LUCKY NEW YEAR 2799

 

From all the admins here in Greek Asia Blogspot,we wish you a Happy and Lucky New Year. May Health, Happiness and Prosperity fill your homes and your hearts!

ANCIENT GREEK MEDALLION OF GODDESS APHRODITE DISCOVERED IN RUSSIA

  (Photo: Nikolay Sudarev )

Archaeologists have unearthed a silver medallion depicting the Greek Goddess Aphrodite in a 2100-year-old grave of a priestess on the northeast coast of the Black Sea. The grave is among a number of striking finds unearthed in the summer of 2022 at a site near the shore of the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia, east of the Crimean Peninsula and between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. According to the Oleg Deripaska Volnoe Delo Foundation’s spokesman Ruben Bunyatyan, archaeologists Nikolay Sudarev and Mikhail Treister discovered the grave of the woman during the Phanagoria archaeological expedition.

Apart from the unique medallion, other artifacts and jewelry found buried with the woman make the artchaeologists conclude that she was probably a priestess of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of beauty and love. The rings, silver earrings, and other grave goods that were dedicated to the Goddess led to these conclusions.

The large medallion is made of silver and shows the Goddess Aphrodite in the center, surrounded by symbols portraying 10 signs of the zodiac. The embossed female figure is Aphrodite, based on other contemporary iconographic portrayals. 

The medallion is about 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) in diameter and 15 millimeters thick. Medallions of this sort were used in many ways: as brooches, as hair accessories, and as pendants.

Such medallions were common in the territory of the Bosporan Kingdom as early as 2,300 years ago, said Maria Chashuk, senior research associate of the Phanagoria archaeological expedition.

According to archaeologists, the inclusion of the zodiac indicates the medallion is a portrayal of “Aphrodite Urania” — the heavenly aspect of the Goddess, as distinct from her Earthly aspect, “Aphrodite Pandemos.” However, the symbols for the zodiac signs Aquarius and Libra are missing, and the researchers don’t know why. This absence is intriguing,as it can provide insight into religious practices at the time of the creation of the medallion. It also highlights the importance of astrology during those times.

Greek historian Hecataeus of Miletus, said that Phanagoria was founded in the sixth century BCE by refugees from Teos, a Greek city on the coast of Anatolia, now part of modern-day Turkey.

Edited from : https://arkeonews.net

2,200-YEAR-OLD GREEK SLING BULLET FOUND IN ISRAEL

 

 A 2,200-year-old Greek sling bullet may have been used against Jews in Hanukkah story. Found in Yavne and bearing inscription ‘Victory for Heracles and Hauron,’ ,this efficient weapon, apart from its evident use in the battlefield,could also have been a tool for psychological warfare against Hasmonean soldiers during revolt.

Some 2,200 years ago, a Greek soldier stood in battle in what is now the Israeli city of Yavne, aimed his sling at Jewish Hasmonean troops, and launched a projectile at them during battles that would later become part of the story of Hanukkah.

At least, that is one option suggested following the discovery in Yavne of a sling bullet made of lead and bearing a Greek inscription reading “Victory for Heracles and Hauron” — a possible attempt at psychological warfare against enemies.

The Israel Antiquities Authority, which revealed the finding, told The Times of Israel that the sling bullet was discovered about a year ago and has been studied since then. It timed the announcement for Wednesday, 10 days before Hanukkah.

The IAA said in a statement that the sling bullet found in Yavne’s major archaeological site is 4.4 centimeters (1.7 inches) long and around 2,200 years old. Its age places it around the time of the battles between the Seleucid army against the Hasmoneans, who were seeking to prevent the Hellenization of the Jews.

The researchers, however, acknowledged that it isn’t known in what context the slingshot was used, and that there was no conclusive evidence that it even belonged to a Greek soldier.

“It seems that we will not be able to know for sure if the sling bullet belonged to a Greek soldier, but it is not impossible that it is related to the conflict between the Greeks and the Hasmoneans,” said Pablo Betzer and Dr. Daniel Varga, who directed the excavation on behalf of the IAA, in the statement.

“The tiny lead sling bullets, announcing the imminent victory of the Gods of pagan Yavne, is tangible evidence of a fierce battle that took place in Yavne at that time,” they added.

According to Prof. Yulia Ustinova of Ben Gurion University, who deciphered the inscription, “the pair of Gods Hauron and Heracles were considered the divine patrons of Yavne during the Hellenistic period. The inscription on a sling bullet is the first archaeological evidence of the two guardians of Yavne, discovered inside Yavne itself. Until today, the pair was only known from an inscription on the Greek island of Delos.”

Ustinova said the inscription wasn’t a simple call for the deities’ help, but “a threat directed towards adversaries.

“Lead sling bullets are known in the ancient world, beginning in the 5th century BCE, but few individual sling bullets with inscriptions have been found in Israel,” she added. “The inscriptions convey a message of unifying the warriors with the aim of raising their spirits, scaring the enemy, or a call intended to magically energize the sling bullet itself. These inscriptions were part of psychological warfare, the main purpose of which is to terrorize the opponent, and in addition, to unite the warriors and raise their spirits.”

“One can only imagine what that warrior who held the sling bullet 2,200 years ago thought and felt, as he held on to the hope of divine salvation,” said IAA director Eli Escusido.

“In the 2nd century BCE, pagan Yavne – which was an ally of the Seleucids (the Greeks who ruled Eretz-Israel), were subject to attacks by the Hasmonean armies,” the directors explained. “The Hasmoneans sought to subjugate the other nations and create a homogeneous and ‘pure state’ from a religious-ritualistic point of view.”

The IAA said the excavations in Yavne are carried out as part of an Israel Land Authority initiative to expand the city, in cooperation with the municipality. The excavations themselves are an ongoing large-scale project.

Edited from  the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post

GREEK CAMPAIGNS IN INDIA

 

In ancient times, trade between the Indian subcontinent and Greece flourished with silk, spices and gold being traded. The Greeks invaded South Asia several times, starting with the conquest of Alexander the Great and later with the Indo-Greek Kingdom.Yet,prior to mortal men,a Greek God had marched through India.

 The expedition of Greek God Dionysus in Ancient India

One of the beloved children of Zeus, God Dionysus,is the first who discovered the cultivation of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice;but Hera struck Him with madness, and drove Him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In Phrygia the Goddess Cybele, better known to the Greeks as Rhea, cured Him and taught Him Her religious rites, and He set out on a progress through Asia teaching the people the cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of His wanderings is His expedition to the Indian subcontinent, which is said to have lasted several years. When Alexander the Great reached a city called Nysa near the Indus river, the locals said that their city was founded by Dionysus in the distant past and their city was dedicated to the God Himself. These travels took something of the form of military conquests; according to Diodorus Siculus,he conquered the whole world except for Britain and Ethiopia.Returning in triumph ( Dionysus is considered the founder of the triumphal procession) He undertook to introduce His worship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes who dreaded its introduction on account of the ecstasy, and the liberating madness it brought with it (e.g. Pentheus or Lycurgus).

Conquests of Alexander the Great (327–326 BCE)

In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great began his foray into Punjab. King Ambhi, ruler of Taxila, surrendered the city to Alexander. Many people had fled to a high fortress/rock called Aornos. Alexander took Aornos by storm after a successful siege. Alexander fought an epic battle against the ancient Indian monarch Porus in the Battle of Hydaspes (326).

East of Porus' kingdom, near the Ganges River, was the powerful kingdom of Magadha, under the Nanda Dynasty.

According to Plutarch, at the time of Alexander's Battle of the Hydaspes River, Magadha's army further east numbered 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 6,000 war elephants, which was discouraging for Alexander's men and stayed their further progress into the Indian subcontinent:

As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was •thirty-two furlongs, its depth •a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at‑arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. And there was no boasting in these reports. For Androcottus, who reigned there not long afterwards, made a present to Seleucus of five hundred elephants, and with an army of six hundred thousand men overran and subdued all India.

--Plutarch, Parallel Lives, "Life of Alexander"

Seleucid (305 BCE)

Alexander's army mutinied along the Hyphasis, as Alexander died before he could make a conquest in fighting the Nanda Empire, making the Beas River the eastern extant of the Macedonian Empire.

Following Alexander's death, Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid dynasty and former Diadochi, gained control over Mesopotamia and the eastern satraps of the former Macedonian Empire. Seleucus unsuccessfully tried to campaign in India by invading what is now Punjab in northern India and Pakistan in 305 BCE.

Meanwhile, in India, Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan Empire with the help of Chanakya his guru and political advisor, rose to power by overthrowing the Nanda Empire in Pataliputra. His next course of action was to lead his armies into the Indus to battle with the Seleucid Empire and annex the satraps. The Seleucid-Mauryan War waged on for over two years, resulting in significant territorial and political change in the region. To resolve the conflict both parties finally settled upon a marriage alliance. Chandragupta annexed the Greek satraps, while also gaining Seleucid's daughter in marriage. In exchange, Basileus Seleucus received 500 prized war elephants from the Indian Emperor, an asset which was used to decisively win the Battle of Ipsus.

Seleucus also sent an ambassador named Megasthenes to Chandragupta's court, who repeatedly visited Chandragupta's capital of Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state). Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign.

Continued diplomatic exchanges and good relations between the Seleucids and the Mauryan emperors are then documented throughout the duration of the Mauryan empire.

Indo-Greek rule

In 180 BCE, the Indo-Greeks, invaded parts of northwest and northern India and ruled in the Punjab region. They are an extension of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek kings (the Euthydemids) located in neighbouring Bactria.

The invasion of northern India followed the destruction of the Mauryan dynasty by the general Pushyamitra Shunga, who then founded the new Indian Shunga dynasty (185 BCE-78 BCE). The Indo-Greek king Menander may have campaigned as far as the capital Pataliputra in eastern India (today Patna): "Those who came after Alexander went to the Ganges and Pataliputra" (Strabo, XV.698).

The Indo-Greeks ruled various parts of north-western South Asia until the end of the 1st century BCE, when the Scythians and Kushans started rising into power.

Legacy

Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greeks, leading to the Greco-Buddhist cultural syncretism. The arts of the Indian sub-continent were also quite affected by Hellenistic art during and after these interactions.

Editet from Wikipedia

NYX ~ THE GREEK GODDESS OF NIGHT

Apart from the famous Divine Residents of Mount Olympus, the Hellenic Pantheon has many other deities. Nyx, the Goddess of Night, is one of the Primordial Goddesses that preceded the Olympians. Though rarely receiving standard worship, Nyx is feared and respected by both Gods and mortals as one of the most significant forces of Creation.

Hesiod tells us that Her Father is Chaos, the first of all Gods. 

The Orphics tell us that She is the daughter and successor of Phanes, a creator God. A First-Born Goddess, She is a powerful Oracle and we see Her using this power to advise Her descentants; Uranus, her son by Phanes; Cronus, youngest son of Uranus; and Zeus, son of Cronus and Father of the Olympian Gods. 

Nyx is the consort of Erebus, with whom She has had numerous children, some of which play a crucial role in the lives of Gods and humans.She is the mother of  the twin brothers Thanatos (Death) and Hypnos (Sleep) , Eris (Strife), Geras (Old Age), Moros (Doom), Nemesis (Retribution), and also groups of deities, the Moirai (Fates), the Keres (the Hounds of Hades), and the Oneiroi (the Gods of dreams). It is interesting to note that Nyx has also given birth to Aether and Hemera, deities which represent the light and the daytime. 

She lives in Tartarus, one of the darkest and most dreaded places of the Greek Religion. As the sun sets, Nyx emerges from the depths of the Underworld along with Her companion, Erebus, and They both spread darkness all over the world. The next morning Hemera comes to bring the daylight back to humans and Nyx returns to Her home.

Aristotle, in Metaphysics, Book XII, asserted that some “theologians” derive all things from night. This idea fits the theogony of Aristophanes’ Birds. The Orphic Hymn to Goddess Nyx can be found below, in both Ancient Greek and English .

ORPHIC HYMN TO NYX 

Νύκτα θεῶν γενέτειραν ἀείσομαι ἠδὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν.

[Νὺξ γένεσις πάντων, ἣν καὶ Κύπριν καλέσωμεν]

κλῦθι, μάκαιρα θεά, κυαναυγής, ἀστεροφεγγής,

ἡσυχίηι χαίρουσα καὶ ἠρεμίηι πολυύπνωι,

εὐφροσύνη, τερπνή, φιλοπάννυχε, μῆτερ ὀνείρων,

ληθομέριμν' ἀγαθή τε πόνων ἀνάπαυσιν ἔχουσα,

ὑπνοδότειρα, φίλη πάντων, ἐλάσιππε, νυχαυγής,

ἡμιτελής, χθονία ἠδ' οὐρανία πάλιν αὐτή,

ἐγκυκλία, παίκτειρα διώγμασιν ἠεροφοίτοις,

ἣ φάος ἐκπέμπεις ὑπὸ νέρτερα καὶ πάλι φεύγεις

εἰς Ἀίδην∙ δεινὴ γὰρ ἀνάγκη πάντα κρατύνει.

νῦν σε, μάκαιρα, καλῶ, πολυόλβιε, πᾶσι ποθεινή,

εὐάντητε, κλύουσα ἱκετηρίδα φωνὴν

ἔλθοις εὐμενέουσα, φόβους δ' ἀπόπεμπε νυχαυγεῖς.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

 Nyx, parent Goddess, source of sweet repose, from whom at first both Gods and men arose,

Hear, blessed Kypris, decked with starry light, in sleep’s deep silence dwelling in ebon night!

Dreams and soft case attend Your dusky train, pleased with the lengthened gloom and fearful strain.

Dissolving anxious care, the friend of Mirth, with darkling coursers riding round the earth.

Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play, whose drowsy power divides the natural day:

By Fate’s decree You constantly send the light to deepest hell, remote from mortal sight

For dire Necessity which nothing withstands, invests the world with adamantine bands.

Be present, Goddess, to your suppliant’s prayer, desir’d by all, whom all alike revere,

Blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid dispel the fears of Twilight’s dreadful shade.

EDITED FROM : https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/

https://www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/

https://www.britannica.com/

https://www.theoi.com/Library.html