Most Fascinating Thing I Learned This Semester

Throughout this semester I have encountered various historical events that have inspired my thinking.  Among them included the building of the Giza pyramids, and the Athenians being the authors of Drama. Although these topics intrigued me more than anything I was fascinated with the connection between Ancient History and the Bible. While reading Genesis I found that the geographic land barriers where consistent with our history book. For example, Genesis 37 is when Joseph was sold by his brothers for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites who then took him to Egypt. As history has proven Egypt was a major trade route for slavery. Another example, is how essential rivers such as the Tigris and Euphrates (Genesis 2:14-15) are mentioned in the Bible and in history! Thus, it is not only logical that the Bible reveals history but also that it is a reliable source that can be credited as a plausible resource. History has shown that by using the bible as a source of information the possibilities of unearthing more and more ancient history increases greatly.   

Greek Characters Located at the Pantheon

            Ancient Greece portrays a religion that was enriched in various legends. These legends created the fundamental laws and keys to the structural building of numerous Ancient Greek structures. Among them included the Pantheon, a place of worship dedicated to their gods. By using art as a means of decoration the fine art in the Pantheon reveals three major categories which included the Protogenoi, constellations, and beasts (Pomoni, Atsma 1) .

            The “Fabric of the universe” is derived from the Protogenoi, the first born gods. These immortal deities include Gaia, Pontos, and Quranos.  According to the Greeks, Gaia represents the planet Earth that was believed to have been formed out of chaos. Pontos is physically the sea and Quranos is the arena of heaven. These three deities are represented as the foundational gods who created the universal elements, such as earth, sky, night, and day. The Pantheon’s exquisite art work advocates not only the Protogenoi but also the constellations (Atsma 1, Protogenoi)

            The constellations created a sky full of beautiful stars. The Greeks believed that these constellations were immortal gods who fill the night with beauty. The twelve signs of the Zodiac symbolized the power and awestricken splendor that the gods possessed. For example, the Gemini twins, the constellations Caster and Pollux, were placed in the sky by Zeus after being separated by death. The Greeks used this natural beauty as garnish to the Pantheon. Within the Pantheon stood walls filled with legends of monsters.(Atsma 1, Russell)

            The Greeks fascinations for exciting stories led to an imagination that wrote the myths of beasts, monsters, and giants. These creatures were deities that exploded in creativity. Among the monsters included a sphinx, the head of a woman, body of a lion, and wings of an eagle. She was sent to Thebes by the gods. She devoured anyone that could not answer her riddle. Finally, a man named Oidipous solved the riddle and became king over Thebes. The monsters, beasts, and giants held the interest of so many Greek artists that numerous myths were sculpted or placed on the walls of the pantheon (Atsma 1, Atsma 2)

            The Pantheon’s beauty was decorated with art that retold the myths of Protogenoi, constellations, and Greek beasts. Within these myths came an exquisite building that to this day has been admired for its beauty and its revealing of Greek mythology, the Pantheon (Pomoni).

           

Greek Architecture

           The Greek’s accomplishment of constructing numerous structures has resulted in the foundation to modern architecture. The beauties of the configured buildings were not only exquisitely done but also revealed stories of Greeks culture. The classic beauty of Greece is derived from the symbolic designs of Greek columns, pediments, and friezes (Silverman, Schulman).           

          Throughout the cities of Greece three prominent columns stand to this day that represent the wealth of Athena, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Doric is the simplest of the three columns and consisted of a capital (the crown of the column), no base but rather sits directly on the floor, and carved with twenty sides located along the shaft (the vertical component of the column). The Doric style is found in the earliest temples. It was first carved out of wood but soon changed to limestone in the fifth century. Such locations where the Doric columns are found would be at the Pantheon and at the Hephaistion.

        Around 500 B.C. the more slender and taller of the three columns was crafted, the     Ionic column. The Ionic column was more elegantly done then the Doric with having a base and decorated capital. The capital was designed with scrolls carved out and as a result, a graceful look was added to Greek columns. The temple of Athena is known for being one of the greatest temples constructed with Ironic columns.The final column that the Greeks used was the Corinthian, the most detailed but least used. The Corinthian column was used around 600 B.C. and was named after the city Corinth. It was detailed with stone carvings of acanthus leaves above a small scroll. The Corinthian columns are found at the Pantheon. The columns produced a foundation that was sturdy but the pediments embodied the design with beauty (Schulman,Carr, Silverman, Greek).

          

The Greeks invention of the triangular pediment added a classical architectural design.  Pediments symbolized their religious Deities. The temple consisted of two pediments, one placed in the front and another in the back. The designs on the Pediments were frequently famous legends. The pediments at the Parthenon retell the birth of Athena from Zeus’ head, and the battle between Athena and Poseidon to see who should be the protector of Athens. Along with the pediments exquisite beauty, the friezes accentuated the temples structure (Carr, Swenson, Anje, Silverman).

           The friezes were sculpted with the design to retell myths which held symbolic meanings through the pictures. The friezes are commonly seen along a strip of the upper walls of a temple. The friezes focus on one subject with great detail while decorating the four walls of the temple. The Pantheon has some of the greatest intake and descriptive friezes. The frieze at the pantheon includes several young ladies bringing beautiful garments to Athena, the goddess of wisdom. These figures appear graceful with transparent clothing. (Carr,Silverman)

            The Greeks constructing columns, pediments, and freezers have uplifted Greece’s beauty as a nation and its symbol as a power. Reaching this architectural stature is something that one might try to accomplish and fail. Presently the Greeks architectural designs are used to this day, the White House stands as a model to the awestricken beauty of Greece.

           

Egyptian Mummification

Mummification

             The Egyptians’ obsession with the afterlife resulted in significant focus on preserving the dead body’s purity and physical attributes. This preservation, or mummification, is a significant aspect of ancient Egypt history that symbolizes our “ongoing fascination” of Egypt (Gahlin and Oakes 385) (Mummies).

            The word “mummy” is used to define the preservation of a dead body by embalming. Surprisingly, mummy originated from the Arabic word mummiya, meaning “pitch or “bitumen.” Although neither of these materials was used in mummification, mummies frequently appeared to be black because the embalming was poorly done. Nevertheless, the Egyptians soon learned how to perfect the process of embalming. (Monet) (Gahlin and Oakes 396) (David 159).

            Through observation and experimentation, the Egyptians unearthed the secrets of how to succeed in mummifying an individual.  The key to mummification was inadvertently made known to the Egyptians from their practice of burying loved ones in pit graves. Frequently, a corpse that was placed in a grave experienced a natural preservation. Unknown to the Egyptians for some time, the combination of salt, sand, and the sun dehydrated the body. As a result, the corpse appeared – at times in great detail – to resemble an individual’s physical aspects before death. This unintentional preservation gave flight to the idea of rejuvenation after one is dead, and subsequently, to mummification (David 159) (Mummies) (Monet) (Mummification).

            With their advancement in architectural skills, the Egyptians built tombs and coffins designed to protect the dead from being disturbed by wild animals and harsh weather. However, what the Egyptians sought to protect they were soon destroying. The outdoor environment that had almost perfectly preserved the corpses was not present in the enclosed tombs. As a result of the corpses not being exposed to the hot sand and salt, they started to decompose. Thus, it was essential for the Egyptians to duplicate the effective preservation that they had witnessed in pit graves.  In an attempt to retain the dead body’s shape and keep it from decomposing, the Egyptians wrapped the body with strips of linen, which they then coated with plaster. Despite their efforts, underneath the bandages the body was still decomposing. In spite of this failure, the Egyptians soon developed a sophisticated process that successfully preserved the body (David 159) (Gahlin and Oakes 396) (Mummies) (Mummification).

            A canopic chest that contained the internal organs of Queen Hetepheres, mother of King Khufu, was found in her tomb at Giza. This discovery confirmed that natron, the key to mummification, was used sometime in Dynasty 4 (2600 B.C.). Naturally occurring, natron (a salt-like substance that absorbs water) was the agent for successful mummification that lasted until the Christian Era (Monet) (Gahlin and Oakes 396) (David 159).

            From writings of Greek Historian Herodotus, we have a detailed account of the process of embalming. Herodotus described three types of techniques in embalming the body, varying with cost. The cost determined the preciseness and care that the embalmers put into preparing the body.             However, embalming the body went through a common procedure that lasted 70 days, including 30 days for purification, wrapping, and painting. The body first went through purification in a tent known as “ibu,” and later moved to an enclosed tent. The embalmers and high priest washed the body with fragrances, wine and water from the Nile (David 311) (Gahlin and Oakes 396-367) ((Mummification) ( Monet).

            Secondly, the scribe prepared the body by drawing a precise line with red paint. Subsequently, the   slitter cuts below the ribs on the left side with an Ethiopian stone. The slitter was then banished from the room while rocks were thrown at him, because he had done violence to the body. The embalmer then removed the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines, which were then soaked in natron. Once the internal organs had been fully dehydrated, a two-step process ensued. In the first step, the organs were placed in four canopic jars that represented the “Four Sons of Horus.” The four jar lids were depicted by the human-headed god Imsety, who looked after the liver; the baboon- headed god Hapy, who looked after the lungs; the jackal-headed god Duamutef; who looked after the stomach; and, the falcon- headed god Qebehsenuef, who looked after the intestines. In the second step, the dehydrated organs were then wrapped and replaced in the body during Dynasties 21 and 22 (1069-720 B.C.). During the Ptolemaic Period (332-30 B.C.), this second step consisted of wrapping the internal organs in one bundle and placed on the legs of the mummy (Ancient 20) (David 152) (Mummies) (Mummification) (Simmons).

            The removal of the brain began sometime around the Middle Kingdom (2040-1640 B.C.) and became widespread in the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.). The process of removing the brain was extravagant. The embalmers first had to break the ethmoid (a bone located behind the eyes), and then a long metal hook was applied up the nose to wrench out the brain, piece by piece. The only intestinal organ that was not removed was the heart, because it was believed to be weighed by the god Anubis, the god of the dead. The chief priest wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis (Mummies) (Ancient 20-21) (Mummification) (Simmons)

            The corpse was then soaked and stuffed with natron in order for the body to fully dehydrate. This process lasted up to 40 days. Afterward, the body would have a darkened appearance, and was seventy-five percent lighter. The stuffing was then removed from the body and washed with water, oils and other natural substances. The body was then re-stuffed with raisin, sawdust, spices, butter and linen to appear lifelike, a process which started during Dynasty 21(1069- 945 B.C.). Another addition to mummification was the replacement of the eyes. The embalmers would replace eyes with artificial ones during Dynasties 21 and 22 (1069-720 B.C.). Later, golden leafs were placed over the eyes (Ancient 20-21) (David 312-313) (Gahlin and Oakes 397-398) (Monet).

             Finally, the body was bandaged with linen made of towels, cloths, and other similar materials. This process took about 15 days. The embalmers started at the hands and feet, and made their way inward toward the torso. The average amount of linen used per body was 450 square yards, which was pasted onto the body with an adherent resin substance.  Interestingly, during Dynasty 22, two red leather straps were placed over the body or coffin. Other findings such as good luck charms, amulets, pieces of jewelry, and mummified animals have all been found wrapped in the strips of linen. An extraordinary ceremony and the placing of the mummy marked the end of the mummification procedure (Ancient 20-21) (David 312-313) (Gahlin and Oakes 397-398) ( Simmons).

            Unfortunately, this extravagant process of mummification was only for the wealthy. As a result, mummification did not become universal. For ordinary Egyptians, proper burial services by the Nile River guaranteed a safe path into the afterlife (Daniel 160)(Gahlin and Oakes 387).

            The god Osiris was the model for the Egyptians’ belief in rebirth, and ultimately, mummification. Osiris is believed to be the first to be mummified after his malevolent brother, Seth, murdered him. His devoted wife, Isis, gathered his scattered parts and interlaced his body with linen. Magically, Osiris was reborn, becoming the foundation of Egyptian mummification (Ancient 21) (Gahlin and Oakes 311).

Mummification – a practice that, to this day, leaves us in awe – eventually led to the building of the breathtaking pyramids, the final resting places for those who were deemed worthy of Egyptian memory. If in no other way but historically, the immortality sought by ancient Egyptians was achieved.