Ancient myth and religion

What implications does the Srin-mo, a pre-Buddhist deity who traverses across almost all of the periods of time in Tibetan religious life, have on the social status of women? Embodying the places and spaces of Tibet, a malevolent demoness called the Srin-mo has been essential in laying the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. The concept of the Srin-mo can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet: Bön. The story of the Srin-mo is not a creation myth in the sense of a worldly inception,  but the story of the demoness does represent the creation of a harmonious society, spurring from the preceding time of primordial chaos found amongst the Bön religion. Looking at the origins of the demoness’ story is necessary in order to understand how and why the Srin-mo holds efficacious power over the land and people of Tibet. Here, I will investigate the case of the Srin-mo, which is controversially one of the most important beings in Tibet, but unquestionably, an irrevocable component of understanding what implications geography holds on Tibet.

Ce livre aborde le mythe de Narcisse à partir de ses sources antiques et propose d’étudier ses répercussions dans l’art du XXe siècle.
Ce mythe constitue un archétype culturel ponctuant la littérature et l’histoire de l’art occidentales et se trouve à l’origine d’une stratégie de représentation confrontant la personne à sa propre image par le biais d’un médium. La présente étude met à jour les situations d’illusion qui structurent ce récit fondateur dans chacune de ses variations et considère leur reformulation en termes visuels : dans l’oeuvre du Caravage et de Poussin notamment, puis à travers différents exemples tirés de l’activité artistique du XXe siècle jusqu’à nos jours.
A ce titre, la métamorphose de Narcisse en une notion – le narcissisme – et surtout sa réélaboration par le biais de l’image – le stade du miroir – sont mises en confrontation avec le mythe. Fort des différentes strates historique, exégétique et visuelle recouvrant l’histoire de Narcisse, ce livre propose une étude de cas choisis dans le travail de trois artistes, Francis Bacon, Bill Viola et Jeff Wall. Les trois corpus d’oeuvres sélectionnés exemplifient chacun l’exploitation d’un médium artistique différent: la peinture, la vidéo et la photographie. Ils proposent un effet de réverbération du mythe et/ou de ses instanciations visuelles, et plus encore interagissent entre eux, communiquant parfois même par la grâce d’une référence explicite d’un artiste à un autre, de telle sorte que cet ouvrage s’érige en un circuit thématique cohérent.

The cohesion of James 1:19-26 is explored, with the specific aim of reconstructing and evaluating its motivational framework. The topic of James 1:19-27 is found to be an injunction to care for widows and orphans. The passage supplies a motivational framework, of which the basic tenets are that the world consists of three storeys (heaven, the seat and origin of the good), earth (basically evil) and hell (the seat and origin of evil). A human being consists of a mortal body and an immortal soul. Two principles, implanted at creation, regulate human conduct. The evil impulse is desire, while the positive one (the image of God) is the word or law. By obeying teachers of the law, the positive image is developed which renders the believer perfect for the day of judgement and immortality. Simultaneously, by doing what is just, the evil impulse is cast off. The simile of the mirror illustrates in a negative way that hearing and not doing results in a stinted development. Positively, it illustrates that hearing and doing results in perfection. The hidden message of the passage, however, is to inculcate a paradigm of command and control and to establish a hierarchical distance between teachers and learners. It propagates a three step programme for happiness: (1) Listen! (2) Don't get angry and talk back! and (3) Do what you are told! Some commentators latch on to this paradigm to create an uncritical acceptance of ecclesiastical authority.

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

Of the many puzzles that confront the reader of the book of Job, one of the most intriguing centers on the figure of Leviathan at the close of YHWH's speeches. O ut of all the things YHWH m ight say to his w ounded but faithful servant, w hy spend so much time describing the fearsome qualities of this creature? And w hat is Job supposed to conclude after hearing this speech? Interpretation of the figure of Leviathan at the end of the book of Job splits neatly into tw o groups,1 The majority opinion understands Leviathan to be a natural creature, probably a crocodile.2 On the other hand, a few commentators take Leviathan to be a prim eval, supernatural evil, on a par w ith the divine or semidivine m onsters described in ANE epic.31 w ould like to argue that the latter interpretation of Leviathan is correct on tw o grounds. First, this interpretation of Leviathan is consistent with other ANE and OT depictions of Leviathan. Second, this interpretation shows how YHWH directly and clearly answers Job's com plaint concerning YHWH's unjust treatm ent of him. Briefly, I understand YHWH, in referencing this fearsome monster, to be speaking w ithin Job's cultural context in order to communicate to him that there is a terrible evil loose in the world that YHWH prom ises to defeat—b u t that he has not defeated yet.4 Stated *Eric Ortlund is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Briercrest College and Seminary. 1For a summary of this issue with discussion of the specific view s of different commentators, see Kinnier Wilson, "Return to the Problems of Behemoth and Leviathan," VT 25 (1975): 1-14. 2Argued most eloquently by John Gammie in "Behemoth and Leviathan: On the Didactic and Theological Significance of Job 40:25-26," in Israelite Wisdom (ed. John Gammie et al.; Missoula: Scholars Press, 1978), 217— 31. Other commentators reading the passage this way w ill be discussed further below. 3For instance, André Caquot, "Le Léviathan de Job 40:25-41:26," RB 99 (1992): 40-69. Caquot focuses more on close exegesis o f the poem and less on the contribution of the poem to the meaning of the book; in this article, I w ill focus on the latter issue. 4t h e description of this monster often contains mythic elements. While the terms mythic and myth can sometimes refer to something patently false, such w ould not have been the case in ANE societies (see Bertil Albrecktson, History and the Gods: An Essay on the Idea of Historical Events as Divine Manifestations in the Ancient Near East and in Israel [ConBOT 1; Gleerup: Lund, 1967]). Rather it appears that ancient Semites used "mythic" imagery and themes to express sym bolically those archetypal relations between the divine and hum an/natural realms. Mythic texts describe how the present

Continuation of the Atlantic Theory of Homer's Ilias and Odyssey (part 1: Atlantic Troy; part 2:  Atlantic Ismaros-Kikones; part 3: Atlantic Kuthera-Lotophages; part 4: Atlantic Land of the Cyclopes; part 5: Atlantic Aiolia). Odysseus' wanderings after his departure from Troy: Route: from Corvo, Azores, to La Havana, Cuba. Study of Atlantic authors De Grave, Cailleux, Gideon, Wilkens, Vinci.

With Empedocles, the qualities of a creative religious, mytho-poetic imagination fluent in Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, and Parmenides allies itself with a rational mind keenly interested in understanding the natural world.:
The first condition for an understanding of Empedocles is to banish the notion of a gulf between religious beliefs and scientific views. His work is a whole, in which religion, poetry, and philosophy are indissolubly united. His imagination is constructive, gathering elements from every available quarter-Hesiodic and Ionian cosmogony, Parmenidean rationalism, Orphic mysticism, poetic legend, the experience of a physician, a poet’s sensuous response to the sights and sounds of mature, and the fears and hopes of a spirit exiled from heaven for ‘a brief span of life that is not life’- but building all these elements together into a unitary vision of the life of the world and the destiny of the human soul, bound, like the macrocosm, upon the wheel of birth and death (Cornford 122).
To give an idea of how Empedocles articulates the elements of muthos and logos in his system,  eleven fragments have been chosen in an attempt to illustrate the basic aspects of his system with an attention to mythical aspects:

La première pièce de Joanna Laurens, The Three Birds, (2000) propose une révision dramatique du mythe grec de Philomèle qui s’inscrit en contrepoint de la fable telle qu’elle est relatée dans les Métamorphoses d’Ovide. Le rapport à la langue et à la figure du barbare, paradigme de l’Autre, engage une réflexion sur la question des minorités, la voix de l’étranger et l’idée d’une réversibilité des postures. Barbarismes, irrégularités syntaxiques, « babélisation » font ici violence au langage ainsi qu’aux différentes langues parlées dans la pièce qui s’altèrent et se barbarisent à l’image des personnages, incarnant ainsi dans la chair du verbe la mutilation de la langue qui fait la matière cruelle du mythe. Au cœur de la pièce, elle-même réécriture d’une autre pièce – celle, perdue, du Térée de Sophocle – on retrouve en effet l’écriture d’une autre scène – celle, tabou, du viol et de l’amputation de la langue de Philomèle – qui, à défaut de pouvoir se dire, vient s’écrire sur la tapisserie que brode la jeune fille à l’attention de sa sœur pour révéler le crime étouffé par les mensonges en cascades de Térée en même temps qu’elle se reflète dans la trituration du langage. Cet article s’intéressera donc aux enjeux de la réécriture en tant que mise en place d’une alternative fondamentale à partir d’une perspective neuve – celle du barbare amoureux, ou plutôt de la barbarie de l’amour impossible – qui se reflète dans le motif intradiégétique de l’activité de tissage en tant qu’écriture de « l’Autre » (réécriture par l’Autre, la femme, de l’autre scène ou de l’autre pièce, qui ne peut être dite). Avec la duplicité intrinsèque du langage et l’exploration de son potentiel de transformation, nous verrons dès lors comment l’altérité se donne plutôt à voir comme altération, voire aliénation, jusqu’au creux de la langue où elle prend naissance pour la faire délirer (Deleuze). Le langage de la pièce reflète ainsi la façon dont l’humain vient faire trace dans la langue du barbare et montre comment, par-delà l’humanisation du Thrace, la barbarie vient à son tour réinvestir l’humain et marquer de son empreinte l’acte et le langage d’amour devenus viols. En déroulant à l’extrême le fil ténu qui sépare humanité et barbarie, les expérimentations poétiques de Laurens, où le langage et « l’autre » du langage se rencontrent dans leurs contradictions-mêmes, permettent ainsi de renouveler le sens du mythe grec autant que le langage dramatique sur la scène théâtrale à l’aube du vingt-et-unième siècle.

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Joanna Laurens’ first play The Three Birds (2000) is a retelling of the Greek myth of Philomela in which language undergoes a poetic treatment unprecedented on the contemporary British stage. Mirroring and enacting the characters’ evolution from innocence to barbarism, language is distorted and altered to an extreme through a creative process involving word coinage (i.e. barbarisms), syntactic irregularities, and ‘babelisation,’ thus bringing out and performing the violence of the myth. Departing from Ovid’s poem which is itself a reworking of the original fable, as well as from the feminist takes on the story during the second half of the twentieth century, Laurens’ dramatic writing offers a new approach to the language and figure of the Barbarian, a traditional paradigm of the Other. She addresses such issues as the oppression of minorities, the voice of the stranger, and the reversibility of ethical positions by providing a reflection on the intrinsic duplicity of language itself and by exploring its potential for ‘metamorphosis’ and manipulation, thus presenting otherness as alienation. At the core of the play, which is a rewriting of another (lost) tragedy – that of Sophocles’ Tereus –, are Tereus’ lies, which are a rewriting of another (taboo) story – that of Philomela’s rape and amputated tongue. Although it can’t be verbally expressed by the young woman, this traumatic episode is nonetheless revealed through a tapestry she weaves for her sister Procné to denounce the crime of the lying husband, the needlework compensating her lost voice. This article thus looks at the issues at stake in Laurens’ rewriting, which can be read as the Other of the Greek myth and its famous feminist interpretations. Not only does her play propose an alternative which stems from an unusual, profoundly humane perspective – the suffering of a man whose love is thwarted – but this reversal is also mirrored in the intradiegetic motif of the tapestry as a writing of the Other (the scene behind the scenes, unheard of) by the Other (the abused, silenced woman). I propose to study how the Other comes to be inscribed at the core of language where it takes shape, rendering it delirious (Deleuze), as humanity can be traced in the Barbarian and barbarism can in turn affect humanity beyond the figure of the Thracian. As the act and language of love are turned into linguistic abuse and physical rape, Laurens’ formal experimentations, where language and the Other of language meet at the crossroad of their own contradictions, allow for a renewal in the meaning of the Greek myth as well as in the dramatic language on the British stage at the start of the twenty-first century.

The Perfume of Cyprus is an interesting and through-provoking read. Maria Rosaria Belgiorno demonstrates the significance of the production and use of perfumes from the Bronze Age to the present day with the case study of the wonderful archaeological site of Pyrgos; a site which has in situ examples of the differing implements and ceramics involved in perfume production. Notably she places Cyprus into the broader context which is an important aspect when considering the production and use of perfumes that clearly held significance. This is clear from the extensive trade of Cyprian perfumes which gives the island of Cyprus a central role in the trade of perfume and cosmetics. Indeed, the similarities and connections with Egyptian perfumes, in both their production and traditions, demonstrate the areas of contact and influences as well as allowing for a wonderful comparison. Whilst the production and trade perfumes has seen a continuation even to this day with a specific olfactory family. Additionally a significance of the specific ingredients has been made clear, although it is a shame the exact quantities and process of the production of the most ancient Cyprian perfumes is still unknown. (Perhaps this is scope for further research?) Certainly the importance held by certain key ingredients, such as wine, imbues further significance onto the perfumes themselves, not to mention the clear skill and knowledge needed in the choice of ingredients and the production. As such the ingredients are of interest when considering the modern day; even though presently chemicals are often used in the production of perfume, the significance and persistent use of wine, for example, in differing recipes and as a popular drink has been maintained throughout the centuries until the present day. Moreover the connection Maria Rosaria Belgiorno draws upon between scent, perfumes and cosmetics with divine powers, gods and goddesses, such as Aphrodite, brings the focus towards the beliefs and aspects important to contemporary prehistoric society. As well as the powerful connection of the human mind and scent which overall demonstrate the significance perfume held and therefore the importance of research into its production at Pyrgos and across Cyprus. The Perfume of Cyprus: from Pyrgos to François Coty the Route of a Millenary Charm is a fascinating read which will allow the reader to really understand the world of scent both today and in the past.
Amber Roy.

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Apollo Cunomaglos leads to a multi-disciplinary discussion of Celtic religion: from wolves to cosmology, fertility, ancestry, afterlife, rites de passage and manty more.
The epithet Cunomaglos is known from an altar at the Britanno-Roman sanctuary of Nettleton Shrub in Wiltshire. He has traditionally been interpreted as a hunting deity, as «Apollo Hound Prince», in British scholarship. But since it is certain that the ancient Celtic word cuno was used to denote both wolf and dog in this period, it seems more probable that we are dealing here with Apollo «Lord of the Wolves» similar to the Greek Apollo Lykaios. It is important to jettison the negative image that wolves still have in scholarship in order to understand the meaning of Apollo Cunomaglos. An interdisciplinary analysis of pre-Roman and Romano-Celtic iconography —as well as evidence from other cultures in addition to medieval Welsh and Irish mythology— suggests that wolves must have played a significant role in people’s religious understandings, for example in relation to fertility, nourishment, cosmology, strength, ancestry, prophecy, afterlife beliefs, rites de passage, and many more. Altogether, there emerges a certain image of Apollo Cunomaglos as potentially a powerful, even omnipotent deity, perhaps related to Apollo Maponus, Belenos, Lugus, and Vaelicus.
[ES] Resumen: Apollo Cunomaglos es conocido gracias a un altar procedente del santuario britano-romano de Nettleton Shrub, en Wiltshire  Inglaterra). En la historiografía anglosajona, ha sido tradicionalmente nterpretado como una deidad cazadora, como «Apolo, el Príncipe  azador». Sin embargo, dado que la antigua palabra céltica cuno fue tilizada en esa época tanto para aludir al lobo como al perro, parece más probable que en este caso nos encontremos ante un Apolo «Señor de los Lobos» similar al Apollo Lykaios del mundo griego. Para poder comprender el significado de Apollo Cunomaglos es necesario superar la imagen negativa que se tiene de los lobos en el ámbito académico.
Con ese propósito, este artículo plantea un análisis interdisciplinar de la iconografía prerromana y romano-céltica, de las mitologías medievales galesase irlandesas, y de evidencias de otras culturas relacionadas con el lobo, que muestra la gran importancia de ese animal en las concepciones religiosas de esas poblaciones, como, por ejemplo, en las relacionadas con la fertilidad, la nutrición, la cosmología, la fortaleza, los ancestros, la profecía, las creencias escatológicas, y los ritos de paso, entre otras. De todo ello emerge una potencial imagen de Apollo Cunomaglos como una deidad poderosa, casi omnipotente, que quizás estuvo relacionada con otros dioses como Apollo Maponus, Belenos, Lugus y Vaelicus

Though Odysseus’ tales to Eumaios and Aninoos in Odyssey 14.199–359 and 17.417–44, respectively, are presented as fictional tales within Homer’s larger myth, some elements have striking analogs in Late Bronze–Early Iron Age reality.

This article examines these portions of the hero’s false ainoi within their fictive context for the purpose of identifying and evaluating those elements. Particular focus is given to Odysseus’ declaration that he led nine successful maritime raids prior to the Trojan War; to his twice–described ill–fated assault on Egypt; and to his claim not only to have been spared in the wake of that Egyptian raid, but to have spent a subsequent seven years in the land of the pharaohs, during which he gathered great wealth.

Through a comparative examination of literary and archaeological evidence from the Late Bronze–Early Iron transition in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is shown that these aspects of Odysseus’ stories are not only reflective of the historical reality surrounding the time in which the epic is set, but that Odysseus’ fictive experience is remarkably similar to that of one specific member of the ‘Sea Peoples’ groups best known from 19th and 20th dynasty Egyptian records: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’

THE CULT OF DIONYSOS IN ASIA MINOR
IN THE ROMAN IMPERIAL AGE

Making his presence, which can be traced long before the Archaic Age, deeply felt mainly in Hellas, Asia Minor and then in Rome throughout the ancient world, Dionysos, depending on the place and time, appears before us sometimes as a god of grape-wine, sometimes as a god of theatre and acting arts and sometimes as a religious power shaped according to the local needs, however, he has generally been a god of nature representing the fertility and abundance. According to the inscriptions, Dionysos was mentioned with many epithetons in Asia Minor of the Roman Imperial Age, and that he was a god of nature bringing abundance-fertility and his many other features can be observed by these epithetons. Depending on the long stated customs, the cult of Dionysos in Asia Minor survived throughout the Roman Imperial Age (especially in the II-III. Century A.D. with festivals, cult associations and structuring, artists (musicians, players, dancers) that served his cult. According to the written records, festivals such as Dionysia, Lēnaia, Anthestēria, Trietēris organized in the name of Dionysos were celebrated. Dance, music and play competitions were made in these festivals maintained by the rich citizens or directors and not commonly known cult rituals were performed. Besides the associations of synodos artists called by different names in different times in the large cities of the west, cult associations broad in scope such as thiasos, speira or cult member groups with large audience in various names were active both in worshipping and these festivals. In order to achieve this, undoubtedly, both artist associations and cult associations had to have a well organized governing structure. Names were given to the cult members according to the task taken. These members also had to pay a membership fee in order to be a member or to continue to be one. Actually, these fees were as important as the epimeletes in the mainta-nance of these associations. In addition, they were supported both mate-rially and spiritually by the Roman emperors or provincial governors. Although the paganic religious activities in the lands of Asia Minor under the control of Rome were left to the free will of the cities, they would not be strong without the respect shown for the cults of the emperors, emperor and the Roman goddess (Dea Roma). The worshipping of Dionysos could only develop with the close relations with the emperors and the Roman Empire. Correspondingly, supporting a paganic cult significant for the people, the Roman Empire gained the sympathy of the people and also kept them loyal to Rome. The deification of the Roman emperors began with General Marcus Antonius, who was wellcomed as “New Dionysos” on his arrival to Ephesos, and continued in the Roman Imperial Age. During this period the associations in Anazarbos, Ankyra, Ephesos, Teōs, Aphrodisias and Sardeis characterised Emperor Hadrianus, Commodus and Caracalla by this epitheton. Thus, they deified them by considering them equal with Dionysos. Dionysos also had common worship with imperial or Dea Roma cult besides the common paganic worship of Zeus and Dēmētēr. Like all other paganic religions, the cult of Dionysos broke down with the strengthening Christianity with which it had opposite doctrines and finally with the acceptance of Christianity as the official religion of the state. However, many features of the Dionysos cult continued to exist in Asia Minor both in Christian features and local cultures and traditions. Today it still continues this effect.

Arkaik Çağ’dan çok daha eskilere götürebildiğimiz varlığını, coğrafi olarak başta Hellas, Küçükasya ve sonraları Roma olmak üzere tüm Antik Çağ coğrafyasında etkin bir şekilde hissettiren Dionysos, yer ve zaman farkına bağlı olarak, bazı yerlerde üzüm-şarap tanrısı, bazılarında tiyatro ve sahne sanatlarının tanrısı, bazılarında ise yerel ihtiyaçlar doğrultusunda şekillendirilmiş dinsel bir güç olarak karşımıza çıkmıştır. Ama genel olarak bereket ve bolluğu temsil eden bir doğa tanrısı kimliğine sahip olmuştur. Yazıtlardan anlaşıldığına göre Roma İmparatorluk Çağı Küçükasyası’ nda birçok epitheton ile anılan Dionysos’un, bolluk-bereket getiren bir doğa tanrısı olduğu ve diğer başka özellikleri gene bu epitheton’larından anlaşılmaktadır. Küçükasya’daki Dionysos kültü Roma İmparatorluk Çağı boyunca (bilhassa M.S. II-III. yüzyılarda), öncesinden gelen bir geleneğe bağlı olarak şenlikleri, kült dernekleri ve yapılanması, kültüne hizmet eden sanatçıları (müzisyenler, oyuncular, dansçılar) ile varlığını sürdürmüştür. Yazılı belgelerden bu dönemde büyük ve zengin kentlerde hâlâ Dionysia, Lēnaia, Anthestēria, Trietēris gibi Dionysos adına tertiplenen şenliklerin kutlandığını; masrafları, epimeletes olarak bildiğimiz kentin zengin vatandaşları ya da yöneticileri tarafından karşılanan bu şenliklerde külte ilişkin dans, müzik ve oyun yarışmaların yapıldığını ve herkesçe bilinmeyen kült ritüellerinin uygulandığını öğrenmekteyiz. Bilhassa batı kesimlerdeki büyük kentlerdeki, farklı dönemlerde farklı isimlerle anılan synodos sanatçı derneklerinin yanında thiasos, speira gibi daha geniş kapsamlı kült dernekleri ya da en yaygını mystai olan çeşitli adlar altında toplanan geniş kitleli kült üye grupları hem tapınımda, hem de bu şenliklerde aktif olmuşlardır. Şüphesiz ki bunu gerçekleştirebilmek adına gerek sanatçı dernekleri gerekse kült dernekleri, iyi organize olmuş bir idari yapılanmaya sahip olmak durumundaydı. Bu derneklerde üstlendikleri görevlere göre adlandırılan kült üyelerinin, üye olabilmeleri veya üyeliklerini sürdü-rebilmeleri için ödemek zorunda oldukları aidatlar da vardı. Esasen bu derneklerin finansmanının karşılanmasında bu aidatlar, en az epimeletes’ ler kadar önemliydi. Ayrıca Roma imparatorlarının ya da eyalet yöneticilerinin hem manevi hem de maddi desteğini alıyorlardı. Zira bu dönemde Roma egemenliği altında bulunan Küçükasya topraklarındaki pagan dinsel yaşam her ne kadar kentlerin özgür iradesine bırakılmışsa da, imparatorlara, imparator ve Roma Tanrıçası (Dea Roma) kültüne gösterilen saygı olmaksızın güçlü kalamazdı. Küçükasya Dionysos tapınımı da, tamamıyla imparatorlar ve Roma İmparatorluğu ile kurulan güçlü bağlar sayesinde gelişebilmiştir. Bununla paralel olarak da Roma İmparatorluğu, halk için önemli olan pagan bir kültü destekleyerek, hem halkın sempatisini kazanmakta, hem de böylece onların Roma’ya olan bağlılığını sürdürmek amacını gütmekteydi. General Marcus Antonius’un Ephesos’a gelişinde “Yeni Dionysos” olarak karşılanmasıyla başlayan Romalı devlet adamlarını tanrılaştırma geleneği, Roma İmparatorluk Çağı’nda da sürmüş; bu dönemde özellikle Anazarbos, Ankyra, Ephesos, Teōs, Aphrodisias ve Sardeis’teki dernekler, İmparator Hadrianus, Commodus ve Caracalla’yı bu sıfatla nitelendirmişler, böylece onları Dionysos ile bir tutarak tanrılaştırmışlardır. İmparatorluk veya Dea Roma kültü ile ortak tapınımı da görülen Dionysos’un Zeus ve Dēmētēr gibi pagan tanrı-tanrıçalarla da ortak tapınımı söz konusudur. Diğer pagan dinler gibi Dionysos kültünün yıkımı da, öğretilerinin birbirine tamamen ters düştüğü Hıristiyanlık dininin güçlenmesiyle ve nihayetinde M.S. 391’de imparatorluğun resmî dini olmasıyla gerçekleşmiştir. Ancak Dionysos kültünün birçok unsuru, Küçükasya topraklarında, gerek Hıristiyanlık unsurlarında gerekse halk kültür ve geleneklerinde yaşamaya devam etmiştir. Bugün de bu etkisini göstermeye devam etmektedir."

SEG 60-1998. Religion. Dionysos: his cult in Asia Minor, Imperial period:
On the basis of archaeological, numismatic, and (mainly) epigraphic attestations, B.Öztürk,Roma imparatorluk çağı Küçükasaysı’nda Dionysos kültü (Istanbul 2010), studies the cult ofΔιόνυσος in Roman Asia Minor. After general remarks about the god, he presents a geographically arranged catalogue of the relevant inscriptions with brief comments (ph. of some texts). On 196-209, Ö. provides a register with explanations of the most important terms found in the inscriptions, and on 210/211 a list of epithets.

In Interpreting Ancient Egyptian Narratives, Martin Pehal applies structural analysis to four New Kingdom narrative compositions. The study explains the strong configurational character of ancient Egyptian (mythological) thought which has the ability to connect various ontological levels of human experience with the surrounding world into complex synchronic structures. These symbolical systems are shown to be mediating between the various cultural paradoxes which were inherent to ancient Egyptian society. Axial role in this process is attributed to the institution of positional kingship represented by the Pharaoh. Its transformative function is also put into relation to the special status of female characters who are shown to play the part of the “powerful powerless ones” further personifying the aspects of the mediating function of myth. Gradually, the study outlines a genuinely Egyptian “structural net” of basic mythemes and explains in what way it was possible for such a system to change and incorporate foreign mythological motifs especially from the Near East.

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  Ο Διόνυσος, υιός του θεού Δία και της θνητής Σεμέλης —θεός κι ο ίδιος απ' τη σύλληψη και τη γέννησή του— καταφθάνει στην πόλη των Θηβών απ' την Ασία, συνοδευόμενος από τις «Βάκχες», τις ακολούθους του. Αυτές, ενδεδυμένες με δέρματα ελαφιών («νεβρίδες») και κρατώντας στα χέρια τους θύρσο (κοντάρι τυλιγμένο με κισσό, σύμβολο και φορέα της θεϊκής δύναμης του Διονύσου), βιώνουν την έκσταση που τους προκαλεί η μέθεξη στα ιερά μυστήρια του θεού, ενόσω βρίσκονται σε κατάσταση ένθεης μανίας —έχοντας απελευθερώσει τον νου τους απ' τα δεσμά και τους κανόνες των εγκοσμίων, και έχοντας συνενωθεί σ' ένα σώμα και σε μια ψυχή, η οποία πάλλεται στον ρυθμό των τυμπάνων και δονείται απ' το γλυκό κελάηδημα των φρυγικών αυλών. Σκοπός του θεού είναι να μυήσει τη Θήβα, πόλη της καταγωγής του, πρώτη ανάμεσα σ' όλη την Ελλάδα στη νέα αυτή ελευθεριάζουσα λατρεία.

  Με το τελευταίο του έργο, τις «Βάκχες», ο Ευριπίδης εισάγει «καινά δαιμόνια» στη γνωσιολογία της αττικής Τραγωδίας αλλά και στη δομή της θεατρικής της πράξης, προσπαθώντας ταυτοχρόνως να τα εισαγάγει και στον τρόπο αντίληψης και σκέψης των θεατών· περισσότερο, ίσως, για να τους προειδοποιήσει, παρά για να τους μεταρρυθμίσει γνωσιολογικώς. Οι «Βάκχες» αποτελούν ίσως περισσότερο μια πολιτισμική κραυγή αγωνίας και μια ποιητική διαμαρτυρία απέναντι στο διαφαινόμενο τέλος της ίδιας της αττικής Τραγωδίας, της αθηναϊκής δημοκρατίας και του κλασικού ελληνισμού, και λιγότερο ένα αμιγώς διδακτικό περιεχόμενο με σκοπό τη νοητική αυτοβελτίωση εκάστου εκ των θεατών. Ο Ευριπίδης νεωτερίζει, ανασκευάζοντας τους μηχανισμούς προσληψιμότητας (και, εν μέρει, και αισθητικής) της αρχαίας αττικής Τραγωδίας· την «καταργεί» ως διακριτό είδος ποιητικής και θεατρικής δημιουργίας και την «ενταφιάζει» (ίσως προσδοκώντας μια πιθανή επαναγέννεσή της στο μέλλον, με τρόπο παρόμοιο με τη διπλή γένεση του Διονύσου, του δημιουργού του θεάτρου), λίγο μόλις καιρό πριν κι ο ίδιος πεθάνει με τρόπο παρόμοιο με αυτόν του πρωταγωνιστή του δράματος.

  Tο βιβλίο περιλαμβάνει το αρχικό (μερικώς ανακατασκευασμένο) αρχαίο κείμενο των "Βακχών", σε έμμετρη μετάφραση στα νέα ελληνικά. Η μετάφραση συνοδεύεται από τον σχολιασμό ενός επιλεγμένου αριθμού στίχων και από έναν εκτενή Πρόλογο —στον οποίο αναλύονται οι «Βάκχες» και το περιεχόμενό τους, συμπεριλαμβανομένης μιας σύνθετης ερμηνευτικής θέωρησης της τραγωδίας.

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  The god Dionysus —son of Zeus and of the mortal woman Semele— arrives in the city of Thebes from Asia, impersonating a mortal and accompanied by the "Bacchae", his female followers. The latter, clad in deer skins and holding in their hands the "thyrsus" (a wooden staff wrapped in ivy, the symbol and the carrier of the divine power of Dionysus), experience the ecstasy by participating in the sacred mysteries of the god Dionysus, while being at the same time in a state of divine madness —after having freed their mind from the worldly bonds and rules, united in one body and one soul; their body pulsating in the rhythm of the drums, and vibrating to the sweet warbling of the Phrygian flutes. The purpose of Dionysus is to initiate Thebes, his natal city, first among all of Greece, in his new liberating cult.

  In his last work, the "Bacchae", Euripides introduces novelties in the epistemology of the Attic Tragedy as well as in the structure of its theatrical representation; at the same time, he tries to introduce these novelties in the way of perception and thinking of the spectators (perhaps, more in an effort to warn them, rather than to reform their mindset). The "Bacchae" can be considered more as a cultural cry of agony as well as a poetic protest against the looming end of the Attic Tragedy itself, the end of the Athenian democracy and the end of the classical Hellenism, and less as a purely didactic content which aims at the intellectual self-improvement of the spectators. Euripides brutally modernizes and reconstructs the mechanisms of the theatrical receptivity (and, in part, of the aesthetics) of the ancient Attic Tragedy; he "abolishes" it as a distinct kind of poetic and theatrical creation, and "buries" it (perhaps anticipating its possible rebirth in the future, in a manner similar to the double birth of Dionysus, the creator of the theater), shortly before he himself dies, in a manner similar to that of the protagonist of the drama.

  This book includes the original (partially reconstructed) ancient text of the "Bacchae", translated side-by-side in modern greek, in verse. The translation is accompanied by commentary on a selected number of verses, and by an extensive Prologue (both in modern greek) —in which the "Bacchae" and its contents are analyzed, including a composite interpretive view of the tragedy.

The narrative figures of the Yanuka (the Wunderkind) and the Sava (the Wise Old Man) are among the most enigmatic characters in zoharic narratives. As shown in this article, these figures represent also the narrative incarnation of God and his Son through the mythical figures of an Old Man and a Young Child. The article’s primary focus is on the close relationship between the Yanuka figure as Son of God and that of Jesus. This objective is accomplished through a survey of various textual clues (e.g. the Yanuka as son of the “Holy Mother”; the symbol of the fish; the Bread and Wine mysteries vs. the Eucharist), which, combined, create a mosaic of Christian elements that run through the the Yanuka and Sava characters.

Indus inscriptions hold the key to unlocking the history of pre-Iron Age India and all Indo-European peoples but remain undeciphered for over a century. All prior attempts have been partial, unsatisfactory and unfalsifiable. We decipher the Indus script by treating it as a large cryptogram as described by Claude Shannon. We decipher every sign sequentially using regular expressions and set-intersection. Indus script is discovered to be proto-abugida segmental with signs for consonants and vowels. Indus inscriptions are in grammatically correct post-Vedic Sanskrit. Variants of 76 allographs constitute most signs. Conjunct signs constitute the rest. Our decipherment can read every inscription and we translate 500+ inscriptions including the 50+ longest, 50+ shortest and 400+ medium-sized inscriptions including 100+ inscriptions with conjunct signs. We comfortably surpass Shannon’s criteria for a credible cryptogram decipherment. Brahmi glyphs are discovered to be standardized Indus signs. We find significant continuation of Indus linguistic features and cultural elements in post-bronze age India.

Bu eserde, Pakistanlı general Abdurrahim’in tüm dünyaya yaydığı Barnaba İncil’inin çarpıcı bölümlerin Türkçesini diğer İncillerle karşılaştırmalı olarak ilk defa masaya yatırıyoruz.
Pakistan’daki Begüm Aisha Bawany Vakfı tarafından kitap haline getirilerek İslâm dünyasına kazandırılan bu eserin derinlemesine tahlilini yapıyoruz. Tevhid eri olan Barnaba ile bugunkü Hristiyanlığın kurucusu Pavlus ve kilise sistemini kuran ilk papa Simon Petrus’un Hıristiyanlığını kıyaslıyoruz.
Son bulunan üç ayrı nüsha Barnaba İncil’lerinin etrafında son yıllarda büyük bir fırtına koparıldı. “Barnabas İncili” nüshalarının içeriği ve bunların tam olarak ortaya çıkarılamaması için yurt dışı ve dışı fesat şebekesi elinden geleni ardına koymadı.
Ne yazık ki henüz bu nüshaların tam metni henüz gün yüzüne çıkarılamadı. Tercüme edilen 19 sayfada da tevhitten başka bir şey yoktur. Zikrullah vardır. İbadet etmenin önemi, Allah’a eş koşmama vardır. Elbette piyasada ulaşılabilen ile arşivlerde saklanan arasında tam karşılaştırma şansına sahip değiliz.
Hristiyan literatüründe Barnaba İncili'nin adı nerede geçmişse, oraya bir muhalefet şerhi konmuş,
bu İncil'in, sahte ve uydurma olduğu, dolayısıyla reddedilmesi gerektiği ileri sürülmüştür. Hattâ
bu İncil'in, bir müslümanın hayal gücünün bir eseri olduğu iddia edilmiştir.
Barnaba İncili'nin Müslümanlar tarafından uydurulduğunu iddia eden Hıristiyanlık dünyası, esas
itibariyle bu tavırlarıyla havarisi oldukları ilim ve araştırma rûhuyla zıtlaşma içindedir.
Barnaba İncilinin sırrı er geç çözülecek ve Hristiyan dünyasında büyük bir çatlak, kırılma veya
yırtılma oluşturacak ve hakiki İsevileri İslam dünyasına yakınlaştıracaktır.
Ne var ki, İncil gökten yeniden inse ve bu orijinal nüshada Efendimizi müjdeleyen ayetler
halihazırda elimizdeki Barnaba İncilinde bulunan ayetler gibi apaçık görülse de, onlar, bu eski
inatları yüzünden inkarlarında ısrar edeceklerdir.
Tabii, bir gün bulunan bu İncil nüshası gün yüzüne çıktığında, tarihin yeniden yazılması da
kaçınılmaz olacaktır. Ve o gün bazıları şimdiye kadar yazdıklarından, söylediklerinden utanarak
saklanacak birer delik arayacaklardır.
Çünkü Barnaba bu incili Pavlus’la ayrılmasından sonra Kutsal kitabı değiştirmiş oldukları için
Nikolaycıların komplosuna karşı yazmıştı. Bugünkü Hıristiyan kilisesi, Nikolaycıların izindeydi,
bu nedenle Barnaba İncili’ni reddediyordu.Asıl geçerli “İbrahimi” inancın mirasçısı değildi.
Grek-Roma kültürü Yahudi dinsel iman içeriğini senkretizme (dinleri birbirine karıştırma) ile
şekillenmişti. Sezar'ın yaptığı gibi bir insanı Tanrı olarak onurlandırma çabası, Kutsal Üçlübirlik
doğması gibi putperest kaynaklara dayanıyordu.
Hristiyanlık ve Müslümanlık, ortak noktada tevhid esasında buluşacaksa Barnaba İncil’inin bu
sürece katkısı olacaktır. Asırlarca haçlı seferleri ile dinsizliği temsil eden savaş grubu tarafından
savaştırılan iki din mensuplarına muhtemel Barnaba açılımını sunuyoruz.

This course offers an introduction to the history of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the end of the Hellenistic Age (roughly the 16th to the 1st centuries BCE), drawing on both source materials and modern works. This is a student-driven seminar based on a balance of lectures, readings, and in-class discussions on the societal, religious, and political developments of the Greek world in antiquity. Students will become familiar with the Bronze, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and early Roman periods of Greek history.

The foundation of this course is the geopolitical history of the expanding Greek world; however, students also will engage the importance of ancient Greek culture, literature, religion, art, and gender roles. Through the investigation of texts, architecture, and archaeology, students will gain an appreciation of not just the ruling classes of the ancient Greek world, but also of the daily lives of normal Greeks and Hellenized native peoples.

Suzanne Chaundy's interpretation of Jean Genet's 'The Maids' is a sensory rollercoaster ride. A mash up of morose lighting, minimalist sound and staging and riveting use of contemporary music and costuming alongside many of the original aspects of Genet's intent. Chaundy's direction fuses compelling acting and thoroughly entertaining staging with the provocative elements raised by Genet's writing. The play successfully raises questions around sexuality, class struggle as well as a candid look at the human psych seemingly staying true to Jean Genet's meaning. The story of 'The Maids' follows sisters Claire and Solange in servitude to their mistress Madame, for whom their contempt is highly evident. They play with this contempt taking turns at dressing as Madame and enacting their afflicted abuse and their clandestine plans at exacting revenge for this affliction through repeatedly calculating the steps to her murder. Having framed Madame's lover the milkman, Claire and Solange are shocked to learn of his release and the torment of the possible discovery of their plans forces their instability eventually leading to their downfall. Claire and Solange's dramatisations within Genet's play display a level of habit, emphasized in the repeated scolding's of each other inability to complete, the thoroughly planned murder of Madame. Loosely influenced by the ordeals of the Papin Sisters, it is the contempt with which the sisters view their oppressive mistress, as well as the volatility with which the sisters are afflicted, that Genet's play as well as his contemporary's namely Jean Paul Sartre's are most concerned with. Suzanne Chaundy's version of the text serves Genet's intent effectively. Ben Rogan (Claire) and Matt Crosby (Solange) utilize the highly stylised and somewhat overdramatized characterization that The Maids is assembled with and portray the calculated role reversals involved in the sisters exaggerated portrayals of Madame and themselves brilliantly. Similarly Yumi Umiumare's portrayal of Madame as an ultramodern and often foreign character embraces the other worldly quality of Madame's disposition. La Mamma's cramped space, although does add some difficulty to viewing the play, adds an element of intimacy and candidness uncommon in larger theatres and allows for an involved and extremely moving understanding within the spectator. The fourth wall is completely broken down at times, with actors moving in and out amongst the audience, not only heightening the actors portrayals but allowing for captivating theatre.

Despite increasing public attention to animal suffering, little seems to have changed: Human beings continue to exploit billions of animals in factory farms, medical laboratories, and elsewhere. In this wide-ranging and perceptive study, Lisa Kemmerer shows how spiritual writings and teachings in seven major religious traditions can help people to consider their ethical obligations toward other creatures.

Dr. Kemmerer examines the role of nonhuman animals in scripture and myth, in the lives of religious exemplars, and by drawing on foundational philosophical and moral teachings. She begins with a study of indigenous traditions around the world, then focuses on the religions of India (Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain) and China (Daoism and Confucianism), and finally, religions of the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). At the end of each chapter, Kemmerer explores the inspiring lives and work of contemporary animal advocates who are motivated by a personal religious commitment.

Animals and World Religions demonstrates that rethinking how we treat nonhuman animals is essential for anyone claiming one of the world's great religions.

Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry (SHERM) is a biannual, not-for-profit, peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes the latest social scientific, historiographic, and ecclesiastic research on religious institutions and their practices. SHERM is dedicated to the critical and scholarly inquiry of historical and contemporary religious phenomena, both from within particular religious traditions and across cultural boundaries, so as to inform the broader socio-historical analysis of religion and its related fields of study.

In partnership with the FaithX Project, SHERM is a full, no-fee, open access academic journal, which means it publishes and publicly makes available your research without charging subscription dues or publishing fees. Whereas other open access journals still require authors to pay for making their publications available, SHERM believes in making high-quality scholarship accessible to the public while promoting the wide dissemination and visibility of your published article. Our goal is to increase the opportunity for erudite academicians to publish their work, gain a larger readership outside the confines of conventional journals, and receive citations from future researchers.

Edited and Translated into English by Brian Duvick XXXVII. After the Trojans saw this, Antenor, Aeneas, and Polydamas came to Priam, pleaded with him to convene the council and deliberate about their future fortune. Priam convened the council. Those who requested the opportunity to speak he ordered to state what they wanted. Antenor recalled that the principal defenders of Troy, Hector and his other sons, had been killed with the foreign leaders, that the Argives still had their bravest-Agamemnon, Menelaus, Neoptolemus, who was no less brave than his father, Diomedes, Locrian Ajax, and several others, including men of the highest good sense-Nestor, Ulysses. In contrast, he said, the Trojans had been shut up and worn out with fear. He argued instead to return Helena and the goods that Alexander had taken with her companions and to make peace. After they talked about procuring peace with lengthy speeches, Amphimachus stood up, a young son of Priam, very brave, delivered a horrid speech against Antenor and those who had consented. He upbraided their deeds, argued instead to muster the army and invade the camp until victorious or fall for the fatherland defeated. After he concluded, Aeneas stood up, contested Amphimachus with calm and gentle words, argued to seek peace from the Argives with urgency. Polydamas persuaded the same.

There are no permanent rivers or lakes in Yemen. The only source of water for people living away from the coast comes in the form of season river valleys called wadis. Because of this, many people build villages such as Haid Al-Jazil above the valley in order to make the most of these temporary water sources.

The landscape surrounding these areas are often comprised of vast deserts, and this means that resources are limited. Because of this, house-building requires a little creativity, but as you can see, they manage to make the most of what little they have to work with. Each house consists of mud bricks with wooden floors that separate one story from another, but while buildings made from earth are often associated with primitive mud huts, the structures they manage to build are as innovative as they are sophisticated. They’re also incredibly versatile, not least because they have to withstand the rainy seasons that threaten to wash away all of their hard work. Oh, and as if that isn’t challenging enough, this particular town is also located on a boulder that hangs roughly 150 metres above the valley. Wadi.

Haid Al-Jazil could well be one of the most unique places on the planet. The precarious village is perched on a giant rock and overlooks a long, mostly deserted valley in the Yemeni district of Dawan in Hadhramaut province.

Of the hundreds of people who once called this village home decades ago, a 2004 census revealed a population of just 17, all of them defying isolation, loneliness and some of the toughest topography.

Abu Baker Ahmad Bamousa Al Amoudi, his wife, and their eight children are the only family who live in their home alone; others share.

“My late father advised me to stay here until I die. My father and mother lived and were buried here,” the 49-year-old farmer says as he gives us rare access to his remote abode.

Inside the small village
Al Amoudi’s mud-brick home is one of 45 in the village and one of just three that are habitable. It offers an impressive view of the valley and its palm groves. A fresh breeze blows on us as we enter the property.

Years of heavy rains, erosion and a lack of regular upkeep have left almost 70 per cent of homes in ruins. “Look at my house,” he says with pride, pointing towards his green guest room. “It looks new and beautiful. I quickly fix problems; it survived while others fell apart.” From its position on the clifftop, he is able to keep an eye on his farmland below. Many years ago, he and his neighbours used to walk on rooftops to visit nearby relatives. “We have an interrelated large family [the Al Amoudi tribe] who lived here for ages,” he says.

As we wander around this intriguing village that dates back 500 years, we find out that the architecture of the structures here was partially responsible for many that collapsed. “Look at that house, once it was teeming with people – 30 people used to live there,” says Al Amoudi, pointing to a derelict property coated with clay. A date engraved on its wooden door tells us it was built almost 100 years ago. Rainwater weakened its foundation and termites gnawed at the wooden ceiling and structural pillars.

The streets we walk along are dirty, narrow and quiet. The only sounds that break the silence are those of the farmer’s donkey or the chirping birds overhead. Our host earns a living by cultivating a farm down deep in the valley. His wealthy relatives in Saudi Arabia also contribute to his survival by sending the family money. There is no school or health facility here. There is no convenience store either. The sick are carried on donkey to the valley and then taken by car to a local hospital, which is almost an hour’s drive away.

Generative Anthropology as espoused by Eric Gans and the works of religious historian, Mircea Eliade, cross paths many times in the same abstract territory to do with the origins of humanity & symbolic culture, myth & ritual, and the idea of the sacred. Whether we find contrast and disagreement or agreement and synthesis in their views will largely depend on what we are looking for when we begin. In this brief report, I will make an effort to identify both similarities and differences in their perspectives. To further limit the scope of this investigation, I shall focus mainly on the concept of the sacred, especially as it manifests itself in the lived reality of prehistoric humanity, though the above themes (origin of the human mind, myth & ritual) are related enough to be mentioned as well. With my limited time, the presentation itself will be an abstract of what could become and (hopefully) will become a larger study.