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Lycosoura Demeter
The Lycosoura Demeter is a remnant of a colossal sculpture of Demeter, created by the sculptor Damophon in 180 BC for the Temple of Despoina in the ancient city of Lycosura, now Arcadia, Greece. It is part of a mini-pantheon prominent in the city, which also includes the goddess Artemis, the Titan Anytos, and the goddess Desponia, the "Mistress", whose true name remains unknown, according to the historian Pausanias, who catalogued the region in his book Description of Greece (Ἑλλάδος Περιήγησις, ''Hellados Periegesis''). The cult statues was believed to be about 6 meters in height, and the depiction of the deities were also documented on Roman provincial currency issued by the city of Megalopolis. The bust is currently housed by the National Archaeological Museum, alongside the bust of Artemis, designated NAMA 1734. Discovery The city of Lycosura is 7 km west of Megalopolis, which was studied extensively in the Summer of 1889, and the turn of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damophon
Damophon (; fl. 2nd century BC) was an ancient Greek sculptor of the Hellenistic period from Messene, known for his many acroliths found in Messene, Megalopolis, Aegium, Lycosura and other cities of the Peloponnesus. Other cities beyond the Peloponnese that Damophon was admired include Leucas, Cephallenia, Kynthos, Melos and Oiantheia.Melina MelfiDamophon of Messene in the Ionian coast of Greece(in ''Hellenistic Sanctuaries: Between Greece and Rome'', OUP, 2016). There has been some debate surrounding the dating of Damophon's statues with historians attributing him to anywhere between the 4th c. BC to the 2nd c. AD. However, recent work at Messene where others of Damophon's sculptures have been found, indicate a date around 180 BC for his floruit. While much of Damophon's life remains unknown, Pausanias writes of his prevalence in Greek sculpture well into the 2nd c. AD.PausiniasDescription of Greece 4.31.6. More information about the life of Damophon, and about his work fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Provincial Currency
Roman provincial currency was coinage minted within the Roman Empire by local civic rather than imperial authorities. These coins were often continuations of the original currencies that existed prior to the arrival of the Romans. Because so many of them were minted in the Greek areas of the empire, they were usually referred to until fairly recently as Greek imperial coinage, and catalogued at the end of lists of coins minted by the Greek cities. When a new region was assimilated into the Roman Empire, the continuance of preexisting local currencies was often allowed as a matter of expediency. Also, new colonies were frequently given authority to mint bronze coins. These provincial currencies were mostly used by the local inhabitants only for local trade, as their intrinsic values were usually much lower than Roman imperial coinage. Characteristics Provincial coins were issued in silver, billon and bronze denominations, though never gold. The majority were bronze. Silver an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hellenistic Art
Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the Roman Greece, conquest of the Greek world by the Romans, a process well underway by 146 BC, when the Greek mainland was taken, and essentially ending in 30 BC with the conquest of Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemaic Egypt following the Battle of Actium. A number of the best-known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period, including ''Laocoön and His Sons'', ''Dying Gaul'', ''Venus de Milo'', and the ''Winged Victory of Samothrace''. It follows the period of Ancient Greek art, Classical Greek art, while the succeeding Roman art, Greco-Roman art was very largely a continuation of Hellenistic trends. The term ''Hellenistic'' refers to the expansion of Greek influence and dissemination of its ideas following the death of Alexander – the "Hellenizing" of the world, with Koine Greek as a common language. The term is a modern invention; the Hell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble Sculptures In Greece
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (Layered intrusion, layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed limestone, but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. The extraction of marble is performed by quarrying. Marble production is dominated by four countries: China, Italy, India and Spain, which account for almost half of world production of marble and decorative stone. Because of its high hardness and strong wear resistance, and because it will not be deformed by temperature, marble is often used in Marble sculpture, sculpture and construction. Etymology The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "crystalline rock, shin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sculptures In Athens
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sculptural processes originally used carving (the removal of material) and modelling (the addition of material, as clay), in stone, metal, ceramic art, ceramics, wood and other materials but, since Modernism, there has been almost complete freedom of materials and process. A wide variety of materials may be worked by removal such as carving, assembled by welding or modelling, or Molding (process), moulded or Casting, cast. Sculpture in stone survives far better than works of art in perishable materials, and often represents the majority of the surviving works (other than pottery) from ancient cultures, though conversely traditions of sculpture in wood may have vanished almost entirely. In addition, most ancient sculpture was painted, which h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1889 Archaeological Discoveries
Events January * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas. * January 4 – An Act to Regulate Appointments in the Marine Hospital Service of the United States is signed by President Grover Cleveland. It establishes a Commissioned Corps of officers, as a predecessor to the modern-day U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. * January 8 – Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine in the United States. * January 15 – The Coca-Cola Company is originally incorporated as the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia. * January 22 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C. * January 30 – Mayerling incident: Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder-suicide) at the Mayerling hunt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CULT STATUES IN THE TEMPLE OF DESPOINA AT LYKOSOURA (2nd Cent
Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term has different, and sometimes divergent or pejorative, definitions both in popular culture and academia and has been an ongoing source of contention among scholars across several fields of study. Beginning in the 1930s, new religious movements became an object of sociological study within the context of the study of religious behavior. Since the 1940s, the Christian countercult movement has opposed some sects and new religious movements, labeling them cults because of their unorthodox beliefs. Since the 1970s, the secular anti-cult movement has opposed certain groups, which they call cults, accusing them of practicing brainwashing. Groups labelled cults are found around the world and range in size from small localized groups to some intern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece". Their basis was a Bronze Age Agrarianism, agrarian cult, and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the Mycenean Greece, Mycenean period.Dietrich (1975) ''The origins of Greek Religion''. Bristol Phoenix Press pp. 166, 167Walter Burkert. (1985)''Greek Religion''. Harvard University Press. p. 285 The Mysteries represented the myth of the Persephone#Abduction myth, abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the king of the underworld Hades, in a cycle with three phases: the ''descent'' (loss), the ''search'', and the ''ascent'', with the main theme being the ''ascent'' () of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. It was a major festival during the Hellenistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chthonic
In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" are derived from the Ancient Greek word () meaning 'earth' or 'soil'. The Greek adjective () means 'in, under, or beneath the earth', which can be differentiated from (), which refers to the living surface of land on the earth. In Greek, () is a descriptive word for things relating to the underworld, which was in antiquity sometimes applied as an epithet to deities such as Hermes, Demeter, and Zeus. The chthonic deities have been compared to the more commonly referred-to Olympic gods and their associated rites and cults. Olympic gods are understood to reference that which exists above the earth, particularly in the sky. Gods that are related to agriculture are also considered to have chthonic associations as planting and growing tak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kore (sculpture)
Kore ( Greek: κόρη "maiden"; plural korai) is the modern term given to a type of free-standing ancient Greek sculpture of the Archaic period depicting female figures, always of a young age. Kouroi are the youthful male equivalent of kore statues. Korai show the restrained " archaic smile", which did not demonstrate emotion. It was the symbol of the ideal, transcending the hardships of the world. Unlike the nude kouroi, korai are depicted in thick and sometimes elaborate drapery. As fashions changed, so did the type of clothing they wore. Over time, korai went from the heavy peplos to lighter garments such as the chiton. Their posture is rigid and column-like, sometimes with an extended arm. Some korai were painted colorfully to enhance the visual impact of the garments and for narrative purposes. There are multiple theories on whether the korai represent mortals or deities. Korai also functioned as offerings to the deities or the dead. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diadem
A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I bind round", or "I fasten". The term originally referred to the embroidered white silk ribbon, ending in a knot and two fringed strips often draped over the shoulders, that surrounded the head of the monarch, king to denote his authority. Such ribbons were also used to crown victorious athletes in important sports games in antiquity. It was later applied to a metal crown (headgear), crown, generally in a circular or "fillet (clothing), fillet" shape. For example, the crown worn by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands was a diadem, as was that of a baron later (in some countries surmounted by three globes). The ancient Celts were believed to have used a thin, semioval gold plate called a ''mind'' (Old Irish) as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
