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Blood Oranges
When we talk on the phone, a black wire is strung
between us, heavy with ice, and somehow we know
we must speak the condensed code of last words,
never referring, out of love, or fear, to the end.
I'm in my kitchen with the phone caught, like a violin,
between chin and shoulder, but with my hands freed.
I listen. I cut into the pliant flesh of oranges, bought
this past week at a store you will likely never see.
Each fruit is identified, like a painting, with provenance,
(Serena, Valencia)
We are always in the middle of life, looking forwards and backwards; the only movement we can make to defy physics and history is the journey of the spirit. The Ishtar Gate, a ceremonial gate from the palace of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon, reconstructed and housed in the Staatliche Museum, Berlin, is my personal symbol for the merging of ancient and modern culture, the old goddess-centred religions and the scholarly, rational West. So wrote Diana Brebner of the book she planned to write. Though cancer claimed her life before she could complete this project, she wrote some thirty poems towards it. Here is a poet in extreme control of her craft: the aesthetic refinement, the musicality of language, the spiritual vision, and the playfulness that drew readers to Brebner's previous award-winning books - "Radiant Life Forms," "The Golden Lotus," and "Flora & Fauna" - resonate with even greater force in her last poems. The elements - earth, air, water, and fire - are all here. And the voice is singular, full of elegance and abandon, an Old World respect for art and history and a New World desire for wilderness and adventure. From within the Ishtar Gate, we see a canoe on a northern lake, a scene from Vermeer, a line by Sylvia Plath, a Polaroid image of a heart, a jar of orange marmalade, a frozen Aphrodite in a field of snow. In this place of beauty and danger, the poems live. "The Ishtar Gate" testifies to Brebner's belief in "the indefatigable forces of poetry and imagination."
A cidade tinha em volta cinco sistemas de muralhas consecutivas, com fossos e portões de cedro revestidos de cobre.
The Ishtar Pergamon Museum. (Original)
Artemis Ephesia, an Anatolian fertility goddess, was worshipped on the same site at Ephesos for a long period, her altar and shrine undergoing various construction phases and alterations. In the middle of the sixth century BC a new temple was constructed on a colossal scale: it was about 115 metres long and 55 metres wide. This period saw the construction of several immense temples in the East Greek world, including one to Hera on Samos, and to Apollo at Didyma, each one rivalling the other in scale and architectural grandeur. This was the age of competitive aristocratic patronage. At Ephesos it was the Lydian king Kroisos who is recorded as having provided the funds for many of the temple's columns. Fragments of inscribed column bases survive recording the dedication, 'King Kroisos dedicated this'. The temple may have taken many decades to complete but the defeat of Kroisos in 547/6 BC provides the earliest firm date for its construction.
Historical sources tell us that the temple was deliberately burnt down by Herostratus in 356 BC, and, according to tradition, on the very night that Alexander the Great was born in Macedon. Many of the architectural elements and sculptures from the Archaic Artemision show clear signs of burning.
www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/article_index/a/...
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
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
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.
O palácio do rei ficava no centro, uma fortaleza decorada com relevos coloridos de azulejos e, segundo Apocalipse, 18,16 - com "linho finíssimo, de púrpura e de escarlata, adornada de ouro, pedras preciosas e pérolas" Era neste palácio que ficava os Jardins Suspensos, os jardins de Semíramis, uma série de terraços subindo em degraus. A cidade sempre teve seu zigurate, via mística de comunicação dos homens com os deuses. O de Hamurabi devia ter a forma de uma pirâmide em degraus. Mas o maior de todos, seria talvez a verdadeira Torre de Babel.
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
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (also known as Hanging Gardens of Semiramis) and the walls of Babylon (near present-day Al Hillah in Iraq) are considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. They were built by Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BCE. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of her homeland.[1] They were destroyed in an earthquake after the 1st century BCE.
The lush Hanging Gardens are extensively documented by Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. Through the ages, the location may have been confused with gardens that existed at Nineveh, whose king at the time was Nimrod, since tablets from there clearly show gardens. Writings on these tablets describe the possible use of something similar to an Archimedes' screw as a process of raising the water to the required height.
Greek References
The Greek Historian
"Babylon, too, lies in a plain; and the circuit of its wall is three hundred and eighty-five stadia. The thickness of its wall is thirty-two feet; the height thereof between the towers is fifty cubits; that of the towers is sixty cubits; and the passage on top of the wall is such that four-horse chariots can easily pass one another; and it is on this account that this and the hanging garden are called one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The garden is quadrangular in shape, and each side is four plethra in length. It consists of arched vaults, which are situated, one after another, on checkered, cube-like foundations. The checkered foundations, which are hollowed out, are covered so deep with earth that they admit of the largest of trees, having been constructed of baked brick and asphalt — the foundations themselves and the vaults and the arches. The ascent to the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway; and alongside these stairs there were screws, through which the water was continually conducted up into the garden from the Euphrates by those appointed for this purpose. For the river, a stadium in width, flows through the middle of the city; and the garden is on the bank of the river
A Festa de Baltazar - Francesco Fontebasso, c. 1750
Image from Northampton Borough Council
Copyright © 1999 Northampton Borough Council.
A partir do século II a.C., no momento das grandes crises nacionais, quando Israel, agredido por outros povos, corre o risco de desaparecer como nação, que a apocalíptica floresce com grande força.
Poderíamos dizer que há, assim, três fases marcantes na história da apocalíptica:
· a época da guerra dos Macabeus contra Antíoco IV Epífanes e o partido helenizante, no séc. II a.C.
· a partir do domínio romano, que se inicia com Pompeu em 63 a.C.
· durante as guerras judaicas contra os romanos em 66-73 d.C. e 131-135 d.C.
Deste modo, a literatura apocalíptica funciona como uma literatura de resistência: através da escrita, Israel se manifesta vivo e atuante. Os céus estão fechados? A história, porém, é ainda possível: através do livro, manifesta-se o Espírito, que garante a identidade do povo de Israel.
Provavelmente a mais antiga obra da apocalíptica judaica, o livro de Daniel é uma peça literária de resistência escrita na época da luta dos Macabeus contra a helenização no século II a.C.[10].
Daniel não é o autor do livro. Estamos frente a um texto apocalíptico, escrito em 164 a.C., cujo autor se esconde por trás de um pseudônimo. Daniel talvez jamais tenha existido, embora haja pistas de um certo Danel em Ez 14,14.20;28,3 e um Dnil que aparece no poema de Aqhat encontrado em Ugarit, e que podem ter inspirado o legendário personagem bíblico[11].
Ez 14,14.20 cita Danel ao lado de Noé e Jó: três homens justos, três heróis populares. Eles são lembrados aqui para dizer que nem estes três justos conseguiriam salvar do castigo uma sociedade que abandonasse Iahweh. Ez 28,3 qualifica-o como sábio, em um oráculo contra o rei de Tiro, quando diz: "Certo, és mais sábio do que Danel, nenhum sábio há que se iguale a ti".
Entretanto, o sábio Daniel (= Deus julga), um jovem judeu de Jerusalém, é o protagonista desta narrativa que estrategicamente é situada na época dos reis babilônicos e persas, no tempo do exílio.
No capítulo 1 o texto conta como, após a deportação dos judeus de Jerusalém para a Babilônia, alguns jovens judeus de famílias nobres são escolhidos e educados durante três anos para, em seguida, servirem ao rei. Entre eles - terão os nomes trocados - estão Daniel (Baltassar), Ananias (Sidrac), Misael (Misac) e Azarias (Abdênego). Só que a descrição do período babilônico feita pelo livro é imprecisa e seu conhecimento das cortes babilônica e persa superficiais.
Não houve, como o livro afirma, uma deportação em 605 a.C.; Baltasar é filho de Nabônides e não de Nabucodonosor; Dario, que é persa e não medo, é um dos sucessores de Ciro e não seu predecessor... Além do que, a doutrina sobre os anjos, o costume de evitar o nome de Iahweh e outros elementos não são daquele tempo, o exílico, mas bem posteriores.
Enfim, uma série de dados que acabam mostrando que a finalidade do livro e seu gênero literário não são históricos. É um escrito da resistência judaica, no duro período da perseguição selêucida. Daniel quer mostrar que, apesar de tudo, é preciso ter uma fé inabalável em Iahweh, porque mais cedo ou mais tarde os judeus sairão vitoriosos e engrandecidos.
2.1. Conteúdo de Daniel
Dn 1,1-21: Nabucodonosor + Daniel, Ananias, Misael e Azarias
Corte de Nabucodonosor: jovens judeus escolhidos por Nabucodonosor para servirem na corte - destacam-se Daniel (Baltassar), Ananias (Sidrac), Misael (Misac) e Azarias (Abdênego).
Dn 2,1-49: Nabucodonosor + Daniel
Corte de Nabucodonosor: Nabucodonosor sonha com uma estátua de quatro metais, simbolizando os impérios - Daniel interpreta o sonho.
Dn 3,1-30: Nabucodonosor + Sidrac, Misac e Abdênego
Corte de Nabucodonosor: Nabucodonosor manda fazer enorme estátua de ouro que todos os dignitários devem adorar na cerimônia de inauguração - Sidrac, Misac e Abdênego se recusam, são lançados em uma fornalha acesa, mas nada sofrem, protegidos por Deus.
Dn 3,31-4,34: Nabucodonosor + Daniel
Corte de Nabucodonosor: Nabucodonosor comunica aos súditos o sonho premonitório de sua loucura, a interpretação de Daniel, a realidade da loucura e sua cura ao reconhecer a soberania de Deus.
Dn 5,1-6,1: Baltazar + Daniel
Corte de Baltazar, na Babilônia, “filho de Nabucodonosor”: o rei, no meio de uma festa em que usa os utensílios do Templo de Jerusalém, tem a visão de sua queda - Daniel interpreta a visão e é recompensado - o rei é assassinado na mesma noite.
Dn 6,2-29: Dario + Daniel
Corte de Dario: os inimigos de Daniel conseguem uma proibição de se adorar qualquer deus durante 30 dias. Daniel, o principal ministro, desobedece, é preso e jogado para os leões, que nada lhe fazem - Dario exige de todos que se respeite o deus de Daniel.
Dn 7,1-29: governo de Baltazar + Daniel
Babilônia, governo de Baltazar: Daniel sonha com quatro animais terríveis que saem do mar, com a intervenção do Ancião e o poder do Filho do Homem, que é o povo santo que afinal vencerá.
Dn 8,1-27: governo de Baltazar + Daniel
Susa, no Elam, governo de Baltazar: Daniel tem a visão do carneiro e do bode - o anjo Gabriel explica-lhe a visão.
Dn 9,1-27: governo de Dario + Daniel
Governo de Dario, “filho de Xerxes”, o medo: Daniel procura o significado dos 70 anos até a restauração de Jerusalém, segundo Jeremias - o anjo Gabriel explica o significado a Daniel
Dn 10,1-12,13: governo de Ciro + Daniel
Governo de Ciro, rei da Pérsia: Daniel vê um homem vestido de linho etc, conversa com um anjo e ouve as explicações do que está escrito no “Livro da Verdade” sobre o governo dos Ptolomeus e Selêucidas (com grandes detalhes), sobre Antíoco IV Epífanes e sobre o destino do povo judeu...
2.2. Dn 2, 1-49: A Estátua de Quatro Metais
Um bom exemplo do modo apocalíptico de pensar é Dn 2, 1-49, texto que narra o sonho de Nabucodonosor com a estátua de quatro metais, sonho que é interpretado por Daniel.
O texto pode ser lido em seis seqüências. Nelas tentarei mostrar as relações e oposições básicas entre personagens, circunstâncias e valores.
a) 2,1-13
Cenário: corte de Nabucodonosor. O texto conta que Nabucodonosor, ainda no segundo ano de reinado, tem sonhos tão perturbadores que lhe provocam insônia. Convoca então o rei magos e adivinhos e exige deles que lhe contem o sonho e o interpretem para não serem mortos com suas famílias e possam ser magnificamente recompensados. Os especialistas, entretanto, querem primeiro ouvir o sonho, como é natural, para que possam interpretá-lo. Dizem: "O problema que o rei propõe é difícil e ninguém pode resolvê-lo diante do rei senão os deuses, cuja morada não se encontra entre os seres de carne" (v. 11). Então, o rei promulga o decreto de extermínio de todos os sábios da Babilônia, inclusive Daniel e seus companheiros.
Observamos aqui algumas oposições básicas: o poder absoluto e despótico do rei se contrapõe ao servilismo e à impotência dos sábios babilônicos, que são seus servos. Contrapõe-se igualmente o poder dos deuses, que tudo podem e sabem, à limitação dos homens, que não podem saber os pensamentos do rei. Ainda: o despotismo real aparece fortemente no poder do rei de fazer alguém viver em grande honra ou morrer em grande desgraça.
b) 2,14-19a
O texto continua dizendo que, ao se informar com o chefe da guarda encarregado da execução dos sábios, Daniel vai ao rei e lhe pede um prazo, no fim do qual ele mesmo interpretará o sonho para o rei. Adiada a execução, "Daniel voltou para sua casa e comunicou o fato a Ananias, Misael e Azarias, seus companheiros, pedindo-lhes que implorassem a misericórdia do Deus do céu sobre esse mistério..." (vv. 17-18). Então, o mistério é revelado a Daniel numa visão noturna.
Aqui, três atitudes se diferenciam nitidamente: a atitude de força do rei, usando o seu poder militar para punir, o imobilismo dos sábios que nada fazem e a iniciativa de Daniel, que, sabiamente, negocia uma saída para a crise. E se os sábios babilônios nada fazem, é porque não têm a quem recorrer. Daniel e seus companheiros, entretanto, recorrem ao Deus do céu - expressão muito usada no AT para designar Iahweh em ambiente não judaico. Há ainda a oposição entre o "mistério", o enigma, o segredo (o sonho do rei) que ninguém consegue desvendar e a revelação em visão. O que desequilibra, de fato, as coisas em favor de Daniel e companheiros é "a misericórdia do Deus do céu".
c) 2,19b-23
Agora Daniel agradece ao Deus do céu, usando a típica fórmula judaica para a "bênção": uma invocação ao nome de Deus, seguida de uma comemoração de seus benefícios, terminando com a repetição da invocação e breve menção do benefício particular: "Tu me fazes conhecer agora o que de ti havíamos implorado, e o enigma do rei no-lo dás a conhecer" (v. 23b), conclui Daniel.
O ponto central da oração de Daniel encontra-se na convicção de que a sabedoria, a ciência e a força vêm do Deus do céu, que as concedem aos homens, e não de reis (força) e sábios (sabedoria). É Deus quem concede estes dons e ao homem que os recebe compete agradecer: "A Ti, Deus de meus pais, dou graças e te louvo por me teres concedido a sabedoria e a força" (v. 23a), diz Daniel.
d) 2,24-28
Daniel comparece, finalmente, diante do rei e se diz capaz de dar ao rei a interpretação de seu sonho. Como o rei quer, além da interpretação, também o sonho, Daniel lhe diz que este mistério, "nem os sábios nem os adivinhos nem os magos nem os astrólogos podem dá-lo a conhecer ao rei. Mas há um Deus no céu que revela os mistérios, e que dá a conhecer ao rei Nabucodonosor o que deve acontecer no fim dos dias" (vv. 27b-28a).
O contraste principal deste quadro é entre a impotência - mais uma vez - dos sábios, adivinhos, magos e astrólogos e o Deus do céu que vela os acontecimentos e os dá a conhecer a Daniel que lhe é fiel. E isto é ainda mais significativo se lembrarmos que a Babilônia é a terra dos maiores adivinhos e astrólogos da antigüidade. A adivinhação é a maior das ciências nesta época.
e) 2,29-45
Daniel, prossegue o texto, expõe ao rei o seu sonho. Nabucodonosor sonhara com enorme estátua composta de quatro metais: a cabeça, de ouro; o peito e os braços de prata; o ventre e as coxas, de bronze; as pernas, de ferro; e os pés, parte de ferro e parte de argila. Entretanto, uma pedra, não lançada por mão humana, bate na estátua que é pulverizada e levada pelo vento. A pedra torna-se uma grande montanha que enche toda a terra. Em seguida, Daniel explica ao rei que ele, Nabucodonosor, é a cabeça de ouro da estátua; a prata representa um reino inferior ao dele, que será substituído por outro representado pelo bronze, e que, por sua vez, terá como sucessor um reino forte como o ferro que tritura tudo. Os pés de ferro/argila simbolizam um reino parcialmente forte como o ferro e parcialmente fraco como a argila. A pedra que destrói os reinos é um reino suscitado pelo Deus do céu, "um reino que jamais será destruído, um reino que jamais passará a outro povo. Esmagará e aniquilará todos os outros reinos, enquanto ele mesmo subsistirá para sempre" (v. 44).
De maneira alegórica, o livro de Daniel, usando antigos mitos sobre a idade do mundo, descreve a sucessão dos grandes impérios históricos numa relação de valor decrescente: ouro, prata, bronze, ferro/argila. Segundo a visão da época, os impérios são os seguintes:
· cabeça de ouro: império neobabilônico
· peito e braços de prata: reino medo
· ventre e coxas de bronze: império persa
· pernas de ferro e pés de ferro/argila: império grego de Alexandre (ferro), depois dividido entre Ptolomeus e Selêucidas
A pedra simboliza o reino messiânico, o reino divino de Iahweh, definitivo, que destrói os poderes humanos. Esta é a pedra que esmaga o império selêucida que oprime Israel.
f) 2,46-49
O texto termina com Nabucodonosor prostrando-se diante de Daniel e até mesmo oferecendo-lhe sacrifícios, pois reconhece, enfim, que "o vosso Deus é o Deus dos deuses e o senhor dos reis e o revelador dos mistérios, pois tu pudeste revelar este mistério" (v.47b). Daniel é nomeado governador e chefe dos sábios, enquanto seus três companheiros administram os negócios da província de Babilônia.
O gesto de Nabucodonosor diante de Daniel (prostrar-se, inclinar-se e oferecer sacrifícios) é de extrema exaltação do Deus de Israel sobre os outros deuses e sobre o poder real.
Podemos concluir com algumas observações gerais:
· O rei, que tem poder absoluto, que pode mandar os homens viverem com honra ou morrerem na desgraça, não tem poder para conhecer o seu destino, ou melhor, o destino de seu poder e o de seus pares. Então, diante de sua impotência, o rei age pela força
· Por outro lado, o Deus do céu é quem dá a força e a sabedoria, é quem dá o poder e retira o poder, e só quem lhe é fiel, como Daniel, pode conhecer, através da revelação, este mistério
· Finalmente, o texto insiste em que os grandes impérios cairão, os poderes passarão e só restará o poder e o reino dados por Deus. Quem permanecer com Deus, como Daniel e seus três companheiros, será honrado
· Situe-se esta mensagem no contexto da luta dos Macabeus contra Antíoco IV Epífanes e o partido helenizante de Jerusalém no século II a.C. e começaremos a entender os métodos da apocalíptica...
www.fflch.usp.br/dh/heros/traductiones/biblia/antigotesta...
Synthesizing Artemis of Ephesus: an 18th-century engraving of a Roman marble copy of a Greek replica of a lost Geometric period xoanon.
Em 1899 Robert Koldewey começou as escavações na Babilônia e encontrou a grande muralha e o Portão de Ishtar, com seus azulejos coloridos.
To the east of the Street of Processions lies Nin Makh's Temple, reconstructed recently. To the north are the remains of the Main Palace, where the Lion of Babylon is. It should be noted that many remains lie under the accumulations of later buildings, as the place continued to be inhabited, or have been so submerged by the Euphrates that it is almost impossible to retrieve it.
On the way to Babylon, on the right hand side, is the amphitheater, which dates back to the time of Alexander the Great, who for some years made Babylon the capital of his empire.
This is part historical, part geographic reality, and a huge dose of alternative theory, please bear with me, I'm an amateur researcher, non academic.
First of all, I am sure most people understand there was an ancient Northeast LAND Passage, from Europe to Canada and the Western Hemisphere.
As a consequence, I propose that humans could physically walk across the North Atlantic, 50,000, 10,000 years ago, possibly 1500 years ago, except for very narrow water channels needing a boat. Worst case, boats could navigate close to land for the same 3500 miles from France, England, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and onto Labrador.
However, I believe even to the time of the Classic Age of Greece, there was a land passage 99% of the way from France to Labrador in Canada, that today is no more than 2000 feet, 593 meters deep in any location. Most locations shown are less than 300 feet deep.
This is what I am highlighting, with the depth chart in meters, and I think it might shed some light on how the Templars, and possibly the Sinclairs were alleged to have travelled to the Western Hemisphere many times. This would include travels to Nova Scotia, and to the Valley of Mexico. In fact, the Aztec legends have their Quetzalcoatl white men, "with hair the color of the sun"-blonde, and some say white robes with red crosses on them, showing up in 1325 and organizing this minor tribe into the controlling power of the whole Valley.
I am telling the Pictish websites of the exact synergies between the Picts, the Egyptian Pekhats, and the North American Pequots, Massapequas, Chesapeakes, Chippewas, etc. It is like the Pictish Scottish never left the full expanse of the North Atlantic, paving the way for modern Templar and European diffusion. Even the mystery X-Haplotype DNA found in Northern Europe is also confirmed to be found among the Chippewa of Northern Quebec. Chippewa, Chi-pequa, the Picts!
I have mentioned before, how "Greenland" was probably named after the ancient Irish Sun God, "Gryan", or how Irish Field Hockey is an exact duplicate of the Canadian "Hockey", named after the ancient Egyptian Goddess of Fishermen and Fowlers, "Heqa". And I have mentioned the amazing Inuit photos taken in the 1800s, of obviously caucasian Inuit indigenous tribes of the Greenland, Labrador area, displayed on Flickr...
www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum/2843692066/i...
And a remarkable second picture of Inuit caucasian looking children... they look like the younger version of the Rolling Stones, The Who, and Led Zep! Am I right or wrong?
www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmaritimemuseum/2842854847/i...
Of course, the other side of the world, the area of Alaska/Siberia has today a very close 60 mile strait separating Eastern and Western Hemispheres, with extremely shallow 140 feet deep ocean depths in between. That is the area of the celebrated "Land Bridge" we have all learned about in school.
This information of a North Atlantic Ocean land bridge is not new, and has been published many times over the last 500 years. I have shown in the previous Athena and Disc Thrower images, that the North Atlantic areas and ocean floor topographies show massive human habitats, and were explicitly mapped and known to the Egyptians, Greeks, Nordic tribes, Pictish tribes (Pequots, Pekhats), and even African tribes.
Yes, I believe the Greek and Egyptian mythology figures were secret navigation maps...
www.flickr.com/photos/10749411@N03/5066420422/in/set-7215...
www.flickr.com/photos/10749411@N03/5095795198/in/set-7215...
I am showing remarkable human habitat constructions virtually the entire distance from East to West.
If you look real close, not only will you see the "Athena" of previous image, but also the "Aten" King figure to the West, Southeast of Greenland.
In my amateur opinion, I believe this area was dedicated to Aten and Athena, Sun and Moon, and probably identified with Osiris, aka "Azores".
I often wonder, what is the mythology relationships between the God figures of Aten, Odin, Atum, and Adam, and of course, the Garden of Eden.
Correct me if I am misquoting, but is it any coincidence that the Arabic name for Temple, i.e., Ber or Berra, and Berra Aten, Britain, is just to the East of this Aten area?
I am researching some further theories, In followup images, where I attempt to show remarkable ancient maps showing the "Queen-dom of Eve", Ave-regnus, Avernus, of which Avebury, Eve-Berra, Temple of Eve, may be a part.
And in previous maps, this area is the northernmost limit of the Atlantean overlay, shown in my Flickr image...
www.flickr.com/photos/10749411@N03/5091647295/in/set-7215...
Much more to come on this North Atlantic area, (North Atlantis), which was mostly dry 10,000 years ago, and seems to be tied directly to the untold stories of the Pictish, Egyptian, Greek, Judaic, and Templar diffusion to the West, much earlier than Columbus.
January 14, 2014 update: I am very fascinated at my most recent study of the Pictish Beast-Dolphin, and the Egyptian Shu-Nut sea-level maps ...and how similar they are to this North Atlantic Land Bridge image...
www.flickr.com/photos/10749411@N03/11518235816/in/photost...
Artemis is the name given to a divinity worshipped for centunes in the Mediterranean world. Kubala, recognised as Mother Goddess throughout the whole of Mesopotamia,was refered to in the Phrygian language as Kybele. The cult of the goddess had sprear from Anatolia to Mesopotamia, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, thence to Egypt and from the Aegean Islands to Crete. It can also be traced in Greece and Italy as well as in the northern countries. This goddess, who symbolised the soil and its fruitfulness and the fertility of nature, was worshipped under various names at various times and in various places. Although there is no definite information regarding the development of this cult in Ephesus, Artemis is clearly regarded in the Homeric eulogy as an Ionian goddess.
One of the constant attributes of the goddess is the number three. Artemis is regarded as virgin, wife and mother. "The whole of nature was subject to this primitive goddess. It is by her orders that the earth brings forth fruit and flowers. She rules the elements, the air, the earth and the sea. She governs the life of the animals, she tames the wild beasts and prevents their extinction .... She assists in birth. Homer calls her "the goddess of wild animals". Artemis became the tutelary goddess of Marsilia, Carthage and the cities of the Near East. As the ruler of civilisation she wore a head-dress crowned with city towers. Each year, she was celebrated almost everywhere in great festivals as the fertility goddess and granted innumerable prayers. She was described as the "bee goddess" and on one side of the Ephesus coins was to be found the queen bee as the symbol of Artemis. The hymn written by Callimachos to Artemis ends with a sentence describing the Amazon dance. "Let no one refrain from the annual dance of Artemis". The annual festival of Artemis lasted for a month, during which time people came pouring into Ephesus from the four corners of the known world to take part in the entertainments, dances and commercial activities."
The first temple dedicated to Artemis was completed in 625 B.C and destroyed during the Cimmerian invasions.
According to Pliny, this imposing building was destroyed and rebuilt nine times. This archaic building possessed marble columns, some of which were donated by Croesus, King of Lydia. An older building was unearthed with the same plan and dimensions, remains from which are now preserved in the British Museum. Three other floors belonging to the old building were unearthed by David George Hogarth, who was in charge of the excavations carried out here in 1904-1906 on behalf of the same museum. The coins discovered in the lowest floor date from the 6th century B.C. The later Artemision was built in 564-540 B.c. The most distinguished artists and architects of the day, Scopas, Praxiteles, Polycleitos, Phidias, Cresilas, Cydon and Apellas, combined to produce a magnificent building four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens. Appeles was responsible for the picture "Aphrodite Anadiomene" within the temple. According to Pliny's Naturalis Historia, this was an Ionic temple measuring 200 x 425 m with 127 columns reaching a height of 20 m.
Regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the building is said to have been destroyed by a madman by the name of Herostratos who burned down the temple in order to immortalise his name. Alexander the Great, on his way to the Persian campaign, offered to defray the expenses of the restoration of the building provided he might be permitted to make the dedicatory inscription in his own name, but the Ephesians declined the offer on the grounds that it was not fitting for a temple to be dedicated to two gods, thus refusing the offer without hurting his pride. The new temple, built in the years 334-260 B.C., was the largest Greek temple then in existence.
It was erected on the foundations of the older temple and was thus exactly the same size, but owing to the marshy nature of the land it was raised on a crepidoma of sixteen steps. It lay on an east-west axis on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the sea with sacred harbours, allowing ships to be moored directly to the steps of the temple. The architects of the first building built by Croesus were Chersiphron and Metesenes, while Critocrates and Gritocrates are said to have been the architects respocible for the 4th century B.C. building. The temple was detroyed by the invading Goths in 262 A.D. and never rebuilt. The Temple of Artemis was a prototype of the Ionic style. The Artemision was first and foremost a religious institution. A large number of priests and priestesses lived in the temple. Coins were minted there, credit given and a type of banking carried out.
Festivities were held in May each year' to celebrate the birthday of the goddess. Until the spread of Christianity and monotheism, Ephesus was a place of pilgrimage. Moreover, all sorts of criminals and wrong-doers found sanctuary in the temple, whose sanctity was respected by all the rulers of Western Anatolia. When St Paul arrived in Ephesus preaching a belief in one god, he was confronted by the Ephesians chanting their slogan "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians", but when, in the Christian era, the worship of their goddess was finally prohibited, they transferred some of the attributes of Artemis to the Virgin Mary.
Excavations:
The first temple was unearthed in excavations carried out on behalf of the British Museum in 1869-74 by J.T.Wood, who was employed at that time on the construction of the railroad. A corner of the temple was discovered in 1869. The finds were transported first to Izmir then via Venice to London. At the present day the most important of the finds from the temple are preserved in the British Museum. According to old sources some of the architectural elements from the temple were employed in the construction of the basilica of Ayasofya.
Enormous burnt-brick entryway located over the main thoroughfare in the ancient city of Babylon (now in Iraq). Built about 575 BC, it became the eighth fortified gate in the city. The Ishtar Gate was more than 38 feet (12 metres) high and was decorated with glazed brick reliefs, in tiers, of dragons and young bulls.
As 14 salas da ala sul do Museu de Pérgamo em Berlim são dedicadas a esta coleção, que contém muitos exemplos importantes de arquitetura, relevos e objectos menores, provenientes da Suméria, da Babilónia e das regiões assíria e do Norte da Síria -Leste da Anatólia, que hoje incluem o Iraque, a Síria e a Turquia.
Uma das maiores atrações situa-se ao longo do eixo principal de uma seção do museu, onde os visitantes podem atravessar e maravilhar-se com as famosas reconstruções dos brilhantemente coloridos monumentos da Babilónia: Os Leões da Via Processional, a Porta de Ishtar e a fachada da sala do trono do rei Nabucodonosor (604-562 a.C.); partes dos edifícios foram recriadas nas suas dimensões originais remontando meticulosamente os inúmeros pedaços de tijolos partidos achadas nas escavações; ao longo das paredes, leões, touros e dragões simbolizam os deuses principais da Babilónia.
The Owl of Athena was also used in this instance, as a localized navigation map of Greenland, the Avernus Basin, and Labrador, which coincides with other Greek, Egyptian, and Irish mythology images meant to safely guide travelers over land and sea . It was probably used in many other locations as well.
See also the Avernus image...
www.flickr.com/photos/10749411@N03/5249386712/in/photostr...
Not a surprise, but the eyes of the Owl image are also the eyes of Hades image of Eastern North America, shown earlier.
While many of my theories I am 110% sure of, I am only 95% sure of this idea.
The lines of the owl are too close, and the "google eyes" match too well, the Hades eyes mentioned earlier.
The ancient adage was "As Above" (in the celestial heavens), "So Below" (on Mother Earth), and "As Within" (the human body itself). For this reason, I am now strongly suggesting that the Owl Figure was one of many interpretations of the features found on the moon, as well as mirroring the geographic landscape on earth, and certainly being the anthropomorphic form of Athena, the Greek version of the Moon Goddess. I am certain that these ideas have been a million times repeated, and I am just the latest.
As the Avernus Basin flooded surrounding Greenland, and all habitats at lower levels were lost, a new map was needed to show the navigation around the multiple islands and channels from the Atlantic area towards the Arctic Ocean.
The ancient message to me is clear. Past this channel area, you are entering the realm of night and death, so beware! Do not cross this area or face danger.
It also strongly indicates that some form of ancient Northwest passage existed for ships, to "cross into the other ocean", meaning the Pacific, through these series of channels. All passageways appear to have been filled with sediment, and the transit points became useless.
From the website called, "The Owl Pages", I have the following wonderful quote...
"In the mythology of ancient Greece, Athene, the Goddess of Wisdom, was so impressed by the great eyes and solemn appearance of the Owl that, having banished the mischievous crow, she honoured the night bird by making him her favourite among feathered creatures. Athene's bird was a Little Owl, (Athene noctua)."
www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Owl+Mythology&t...
...and another wonderful quote from the same location...
"In Roman Mythology, Proserpine (Persephone) was transported to the underworld against her will by Pluto (Hades), god of the underworld, and was to be allowed to return to her mother Ceres (Demeter), goddess of agriculture, providing she ate nothing while in the underworld."
One last item, or two... If you look real close, there are two owl versions shown. The one depicted in the Greek coin has a slightly upright tail, the other has a "soft tail" flush down. The first one has eyes tweaked at about 20 degrees down from horizontal, the second one is horizontal with the Greenland overlay.
Here is what is even more amazing to me. The first Owl, "upright tail Greek coin version" ALSO overlays the portion of Greenland west of the original overlay towards Baffin Bay! The second Owl overlay image, which was used in the original overlay, has the tail figures transcending over the "Davis Strait" towards Labrador and "Leopold Island".
It is as if there was an early map version with head and body transcending towards Labrador across the "Davis Strait", and a later map version with an Owl body entirely in Greenland, and only the legs transcending towards Labrador! Amazing!
Side Notes: This also rings an etymology bell, in that Nashua, New Hampshire and Iowa, may both be named after Athene Noctua.
Anyways, I am only 95% certain on this theory, it makes explicit sense yet I can't be sure, and it will take true academics and scientists possibly 20 years to verify the navigation reasons for this image. I hope all enjoy the similarities.
Os Caldeus Da Nova Babilônia
O sucesso dos assírios foi menor que a sua ambição: os novos territórios rapidamente anexados fizeram o império se estender tanto que se tornou difícil governá-lo. Na verdade, a arte de administrar não era o forte dos assírios, de modo que não tardou a desagregação interna de seu poderio, causado pelas seguidas rebeliões dos povos submetidos. E quem acabou por dar o golpe final nos assírios foram justamente os caldeus, os semitas do sul. Chefiados por Nabopalassar, que já servira aos assírios como governador de província, organizaram a insurreição e tomaram Nínive, a capital assíria, em 612 a.C.
Aí começa o capítulo mais importante da história mesopotâmica: nasce o império caldeu, também chamado segundo império babilónico, e sete anos depois, morrendo Nabopalassar, entra em cena seu filho Nabucodonosor. Que tinha um objectivo bem definido, embora nada original: conquistar o que pudesse. Sem perder tempo, organizou o exército e lançou-se mundo a fora. Os primeiros a cair foram os egípcios; os assírios vieram logo a seguir. Os fortes dominados, chegou a vez dos fracos: o reino de Jerusalém, que havia conseguido resistir aos assírios, a Fenícia e a grande parte da Arábia. Ao todo foram 30 anos de guerras contínuas, Mas Nabucodonosor cumprira seu objectivo e podia então considerar-se, acima de qualquer suspeita, o mais poderoso soberano do Oriente.
Poderoso e inventivo. A fama de Nabucodonosor não lhe veio apenas por causa das façanhas militares – também é preciso levar em conta as obras que mandou realizar. Por exemplo: ruas pavimentadas com pedras de cal e com paredes revestidas de tijolos azuis polidos. Mas como diria Salomão, ‘vaidade das vaidades, tudo é vaidade’. Nabucodonosor ordenou que todas as pedras da calçada trouxessem a seguinte inscrição: ‘Nabucodonosor, rei da Babilónia, sou eu’. Assim, deveria ele pensar, ninguém poderá esquecer quem as tinha construído.
Modéstia à parte, Nabucodonosor fez de sua capital a cidade mais rica do Oriente. Ergueu templos maravilhosos, com estátuas de ouro maciço, edifícios grandiosos – tudo isso sem falar no palácio onde morava, cujo luxo envergonharia as mais sumptuosas moradas reais das Mil e Uma Noites. E, mais conhecidos que todo o resto, os jardins suspensos, desenhados sobre terraços elevados, cobertos de palmeiras e plantas raras. Dizem que foram construídos para matar a saudade que a Rainha Semíramis sentia dos jardins de sua terra de origem, a Média, que depois passou a Pérsia.
Tantas eram as riquezas acumuladas por Nabucodonosor na capital do império, que, para protege-las, plantou no coração da planície do Eufrates uma enorme muralha; por sinal não era a primeira: quando o vaidoso rei subiu ao poder, já existia em volta da cidade um duplo anel de muralhas; Nabucodonosor não apenas restaurou as duas como erigiu outra ainda maior.
Uns 2500 anos depois, ou seja, no século XIX, arqueólogos encontraram naquele local várias pedras com inscrições, entre elas a seguinte: ‘Para que nenhum ataque hostil se aproximasse dos muros da Babilónia, fiz algo diferente dos que me precederam. Desejei um terceiro muro ao redor da cidade. Cavei um fosso para ele. Forrei seus lados com asfalto e tijolos cozidos. Ergui uma parede de grande altura em sua borda exterior. Coloquei grandes passagens com portas de madeira decoradas com bronze. E, para humilhar os inimigos, para que eles jamais se ousassem a assediar o tríplice muro da Babilónia, eu cerquei a cidade com fortes correntes, como as ondas do mar. Atravessá-las seria como fazer a travessia do mar, mas, para que não ocorressem enchentes, cavei fossos e os provi de grandes represas de argila cozida.’ Declaração orgulhosamente assinada por Nabucodonosor.
Nabucodonosor acreditava num deus chamado Marduck. E ai de quem não se prostrasse ante sua estátua: era atirado num forno aceso. Loucura? A julgar pela Bíblia, sim. Conta o Livro que, em seus últimos anos de vida, o rei babilónico ficou demente, rastejava e comia grama. E louco morreu em 562 a.C.
Seus sucessores, menos insanos porém mais fracos, logo puseram a perder o que o filho de Nabopalassar conquistara. E, vinte anos depois, Ciro, rei dos persas, ocupou o império babilónico.
NB: Era tanta a mania de Nabucodonosor, que, um belo dia, resolveu reconstruir um grande templo desmoronado de modo que sua parte mais alta ‘rivaliza-se com o céu’, como gostava de dizer. Essa edificação só poderia ser comparada à Torre de Babel. Base e altura eram iguais: cerca de 100m2. Quantidade de tijolos empregues: 58 milhões. No alto da torre, Nabucodonosor mandou erigir um santuário consagrado a seu deus Marduk, ali representado por uma estátua de ouro, cujo brilho, de tão intenso, permitia vê-la a muitos quilómetros de distância.
The Reclining Devil's Embrace, and intentional obscuring.
This image shows ancient habitats, the center of which is 116 miles at 170 degrees from Block Island. The mass of lines in the center is a 25-by-11 mile long artistic compilation showing two figures embracing, surrounding multiple city-center type habitats. These figures are reclining-while-embracing, at 7500 feet down on the upward slope of the Atlantic floor, towards the Continental Shelf. Plausibly these figures could be viewed from below looking up, or on the Continental Shelf, looking down.
At first, I did not understand the confusion of lines and overlaps, which are many, indicating many successive overlays of King figures, Queen figures, and city-center architected structures.
I also see the remarkable agricultural terrracing that runs for 1200 miles parallel to the Continental Shelf in the obvious antiquities attempt to stem mud-sediment and water run-off in this severely sloping area. The actual slope is 8500 feet deep on the bottom-southern side of the figure, and 7200 feet or so on the top side, 11 miles to the North. By the way, this is a archaeology mathematician's dream, in that it explicitly shows precise separation distances of 10 to 20,000 years ago. There even seems to be a layer of massive artwork displays, under the terracing.
The full figure is 275 square miles or so.
There is an even bigger story here, in that this same image, and throughout the Continental shelf area, there is valid, understandable, deliberate "obscuring" of the man-made features of antiquity.
These human habitat indicators have been well known, even published by all governments and academics for decades, if not hundreds of years. -National Geographic, Columbia University, University of Hawaii, Oregon, South Florida, to name a few.
I thank them for leaving the reclining devil figure unmolested, probably because it is over a mile and a half deep, and it is so confusing.
On the mythology side, one of the oldest figures and legends is the "Devil's Embrace", and this is the zoomorphic form, I believe, with a Goat head, or a hairy-beaked monster freak.
Later, this animal figure was humanized with various figures called "Devil", Pan, Dionysius, Green Man, plausibly even the "snake" of the "Garden of Eden", who were variously characterized as "the Rising Sun", the "insatiable lover", the hedonistic orgiastic crazed humanoid, the "Anti-Christ", etc. etc.
I feel enormously blessed to find this image, to give some theoretical meaning to its symbolism, and to hopefully inspire others in this amazing historical field, 99.999% undiscovered.
Thanks again to Google Earth, Photoshop, NOAA, NGDC, and Indiana University for all their satellite imaging archives open to the public.
Recent Notes: I am leaning towards a new theory on the precise agricultural terracing, which they are. I am now thinking and theorizing that they may be "headstones" of overlapping King and Queen portraits. This may have been the burial grounds of Royalty, for tens of thousands of years before they were overwhelmed with the rising waters.
Gardens of Semiramis, 20th century interpretation.
Os Jardins Suspensos da Babilônia são talvez uma das maravilhas relatadas sobre que 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. Seis montes de terra artificiais, com terraços arborizados, apoiados em colunas de 25 a 100 metros de altura, construídos pelo rei Nabucodonosor, para agradar e consolar sua esposa preferida Amitis, que nascera na Média, um reino vizinho, e vivia com saudades dos campos e florestas de sua terra. Chegava-se a eles por uma escada de mármore. Também chamados de Jardins Suspensos de Semiramis, foram construídos no século VI a.C., no sul do Iraque, na Babilônia.
Hanging Garden, Assyrian interpretation. note, the perspective not invented. In the front, under this image is a river (not represent or a matter of course in that time). In the left a pipe go the well tower, in the middle a water tower, in the right garden by many fruit trees on a slope by tree pointed vaults and irrigation (on a layer of asphalt). In the front of well tower is a image of the god of water, and on the pipe is a altar by points.
The Lion of Babylon, large and splendidly carved in basalt, reminds us again that the lion was the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. In the sculpture, the lion's back has marks indicating that it was meant for a precious saddle upon which the goddess Ishtar would stand.
To the south of the Street of Processions is a major temple, the Esagila "The Lofty House", leading on to the site of the Stepped Tower of Babylon, which had eight levels rising to a height of 91 meters, on a square base also 91 meters square. The Street runs straight until the bridge across the Euphrates, which rested on bastions 9 meters thick each.
Another temple in the area is Nabushcari, recently dug up with painted murals, the largest temple of its time. And, as you cross the railway line to the city, you will see a rise, which originally was 18 m high with a palace built on it, which archaeologists call the summer palace of Nebuchadnezzar. In the upper parts of the back walls are ventilation apertures, which served the inner rooms and halls of the palace.
Saddam Hussein, destinou cerca de 90 milhões de dólares, para reconstruir e restaurar a antiga Babilônia com os princípios de construção e os materiais da época.
Ishtar Gate, in a depression a little short way off the Street of Processions, still has some of its old wall decorations of bulls, symbol of Adad, god of storms, and dragons, symbol of Marduk, the chief god. The dragon here is a composite animal with the physical attributes of snake, lion and eagle. These brick relieves are not glazed, as the beautiful glazed-brick panels figuring bulls, and dragons and lions (symbol of Ishtar) which decorated the Gate, the Palace and the Street of Processions were all taken, prior to World War I, to Berlin by the German expedition which excavated Babylon then. Along the Street, on the left a brick column is seen, which may have had a statue standing on it.
Esta é a Porta de Babilônia, um das primeiras cidades na Terra e onde foram desenvolvidos um idioma escrito e um código de lei aproximadamente 3000 A.C. Ishtar é o deus babilônico de amor.
Egypt is a place any one would like to go for a vacation. Tourism is such a great money earner for Egypt. And when somebody travels, one of the most preferred place to visit would be the Cairo and the Giza city.
This is one of the largest pyramids in the world and considered to be one of the great among the seven wonders of the world. There are actually 3 Pyramids located in this place along with a Sphinx. The biggest of all is The Great Pyramid of Khufu and this is the only one among the seven wonders of world.
Location:
These architectural marvels are found in Giza City which is located at the northern edge of the Giza Plateau, about 10 miles west of present day Cairo. Cairo is the largest city in Africa and the 5th largest in the world. Giza city was the necropolis of Memphis (of old Egypt). This whole Giza Plateau is situated west of the Nile, bordering Sahara Desert.
Hotels and accommodations can be found very easily in side the city of Cairo very easily.
Details:
This place is a haven for 3 pyramids and a sphinx. The pyramids are
Great Pyramid of Khufu - One of the seven wonders of world
Great pyramid of Khafre
Great Pyramid of Menkaure
If any body plans a vacation travel to Egypt, they must make sure to visit all the 3 Pyramids. A journey to Egypt would be incomplete without visiting them.
Great Pyramid of Khufu:
This pyramid was built by King Khufu around 2560 BC. Khufu is the second Pharaoh of the fourth dynasty of rulers in Egypt. He was also known as "Cheops". Among all the 3 pyramids listed above, the Great Pyramid of Khufu is the only one pyramid in the list of seven wonders of the world.
This pyramid is believed to have been built over 20 years. When it was built its height was around 146 m. But now it is only 137 m. This was one of the tallest structures in the world till 19th century. It was covered with casings of stones to smoothen its surface. It probably is considered to be one among the seven wonders of world because of its sheer size.
The apex of the pyramid is missing and looks like it was never installed. The casings of the pyramids were removed by the Arabs during 14th century. The sloping angle of the sides is 51 degrees and 51 minutes. Each side is oriented towards one of the cardinal points of the compass that is north, south, east and west. This deserves a place among one of the seven wonders of world for its precision.
On the north face, is the pyramid's entrance. The King Khufu's chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid. The king's coffin is made of red granite, as like the interior walls of his chamber. 5 boat pits surround Khufu's Pyramid on the south and the east. Two of these are believed to be used by the Pharaoh during his life time. One boat is made into a Boat Museum.
This is the only one existing wonder, among all the seven wonders of world.
Great pyramid of Khafre:
Khafre is the son of Khufu and is also known as Rakhaef or chefren and is the second largest Pyramid on the Giza site. He ruled from 2520 - 2494 BC. He built the Khafre pyramid, the sphinx, the mortuary temple and the valley temple. This pyramid is the only one on the top of which the casing still remains.
The burial chamber underground contains a red granite sarcophagus with its lid. Next to this, a square cavity which is believed to have held the canopy chest containing the Pharaoh's viscera.
This pyramid was built approximately during the period 2558 - 2532 BC. Its base is 702 ft square and the height originally was around 143.4 m and now is 136.1 m. This is not one among the seven wonders of world.
Great Pyramid of Menkaure:
Menkaure, also known as Mycerinus, ruled from 2490 - 2472 B.C. He built the smallest of the three pyramids at Giza, and is believed to be Khufu's grandson.
The height of this pyramid now is 62 m. To the south of this Menkaure pyramid, there are 3 small, minor and incomplete pyramids/tombs. One of them (the largest among the three), is supposedly built by Menkaure's principal wife. A coffin with bones of a young woman was found in the central tomb. This also is not part of the seven wonders of world.
Great Sphinx:
This Sphinx is attached to Khafre's complex, north of Khafre's valley temple and with a separate temple of its own. This is a figure with a lion's body and a man's face, which is supposed to be the guardian of the necropolis. This is believed to be a manifestation of sun god.
Mural near the reconstructed Ishtar gate, depicting the palace quarter of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. The Ishtar gate is shown in the top left corner of the image
Apresentação em Flash representando os Jardins Suspensos da Babilônia.
el bandito chillin with sorceress vidalia, el gato del diablo and lil' red riding hood. (photo by big bad wolf)
1100 A.D.: A troop of Crusaders stops at a muddy little village in Asia Minor. Their leader looks around. Confused ,he dismounts. This place is not what he expected. He read in the ancient texts that this was a large seaport with many ships docked in its bay. It isn't. The sea is almost three miles away. The village is located in a swamp. There are no ships to be seen. The leader accosts a nearby man.
"Sir, is this the city of Ephesus?"
"It was called that once. Now it is named Ayasalouk."
"Well, where is your bay? Where are the trading ships? And where is the magnificent Greek temple that we have heard about?"
Now it is the man's turn to be confused. "Temple? What temple, Sir? We have no temple here..."
And so 800 years after its destruction, the magnificent Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, had been completely forgotten by the people of the town that had once held it in such pride.
And there is no doubt that the temple was indeed magnificent. "I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon," wrote Philon of Byzantium, "the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade."
So what happened to this great temple? And what happened to the city that hosted it? What turned Ephesus from a busy port of trade to a few shacks in a swamp?
The first shrine to the Goddess Artemis was probably built around 800 B.C. on a marshy strip near the river at Ephesus. The Ephesus Goddess Artemis, sometimes called Diana, is not the same figure as the Artemis worshiped in Greece. The Greek Artemis is the goddess of the hunt. The Ephesus Artemis was a goddess of fertility and was often pictured as draped with eggs, or multiple breasts, symbols of fertility, from her waist to her shoulders.
That earliest temple contained a sacred stone, probably a meteorite, that had "fallen from Jupiter." The shrine was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the next few hundred years. By 600 B.C., the city of Ephesus had become a major port of trade and an architect named Chersiphron was engaged to build a new large temple. He designed it with high stone columns. Concerned that carts carrying the columns might get mired in the swampy ground around the site, Chersiphron laid the columns on their sides and had them rolled to where they would be erected.
This temple didn't last long. In 550 B.C. King Croesus of Lydia conquered Ephesus and the other Greek cities of Asia Minor. During the fighting, the temple was destroyed. Croesus proved himself a gracious winner, though, by contributing generously to the building of a new temple.
This was next to the last of the great temples to Artemis in Ephesus and it dwarfed those that had come before. The architect is thought to be a man named Theodorus. Theodorus's temple was 300 feet in length and 150 feet wide with an area four times the size of the temple before it. More than one hundred stone columns supported a massive roof. The new temple was the pride of Ephesus until 356 B.C. when a tragedy, by name of Herostratus, struck.
Herostratus was a young Ephesian who would stop at no cost to have his name go down in history. He managed this by burning the temple to the ground. The citizens of Ephesus were so appalled at this act they issued a decree that anyone who spoke of Herostratus would be put to death.
Shortly after this horrible deed, a new temple was commissioned. The architect was Scopas of Paros, one of the most famous sculptors of his day. Ephesus was one of the greatest cities in Asia Minor at this point and no expense was spared in the construction. According to Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, the temple was a "wonderful monument of Grecian magnificence, and one that merits our genuine admiration."