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A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá: Chichén Itzá, one of best known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning about 700 AD, by Puuc Maya emigres from the southern Yucatan. The Puuc built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monejas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula about 950 AD and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors.
Adjacent to the Temple of Warriors at Chichén Itzá are long colonnaded halls lined with benches. This colonnade borders a large adjacent court, combining civic, palace, administrative and market functions, and it is very Toltec in construction, quite similar to Pyramid B at Tula. Some scholars believe this feature, when compared to Puuc style architecture and iconography such as seen at the Iglesia, indicates that the Toltec replaced the religious-based leaders for warrior-priests.
Photo taken in February 1986 on Kodachrome 64 film with a Minolta SLR camera and Vivitar 70-150 zoom. Scanned 2005. Photo by: Jim Gateley. Text Copyright 2006: archaeology.about.com/mbiopage.htm used with permission. A list of references used for this project is available for further reading on Chichén Itzá.
A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá: Chichén Itzá, one of best known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning about 700 AD, by Puuc Maya emigres from the southern Yucatan. The Puuc built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monejas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula about 950 AD and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors.
This photograph is of the stone rings on the inside wall of the Great Ball Court. Several different ball games were played by various groups in similar ballcourts throughout Mesoamerica. The most wide-spread game was with a rubber ball and, according to the paintings at various sites, a player used his hips to keep the ball in the air as long as possible. According to ethnographic studies of more recent versions, points were scored when the ball hit the ground in the opposing players' part of the courtyard. The rings were tenoned into the upper side walls; but passing the ball through such a ring, in this case 20 feet off the ground, must have been darned near impossible.
Ballgame equipment included in some cases padding for the hips and knees, a hacha (a hafted blunt axe) and a palma, a palm-shaped stone device attached to the padding. It is unclear what these were used for.
The sloping benches on the side of the court were probably sloped to keep the ball in play. They are carved with reliefs of the victory celebrations. These reliefs are each 40 feet long, in panels at three intervals, and they all show a victorious ball team holding the severed head of one of the losers, seven snakes and green vegetation representing the blood issuing from the player's neck.
This is not the only ball court at Chichén Itzá; there are at least 12 others, most of which are smaller, traditionally Maya sized ball courts.
Photo taken in February 1986 on Kodachrome 64 film with a Minolta SLR camera and Vivitar 70-150 zoom. Scanned 2005. Photo by: Jim Gateley. Text Copyright 2006: archaeology.about.com/mbiopage.htm used with permission. A list of references used for this project is available for further reading on Chichén Itzá.
166-177 AD, Banasa.
It consists of three parts: a grant from the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to the Zegrensis Julianus, his wife Ziddina and their four sons in 168/169; a second grant from Marcus Aurelius and Commodus to Faggura, the wife of Aurelius Julianus, the princeps of the Zegrenses, probably the son of the earlier Julianus, and their children in 177; and an authenticated copy of the entry from the central register with the names of twelve senior figures, senators and equestrians.
Exemplum epistulae Imperatorum nostrorum An[toni]ni et Veri Augustorum ad Coiiedium Maximum / li{i}bellum Iuliani Zegrensis litteris tuis iunctum legimus et / quamquam civitas Romana non nisi maximis meritis pro/vocata in[dul]gentia principali gentilibus istis dari solita sit / tamen cum eum adfirmes et de primoribus esse popularium / suorum et nostris rebus prom(p)to obsequio fidissimum nec / multas familias arbitraremur apud Zegrenses paria pos/s[e] de officis suis praedicare quamquam plurimos cupiamus ho/nore a nobis in istam domum conlato ad aemulationem Iuli/ani excitari non cunctamur et ipsi Ziddinae uxori item / liberis Iuliano Maximo Maximino Diogeniano civitatem / Romanam salvo iure gentis dare / exemplum epistulae Imperatorum Antonini et Commodi Augg(ustorum) / ad Vallium Maximianum / legimus libellum principis gentium Zegrensium animadverti/musq(ue) quali favore Epidi Quadrati praecessoris tui iuvetur pro/inde et illius testimonio et ipsius meritis et exemplis quae / allegat permoti uxori filiisq(ue) eius civitatem Romanam sal/vo iure gentis dedimus quod [ut] in commentarios nostros referri / possit explora quae cui{i}usq(ue) aeta{ti}s sit et scribe nobis / descriptum et recognitum ex commentario civitate Romana / donatorum divi Aug(usti) et Ti(beri) Caesaris Aug(usti) et C(ai) Caesaris et divi Claudi / et Neronis et Galbae et divorum Aug(ustorum) Vespasiani et Titi et Caesaris / Domitiani et divorum Aug(ustorum) Ner[v]ae et Trai{i}ani Parthici et Trai{i}ani / Hadriani et Hadriani Antonini Pii et Veri Germanici Medici / Parthici maximi et Imp(eratoris) Caesaris M(arci) Aureli Antonini Aug(usti) Germa/nici Sarmatici et Imp(eratoris) Caesaris L(uci) Aureli Commodi Aug(usti) Germanici Sar/matici quem protulit Asclepiodotus lib(ertus) id quod i(nfra) s(criptum) est / Imp(eratore) Caesare L(ucio) Aurelio Commodo Aug(usto) et M(arco) Plautio Quintilio co(n)s(ulibus) / pr(idie) Non(as) Iul(ias) Romae / Faggura uxor Iuliani principis gentis Zegrensium ann(orum) XXII / Iuliana ann(orum) VIII Maxima ann(orum) IIII Iulianus ann(orum) III Diogenia/nus ann(orum) II liberi Iuliani s(upra) s(cripti) / rog(atu) Aureli Iuliani principis Zegrensium per libellum suffra/gante Vallio Maximiano per epistulam his civitatem Romanam de/dimus salvo iure gentis sine diminutione tributorum et vect[i]gali/um populi et fisci / actum eodem die ibi isdem co(n)s(ulibus) / Asclepiodotus lib(ertus) recognovi / signaverunt / M(arcus) Gav[i]us M(arci) f(ilius) Pob(lilia) Squilla Ga[l]licanus / [M(anius)] Acilius [M(ani)] f(ilius) Gal(eria) Glabrio / T(itus) Sextius T(iti) f(ilius) Vo[t(uria)] Lateranus / C(aius) Septimius C(ai) f(ilius) Qui(rina) Severus / P(ublius) Iulius C(ai) f(ilius) Ser(gia) Scapula Tertul[l]us / T(itus) Varius T(iti) f(ilius) Cla(udia) Clemens / M(arcus) Bassaeus M(arci) f(ilius) Stel(latina) Rufus / P(ublius) Taruttienus P(ubli) f(ilius) Pob(lilia) Paternus / [[[Sex(tus) Tigidius [-] f(ilius) [---] Perennis]]] / Q(uintus) Cervidius Q(uinti) f(ilius) Arn(ensi) Scaevola / Q(uintus) Larcius Q(uinti) f(ilius) Qui(rina) Euripianus / T(itus) Fl(avius) T(iti) f(ilius) Pal(atina) Piso
Now in Rabat Archaeological Museum.
Museum of Roman Civilisation.
Monks rising in the early morning sunshine on a retreat at Phra Si Sanphet Wat, in the ancient city of Ayutthaya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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You can view more of my Southeast Asia travel photos here
A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá: Chichén Itzá, one of best known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning about 700 AD, by Puuc Maya emigres from the southern Yucatan. The Puuc built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monejas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula about 950 AD and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors.
The Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá is the largest in all of Mesoamerica, with an I-shaped playing ground 150 meters long and a small temple at either end--in fact, it's so large it's difficult to photograph, even from the top of el Castillo. This photograph shows the south 1/2 of the ball court, the bottom of the I and a portion of the game walls. The tall game walls are on both sides of main playing alley, and stone rings are set high in these side walls, presumably for shooting balls through. Reliefs along the lower parts of these walls depict the ancient ball game ritual, including the sacrifice of the losers by the victors. The very large building is called the Temple of the Jaguars, which looks down into the ball court from the east platform, with a lower chamber opening outside into the main plaza.
The second story of the Temple of Jaguars is reached by an extremely steep stairway at the east end of the court, visible in this photo. The balustrade of this staircase is carved to represent a feathered serpent. Serpent columns support the lintels of the wide doorway facing the plaza, and the doorjambs are decorated with typical Toltec warrior themes. A frieze appears here of a jaguar and circular shield motif in a flat relief, similar to that found at Tula. In the chamber is a now badly defaced mural of a battle scene with hundreds of warriors laying siege to a Maya village.
The crazed explorer Augustus Le Plongeon interpreted the battle scene in the interior of the Temple of the Jaguars (thought by modern scholars to be the 9th century sack of Piedras Negras) as the battle between Prince Coh leader of Moo (Le Plongeon's name for Chichén Itzá) and Prince Aac (Le Plongeon's name for the leader of Uxmal), which was lost by Prince Coh. Coh's widow (now Queen Moo) had to marry Prince Aac and she cursed Moo to destruction. Afterwards, according to Le Plongeon, Queen Moo left Mexico for Egypt and becomes Isis, and eventually is reincarnated as--surprise! Le Plongeon's wife Alice.
Photo taken in February 1986 on Kodachrome 64 film with a Minolta SLR camera and Vivitar 70-150 zoom. Scanned 2005. Photo by: Jim Gateley. Text Copyright 2006: archaeology.about.com/mbiopage.htm used with permission. A list of references used for this project is available for further reading on Chichén Itzá.
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Israel.
The last occupation at Masada was a Byzantine monastery, and then the site was largely forgotten due to its remoteness and harsh environment (especially in the summer months). The site was superficially explored in 1838 CE by the American archaeologists Edward Robinson and Eli Smith. Then, between 1963 and 1965 CE, Yigael Yadin, who was both an Israeli military commander as well as an archaeologist, organized the first major excavations with volunteers from around the world.
The source for the history of Masada is Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE), who wrote about the origins of the fortress under the Hasmoneans and the renovations of the site under Herod the Great (37-4 BCE). As an eyewitness to the events of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 CE), he wrote The Jewish War with the last chapter relating events at Masada in 73-74 CE. Josephus described the decision to commit mass suicide at the fortress (960 men, women, and children). However, because he was not an eyewitness to the events, modern debate continues in relation to the historical basis of his story.
Highlights from the wonderful exhibition of Tutankhamun's Gold Treasures at Saatchi Gallery London UK 30 Nov 2019.
© Amberinsea Photography 2019
Pingyao has made it to the New York Times‘ list of the top 41 destinations of 2011. While other towns in China have modernized, Pingyao, in China’s coal-rich Shanxi Province, has clung to its old ways, barring cars within its 33-foot-tall Ming dynasty walls and preserving the traditional architecture of incense shops, courtyard houses and 19th-century bank buildings. Named a Unesco World Heritage site in 1997, Pingyao has become a major destination for Chinese and foreigners alike.
Syrian Arab Republic, Palmyra, camel resting at the ancient heritage site of Palmyra, former elegant desert city on the caravan routes
(c) Art in All of Us /Anthony Asael (a Corbis photographer)
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Os Jardins Suspensos da Babilônia constituem uma das sete maravilhas do mundo antigo. É talvez uma das maravilhas relatadas sobre a qual menos se sabe. Muito se especula sobre suas possíveis formas e dimensões, mas nenhuma descrição detalhada ou vestígio arqueológico já foram encontrados,além de um poço fora do comum que parece ter sido usado para bombear água.
Coordenadas: 32.542101, 44.421696 (Latitude, Longitude)
Cidade: Al Hillah
País: Iraque
Scale model of the Mausoleum at Miniatürk, Istanbul.
From Wikipedia.
In 377 BC, Halicarnassus was the capital of a small regional kingdom in the coast of Anatolia. In that year the ruler of the region, Hecatomnus of Milas, died and left the control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local satrap under the Persians, took control of several of the neighboring cities and districts. After Mausolus and Artemisia, he had several other sons and daughters: Ada (adopted mother of Alexander III of Macedon), Idrieus and Pixodarus. Mausolus extended its territory as far as the southwest coast of Anatolia. Mausolus and Artemisia ruled from Halicarnassus over the surrounding territory for twenty-four years. Mausolus, although descended from local people, spoke Greek and admired the Greek way of life and government. He founded many cities of Greek design along the coast and encouraged Greek democratic traditions.
Mausolus decided to build a new capital, a city as safe from capture as magnificent for to be seen. He chose the city of Halicarnassus. If Mausolus' ships blocked a small channel, they could keep all enemy warships out. He started to make of Halicarnassus a capital fit for a warrior prince. His workmen deepened the city's harbor and used the dragged sand to make protecting breakwaters in front of the channel. On land they paved streets and squares, and built houses for ordinary citizens. And on one side of the harbor they built a massive fortified palace for Mausolus, positioned to have clear views out to sea and inland to the hills — places from where enemies could attack.
On land, the workmen also built walls and watchtowers, a Greek style theatre and a temple to Ares — the Greek god of war.
Mausolus and Artemisia spent huge amounts of tax money to embellish the city. They commissioned statues, temples and buildings of gleaming marble. In the center of the city Mausolus planned to place a resting place for his body after his death. It would be a tomb that would forever show how rich he and his queen were.
In 353 BC Mausolus died, leaving Artemisia broken-hearted. It was the custom in Caria for rulers to marry their sisters. Such incestuous marriages kept the power and the wealth in the family. As a tribute to him, she decided to build him the most splendid tomb, a structure so famous that Mausolus's name is now the eponym for all stately tombs, in the word mausoleum. The construction was also so beautiful and unique it became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Soon after construction of the tomb started Artemisia found herself in a crisis. Rhodes, a Greek island at the Aegean Sea, had been conquered by Mausolus. When the Rhodians heard about his death, they rebelled and sent a fleet of ships to capture the city of Halicarnassus. Knowing that the Rhodian fleet was on the way, Artemisia hid her own ships at a secret location at the east end of the city's harbor. After troops from the Rhodian fleet disembarked to attack, Artemisia's fleet made a surprise raid, captured the Rhodian fleet and towed it out to sea. Artemisia put her own soldiers on the invading ships and sailed them back to Rhodes. Fooled into thinking that the returning ships were their own victorious navy, the Rhodians failed to put up a defense and the city was easily captured, quelling the rebellion.
Artemisia lived for only two years after the death of her husband. The urns with their ashes were placed in the yet unfinished tomb. As a form of sacrifice ritual the bodies of a large number of dead animals were placed on the stairs leading to the tomb, then the stairs were filled with stones and rubble, sealing the access. According to the historian Pliny the Elder, the craftsmen decided to stay and finish the work after the death of their patron "considering that it was at once a memorial of his own fame and of the sculptor's art."
This photo was taken hand held in Hangzhou Liangzhu Meseum, China. The Liangzhu culture (5300-4200 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Its area of influence extended from around Lake Tai north to Nanjing and the Yangtze River, east to Shanghai and the sea, and south to Hangzhou. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals. The type site at Liangzhu was discovered in Yuhang County, Zhejiang and initially excavated in 1936.
Hand held
Exposure1/25
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 6400
Exposure Bias 0 EV
My other photos from Hangzhou:
The El Fuerte de Samaipata or Fort Samaipata, is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The site of Samaipata was occupied as a ritual and residential area about 300 CE by the Chané of the Mojocoyas period (200 to 800 CE). They began shaping the great rock that is the ceremonial center of the Samaipata ruin.
Due to damage caused by visitors walking on the symbols cut into the rock and by erosion caused by water, the inner area is cordoned off to prevent more damage. However most of it can still be viewed.
In Greek times Babylon was famous for the hanging or terraced gardens of the "new palace", which had been erected by Nebuchadnezzar II. These occupied a square which was more than a quarter of a mile in circumference. Great stone terraces, resting on arches, rose up like a giant stairway to a height of about three hundred and fifty feet, and the whole structure was strengthened by a surrounding wall over twenty feet in thickness. So deep were the layers of mould on each terrace that fruit trees were grown amidst the plants of luxuriant foliage and the brilliant Asian flowers. Water for irrigating the gardens was raised from the river by a mechanical contrivance to a great cistern situated on the highest terrace, and it was prevented from leaking out of the soil by layers of reeds and bitumen and sheets of lead. Spacious apartments, luxuriously furnished and decorated, were constructed in the spaces between the arches and were festooned by flowering creepers. A broad stairway ascended from terrace to terrace.
Sabratha was one of the three cities of Tripolis, it lies on the Mediterranean coast west of Tripoli,the archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982
© Eric Lafforgue
The Ishtar Gate at Babylon
Reconstruction Glazed Brick
Total Height–47 Feet, Width-32 Feet
Neo-Babylonian
7th–6th Centuries BC
Dedicator: Nebuchadnezzar II
Language: Akkadian
Date of Excavation: 1899-1914
Staatliche Museen , Berlin
Dept. of the Near East
Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Israel.
The last occupation at Masada was a Byzantine monastery, and then the site was largely forgotten due to its remoteness and harsh environment (especially in the summer months). The site was superficially explored in 1838 CE by the American archaeologists Edward Robinson and Eli Smith. Then, between 1963 and 1965 CE, Yigael Yadin, who was both an Israeli military commander as well as an archaeologist, organized the first major excavations with volunteers from around the world.
The source for the history of Masada is Flavius Josephus (36-100 CE), who wrote about the origins of the fortress under the Hasmoneans and the renovations of the site under Herod the Great (37-4 BCE). As an eyewitness to the events of the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 CE), he wrote The Jewish War with the last chapter relating events at Masada in 73-74 CE. Josephus described the decision to commit mass suicide at the fortress (960 men, women, and children). However, because he was not an eyewitness to the events, modern debate continues in relation to the historical basis of his story.
A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá: Chichén Itzá, one of best known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning about 700 AD, by Puuc Maya emigres from the southern Yucatan. The Puuc built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monejas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula about 950 AD and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors.
Beginning about 950 AD, a new style of architecture crept into the buildings at Chichén Itzá, no doubt along with the people and the culture: The Toltecs. The term 'Toltecs' means a lot of things to a lot of people, but in this feature we're talking about people from the town of Tula, in what is now Hidalgo state, Mexico, who began to expand their dynastic control into distant regions of Mesoamerica from the fall of Teotihuacan to the 12th century AD. While the exact relationship between the Itzas and the Toltecs from Tula is complex, it is certain that major changes in architecture and iconography took place at Chichén Itzá as a result of an influx of Toltec people. The result was probably a ruling class made up of Yucatec Maya, Toltecs, and Itzas; it is possible that some of the Maya were also at Tula.
Toltec style includes the presence of the feathered or plumed serpent, called Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, chacmools, the Tzompantli skull rack, and Toltec warriors. They are probably the impetus for the increase of emphasis on death culture at Chichén Itzá and elsewhere, including the frequency of human sacrifice and warfare. Architecturally, the elements of colonnades and columned halls with wall benches; pyramids are built of stacked platforms of decreasing size in the "tablud and tablero" style which developed at Teotihuacan. Tablud and tablero refers to the angled stair-step profile of the stacked platform pyramid, seen in the profile of El Castillo.
Photo taken in February 1986 on Kodachrome 64 film with a Minolta SLR camera and Vivitar 70-150 zoom. Scanned 2005. Photo by: Jim Gateley. Text Copyright 2006: archaeology.about.com/mbiopage.htm used with permission. A list of references used for this project is available for further reading on Chichén Itzá.
View from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
The temple of Apollo, the most important building in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, dominates the temenos from its central position. This is where the statues and other offerings to the god were kept, and where the cult rituals, including that of divination, took place.
Belshazzar's Feast refers to an event described in the Book of Daniel, in which the Babylonian king Belshazzar profanes the sacred vessels of the enslaved Jews, and, as prophesized by the writing on the wall, is slain, leading to their freedom.
O rei Baltazar deu um grande banquete aos seus mil aristocratas e diante deles tomavam bons tragos de vinho.
Sob a ação do vinho Baltazar mandou buscar as vasilhas de ouro e prata que seu pai Nabucodonosor tinha tirado do templo de Jerusalem, para com elas beberem o rei e seus aristocratas, sua mulheres e concubinas.
Quando trouxeram as vasilhas de ouro e prata que tinham sido tiradas do tempo da casa de Deus em Jerusalém, delas beberam o rei e seus aristocratas, suas mulheres e concubinas.
Enquanto bebiam vinho, louvavam seus deuses de ouro e prata, bronze e ferro, madeira e pedra.
De repente apareceram os dedos de uma mão humana e iam escrevendo diante do candelabro, na parede do palácio, pintada de cal.
Quando o rei viu a palma da mão escrevendo, 6 ficou com o rosto lívido, os pensamentos perturbados, as junturas dos seus quadris como que desarticuladas, enquanto seus joelhos se entrechocavam.
Em altas vozes o rei mandou chamar os adivinhos, caldeus e astrólogos. Tomou a palavra e disse aos sábios de Babilônia: quem souber ler esta inscrição e me der a interpretação, será revestido de púrpura e uma corrente de ouro será posta no seu pescoço e governará como terceiro do reino!
Os sábios da corte acorreram em peso, mas não conseguiram decifrar a inscrição nem dar a explicação ao rei.
Com isto o rei Baltazar ficou tão perturbado que mudou de cor, e também os seus aristocratas ficaram consternados.
Nesta altura a rainha-mãe, alertada pelos gritos do rei e dos aristocratas, entrou na sala do banquete, tomou a palavra e disse: Majestade, vida eterna! Teus pensamentos não te perturbem e teu rosto não se desfigure.
Em teu reino há um homem que possui o espirito divino e santo, e nos dias de teu pai Nabucodonosor havia nele uma clarividência, perspicácia e sabedoria a bem dizer divinas; por isso teu pai Nabucodonosor o tinha nomeado chefe dos magos e adivinhos, caldeus e astrólogos. Teu pai, ó rei, fez isto, 12 já que nele, isto é, em Daniel, a quem o rei chamou de Baltassar, se achavam espírito exímio e ciência, perspicácia e perícia em interpretar sonhos, explicar enigmas e resolver problemas.
Por isso seja chamado Daniel; ele dará a interpretação’
Quando Daniel foi introduzido na presença do rei, este tomou a palavra e lhe perguntou: “Então tu és Daniel, um dos deportados de Judá que o rei, meu pai, trouxe de Judá?
Ouvi dizer a teu respeito que sobre ti repousa o espírito dos deuses, e que clarividência, perspicácia e sabedoria extraordinárias se encontram em ti. 15 Agora mesmo mandei comparecer na minha presença os sábios e adivinhos, para que lessem esta escritura e me indicassem a sua interpretação; eles, porém, não são capazes de explicar o sentido. 16 Ora, ouvir dizer de ti que és capaz de dar interpretações e resolver problemas; se agora conseguires ler a inscrição, serás revestido de púrpura, leverás uma corrente de ouro no teu pescoço e governarás como terceiro no reino.
Então Daniel começou a falar e respondeu na presença do rei:
“Podes ficar com teus presentes e conceder a um outro tuas regalias. Assim mesmo vou ler ao rei a inscrição e lhe dar a explicação.
Majestade! O Deus Altíssimo de u a teu pai Nabucodonosor realeza e grandeza, glória e honra.
À vista da grandeza que Deus ljhe tinha dado, todos os povos, nações e línguas tremiam de medo diante dele; ele matava ou deixava viver a quem queria, exaltava ou rebaixava a quem queria. 20 Mas quando seu coração se tornou altivo e seu espírito se deixou levar pelo orgulho desmedido, foi deposto do seu trono real e lhe foi tirada a glória. Foi excluído da sociedade humana e seu coração se tornou igual ao dos animais; teve de morar com os burros selvagens e comer erva como os bois; seu corpo foi regado com orvalho do céu, até que reconheceu que o Deus Altíssimo é o soberano da realeza humana e pode elevar ao trono quem ele quiser.
E tu, Baltazar, seu filho, não humilhaste teu coração, apesar de saberes tudo isto. 23 Antes te levantaste contra o Senhor do céu, mandaste trazer à tua presença o vasilhame do seu templo, e tu e teus aristocratas, tuas mulheres e concubinas, tomastes vinho nestas vasilhas, enquanto entoavas hinos aos deuses de prata e ouro, bronze e ferro, madeira e pedra, deuses que não enxergam, nem ouvem nem têm juízo, mas não honraste a Deus que tem em suas mãos a tua vida e todo o teu destino. 24 Por isso foi enviada da parte dele aquela mão que traçou estas letras.
Assim soa a inscrição que foi traçada: Mene mene tequel u-parsin. E eis a explicação das palavras: Menê: ‘Contado’. Deus contou os dias do teu reinado e lhe pôs termo.
Tequêl: ‘Pesado’. Foste pesado na balança e teu peso foi achado em falta. 28 Perês: ‘Dividido’. Teu reino foi dividido e entregue aos medos e persas!
Em seguida, por ordem de Baltazar, Daniel foi revestido de púrpura e lhe colocaram no pescoçó um colar de ouro; também o proclamaram como terceiro no governo do reino.
Na mesma noite o rei caldeu Baltazar foi morto e 6 Dario, o medo, assumiu a realeza com a idade de 62 anos.
Transcrito da tradução portuguesa de João Balduíno Kipper: Bíblia Sagrada, 31a edição, sob a coordenação de L. Garmus, Petrópolis, Vozes, 1995, p 1096-1098.
Most of the physical description and art within the Temple of Artemis comes from Pliny, though there are different accounts and the actual size varies.
Pliny describes the temple as 377 feet (115 meters) long and 180 feet (55 meters) wide, made almost entirely of marble, making it about three times as big as the Parthenon by area. The Temple consists of 127 Ionic-styled columns, each 60 feet (18 meters) in height.
The Temple of Artemis housed many fine artworks. Sculptures by renowned Greek sculptors Polyclitus, Pheidias, Cresilas, and Phradmon adorned the temple, as well as paintings and gilded columns of gold and silver. The sculptors often competed at creating the finest sculpture. Many of these sculptures were of Amazons, who are said to have founded the city of Ephesus.
Pliny tells us that Scopas, who also worked on the Mausoleum of Mausollos, worked carved reliefs into the temple's columns.
Athenagoras of Athens names Endoeus, a pupil of Daedalus, as the sculptor of the main statue of Artemis in Ephesus.
The Temple of Artemis was located at an economically robust region, seeing merchants and travellers from all over Asia Minor. The temple was influenced by many beliefs, and can be seen as a symbol of faith for many different peoples. The Ephesians worshiped Cybele, and incorporated many of their beliefs into the worship of Artemis. Artemisian Cybele became quite contrasted from her Roman counterpart, Diana. The cult of Artemis attracted thousands of worshipers from far-off lands. They would all gather at the site and worship her.
All from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Artemis
A Walking Tour of Chichén Itzá: Chichén Itzá, one of best known archaeological sites of the Maya civilization, has a split personality. The site is located in the northern Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, about 90 miles from the coast. The south half of the site, called Old Chichén, was constructed beginning about 700 AD, by Puuc Maya emigres from the southern Yucatan. The Puuc built temples and palaces at Chichén Itzá including the Red House (Casa Colorada) and the Nunnery (Casa de las Monejas). The Toltec component of Chichén Itzá arrived from Tula about 950 AD and their influence can be seen in the the Osario (the High Priest's Grave), and the Eagle and Jaguar Platforms. Most interestingly, a cosmopolitan blending of the two created the Observatory (the Caracol) and the Temple of the Warriors.
Beginning about 950 AD, a new style of architecture crept into the buildings at Chichén Itzá, no doubt along with the people and the culture: The Toltecs. The term 'Toltecs' means a lot of things to a lot of people, but in this feature we're talking about people from the town of Tula, in what is now Hidalgo state, Mexico, who began to expand their dynastic control into distant regions of Mesoamerica from the fall of Teotihuacan to the 12th century AD. While the exact relationship between the Itzas and the Toltecs from Tula is complex, it is certain that major changes in architecture and iconography took place at Chichén Itzá as a result of an influx of Toltec people. The result was probably a ruling class made up of Yucatec Maya, Toltecs, and Itzas; it is possible that some of the Maya were also at Tula.
Toltec style includes the presence of the feathered or plumed serpent, called Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, chacmools, the Tzompantli skull rack, and Toltec warriors. They are probably the impetus for the increase of emphasis on death culture at Chichén Itzá and elsewhere, including the frequency of human sacrifice and warfare. Architecturally, the elements of colonnades and columned halls with wall benches; pyramids are built of stacked platforms of decreasing size in the "tablud and tablero" style which developed at Teotihuacan. Tablud and tablero refers to the angled stair-step profile of the stacked platform pyramid, seen in the profile of El Castillo.
Photo taken in February 1986 on Kodachrome 64 film with a Minolta SLR camera and Vivitar 70-150 zoom. Scanned 2005. Photo by: Jim Gateley. Text Copyright 2006: archaeology.about.com/mbiopage.htm used with permission. A list of references used for this project is available for further reading on Chichén Itzá.