrow!
"Ancient Greece is notorious for keeping women silent, veiled, and firmly fixed beside the loom. But was life for the ladies in places like Athens really so restrictive? What did they get up to behind those veils and shaded screens? Let's time travel back to the Classical period to find out what it was like to be them."
Sorry, dying of headache today and going back to bed. Don't worry, though; I am leaving you in very capable hands.
Mary R. Lefkowitz, former professor of classical studies at Wellesley College, says we can learn much about what it means to be human by studying the myths of the ancient Greeks. In the Distinguished Faculty Lecture during Wellesley's family weekend and in her fantastic book, 'Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn from Myths' (Yale University, November 2003), Lefkowitz shows how myths have fascinated people through the ages while helping them cope with the uncertainties of their lives.
Diana Chapman Walsh, president of Wellesley College, introduces Mary Lefkowitz as she discusses this intriguing topic.
It's been many years since I visited Athens and I miss it. I hope to go back soon and take in the splendor with the eyes of an adult, not a child. I was feeling nostalgic this morning and wondered if anyone had recorded their walk around the area. They did, and I've spent twenty minutes taking it all in. Even with the weather being what it was, I so enjoyed the video. Turn the sound off, though, very windy! I will definitely have to visit Athens again soon.
