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Ornithomancy
Ornithomancy is the practice of reading omens from the actions of birds followed in many ancient cultures including the Greeks, and is equivalent to the augury employed by the ancient Romans. Ornithomancy in some form has been found globally among a wide variety of pre-industrial peoples. Etymology The modern term from Greek ''ornis'' "bird" and ''manteia'' "divination"; in Ancient Greek: οἰωνίζομαι "take omens from the flight and cries of birds" Mediterranean developments Prophesying by birds appeared among the Hittites in Anatolia, with texts on bird oracles written in Hittite known from the 13th or 14th century BCE, and from whom the Greek practice may derive. It was also familiar to the Etruscans, who may have brought it to Rome. Greek evidence Ornithomancy dates back to early Greek times, appearing on Archaic vases, as well as in Hesiod and Homer: one notable example from the latter occurs in the ''Odyssey'', when an eagle appears three times, flying to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augur
An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined sacred space (''templum''). The ''templum'' corresponded to the heavenly space above. The augur's decisions were based on what he personally saw or heard from within the ''templum''; they included thunder, lightning and any accidental signs such as falling objects, but in particular, birdsigns; whether the birds he saw flew in groups or alone, what noises they made as they flew, the direction of flight, what kind of birds they were, how many there were, or how they fed. This practice was known as "''taking the auspices''". As circumstance did not always favour the convenient appearance of wild birds or weather phenomena, domesticated chickens kept for the purpose were sometimes released into the templum, where their behaviour, particularly h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augury
Augury was a Greco- Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" () means "looking at birds". ''Auspex'', another word for augur, can be translated to "one who looks at birds". Depending upon the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable (''auspicious'' or ''inauspicious''). Sometimes politically motivated augurs would fabricate unfavorable auspices in order to delay certain state functions, such as elections. Pliny the Elder attributes the invention of auspicy to Tiresias the seer of Thebes. Over the development of the Roman empire, the definition of augury broadened to include other forms of divination. Haruspicy —the examination of animal entrails—was learned from the Etruscans. The Etruscan practice of observing thunder and lightning was also adapted. In Cicero’s time, the augurs had mostly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tomba Degli Auguri
''Tomba!'' is a 1997 action-adventure platform video game developed and published by Whoopee Camp for the PlayStation. It was released in Japan in 1997 and internationally by Sony Computer Entertainment the following year. The game centers on the eponymous feral child as he attempts to recover his grandfather's bracelet from an evil race of anthropomorphic pigs. Creator Tokuro Fujiwara developed ''Tomba!'' after leaving Capcom in 1995, founding Whoopee Camp as director, producer and lead designer. He chose the game's 2D side-scrolling perspective for the format's straightforward nature, and created a non-linear "event" system to differentiate the game from other platforming titles. ''Tomba!'' was received positively by critics, with praise for its controls, visuals, and varied gameplay objectives. However, the game's audio received a more mixed reception. Despite the game's lackluster commercial performance, it was followed by a sequel in 1999, '' Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Retu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One For Sorrow (nursery Rhyme)
"One for Sorrow" is a traditional children's nursery rhyme about magpies. According to an old superstition, the number of magpies seen tells if one will have bad or good luck. Lyrics There is considerable variation in the lyrics used. A common modern version is: A longer version of the rhyme recorded in Lancashire continues: Origins The rhyme has its origins in ornithomancy superstitions connected with magpies, considered a bird of ill omen in some cultures, and in Britain, at least as far back as the early sixteenth century.I. Opie and M. Tatem, eds, ''A Dictionary of Superstitions'' (Oxford University Press, 1989), pp. 235-6. The rhyme was first recorded in Samuel Johnson and George Steevens's 1780 supplement to their 1778 edition of ''The Plays of William Shakespeare'' with the lyric: One of the earliest versions to extend this was published, with variations, in Michael Aislabie Denham's ''Proverbs and Popular Sayings'' (London, 1846): In the 19th century boo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Posidippus (epigrammatic Poet)
Posidippus of Pella ( ''Poseidippos''; c. 310 – c. 240 BC) was an Ancient Greek epigrammatic poet. Life Posidippus was born in the city of Pella, capital of the kingdom of Macedon as the son of Admetos. He lived for some time in Samos before moving permanently to the court of Ptolemy I Soter and later Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Alexandria, Egypt. An inscription from Thermon in Aetolia records that he was honoured by the Aetolian League in about 264/3 BC.IG_9.12.1.17 English translation He was friends with the poets Asclepiades of Samos and Hedylus. Poetry Twenty-three of Posidippus' poems were included in the Greek Anthology, and several more were quoted in either part or whole by Athenaeus of Naucratis in his ''Deipnosophistae''. Until 2001, based on these remains, it was assumed that Posidippus wrote only about drinking and love. In that year the ''Milan Papyrus'' P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 was recovered from the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy dating to about 180 BC. It contai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pancha Pakshi Shastra
Pancha Pakshi Shastra (IAST: ''Pañca-pakṣi-śāstra'', "science of the five birds") is a system of divination historically popular among Hindu astrologers of southern India. Pancha pakshi means five birds in Tamil language. In this system, the ''nakshatras'' (lunar mansions) are organized in groups named after five birds: hawk, owl, crow, cock, and peacock. These birds are said to be in one of the following five states depending on the time, the day of the week, and the paksha (fortnight): ruling, eating, walking, sleeping, and dying (in order of most auspicious to least auspicious). Based on these states and the birth ''nakshatra'' of a person, the Pancha Pakshi Shastra determines the auspicious and inauspicious times for various activities. A Tamil-language work on Pancha Pakshi Shastra is ascribed to the legendary sage Agastya. Its manuscripts, in Telugu and Grantha scripts, are available at the Thanjavur Palace library. A critical edition of the text, by Shivarama Pati, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parrot Astrology
Parrot astrology or parakeet fortune-telling is a type of astrology traditionally practiced in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and by Indian Singaporeans. It involves using mainly rose-ringed parakeet, rose-ringed and Alexandrine parakeets which are trained to pick up Tarot-like fortune cards. Fortune telling process A parrot astrologer/fortune teller typically sits beneath a tree to call or by the side of the road where people congregate. He has a cage which contains one or two trained parrots. The tarot like cards are either spread out or stacked in front of him. They are 27 in number representing the Indian cosmic system. Each card contains the image of a Hindu deity and some cards contain images of Buddha or Virgin Mary with Infant Jesus. When a patron sits before the fortune teller, the latter opens the cage and lets the parrot out. He instructs the parrot to pick a card for the patron. The parrot walks over to the cards, picks one from the stack or the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', a series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans, and ''Moralia'', a collection of essays and speeches. Upon becoming a Roman citizen, he was possibly named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (). Family Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the small town of Chaeronea, about east of Delphi, in the Greek region of Boeotia. His family was long established in the town; his father was named Autobulus and his grandfather was named Lamprias. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are frequently mentioned in his essays and dialogues, which speak of Timon in particular in the most affectionate terms. Studies and life Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy in Athens under Ammonius of Athens, Ammonius from AD 66 to 67. He attended th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel (1884, published in English as ''Against the Grain'' and as ''Against Nature''). He supported himself by way of a 30-year career in the French civil service. Huysmans's work is considered remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, large vocabulary, descriptions, satirical wit and far-ranging erudition. First considered part of Naturalism, he became associated with the Decadent movement with his publication of ''À rebours''. His work expressed his deep pessimism, which had led him to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. In later years, his novels reflected his study of Catholicism, religious conversion, and becoming an oblate. He discussed the iconography of Christian architecture at length in '' La cathédrale'' (1898), set a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helenus
In Greek mythology, Helenus (; , ''Helenos'', ) was a gentle and clever seer. He was also a Trojan prince as the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra. Mythology Early years In the earliest sources, Helenus and his sister Cassandra were given the power of prophecy by Apollo after their ears were licked by snakes. In other sources, Helenus was taught the power by Cassandra, but others generally believed his predictions. After gaining foresight, he was renamed from Scamandrius to Helenus by a Thracian soothsayer. Helenus predicted that if Alexander (''Paris'') brought home a Greek wife (i.e. Helen), the Achaeans would pursue, and overpower Troy and slay his parents and brothers. Trojan War Helenus is described by Homer as being the greatest of augurs. He advises Hector to challenge any Achaean to a duel, which Telemonian Ajax accepts. Helenus led the third battalion of the Trojan forces along with his brother Dei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruspex
In the Ancient Roman religion, religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy, the inspection of the entrails of Animal sacrifice, sacrificed animals, especially the livers of sacrificed domestic sheep, sheep and poultry. Various ancient cultures of the Near East, such as the Babylonians, also read omens specifically from the liver, a practice also known by the Greek term hepatoscopy (also hepatomancy). The Roman concept is directly derived from Etruscan religion, as one of the three branches of the ''disciplina Etrusca''. Etymology The Latin terms '':wikt:haruspex, haruspex'' and ''haruspicina'' are from an archaic word, ''hīra'' = "entrails, intestines" (cognate with ''hernia'' = "protruding viscera" and ''hira'' = "empty gut"; PIE '':wikt:Appendix:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰer-, *ǵʰer-'') and from the root '':wikt:specio#Latin, spec-'' = "to watch, observe". The Greek ἡπατοσκοπία ''hēpatoskōpia'' i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calchas
Calchas (; , ''Kalkhas'') is an Argive mantis, or " seer," dated to the Age of Legend, which is an aspect of Greek mythology. Calchas appears in the opening scenes of the ''Iliad'', which is believed to have been based on a war conducted by the Achaeans against the powerful city of Troy in the Late Bronze Age. Calchas, a seer in the service of the army before Troy, is portrayed as a skilled augur, Greek ''ionópolos'' ('bird-savant'): "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp." He received knowledge of the past, present, and future from the god, Apollo. He had other mantic skills as well: interpreting the entrails of the enemy during the tide of battle. His mantosune, as it is called in the ''Iliad'', is the hereditary occupation of his family, which accounts for the most credible etymology of his name: “the dark one” in the sense of “ponderer,” based on the resemblance of pondering to melancholy, or being “blue.” Calchas has a long literary history after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
