Last weekend was a long one, because of the celebrating the fiesta of Pentecost (Pfingsten, in Germany), and my wife and me, take a trip to the Baltic Sea (Ostsee). And, because Regina, my wife, always disliked social media, I have reduced all my activities and gave me wholly in her hands to take me where she wanted. Honestly, I liked it!
I am a man who always feels dutiful. Whatever I have begun to do in my life, I had tried to make the best of it. Like in earlier times in Iran, when I coincidentally got the chance to play for a short time on stages, until I had to work as a taxi driver in Germany (despite my introversion), I did all I could. I remember once, one of my customers had meant to me that I am actually not a taxi driver but pastoral care!
Now, as a retired man, I began again to fulfil my duties, whatsoever they might be (e.a. writing regular articles in WP) at best. But it seems that I do get tired, wanted or not, and this “free weekend” did me good. You know, I am the kind of who wants to make people happy, satisfied and fortunate. These all give me the same feeling and gratitude, but sometimes it gets too much, and I feel exhausted (my own fault!).
It is enough now to cry, and thank you so much for your shoulders to catch my tears! Let’s tell you about this wonderful trip.
First, I must say that to travel to Easter Germany, for a foreigner like me isn’t so desirable! There we hear sometimes a couple of nasty cases happens for the unwanted foreigner now and then.
I was once there, with Al and a Persian friend, in this area. It was at the end of the 90s. Those days, we had felt this antipathy. But this time I had no problem, though I was the only foreigner there as I noticed! May the people have been going to have more apathy than antipathy.
Anyway, as I may mention before, my adorable wife is very active and a die-hard nature lover. Therefore, we had a walk every day:
One of these days, we had walked about four hours, two there and two back. As I remember, at the end of our walk, I had a feeling that I am standing beside me! But to put it bluntly, I enjoyed it all the time.
And of course, we had the rainbow:
And more pics.
Looking after the trees…
That’s one of my favourites!
It was definitely a great adventure pleasure for me. Thank you, whoever you might be, you are a friend surely. Have a great WE. 🙏🙏🤗💖💖
Today, I want to present a strong Pharaoh, not a common one, though. It is a she, a woman! Which, of course, is very rare. However, it is not always so easy to dig into ancient history for finding the truth. There’s a big problem when we look back and read our history: they all have been written by men! Therefore, fairness failed here and there, and finding the truth, is a big challenge, but it is surely worth trying.
Hatshepsut, also spelt Hatchepsut, was the longest-reigning female pharaoh in Egypt (spouse: Thutmose III), ruling for 20 years in the 15th century B.C, who attained unprecedented power for a woman, adopting the full titles and regalia of a pharaoh. She is considered one of Egypt’s most successful pharaohs. Place of Burial: Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut.
Her reign was one of the most prosperous and peaceful in Egypt’s history. There is evidence that she commissioned military expeditions early on, and she certainly kept the army at peak efficiency but, for the most part, her time as pharaoh is characterized by successful trade, a booming economy, and her many public works projects which employed labourers from across the nation.
Let’s have a read on this brilliant research by my adorable friend and Egyptologist Marie Grillot with great thanks.
Addendum: Here in this article, “Aty” will be used as the queen’s name. I don’t know if I have correctly transferred it! You can look at here for more information.
The expedition to the Land of Punt: bas-relief representing the royal couple followed by a servant-painted limestone The New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty – Reign of Hatshepsut, 1490-1470 BC. JC From his temple at Deir el-Bahari (West Thebes) – Egyptian Museum in Cairo JE 14276
In the year 9 of her reign, Queen Hatshepsut decides to lead an expedition to the distant Land of Punt. This territory, which Gaston Maspero called “Pouanît”, sometimes assimilated to the “country of the Somalis”, is thus “located” by the Egyptian Museum in Cairo: “This country is a place located near the Red Sea and the south of the ‘Egypt (Southern Sudan or present-day Eritrea) “. As for Jean-Pierre Corteggiani, he could not be more “consensual” on the location of this famous region: “whose exact location is still a problem for Egyptologists, some continuing to want it African, others. preferring Arabic, when she may just be both at the same time.
The maritime expedition – made up of at least five boats and longboats – is placed under the high command of Panehsy: it will last no less than three years! It can be described as “peaceful” and mainly takes the form of a “commercial exchange”. Egypt brings its own “commodities” and “manufactured” objects and receives, in return, gold, electrum, panther skins, ebony, ivory, animals such as monkeys, giraffes, felines, …
To all this is added what is certainly the most coveted: the fact of getting the famous frankincense trees, and especially the precious frankincense. The “Antyou” was used in the fumigations offered to the god Amon-Ré, and therefore essential for the holding of religious rituals.
Temple of Hatshepsut – Djeser Djeserou – Deir el-Bahari – West Thebes
This expedition was undoubtedly a highlight of Hatshepsut’s reign. Thus, various episodes of this “journey” have been reproduced on the south portico of the second terrace of her temple of Deir el-Bahari, the “Djeser Djeserou”.
If we are allowed to admire today, “in situ”, this “stone comic” composed mostly of “original” scenes. It should be remembered that, at the end of the 19th century, certain bas-reliefs were “cut out” and stolen. They later took the road to the Cairo Museum and were replaced “on the spot” by copies.
Scenes from the expedition to the Land of Punt – Temple of Deir el-Bahari (West Thebes) New Kingdom – Dynasty XVIII – Reign of Hatshepsut, 1490-1470 BC. JC
This is the case with this famous “scene”, which allows us to “know” the sovereigns of this land of Punt… Thus specifies Rosanna Pirelli (The wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo): “The prince wears short hair, a long beard and a necklace with three pendants; a dagger is slipped under the belt of his loincloth, and he holds a staff in his left hand “. But we must admit that the representation says “particular” of Queen Aty eclipses that of her husband Parehou and that of the servant who follows them …
In the “Guide to the Cairo Museum”, Gaston Maspero described it bluntly as follows: “The wife of the Prince of Pouanît is represented as a monstrous mass of flesh. It was assumed for a long time that there was a case of kind of steatopygia there, which made the reputation of the Hottentot Venus. Then when this hypothesis had been rejected, we believed to recognize in the queen of Pouanît a variety of achondroplastic dwarf, a sort of lordosis, the particular type of which currently has no representative in pathology “.
The expedition to the Land of Punt: bas-relief representing the royal couple followed by a servant – painted limestone New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII-Reign of Hatshepsut, 1490-1470 BC. JC From his temple at Deir el-Bahari (West Thebes) – Egyptian Museum in Cairo JE 14276 (photo from the museum)
For the Cairo Museum: “Aty is represented with an obese and misshapen body. It is possible that the Egyptian artist decided to present her to us in this way because she suffered from elephantiasis, a disease characterized by the hypertrophy of a part of the body. It is also possible that the artist has exaggerated a little to achieve a kind of caricature or comic imitation. “
For Rosanna Pirelli: “The figure of the queen constitutes a very special case in Egyptian iconography. The torso, strongly arched forward and rests on short, swollen legs. The rest of the body is covered with bulges. The queen, whose long hair held on the forehead by a headband and ends in a ponytail, is dressed in a tunic, whose belt is worn very low on the hips. She wears bracelets at the wrists and, around the neck, a necklace “.
Bas-relief of the expedition to the Land of Punt: representation of the Queen of Punt – painted limestone New Kingdom, Dynasty XVIII – Reign of Hatshepsut, 1490-1470 BC. JCFrom his temple at Deir el-Bahari (West Thebes) – Egyptian Museum in Cairo JE 14276
In their “Official Catalog Egyptian Museum of Cairo”, Mohamed Saleh and Hourig Sourouzian are very nuanced: “It is with realism and humour that treated his wife with a misshapen body. She was visibly suffering from obesity (we recognize her Decrum’s disease manifested by steatopygia, excessive curvature of the spine, and overflowing flesh on wrists and ankles that have remained relatively thin “).
The royal couple will honour the envoys of Hatshepsut. Thus specifies Abeer El-Shahawy (The Egyptian Museum in Cairo): “When they saw the statue of Hatshepsut, they paid her the greatest homage, calling her ‘the great king of Egypt, the woman with the shining sun ‘. A pile of gifts was deposited in front of the chief of Punt for the Egyptians “…
Pays de Punt: Trees along a river depicted on the walls of the temple of Hatshepsut. Djeser – Djeserou in Deir el-Bahari (West Thebes)
On the ships loaded with all the presents, the incense trees will sail towards Thebes …
The walls of the temple relate to the return of the expedition, and in particular, as Marcelle Baud explains: “The triumphal procession of the return to the temple of Amun which occupies part of the upper register. There, the products are recorded by the god Thoth himself and the incense measured by Hatshepsut in person “.
This painted limestone bas-relief representing a royal couple of Punt, followed by one of their servants, 49.3 cm high and 45 cm wide, was recorded in the Journal des Entées: JE 14276.
It’s been almost a week since Mother’s Day, and honestly, I didn’t want to write anything this year. I don’t know why? Maybe because this year it was on Sunday and I was not in a good mood! (Although it’s never minded which day it is, the mother always remains in the heart.) But it has changed my mind when I saw on Monday, exactly one day after Mother’s day, one of my dearest friend Deborah Gregory announced that her mother had passed away. It hit my heart! First, it’d happened on Mother’s Day. Second, she had just got the news and wasn’t there with her. Of course, I know nothing about her mother and their relationship, but only this point that she couldn’t be by her side to say goodbye, it must take the heart apart. I hope that she’ll stay well and strong. 💕
My mother was not far away from me when she died, I had even seen her on her last day in the hospital, although that wasn’t a nice encounter. But our minds were far away from each other. In the last year of her life, when she got sick, I was in puberty and the highest hippie state, and our relationship has not been the best since our father-in-law was in her companion. Even though I’m missing her closeness in this period of time. I was at an age in which every cell in my body had been desiring to know more, and to quench my thirst for knowledge. It is an essential time in everybody’s life, but we had missed this chance. I wished we have had much more time with each other.
Anyhow, by her post, the memories of my mother took floating in my mind. She kept all through her life only one word for her goal: Love, love for her husband and love for her children. A young beautiful girl with many wishes and dreams gave her best, might not be perfect, but most of her efforts for all of us.
She was an active woman, and when she got blood cancer (Leukemia), she couldn’t even walk. My father in law had brought her to England, and with the help of Cortisone, she got fit again. I will never forget when I saw her at the airport, puffed up through Cortisone, but heavenly happy.
Here, I share a poem from one of the best Persian poet Forugh Farrokhzad, whom my mother had loved so much. Forough died in a car crash on February 13, 1967, at the young age of 32.
REBORN
My entire soul is a murky verse Reiterating you within itself Carrying you to the dawn of eternal burstings and blossomings In this verse, I sighed you, AH! In this verse, I grafted you to trees, water and fire
Perhaps life is A long street along which a woman With a basket passes every day
Perhaps life Is a rope with which a man hangs himself from a branch Perhaps life is a child returning home from school
Perhaps life is the lighting of a cigarette Between the narcotic repose of two lovemakings Or the puzzled passage of a passerby Tipping his hat Saying good morning to another passerby with a vacant smile
Perhaps life is that blocked moment When my look destroys itself in the pupils of your eyes And in this there is a sense Which I will mingle with the perception of the moon And the reception of darkness In a room the size of one solitude My heart The size of one love Looks at the simple pretexts of its own happiness, At the pretty withering of flowers in the flower pots At the sapling you planted in our flowerbed At the songs of the canaries Who sing the size of one window. Ah This is my lot This is my lot My lot Is a sky, which the dropping of a curtain seizes from me My lot is going down an abandoned stairway And joining with something in decay and nostalgia My lot is a cheerless walk in the garden of memories And dying in the sorrow of a voice that tells me: “I love Your hands” I will plant my hands in the flowerbed I will sprout, I know, I know, I know And the sparrows will lay eggs In the hollows of my inky fingers I will hang a pair of earrings of red twin cherries Round my ears I will put dahlia petals on my nails There is an alley Where the boys who were once in love with me, With those disheveled hairs, thin necks and gaunt legs Still think of the innocent smiles of a little girl Who was one night blown away by the wind There is an alley which my heart Has stolen from places of my childhood The journey of a volume along the line of time And impregnating the barren line of time with a volume A volume conscious of an image Returning from the feast of a mirror This is the way Someone dies And someone remains No fisherman will catch pearls From a little stream flowing into a ditch I Know a sad little mermaid Dwelling in the ocean Softly, gently blowing Her heart into a wooden flute A sad little mermaid Who dies with a kiss at night http://www.heliotricity.com/forughfarrokhzad.html
As I look at the photographs and see her lovely beautiful face, I wanna thank her for her heartfelt fondness, and I give her back my adorations. Thank you, mother. I will never forget you.
PS: next weekend, I will be on the way if everything works out! We want to spend some days at the Baltic Sea. I wish you all a great weekend and peaceful times. Blessings
The gods Set (left) and Horus (right) blessing Ramesses in the small temple at Abu Simbel. The bas-reliefs on the side walls of the small sanctuary represent scenes of offerings to various gods made either by the pharaoh or the queen.[6] On the back wall, which lies to the west along the axis of the temple, there is a niche in which Hathor, as a divine cow, seems to be coming out of the mountain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SethAndHorusAdoringRamsses_crop.jpg
The Pharaohs of Egypt have compared themselves with the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, as the story tells. But in the history of human’s archaeology, there are many attempts to make a big show of it. For example, before the so-called Arab Spring, Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s former antiquities minister, had tried many times to make such shows which went wrong sometimes. He is a famous man, not just because of his shows, here, but also because of his crimes! Here , here and here. There are a lot of worthy heritages for us to appreciate respectfully and to learn from.
Among the 22 mummies of kings and queens that will be transferred from the Tahrir Museum to the NMEC during “The Pharaohs’ Golden Parade” on April 3, 2021, is that of Ramses II (CG 61078)
They reigned over the kingdom of the Two Lands. They lived in grandiose palaces, surrounded by their courts and their servants, in luxury, gold and riches… They were powerful, military strategists, builders, diplomats, kings and priests at the same time … they assimilated to their gods …
And then their body got tired, their Ba flew away, for it to become immortal, their remains were placed in the hands of the taricheutes (Embalmers) for a 70-day mummification process …
Then, in the lamentations of the mourners, the long funeral procession crossed the Nile and took the winding and sun-crushed path leading to the “great, noble, necropolis of Pharaoh’s Millions of Years”.
Sarcophagus room – Tomb of Ramses V – VI – KV 9 – Valley of the Kings KV 9 ramsès V-VI
In their sumptuous hypogeums dug by the craftsmen of the Place de Vérité in the bowels of the pyramidal mountain, their heavy sarcophagus was placed as well as their fabulous funeral trousseau then, the door of the tomb was closed …
They were there for a long eternity, doubly, protected by the Theban summit and by the Medja, the police attached to the necropolis …
But that was without taking into account the pangs of history… Towards the end of the Ramesside period (XXth Dynasty), a very troubled period engendered numerous exactions in the Valley of the Kings: looted tombs, mistreated mummies,…
“Rediscovery”, in July 1881, by the Department of Antiquities, of the Cachette des Mummies Royales (DB 320) discovered in 1871 by the Brothers Abd el-Rassoul near Deir el-Bahari
Respecting and venerating the former rulers, the high priest of Amun Herihor who ruled the Theban region at the start of the XXIst dynasty (around 1080 BC) he took the initiative, after the desecration of their homes of eternity, rebury the mummies in a tomb, originally known to have been that of a princess Inhâpi. This collective tomb will be discovered in 1871, in Deir el-Bahari, by Gournawis, the Abd el-Rassoul brothers. The existence of this “Hiding place of the royal mummies” will not be known to the Antiquities Service until ten years later, in 1881. Forty-two mummies rested in the “DB 320” … Among them, Ahmosis, Seqenenrê, Thoutmosis I, II, III, Amenhotep I, Séthi I, Ramses II, III, IX… Queens or princesses were also there: Ahmès-Méritamon, Ahmès-Inhâpy, Ahmès-Néfertari, …
The sarcophagi, mummies and the remains of funerary furniture will be transferred to the Boulaq Museum by the steamboat “Le Menshieh” … “All this funeral pantheon was stowed in the museum’s steamboat (that of the late Mariette) that they had just sent to Luxor. The bridge, the divans, the tables were loaded with royal spoils; Mariette’s bed and each of the rooms we had engaged and which we have occupied since then became the asylum of a king or a queen of Egypt; for the last time, they were descending this river which they so often travelled for a war or celebration apparatus “(Arthur Rhoné).
February – March 1898: Victor Loret discovers, in KV 35, the second hiding place of the Royal Mummies Original page from Victor Loret’s excavation book – Tomb of Amenophis II part 4 March 28, 1898 – Archives of Egyptology of the University of Milan – Loret Fund
Seventeen years later, in February – March 1898, Victor Loret discovered the tomb of Amenhotep II in the Valley of the Kings. The KV 35 did contain the pharaoh’s mummy, but not only … In what will be called the “Second hiding place”, 17 royal mummies had been sheltered in an annexe of the tomb, among which: Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Merenptah, Seti II, Siptah, Ramses IV, V, VI, and probably Setnakht. It also housed female mummies, including that of the “Young Lady (KV35YL) who is undoubtedly that of Nefertiti” (Marc Gabolde) and that of an “elder woman” who “could be the remains of Queen Tiyi”…
Again, according to the same scenario, everything will be transported to Cairo …
But… the rest of the “wandering mummies” is not yet for now… For them begin other journeys …
The royal mummies are first exhibited at the Boulaq museum created by Auguste Mariette and inaugurated by Ismail Pasha on October 16, 1863 – photo L. Fiorillo
Boulaq, created by Auguste Mariette and inaugurated by Ismail Pasha on October 16, 1863, very quickly became too small. The Egyptian collections, including mummies, will then be transferred to a splendid palace in Giza. Inaugurated on January 12, 1890, by S. A. Abbas Pasha Hilmi, this new museum has 91 rooms. However, he quickly suffered from two evils: his remoteness from the city centre and his lack of security …
In 1890, the royal mummies were transferred to the Giza Palace-Museum inaugurated on January 12, 1890 by S. A. Abbas pasha Hilmi – photo by Zangaki
The collections will remain there until 1902 when they will be installed in Kasr-el-Nil (Ismailieh square which, after 1952, became Tahrir square). The magnificent neoclassical building created by Marcel Dourgnon, will be inaugurated on November 15, 1902, by the Khedive Abbas Hilmi II.
However, the public display of the royal mummies will come to an end under Sadat’s presidency. It was doubly motivated by a “safeguard” both “physical” and “moral”. Indeed, as Christian Leblanc explains: “Under a warm glass roof on the first floor, exposed, not to say exhibited without conditioning and to the indiscreet, even disrespectful gaze of thousands of visitors a day, the mummies were suffering”. And, on the other hand, the Raise evoked the immoral aspect: “I cannot agree to display the remains of the Egyptian pharaohs in exhibitions for people to see. This goes against the commandments of the three religions. : Islam, Christianity and Judaism “.
The Getty Conservation Institute will then be mandated to carry out in-depth studies which will lead to a new exhibition of mummies, respectful and “secure” in an adequate space being totally dedicated to them … Voices are still being raised against this exhibition. disrespectful and irreverent towards the former rulers …
And now, in this very month of April 2021, they move again for another home: the last?
It is indeed towards the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization that will head, this April 3, 2021, “The pharaohs’ golden parade”, which wants to be worthy of the last convoy having led them to the Valley of the Kings …
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC), located at El Fustat in the old part of Cairo, overlooking Lake Ain El-Seera, will host the royal mummies from April 3, 2021 – photo Travel Notes
The NMEC is the first real museum of Egyptian civilization. “It is located on the archaeological site of El-Fustat in the oldest part of Cairo, overlooking Lake Ain El-Seera. The museum was designed by Egyptian architect El Ghazzali Kosseiba and interior architecture by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. The NMEC will present Egyptian civilization, from prehistoric times to the present day, through a multidisciplinary approach highlighting the tangible and intangible heritage of the country “specifies Unesco”.
Among the exhibition rooms, in a suitable temperature, and in a museography attached to respect and meditation, a specially dedicated hall will host twenty-two royal mummies: nineteen of pharaohs: Seqenenrê, Amenhotep I, Thutmose I, Thutmose II, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, Thutmose IV, Amenhotep III, Sethi I, Ramses II, Merenptah, Sethi II, Siptah, Ramses III, Ramses IV, Ramses V, Ramses VI, Ramses IX, and three queens: Ahmes- Nefertari, Méritamon, Tiyi.
In one of the first articles announcing this transfer – which was initially scheduled for early December 2020 – Nevine El-Aref (Al-Ahram, 11-8-2020) provided this valuable information: “The mummy room is designed to resemble the Royal Tombs in the Valley of the Kings from Luxor. There is a slope leading up to it, where visitors will come face to face with the royal mummies in a dimly lit room painted black. ‘The NMEC exhibition committee chose black as the colour of the mummies room so as not to disturb visitors during their visit and to make the mummies the protagonists of the exhibition ‘said Mahmoud Mabrouk, advisor to the Ministry of Antiquities for the exhibition scenarios “.
She had also specified that 17 royal coffins had already joined the NMEC and unveiled part of the organization of the transfer of mummies: “The royal procession which will take place on this occasion will bring spectators back to the ancient Egyptian period, when the kings and the queens were transported to their graves, to eternity. The new procession will see the royal mummies transported on the Nile then accompanied by chariots and horses “…
Military vehicle dedicated to transporting the mummy of Siptah from the Tahrir Museum to the NMEC during “The paraohs’ golden parade” on April 3, 2021, in Cairo
The mummies will be “placed” on vehicles, military, twenty-two “tanks”, revamped in a pharaonic tuning, with a lot of LEDs illuminating protective wings … Each tank will bear the name of the sovereign it carries, written in hieroglyphics, in Arabic and English.
Recent press articles: The latest press releases from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, as well as various photos and videos of the preparations, give a more precise idea of the event …
It is around 6 pm, at nightfall, that the convoy will leave Tahrir Square. “It was the Egyptian sound and light company that carried out the technical and artistic lighting of all the buildings in this Khedival square,” says archaeologist and researcher Ahmed Amer. In addition: “an obelisk of Ramses II from the temple of Amun in Tanis, as well as four rams from the temple of Karnak in Luxor, which now decorate the centre of the square, will be inaugurated during the procession” (Nasma Réda, Al- Ahram Hebdo – 24-3-2021).
The procession, scheduled to complete the 7 km in 45 minutes, will evolve between large feathers of Maât and will be “animated” by performances by artists in period costumes and accompanied by symphonic and military music.
This major event will be filmed and announced by more than 400 televisions and broadcast, live on the YouTube channel and the Facebook page of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities – will take place in particular in the presence of President Al-Sisi, the Minister of Tourism and Antiques, and many other personalities …
It will testify to Egypt’s immense respect for its former rulers: what other people can afford, today, such a “collective” homage?
General catalog of Egyptian antiquities in the Cairo Museum N ° 24001-24990 – Excavations of the Valley of the Kings (1898-1899), Georges Daressy, 1902
General catalog of Egyptian antiquities in the Cairo Museum N ° 61001-61044, Coffins of the royal hiding places (1909), Daressy, Georges
Mummies to the NMEC, Nevine El-Aref, ahramonline, Tuesday 11 Aug 2020 – A version of this article appears in print in the 13 August, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
As I can remember, and learning Greek Mythology by Al (he was my teacher in every stuff), Prometheus was the one who got the punishment by being hanged on the mountain Caucasus, because of bringing fire to human, and his liver being eaten by an eagle.
The ancient Greek myth of Titan Prometheus and his punishment for deceiving Zeus and protecting mankind is known to most members of the scientific community who study hepatic diseases!!, Mainly because Prometheus’ liver was the target of torture. However, the myth of Prometheus is known and cherished by many, because, according to one version, Prometheus created the first man. The ancient poet Hesiod (8th century BC) records that Prometheus twice tricked the gods. First, he offered mortals the best meat from a slaughtered cow and gave the fat and bones to the gods. Then, when an infuriated Zeus punished man by taking fire, Prometheus stole it back for mankind. Accordingly, Zeus punished him in two ways. First, Prometheus was bound on the mountain Caucasus. More explicitly, for students of the liver, an eagle fed from his liver each day, but the liver regenerated overnight. Secondly, Zeus sent Pandora to the world where she released all hitherto unknown evils to humans.
And after I saw the name Ixion in this post down there, I have searched for it because I haven’t heard of his name: Ixion. But there was another name which I never heard as well: Tityus. Who was the son of Elara; his father was Zeus. Zeus hid Elara from his wife, Hera, by placing her deep beneath the earth. Tityos grew so large that he split his mother’s womb, and he was carried to term by Gaia, the Earth. Once grown, Tityos attempted to rape Leto at the behest of Hera. He was slain by Leto’s protective children Artemis and Apollo. As punishment, he was stretched out in Tartarus and tortured by two vultures who fed on his liver, which grew back every night. This punishment is comparable to that of the Titan Prometheus.
While Prometheus is well recognised, less is known about another figure in legends who received the same punishment and whose myth could also be used by modern hepatologists as an ancient example of the phenomenon of liver regeneration. According to Greek mythology, Tityus (Τιτυóς or Τιτυ´ας in Greek), son of Zeus and Elara, was a gigantic chthonic being, living in Phocis and Euboea. When Elara became pregnant by Zeus, he hid her deep in the earth so that his wife Hera would not learn of this. There Elara gave birth to Tityus, who was nursed by Gaia (goddess of earth) and grew to enormous proportions. Tityus was so large that his body was said to cover nine acres. In another version of the myth, Tityus was gigantic even as a fetus and, because he ruptured his mother’s womb, he had to be carried to term by Gaia herself; most likely making her the first surrogate mother in human “myth-history”. When Tityus grew up he made the mistake of assaulting goddess Leto, mother of Apollo, the god of light, and of Artemis, Goddess of hunting. Specifically, when Leto was traveling from Panopeus in Phocis on her way to Delphi, Tityus attempted to rape her, possibly encouraged by Hera. Leto cried out to her children who immediately came to her rescue and tried to kill the giant with their arrows. Tityus, however, was immortal but could be punished by Zeus who had him bound in Hades, the ancient kingdom of the Dead, where two vultures were fed on his liver which, as in the Prometheus legend, regenerated perpetuating the torture eternally. More here
Now, as the punishments all belong to the human’s life, we can understand it well, but let’s learn thereabout a little more by Greek Mythology, what else. I would say!
Punishment of Ixion. Fresco of the Fourth style. 60—79 CE. Pompeii, Archaeological Park, House of the Vettii (VI. 15. 1. p) (Pompei, Parco Archeologico, Casa dei Vettii (VI. 15. 1. p)). http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1322
Ixion was the son of Ares, or Leonteus, or Antion and Perimele, or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes “fiery”.Peirithoös was his son (or stepson, if Zeus were his father, as Zeus claims to Hera in Iliad 14). Wikipedia
Now, as the punishments all belong to the human’s life, we can understand it well, but let’s learn thereabout a little more by Greek Mythology, what else. I would say! With, as always, a great thank, to http://SearchingTheMeaningOfLife
In Greek mythology, Ixion (Ixionas) was one of the Lapiths, king of Thessaly (probably based in Iolkos) and son of Flegias. His son was Peirithus. He married Zeus, daughter of Dionysus or Dionas, son of Aeolus, king of Phocis. He promised his father-in-law a valuable gift, but he broke his promise. In retaliation, Dionysus stole some of Ixion’s horses. The latter hid his anger and invited his father-in-law to a festive dinner in Larissa.
As soon as Dionysus arrived, Ixion killed him, pushing him into the fire. Ixion violated the sanctity law of hospitality for the Greeks with this horrible act, whose patron was Xenios Zeus. Neighbouring lords, offended, refused to offer him asylum or perform rituals that would allow him to be cleared of his guilt. Since then, Ixionas was outlawed, lived as waste and was avoided by everyone. By killing his father-in-law, he became the first person in Greek mythology to kill a relative. The punishment that followed was terrible.
Once, Ixionas, to escape from his persecutors, took refuge in a temple of Zeus. He took pity on Ixion for the situation and brought him to Olympus with him.
So! Ixionas, from one moment to the next, was among the 12 Gods of Olympus who received immortality by eating their divine food, ambrosia, and drinking nectar and lived among them. He soon began to desire Hera, the queen of the other gods and the protector of marriage. At first, Hera tried to repel him discreetly, but soon the aspirations of Ixion became apparent to the other Gods, even to Zeus. For this reason, he called to him a nymph of heaven, Nefeli, and gave her the form of Hera. So, Ixion, falling into this delusion, united with Nefeli and from this union, the first Centaur was born. However, outraged by the filth and disrespect shown to him by Ixion, Zeus inflicted a terrible eternal torment on him, since he too could not die after he had become immortal.
Ixionas was struck by lightning and expelled from Olympus. Jupiter ordered Mercury to tie Ixion to a wheel. Thus bound, Ixion wanders eternally in Tartarus.
The instrument of Ixion’s punishment, the wheel, is rarely described. According to the Commentator on the “Phoenicians” of Euripides (1185), the wheel consisted of flaming rays. Apollonius of Rhodes (3,62) states that Ixion was held in the wheel by bronze shackles, and according to Virgil (Agricultural 3, 38 and Myth. Vat. I 14, II 106) by snakes. Also again according to Virgil (Agricultural 4, 484), the wheel with Ixion was chased by two snakes. Concerning perhaps the first crime: as the punishment for harassing Hera, was the perpetual moving wheel.
I watched this movie a couple of days ago. I had recorded it over a month ago on my recorder but didn’t have time to watch it, and I wondered why this one has not got to the top, like Bohemian Rhapsody?
They are both great made movies about two great musicians and geniuses. The Rocketman might look different. It is just because of two totally different individual persons. But they have the same goal: to create their genius arts and make their dreams come true. (And fight for being free in their ways.)
The answer to my question might be that the audience prefers a tragic death legend for its heroes. Elton John is still alive. Or it might because of Covidvirus and the lockdown of all cinemas. The Rocketman could not run on screen? Anyway, I found this movie a masterwork.
When I watched this movie, it reminded me of a time in my youth when I was relaxed, happy (hippie) and full of wishes. first, I’d like to tell you about those days:
I already got to know Elton John in the early 70s through his first album: Your Song. It was one of these cold winter nights in Tehran when Al and I were at a friend (Bijan) in his basement room. We were there often to talk about the arts and listen to music, and smoke a Joint. In that very night, he surprised us with a newcomer: Elton John. We’d listen to it and were elated. Bijan told us that this LP had got a lot of critical opinions and somehow negative. Some would say that it is too slow or even monotonous. Actually, in this LP is no song to dance to (only chick-to-chick!) I mean, the songs in this collection are soft and poetic with beautiful melodies. One of the best ever.
One of the songs in this album had hit my heart. So intense that I recorded it completely in my brain. I could sing it from beginning into the end without any failure. And not only this, I could copy the voice of Elton one to one. Al meant that: if somebody would not see me singing, could think that it is him, Elton John!
Well, it might be exaggerated a little, but everywhere I had performed my show, all have confirmed that. Although I know I have not a beautiful voice. I have just two talents: I can keep the tone in tune and imitate the voice of the others. (Not only the voices but also I could imitate my lovely actors, like Charlie Chaplin, on the stage, though these all have gone with the wind!)
Anyway, this song called “Sixty Years On”, a beautiful song which, as I go through the second half of my sixties, still sounds in my ears.
“Sixty Years On”
Who’ll walk me down to church when I’m sixty years of age When the ragged dog they gave me has been ten years in the grave And senorita play guitar, play it just for you My rosary has broken and my beads have all slipped through
You’ve hung up your great coat and you’ve laid down your gun You know the war you fought in wasn’t too much fun And the future you’re giving me holds nothing for a gun I’ve no wish to be living sixty years on
Yes I’ll sit with you and talk let your eyes relive again I know my vintage prayers would be very much the same And Magdelena plays the organ, plays it just for you Your choral lamp that burns so low when you are passing through
And the future you’re giving me holds nothing for a gun I’ve no wish to be living sixty years on
And of course, let’s listen to the unforgettable main title song: “Your Song”.
“Your Song” (“Elton John” Version)
It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside I’m not one of those who can easily hide I don’t have much money, but boy if I did I’d buy a big house where we both could live
If I was a sculptor, but then again, no Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show I know it’s not much, but it’s the best I can do My gift is my song, and this one’s for you
And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple, but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world
I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss Well, a few of the verses, well, they’ve got me quite cross But the sun’s been quite kind while I wrote this song It’s for people like you that keep it turned on
So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do You see I’ve forgotten if they’re green or they’re blue Anyway the thing is what I really mean Yours are the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen
And you can tell everybody this is your song It may be quite simple, but now that it’s done I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world
I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind that I put down in words How wonderful life is while you’re in the world
Now, back to what I wanted to introduce you: Rocketman, the movie. You might already have watched it, but I’d like to tell them who didn’t watch it yet; it is highly recommended.
Rocketman is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life and music of British musician Elton John. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, it stars Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen, John’s mother. via Wikipedia .
Taron Egerton does his job so well that when Elton John saw the movie, he was heartily very touched.
Elton John is a great musician, singer and pianist. You will surely enjoy it.
And at the end, one of my favourites. He, Elton John, has opened up on his friendship with Beatles icon John Lennon, describing their relationship as a “whirlwind romance”. The music legends met in the 70s and hit it off, becoming firm friends before John’s tragic death in 1980. That’s why he may here use a Grand White Piano, just as John Lennon had played his “Imagine”.
Sorry seems to be the hardest word What I got to do to make you love me? What I got to do to make you care? What do I do when lightning strikes me? And I wake to find that you’re not there?What I got to do to make you want me? What I got to do to be heard? What do I say when it’s all over babe? Sorry seems to be the hardest wordIt’s sad, so sad It’s a sad, sad situation And it’s getting more and more absurd It’s sad, so sad Why can’t we talk it over? Oh, it seems to me That sorry seems to be the hardest wordWhat do I do to make you want me? What I got to do to be heard? What do I say when it’s all over? Sorry seems to be the hardest wordIt’s sad, so sad It’s a sad, sad situation And it’s getting more and…
I had stopped there where we came out of the building of the airport. To have a check please click here. I don’t know if you have ever had such of impression; belonging nowhere, yes, we were two nowhere man! We had a feeling we’d fallen into Limbo, no idea what would or ever could do. We had given away, and donated all we had, and got ready to leave Iran. Our books which were not a few; were spread among friends and family. Of course, we had actually no certain plan for the future. We knew that we would not back, at least for a long time. The first thought was to rescue our life, but now: what is next?
Al was a little more relaxed than me. He was more optimistic that it might get better, and he’d continue working as a writer, and he was about, may the regime would leave us alone to do our works. I understood him well. His style in Persian literature was extraordinary. It was a complete heritage from our father. What a pity he couldn’t do his genius works. But I wasn’t! I could still feel the pain in my ribs through an everyday getting beaten in the jail, but it was not important at all. I was more often in the society between people and knew this folk needed a long time to practice democracy. I knew that we are still free because of our father fame as a writer, (He has translated many Islamic histories from Arabic to Persian and wrote a lot of stories in his sophistical way).
When I got free from jail, one of the guards in the office took me by the side and told me that I was lucky to get free because the chairman there knew my father well and was a fan of him. But he advised me that there were not so many like this chairman. Therefore, it’s better I’d not appear here again! Yes, we had not to miss this little chance. Time ran fast, and we had to act faster.
We got a taxi and drove to our close friends, a couple whom I knew from the time when I was playing in the theatre. They were a nice pair and trustful friends. They were shocked, first when they saw we’re standing at the door. We had told them what happened and they tried to solace us. But I had to act immediately: first, to surprise my uncle and ask him to try to get us another exit permission.
Then, there was another problem, a big one; to get a new ticket to Germany. That couldn’t be so easy as I knew it. Because many peoples spiring to get out of Iran those days, and all needed a long time reservation to have a flight. Anyhow, I had to try it. After talking to my Uncle, I drove to the flight agency and told the woman behind the pane all the true story. She looked at me with her beautiful eyes, not in the way: what a crazy guy, but with a full understanding. “Here are two free sits for you, in about ten days, that is all I can do”, she said; and wished me good luck! I’ve felt somehow relieved and got back to our friends to tell Al and others about the happening.
I have also phoned my uncle to ask him about the permission. I knew he’d do his best, and he did it as well; he had found another connection which was a more reliable one this time, and he’d also suggested to me it might better to take my guitar with me.
That was an idea which I had once before our first try, to take my guitar, an old acoustic guitar, with me. Of course, for such an action, I needed permission too. In the rule of the Islamic Republic, the one who wants to take any musical instrument within any travel, he/she, had to prove the ability to play it! I passed the test and had a permit, but at that time, I renounced this idea because I was very nervous and didn’t want to be conspicuous. This time, my uncle thought that it might give me some gentle opinion by the transit police. A musician isn’t dangerous! I agreed and took my guitar with me. Anyway, we didn’t have any luggage with us, and it was not a bad idea, I could make some money in the earlier time in Germany.
Women’s day celebration in 87, I suppose. I sing Lennon’s Song: Woman.
I took my uncle’s suggestion by heart, I bought an old Guitar case from a friend and after making an appointment with the Travels Administration, I, accompanied by my cousin, (the oldes Son of my dear uncle), went there to get the new permits for our travel.
These ten days were an unforgettable time-lapse in my life. Al was cooler and enjoyed this as I was getting all things together. Our friends had helped us a lot to spend the time easier and finally, the time had come for the next try.
My cousin drove us to the airport, where we did not need check-in (no luggage!) and went directly to the gates. Those days were not such an advanced technique for body-checking like it is now. Therefore, every passenger one by one, had to pass through a small room for being examined by the transit police. We were still not sure, that with all papers and permits, if they’d allow me to keep my guitar. Therefore, we decided that I go first through the Gate, and if they reject my guitar, Al can give it back to my cousin. Oh yes, exciting and uncertain!
I have entered the room. There were two young men, just over twenty years old. I had to take off my jacket and empty my pockets. After that, one of them opened the guitar case, said; Wow! Do you play guitars? He took out the guitar and asked me to play a little! I took that from his hand and played some accords. He said to his colleague; look here, the good people going away from Iran, we are losing our artists, and turned to me saying; you will not come back, I know for sure! My heart was pumping crazily. I knew they were playing a dirty game, to make a fool of me that I might say something inappropriate. But I gathered my senses together and said what? Of course, I’d come back again. Why shouldn’t I? I would miss you guys!!
Puh! They let me gather my things and get through. Now I had to wait for Al to pass through, and he was faster out than I expected, but with some pale face, I wonder why? He just said; Fu…! He then told me that our cousin was restlessly asking him; has Aladin got it through? At this moment there was police near them and asked them at once; what the hell have you got through? They were shocked, of course, Al continued; and told the police it’s all about a guitar, but he didn’t want to believe it and said that he’d come after us and find out what we had smuggled! That was really Fu…!
Anyway, we walked through the corridors, got upstairs into the aeroplane, and sat in our place, only hoping no more new troubles. I think that my heart, as well Al’s, had never beaten so fast as in these minutes. We didn’t speak a word until the pilot, with his wonderful voice, said hello to us all and wished us a good flight, and we took off.
That was a story of an Escape from so-called freedom into real freedom? (I had to add this question mark because I am a little desperate right now!) And I hope it wasn’t so boring for you. Thank you for your all supports. 🙏💖🤗🙏💖
Hâpy or Hapi, in ancient Egyptian religion, the personification of the annual inundation of the Nile River. He was the most important among numerous personifications of aspects of natural fertility, and his dominance increased during Egyptian history. He let the Nile river flood so the land was fertile and crops could grow. He was a popular god throughout ancient Egypt. He was worshipped more than the sun god Ra. Without Hapi ancient Egypt would have perished.
Here is a brilliant description by Marie Grillot ,of the enigmatic story of this divine openwork plaque. 🙏💖
Openwork plaque representing the god Hâpy – bronze – XXVth – XXVIth dynasty Exhibited at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (Maryland) – museum photo Probable “ancient” origin: Memphis (Mit Rahineh)
This openwork plaque, in bronze, is 18 cm high, 10.2 cm wide and has a thickness of 0.7 cm. It represents Hâpy, the god of the flooding of the Nile.
He is standing in the conventional attitude, left leg slightly forward, bare feet resting on a mat of plaited rushes.
He wears a three-part wig that leaves the ear visible and is surmounted by a tuft of aquatic plants.
His eyes are stretched out. He wears a curled false beard, an ousekh collar, and humerus and wrist bracelets. He is naked: “except the strip of material which he always wears, tied under the belly and falling over the front” in three sections …
With his right arm, he supports a tray of woven rushes on which stand two elegant ewers with conical plugs, while, from his forearm, hang three open lotus stems and two in the bud.
They reach the level of the feathers and the solar disk, which surmount a cartridge that cannot “speak” since the names have been erased.
“Usual” representation of the god Nil Hâpy
The main features of this representation are characteristic of the iconography specific to the god Hâpy. As Isabelle Franco specifies in her “Dictionary of Egyptian Mythology”: “Personifying the flood and the benefits it brings, Hâpy is represented as a man of androgynous forms, only wearing the boatmen’s belt. His female breast is the sign of the fertility that it brings and its blue flesh expresses its links with the aquatic environment … Carrying an offering table loaded with various foods expresses the fertility that provides to men and gods “.
The flooding of the Nile, which the wealth of the country’s land depended on and beyond the survival of the inhabitants, was scrutinized, with attention mixed with fear and hope. Thus, during Akhet, the season of the flood (from mid-July to mid-November), the waters had to reach the “ideal” height, generally fixed at seven cubits.
As Jean-Pierre Corteggiani explains so well: “The concern to know each year whether the ‘coming of Hâpy’ would be favourable explains why we have, since the 1st dynasty, measured and recorded the height of each flood … So that this is the case, we did not fail to make the necessary offerings and sacrifices, to recite the appropriate prayers, or to throw in the Nile female statuettes intended to arouse the rut of Hâpy … Hâpy is both the personification of the phenomenon of the flood, the water itself, and the god who controls the flow “.
Openwork plaque representing the god Hâpy – bronze – XXVth – XXVIth dynastyExhibited at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (Maryland) – museum photo Probable “ancient” origin: Memphis (Mit Rahineh)
This plaque, dated to the Third Intermediate Period (747-525 BC), was, as explained by “The Walters art museum” in Baltimore (Maryland) where it is exhibited (54.2135): “a decorative element which could have covered the door or the lower part of a wooden sanctuary “.
As for its provenance, it is indicated by Henry Walters. Though it was acquired, before 1931, by Joseph Brummer, an American art seller of Hungarian origin, but does not specify its “antique” origin.
When it was loaned to the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, as part of the 2012 exhibition “The twilight of the pharaohs”, Laurent Coulon was responsible for writing the presentation notice … It is rich in information …
Other examples of perforated plates published in “Some vestiges of religious furniture attributable to the Osirian buildings of the divine Theban worshipers The bronze plaques found in Memphis by Daninos “, Laurent Coulon, Egypt. Africa & Orient 56, 2009
“Like a large number of openwork plaques of this type preserved in museums around the world, this one is evidently the result of a find made by Albert Daninos, in 1900-1901, to the east of the palace of Apries de Mit Rahineh (Memphis). The excavator says that ‘all the bronzes were jumbled together, in a small space, in the middle of an uninteresting mud-brick construction, two meters deep.’ The lot also included openwork plaques, mirrors, aegis and counterweights of menat and hieroglyphics in bronze. Georges Daressy, who published the part which was transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, noted that the representations and inscriptions were related with the Theban cult and that the most recent cartouche was that of Amasis, who reigned at the end of Dynasty XXVI. He, therefore, assumed that the whole constituted part of the booty of the Persian soldiers who had sacked and looted Thebes during the reign of Cambyses, at the beginning of Persian domination, this lot having been subsequently ceded to a bronze craftsman from Memphis. This scenario is plausible but unverifiable. At the very least, there is no doubt about the Theban origin of the furniture “…
And he adds: “On these objects, the cartridges bearing royal names were carefully levelled, which for the XXV and XXVI dynasties, leaves open a wide range of possibilities as to the identity of the pharaoh victim of such damnation of memory. “
Dictionary of Egyptian Mythology, Isabelle Franco, 2013
Ancient Egypt and its gods, Jean-Pierre Corteggiani, 2007
The twilight of the pharaohs, Jacquemart-André Museum, Institut de France, 2012
Some remains of religious furniture attributable to the Osirian buildings of the divine Theban worshipers: the bronze plaques found in Memphis by Daninos, Laurent Coulon, Egypt. Africa & East 56, 2009, p. 53-64.
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