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Dionysus Mosaic, Samatya
The Dionysus mosaic found in Samatya, Istanbul, was uncovered in 1995 while the lot it was discovered in was under construction. It could have been created between the 4th and 5th century, with evidence supporting it to be from the later part of the 5th century. The mosaic is severely damaged due to construction Machine (mechanical), machinery, and much of the piece is missing because of the Urban area, urban landscape. What remains is a traditional Byzantine Empire, Byzantine mosaic depicting the chariot of Dionysus, with a grand Thiasus, thiasos, or parade of followers circled around the god of wine. Design The mosaic itself was 2.5 meters by 10 meters at the time of excavation. It consists of a square panel that is defined by two bands; the bands are multi-colored Guilloché, guilloches. Within the square panel are two circles; one within the other. These circles are framed by laurel wreaths that are created by a sawlike pattern band with colored fillets. Between the square pan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samatya
Samatya ( el, Ψαμάθεια, pr. ''Psamatheia''; hy, Սամաթիա) is a quarter of the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the Marmara Sea, and borders to the west on the neighborhood of Yedikule (the "Castle of the Seven Towers"). Etymology The name originates from the Greek word ''psamathion'' (), meaning "sandy", because of the great quantity of sand found in the quarter. History About 383 AD, the first monastic institution was established in Constantinople, at Psamatheia, at that time still outside the walled city.Tsai, Kathryn (Dr). ''A Timeline of Eastern Church History''. Divine Ascent Press, CA, 2004. p.73. Up to recent times, Samatya was mostly inhabited by Armenians, who were settled here in 1458 by Sultan Mehmet II,Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 200 and who own there the church of '' Surp Kevork'', also called ''Sulu Manastiri'' (Water's monastery) – previously an Eastern Orthodox church which dates back to before the Ottoman conquest, and by Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and are always shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women. They were companions of the god Dionysus and were believed to inhabit remote locales, such as woodlands, mountains, and pastures. They often attempted to seduce or rape nymphs and mortal women alike, usually with little success. They are sometimes shown masturbation, masturbating or engaging in bestiality. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drawing Room
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th century, and made their first written appearance in 1642. In a large 16th to early 18th century English house, a withdrawing room was a room to which the owner of the house, his wife, or a distinguished guest who was occupying one of the main apartments in the house could "withdraw" for more privacy. It was often off the great chamber (or the great chamber's descendant, the state room) and usually led to a formal, or "state" bedroom. In modern houses, it may be used as a convenient name for a second or further reception room, but no particular function is associated with the name. History and development In 18th-century London, the royal morning receptions that the French called ''levées'' were called "drawing rooms", with the sense ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cult Of Dionysus
The cult of Dionysus was strongly associated with satyrs, centaurs, and Silenus, sileni, and its characteristic symbols were the Bull (mythology), bull, the Serpent (symbolism), serpent, tigers/leopards, ivy, and wine. The Dionysia and Lenaia festivals in Athens were dedicated to Dionysus, as well as the phallic processions. Initiates worshipped him in the Dionysian Mysteries, which were comparable to and linked with the Orphic Mysteries, and may have influenced Gnosticism. Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus.Apollodorus (Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Pseudo Apollodorus)''Library and Epitome'', 1.3.2 "Orpheus also invented the mysteries of Dionysus, and having been torn in pieces by the Maenads he is buried in Pieria (regional unit), Pieria." The Cult (religious practice), cult of Dionysus traces back to at least Mycenaean Greece, since his name is found on Mycenaean Greek, Mycenean Linear B tablets as ''(di-wo-nu-so)''. Dionysus is often shown ridin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has come to be understood to further include ''any'' written, typed, or word-processed copy of an author's work, as distinguished from the rendition as a printed version of the same. Before the arrival of printing, all documents and books were manuscripts. Manuscripts are not defined by their contents, which may combine writing with mathematical calculations, maps, music notation, explanatory figures, or illustrations. Terminology The study of the writing in surviving manuscripts, the "hand", is termed palaeography (or paleography). The traditional abbreviations are MS for manuscript and MSS for manuscripts, while the forms MS., ms or ms. for singular, and MSS., mss or ms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nonnus
Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century CE. He is known as the composer of the ''Dionysiaca'', an epic tale of the god Dionysus, and of the ''Metabole'', a paraphrase of the ''Gospel of John''. The epic Dionysiaca describes the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return. It was written in Homeric Greek and in dactylic hexameter, and it consists of 48 books at 20,426 lines. Life There is almost no evidence for the life of Nonnus. It is known that he was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in Upper Egypt from his naming in manuscripts and the reference in epigram 9.198 of the ''Palatine Anthology''. Scholars have generally dated him from the end of the 4th to the central years of the 5th century CE. He must have lived af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dionysiaca
The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hexameters, the main subject of which is the life of Dionysus, his expedition to India, and his triumphant return to the west. Composition The poem is thought to have been written in the 5th century AD. The suggestion that it is incomplete misses the significance of the birth of Dionysus' one son (Iacchus) in the final Book 48, quite apart from the fact that 48 is a key number as the number of books in the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'' combined. The older view that Nonnus wrote this poem before conversion to Christianity and the writing of his other long poem, a verse paraphrase of St John's Gospel, is now discredited, since a host of indications p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tessera
A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive ''tessella'') is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. Historical tesserae The oldest known tesserae date to the 3rd millennium BC, discovered in the ancient city of Shahdad in Kerman province, Iran. In early antiquity, mosaics were formed from naturally formed colored pebbles. By roughly 200 BC cut stone tesserae were being used in Hellenistic- Greek mosaics. For instance, a large body of surviving material from the Hellenistic period can be found in the mosaics of Delos, Greece, dating to the late 2nd century BC. Ancient Roman decorative mosaic panels and floor mosaics were also produced during the 2nd century BC, particularly at sites such as Pompeii. Marble or limestone were cut into small cubes and arranged into representational designs and geometric patterns. Later, tesserae were made from colored glass, or clear glass backed w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphosed limestone, but its use in stonemasonry more broadly encompasses unmetamorphosed limestone. Marble is commonly used for Marble sculpture, sculpture and as a building material. Etymology The word "marble" derives from the Ancient Greek (), from (), "crystalline rock, shining stone", perhaps from the verb (), "to flash, sparkle, gleam"; Robert S. P. Beekes, R. S. P. Beekes has suggested that a "Pre-Greek origin is probable". This Stem (linguistics), stem is also the ancestor of the English language, English word "marmoreal," meaning "marble-like." While the English term "marble" resembles the French language, French , most other European languages (with words like "marmoreal") more closely resemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's outer solid layer, the crust, and most of its interior, except for the liquid outer core and pockets of magma in the asthenosphere. The study of rocks involves multiple subdisciplines of geology, including petrology and mineralogy. It may be limited to rocks found on Earth, or it may include planetary geology that studies the rocks of other celestial objects. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. Igneous rocks are formed when magma cools in the Earth's crust, or lava cools on the ground surface or the seabed. Sedimentary rocks are formed by diagenesis and lithification of sediments, which in turn are formed by the weathering, transport, and deposition of existing ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay particles, but become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide. Clay is the oldest known ceramic material. Prehistoric humans discovered the useful properties of clay and used it for making pottery. Some of the earliest pottery shards have been dated to around 14,000 BC, and clay tablets were the first known writing medium. Clay is used in many modern industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production, and chemical filtering. Between one-half and two-thirds of the world's population live or work in buildings made with clay, often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panther (legendary Creature)
A Panther is a creature in ancient legend that resembles a big cat with a multicoloured hide. According to medieval beliefs, after feasting the panther will sleep in a cave for a total of three days. After this period ends, the panther roars, in the process emitting a sweet smelling odor. This odor draws in any creatures who smell it (the European dragon, dragon being the only creature immune); they are eaten by the panther, and the cycle begins again. The ancient Greeks believed the panther was one of the favored mounts of the god Dionysus. Other names for this creature are pantera, pantere, and love cervere. Illustration Usually depicted as a type of cat, the panther was at times depicted in other forms. It was depicted as a donkey, as a composite creature with a horned head, long neck and a horse's body, and as a host of other forms. (The word "panther", in Greek, could be interpreted as "every wild beast", supporting the idea of a composite creature.) This was mostly bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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