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Afqa
Afqa (; also spelled ''Afka'') is a village and municipality located in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It has an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level and a total land area of 934 hectares. Its inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims. Known in ancient times as Aphaca (), the word can be interpreted as "source", is located in the mountains of Lebanon, about 20 kilometres from the ancient city of Byblos, which still stands just east of the town of Qartaba. It is the site of one of the finest waterfalls in the mountains of the Middle East, which feeds into the Adonis River (known today as Abraham River or ''Nahr Ibrahim'' in Arabic), and forms Lake Yammoune, with which it is also associated by legend. In Greek mythology, Adonis was born and died at the foot of the falls in Afqa. The ruins of the celebrated temple of Aphrodite Aphakitis— the Aphrodite particular to this site— are located there. Sir R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astarte
Astarte (; , ) is the Greek language, Hellenized form of the Religions of the ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic languages, East Semitic goddess Ishtar. Astarte was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity, and her name is particularly associated with her worship in the ancient Levant among the Canaanite religion, Canaanites and Phoenician religion, Phoenicians, though she was originally associated with Amorite cities like Ugarit and Emar, as well as Mari, Syria, Mari and Ebla. She was also celebrated in ancient Egyptian religion, Egypt, especially during the reign of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Ramessides, following the importation of foreign cults there. Phoenicians introduced her cult in their colonies on the Iberian Peninsula. Name The Proto-Semitic language, Proto-Semitic form of this goddess's name was . While earlier scholars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byblos District
Byblos District (; transliteration: ''Qadaa' Jbeil''), also called the Jbeil District (''Jbeil'' is Lebanese Arabic for "Byblos"; standard Arabic ''Jubail''), is a district ('' qadaa'') of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is located to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital is Byblos. The rivers of al-Madfoun and Nahr Ibrahim form the district's natural northern and southern borders respectively, with the Mediterranean Sea bordering it from the west and Mount Lebanon from the east, separating it from the adjacent district of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley. Demographics The district's population is predominantly Maronite Catholic, followed by a Shia Muslim minority community. The largest towns of the district are predominantly inhabited by Maronites; notably Byblos, Qartaba, Aqoura and Amsheet. Most Shia Muslims live in the villages of Almat, Ras Osta, Hjoula and Bichtlida, and in the jurd highlands of Lassa, Afqa and Mazraat es-Siyad. A Greek ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham River
The Nahr Ibrahim (; Abraham River) also known as Adonis River (), is a small river in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon, with a length of about 23 km. The river emerges from two sources: The Roueiss grotto in Aaqoura that provides two thirds the flow of the Nahr Ibrahim and from a huge cavern, the Afqa Grotto, that provides a third of the flow, nearly 1.5 km above sea level before it drops steeply through a series of falls and passes through a sheer gorge through the mountains. It passes through the town of Nahr Ibrahim before emptying into the Mediterranean Sea north of Beirut. The city takes its name from the river (''nahr'' means river in Arabic). Association with the cult of Adonis The ancient city of Byblos stood near its outlet and was a site for the veneration of Adonis, the god of love, rebirth, and beauty in Phoenician mythology. He was said to have been killed near the river by a wild boar sent by Ares, the god of war (or by Ares himself disguised as a boar, dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Yammoune
Yammoune is a lake, nature reserve, village and municipality situated northwest of Baalbek in Baalbek District, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. The village had a few hundred inhabitants in 1955. Ancient Roman temple There are the ruins of a Roman temple (possibly with Phoenician-Greek origins) in the village that are included in a grouping of Roman Temples of the Beqaa Valley. It is said to be dedicated to Venus (or possibly also Astarte, before the Roman era in the region). Part of two enclosure walls and the temple foundations remain intact. Many inscriptions, written in Latin were found at the temple site. A few Ancient Greek inscriptions were also found. It is considered likely to be initially very small and of Phoenician origin, but it was greatly enlarged and improved by the Romans :All that remains of the Roman temple today is a retaining wall of limestone blocks which goes down to the lake level. Beneath are supposed to be subterranean chambers. Presumably dedicat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palmyra
Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second millennium BCE. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century CE. The city grew wealthy from caravan (travellers), trade caravans; the Palmyrenes became renowned as merchants who established colonies along the Silk Road and operated throughout the Roman Empire. Palmyra's wealth enabled the construction of monumental projects, such as the Great Colonnade at Palmyra, Great Colonnade, the Temple of Bel, and the distinctive tower tombs. Ethnically, the Palmyrenes combined elements of Amorites, Arameans, and Arabs. Socially structured around kinship and clans, Palmyra's inhabitants spoke Palmyrene Aramaic, a variety of A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qartaba
Qartaba (, Syriac language, Syriac: ܩܪܛܒܐ, also spelled ''Kartaba'' or ''Artaba'') is a town in the mountains of the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. It is located 57 kilometers north Beirut on the mountains above Byblos at an average altitude of 1,250 meters. It is the second-most populous city in the district after Byblos. Qartaba extends between the municipal borders of Byblos District#Towns and villages, Almat el Jnoubiye to the northwest, Byblos District#Towns and villages, Balhoss to the west, Byblos District#Towns and villages, Qorqaiya to the southwest, Byblos District#Towns and villages, Janne to the south, Byblos District#Towns and villages, Deir Mar Sarkis to the east, and Mazraat es-Siyad to the northeast. It stands as one of the largest and most prominent towns in the Byblos District, renowned for its role as a premier resort and a major tourist destination. It offers a unique appeal with its dry, mild climate, making it an ideal spot f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphacitis
Aphacitis () was an epithet of the goddess Aphrodite from Greek mythology, derived from the town of Aphaca (modern Afqa) in Coele-Syria, where she had a celebrated temple with an oracle, which was destroyed by the command of the emperor Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g .... At the temple there was a small pool into which worshippers would throw offerings. If the offerings sank, it was proof they were acceptable to Aphrodite. Delegations would be sent from quite far away to the shrine during festivals to offer donations to the goddess here. Notes Epithets of Aphrodite {{Greek-deity-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adonis
In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip and died in Aphrodite's arms as she wept; his blood mingled with her tears and became the anemone flower. The Adonia festival commemorated his tragic death, celebrated by women every year in midsummer. During this festival, Greek women would plant "gardens of Adonis", small pots containing fast-growing plants, which they would set on top of their houses in the hot sun. The plants would sprout but soon wither and die. Then, the women would mourn the death of Adonis, tearing their clothes and beating their breasts in a public display of grief. The Greeks considered Adonis's cult to be of Near Eastern origin. Adonis's name comes from a Canaanite word meaning "lord" and most modern scholars consider the story of Aphrodite and Adonis to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ishtar
Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Akkadians, Babylonian religion, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar. Her primary title is Queen of Heaven (antiquity), "the Queen of Heaven". She was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, her early main religious center. In archaic Uruk, she was worshipped in three forms: morning Inanna (Inana-UD/hud), evening Inanna (Inanna sig), and princely Inanna (Inanna NUN), the former two reflecting the phases of her associated planet Venus. Her most prominent symbols include the Lion of Babylon, lion and the Star of Ishtar, eight-pointed star. Her husband is the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), and her (attendant) is the goddess Ninshubur, later conflated with the male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal. Inanna ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folkloristJosephson-Storm (2017), Chapter 5. influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion. Personal life Frazer was born on 1 January 1854 in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Katherine Brown and Daniel F. Frazer, a chemist. He attended school at Springfield Academy and Larchfield Academy in Helensburgh. He studied at the University of Glasgow and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with honours in classics (his dissertation was published years later as ''The Growth of Plato's Ideal Theory'') and remained a Classics Fellow all his life. From Trinity, he went on to study law at the Middle Temple, but never practised. Four times elected to Trinity's Title Alpha Fellowship, he was associated with the college for most of his life, except for the year 1907–1908, spent at the University of Liverpool. He was knighted in 1914, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Richard Francis Burton
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, KCMG, FRGS, (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, orientalist writer and scholar. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and South America, as well as his extensive knowledge of languages and cultures, speaking up to 29 different languages. Born in Torquay, Devon, Burton joined the Bombay Army as an officer in 1842, beginning an eighteen-year military career which included a brief stint in the Crimean War. He was subsequently engaged by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to explore the East African coast, where Burton along with John Hanning Speke led an expedition to discover the source of the Nile and became the first European known to have seen Lake Tanganyika. He later served as the British consul in Fernando Pó, Santos, Damascus and Trieste. Burton was also a Fellow of the RGS and was awarded a knighthood in 1886. His best-known achievements include undertaking the Hajj to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
