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Votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally made to gain favor with supernatural forces. While some offerings were apparently made in anticipation of the achievement of a particular wish, in Western cultures from which documentary evidence survives it was more typical to wait until the wish had been fulfilled before making the offering, for which the more specific term ex-voto may be used. Other offerings were very likely regarded just as gifts to the deity, not linked to any particular need. In Buddhism, votive offering such as construction of stupas was a prevalent practice in Ancient India, an example of which can be observed in the ruins of the ancient Vikramshila University and other contemporary structures. Votive offerings have been described in historical Roman era and G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ex-voto
An ex-voto is a votive offering to a saint or a divinity, given in fulfillment of a vow (hence the Latin term, short for ''ex voto suscepto'', "from the vow made") or in gratitude or devotion. The term is usually restricted to Christian examples. Definition Ex-votos are placed in a Church (building), church or chapel where the worshiper seeks grace or wishes to give thanks. The destinations of pilgrimages often include shrines decorated with ex-votos. Ex-votos can take a wide variety of forms. They are not only intended for the invocated, but also as a testimony to later visitors of the received help. As such they may include texts explaining a miracle attributed to the helper, or symbols such as a painted or modeled reproduction of a miraculously healed body part, or a directly related item such as a crutch given by a person formerly lame. There are places where a very old tradition of depositing ex-votos existed, such as Abydos, Egypt, Abydos in ancient Egypt. Ex-voto paint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died or were unable to return for other reasons (forgetfulness or physical displacement from its location) before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards might then be uncovered much later by metal detector hobbyists, members of the public, and archaeologists. Hoards provide a useful method of providing dates for artifacts through association as they can usually be assumed to be contemporary (or at least assembled during a decade or two), and therefore used in creating chronologies. Hoards can also be considered an indicator of the relative degree of unrest in ancient societies. Thus conditions in 5th and 6th century Britain spurred the burial of hoards, of which the most famou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treasuries At Olympia
The Treasuries at Olympia were a series of small temple-shaped buildings located to the north side of the Altis or sanctuary at the site of Olympia in Greece. All but two were erected by Greek colonies to store valuable votive offerings. The Treasuries were built on a natural terrace at the foot of the Hill of Cronus. The best preserved and earliest treasury is that dedicated by Sicyon. The most recent treasury discovered is that of Syracuse. It was built to celebrate the victory over Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ... in 480 BC. West to east the treasuries were dedicated by: Sicyon, Syracuse, Byzantion, Sybaris, Cyrene, Selinus, Metapontium, Megara and Gela. The miniature buildings consist of a single room preceded by a small entrance-hall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nydam Mose
The Nydam Mose, also known as Nydam Bog, is an archaeological site located at Øster Sottrup, a town located in Sundeved, from Sønderborg, Denmark. History In the Iron Age, the site of the bog was a sacred place, where the weapons and ships of vanquished armies were offered to the indigenous gods in thanks for victory over the fallen enemy. Many items were deliberately destroyed (bent, broken or hacked into pieces) in ritual sacrificial acts, from the period 200–400 CE. The first known finds from the bog date from the 1830s, when a local farmer gave old swords and shields as toys to his children. Amongst numerous other items, three boats were found in Nydam Bog. In particular, the long oak boat, commonly known as "the Nydam Boat", maintains a distinguished position amongst Danish Iron Age finds, as it is one of the oldest known rowing vessel in Northern Europe (the Hjortspring boat, also found in Denmark, is even older). The oak boat (''egetræsbåden'') is on display ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stupa
In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and meditation. Walking around a stupa in a clockwise direction, known as '' pradakhshina'', has been an important ritual and devotional practice in Buddhism since the earliest times, and stupas always have a ''pradakhshina'' path around them. The original South Asian form is a large solid dome above a tholobate, or drum, with vertical sides, which usually sits on a square base. There is no access to the inside of the structure. In large stupas, there may be walkways for circumambulation on top of the base as well as on the ground below it. Large stupas have, or had, ''vedikā'' railings outside the path around the base, often highly decorated with sculpture, especially at the torana gateways, of which there are usually four. At the top of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coins As Votive Offering
In many cultures, coins are used as votive offerings, usually through the act of throwing coins at or in specific objects such as rivers, lakes, ponds, wells, fountains, statues, bells, vehicles, and other objects to pray for blessings, avert disasters, and make wishes. The coin offering is sometimes accompanied by a throwing game, such as aiming the coin at a specific target like a censer, a bell, or a designated spot, such as inside an incense burner or through the eyes of a statue. China The influence of religious beliefs In the Tang dynasty, Tang Dynasty text "," it is recorded that "In the regions of Bingzhou and Shouyang, there is a Jealous Maiden Spring with a temple dedicated to a deity. The water of the spring is crystal clear to a depth of a thousand feet. Worshippers throw in coins and sheep bones, which can be seen clearly in the water." At the beginning of the late Qing dynasty, Qing Dynasty, some religious sites began to set up coin games to entertain visito ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact (British English) is a general term for an item made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance; it is defined as an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, including cultural artifacts (of archaeological culture, cultural interest). "Artifact" is the general term used in archaeology, while in museums the equivalent general term is normally "object", and in art history perhaps artwork or a more specific term such as "carving". The same item may be called all or any of these in different contexts, and more specific terms will be used when talking about individual objects, or groups of similar ones. Artifacts exist in many different forms and can sometimes be confused with Biofact (archaeology), ecofacts and Feature (archaeology), features; all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samothrace
Samothrace (also known as Samothraki; , ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace. The island is long, in size and has a population of 2,596 (2021 census). Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island include granite and basalt. Samothrace is one of the most rugged Greek islands, with Mt Saos and its highest peak, Fengari, rising to . The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'' statue, which is now displayed at the Louvre in Paris, was found on the island. History Antiquity Samothrace never became a state of any political significance in ancient Greece, since it lacks natural harbours and most of the island is too mountainous for cultivation: Mount Fengari (literally 'Mt Moon') rises to . It was, however, the home of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, site of important Hellenic and pre-Hellenic religious ceremonies. Those who visited this shrine to be initiated into the island cult inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; , ; ) was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Little is definitively known about his life, but his surviving book ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy. His reputation is controversial among scholars because he often repeats information from his sources without critically evaluating it. In many cases, he focuses on insignificant details of his subjects' lives while ignoring important details of their philosophical teachings and he sometimes fails to distinguish between earlier and later teachings of specific philosophical schools. However, unlike many other ancient secondary sources, Diogenes Laërtius tends to report philosophical teachings without trying to reinterpret or expand on them, and so his accounts are often closer to the primary sources. Due to the loss of so many of the primary sources on which Diogenes relied, his work has become the foremost surviving source on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diogenes Of Sinope
Diogenes the Cynic, also known as Diogenes of Sinope (c. 413/403–c. 324/321 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism. Renowned for his ascetic lifestyle, biting wit, and radical critiques of social conventions, he became a legendary figure whose life and teachings have been recounted, often through anecdote, in both antiquity and later cultural traditions. Born to a prosperous family in Sinope, his life took a dramatic turn following a scandal involving the defacement of coinage, an event that led to his exile and ultimately his radical rejection of conventional values. Embracing a life of poverty and self-sufficiency, he became famous for his unconventional behaviours that openly challenged societal norms, such as living in a jar or wandering public spaces with a lit lantern in daylight, claiming to be looking for a man. Diogenes advocated for a return to nature, the renunciation of materialism, and introduced early ideas of cosmopolitanis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wetland
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially in the soils. Wetlands form a transitional zone between waterbodies and dry lands, and are different from other terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems due to their vegetation's roots having adapted to oxygen-poor waterlogged soils. They are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as habitats to a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals, with often improved water quality due to plant removal of excess nutrients such as nitrates and phosphorus. Wetlands exist on every continent, except Antarctica. The water in wetlands is either freshwater, brackish or saltwater. The main types of wetland are defined based on the dominant plants and the source of the water. For example, ''marshes'' ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts of the world. This "Neolithic package" included the History of agriculture, introduction of farming, domestication of animals, and change from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one of sedentism, settlement. The term 'Neolithic' was coined by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. The Neolithic began about 12,000 years ago, when farming appeared in the Epipalaeolithic Near East and Mesopotamia, and later in other parts of the world. It lasted in the Near East until the transitional period of the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) from about 6,500 years ago (4500 BCE), marked by the development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
