Alfred The Great 871-901 A.D.

The following is information that my students who are studying the Middle Ages need for review.  I’ve put it here instead of on our homework page in hopes that it will be interesting to others as well.  I will also be posting information this week about William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings, Henry the Fowler, and Canute.  Hope you enjoy the stroll back in time.

During the Middle Ages the English Coast was constantly being invaded and plundered by the Vikings and the Danes.  For a while, large portions of England were ruled by Danish Kings.  The Saxons were able to keep some of England for themselves due to the courage of the great Saxon King, Alfred.  Alfred was the fourth son of King Ethelwulf.  All of his older brothers names begin with Ethel…which means ‘noble birth’.  Being the fourth son it seemed unlikely that Alfred would inherit the throne and so his name does not contain the common prefix of ‘ethel’.

As a boy Alfred’s parents taught him and his brothers to read.  There were not many books at this time, partially due to the difficulty and expense of paying skilled scribes to copy books by hand onto parchment, but also  due to the frequent Viking raids that England endured.  The Vikings would frequently burn villages, churches, and monasteries destroying many of the books that were in England.  During this uncertain time ‘book learning’ gave way to the more practical skills associated with war.  Rarely did a stretch of time go by without an invasion.

Yet, Alfred’s mother sought to teach her sons.  The story is told that Alfred’s mother showed Alfred and his brothers a beautifully illustrated volume.  She told the boys that at the end of one week she would award the book to the boy who could read it the best.  Up to this point Alfred had struggled with reading, but upon seeing the book he applied himself to his studies.  His brothers, thinking he didn’t stand a chance, spent their days hunting, riding, and taunting Alfred.  At the end of the week it was Alfred who proved to be the best reader and won the book. A love of learning and emphasis on the importance of education will later become a hallmark of Alfred’s reign.

Alfred’s early life also included trips to Rome where he met the Pope and studied.  It was a long difficult journey.  Some accounts report that Alfred’s father had made a commitment to make the pilgrimage, but was not able to and sent Alfred in his stead.  At that time Alfred was anointed by the Pope, in later years biographers would claim this was an anointing to be King, but as he was just a young boy with many older brothers this is unlikely.

In various fights Alfred’s brothers were killed, and in 871, when Alfred was 22 years old, the Danes again invaded and Alfred’s brother, King Ethelred was killed.  Alfred was now king.  The Saxons continued to fight, but the Danes had taken the northern and eastern parts of England and were continuing their pirating of the English coast.  Due to this, and the constant state of alarm that his people were living with Alfred decided to meet the enemy before they could land.  He began to build and equip a navy.  In 875 he gained the first naval victory by the English.  (Is it just me, or is it odd that a nation on a small  island didn’t have a navy???)

This tree fungi is named 'Alfred's cakes" after this story.

The victory was not sufficient to hold off the Danes however and eventually they poured into Saxon lands and Alfred was forced to flee.  At this point a story is repeated about Alfred that demonstrates both his humility and his desperate situation.  He was forced to wander the countryside, finding work where he could.  He didn’t reveal that he was the king.  One account says that he was very hungry and entered the house of a farmer and his wife.  She was baking some cakes and told him to watch them and not let them burn while she went outside to care for the animals.  When she returned the cakes were burning.  Alfred had been lost in thought trying to think how he could save England and hadn’t noticed them.  The woman yelled at him, “You lazy, good for nothing.  You would have eaten the cakes but you couldn’t help make them.  Get out.”  He never told her who he was, and he left…still hungry.

As time passed some of Alfred’s friends discovered where he was and they began to join him.  They began to organize and build a fort.  One day he was out wandering the countryside singing and Guthrum, the commander of the Danes heard him.  He sent for the minstrel, not knowing his true identity and asked him to sing for him.  Alfred did, and when he left that day he had some payment for his songs, along with information he could use to attack.

A week later Alfred attacked the Danish forces and defeated them.  Alfred took Guthrum as his prisoner, and then took up the harp and played for him.  Guthrum was amazed that the wandering minstrel was the King.  Alfred then offered to let Guthrum and his men live if they would convert to Christianity, be baptized and be allies.  Guthrum agreed.

England was still split into a Danish kingdom and a Saxon kingdom, but years of peace and prosperity came after Alfred’s victory.  With some relief from invaders Alfred looked to building up his kingdom so that it would be safe from attacks.  He immediately began building and fortifying a system of forts throughout his kingdom that were roughly one days ride apart.  In this way, if any part of the kingdom were attacked reinforcements could arrive swiftly.  He also rebuilt the Roman roads and constructed other roads that increased travel and commerce.  In a new move, Alfred decided to have a standing, mobile army.  At that time soldiers were only called up for service when they were needed, in times of peace they saw to their own lands and wealth.  Having a standing army meant that Alfred was always ready to repel an invasion.

Alfred also created a Royal navy.  The ships that he built were larger than those used by the Vikings and were modeled after the warships of Rome.  The ships were made to be tied to the boat being attacked so that they could board the vessel and fight.  Unfortunately, this created some problems, most battles were fought in rivers and estuaries and the large ships were to easily stuck in mud when the tide went out.

There also appears to have been an extensive beacon system that was instituted so that messages could be communicated rapidly from one fort to another.  I’m picturing something along the lines of the beacons used in the Lord of the Rings…but I don’t really know if it was like that.  Regardless, with the improved roads and regularly spaced forts communication was greatly increased, giving the Saxon’s a greater measure of security.

The King’s thought and planning paid off when the Vikings tried to attack.  The Vikings depended on surprise and mobility to come in quickly and gain the upper hand.  With all of Alfred’s changes this was no longer possible, it was to easy for the Saxons to respond to threats swiftly, even on the sea before the Vikings hit land.

Alfred also reformed the justice system.  He is sometimes credited with creating many new laws.  It would be more accurate to say that he collected all of the laws into a book and saw that they were enforced.  He insisted that all the judges in his realm be literate so that they could study and possess wisdom.  This was not an easy feat to accomplish as education had suffer-

Copy of Alfred's translation of Pastoral Care.

ed greatly during the years of invasion by the Danes and Vikings.  To be sure his judges were fair and doing their jobs Alfred would  frequently review their decisions.

The first fifth of the book of laws that was complied was an introduction written by Alfred.  In it he makes the case for the value of having Christian law and quotes Exodus and the book of Acts.  He traces the history of God’s law given to Moses through history to the development of the laws that the Saxons would have.  He divided the book into 120 chapters to reinforce this connection to God’s laws.  In Medieval exegesis numbers were symbolically important.  120 was the number for ‘law’ because the great ‘law giver’ Moses was 120 when he died.

Following the reasoning presented in Alfred’s introduction he also emphasized  that the king of a nation had been placed there by God and his subjects were doing their Christian duty by being loyal subjects.  This was not a case of using religion to manipulate his subjects.  The idea that God had entrusted him with the spiritual as well as physical well-being of his subjects was an intrinsic part of his worldview.  He felt that if the Christian faith fell into ruin in his kingdom, either because he was indifferent or because there were too few clergy who were educated, he would be held responsible by God.  He had examples of Kings in the Old Testament who did not protect their people, or their people’s spiritual health, and God judged them.

This led to another set of reforms…educational reforms.  Albert knew that without educated judges, priests, and other leaders his country would suffer.  He was concerned that the monasteries were empty and the clergy too ignorant to understand the Latin words they spoke in their liturgies.  He established court schools where his children, the sons of nobles, and those common children who showed an aptitude could receive an education.  Alfred made a list of books that ‘all men should know’ and he had all of the manuscripts translated into their language.  He brought in scholars from other parts of the world to teach in his school.  He believed that without Christian wisdom there could be no prosperity or success, and that wisdom would be gained through education.

“Therefore he seems to me a very foolish man, and truly wretched, who will not increase his understanding while he is in the world, and ever wish and long to reach that endless life where all shall be made clear.” (Alfred the Great)

He translated Pope Gregor’s work, Pastoral Care, and provided a copy to each of his Bishops for their study.  He also created beautiful pointers that

Alfred's jewel

were used to follow the line that was being read on the parchment.  One of these has been found and is referred to as Alfred’s jewel, as there is an inscription on it that says it was made by order of Alfred.  Alfred also worked on a book of his own when he had free time…which couldn’t have been often.

Alfred’s military, judicial, and educational reforms were all intertwined.  Restoring religion and learning was as instrumental in the defense of Saxony as building forts.  In Alfred’s preface to the English translation of Gregory’s Pastoral Care he comments that if kings fail to obey their divine duty to promote learning they can expect earthly punishments to befall them, and their people.  He assured his readers that wisdom was the surest path to power.  “Study Wisdom, then, and when you have learned it, condemn it not, for I tell you that by its means you may without fail attain to power, yes, even though not desiring it.”  (Alfred the Great)

After his death Alfred was made a saint by both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox church.  In an aside that I find very important…his Feast Day is Oct. 26th.  (My birthday).  He is now known to the English as Alfred the Great, and during difficult times people remembered his reign as one of peace ruled by a wise and just king.

Art of the Roman Republic

In a previous post we looked at the art of the Etruscans, now we are going to move forward into the art of the time when Rome was a republic.

First we need to know a little history. A group of Roman Aristocrats overthrew the last Tarquin king in 509 BC . For the next 450 year a small group of men, the senate, would rule Rome. By 275 BC Rome would control the entire Italian peninsula. For more than a century the Punic wars would rage finally coming to their conclusion in 146 BC. With the end of the Punic wars and the defeat of Carthage, Rome gained control of the entire western Mediterranean. By the mid second century BC Rome had conquered Greece, and by 44 BC they had acquired most of Gaul. ( modern day France.)

Aulus Metellus Bronze

The sculpture of the Roman Republic period was influenced by the art they found in Greece but with their own twist. The Romans practiced ancestor worship. They venerated their deceased relatives and had death masks and sculptures made of them allowing the past generations to continue to participate in some ceremonies. This led to a desire to render realistic portraits.

This bronze of Aulus Metellus is life-sized. We know his name because it is inscribed on the hem of his clothing. The statue has been known since ancient times as ‘The Orator’ and the man stands as if addressing a crowd. He wears sturdy leather boots, an interesting thing to note…gods and goddesses were depicted barefoot and later on we will see that Augustus was sculpted barefoot, perhaps hinting at his deification.

The Romans were well aware of the propaganda value of portraits. This is why the

Denarius with portrait of Julius Caesar

used them on coins. This relief sculpture of Julius Caesar on a Denarius accurately shows his careworn face and receding hairline. Roman coins are actually one of the ways we have accurate pictures or portraits of their many rulers.

The Romans developed the use of concrete to aid them in their massive building projects. Their use of concrete was a huge breakthrough that we probably take for granted. They were able to make massive building for less money and effort by building out of concrete and then applying a veneer of stone or marble over the concrete. This gave them greater freedom in the forms they could use, they didn’t have to transport as many heavy stones, and they could stretch their resources. Here we see a picture of how the concrete was used. There was a fill in the center, then often a layer of brick, and then a stone veneer. So while Greek buildings revealed their building materials, the Romans covered their up.

Model of the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia

Another architectural feature of the Romans is the use of the round arch and vault. While other civilizations had used these, none to the degree that the Romans did. Here we can see the remains of the Sanctuary of the Fortuna Primigenia dedicated to the godess of fate and chance. The sanctuary was not discovered until after World War II when the area was being cleared of debris caused by bombings. It is a fine example of Republican architecture. It is built of concrete and is covered with a veneer of stucco and limestone.

There are seven terraces that ascend with long ramps and stairways connecting them. You can see the use of arches and colonnades. As you reach the upper levels there is a large semi-circle staircase leading to the actual temple of Fortuna. The temple is a rock cut cave where the actual acts of divination occurred.

More common temple structures were smaller urban temples built in the cities commercial centers. This temple sits

Roman temple

on a raised platform next to the Tiber River. While unsure, historians think it may have been dedicated to Portunus, the god of harbors and ports. It has a porch, a single set of steps, and a rectangular cella. It echoes the Greek temple plans that we have already looked at. Their are Ionic columns and two engaged columns…meaning part of the column is set into the wall. There is a frieze going around the entablature. This combining of designs and orders from the Greeks is typical of Roman buildings.

Kids create their own city-states.

In my Ancient History class we did a little experiment last week. We have been studying the Ancient Greeks and

Great overview

comparing some of the city-states. We watched a PBS movie, The Greeks; Crucible of Civilization, that chronicled the development of Athens and Sparta through various monarchies, dictators, oligarchies, and eventually democracies. Each development filled a need and created others. Outside pressures, primarily from the Persians, pushed city-states that were often at war with each other, to unite against a common enemy. As tyrants rose and fell, land became a point of contention, and slave populations grew. We saw that laws were needed that were fair and that the people would abide by.

For our experiment I divided the kids up into 3 groups. It’s important that each group have some boys and some girls. I figured that since no one can chose where they are born I wouldn’t give the kids a choice about the groups they were in. I counted off the boys and the girls by threes, sending the twos to one area of the room etc. Once they were all in their groups I explained the rules of the game. Basically, for the next 2 1/2 hours the kids would be living as ancient Greeks in their city-states. Each group had their table and an area around the table to claim as their ‘land’. They were to live by basic laws honored in most Greek City-Sates.

Mandatory Rules

1. Boys must do all the work and make all of the decisions.

2. Girls must keep their homes and land clean and organized.

3. Girls may not travel unaccompanied by a male outside of their city-state. (This law in particular drew groans. The experiment included the next class period and our lunch break and the girls needed an escort to go to the store, the bathrooms, the kitchen, etc.)

At the end of the time period I had two judges come in. One to judge the boys ‘work’, and one to judge how well the girls did. The boys were assigned the following ‘work’. They had to name their city-state, make up ten laws, and draw a poster of the laws, name, flag etc. The girls were not allowed to help, they could humbly offer an opinion but all decisions had to be made by the boys.

Breaking any of the rules resulted in points being deducted. We had girls lose points for coloring on their posters and wandering off without an escort. If they completed their work in an exemplary fashion the boys could earn up to 10 points and the girls up to 5. Sorry girls, uneven pay scale back then.

The Results

I was happy to hear one 9th grade girl grumbling about 20 minutes into the exercise.   “I thought this was going to be so great, sit back and relax for a whole class and watch the boys do all the work…but it’s horrible. It’s boring. I have ideas too…” All the girls basically felt the same way and were very happy when they no longer needed escorts to walk about the building.

Here are some of the laws the kids came up with.

The first city-state was Atlantis and their flag consisted of a trident in waves. Some of their laws were:

1. Everyone must worship Poseidon.

2. Murder of a citizen is death by crucifixion.

3. Killing of cattle, or other animals, results in you having to repay double.

4. All citizens, slaves, and hetics are required to participate in any wars. (Hetics were people who moved into your city-state from another city-state, generally tradesmen.)

Our next city-state was Siligia. Some of their laws were:

1. Our official goddess is Athena and you must make an offering to her once a week.

2. Male citizens must serve 5 years in the military.

3. You must contribute 10% of your wealth to your city.

4. No public nudity, you must dress appropriately.

5. Children must be educated until the age of 18.

(The rest of theirs  were similar to the 10 Commandments.)

Our last city-state was Equus Fuga which means Flying Horse in Latin. Some of their laws were:

1. Women must have their arms completely covered when in the polis.

2. All visitors will be cared for and receive hospitality. (They had a limit on how long families had to put up visitors and then someone else had to take them in.)

3. This city-state was concerned about noise pollution and had a law that you could not talk to someone who was more than 5 feet away, thus reducing shouting.

4. Concern over the spread of the plague brought about this next law…every person must boil water before it can be consumed.

5. The goddess Aphrodite is this city-states patron goddess and must be worshiped fervently for one hour.

This would be a fun exercise to continue if you have a small group of children and siblings.  You could continue to develop your city-state as you learned more about the different political systems, military experience, and family life in Greece.

Greek Vases Part 1

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted information for my Art History Class, but here is what we’ve been covering in class the last few weeks on the Ancient Greeks. Today I’ll post about Greek Vases, hopefully tomorrow on architecture. (For those of you unfamiliar with my site, this is a class of Jr. High and High School Homeschool students.)

Following the Mycean and Minoan civilizations the next period of Greek art was the Geometric Period. During this time artists reduced human and animal body parts into simple geometric solids, and their designs were characterized by linear motifs, spirals, diamonds and cross-hatching. You will notice a marked difference from the sea creatures, birds and plants that were common in Minoan vase painting.

This figure, a centaur, is unusual because it is more than a foot tall and because it has a hollow body that was formed much like a vase on a potter’s wheel and then the artist added solid lines and a tail. The design was painted onto the body using slip. Slip is a mixture of water and clay that fires a different color than the clay it is painted onto. This centaur was discovered at a cemetery broken in half, with half in one person’s grave and the second half in the one next to it.

This next piece is a funerary vase and it shows the complex decoration typical of the Geometric style. In the bands, or registers of the vase we see the process of a funeral. The body of the deceased is placed on its side on a funeral bier (The Greeks had begun the new practice of cremation). We can see the mourners standing with their arms raised to their heads, an ancient expression of anguish, as the mourners literally tore out their hair. The bodies have been reduced to triangles and rectangles. No attempt has been made to show the forms in three-dimensional space. Despite this rigidity, we feel the strong accents of human loss.

Egyptian art, when dealing with death, explored the activities the deceased would enjoy in the afterlife; the Greeks focused on the emotions of those who survive in this life. According to the Greeks the deceased entered a place of mystery that we can not know. There was very little hope offered to the living, which led to an emphasis on the suffering of those left behind by the deceased.

By the seventh century BC vase painters were beginning to move away from the Geometric style. Painters were influenced by the arts of the Near East, Asia Minor, and Egypt. The Greeks were a sea-faring people and were re-establishing contact and trade with nations in these areas. They now began to use large and open motifs that included both real and imaginary animals, plants, and humans. This came to be known as the Orientalizing style and it began in Corinth, a port city that imported wares from the East. This pitcher is an Olpe, or a wide-mouthed pitcher which dates to 600 BC. You can see creatures painted in horizontal bands against a light background of stylized flowers. These flowers came to be know as rosettes. This is an example of black-figure pottery. It is decorated with dark shapes against a pale background which is the natural color of Corinthian clay. The artist has then incised the details inside the silhouetted shapes with a sharp tool and added touches of gloss, or clay slip to enhance his design.

The following description of Greek Painted Vase Techniques is from Art History by Stokstad. The three main techniques for decorating Greek painted vases were black-figure, red-figure and white-ground. The painters used a complex procedure that involved preparing a slip (a mixture of clay and water), applying the slip to the vessel, and carefully manipulating the firing process in a kiln (a closed oven) to control the amount of oxygen reaching the ceramics. This firing process involved three stages: in the first stage, oxygen was allowed into the kiln, which ‘fixed’ the whole vessel in one overall shade of red depending on the composition of the clay; then, in the second (reduction) stage, the oxygen in the kiln was cut back (reduced) to a minimum, turning the vessel black, and the temperature was raised to the point at which the slip partially vitrified (became glasslike); finally, in the third stage, oxygen was allowed back into the kiln, turning the unslipped areas back to a shade of red. The areas where slip had been applied, which were sealed against the oxygen, remained black. The ‘reds’ varied from dark terra-cotta to pale yellow.

In the black-figure technique, artists painted designs—figures, objects, or abstract motifs—with slip in silhouette on the clay vessels. Then using a sharp tool (a stylus) they cut through the slip to the body of the vessel, incising linear details within the silhouette. In the red-figure technique the approach was reversed. Artists painted the background around the figures with the slip and drew details within the figures with the same slip using a brush. In both techniques artists often enhanced their work with touches of white and reddish-purple gloss, pigments mixed with slip. Firing produced the distinctive black images.

White ground vases became popular in the Classical period. A highly refined clay slip produced the white ground on which the design elements were painted. After firing the vessel, the artists frequently added details and areas of bright and pastel hues using tempera, a paint made from egg yolks, water, and pigments. Because the tempera paints were fragile, these colors flaked off easily and few perfect examples have survived.

The Greek Potters created only a few vessel shapes. During the 6th Century BC Athens became the dominant center for pottery and trade and we move into the Archaic Period. The Athenians adopted the Corinthian black-figure techniques and at first they continued to decorate the vases with the traditional bands. An important transitional piece is this vase which dates to about 570BC. It is a volute krater, or a large vessel with a scroll-shaped or volute handles and was used for mixing the traditional Greek drink of wine and water. This was one of the earliest known vessels signed by both it’s potter (Ergotimos) and it’s painter. (Kleitias)

Kleitias was a great storyteller and this vase has over 200 figures that have been identified with inscriptions providing an important literary record. The main scene is the marriage of King Peleus to Thetis, a sea nymph. Together they would be the parents of Achilles. The different bands continue to tell more of the story. Even the footed base of the vase, which shows small warriors battling cranes, is the retelling of a story dating back to Homer.

Over time the Athenian painters decreased the number of bands and started making the figures larger, until generally one scene dominated the vase. A mid sixth century BC Amphora (a large, all purpose storage jar) illustrates this development. The depiction here is the wine god Dionysos with maenads, his female worshipers. This piece has been attributed to a painter called the Amasis Painter, because his work has such a distinctive style. Most of the Amasis Painter’s work is found on small vessels, so this is an exception. You can see the maenads arms around each other coming forward to present their offerings – a long eared rabbit and a small deer. These signify power over nature.

One of the finest of all of the Athenian artists is Exekias. He signed many of his vessels as both the artist and the painter, the inscription would read, Exekias made me. He was an expert of the Black figure method of vase painting and we can only be amazed at the details he was able to bring to life using this method.

Exekias took his subjects from Greek history. On this amphora he recounts an episode from the Trojan War. Ajax was a fearless Greek warrior, second only to Achilles in braverly. After Achilles died, however, the Greeks choose Odysseus to be his successor over Ajax. Along with his sorrow over losing his cousin Achilles and humiliation in being passed over Ajax prepared to commit suicide. Other artists frequently showed warriors after they had died, but Exekias chose to show Ajax as he prepared to die. He has set aside his helmet, shield, and spear and is crouching beneath a tree, planting his sword upright in the dirt so that he can fall upon it. There is balance in how Exekias has designed his work with two upright elements, the tree on the left and the shield on the right, framing and balancing Ajax in the center. The lines of the tree and the shield curve gently inward following the graceful line of the vase. The entire composition focuses our attention onto Ajax and his concentration on his work. It is a sad and poignant moment.

On this next vase, also created by Exekias, we see another unusual scene. When portraying gods and heroes, most Greek painters showed them either in battle, victory, or death. Here we have a Achilles and Ajax taking a break in their tent for a game of dice. Notice that Ajax’s shield is the same one as in the vase above. While they have set their shields aside they each still hold their weapons. The symmetry on this vase is also very graceful, reflecting the lines of the amphora. The details on the clothing are delicate and intricate. The two shields provide a frame for our heroes intent on their game. Neither Ajax nor Achilles would survive the Trojan War.

Aegean Art Part 2 Minoan Art

From 1900 to 1375 BC a civilization flourished on the island of Crete. This civilization were known as the Minoans, named after King Minos, a king who ruled Knossos, the island’s ancient capital.

Early archaeologist called the intricate architectural complexes of the Minoans ‘palaces’ and that name has stuck until today. We actually know little about their sociopolitical structure and are not sure if they had a royalty in the way we think of it.

The complexes contained all people needed to live. There were theaters, workshops, storage areas, houses, courtyards, temples, plumbing, all with many luxuries. The Palace complex at Knossos covered a 6 square mile area.

The walls of these complexes were made of mud and rubble and then faced with cut and finished stones. Columns and other interior elements were made of wood. There is speculation that this was used as the Minoans discovered that wood faired better during the many earthquakes than stone. Earthquakes led to the constant rebuiliding of the complexes, either by repair, or just rebuilding on top of the rubble.

Artist rendering of the Palace at Knossos

The complexes were multistoried with many colorful colomns. They were designed to maximize light and to allow air to circulate. Daylight and fresh air could enter at staggered levels. The complex had storage areas, houses, meeting rooms, theatres, courtyards etc. All you needed to live right there. The palace at knossos covered a square 6 mile area.

There was a sophisticated plumbing system laid out with terra-cotta pipes under the ground. Clusters of workshops and storage areas have been discovered with jars for oil and wine. In one single storeroom enough ceramic jars were found to hold 20,000 gallons of olive oil. The complex also housed workshops that indicate large-scale manufacturing.

Pots found in storage area

Kamares Ware Jug

One type of pottery that was produced was called Kamares ware. This pottery was highly sought after all over the ancient world and it was exported as far as Egypt and Syria. It had extremely thin walls, a strong use of color, and a graceful, stylized, painted decorated style. The one pictured is a jug with a ‘beaked’ pouring spout.

Some of the most striking ceramics were done in what is called the

Octopus Flask

Marine style because they depicted sea life on their surfaces. This Octopus flask from around 1500 BC celebrates the oceans. Besides the octopus we see other sea life teaming around the tentacles. While the Kamares ware was distinctive with it’s decoration and solid surfaces, the Marine ware seems to capture the energy of natural forms. Both possess their own beauty.

The walls of the Minoans homes and community rooms were frequently covered with murals. Some of the reflected the sea life that surrounded the island. Another popular motif was bull jumping. Historians are not sure if the bull jumping was a religious ritual, a rite of passage, or a sport.

The Palace at Knossos (and most other ancient sculptures and buildings) were painted bright colors. At Knossos the columns in the building were painted red and were made of tree trunks. The many earthquakes on the island of Crete had taught the people that wood did not crack and crumble like stone or marble, so they began to make their pillars out of wood. The trees were installed upside down, so that the thicker part of the tree would provide the base for the ceilings of the buildings.

Make a Chicken Mummy

Since we have been studying Ancient Egypt I thought I’d post this activity for those of you who want to try it.  These directions were found in The Story of The World, Activity Book One.  The photos are not mine, but copied from sites that have tried this.  Try looking at this site to see additional things you can do with your mummy, like measuring how many ounces the chicken loses during the process.  Fun stuff.

What you will need:

3 cans of baking powder

3 boxes of baking soda

chicken (whole, uncooked, small is better)  I suppose you could try this with a cornish game hen and it wouldn’t take as long.

Freezer bags…large and lots of them

Plastic gloves

rubbing alcohol, Egyptians used wine, but that would be a bit pricey.

salt, several boxes

If you wish scented oils…recipe below if you want to make your own.

various spices, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, you don’t have to use the spices if the expense is an issue

white glue

white linen type fabric, other fabric you have on hand will work, but won’t look very mummyish

Directions:

1.  Put on your gloves!  Chicken can harbor nasty bacteria.

2.  Remove the neck and package of liver, heart etc. from the inside of the chicken.  You can mummify these, but they will continue to smell, even after being dried.  If you do mummify them, the heart is usually wrapped in linen, and stuffed back inside the body.  The other parts are put in canopic jars.  Dry them following the same method as for the chicken.

3.  Wash the chicken well in hot running water.  Pat dry with paper towels.  Wash again with alcohol and pat dry.  Don’t forget to wash inside the cavity of the chicken as well.  This helps to reduce the amount of bacteria that will grow on the bird.  Dry as much as possible.

4.  Mis 1/2 box of baking soda with 1/2 can of baking powder and 2 boxes of salt.  The addition of baking powder and baking soda will increase the acidity of the salt mixture reducing the amount of bacteria that can grow.  This will also make the salt mixture more similar to the natron salt used by the ancient Egyptians which consisted of three salts plus sodium sulfate.  If you like, you can also mix spices into the mixture.

5.  Pour some of this mixture into the cavity of the chicken until it is full.  Then, pour some into a large freezer bag.  Put the chicken in the bag, and add the rest of the salt mixture.  The chicken should be completely covered.  Seal the bag.  Put the sealed bag into a second bag and seal.

6.  Check the chicken everyday for a week.  If the salt is wet, put on some gloves, remove the chicken dust off the salt and repeat step 4.  You will likely have to do this several times.

7.  After the first week, you only need to check the chicken once a week.  If the salt is wet proceed as above.

8.  At the end of the 6th week, put on your gloves, remove the chicken from the bag, dust off the salt as completely as you can.  Wet a paper towel and wipe any remaining salt off the bird.  Be sure to dry immediately.

9.  Rub the fragrance oil into the chicken, inside and out.  If you are using unscented oil, you may rub spices into the chicken and then the oil.

10.  Stuff the inside of the bird with fabric, you could also use sawdust and spices.

11.  Dip the strips of linen into the glue and begin wrapping.  Wrap the wings and legs seperately from the body.  Once3 that is complete wrap the body again, without the glue another 2 to 3 times.  You can wrap trinkets in if you wish, like the Egyptians wrapped in amulets.

Making the Scented Oil

Fill a jar to the top with a combination of spices (cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg work well)

Add oil to the jar and close the lid

Set it in a sunny location for a week.  Shake the jar well 2-3 times per day.

Drain the oil to use, or repeat the above steps for another week for stronger oil/perfume.

To make Canopic Jars for your organs

Clean off a small jar with screw top lid (or several jars, generally only one organ was placed in a jar)

Put paper scraps and water into a blender an puree (you can use packaged paper mache if you prefer)

drain water and mix in some glue.

Mould the pulp onto the lid into the shape of the head of one of Horus’s sons.  (Horus had four sons, Imsety was human and his jar protected the liver, Duamutef was a jackal and protected the stomach, Hapy was a baboon and protected the lungs, and Qebhsemuf was a falcon and protected the intenstines.)  Let dry completely.

Paint on details to the sculpture you made on the top, and onto the jars, writing in hieroglyphics if you want.

Art History Hittites

Anatolia, or modern day Turkey, is the home of the Hittite civilization. The Hittites were Indo-Europeans and recognized equality between men and women. Their laws even incorporated rights for slaves. No other legal system in the world at that time was so advanced. At a time in the Near East when flaying and impaling enemies was the rule, the Hittites were humane and civilized, even by today’s standards.

Although the monarchy passed from father to son, this was a kingship based on the idea of “primus inter pares”, first among equals, for the ruler was required to bring many matters before a senate.

It is possible that the Hitties were the first people to work in iron.  They were skilled at using iron to fashion chariot fittings and weapons. They used blocks of stone to decorated in high relief to decorate their gateways, some of these guardian figures were 7 feet tall.  The illustrations included here show a few of these guardians. 

Art History, Assyria

Continuing from yesterday’s post let’s look at the art of the Assyrian culture.

As struggles continued in the area that was once Sumer the Assyrians rose to dominate northern Mesopotamia.  In terms of art several interesting changes were happening.  In the past most art revolved around the building and decorating of temples, celebrating religious and mythical stories.  The shift has begun to an emphasis on palaces and celebrating human rulers.  Large palace complexes were built and decorated to show the power and importance of the King.  Art was used as propaganda to support the political power of the ruling classes.  Reliefs and murals were used to decorate buildings and streets to declare the ruler strong, invincible, just, and empowered by the gods.  A favorite image used in art was that of conquered dignitaries coming to pay tribute to the king, showing the vastness of his kingdom.

Assurnasirpal II established his capital in Nimrod on the bank of the Tigris.  His architects surrounded the city with walls that were 5 miles long and 42 feet high.  According to an inscription when the complex was completed Assurnasirpall gave a banquet for 69,574 people.  Most of the walls were made of mud bricks and then decorated with limestone and alabaster.  In the above relief the King is shown with his Queen in a garden.  The tranquil scene includes the severed head hanging in a tree on the far left.  It was common during this period to display the heads and corpses of enemies.  They were considered a type of trophy and also served as psychological warfare, instilling fear in those who would challenge the King.

Guardian figures flanked the important doorways and gates, and panels covered the walls in low relief showing the king participating in a variety of activities.  The above is one of the most famous guardian figures.  It is a human-headed Winged lion and was the gateway support from the palace of Assurnasirpal.  You will note that he has 5 legs, from the front it looks as if he is standing still and from the side he is mid-stride.  It is only if you view the statue from an angle that you can see all 5 legs.

In this vivid lion-hunting scene Assurnasirpal stands in a chariot pulled by galloping horses and draws his bow against an attaking lion that already has several bows protruding from it’s body.  This was probably a ceremonial hunt.

One of the most spectacular archaeological finds in the Near East was the discover in 1988 of mor than a thousand pieces of jewelry found in three royal Assyrian tombs.  When a museum in Germany wanted to display the collection no insurance company was willing to insure it due to it’s incredible worth.  During the recent invasion of Iraq the Museum in Baghdad was looted and much of this treasure was taken.

Fortunately, many of the missing pieces have been recovered.  Matthew Bogdanos was a Marine reservist, an assistant district attorney in Manhattan and a student of the classics.  He helped to organize the effort to recover the priceless artifacts that had been stolen.  He has written a book called, the Thieves of Baghdad, where you can read about the adventure of recovering stolen art in the chaotic world of post-war Baghdad.

Here are the facts on just a few of the pieces recovered that we have studied.  The Mask of Warka, believed to be the world’s oldest known natural sculpture of a human face was found buried in the backyard of a farmhouse.  The Bassetki Statue, cast in pure copper dating from 2250 B.C. was found submerged in a cesspool.  The Clay Pot from Tell Hassuna, made in 1500 years before the wheel was returned in a garbage bag.

The items were stolen to sell to fund terrorism and the insurgency in Iraq.  The following has happened repeatedly…marines operating alongside Iraqi security forces arrested 5 terrorists in their underground bunkers.  The bunkers were filled with automatic weapons, ammunition, ski masks, night vision goggles and more than 30 artifacts from the Iraq Museum.  One of the many disturbing aspects of these crimes is that they could not occur without the complicity of museums and experts.  In order to sell these pieces they must be authenticated and while the thieves and smugglers might be caught, they would not have a business without the dealers and collectors…and the experts used to authenticate pieces.

Art History

Along with homeschooling my own children I also teach some classes.  I’ve been using the pages feature of this blog to keep my students updated on their homework assignments, which takes up a great deal of time and keeps me from adding new posts to this site.  I’ve decided to add some of my class notes for Ancient Art  and History classes here, because I’ve found it fascinating, so hopefully you will too.  Most of my information from Marilyn Stokstad’s textbook, Art History and the images from various museum collection I found on the web.  I’m breaking up the information into several posts.   Enjoy

The Art of Babylon

The Amorites were a Semitic speaking people from the Arabian desert who moved west and reunited Sumer under the leadership of Hammurabi. Hammurabi built his capital in Babylon and his people became known as Babylonians.  His most notable achievement was a written legal code.  During the history of Babylonian dominence they were able to expand their empire beyond the Fertile Crescent into Egypt, Anatolia (modern day Turkey) and east into what is today Iraq. Ruling a vast empire with limited transportation options and no mass communication presented challenges we can hardly understand.  Yet, it would appear Hammurabi was a wise and fair ruler who managed it.  Up to this point the law was at the discretion of the ruler and was often unfair and arbitrary.  The rich could, and were expected to, bribe their way out of trouble and laws rarely applied to them.  Kings and rulers were above the law. Although we would be horrified at many of Hammurabi’s laws they were a huge step forward.  It is true they were biased in terms of wealth, class, and gender.  For instance, a woman commiting incest was burned, a man banished, however neither escaped judgement.  It is hard for us to appreciate what a giant step forward this was.  He was attempting, for the first time, to create a society regulated by published laws and their consequences…not on the whim of rulers.

Hammurabi’s codes were written on what is called a Stele.  The one pictured her is currently at the Louvre in Paris.  The Stele (or megalith) is made of black basalt and stands 7 feet high.  In the tradition of Ancient art It depicts a legendary event, the conversation about justice between god and man.  At the same timing it is an historical document recording laws and their punishments.

At the top of the stele we see Hammurabi and Shamash, the sun god and god of justice conversing.  They are on a mountain top indicated by the three tiers on which Shamash rests his feet.  Hammurabi stands in an attitude of prayer and attentiveness as he listens carefully.  Shamash sits on a backless throne, dressed in a traditional flounced robe wearing a cylindrical hat.  Flames rise from his shoulders and additional symbols of power include a measuring rod and rope.  He gives Hammurabi the laws because he is the intermediary between the god and his people.  From the base of this scene the laws are recorded in horizontal bands flowing to the base of the stele.  The words are written in cuneform.  The writing includes a prologue which tells of Hammurabi’s restoration of temples and his role as a peacemaker seeking to ensure uniform treatment of his subjects.   One sentence declares, “to cause justice to prevail in the land and to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak nor the weak the strong”

The concept of god-given laws engraved in stone is a longstanding tradition in the Ancient Near East.  You have probably noted the similarities to the story of Moses, known as the Lawgiver of Israel, who received the law from God on Mt. Sinai.  God wrote these laws on two stone tablets.

Hammurabi ruled Babylon from 1792 until 1750 B.C.  Babylon was in power for several centuries, eventually being conquered by the Assyrians.  We will get to them in a moment…but first let’s continue with Babylon which had a rebirth in 615 B.C.   This new Babylon or Neo-Babylon’s most famous ruler was Nebuchadnezzar II who we remember for his suppression of the Jews recorded in the book of Daniel.  He was a great patron of architecture and transformed the city of Babylon.  The city was traversed by the Processional Way.  In some places it was 66 feet wide and was used for religious processions.  It ended at the Ishtar Gate, the ceremonial entrance to the city.  The walls on either side of the route were faced with dark blue bricks.  Against this background specially molded turquoise, blue and gold bricks formed the images of striding lions which were the image of the goddess Ishtar.

The double arched Istar Gate was a symbol of Babylonian power.  It was guarded by four crenellated (notched) towers and decorated with horned dragons that had the head and body of a snake, the forelegs of a lion, and the hind legs of a bird of prey.  These were considered sacred the god Marduk.  Other animals and dieties were also honored on the gates.  The Istar Gate has been reconstructed inside of a Berlin Museum.

New-Babylon was also renowned for containing one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World…the fabled terraced and irrigated Hanging Gardens.  This is just an artist renderings of what we believe the gardens would have looked like.

I think that is enough for today.  Tomorrow we will look at Assyrian art.

Ancient Egypt Website

This is a really fun website about Ancient Egypt in the larger website of the British Museum. You (or your child) can research everyday life, pharaohs, mummification, gods and goddesses, among other things.. As you make your way through the site there are games, puzzles, stories, and lots of pictures and illustrations. It’s a perfect addition to a Unit Study on Ancient Egypt.