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Horns Of Consecration
Horns of Consecration is a term coined by Sir Arthur Evans for the symbol, common in Minoan civilization, that is usually thought to represent the horns of the sacred bull. Evans said they were "a more or less conventionalised article of ritual furniture derived from the actual horns of the sacrificial oxen". The porous limestone horns of consecration on the East Propyleia at Knossos (''illustration, right'') are restorations. Horns of consecration in stone or clay were placed on the roofs of buildings in Neopalatial Crete, or on tombs or shrines, probably as signs of sanctity of the structure. The symbol also appears on Minoan sealstones, often accompanied by the labrys (double axe) and bucranium (decorative bull skull sculpture), which are part of the iconography of Minoan bull sacrifice. Horns of consecration are among the cultic images painted on the Minoan coffins called '' larnakes'', sometimes in isolation; they may have flowers between the horns, or the labrys. Astron ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larnax
A larnax (plural: larnakes; , plural: λάρνακες, ''lárnakes'') is a type of small closed coffin, box or "ash-chest" often used in the Minoan civilization and in Ancient Greece as a container for human remains—either a corpse (bent back on itself) or Cremation, cremated ashes. The first larnakes appeared in the Minoan period of the Aegean civilization, when they took the form of ceramic coffers designed to imitate wooden chests, perhaps on the pattern of Egyptian linen chests. They were richly decorated with abstract patterns, Octopus, octopuses and scenes of hunting and cult rituals. During the later Hellenistic period, larnakes, in the form of small terracotta sarcophagi, became popular, some of which were painted in similar styles to contemporary Greek vase, Greek vases. In a few special cases, larnakes appear to have been made out of precious materials, as in Golden Larnax, the 4th century BC example found at Vergina in Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, of gold, with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoan Art
Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean civilization, Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art, and in later periods came for a time to have a dominant influence over Cycladic art. Since wood and textiles have decomposed, the best-preserved (and most instructive) surviving examples of Minoan art are its Minoan pottery, pottery, Minoan palace, palace architecture (with frescos which include "the earliest pure landscapes anywhere"), small sculptures in various materials, jewellery, metal vessels, and Minoan seals, intricately-carved seals. It was influenced by the neighbouring cultures of Ancient Egypt and the ancient Near East, which had produced sophisticated urban art for much longer, but the character of the small but wealthy mercantile Minoan cities was very different, with little evidence of large temple-base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tayma
Tayma (; Taymanitic: 𐪉𐪃𐪒, , vocalized as: ) or Tema is a large oasis with a long history of settlement, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the point where the trade route between Medina and Dumah (Sakakah) begins to cross the Nafud desert. Tayma is located southeast of the city of Tabuk, and about north of Medina. It is located in the western part of the Nafud desert. History The historical significance of Tayma is based on the existence there of an oasis, which helped it become a stopping point on commercial desert routes. An important event was the presence there of Nabonidus, the last Neo-Babylonian emperor, who took residence there in the mid- 6th century BC. Bronze Age: Egyptian inscription Recent archaeological discoveries show that Tayma has been inhabited since at least the Bronze Age. In 2010, the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia announced the discovery of the Pharaonic Tayma inscription by Ramesses III about 60 kilometers northwest of Tayma. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British School At Athens
The British School at Athens (BSA; ) is an institute for advanced research, one of the eight British International Research Institutes supported by the British Academy, that promotes the study of Greece in all its aspects. Under UK law it is a registered educational charity, which translates to a non-profit organisation in American and Greek law. It also is one of the 19 List of Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Greece, Foreign Archaeological Institutes defined by Hellenic Law No. 3028/2002, "On the Protection of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in General," passed by the Greek Parliament in 2003. Under that law the 19 accredited foreign institutes may perform systematic excavation in Greece with the permission of the government. The School was founded in 1886 as the fourth such institution in Greece (the earlier being the French, German, and American). For most of its existence, it focused on supporting, directing and facilitating British-based research in Classical Studies an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaikastro Kouros
The Palaikastro Kouros () is a chryselephantine statuette of a male youth (''kouros'') excavated in stages in the modern-day town of Palaikastro on the Greek island of Crete. It has been dated to the Late Minoan 1B period in the mid-15th century BC, during the Bronze Age. It is now on display in the Archaeological Museum of Siteia. Standing roughly 50 cm (19.5 in) tall, its large size by the standards of other figurines in Minoan art, and the value of its materials may indicate that it was a cult image for worship, the only one known from the Minoan civilization. Description The majority of its body (torso, legs, arms, and feet) is made of hippopotamus tooth covered with gold foil, but the hair part of the head is carved from gray-green serpentinite with rock-crystal eyes and ivory details. Where the carved surface survives relatively well, the carving is extremely detailed, showing the veins and tendons of the hands and feet. The face is completely missing, but the elabo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Sackett
Leyland Hugh Sackett (13 August 1928 – 12 April 2020) was an archeologist credited with being among the discoverers of the Palaikastro Kouros. Education Sackett attended Merton College at Oxford. Work As an archeologist, Sackett co-directed excavations at Lefkandi ( Mervyn Popham was the other co-director) and worked at Minoan Palaikastro and Roman Knossos in Crete. His work at Lefkandi took place from 1962 to 1963 and 1964–1990, investigating Iron Age Greece. His excavation work at Palaikastro took place from 1962 to 1963 and 1983–2020. Additional work included excavations at Chios, Knossos, and Attica. His association with the British School at Athens began in 1954. Sackett was assistant director of the school from 1961 to 1963 and later became a vice-president there. He taught classics and Greek archeology at the Groton School in Massachusetts for more than 60 years. He was Groton's longest-serving faculty member. Beginning in 1968 and until at least 2006, he w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoan Religion
Minoan religion was the religion of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization of Crete. In the absence of readable texts from most of the period, modern scholars have reconstructed it almost totally on the basis of archaeological evidence such as Minoan paintings, statuettes, vessels for rituals and Minoan seals, seals and rings. Minoan religion is considered to have been closely related to Religions of the ancient Near East, Near Eastern ancient religions, and its central deity is generally agreed to have been a goddess, although a number of deities are now generally thought to have been worshipped. Prominent Minoan sacred symbols include the Bull (mythology), bull and the horns of consecration, the labrys double-headed axe, and possibly the serpent (mythology), serpent. The old view was that, in stark contrast to contemporary cultures in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Syria, Minoan religious practice was not centred around massive formal public temples. However, it is now thought the Minoan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constellation Of Orion
Orion is a prominent set of stars visible during winter in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is one of the 88 modern constellations; it was among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy. It is named after a hunter in Greek mythology. Orion is most prominent during winter evenings in the Northern Hemisphere, as are five other constellations that have stars in the Winter Hexagon asterism. Orion's two brightest stars, Rigel (β) and Betelgeuse (α), are both among the brightest stars in the night sky; both are supergiants and slightly variable. There are a further six stars brighter than magnitude 3.0, including three making the short straight line of the Orion's Belt asterism. Orion also hosts the radiant of the annual Orionids, the strongest meteor shower associated with Halley's Comet, and the Orion Nebula, one of the brightest nebulae in the sky. Characteristics Orion is bordered by Taurus to the northwest, Eridanus to the southwest, Lepu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult (religion)
Cult is the care (Latin: '' cultus'') owed to deities and their temples, shrines, or churches; cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony. Its presence or former presence is made concrete in temples, shrines and churches, and cult images, including votive offerings at votive sites. Etymology Cicero defined '' religio'' as ''cultus deorum'', "the cultivation of the gods". The "cultivation" necessary to maintain a specific deity was that god's ''cultus'', "cult", and required "the knowledge of giving the gods their due" ''(scientia colendorum deorum)''. The noun ''cultus'' originates from the past participle of the verb ''colo, colere, colui, cultus'', "to tend, take care of, cultivate", originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land ''(ager)''; to practice agriculture", an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as a political center had become fully urbanized. ''Cultus'' is often translated as "cult" without the negative connotatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was a British archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. The first excavations at the Minoan palace of Knossos on the List of islands of Greece, Greek island of Crete began in 1877. They were led by Cretan Greek Minos Kalokairinos, a native of Heraklion. Three weeks later Ottoman authorities forced him to stop (at the time, Ottoman Crete, Crete was under Ottoman rule). Almost three decades later, Evans heard of Kalokairinos' discovery. With private funding, he bought the surrounding rural area including the palace land. Evans began his own excavations in 1900. Based on the structures and artefacts found there and throughout the eastern Mediterranean, Evans found that he needed to distinguish the Minoan civilisation from Mycenaean Greece. Evans was also the first to define the Cretan scripts Linear A and Linear B, as well as an earlier pictographic writing. Biographical background Fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
