Explore Your Spirit with Kala > Blog > Ancient History > How Symbols Awaken Your

Psychic Ability

One day while out shopping, I

came across this chest of drawers with the enchanting symbols carved into the front. When
something catches my attention and activates my psychic senses like this piece did, I know it has to
come home with me. When you have a reaction to a piece of furniture or jewelry or art that invokes
a response of this type, you are intuitively connecting with the sacred energy resonating from the
symbols.

When you are attracted to the symbol, you are psychically recognizing the connection to a
particular symbol from a previous lifetime and for the need to have this symbol back in your life in
order to activate the energy it represents. It’s part of our intuitive soul wisdom, which understands
that certain symbols evoke these energetic patterns within us, reminding us of times past when
we relied more on symbols to communicate with each other intuitively.

The spiral pattern is one of the most popular psychic symbols used by many of us today. Even when
we doodle, we often make the spiral shape without knowing why we did. When we draw the
spiral symbol, it opens up our aura, our chakras and our psychic senses, allowing us to see both our
past and our present more clearly. When we feel connected to the spiral pattern, it indicates that
we are open to change and looking to move forward in a new direction. Have you ever been on
the phone or at work and picked up a pen to doodle and found that you’ve drawn the spiral over and
over? If so, your intuition is telling you that it’s time to make a change in your life.

The spiral pattern is associated with the season of Spring and as I teach in the Academy of Mystical
Arts in Lesson Four of the Wise Woman Wisdom course – Elementals in the Garden: Working
with Sacred Portals when we awaken our psychic ability using symbols, sounds and gemstones that
align with our aura and chakras, we open these pathways to receive communication from the
spiritual planes.
 Each symbol has its own energy
and power and when we gather two or more of them together, the energy amplifies. There is a
purpose to every symbol you see carved in furniture and in historic buildings, columns and
archways. In my work, I often combine symbols with gemstones to amplify the intention and energy
that I am creating. The photo here is an example of a layout I created when working with a client to
help them let go of the heartbreak and pain they were holding onto on the soul level and then
helping them to reconnect to their heart chakra and open up to new love. In this layout, I used
spheres, hearts, pyramids and the spirals in the wand in order to direct the energy into the aura and
higher self of the person I was working with. Each item has a sacred intention – the colors used, the
shapes of the gemstones, and the use of symbols. The placement of each stone in the area also has
significant purpose for the best energetic connection.

For now though, let’s look again at this chest of drawers that I purchased. I’m always intrigued to
hear what people see and feel when they see this piece. Almost everyone focuses first on the round
symbol in the middle.

What’s interesting is that people see different creatures and shapes within the symbol.
 Look for yourself, what do you see
here in the circle?

Some people see two swans with their graceful necks and feathers, while others see two
serpents. Regardless of which image they see, they have a similar reaction, which is that this
symbol evokes a memory for them of being in an ancient temple, perhaps in Greece or Egypt, but
always a very old and sacred place where they first learned the wisdom teachings.

This is the same energy that the chest evoked for me. I knew it was meant to come to my office to
safely hold the items in a sacred space that are sent to students who study at my Academy of
Mystical Arts & Spiritual Sciences. Each item placed in this chest is being charged with
the ancient wisdom and universal energy generated by these symbols. Many of the symbols on
this chest are similar to the ones used when I taught these same esoteric mystery school teachings to
students in temples and schools back in ancient times.

Looking further at the chest, the next thing most people notice are the wave symbols at the top of
the chest and the bottom. These wave symbols are part of the Ancient Greek symbols called
Meanders, Waves, and Keys, which have been used throughout Greek design.
 Ancient Greek Sacred Symbols
The scallop symbol above the heads is another ancient symbol representing the Divine Feminine
Wisdom and if you keep looking, you’ll find even more ancient sacred symbols.

These symbols are part of Sacred Geometry and are found in nature as well as in art and
architecture, similar to the Fibonacci Sequence design.

These symbols radiate with wisdom, power and intention. When we connect with the energy
emanating from sacred symbols, we can draw that energy into our aura to awaken or enhance our
psychic abilities. We can also charge and direct items with this energy using the symbols. When we
draw the spiral symbol, we are opening a portal to our higher self and communicating with the
spirit realms, indicating that we are ready for a new journey and change in our lives. When we
understand why we have been unconsciously drawing this symbol, we can then take action and
focus our energy into intentionally drawing the spiral symbol while also writing down and saying
aloud the change that we wish to create in our world.

This is just one example of how sacred symbols can be used to awaken your psychic abilities.
Interested in learning more?

Come study with me at Kala’s Academy of Mystical Arts & Spiritual Sciences and sign up for my
free newsletter to be the first to get the details on when my new webinar – How Symbols Awaken
Your Psychic Ability will begin.
 Meander-Greek Key

The meander motif took its name from the river Meander, a river with many twists, mentioned by Homer
in Iliad. The motif is also known as Greek key or Greek fret.

Meander was the most important symbol in Ancient Greece, symbolizing infinity or the eternal flow of
things. Many temples and objects were decorated with this motif, and it is considered that there is a
connection with the Cretan labyrinth – indeed - a labyrinth can be drawn using a Greek key.

Meander symbolizes as well the bonds of friendship, of love and devotion and that’s the reason it’s often
given as marriage gift. It can symbolize as well the four cardinal points, the 4 seasons, waves – especially
in the round version of it, or snakes, among others.

Meander (art)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Meander (disambiguation).

Meander pavement in the streets of Rhodes

Golden Dawn meander flag

A meander or meandros[1] (Greek: Μαίανδρος) is a decorative border constructed from a continuous

line, shaped into a repeated motif. Such a design is also called the Greek fret or Greek key design,
although these are modern designations. On the one hand, the name "meander" recalls the twisting and
turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor, and on the other hand, as Karl Kerenyi pointed out,
"the meander is the figure of a labyrinth in linear form".[2] Among some Italians, these patterns are known
as Greek Lines. Usually the term is used for motifs with straight lines and right angles; the many
versions with rounded shapes are called running scrolls.
Meanders are common decorative elements in Greek and Roman art. In ancient Greece they appear in
many architectural friezes, and in bands on the pottery of ancient Greece from the Geometric
Period onwards. The design is common to the present-day in classicizing architecture. The meander is a
fundamental design motif in regions far from a Hellenic orbit: labyrinthine meanders ("thunder" pattern[3])
appear in bands and as infill on Shang bronzes, and many traditional buildings in and around China still
bear geometric designs almost identical to meanders.
They were among the most important symbols in ancient Greece; and perhaps symbolized infinity and
unity; many ancient Greek temples incorporated the sign of the meander. Greek vases, especially
during their Geometric Period, were probably the main reason for the widespread use of meanders;
alternatively, very ocean-like patterns of waves also appeared in the same format as meanders, which
can also be thought of as the guilloche pattern. The shield of Philip II of Macedon, conserved in the
museum of Vergina, is decorated with multiple symbols of the meander. Meanders are also prevalent on
the pavement mosaics found in Roman villas throughout the Roman empire. A good example is at
the Chedworth Roman Villa in England, leading many historians to believe that the pattern was part of
the original inspiration for the Latin "G" character.
Meanders and their generalizations are used with increasing frequency in various domains of
contemporary art. The painter Yang Liu, for example, has incorporated smooth versions of the traditional
Greek Key (also called Sona drawing, Sand drawing, and Kolam) in many of her paintings.[4][5][6] The
meander is also the symbol used by many Greek nationalist groups such as the Golden Dawn.

Motif (visual arts)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Motif (disambiguation).

 Composite capital whose design includes egg and dart, acanthus leaf, and volute motifs

In art and iconography, a motif (pronunciation) (help·info) is an element of an image. A motif may be
repeated in a pattern or design, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1Types of motif
 2Examples
 3See also
 4Notes
 5Further reading
 6External links

Types of motif[edit]
A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in
other works, or may form the main subject, as the Master of Animals motif in ancient art typically does.
The related motif of confronted animals is often seen alone, but may also be repeated, for example
in Byzantine silk and other ancient textiles. Where the main subject of an artistic work such as a painting
is a specific person, group, or moment in a narrative, that should be referred to as the "subject" of the
work, not a motif, though the same thing may be a "motif" when part of another subject, or part of a work
of decorative art such as a painting on a vase.
Ornamental or decorative art can usually be analysed into a number of different elements, which can be
called motifs. These may often, as in textile art, be repeated many times in a pattern. Important
examples in Western art include acanthus, egg and dart,[2] and various types of scrollwork.

Elibelinde kilim motifs, symbolising fertility

Many designs in Islamic culture are motifs, including those of the sun, moon, animals such as horses
and lions, flowers, and landscapes. Motifs can have emotional effects and be used for
propaganda.[3] In kilim flatwoven carpets, motifs such as the hands-on-hips elibelinde are woven in to the
design to express the hopes and concerns of the weavers: the elibelinde symbolises the female
principle and fertility, including the desire for children.[4]
The idea of a motif has become used more broadly in discussing literature and other narrative arts
for an element in the story that represents a theme.[5][6]

Examples[edit]
Geometric, typically repeated: Meander, palmette, rosette, gul in Oriental rugs, acanthus, egg and
dart, Bead and reel, Pakudos, Sauwastika, Adinkra symbols.
Figurative: Master of Animals, confronted animals, velificatio, Death and the Maiden, Three
hares, Sheela na gig.

Gebel el-Arak Knife with Master of Animals motif at the top of the handle

12th century sheela na gig, Church at Kilpeck, England

Rosette designs from Meyer's Handbook of Ornament

 

The Grammar of Ornament Egyptian No 7 (plate 10), image #20

Illustration from The Grammar of Ornament (1856)

Motif in lace

Persian boteh motif on textile

Plant motif, Taj Mahal

See also[edit]
 Iconography
 Three hares

Labyrinth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Labyrinth (disambiguation).

This article contains special characters. Without

proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes,
or other symbols.

Silver coin from Knossos representing the labyrinth, 400 BC.

Classical labyrinth.

Labyrinth at Meis, Galicia, possibly from the Atlantic Bronze Age

Roman mosaic picturing Theseus and the Minotaur. Rhaetia, Switzerland.

Triple spiral labyrinth

Medieval labyrinth.

Chakravyuha, a threefold seed pattern with a spiral at the center, one of the troop formations employed at
the battle of Kurukshetra, as recounted in the Mahabharata.

Labyrinth among rock drawings in Valcamonica, Italy

In Greek mythology, the labyrinth (Greek: λαβύρινθος labyrinthos) was an elaborate structure designed
and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold
the Minotaur eventually killed by the hero Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that
he could barely escape it after he built it.[1]
Although early Cretan coins occasionally exhibit branching (multicursal) patterns,[2] the single-path
(unicursal) seven-course "Classical" design without branching or dead ends became associated with the
Labyrinth on coins as early as 430 BC,[3] and similar non-branching patterns became widely used as
visual representations of the Labyrinth – even though both logic and literary descriptions make it clear
that the Minotaur was trapped in a complex branching maze.[4] Even as the designs became more
elaborate, visual depictions of the mythological Labyrinth from Roman times until the Renaissance are
almost invariably unicursal. Branching mazes were reintroduced only when garden mazes became
popular during the Renaissance.
In English, the term labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. As a result of the long history of
unicursal representation of the mythological Labyrinth, however, many contemporary scholars and
enthusiasts observe a distinction between the two. In this specialized usage maze refers to a complex
 branching multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction, while a unicursal labyrinth has only a
single path to the center. A labyrinth in this sense has an unambiguous route to the center and back and
presents no navigational challenge.[5][6][7][8]
Unicursal labyrinths appeared as designs on pottery or basketry, as body art, and in etchings on walls of
caves or churches. The Romans created many primarily decorative unicursal designs on walls and
floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in floors or on the ground are large enough that the path can
be walked. Unicursal patterns have been used historically both in group ritual and for private meditation,
and are increasingly found for therapeutic use in hospitals and hospices.

Contents
[hide]

 1Ancient labyrinths
o 1.1Cretan labyrinth
o 1.2Herodotus' Egyptian labyrinth
o 1.3Pliny's Lemnian labyrinth
o 1.4Pliny's Italian labyrinth
o 1.5Ancient labyrinths outside Europe
 2Labyrinth as pattern
 3Medieval labyrinths and turf mazes
 4Modern labyrinths
o 4.1Cultural meanings
o 4.2Christian use
 5See also
 6Notes
 7References
 8External links

Ancient labyrinths[edit]
This section possibly contains original research. Please improve
it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements
consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2012) (Learn
how and when to remove this template message)

Labyrinth is a word of Pre-Greek (Minoan) origin, which the Greeks associated with the palace
of Knossos in Crete. It is also widely associated with the Lydian word labrys ("double-edged
axe"),[9][10] and since the double axe motif appears in the ruins at Knossos, it has been suggested that the
original labyrinth was the royal Minoan palace in Crete. This designation may not have been limited to
Knossos, because the same symbols were discovered in other palaces in Crete.[11]
Labrys was a cult-word that was probably introduced from Anatolia, where such symbols have been
found in Çatal Höyük from the Neolithic age.[12] In Labraunda of Caria the double-axe accompanies the
storm-god Zeus Labraundos (Ζεὺς Λαβρανδεύς).[13] It also accompanies the Hurrian god of sky and
storm Teshub (his Hittite and Luwian name was Tarhun).[14]
Labrys, however, comes from Lydian, not Minoan, and the association of labyrinth with labrys remains
speculative.[15] The Linear B (Mycenaean) inscription 𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅𐀅 on tablet ΚΝ Gg 702 is
interpreted as da-pu2-ri-to-jo, po-ti-ni-ja (labyrinthoio potnia, "Mistress of the labyrinth).[10][16][17] The
word daburinthos (labyrinthos) may show the same equivocation between initial d- and l- as is found in
the variation of the early Hittite royal name Tabarna / Labarna (where written t- may represent
phonetic d-). The original Minoan word, which is attested in Linear A tablets, appears to refer to
labyrinthine underground grottoes, such as seen at Gortyn.[18] Pliny the Elder's four examples of
labyrinths are all complex underground structures,[19] and this appears to have been the standard
Classical understanding of the word.
By the 4th century BC, the Greeks also associated the labyrinth with the familiar "Greek key" patterns of
endlessly running meanders.[20] Coins from Knossos were struck with the labyrinth symbol in the 5th
through 3rd centuries BC. The predominant labyrinth form during this period is the simple seven-circuit
style known as the classical labyrinth, and over time the term labyrinth came to be applied to any
unicursal maze, whether of a particular circular shape (illustration) or rendered as square.
Cretan labyrinth[edit]
When the Bronze Age site at Knossos was excavated by explorer Arthur Evans, the complexity of the
architecture prompted him to suggest that the palace had been the original of the Minotaur Labyrinth.
Evans found various bull motifs, including an image of a man leaping over the horns of a bull, as well as
depictions of a labrys carved into the walls. On the strength of a passage in the Iliad,[21] it has been
suggested that the palace was the site of a dancing-ground made for Ariadne by the
craftsman Daedalus,[22][23] where young men and women, of the age of those sent to Crete as prey for the
Minotaur, would dance together. By extension, in popular legend the palace is associated with the myth
of the Minotaur.
In the 2000s, archaeologists explored other potential sites of the labyrinth.[24] Oxford
University geographer Nicholas Howarth believes that 'Evans's hypothesis that the palace of Knossos is
also the Labyrinth must be treated sceptically.'[24] Howarth and his team conducted a search of an
underground complex known as the Skotino cave but concluded that it was formed naturally. Another
contender is a series of underground tunnels at Gortyn, accessed by a narrow crack but expanding into
interlinking caverns. Unlike the Skotino cave, these caverns have smooth walls and columns, and
appear to have been at least partially man-made. This site corresponds to an unusual labyrinth symbol
on a 16th-century map of Crete contained in a book of maps in the library of Christ Church, Oxford. A
map of the caves themselves was produced by the French in 1821. The site was also used by German
soldiers to store ammunition during the Second World War. Howarth's investigation was shown on a
documentary[25] produced for the National Geographic Channel.
Herodotus' Egyptian labyrinth[edit]
Even more generally, labyrinth might be applied to any extremely complicated maze-like
structure. Herodotus, in Book II of his Histories, describes as a "labyrinth" a building complex in Egypt,
"near the place called the City of Crocodiles", that he considered to surpass the pyramids:
It has twelve covered courts — six in a row facing north, six south — the gates of the one range exactly
fronting the gates of the other. Inside, the building is of two storeys and contains three thousand rooms,
of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in
the upper storey, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I
can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they
contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The
upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men;
the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder
to me, as we passed from a courtyard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more
rooms and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like
the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white
marble and surrounded by a colonnade.[26]
During the 19th century, the remains of the Labyrinth were discovered "11½ miles from the pyramid
of Hawara, in the province of Faioum."[27] The Labyrinth was likely modified and added upon "at various
times. The names of more than one king have been found there, the oldest name being that
of Amenemhat III.[27] "It is unnecessary to imagine more than that it was monumental, and a monument
of more than one king of Egypt."[27]
In 1898, the Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities described the structure as "the largest of all the
temples of Egypt, the so-called Labyrinth, of which, however, only the foundation stones have been
preserved."[28]
Herodotus' description of the Egyptian Labyrinth inspired some central scenes in Bolesław Prus'
1895 historical novel, Pharaoh.
Pliny's Lemnian labyrinth[edit]
Pliny the Elder's Natural History (36.90) lists the legendary Smilis, reputed to be a contemporary of
Daedalus, together with the historical mid-sixth-century BC architects and sculptors Rhoikos and
Theodoros as two of the makers of the Lemnian labyrinth, which Andrew Stewart[29] regards as
"evidently a misunderstanding of the Samian temple's location en limnais ['in the marsh']."
Pliny's Italian labyrinth[edit]
According to Pliny, the tomb of the great Etruscan general Lars Porsena contained an underground
maze. Pliny's description of the exposed portion of the tomb is intractable; Pliny, it seems clear, had not
observed this structure himself, but is quoting the historian and Roman antiquarian Varro.
Ancient labyrinths outside Europe[edit]

Carving showing the warrior Abhimanyu entering the chakravyuha – Hoysaleswara temple, Halebidu, India

A design essentially identical to the 7-course "classical" pattern appeared in Native American culture,
the Tohono O'odham people labyrinth which features I'itoi, the "Man in the Maze". The Tonoho O'odham
pattern has two distinct differences from the classical: it is radial in design, and the entrance is at the top,
where traditional labyrinths have the entrance at the bottom (see below). The earliest appearances
cannot be dated securely; the oldest is commonly dated to the 17th century.[30]
A prehistoric petroglyph on a riverbank in Goa shows the same pattern and has been dated to circa
2500 BC.[31] Other examples have been found among cave art in northern India and on a dolmen shrine
in the Nilgiri Mountains, but are difficult to date accurately. Early labyrinths in India all follow the
Classical pattern; some have been described as plans of forts or cities.[32][better source needed]
Labyrinths appear in Indian manuscripts and Tantric texts from the 17th century onward. They are often
called "Chakravyuha" in reference to an impregnable battle formation described in the
ancient Mahabharata epic. Lanka, the capital city of mythic Rāvana, is described as a labyrinth in the
1910 translation of Al-Beruni's India (c. 1030 AD) p. 306 (with a diagram on the following page).[33]
By the White Sea, notably on the Solovetsky Islands, there have been preserved more than 30 stone
labyrinths. The most remarkable monument is the Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island - a group
of 13–14 stone labyrinths on 0.4 km2 area of one small island. These labyrinths are thought to be 2,000–
3,000 years old.
Labyrinth as pattern[edit]
In antiquity, the less complicated labyrinth pattern familiar from medieval examples was already
developed. In Roman floor mosaics, the simple classical labyrinth is framed in the meander border
pattern, squared off as the medium requires, but still recognisable. Often an image of
the Minotaur appears in the center of these mosaic labyrinths. Roman meander patterns gradually
developed in complexity towards the fourfold shape that is now familiarly known as the medieval form.
The labyrinth retains its connection with death and a triumphant return: at Hadrumentum in North
Africa (now Sousse), a Roman family tomb has a fourfold labyrinth mosaic floor with a dying minotaur in
the center and a mosaic inscription: HICINCLUSUS.VITAMPERDIT "Enclosed here, he loses life" (Kern 169;
Kerényi fig.31).

Earliest recovered labyrinth, incised on a clay tablet from Pylos

Minotaur in Labyrinth—a Roman mosaic at Conímbriga, Portugal

Sketch by Villard de Honnecourt (c.1230)

Wall maze in Lucca Cathedral, Italy (probably medieval)

 

Illustration of Jericho in a Farhi Bible (14th century)

Basilica of Saint-Quentin, Aisne, France

Cathedral of Amiens, France

Stone labyrinth on Blå Jungfrun (Blue Virgin) island, Sweden

Small turf maze near Dalby, North Yorkshire, UK

Turf maze at Wing in Rutland, UK

 

Cretan labyrinth made with 2500 burning tealights in the Centre for Christian Meditation and Spirituality of
the Diocese of Limburg at the Holy Cross Church in Frankfurt am Main-Bornheim

Portrait of a man with labyrinth design on his chest, by Bartolomeo Veneto, Italy, early 16th century

Minotaur at center of labyrinth, on a 16th-century gem

Labyrinth at St. Lambertus, Mingolsheim, Germany, following the Roman paradigm

Hemet Maze Stone, a prehistoric petroglyph near Hemet, California

Medieval labyrinths and turf mazes[edit]

Chartres Cathedral, about 1750, Jean Baptiste Rigaud

When the early humanist Benzo d'Alessandria visited Verona before 1310, he noted the
"Laberinthum which is now called the Arena";[34] perhaps he was seeing the cubiculi beneath the arena's
missing floor. The full flowering of the medieval labyrinth came about from the twelfth through fourteenth
centuries with the grand pavement labyrinths of the gothic cathedrals,
notably Chartres, Reims and Amiens in northern France. These labyrinths may have originated as
symbolic allusion to the Holy City; and some modern thinkers have theorized that prayers and devotions
may have accompanied the perambulation of their intricate paths.[35] Although some books (in particular
guidebooks) suggest that the mazes on cathedral floors served as substitutes for pilgrimage paths, the
earliest attested use of the phrase "chemin de Jerusalem" (path to Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th
century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-Omer.[36] The accompanying ritual,
supposedly involving pilgrims following the maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced
at Chartres during the 17th century.[36] However, no contemporary evidence supports the idea that
labyrinths had such a purpose for early Christians.[37] The cathedral labyrinths are thought to be the
inspiration for the many turf mazes in the UK, such as survive at Wing, Hilton, Alkborough, and Saffron
Walden.
Over the same general period, some 500 or more non-ecclesiastical labyrinths were constructed
in Scandinavia. These labyrinths, generally in coastal areas, are marked out with stones, most often in
the simple 7- or 11-course classical forms. They often have names which translate as "Troy Town".
They are thought to have been constructed by fishing communities: trapping malevolent trolls or winds
in the labyrinth's coils might ensure a safe fishing expedition. There are also stone labyrinths on
the Isles of Scilly, although none is known to date from before the nineteenth century.
There are examples of labyrinths in many disparate cultures. The symbol has appeared in various forms
and media (petroglyphs, classic-form, medieval-form, pavement, turf, and basketry) at some time
throughout most parts of the world, from Native North and South America to Australia, Java, India,
and Nepal.
Modern labyrinths[edit]
This section possibly contains original research. Please improve
it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements
consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2012) (Learn
how and when to remove this template message)

Labyrinth on floor of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in labyrinths and a revival in labyrinth building,
of both unicursal and multicursal patterns.[38] In modern imagery, the labyrinth of Daedalus is often
represented by a multicursal maze, in which one may become lost.
The Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges was entranced with the idea of the labyrinth, and used it
extensively in his short stories (such as "The House of Asterion" in The Aleph). His use of it has inspired
other authors (e.g. Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves).
Additionally, Roger Zelazny's fantasy series, The Chronicles of Amber, features a labyrinth, called "the
Pattern", which grants those who walk it the power to move between parallel worlds. The avant-garde
multi-screen film, In the Labyrinth, presents a search for meaning in a symbolic modern labyrinth.
In Rick Riordan's series Percy Jackson & the Olympians, the events of the fourth novel The Battle of the
Labyrinth predominantly take place within the labyrinth of Daedalus, which has followed the heart of the
West to settle beneath the United States. Australian author Sara Douglass incorporated some
labyrinthine ideas in her series The Troy Game, in which the Labyrinth on Crete is one of several in the
ancient world, created with the cities as a source of magical power. Lawrence Durrell's The Dark
Labyrinth depicts travelers trapped underground in Crete. A magical labyrinth, based on the original
myth, appears in the third episode of The Librarians ("And The Horns of a Dilemma").
The labyrinth is also treated in contemporary fine arts. Examples include Piet Mondrian's Dam and
Ocean (1915), Joan Miró's Labyrinth (1923), Pablo Picasso's Minotauromachia (1935), M. C.
Escher's Relativity (1953), Friedensreich Hundertwasser's Labyrinth (1957), Jean Dubuffet's Logological
Cabinet (1970), Richard Long's Connemara sculpture (1971), Joe Tilson's Earth Maze (1975), Richard
Fleischner's Chain Link Maze (1978), István Orosz's Atlantis Anamorphosis (2000), Dmitry
Rakov's Labyrinth (2003), and drawings by contemporary American artist Mo Morales employing what
the artist calls "Labyrinthine projection". The Italian painter Davide Tonato has dedicated many of his
artistic works to the labyrinth theme.[39]
Mark Wallinger has created a set of 270 enamel plaques of unicursal labyrinth designs, one for every
tube station in the London Underground, to mark the 150th anniversary of the Underground. The
plaques were installed over a 16-month period in 2013 and 2014, and each is numbered according to its
position in the route taken by the contestants in the 2009 Guinness World Record Tube Challenge.[40][41]
Labyrinths and mazes have been embraced by the video game industry, and countless video games
include such a feature.
Cultural meanings[edit]
Prehistoric labyrinths are believed[by whom?]to have served as traps for malevolent spirits or as defined
paths for ritual dances. However, one function of the labyrinth in Christian places of worship may been
apotropaic, since complex designs were thought to frighten and "prevent demons access", according to
the author Ruth Mellinkoff [see:'Averting Demons', page 164, vol 2, 2004]. In medieval times, the
labyrinth symbolized a hard path to God with a clearly defined center (God) and one entrance (birth). In
their cross-cultural study of signs and symbols, Patterns that Connect, Carl Schuster and Edmund
Carpenter present various forms of the labyrinth and suggest various possible meanings, including not
only a sacred path to the home of a sacred ancestor, but also, perhaps, a representation of the ancestor
him/herself: "...many [New World] Indians who make the labyrinth regard it as a sacred symbol, a
beneficial ancestor, a deity. In this they may be preserving its original meaning: the ultimate ancestor,
here evoked by two continuous lines joining its twelve primary joints."[42] Schuster also observes the
common theme of the labyrinth being a refuge for a trickster; in India, the demon Ravana has dominion
over labyrinths, the trickster Djonaha lives in a labyrinth according to Sumatran Bataks, and Europeans
say it is the home of a rogue.[42]
One can think of labyrinths as symbolic of pilgrimage; people can walk the path, ascending toward
salvation or enlightenment. Many people could not afford to travel to holy sites and lands, so labyrinths
and prayer substituted for such travel. Later, the religious significance of labyrinths faded, and they
served primarily for entertainment, though recently their spiritual aspect has seen a resurgence.[citation
needed]
Author Ben Radford conducted an investigation into some of the claims of spiritual and healing
effects of labyrinths, reporting on his findings in his book Mysterious New Mexico.[43]
Many newly made labyrinths exist today, in churches and parks. Modern mystics use labyrinths to help
them achieve a contemplative state.[citation needed] Walking among the turnings, one loses track of direction
and of the outside world, and thus quiets the mind. The Labyrinth Society[44] provides a locator for
modern labyrinths all over the world.
In addition, the labyrinth can serve as a metaphor for situations that are difficult to be extricated from, as
an image that suggests getting lost in a subterranean dungeon-like world. Octavio Paz titled his book
on Mexican identityThe Labyrinth of Solitude, describing the Mexican condition as orphaned and lost.
Christian use[edit]

Walking the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral

Labyrinths have on various occasions been used in Christian tradition as a part of worship. The earliest
known example is from a fourth-century pavement at the Basilica of St Reparatus, at Orleansville,
Algeria, with the words "Sancta Eclesia" [sic] at the center, though it is unclear how it might have been
used in worship.
In medieval times, labyrinths began to appear on church walls and floors around 1000 C.E.. The most
famous medieval labyrinth, with great influence on later practice, was created in Chartres
Cathedral.[45] The purpose of the labyrinths is not clear, though there are surviving descriptions of French
clerics performing a ritual Easter dance along the path on Easter Sunday.[45] Some books (guidebooks in
particular) suggest that mazes on cathedral floors originated in the medieval period as alternatives to
pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but the earliest attested use of the phrase "chemin de Jerusalem" (path to
Jerusalem) dates to the late 18th century when it was used to describe mazes at Reims and Saint-
Omer.[36] The accompanying ritual, depicted in Romantic illustrations as involving pilgrims following the
maze on their knees while praying, may have been practiced at Chartres during the 17th century.[36]
The use of labyrinths has recently been revived in some contexts of Christian worship. Many churches
in Europe and North America have constructed permanent, typically unicursal, labyrinths, or employ
temporary ones (e.g., painted on canvas or outlined with candles). For example, a labyrinth was set up
on the floor of St Paul's Cathedral for a week in March 2000.[46] Some conservative Christians
disapprove of labyrinths, considering them pagan practices or "new age" fads.[47]

See also[edit]
 Caerdroia
 Celtic maze
 Julian's Bower
 Mizmaze
 Stone labyrinths of Bolshoi Zayatsky Island
 Troy Town
 Turf maze

Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^

Scroll (art)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Band of running scroll decoration on the 12th-century Indian Hoysaleswara Temple

Chinese plate, Jingdezhen, 1271-1368, with three zones of scrolls with flowers

Austrian inhabited scroll frieze, 1890s

The "Tellus Panel" from the Ara Pacis, Rome, c. 27 AD. A speading scrollwork panel below, scrolling forms coming
off a straight stem in the side panels, and a border band of meanders below the figures.
 Examples of one basic form of the scroll, taken from existing monuments.[1] Note the common core element of the
heart shaped confronted volutes & stem, highlighted in green.
Key: *E: Ara Pacis, sculpture, c. 27 AD *B: Palazzo Mattei, Rome, stucco relief, 2nd century *D: Lateran, Rome, SS.
Rufinus & Secundus, mosaic, 4th century *A: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, mosaic, 691-2 *C: San Clemente,
Rome, mosaic, c. 1200

The scroll in art is an element of ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete
circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though
many types are plant-scrolls, which loosely represent plant forms such as vines, with leaves or flowers
attached. Scrollwork is a term for some forms of decoration dominated by spiralling scrolls, today used
in popular language for two-dimensional decorative flourishes and arabesques of all kinds, especially
those with circular or spiralling shapes.
Scroll decoration has been used for the decoration of a vast range of objects, in all Eurasian cultures,
and most beyond. A lengthy evolution over the last two millennia has taken forms of plant-based scroll
decoration from Greco-Roman architecture to Chinese pottery, and then back across Eurasia to Europe.
They are very widespread in architectural decoration, woodcarving, painted ceramics, mosaic,
and illuminated manuscripts (mostly for borders).
In the usual artistic convention, scrolls "apparently do not succumb to gravitational forces, as garlands
and festoons do, or oppose them, in the manner of vertically growing trees. This gives scrolls a
relentless power. Even if attached to walls, they are more deeply embedded in the architectural order,
which are ficticiously hanging on them."[2]

Contents
[hide]

 1Terminology
 2History
 3Common types
 4Applications
 5Plant scrolls, Late antique to Early Medieval examples
 6See also
 7Notes
 8References

Terminology[edit]
Typically in true scrolls the main "stem" lines do not cross over each other, or not significantly. When
crossing stems become a dominant feature in the design, terms such as interlace or arabesque are
used instead. Many scrolls run along a relatively narrow band, such as a frieze panel or the border of a
carpet or piece of textile or ceramics, and so are often called "running scrolls",[3] while others spread to
cover wide areas, and are often infinitely expandible. Similar motifs made up of straight lines and right
angles, such as the "Greek key", are more often called meanders.
In art history, a "floriated" or "flower scroll" has flowers, often in the centre of the volutes, and a "foliated"
or "leaf scroll" shows leaves in varying degrees of profusion along the stems. The Ara Pacis scrolls are
foliated and sparingly floriated, whilst those in the Dome of the Rock mosaics are profusely foliated with
thick leaves forming segments of the stems. As in arabesques, the "leaf" forms often spring directly from
the stem without a leaf stalk in ways that few if any real plants do; these are generally derived from the
ancient half-palmette motif, with the stem running along the bisected edge of the palmette.[4] Although
forms are often based on real plants, especially the acanthus, vine, lotus and paeony,[5] faithful
representation is rarely the point of the design, as of these four only the vine is actually the sort
of climbing plant with many stems and tendrils that scrolls generally represent.[6] Later Islamic and
Chinese scroll decoration often included more flowers than European designs, whether classical or
medieval (see below).
Scroll-forms containing animals or human figures are said to be "inhabited"; more often than not the
figures are wildly out of scale with the plant forms.[7] Frequently, especially in speading designs, an
upright element imitating the main stem or flower-stalk of the plant appears as a central element
protruding vertically from the base, again as in the Ara Pacis panel. This may be termed a "standard"
but is not a necessary element; it gives the design a top and bottom, which may be appropriate for
architecture or furniture, but many designs on textiles and pottery are intended to have no main
orientation for the viewer. The standard was frequently depicted as a fanciful candelabra
in grotesque designs, in which it is an important element, central to the composition.
Scrollwork in its strict meaning is rather different; the scroll is imagined as the curling end of a strip or
sheet of some flat and wide material. It develops from strapwork, as the ends of otherwise flat elements,
loosely imitating leather, metal sheets, or broad leaves rather than plant tendrils. Rather than the
"profile" view displaying the spiral, the forms are often shown front on with the width of the strip seen. It
begins in the Renaissance, and becomes increasingly popular in Mannerist and Baroque ornament.

History[edit]
Continuous scroll decoration has a very long history, and such patterns were an essential element of
classical and medieval decoration. The use of scrolls in ornament goes back to at least the Bronze Age;
geometric scroll ornament has been found in the Palace of Knossos at Minoan Crete dating to
approximately 1800 BC,[8] perhaps drawing from even earlier Egyptian styles; there were also early
examples in Mesopotamia.[9] Geometrical scroll patterns like the Vitruvian scroll are found very widely in
many cultures, and probably often developed independently.
Plant-based scrolls were very widely used in Greek and Roman architectural decoration, spreading from
them to other types of objects.[10] They may have first evolved in Greek painted pottery, where their
development can traced in the large surviving corpus.[11] In Europe Greco-Roman decoration, probably
especially as seen in jewellery and floor mosaics, was adapted by the "barbarian" peoples of
the Migration Period into interlace styles, often replacing the plant forms of the main scrolling stem with
stretched and stylized animal forms. In Anglo-Saxon art the interlace designs of the early pagan Anglo-
Saxons were partly replaced by vine scrolls after Christianization, and medieval European decoration in
general evolved styles that combined the two.
Another expansion was to the East: "The practice of decorating facades in Chinese Buddhist caves with
figures combined with leaf scrolls was derived in its entirety from provincial forms of Hellenistic
architecture employed in Central Asia"; they appear in China from the 5th century.[12] The (Nelumbo
nucifera) lotus flower was a symbol of Buddhism, and so very often included in these religious scroll
designs from the 6th century on,[13] which was to have a profound influence on Asian scroll designs, long
after the religious significance had been largely or entirely forgotten, and in places where the actual
lotus water plant was unknown.[14]
It was several centuries before these designs were adapted by Chinese potters, via their earlier
adoption in metalwork;[15] indeed an isolated gilt-bronze cup with a vine scroll comes from the 5th-
century Northern Wei, probably influenced by metalwork from the West,[16] and more abstracted or
geometrical scroll designs appear earlier in Chinese art. The paeony seems to have become very
fashionable in China during the T'ang dynasty, and often replaced the lotus flower.[17] By the Yuan
dynasty plant scroll designs became very important in painted pottery. In the Islamic world the external
influences were initially mainly from their Byzantine and Sasanian predecessors, but later, especially
after the Mongol conquests, from Chinese designs, especially in pottery, which themselves had
developed from the original Buddhist importation to China.[18]
Greco-Buddhist art, and direct luxury imports, brought scroll forms to India, for example to the great 1st
century stupa at Amaravati in southern India,[19] from where they spread to South-East Asia, with
additional input from China. There they often became very abstracted in pottery. Japan was heavily
influenced by China. From the late medieval period onwards Chinese and Indian scrolling styles, and
their Islamic cousins, were imported to Europe on pottery and textiles, reaching a peak of influence in
the 18th-century. In the Renaissance Europe had also revived interest in versions of its own classical
styles that more strictly followed their originals.

Common types[edit]
In one common spreading type for wide areas, the basic form of the arabesque is a heart shape formed
from two confronted volutes on stems, shown highlighted in green in the illustration. To this core are
added any number of further volutes, above, below or to the sides. It is thus a motif which can be
infinitely expanded to cover a surface of any size, and indeed this function of decorating plain surfaces,
as a form of diaper, is its chief use. From the illustration it is clear that the form present on the Ara
Pacis (drawing E) erected in Imperial Rome during the time of Augustus, that is to say during the 1st
quarter of the 1st century AD, is unchanged in substance when compared with the form in
the apse mosaic of San Clemente in Rome dated c. 1200 (drawing C). The basic form appears
unaltered during the intervening centuries, and indeed continued in use through the Renaissance and to
the present day.
In other types the heart-shaped core is omitted, the scroll taking the form of an "S" with voluted ends,
generally seen in confronted pairs, as in the mosaics of the Treasury of the Great Mosque of Damascus,
Byzantine work of the 7th century. This form is also encountered at the Treasury in Damascus, having a
pair of volutes turned inwards towards the bowl. The form is generally used alone and does not sprout
further volutes as generally does the core heart-shaped form.

Applications[edit]
Scrollwork (in the popular definition) is most commonly associated with Baroque architecture, though it
saw uses in almost every decorative application, including furniture, metalwork, porcelain and engraving.
In Mannerism, strapwork forms often terminated in scrolls. Modern blacksmiths use scrolls in
ornamental wrought-iron work gates and balustrades, and they have formed the basis of
many wallpaper designs.
Applications of single scroll forms can be seen in the volutes at the head of an Ionic column, the carved
scroll at the end of the pegbox on instruments in the violin family (resembling fiddleheads in nature), and
the heads of many Western crosiers.
Scrollwork is a technique used in cake decorating. "Albeit a bit baroque, scrollwork lends a charmingly
antique quality to the sides of a cake."[20] Scrollwork in wood may be made using a scroll saw.
 

Asian scrolls: Top:Vine with grapes, Gandharan frieze, 2nd century; middle left, Chinese vase, 6th century;
right:Japanese tile, 7th century, Bottom: Japanese, contemporary

2nd century Greco-Roman vine scroll, South Arabia

6th century mosaic floor in Jerusalem with vine scroll, and inscription in Armenian
 

Anglo-Saxon vine scroll decoration, with grapes but hardly any leaves

Late Anglo-Saxon scrolls in a Beatus initial, drawing on classical acanthus scrolls, via the Carolingian
Renaissance

Italian scroll decoration: Medieval, inhabited, at right, Renaissance? at left

 

Wrought-iron spreading scrolls with flowers on a door of Notre Dame de Paris.

San Clemente, Rome, apse mosaic c. 1200

Treasury of the Great Mosque, Damascus, 7th-century mosaic by Byzantine artists


 French Romanesque scrollwork on a capital

Large Bowl (Wan) with floral scrolls, China, Jiangxi Province, Jingdezhen, Early Ming dynasty, 1368-1450

 Charger with Blossoming Peony Decor, early 15th century, probably Yongle period, Ming dynasty,
Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi, China, porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue

Japanese tsuba with geometric scrollwork design, not imitating plant forms

Chinese cup (Guang) in the form of a rhyton with dragons and scrollwork panel
 

Turkish İznik pottery, c. 1550, with "rock and wave" scrolls round the rim

Stylized "cursive floral scroll", Thailand, Sukhothai, late 14th century

 Baroque scrollwork from a church in Catania

Scrollwork and the royal arms of the Stuarts on the back of a violin, English about 1680

 Small Round Lidded Cosmetic Box (Lian) with Scrolling Clouds and Birds, China, late Western Han dynasty,
about 100 BC-AD 25
 

Neoclassical "Vitruvian scroll" in border to the circle; Robert Adam ceiling roundel in plaster

Plant scrolls, Late antique to Early Medieval examples[edit]

 Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. Sides of the apse mosaic, c. 432.
 San Clemente, Rome, apse mosaic, c. 1200.
 Lateran, Rome, chapel of Saints Rufinus & Secundus, apse mosaic, 4th century.
 Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, mosaic in north lunette, c. 440.
 Treasury of Great Mosque of Damascus, mosaics of external walls, 7th century.
 Dome of the Rock Mosque, Jerusalem, mosaic in octagon, 691-2

See also[edit]
 Cartouche
 Curlicue
Index --- style --- turns --- designs --- compare keys --- corners --- 2 dimensional --- modern --- triangular --- circular ---
fractal --- copying --- origins

 Who used Greek

keys?
 An older pattern
 What do they
mean?
 A modern Greek
Key!

Who used Greek keys?

The Greek key pattern has been used throughout

history and in many places. Since it is a simple
geometric pattern, it isn't surprising that so many
people have used it. The ancient Greeks certainly
used it, as carvings on their temples, and on their
pottery. You can see a simple Greek key on the head
band of the famous Charioteer statue found at Delphi
(see left). The Romans liked the pattern as well, using
it in their mosaics. However, it's used elsewhere in the
world. The Dongson (or Dong Son) culture, which was
 centered around the Tonkin gulf in present-day
Vietnam used Greek key ornamentation. It has also
been used by Hopi people in North America.

An older pattern

This tattoo was found on the hand of

a woman, found mummified in the
Gobi desert, who lived about 3000
years ago. The spirals going both
ways looks like a Greek key.
However, a Greek key has a double
spiral, which not only winds to the
centre, but also winds out again as
well. These are simple spirals. Also
Greek keys tend to connect from
one pattern to the next, and these
are just simple repetitions. However,
the flow of the patterns feels like a
Greek key, and I wonder if this is a
forerunner of the real Greek key
pattern.

This pattern is on Flikr here and

there are photos of the original
mummy here. Thanks to Tim for
bringing it to my notice!
What do Greek keys mean?

Various claims have been made for what a Greek key

means. There may be a connection with
the labyrinth where Theseus fought the Minotaur. A
Greek bowl in the British museum shows Theseus
dragging the Minotaur from the labyrinth, which is
indicated by a Greek key frieze. You can make a Cretan
or classical maze using a Greek key (see right), and
many mazes have Greek keys embedded in a design,
especially Roman mazes.

Other suggested meanings are stylised waves, snakes,

symbolizing the bonds of love, friendship and devotion,
eternal life, the four cardinal points, the meander of life,
creative energy, the four seasons, etc. Take your pick! I
prefer the waves. There are curved forms of Greek keys
which look very like seawaves. This
pattern is on the shield of Philip, father of
Alexander the Great. The shield also has a more
conventional Greek key pattern. This website only
describes the square forms.

A modern Greek Key

The Greek Key topology is a kind of

structure of a protein. The strands of the
protein is like a single line, but connected
together like a Greek Key. There are
some examples on the left.
Honestly I didn’t spend much time thinking about that, until one morning last weekend Luke
was sitting in my bed on my Greek Key Duvet and said “why do you have Pandora, the God of
the dead’s pattern on all of your designs? I was a bit disturbed. Luke is studying ancient
Greece, and most of all my private label products have some form of Greek Key.

So I dove in to reading about the history of Greek Key, and thankfully it turns out Luke was not
exactly correct.

The Greek Key/meander motif took its name from the river Meander in ancient Greece
(present day Turkey). The Meander was characterized by a very convoluted path.

It became the most important symbol in Ancient Greece, symbolizing infinity or the eternal flow
of things. Many temples and objects were decorated with this motif.
Meander symbolizes as well the bonds of friendship, of love and devotion and that’s the reason it’s often given as
marriage gift. It can symbolize as well the four cardinal points, the 4 seasons, waves – especially in the round
version of it, or snakes, among others.
Velvet Regency pillows (from bottom bark,dusty pink, chartreuse,charcoal)

Reading this I felt much better about all my use of Greek Key.
Our new color Marmalade Regency velvet.

Would have hated it to be the God of the dead’s sign…

Fancy Greek Key -pink and navy
Speaking about Greek Key…

A bunch of my bedding and pillows are in a three day event on Joss & Main currently.
Check it out, you can grab them at sale prices until tomorrow. Trilled to be sharing space with
Trina Turk’s beautiful designs.

Greek (ελληνικά)
Greek belongs to the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European language family, and is spoken
by about 13 million people mainly in Greece and Cyprus, where it is an official language.
Greek is also recognised as a minority language in parts of Italy, and in Albania, Armenia,
Romania and Ukraine.
 Greek was first written in Mycenae with a script known as Linear B, which was used
between about 1500 and 1200 BC. This variety of Greek is known as Mycenaean. On
Crete another script, known as the Cypriot syllabary, was used to write the local variety of
Greek between about 1200 and 300 BC.
The Greek alphabet has been in continuous use since about 750 BC. It was developed
from the Canaanite/Phoenician alphabet and the order and names of the letters are derived
from Phoenician. The original Canaanite meanings of the letter names was lost when the
alphabet was adapted for Greek. For example, alphacomes for the Canaanite aleph (ox)
and beta from beth (house).
When the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet to write their language they used five of
the Phoenician consonants to represent vowel sounds: yodh [j] became Ι (iota), waw [w]
became Υ (upsilon), 'aleph [ʔ] became Α,(alpha), 'ayin [ʕ] became Ο (omicron), and he [h]
became Ε (epsilon). New letters were also devised: Φ (phi), Χ (chi) and Ψ (psi). The result
was the world's first fully phonemic alphabet which represented by consonant and vowel
sounds.
Greek at a glance
 Native name: ελληνικά (elinika)
 Linguistic affliation: Indo-European, Hellenic
 Number of speakers: c. 13 million
 Spoken in: Greece, Albania, Cyprus, and a number of other countries
 First written: 1500 BC
 Writing systems: Linear B, Cypriot syllabary, Greek alphabet
 Status: official language of Greece, an official language of Cyprus, officially recognized as a minority language in
parts of Italy, and in Albania, Armenia, Romania and Ukraine.
At first, there were a number of different versions of the alphabet used in various different
Greek cities. These local alphabets, known as epichoric, can be divided into three groups:
green, blue and red. The blue group developed into the modern Greek alphabet, while the
red group developed into the Etruscan alphabet, other alphabets of ancient Italy and
eventually the Latin alphabet.
By the early 4th century BC, the epichoric alphabets were replaced by the eastern Ionic
alphabet. The capital letters of the modern Greek alphabet are almost identical to those of
the Ionic alphabet. The minuscule or lower case letters first appeared sometime after 800
AD and developed from the Byzantine minuscule script, which developed from cursive
writing.
Today the Greek alphabet is used only to write Greek, however at various times in the past
it has been used to write such languages as Lydian, Phrygian, Thracian, Gaulish, Hebrew,
Arabic, Old Ossetic, Albanian, Turkish, Aromanian, Gagauz, Surguch and Urum.
Notable features
 Type of writing system: alphabet - the first one to include vowels.

 Direction of writing: Originally written horizontal lines either from right to left or alternating
from right to left and left to right (boustrophedon/βουστροφηδόν). Around 500 BC the
direction of writing changed to horizontal lines running from left to right.

 Diacritics to represent stress and breathings were added to the alphabet in around 200 BC.
In 1982 the diacritics representing breathings, which were not widely used after 1976, were
officially abolished by presidential decree.

 The letter sigma has a special form which is used when it appears at the end of a word.

 Used to write: Arvanitic, Cypriot Arabic, Greek, Griko, Tsakonian

Ancient Greek alphabet
This alphabet is based on inscriptions from Crete dated to about 800 BC. Greek was
written mainly from right to left in horizontal lines at this time. It is uncertain what names
were given to the letters, and some letters had more than one form.

Source: http://www.carolandray.plus.com/Eteocretan/archaic_alpha.html
Greek alphabet (Classical Attic pronunciation)

Note
 Σ = [z] before voiced consonants

Archaic letters
Greek numerals and other symbols
The Ancient Greeks had two numeric systems: the Acrophonic or Attic system used the
letters iota, delta, gamma, eta, nu and mu in various combinations. These letters were
used as they represented the first letters of the number names, with the exception of
iota: Γέντε (gente) for 5, which became Πέντε (pente); Δέκα (Deka) for 10, Ηἑκατόν
(Hektaton) for 100, Χίλιοι (Khilioi) for 1,000 and Μύριον (Myrion) for 10,000. This system
was used until the first century BC.

The Acrophonic system was replaced by an alphabetic system that assigned numerical
values to all the letters of the alphabet. Three obsolete letters, stigma, koppa and sampi,
were used in addition to the standard Greek letters, and a apostrophe-like numeral sign
was used to indicate that letters were being used as numerals.
Greek alphabet (Modern pronunciation)

Hear a recording of the Greek alphabet by Vasiliki Baskos of learn-greek-online.com

Hear a recording of Modern Greek pronunciation by Vasiliki Baskos of learn-greek-
online.com
Notes
 Γ = [&gamma] before back vowels [a, o, u].
Before front vowels [e, i], it is pronounced [ʝ] and transliterated y

 Κ = [k] before back vowels [a, o, u], and [c] before front vowels [e, i]

 Λ = [ʎ] before an unstressed i followed by another vowel, e.g. λιώμα [ʎóma]

 Ν = [ɲ] before an unstressed i followed by another vowel, e.g. νιώθω [ɲóθo]

 When the sound [i] is preceded by a voiced consonant and followed by another vowel, it
becomes [ʝ], e.g. διάκος [ðʝákos]. When it is preceded by a voiceless consonant and
followed by another vowel it is pronounced as [ç], e.g. φωτιά [fotçá]. In both cases it is not
stressed.
 Σ = [z] before voiced consonants

 Χ = [χ] before back vowels [a, o, u], and [ç] before front vowels [e, i]
Notes
 αυ = [av] before vowels and voiced consonants; [af] elsewhere.

 ευ = [ev] before vowels and voiced consonants; [ef] elsewhere.

 ηυ = [iv] before vowels and voiced consonants; [if] elsewhere.
 ντ = [nd] in the middle of words; [d] at the beginning.

 μπ = [mb] in the middle of words; [b] at the beginning.

 γγ & γκ = [ŋg] in the middle of words; [g] at the beginning, unless followed by [i] or [e], when
they are [ŋɟ] in the middle of words and [ɟ] at the beginning.

 A dieresis is used to indicate that vowels are pronounced separately, e.g. Αϊτή [aití].
However, when the first of the two letters is stressed, the dieresis sign is not necessary,
e.g. γάιδαρος [γáiðaros]
 When κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ and τ&sigma: are preceded by a word that ends in ν they become
voiced and the final N turns into the corresponding nasal sound, e.g. τον πατέρα [tombatéra]
Download Greek alphabet charts in Excel, Word or PDF format
Sample text in Greek

Transliteration
Óli i ánthropi yeniúnde eléftheri ke ísi stin aksioprépia ke ta dhikeómata. Íne prikizméni me
loyikí ke sinídhisi, ke ofílun na simberiféronde metaksí tus me pnévma adhelfosínis.
A recording of this text by Eυτυχία Παναγιώτου (Eftychia Panayiotou)
Another recording of this text by Χρήστος Παπαδόπουλος (Christos Papadopoulos)
Sample text in Polytonic Greek

Sample text in handwritten Greek

Font from: http://boboss.gr/2009/12/13/greek-handwriting-font/

Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Corrections and notes on pronunciation provided by Δημήτρης Χριστούλιας (Dimitris
Christoulias)

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http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Greek_numbers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_numerals
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attic_numerals
http://www.mathsisgoodforyou.com/
numerals/greeknums.htm
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 Hellenic languages
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 Umbrian,

 Uyghur
In the year 507 B.C., the Athenian leader Cleisthenes introduced a system of
political reforms that he called demokratia, or “rule by the people.” This system
was comprised of three separate institutions: the ekklesia, a sovereign governing
body that wrote laws and dictated foreign policy; the boule, a council of
representatives from the ten Athenian tribes; and the dikasteria, the popular
courts in which citizens argued cases before a group of lottery-selected jurors.
Although this Athenian democracy would survive for only two centuries,
Cleisthenes’ invention was one of ancient Greece’s most enduring contributions
to the modern world.

A Few Greek Symbols: Greek Week

When you visit another town – whether local or far away – tourist gift shops offer a nice
table of contents to what you may expect within the destination.
In Athens, gift shops are loaded with items featuring the Parthenon, ancient pottery, owls,
items with a Greek zig-zag pattern, and a strange round blue thing that looks like an eye.
The Parthenon and pottery are obvious icons, but what’s with the owls, geometric pattern,
and the blue round eye thing?
Some new Greek friends… Georgia, Panos, and Costas explained to me the meaning of
these symbols.
The Owl

The owl is an ancient symbol of the wisdom of Athens and is associated with Athena. It
appeared on coins in Athens as early as 520 BC.
The coins were called “glaukes” – after “glaux” the ancient Greek
for owl. This antique design is the current design for the
contemporary Greek 1-Euro coin. The design is actually an image of
an old Athenian coin… you can see the irregular stamp outline, the
owl and an olive branch.
I have an owl figurine on my office desk. I like to think it helps
bring me wisdom.
“Greek Key” Pattern

You’ve seen this pattern a million times, and perhaps have never thought about it. It is a
Greek symbol representing infinity and unity. It is often used as a border on Greek
buildings, pottery, and… of course… the New York City once-ubiquitous, Greek-themed,
blue-and-white, take-away coffee cup.
(According to a New York Times article from 2005, “The classic “We Are Happy to Serve You” cup… design
dates to the mid-1960’s, when the Sherri Cup Company of Kensington, Connecticut, designed it to appeal to the
hundreds of Greek coffee shops then operating in the city. The cup was named Anthora, a muddled version of
Amphora, the Greek word for the ancient jars depicted in its design.”)
The Blue “Eye” (Matiasma)

This symbol – typically round, blue, and made out of glass is used to ward off the evil
eye and to block the dangers of envy.
This symbol has been used as early back as the 6th century BC…

The evil eye works like this:

Perhaps there was an occasion that you were dressed up and someone told you how nice
you look. A few minutes later you spilled coffee down the front of you or split your pants.
Or maybe someone told you how beautiful your new vase was and a while later it fell to
the ground shattering in a thousand pieces. That’s the evil eye.
(Source: Greek Tradition Page)
To prevent this, the matiasma would be worn as a necklace or hung in the
home. As a popular icon, it is also sold ear rights, bracelets, paperweights,
etc…
Pictured is a matiasma pendant with the Greek key symbol on it. This is
probably double-good!
Well, there are a few interesting icons for you. You’ll probably never look at a take-out
coffee cup the same way again!
 The Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature that was part
man and part bull.[1] It dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an
elaborate maze-like construction[2] built for King Minos of Crete and designed by
the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the
Minotaur. The historical site of Knossos is usually identified as the site of the
labyrinth. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus.

"Minotaur" is Greek for "Bull of Minos." The bull was known in Crete as Asterion,
a name shared with Minos's foster father.

Labrys is the term for a doubleheaded axe, known to the Classical Greeks as
pelekys or sagaris, and to the Romans as a bipennis.

The labrys symbolism is found in Minoan, Thracian, Greek, and Byzantine

religion, mythology, and art, dating from the Middle Bronze Age onwards. The
labrys also appears in African religious symbolism and mythology (see Shango).

The labrys was formerly a symbol of Greek fascism. Today it is sometimes used
as a symbol of Hellenic Neopaganism. As an LGBT symbol it represents
lesbianism and female or matriarchal power.

The Mano Fico The mano fico, also called figa, is an Italian amulet of ancient origin.
Examples have been found from the Roman era, and it was also used by the Etruscans. Mano means
"hand" and fico or figa means "fig," with the idiomatic slang connotation of a woman's genitals. (An
English slang equivalent might as well be "vagina hand.") It represents a hand gesture in which the
thumb is thrust between the curled index and middle fingers in obvious imitation of hetorsexual
intercourse.

The asclepius wand, or asclepius rod is is an ancient Greek symbol associated with
astrology and with healing the sick through medicine. The rod of Asclepius symbolizes
the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth
and fertility, with the staff, a symbol of authority befitting the god of Medicine. The snake
wrapped around the staff is widely claimed to be a species of rat snake, Elaphe longissima,
also known as the Aesculapian or Asclepian snake. It is native to southeastern Europe, Asia
Minor, and some central European spa regions, apparently brought there by Romans for their
healing properties.

The Solar Cross or Sun Cross features a circle around a cross, the solar cross has many variations
including the one on this page. It is an ancient symbol; carvings of which were found in 1980 on the
bases of Bronze-age burial urns at Southworth Hall Barrow, Croft, Cheshire, England and the urns
date back to circa 1440 BC. This symbol has been used throughout history by different religions, groups
and families (as a Japanese samurai family crest), eventually working its way into Christian iconography.
 Fasces, a plurale tantum, from the Latin word fascis, symbolizes summary power and
jurisdiction, and/or "strength through unity".[2]

The traditional Roman fasces consisted of a bundle of white birch rods, tied together with a red
leather ribbon into a cylinder, and often including a bronze axe (or sometimes two) amongst
the rods, with the blade(s) on the side, projecting from the bundle.

It was used as a symbol of the Roman Republic in many circumstances, including being carried
in processions, much the way a flag might be carried today.

The Omphalos - An omphalos is an ancient religious stone artifact, or baetylus. In

Greek, the word omphalos means "navel" (compare the name of Queen Omphale).
According to the ancient Greeks, Zeus sent out two eagles to fly across the world to
meet at its center, the "navel" of the world. Omphalos stones used to denote this point
were erected in several areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea; the most famous of
those was at the oracle in Delphi.

The Cornucopia - Also known as the Horn of Plenty, the Cornucopia is a Greek symbol
of harvest abundance, prosperity and nourishment. It is depicted as a spiraling horn-
shaped basket filled with grains and fruits produced by the bountiful Earth. The
Cornucopia symbol traces its history to the Greek mythology, when the God Zeus was
fed as an infant by a goat, Amalthea with her milk. Later on, Zeus rewarded Amalthea
by placing her in heaven as a constellation (Capricorn) and gave her horn to his nurses
assuring them of an unending supply of everything they desired from it.

The Gorgon In Greek mythology, a so called gorgon, transl. gorgo or gorgon, "terrible" or,
according to some, "loud-roaring" was a vicious female monster with sharp fangs who was a
protective deity from early religious concepts. Her power was so strong that anyone
attempting to look upon her would be turned to stone; therefore, such images were put upon
items from temples to wine kraters for protection. The Gorgon wore a belt of serpents that
intertwined as a clasp, confronting each other. There were three of them: Medusa, Stheno
and Euryale. Only Medusa was mortal, the other two are immortal.

The labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (Greek labyrinthos) was an elaborate
structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at
Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half man and half bull
and was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Daedalus had made the Labyrinth so
cunningly that he himself could barely escape it after he built it. Theseus was aided by
Ariadne, who provided him with a fateful thread, literally the "clew", or "clue", to wind his
way back again.

The bowl of Hygeia The “Bowl of Hygeia” symbol is the most widely recognized
international symbol of pharmacy. In Greek mythology, Hygeia was the daughter and
assistant of Aesculapius (sometimes spelled Asklepios), the God of Medicine and Healing.
Hygeia's classical symbol was a bowl containing a medicinal potion with the serpent of
Wisdom (or guardianship) partaking it. This is the same serpent of Wisdom, which appears on
the caduceus, the staff of Aesculapius, which is the symbol of medicine.
 Zeus - In Greek mythology, Zeus is the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the
Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky
and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart was Jupiter and his
Etruscan counterpart was Tinia.

Zeus was the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most
traditions he was married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort
was Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione.

Aphrodite - Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality. Her
Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Historically, her cult in Greece was
imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia.

According to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus'
genitals and threw them into the sea, and from the sea foam (aphros) arose
Aphrodite.

Apollo - Apollo is one of the most important and diverse of the Olympian deities
in Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been
variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; medicine,
healing, and plague; music, poetry, and the arts; and more. Apollo is the son of
Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis.

The Asclepius Wand, often confused with the Caduceus wand of Hermes, is the
true symbol of the medical profession.
 Sun Cross - The sun cross, or more commonly known as the sun
wheel, a cross inside a circle.

Mano Fico Symbol - The mano fico, also called figa, is an Italian amulet of
ancient origin. Examples have been found from the Roman era, and it was
also used by the Etruscans.
Whether made as an apotropaic gesture or worn as an amulet, the mano fico
is used for magical protection against the evil eye.

Gorgon Symbol - In Greek mythology, the Gorgon was a terrifying female

creature. It derives from the Greek word gorgos, which means "dreadful."
While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term
commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous
snakes, and a horrifying visage that turned those who beheld it to stone.
Traditionally, while two of the Gorgons were immortal, Stheno and Euryale,
their sister Medusa was not, and was slain by the mythical hero Perseus.

Labrys - This was a Greek weapon and used for both ceremonial and
combatant use. In a modified form the double-axe was used as
ceremonial insignia by what is generally known as Vichy France and was
called a Gallique Francisque, or French Gallic - axe being understood.

Hercules Knot - Known variously as the Knot of Hercules,

Heracles Knot, Love Knot and Marriage Knot, the Hercules
Knot is a wedding symbol that stands for undying love and
commitment. This knot made with two entwined ropes is
considered to represent the legendary fertility of God
Hercules. Though it was initially used in ancient Egypt as a
healing charm, the knot became more popular among the
ancient Greeks and Romans as a love token and a protective
amulet. It was incorporated into the bride’s protective girdle
which the groom ceremonially untied.
The Hercules Knot is believed to be the origin of ‘tying the knot’, a phrase that means getting
married.

Caduceus - The Caduceus is an ancient symbol of commerce and trade, and

is related with negotiation and eloquence. It is associated with Hermes, the
quick and cunning Greek God who is an emissary of the gods, conductor of
souls into afterlife, and protector of travelers, merchants and herdsmen. The
Caduceus also symbolizes wisdom and spiritual awakening in the Hermetic
tradition.

The Caduceus features a winged staff with two serpents entwined around it. It has sometimes
been used mistakenly as a symbol of medicine in place of the Rod of Asclepius, which has a
single snake and no wings.

This symbol is a Triskele of Triskelion. Triskelion is Greek for three-legged, which you could make of this sign with a little
fantasy. There are different stories about the origin of this sign, but the most probable origin is Celtic.

The symbol is usually associoted width the Celtic culture, where the symbol stands for the trinity earth, air and sea. The
symbol is used in different other cultures, for example greek en german cultures. The symbol stands for action,
competition, progress and forward movement. The symbol is used in different (less abstract) presentations.

Filed in: T to V Tags: Celtic Symbols, Greek symbols

Sigma is the 18th letter of the greek alphabet. As symbol sigma is for example applied in mathematics to indicate the sum
of similar terms.

In Physics lowercase sigma indicates Surface charge (for example surface charge in a liquid) in a material.

The Ichthys or fish symbol is used by Christians (for example

on cars) to show the drivers believe in Christ.

The symbols origin goes back to the Roman era when the emperor claimed the title “Lord”. Christians refused to
recognise the emperor as Lord , which lead to persecution of christians.

To still get together, the Ichthys sign was used to recognise each other. The Ichthys was probably chosen because Jesus
called his followers “fishermen of people”.

The word Ichthys stands for: I(esous) Ch(ristos) Th(eou) U(ios) S(oter)
The Y stands for Upsilon

Translated from Greek: Jesus Christus Gods Son Savior

 Gemini
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This symbol for Gemini is being used in Astrology as well as in Astronomy. In Astrology Leo
is part of the Zodiac which originates from the time that people started to have the need to predict.

The sign is probably the Roman number 2 (II or just two ones) with a slightly changed design. Another story is that
this Gemini sign originates from the middle ages. Before that the sign “=” was used to represent Gemini.

Around 150 after Christ the Roman Claudius Ptolemeus wrote a book in which he indicated en described 48
constellations. He not only used his own knowledge, but he also used knowledge from his Babylonian – and Greek
predecessors. In 1922 the number of constellations was finally decided to be 88. 12 of these 88
constellations together form the 12 signs of the zodiac as we know from Astrology. They give us our sign at birth.

In astrology Gemini stands for intelligence, volatile, learn and restlessness. This sign for Another often used
representation for Gemini is an image of twins.

In Astronomy the constellation Gemini stands for a number of stars which together form the fysical constellation Gemini in
the Zodiac. These stars are located in the Northern sky. The stars which form the constellation Gemini are:
Pollux (brightest star), Alhena, Castor, Tejat Posterior, Mebsuta, Propus, Alzirr, Wasat and Mekbuda. Pollux and Castor
were even twin brothers in Roman and Greek mythology. With a little imagination the stars form 2 persons, representing
twins. The Sun is located in the constellation Gemini from june 21st to july 21st, that’s why your sign is Gemini when you
are born in this period of the year.

Gemini also stands for the metal Mercur.

Cross
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 The cross is one of the symbols that is known world wide. The cross used to be an
oriental torturetool used in China, India, Persia en Babylon. But the cross was not only used as torture tool by these
peoples.

The cross was granted mistycal value as wel. Only when the Romans Crucifyed Jezus Christ, the cross became a distinct
symbol for Christianity. And different interpretations within Christianity began worshipping the cross. The cross is used in
infinite variations and forms and is also used as part of other symbols

Filed in: A to C Tags: Christian symbol

Leo
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This symbol for Leo is being used in Astrology as well as in Astronomy. In Astrology Leo is
part of the Zodiac which originates from the time that people started to have the need to predict.

This sign is a representation of a lions head. The circle is the head of the lion. The curved line from the circle up and than
down again represents the mane of the lion. This sign is a modern variant of the original sign and
originates presumably form the Greek or Roman era. Around 150 after Christ the Roman Claudius Ptolemeus wrote
a book in which he indicated en described 48 constellations. He not only used his own knowledge, but he also used
knowledge from his Babylonian – and Greek predecessors. In 1922 the number of constellations was finally decided to be
88. 12 of these 88 constellations together form the 12 signs of the zodiac as we know from Astrology. They give us our
sign at birth.

The lion (Leo in Latin) is, as known, the king of the jungle. In Astrology the characteristics of the lion are associated with
Leo. In Astrology the lion stands for dominantion, willpower, brutality and pride. All of these characteristics
are recognizable in the lion as king of the jungle.

In Astronomy the constellation Leo stands for a number of stars which together form the fysical constellation Leo in the
Zodiac. These stars are located in the Northern sky. The stars which form the constellation Leo are: Regulus (brightest
star), Denebola, Zosma, Algieba, Ras Elased Australis, Chort, Adhafera, Subra, Ras Elased Borealis, Alterf and Al Minliar
Al Asad. The Sun is located in the constellation Leo from july 21st to augus 21st, that’s why your constellation is Leo
when you are born in this period of the year.

You can find the 12 signs of the Zodiac in daily horoscopes in for example news papers and magazines. A lot of these
horoscopes use different images or signs for Leo or the other signs.
Pi (Wiskunde)
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The symbol pi is especially known and used in mathematics. In mathematics it symbolizes

the value pi that indicates the ratio between its circumference and its diameter.

The value pi cannot be expressed as a number or a fraction. The number of decimals seems neverending. The value can
only be approached. The symbol originates from the Greek alphabet, where it stands for perimeter.

Filed in: P to S Tags: Greek symbols

Capricorn
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The symbol for Capricorn is being used in Astrology and Astronomy. Capricorn is part of the
Zodiac which originates from the time that people started to have the need to predict.

All Zodiac symbols originate from the different constellations. Thus Capricorn originates form the interpretation of the
constellation Capricorn. In Astrology Capricorn stands for i.e. realism, patience, tenacity and sparingly.

Filed in: A to C Tags: Animal Symbols, Astrology

Libra
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The symbol for Libra is used in Astrology as well as Astronomy. Libra is part of the Zodiac
which originates from the time that people started to have the need to prodict.
All Zodiac symbols originate from the different constellations. Thus Libra originates form the interpretation of the
constellation Libra. There are different symbols for Libra. This symbol is an ancient greek symbol and originates probably
from mythology.

The sing is explained as a setting sun above the horizon (the circle is the sun and te lines are te horizon. Besides this
sign, a representation of scales is also commonly used to represent Libra. The scales stand for balance. In Astrology
Libra stands for i.e. kindness, indecisive, social and charming.
The sign also represents the metal copper.

Rod of Esclepius
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This symbol for medicine originates from ancient Greece, where it is named is after the
Greek god of medicine Asklepios. The symbol can be explaned as a staff with a serpent twisted around it.

The serpent symbolizes healing, this is explained in many different ways. The 2 meest told stories about de symbolism of
the serpent are: The shedding of the skin is connected with the healing proces. The poisson of the serpent also
associated with healing. The staf is also explained in different ways, for example as a walking stick used by druïds earlier.
The symbol is used in in different shapes by ambulances, doctors and also by the World Health Organisatie (WHO).

Filed in: D to F, P to S Tags: Animal Symbols

Greek
 Quick Facts
Type C&V Alphabetic
Genealogy Proto-Sinaitic
Location Europe
Time 800 BCE to Present
Direction Various

The Greeks were the first Europeans to learn to write with an alphabet, and from them alphabetic writing
spread to the rest of Europe, eventually leading down to all modern European alphabets. Incidentally, the
Greeks tried writing once before. Between 1500 and 1200 BCE, the Mycenaeans, an early tribe of
Greeks, adapted the Minoan syllabary as Linear B to write an early form of Greek. However, the
syllabary was not well suited to write Greek, and the exact pronunciation of Mycenaean words remains
somewhat obcure. The alphabet, on the other hand, allowed a more precise record of the sounds in the
language.

From the shape of the letters, it is clear that the Greeks adopted the alphabet the Phoenician script,
mostly like during the late 9th century BCE. In fact, Greek historian Herotodus, who lived during the 5th
century BCE, called the Greek letters "phoinikeia grammata" (φοινικήια γράμματα), which means
Phoenician letters. You can see the similarities between the scripts in the comparision chart at
the undefined page. Unlike Greek, the Phoenician alphabet only had letters for consonants. When the
Greeks adopted the alphabet, they found letters representing sounds not found in Greek. Instead of
throwing them away, they modified the extraneous letters to represent vowels. For example, the
Phoenician letter 'aleph (which stood for a glottal stop) became the Greek letter alpha (which stands for
[a] sound).

There were many variants of the early Greek alphabet, each suited to a local dialect. Eventually the
Ionian alphabet was adopted in all Greek-speaking states, but before that happened, the Euboean
variant was carried to the Italic peninsula and adopted by Etruscan and eventually Latin. The following
chart compare various early variants, the Phoenician equivalent, the modern alphabet, and
pronunciations.
Note: AP means Ancient Pronunciation whereas MP means Modern Pronunciation. These represent the
phonetic values of the Greek letters in Classical and modern times respectively.
In ancient Greece, the signs of the greek zodiac were identified with twelve groups of stars
(constellations) which we can see in the night sky at different times during the year. They were also
associated with one of the four elements - Earth, Air, Fire and Water - and behind each one of them lies
a fascinating story. As a matter of fact, the word itself, "zodiac", comes from a greek word meaning "the
circle of animals" - "animals" referring to all living creatures. And indeed,with the exception of Libra,
each one of the myths is associated with living beings, either animals or humans.

Starting with Aries (the ram) in spring and following the year around through summer, fall and winter
to Pisces (the fishes), the stories of the greek zodiac's twelve signs explain how each group of stars
found its way into the heavens.

On the image above, you can see the star formations of the twelve signs in a circle. Click on each one of
them to go to the relevant section on the page and read its story.

Aries (March 21 - April 20)

Aries is the first sign of the greek zodiac, marking the beginning of spring and the start of a
new cycle of life.

The story of Aries is linked with the myth of the Golden Ram, which saved two kids, a
brother and a sister, from being sacrificed in order to appease the gods.

Click here to read all about the fascinating story of Jason, the argonauts and the great hardships they
had to endure while trying to bring the golden fleece of the ram back to Greece.

Once Jason had completed his mission, Zeus put the ram's golden fleece up in the skies, where it
appears till today as the constellation of Aries.

Taurus (April 21 - May 21)

The next sign of the greek zodiac is the constellation of Taurus (bull), associated with the
legend of Theseus and the Minotaur.

According to myth, Theseus volunteered to be one of the youths from Athens who would be offered as
food to the horrible monster Minotaur (half man, half bull) who stayed in Crete, in the labyrinth. But,
when he was there and with the help of Ariadne, the legendary hero managed to kill the beast and thus
relieve his city Athens from the terrible punishment imposed by the Cretan king Minos.

Click here to read all the details of the deadly encounter between Theseus and the Minotaur.

Gemini (May 22 - June 21)

 The constellation of Gemini is the next sign of the greek zodiac. It is linked with the story of
the twin brothers Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux in latin). Actually, they were not twins in
the ordinary sense, since they had different fathers.

Their story starts when Zeus, king of the gods, wanted to have an affair with Leda, the
lovely queen of Sparta. In order to fool her, he transformed himself into a beautiful swan.

In the course of time, Leda bore two eggs: One of them contained a baby girl named Helen (the same
one who later was the cause of the Trojan War) and a boy boy called Pollux. These two were the divine
children of Zeus.

The other egg opened up to reveal another girl and boy, Clytemnestra (who later became the wife
of Agamemenon, the military leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War) and Castor. These were the
mortal children of king Tyndareus, the legitimate husband of Leda.

Despite the fact that one brother was divine and the other mortal, the twins Castor and Pollux grew to be
inseparable. They did everything together and they loved each other dearly.

Because they were so close, they were called by one name; the Dioscuri. As they were growing, they
both loved all kinds of sport. Pollux was particularly good at boxing, while Castor was renowned for his
skill and daring on horseback.

When Jason was recruiting the Argonauts to join him in his quest of the Golden Fleece, the Dioscuri
eagerly accepted the invitation.

During the expedition, they became famous for their ability to calm the rough seas, which once or twice
had threatened to capsize the Argo.Poseidon, the god of the seas, had made the twin brothers joint
saviors of shipwrecked sailors and granted them the power to send favorable winds whenever they
wished.

Even to this day, the sight of the stars of the Dioscuri in the sky is regarded by sailors as an omen of
good luck.

Unfortunately, following a bitter fight that the twins had with other warriors, Castor was killed and was
summoned to the Underworld.

Pollux was heartbroken and prayed to almighty Zeus to take his life as well, for he would not bear to live
without his brother.

When Zeus invited to join him and the rest of the Olympians on Olympus, Pollux declined saying that he
would not like to live forever, while his beloved brother was dead.

Zeus was so touched by the twin's love and affection for his brother, that he arranged for them to be
together again. They could divide their time between the heavens and the Underworld, spending one
day high up in Olympus and the next day beneath the earth, in the realm of Hades.

In further recognition of their brotherly love, he set their images among the stars as the constellation of
Gemini, so that they would never be again separated. They stand out as two equally bright stars in a
constellation of weaker stars.
 Cancer (June 22 - July 23)
The constellation of the greek zodiac known as Cancer (Crab), is linked with the second
labor of the mighty hero Hercules, when he was assigned by Eurystheus to kill Lerna Hydra,
a horrible water snake with a hundred heads.

As the story goes, in the midst of Hercules' struggle, Hera, who was the hero's worst enemy, ordered a
giant crab to go and help the Hydra by digging its claws into Hercules' foot.

Howling with pain, the hero stamped on the crab furiously, crushing it to death.

Hera, being grateful for its support and in recognition of its attempt to help her, honored the crab by
placing its image among the stars, as the constellation of Cancer.

Leo (July 24 - August 23)

Leo, the fifth constellation of the greek zodiac, is linked with Hercules' very first labor, the
capture of the Nemean Lion.

According to the myth, Hercules finally managed to kill the beast by strangling it to death. Then, he
skinned the lion and took its pelt to wear it. He was then quite protected from his enemies, as the skin
could not be penetrated from any known weapon of the time whether made of iron, bronze or stone.

After its death, the famous lion was put on the sky by Zeus, to become the constellation of Leo.

Virgo (August 24 - September 23)

The constellation of Virgo is associated with the story of Demeter and her daughter
Persephone. For the ancient Greeks, the story of Demeter and Persephone helped to
explain why the seasons change.

Click here to learn all about the myth of Persephone.

Libra (September 24 - October 23)

The stars that form the golden scales of Libra lie halfway around the band of the greek zodiac, between
Virgo and Scorpio.
Day and night are equal when the sun passes through the constellation of Libra. The scales are a
symbol of balance and equity.

More specifically, the scales were considered to be the symbol of Dike, meaning Justice, who was a
minor goddess of the Underworld.

The fact that the ancient greeks gave Libra a prominent place in the sky, signifies that they considered
justice, equity and balance in general, to be the moral cornerstones of an ideal way of living.

Scorpio (October 24 - November 22)

The eighth constellation of the greek zodiac is the one with the name Scorpio. The story of the scorpion
is connected with different versions of stories that involve the mighty hunter Orion - a hero who is
represented by another familiar group of stars.

Orion was said to be the tallest and the most handsome man of the then known world. He was often
seen hunting in the woods and hills of ancient Greece with his pack of dogs. His constellation shows him
striding across the heavens flourishing a gleaming sword on his bejeweled belt.

Many of the stories concerning the constellations of Orion and Scorpio reflect the annual rising and
setting of their constellations, which appear to pursue each other across the sky.

One story tells how Gaia had sent the scorpion to sting Orion, in order to punish him for being too
boastful, claiming that he was so mighty that he could easily rid the whole earth of all beasts and
creatures.

As soon as the scorpion was released from the breast of Gaia, it immediately stung Orion and its deadly
venom sent him straight to his death.

The scorpion was set up on the sky by Gaia to mark her victory, while goddess Artemis, who had loved
Orion, placed his image on the sky as well, forming his own constellation. Because Orion had cared so
much for his hunting dog, Artemis also put up a star for his dog: This is Sirius, the brightest star in the
heavens.

There is another story about Orion and the scorpion.

One day, when Orion was out in the woods, he caught sight of seven beautiful sisters, the daughters
of Atlas and Pleione. Orion loved them all at first sight and began to chase after them.

The sisters, however, were terrified and cried out to Zeus to save them.

Zeus heard their pleas and helped them by turning them first into doves, so they could fly away from
Orion, and then into the seven stars which are now called Pleiades.

According to myth, Orion was stung by the scorpion as a punishment for chasing the seven sisters.
Zeus decided that the constellations of Orion and the Pleiades were arranged in the heavens, so that it
seemed that Orion was in constant pursuit of the seven sisters, without ever becoming successful, just
as the Scorpio seems always to be chasing Orion, without ever touching him.

Sagittarius (November 23 - December 21)

The constellation of Sagittarius (the archer),depicts a creature called centaur, which has the
body and head of a man and the hindquarters of a horse.

He is named after Cheiron, the most famous and king of the centaurs. He was semi-divine, as he was
the son of god Poseidon. He was taught by god Apollo and goddess Artemis, and from them he learned
both wisdom and spirituality.

He dwelt in a cave high up in the rocky, snowy sides of Mount Pelion. He was the oldest and wisest of
all the centaurs and very strong. In fact, he was so famous, that many kings had trusted their sons to
teach them. Among the most famous of his students were Hercules, and Jason, who later became the
leader of the argonauts.

As the myth goes, Cheiron was destined to suffer a gruesome death: When Hercules was returning
home to Tiryns after killing the Erymanthian Boar, he had a violent encounter with some drunken
centaurs, which he managed to drive away near the place where Cheiron lived.

By accident, however, one of the poisonous arrows that Hercules used to defend himself from his
attackers, went astray and hit his old teacher. Cheiron, being semi-divine, would not die, having to suffer
an excrutiating pain, because of the poison.

He was in such an agony, that Zeus himself felt sorry for the poor centaur and permitted him to give up
his divine status and give it to Prometheus, the creator of the human race. So, Cheiron finally was let to
die, relieved from the intolerable pain that was inflicted on him from the wound.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 20)

The constellation of the greek zodiac by the name of Capricorn, is as strange as that of
Sagittarius. It is a sea god, with the head and half the body of a goat, and the tail of a fish.

The story of Capricorn is associated with the birth of Zeus, the father of all gods.

As the story goes, when Rhea gave birth to baby Zeus, she feared that her cruel husband Cronus would
devour her child, just as he did with the previous ones that she gave birth to.

So, she secretly took her child to Crete, where he was safely kept in a cave on Mount Dicte. There, he
was nursed and cared for by Amaltheia, whose name means "tender". She was a goat nymph, and she
looked after baby Zeus with the greatest love and devotion, feeding him on her own rich milk and sweet
lavender-scented honey.

Zeus's golden cradle was hung high upon a tree so that Cronus would never find him in Heaven or Earth,
or even in the ocean.
When Zeus later became the lord of the universe, he did not forget his goat-mother, Amaltheia, who had
nursed him so lovingly. He took one of her horns and turned it into the horn of plenty, which is always
filled with whatever delicious food or drink its owner may wish for, and is never empty.

Finally, in recognition of all she had done for him, she set her image among the rest of stars on the
greek zodiac, as the constellation of Capricorn.

Aquarius (January 21 - February 19)

The constellation of Aquarius shows a person pouring water out of a jug. It is thought that
the story behind this group of stars is that of Ganymede.

Ganymede was the son of king Tros, after whom Troy was named. The young prince was the most
exquisite and handsome youth that ever lived, and was adored and admired by both gods and mortals.

Zeus, who was especially fond of beautiful people, was totally infatuated with Ganymedes's external
appearance. Thinking it would be appropriate for so handsome a mortal as Ganymede to live with the
gods, the mighty god disguised himself as an enormous eagle. He then flew down to Earth, captured the
handsome youth and brought him up to Olympus.

Up there on the heavenly palace, Zeus had to find a job for his young protegee. So, he decided that
Ganymede should be given the special honor of being his personal cupbearer.

The position was considered to be highly distinguished, since the person who was assigned the duty of
the cupbearer, was responsible for pouring into the glasses of the olympians the divine drink
called nectar. This was the special drink that bestowed on the gods their eternal youth and vigor.

Zeus was forever fond of his cupbearer. So, he honored him by giving him a prominent position on the
greek zodiac, as the constellation of Aquarius.

Pisces (February 20 - March 20)

The image of the two fish swimming in different directions make the constellation
of Pisces.Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was thought to be the source of
inspiration for this particular constellation being set in the stars.

After Zeus had fought his father, Cronus, he defeated the race of the giants, who were the children of
Gaia, the mother earth.

In revenge for the destruction of her children, Gaia gave birth to a horrible monster, called Typhon. He
was the largest and most frighening creature ever born. From the thighs down he was a mass of coiled
snakes, while his arms were so long that when he spread them out he reached a hundred leagues each
way.

Let loose by his mother Gaia, Typhon thundered towards the Olympian home of the gods, declaring war
on all of them. The gods hurried to disguise themselves, in the hope that the horrible creature would not
find them:
Zeus took the image of a ram; Hera, became a white cow;Artemis became a cat;Hermes turned into an
ibis, while Ares became a wild boar.

Lastly, the goddess Aphrodite and her son Eros, dived deep into the ocean and took the shape of twin
fish.

When the fierce monster was finally captured by Zeus and all of the olympians were transformed back to
their original form, Aphrodite, being grateful to the fish who had lended their form to her and her son
when they were in distress, put up their image on the night sky. Thus, Pisces became the last
constellation of the greek zodiac.
Ancient Greece
Edit 0 11…

Beliefs and Practices

*Greek religion was a blend of myths and legends that explained how things came to be, and why
events happen.
*They believed that gods and goddesses controlled the lives of human beings.
*They believed spirits lived within the landscape, in water, caves and mountains.

Greek religion is the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece in the form of
both popular public religion and cult practices. Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to
the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146
BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth.
Hermes- the son of Zeus and the daughter of a Titan, was the most foxy of all the Olympian Gods. He
was the messenger of the Gods, which is why he knew all their secrets. He was also the guide to the
Underworld and the protector of thieves, shepherds, orators, road travelers and merchants. He wore
winged sandals to fly and give messages quickly.

Apart from these twelve gods, there are many other deities of less importance, like nymphs, or of later
generation, such as Dionysus, the protector of wine, festivals and theatre. Many of these gods were
created by the mind of Greeks and have native characteristics, while other gods, like Dionysus, have
been "imported" by eastern civilizations.

One thing to notice is that the ancient Greek gods were gods because of their supernatural powers and
eternity, not their character. They were far different from the modern notion of gods. The Olympian
Gods were weak in nature and had faults, while they frequently merged with mortals and interfered
with their lives. Actually, the ancient Greek gods were copies of human characters and society.
*They had the same virtues and foibles as humans, and were creative and desctructive.

The main beliefs, including beliefs in deities and spirits, Gods and Goddesses’
Many Greek people recognized the 14 major gods and goddesses: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades,
Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Demeter, and Hestia.
Different cities worshipped different deities, sometimes with epithets that specified their local
nature. Greek religion did not have a large group of priests. The preiests in ancient Greece
were chosen by lot from among the general population, and serd for only a limited period of
time.

*Athena personified calm wisdom and rational behaviour.

*Plato was a Greek philosopher who said that "a wise person stopped to pray twice a
day.

The sacred rituals, prayers and festivals.

Various religious festivals were held in ancient Greece. Many were specific only to a particular
deity or city-state.

Greek ceremonies and rituals were mainly performed at altars. These typically were devoted to
one, or a few, gods, and contained a statue of the particular deity upon it. Votive
deposits would be left at the altar, such as food, drinks, as well as precious objects.
Sometimes animal sacrifices would be performed here, with most of the flesh eaten, and
the offal burnt as an offering to the gods.

Every 4 years a very special festival was held. The Olympic games were also held every 4 years
to celebrate the gods
*Every family had a private shrine inside their house where they offered daily prayers and a libation of
wine.

The sacred stories and writings that explain the belief and practices
*Myths tell the stories of the gods and Legends tell the stories of great Greek heroes and heroines.
Hesiod's Theology & Works and Days, Homer's Iliad & Odyssey and Pindar's Odes are included as sacred
texts as are other works of classical antiquity. These are the core texts that were considered inspired and
usually include an invocation to the Muses for inspiration at the beginning of the work.

*The Iliad & the Odyssey have been descibed as the Bible of the ancient Greeks, containing
interactions between gods and humans.
*The Theogony by Hesoid described the origins of the gods & goddesses of Olympus and what they
did.

The sacred space used

Often temples were built to the gods. Some of the grandest and most notable were the Temple of Zeus at
Olympia, and the //Parthenon//, dedicated to the goddess Athena upon the Acropolis
in//**Athen**s//. Temples contained a central room known as a naos, which contained a
grand altar and statue of a deity. Priests would be employed to constantly monitor and give
offerings to the deity. At some of these temples would be located an oracle who could predict
the future. The most notable example was the Delphic oracle, which was located at the Temple
of Apollo at Delphi.

*Greeks didn't worship inside the temples as we do; instead the temple was the
House of God.
Worship in Greece typically consisted of sacrificing domestic animals at the altar with hymn and
prayer. Parts of the animal were then burned for the gods; the worshippers would eat the rest.

*Every family had a private shrine inside their house.

Sacred people

*They didnt have large groups of priests, as the Egyptians did

* priests were chosen from the general population, serving for a limited time periods.

Zeus
Zeus was the king of the gods. He could control the weather. The ancient Greek poet,
Hesiod, called him the 'cloud-gatherer' and the 'thunderer'. His most powerful weapon was
the thunderbolt. The ancient Greeks believed that when lightning struck earth, it was a sign
of Zeus being present.

Zeus was also concerned with hospitality. If you treated a guest or stranger badly you
could outrage Zeus.

 The thunderbolt
 Sometimes seated on a throne
Zeus and Kronos

Kronos was the king of the Titans. He was very afraid that one of his children
would kill him just as he had murdered his own father. He was so worried he
started to eat his own children after they were born, much to his wife Rhea's
horror!

After the birth of their sixth child, Zeus, Rhea played a trick on Kronos. She gave
him a stone to swallow instead of the baby. She hid Zeus in a cave and the
young god was brought up by a goat.

When Zeus was older he asked to become Kronos' cup-bearer. He put a special
potion in his father's wine that caused Kronos to vomit up his children. He also
vomited up the stone which he was tricked into swallowing. Then Zeus led his
brothers and sisters into battle against Kronos and the Titans. Zeus and his
brothers and sisters won the battle and Zeus became the king of the gods.
This spear-butt has been inscribed with
a dedication to Zeus.

This bronze helmet has also been dedicated to

Zeus, probably to give thanks for a victory in
battle.

Mount Ida

When Zeus was growing up, his mother hid him in a cave. This cave was
believed to have been on Mount Dikte or Mount Ida in Crete.
 The Olympic Games

The Olympic Games was a festival dedicated to Zeus. It was held every four
years in Olympia. The most important part of the festival were the athletic
competitions. Men from all over the Greek world competed in many different
types of sports. Winners of the games were treated like heroes.

HERA

Hera was the wife of Zeus and the queen of the gods. She is the goddess of
weddings and marriage. She was extremely jealous of the many affairs of her
husband Zeus. She took terrible revenge on the girlfriends
and illegitimate children of her husband.
  Polos - a high crown.
 Sceptre. - a royal symbol of office

Hera and Herakles

Zeus fell in love with the mortal woman Alkmene. She had Zeus' child and he
was called Herakles. Hera was so jealous of the child, she stopped him
becoming a king by delaying the day of his birth so that a different woman's child
became king. She also placed two snakes in the baby Herakles' cot. Herakles
survived by strangling the two serpents. Even at such a young age Herakles had
superhuman strength.
 This bronze axe head is a
dedication to Hera. The
inscription reads: "I am the
sacred property of Hera-in-
the-plain: Kyniskos the
butcher dedicated me,
a tithe from his works."

This silver pin has been

inscribed with a dedication to
Hera.

Samos

Samos was believed to be the birthplace of Hera. A large sanctuary, the Heraion, was built
on the spot of her birth. This was one of the oldest temples in Greece.

Heraia
The Heraia were a festival dedicated to Hera. Like the Olympic Games this
festival contained athletic competitions and was held at Olympia. However, only
women were allowed to compete at the Heraia.

ATHENA

Athena is the goddess of war and cunning wisdom. She is also the goddess of
pot-making and wool-working. She is associated with the city, and almost every
town in Greece had a sanctuary dedicated to Athena.

She invented the chariot, the bridle and built the first ship. The olive tree is
sacred to her.

Athena supervises the building of the legendary ship, the Argo

Woman spinning wool
  Shown in full armour and helmet.
 Aegis - a goat skin cloak fringed with snakes.
 Associated with the owl.

The birth of Athena

Zeus was the father of Athena and her mother was Metis, which means wisdom.
Zeus was told before Athena was born, that any child born to Metis would be
more powerful than its father. Zeus was very worried by this and decided to
swallow Metis before she could give birth to the child.

Some time later Zeus began to have terrible headaches. The pain grew so
unbearable that Zeus asked Hephaistos to cut his head open to see what was
wrong.

When Hephaistos opened his head, Athena emerged from Zeus' skull, fully
grown and dressed for battle.
 This is an aulos a type of pipe instrument. It was said that Athena
invented the aulos. However when she saw how ugly her face looked
when she played the instrument, she threw it away in disgust.

Patron of the city

The Parthenon in Athens today

Most Greek cities had a sanctuary or temple dedicated to Athena because she
was the 'protectress of the city'.

She is particularly associated with the city of Athens. There is a myth that
Athena's gift to the city was the olive tree. It grew on the Acropolis. Other sacred
olive trees grew near Plato's Academy - they provided the oil for the prizes at the
Panathenaic Games.

In the 5th century BC a great temple to Athena was built on the Athenian
Acropolis. The temple was called the Parthenon.
 Panathenaia

The inscription on this Panathenaic amphora reads 'One of the prizes from Athens!'. It was the prize for a chariot race.
The vase has an illustration of a chariot race on its other side.

The Panathenaia was a huge festival held at Athens in Athena's honour. All
sections of Athenian society were involved: men, women, citizens, slaves and
foreigners living in Athens. The festival consisted of sacrifices, competitions and
a huge procession to present a new robe to the ancient statue of Athena on the
Acropolis.

APOLLO
Apollo was the god of the sun, truth, music, poetry, dance and healing. Poets
and bards put themselves under his protection.

 In times of war the bow was his symbol

 In times of peace his symbol was the lyre or kithara (types of musical
instrument).

Apollo and Daphne

Apollo, holding a laurel branch, in pursuit of a woman.

Apollo had made one too many jokes at Eros' expense. To punish him, Eros shot
Apollo with one of his golden arrows, which made Apollo fall madly in love with
the nymph Daphne. Unfortunately for Apollo, Eros had shot Daphne with a lead
arrow, which made her reject the god.

Apollo pursued Daphne and she tried to run away to escape him. Daphne called
out to her father, the river god, for help. He changed her into a laurel tree just as
Apollo was about to catch her.
Apollo was heartbroken. Even as a tree Daphne shuddered at Apollo's touch.

This may be a figure of Apollo. The figurine has an inscription on its leg which
reads: "Ganyaridas (dedicated me) to Apollo".

This is a restored lyre. The strings would be plucked by the musician and the
tortoiseshell would act as a soundbox. Music, and stringed instruments in
particular, were associated with Apollo.
 Delos and Delphi

Apollo and his sister Artemis

Delos was the birthplace of Apollo and his sister Artemis. The island remained
sacred to Apollo.

The sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi today.

Delphi is also strongly associated with the god. This was the site of one of the
most important oracles in Greece. People would come here to seek advice from
Apollo on a great variety of subjects.
 Pythian games

Vase showing aulos players.

The Pythian games were held at Delphi. Unlike other sporting festivals, the
Olympics and the Heraia games, the Pythian games also had music and poetry
competitions. Winners in the games were presented with a wreath made from
laurel leaves - a tree that was sacred to Apollo.

DEMETER

Demeter was the goddess of fertility and agriculture. She was an important
goddess for farmers and women. Demeter was also associated with the
underworld.
 Demeter is shown here holding a sheaf of grain.

 A mature woman.
 Sheaves of grain.

Demeter and Persephone

Persephone was Demeter's daughter. One day while

Persephone was gathering flowers, Hades, god of the
underworld, captured her. No one had any idea where
she had gone to or what had happened to her.

Demeter was sick with worry and grief. She asked Helios
the sun god what had happened. When she learned that
Hades had captured her daughter she became very
angry. For a year she caused crops and plants to wither
and die. A terrible famine gripped the earth.

Zeus commanded that Hades release Persephone.

Persephone was overjoyed. However he tricked her into
eating some pomegranate seeds before she left the
underworld. He knew that if she ate anything from the
land of the dead, she would have to return to him for a
part of each year.
This figure may represent Demeter's
daughter Persephone. She holds a
pomegranate. This is the fruit that Hades
tricked her into eating. This meant that she
could not return permanently to her mother.

Demeter was delighted that her daughter had returned to her. However every
time Persephone had to return to Hades, Demeter mourned terribly again. This is
why for a part of each year the plants and crops stop growing. When
Persephone returns to earth, the land once again bursts with life.
This is a model of a tray holding fruit, including pomegranates. Models like this,
often showing cakes, were dedicated to Demeter.

Eleusis

In myth, Demeter was believed to have stayed in Eleusis while she was
mourning the loss of her daughter Persephone. She handed the secrets of
agriculture and fertility to the king's son, Triptolemos. Each year people from all
around the Greek world came to learn these secrets at a festival in Eleusis called
the the Eleusinian Mysteries.

We know very little about what happened at this festival. People who had taken
part in the Mysteries had to keep their experiences a secret. Therefore we have
hardly any written material on the events that took place at Eleusis.
 Thesmophoria

This vase shows women dancing at the Thesmophoria festival.

The Thesmophoria was a festival for women only that was dedicated to Demeter.
The festival was celebrated all over Greece. Women would sacrifice piglets to
the goddess. On the second day of the festival they would fast, and on the last
day they would have a large feast.

POSEIDON

Poseidon was the god of the sea and horses. He was the brother of Zeus. He
was known for his bad temper and was greatly feared because of his ability to
cause earthquakes. He was believed to be able to make fresh water gush forth
from the earth.
 The trident, a three-pronged spear.
 White horses and a golden chariot.
 Sometimes shown with a fish or a dolphin in his hand.


 This wine bowl shows Odysseus and his men just before they blind the sleeping Polyphemos.
 Poseidon never forgave the Greek hero, Odysseus, for blinding his son
Polyphemos, the Cyclops. When Odysseus was nearly home after many
years of being lost at sea, Poseidon created a massive storm The huge
waves wrecked the ship Odysseus was sailing on. Odysseus would
certainly have died if Athena hadn't helped him.


 An ancient Greek fish hook.
  Offerings were made to Poseidon by sailors and fishermen. They hoped by
pleasing the god they would be blessed with calm seas.

Cape Sounion and Isthmia

The first thing that many sailors would have seen when sailing to Attica in
Greece was the beautiful temple at Cape Sounion. This temple was dedicated to
Poseidon.

There was a large and important sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon at Isthmia

near Corinth.

The Isthmian Games

The starting device on the running track in Isthmia.

The Isthmian Games were dedicated to Poseidon and held every two years at
the god's sanctuary at Isthmia. They were the second most important games in
Greece after the Olympics.
 APHRODITE

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. She was the wife of Hephaistos but
was in love with the war god Ares.

 Often accompanied by birds, especially doves, geese and sparrows.

  She is usually portrayed with another god, Eros, the god of love. Eros is
shown as a young winged boy.

Judgement of Paris

A watercolour of the Judgement of Paris by the English artist, William Blake, AD 1811

Eris the goddess of strife was offended that she had not been invited to the
wedding of Peleus and Thetis. In revenge, she threw down a golden apple
inscribed with the words 'to the fairest', knowing that this would cause an
argument amongst the other goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera and Athena all asked
Zeus to decide to whom the apple belonged. Zeus did not want to cause any
more trouble. He knew that by choosing one of the goddesses he would incur the
resentment of the other two. Instead he decided that the mortal Paris should
decide.

All three goddesses appeared before Paris. All three goddesses promised Paris
different prizes if he picked them. Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful
woman in the world. This woman was Helen, the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta.
Aphrodite made Helen fall in love with Paris. The couple ran off together.
Menelaus called together his allies in Greece. They set off to recapture Helen.
The resulting war lasted for ten years.
This bronze mirror is supported by Aphrodite holding a dove and by two small
figures of Eros. As goddess of love and beauty it is very apt that she has been
used to decorate a mirror.

Paphos

Aphrodite was born from the sea. She came ashore near Paphos on Cyprus.
Cyprus became a centre for worship of the goddess.
 Adonia

Women making roof gardens to celebrate the Adonia

This was a festival for women only. It marked the death of Adonis, the lover of
Aphrodite. During the festival, women sang mourning songs and re-enacted
Adonis' funeral. They would also create gardens on the roofs of houses.

HERMES

Hermes was the god of travel, business, weights and measures and sports. He
was the messenger of the gods and guided the souls of the dead to the
underworld. He was also the patron of herdsmen, thieves, graves and
messengers. His staff caused men to fall asleep instantly.
  Traveller's hat.
 Herald's staff.
 Winged sandals.
Hermes and Apollo's cattle

This is a 17th century drawing of Hermes and Apollo's cow by Herman van Swaneveldt

On the day he was born, Hermes stole and hid Apollo's cattle. When Apollo
came to retrieve the cattle, the baby Hermes jumped back into bed and
pretended to be an innocent child.

Apollo was very angry. He complained to Zeus about how he had been treated.
However Zeus found the incident very funny.
This vase shows a herm. This was a pillar-like statue of Hermes that was placed
at the door of Greek homes. They were also used to point out boundaries and
borders.

Borders and Boundaries

Hermes was the god of boundaries and transgression of boundaries. Therefore statues of
Hermes were placed at the entrance to houses and towns.

The 'Day of the Pots'

On the third day of the Anthesteria, the 'day of the pots', a meal was made and offered to
Hermes of the Underworld, on behalf of the dead. This was a day when the spirits of the
dead roamed around the earth. People smeared their doorways with pitch, a black, tar-like
substance, to stop the ghosts from entering their house. When the day was over, the
householder would go around his house saying 'Get out goblins, the Anthesteria is over!'.

Artemis(Diana)
Artemis was the goddess of hunting, archery and childbirth. She was also the
goddess of wild animals and was normally portrayed as living in the countryside.
She had the ability to send plagues or sudden death to mortals, but she could
also heal them. She was the twin sister of the god Apollo.

 Bow and arrow.

 Wild animals.
 Artemis and Actaeon

A 16th century AD print of Actaeon and Artemis.

Actaeon was a hunter. In the woods one day he accidentally came upon Artemis
and her nymphs bathing. The goddess became angry that a mortal had seen her
naked. In revenge she turned Actaeon into a stag. His hunting dogs did not
recognise him in his new form, so he was hunted and eventually killed by his
own dogs.

This is an ancient model of a pregnant woman. Pregnancy and childbirth were

associated with Artemis, even though the goddess had no children of her own.
 Ephesos

There was a huge sanctuary dedicated to Artemis at Ephesos. This sanctuary in

Asia Minor was called one of the seven wonders of the world. The version of
Artemis worshipped here was slightly different from the Artemis known in
mainland Greece. Artemis at Ephesos was covered in many egg-like breasts.

Brauronia

Statues of young girls like this one were often dedicated to Artemis at Brauron.

This was a festival celebrated each year at Brauron near Athens. An unusual
feature of the festival involved young girls aged between 5 and 10. The girls
dressed up and acted as bears to appease the goddess.
 Ares

Ares was the god of war. However, unlike Athena, he was not very cunning in
battle. He was not a popular god. In 'The Iliad' Zeus complained that Ares was
the most hated of all his children.

 Armour and helmet.

 Ares and Aphrodite

Aphrodite with the god Eros

Ares and Aphrodite were lovers even though Aphrodite was married to
Hephaistos. Hephaistos found out about their affair and planned his revenge.

He began to make a metal net that was so fine it was almost invisible. He hung it
over Aphrodite's bed. The next time Ares visited Aphrodite's room, Hephaistos
released the net. Ares and Aphrodite were trapped in the bed. All the other gods
came to laugh at the lovers.
Ares was the god of war. Greek warriors wore bronze armour to protect them in
battle.

Thrace

There are hardly any known sanctuaries or temples dedicated to Ares. His home
was said to be in the land of Thrace. The ancient Greeks considered this to be a
wild and barbarous place.
 Sacrifices before Battle

Warrior pouring an offering to a god.

There were very few festivals dedicated to Ares. However, it was traditional for
soldiers to offer a sacrifice to him before a battle.

Hephaistos
Hephaistos was the god of fire, volcanoes, blacksmiths and craftworkers. He was
lame and this led to him being thrown out of Mount Olympus. He was married to
the goddess Aphrodite. He was the father of Erechtheus the legendary king of
Athens.

 Twisted Foot.
 Tools.
 Hephaistos and Hera

This vase shows Hephaistos returning to Mt. Olympus on a mule.

Hera, Hephaistos' mother, was horrified by his imperfections and threw him out of Mount
Olympus in disgust. The sea nymph Thetis looked after the young god.

Hephaistos soon discovered he had a great talent for making beautiful and useful things.
News spread about his talent as a smith. When Hera heard about this, she welcomed her
son back to Mount Olympus.

He was called on many times to make armour for heroes such as Achilles and Herakles.

Hephaistos was closely associated with metalworkers like those shown on this
vase.
 The Hephaisteion

The Hephaisteion in Athens was a temple dedicated to Hephaistos and Athena.

The temple was on the edge of the Agora and overlooked an area of Athens that
contained many forges and workshops. These craftworkers may have called on
Hephaistos to bring them success in their trade.

The Chalkeia and Hephaisteia

The Chalkeia was a special feast of bronze-workers. Hephaistos, as the patron

of bronze-workers, was one of the gods honoured at the festival.

The Hephaisteia was another festival dedicated to Hephaistos. One of the major
features of the festival was a torch race. Torch races occurred at many festivals
but are particularly relevant to Hephaistos because of his connection with fire.

Dyonisos (Bachus)
Dionysos was the fun loving god of high spirits, strong emotions and wine. He is
also closely associated with drama and the theatre.

 Vines.
 Holds a kantharos, a special wine cup.
 Often accompanied by satyrs and maenads.

Dionysos and the dolphins

Dionysos, who was drunk on wine, was captured by a gang of pirates. Dionysos
awoke to find himself far out to sea. He tried to convince them of who he was but
the pirates jeered and laughed at him.

One of the pirates, however, believed what Dionysos said and begged the other
sailors to release him. The rest of the pirates refused to listen.

Dionysos finally lost his temper. He filled the boat with wine. Vines went shooting
through the masts and broke the sails on the boat. The pirates were terrified and
hurled themselves into the sea. The god turned them into dolphins, all except for
the pirate who believed what Dionysos said.
This is a drinking cup called a kantharos. Dionysos was usually shown holding this type of
cup.

Thebes

Dionysos was born in Thebes, a city in Attica. Many myths involving Dionysos are based in
this city. For example, when the king of Thebes opposed Dionysos, the god drove the
women of the town mad. The crazed women mistook the king for a lion and tore him to
pieces.

The Great Dionysia and Anthesteria

The theatre of Dionysos Eleutherios in Athens

The Great Dionysia was held annually in Athens. The main feature of the festival
was a theatre competition. Many different plays by different playwrights were
performed and a winner was picked at the end of the festival.

This is a chous, a wine cup given to young boys as a present during the Anthesteria.
The Anthesteria was a great festival held in honour of Dionysos when the year's
new wine jars were opened. During this festival children aged three were given
their first taste of wine.