Egyptian Pottery - Ageless Beauty

Ancient Egypt is a place of wild beauty and great fascination to many people today. Once, a hotbed of intrigue, commerce, and industry there is much about Egypt that remains dark and mysterious even in the modern world in which we currently live. One thing is certain however, the ancient Egyptians were artisans in their own right and one type of art in which they excelled was pottery. The pottery of ancient Egypt is often imitated today for many reasons.

Scholars have come to some sort of consensus of belief that the ancient Egyptians may have been the first to use enamel in pottery-a practice that adds great beauty and value to the pottery pieces, making them a true work of art. The amazing thing is that this is something that was introduced, we believe, nearly four thousand years ago and is still valued in today's modern society.

To illustrate just how important pottery was to the ancient Egyptians there are actually pieces of pottery that are included in the ancient hieroglyphics that depicted acts of day to day living in this ancient civilization. Pottery was included in more than a few of these glimpses into history establishing its importance and the commonality of its use.

Pottery in ancient Egypt was almost always made for use rather than made for decoration. Even the smaller pieces were meant to hold perfumes with the larger pieces of pottery holding grains, water, wine, and even meat for later use or consumption. The pottery of ancient Egypt could also be found in many sizes to accommodate the different needs the pottery filled. It was common to find various pieces ranging in sizes from inches tall to three or four feet in height. Pottery was as common to the Egyptians of old as appliances are today and it did serve to make life go much more smoothly for the people who used it.

In ancient Egypt pottery was also used for some of the most sacred rites of burial. Pottery pieces were used to hold certain organs after they were removed from the body during the embalming process to prepare the body for burial. Each of the following: heart and lungs, liver, small intestines, and the stomach were placed in four separate containers made of pottery and buried along with the body. It should be noted that the Egyptians are not the only civilization to use pottery in relation to the dead. The ancient Greeks also stored the ashes of their dead in ceramic containers.

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Whether you appreciate history as much as the next guy or gal or not is not as important as whether or not you appreciate beauty. The ancient Egyptians had beauty down to a science rather than an art when it came to creating beautiful pieces of pottery. We are quite fortunate that so many have managed to survive the ravages of time, greed, and war to be enjoyed all these years later.

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The Beauty of the Cyclades Islands in Greece

In the middle of the Aegean sea spreads the complex of the Cyclades islands.
The special architecture that all the islands of the complex have is the most characteristic feature, a point of reference for everyone who has visited these islands which spread in a distance of hundreds of miles.

The special architecture of small white houses with blue or green windows and doors, and the picturesque villages with the narrow alleys is a tourist attraction today, but it was made for specific reasons and this is what makes it so special.

All the islands are poor in flora therefore they are exposed to the sun, so the white color helped the habitants to keep the houses cool, as for the narrow alleys this had a double role, first to protect from the strong wings that dominate the islands and to protect from the pirates' attacks by forming a natural wall creating a perimeter of protection.

The unique landscape of the Cyclades islands makes the most beautiful contradiction.

The rocks that mirrors on the blue crystal waters, the small white houses scattered all around, the sandy beaches, the bright blue sky above: It's a warm and hospitable place.

HISTORY OF THE ISLANDS

The complex of the Cyclades islands has a history of thousands of years.
Due to their position into the center of the known world of the prehistoric and ancient years, the Cyclades islands where a station for merchandisers and sailors. This gave a boost to the economic and cultural life of the islands.

According to the myth, Cyclades where named after the nymphs Cyclades who Poseidon, the god of the sea transformed into rocks because they caused his anger. A different version is that they where named like this because they form a natural circle around the island of Delos the sacred island of Apollo. (From the Greek word "cyclos", which means "cycle").

The Cycladic civilization is parted in three periods during prehistoric period, the first Cycladic period (3200-2000B.C.), the middle Cycladic period (2000-1550B.C.) and the late Cycladic period (1550-1100B.C.).

During the historic times (1100B.C. - 500B.C.) there was a great flourish in economy and culture with Delos playing the most important role.

During the times of Macedonian and Roman domination (500B.C. - 300B.C.) the islands passed to the domination of Fillip the 2nd, king of Macedonia and then to his son Alexander the great. After the fall of Macedonia the Romans dominated, bringing the decay to all of the islands with only exception Delos which kept flourishing.
During the Byzantine period and the middle ages (300B.C.-1537B.C.) the islands belonged to the Byzantine Empire until 1204 when Konstantinoupolis the capital of Byzantium fell to the Franks. After that and until 1537 the islands where ruled by the Franks. On 1538 the great Pirate Barbarosa, looted the islands and this caused the desolation of some of the islands.

Until 1617 Cyclades decayed and gradually fell under the domination of the Turks. On 1821 they participated on the rebellion of the Greeks against the Turks and contributed to the liberation of Greece.

The complex is consisted of 34 islands from which 23 are being habited.
Each island has a history of his own and apart from the common characteristics, differ in style and aura making each and every one of the islands worth visiting and finding out the unique characteristics and special feeling they have.

The islands have differences in the way they have evolved. The bigger islands, by being centers of commerce, navigation and more recently tourism centers, are cosmopolitan and crowded, especially during summer period.

Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Santorini can host even the most demanding and cosmopolitan visitors, having followed the needs of modern times in facilities and entertainment, keeping at the same time the unique features of the complex.
Islands like Amorgos, Sifnos, Andros and Milos are following the steps of evolution, having made great steps in tourist facilities the past years, being like this great tourist destinations as well.

For the ones that whish for something original and outstanding, islands like Anafi, Sikinos, Folegandros and the small Cyclades will fill with magic and reveal the authentic aura of the Cyclades, away from the modern civilization, beyond time.

The best way to enjoy the complex is a small tour to some of the islands according to the needs that everyone wants to fulfill. There is a fully organized navigation network with modern ships with hourly schedules from the ports of Athens to the islands and connecting the islands. Visitors just have to choose which destinations they want to visit. Start with a visit to the capital, Syros and a walk at Ermoupolis with the picturesque alleys, a village with a unique mix in Catholic and Orthodox culture spreading onto two hills. After that, a night at Mykonos letting the senses rule until the morning light. Continue on a cosmopolitan beach of Paros or Naxos. Start a quest on the Paths of Amorgos ending at the monastery of Santa Anna with the grand blue just under the cliff, enjoy the sun at the isolated beach of Roukounas at Anafi and finally take a walk at the castle of Sifnos during sunset where you can literally listen to the Aegean sea breathing!

Some things cannot be measured, cannot be described. If you want to understand the aura of the Cyclades complex, come and see for yourself, magic will overcome you once you enter the complex and from then on the Cyclades islands will be a synonym of joy of life, just let Poseidon, Apollo and Aphrodite take you into their arms.

Learn more about Myconos, Santorini, Delos, and discover the rest of the greek islands, by visiting George Nellas' Website about the greek islands.

Beauty and Mythology

Since the dawn of time, man has always been fascinated by beauty. It can be the cause of his greatest joy or of his biggest failure, as in the case of Adam and Eve during creation. Poets and singers have sang paeans about man's fascination with beauty and even the ancient civilizations commemorated beautiful things, not unlike the regular beauty contests that bring together the most beautiful women in the world at least once a year.

Beauty is a universal concept that is hard to define but is understood by all. For instance, we may struggle to explain ourselves when ask what is beautiful to us. But if we are asked to point out a beautiful woman in a group, men do it easily and naturally. As the saying goes, when it comes to great beautry, we know it when we see it.

In ancient times, people were so enamored with the concept of beauty that they actually deified beauty by identifying and worshipping female goddesses.

Aphrodite is goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. Her legend says that she was born of the sea foam ("foam-arisen") after a monumental crash between the titan Cronus and the god Uranus. According to writings, Cronus cut off the genitals of Uranus and cast these into the sea, "and white foam arose from immortal flesh; with it a girl grew."

Freya is the goddess of fertility as well as of love, sex, war, beauty, prophecies and attraction in Norse mythology. Like the modern-day woman, Freya was crazy about jewelry. She named her daughter "Hnoss," meaning "jewel".

Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, light, wisdom and fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and fertility in Hindu mythology. She is the goddess who conforms the least to our conventional view of beauty. Lakshmi is often portrayed as a fair lady with four arms who sat on a lotus and projected a benign countenance.

Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, is the most famous of all the goddesses of beauty. When painting and sculpture dominated the Renaissance period of Europe, Venus was a very popular subject among artists, who often portrayed her in a state of nudity.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Beauty, Jewelry, and Women

Cyprus And Aphrodite - The Greek Goddess Of Love Beauty And Sexual Rapture

If you know even a little about Cyprus or Greek mythology the chances are you will have heard of the Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture Athrodite. Legend tells that she was the result of the castration of the God Uranus which was carried out by his son Cronus (perhaps it was the way those Gods raised their kids) with a sickle. Owch! Anyway Cronus threw the severed genitals into the sea where they foamed up which in turn gave birth to Aphrodite. The word "athros" or sea foam giving rise to the translation Athrodite or deity of foam.

Anyways, Cyprus comes into the picture because Aphrodite was carried by the sea and came ashore on the Island and some legends claim she rode on a giant clam shell. In fact some Greek mythology refer to her as Cytherea or Kypros for this very reason.

Zeus (the top God) was worried that the other Gods would fight over Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he took the liberty of marring her of to Hephaestus the smith God. Boy was he knocked out? Scruffy old black smith weds Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture! Had his boat come in or what?

Hephaestus was over the moon and as a sign of his love for Aphrodite he used all his skills as a smith to fashion her a beautiful bejeweled girdle with fine gold filigree. He even wove magic into the gold filigree which was a big mistake on his part. The problem was that when ever Aphrodite wore the girdle she would become sexually irresistible bearing in mind that she was already the ultimate embodiment of female beauty anyway. Amongst her many lovers (she was a bit of a girl) were Gods but she also took mortal lovers too the most famous being Adonis.

Some of her Sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas through her union with her Trojan lover Anchisess. What can I say? It's a typical story of a beautiful woman wreaking havoc amongst the male population, causing wars and several spoilt dinners to boot. Her festival was Aphrodisiac (now you know where that comes from) which was celerbrated in several places in Greece including Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses where not prostitutes but sexual intercourse with them was considered a form of worship to the Goddess herself.

There you go then, now you can impress all your friends or even fellow tourist with your factual knowledge of Aphrodite. When you visit Cyprus be sure to take a trip out to her alleged birth place a few kilometers outside of Paphos. The view from the cliffs is indeed spectacular and there is a resturant bar with a great view point where you can relax with a cool drink. You will see the "rock of Aphrodite" itself just off the coast.

The local legend states that if you swim around the rock at midnight during the full moon Aphrodite will make you ten years younger if the exercise doesn't kill you off first that is. Enjoy Cyprus and don't forget to visit the rock of Aphrodite.

Kevin Moore owns several Cyprus web sites and writes regular articles about Cyprus and Cyprus property so take a look here at Cyprus Info