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Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of my first blog delivered more than a million views!! The title is its work as "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Mars: Heavy Water: Convection



Article I.                The basis of the write is to introduce a theory that discusses the condition of the planet Mars present day Sunday, April 12, 2020.  To engage in thought the basic atmosphere to the environment known on our planet is simple and brings to attention (appreciation) evaporation versus arid as Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.org/ ) has reported:  "The atmosphere of Mars is the layer of gas surrounding Mars. It is primarily composed of carbon dioxide (95.32%), molecular nitrogen (2.6%) and argon (1.9%). It also contains trace levels of water vapor, oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and other noble gases. The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than Earth's" this quote may be read on at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Mars.

Article II.              Conjecture at Title:

Article III.           Trunk to boot and brim:

Article IV.            Environmental breakdown

Article V.              Rain in activity

Article VI.            Gravitational pull at the root presenting:

Article VII.         Removal of all plant like due to no-under pole that holds gravity to ground due to heated environment crushing natural atmosphere causing the lift to exceed natural boundaries built by “earth caused gravitational” cycle.

Article VIII.       As water rose to fall so does the dirt and fertile lands

Article IX.            Weight, gravity, time, dome

Article X.              b. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain

Article XI.            “The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands.”

Article XII.          Gravity of the evolving planets

Article XIII.        To attract

Article XIV.         In gravity

Article XV.          Of weight

Article XVI.         Versus (flight or pole as equator touches balance at mass)

Article XVII.     The immediate lift as in rain to cloud would pull all oceans to evaporate (molecular sift in (re)habitat touching reconstruction to dust and ash:  MOVE RIVER and wind at/with Orion sequence at the cosmic belt for telescopic industry and trace flight path with general idea to project: the general composite to the next collection of molecule, ground and lift (salt considered strongly)



 

Life on Mars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search The possibility of life on Mars (or life on the closest planet to Earth[note 1]) is a subject of huge interest in astrobiology due to its proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof has been found of past or present life on Mars. Cumulative evidence shows that during the ancient Noachian time period, the surface environment of Mars had liquid water and have been habitable for microorganisms. The existence of habitable conditions does not necessarily indicate the presence of life.[1]
Scientific searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century, and continue today via telescopic investigations and deployed probes. While early work focused on phenomenology and bordered on fantasy, the modern scientific inquiry has emphasized the search for water, chemical biosignatures in the soil and rocks at the planet's surface, and biomarker gases in the atmosphere.[2]
Mars is of particular interest for the study of the origins of life because of its similarity to the early Earth. This is especially so since Mars has a cold climate and lacks plate tectonics or continental drift, so has remained almost unchanged since the end of the Hesperian period. At least two thirds of Mars' surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, and Mars may thus hold the best record of the prebiotic conditions leading to life, even if life does not or has never existed there,[3][4] which might have started developing as early as 4.48 billion years ago.[5]
Following the confirmation of the past existence of surface liquid water, the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers started searching for evidence of past life, including a past biosphere based on autotrophic, chemotrophic, or chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms, as well as ancient water, including fluvio-lacustrine environments (plains related to ancient rivers or lakes) that may have been habitable.[6][7][8][9] The search for evidence of habitability, taphonomy (related to fossils), and organic compounds on Mars is now a primary NASA and ESA objective.
The findings of organic compounds inside sedimentary rocks and of boron on Mars are of interest as they are precursors for prebiotic chemistry. Such findings, along with previous discoveries that liquid water was clearly present on ancient Mars, further supports the possible early habitability of Gale Crater on Mars.[10][11] Currently, the surface of Mars is bathed with ionizing radiation, and Martian soil is rich in perchlorates toxic to microorganisms.[12][13] The

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Steeped In CliffNotes





The Viking connection to the aspect of the eight-legged horse must be absolute in the draw of bridge to past.  The side to side action of horses in war is indeed the grant of that four-legged chase to harness the next paragraph to picture complete:



To engage the Viking as World renowned is to appreciate the ship.  A device of times to oceans the announced is merely the system to the sky and the traveling to the seas as oars were the template of that era.  As tides rose and beaches became landings it is perhaps as simple as complex; is Occam’s razor by choice to the best tool as by application to the quick of flame to the story of the liver as the body of absorption measures accuracy to chapter and verse being word to mouth instead of foot to the 12 inch rule removing the triplex of just numbers and returning to the route as units to simply explain the knot itself.

 (The Standard of Ur (see below) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_of_Ur)


This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Sleipnir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Odin Rides to Hel" (1908) by W. G. Collingwood.
In Norse mythology, Sleipnir (Old Norse "slippy"[1] or "the slipper"[2]) is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Sleipnir is Odin's steed, is the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, is described as the best of all horses, and is sometimes ridden to the location of Hel. The Prose Edda contains extended information regarding the circumstances of Sleipnir's birth, and details that he is grey in color.
Sleipnir is also mentioned in a riddle found in the 13th century legendary saga Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in the 13th-century legendary saga Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani, and book I of Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, contains an episode considered by many scholars to involve Sleipnir. Sleipnir is generally accepted as depicted on two 8th century Gotlandic image stones: the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone.
Scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Sleipnir's potential connection to shamanic practices among the Norse pagans. In modern times, Sleipnir appears in Icelandic folklore as the creator of Ásbyrgi, in works of art, literature, software, and in the names of ships.

Attestations

Poetic Edda

"Odin and Sleipnir" (1911) by John Bauer.
In the Poetic Edda, Sleipnir appears or is mentioned in the poems Grímnismál, Sigrdrífumál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In Grímnismál, Grimnir (Odin in disguise and not yet having revealed his identity) tells the boy Agnar in verse that Sleipnir is the best of horses ("Odin is the best of the Æsir, Sleipnir of horses").[3] In Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa tells the hero Sigurðr that runes should be cut "on Sleipnir's teeth and on the sledge's strap-bands."[4] In Baldrs draumar, after the Æsir convene about the god Baldr's bad dreams, Odin places a saddle on Sleipnir and the two ride to the location of Hel.[5] The Völuspá hin skamma section of Hyndluljóð says that Loki produced "the wolf" with Angrboða, produced Sleipnir with Svaðilfari, and thirdly "one monster that was thought the most baleful, who was descended from Býleistr's brother."[6]

Prose Edda

An illustration of Odin riding Sleipnir from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript.
An 18th century Prose Edda manuscript illustration featuring Hermóðr upon Sleipnir (left), Baldr (upper right), and Hel (lower right).
In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Sleipnir is first mentioned in chapter 15 where the enthroned figure of High says that every day the Æsir ride across the bridge Bifröst, and provides a list of the Æsir's horses. The list begins with Sleipnir: "best is Sleipnir, he is Odin's, he has eight legs."[7] In chapter 41, High quotes the Grímnismál stanza that mentions Sleipnir.[8]
In chapter 43, Sleipnir's origins are described. Gangleri (described earlier in the book as King Gylfi in disguise) asks High who the horse Sleipnir belongs to and what there is to tell about it. High expresses surprise in Gangleri's lack of knowledge about Sleipnir and its origin. High tells a story set "right at the beginning of the gods' settlement, when the gods established Midgard and built Val-Hall" about an unnamed builder who has offered to build a fortification for the gods in three seasons that will keep out invaders in exchange for the goddess Freyja, the sun, and the moon. After some debate, the gods agree to this, but place a number of restrictions on the builder, including that he must complete the work within three seasons with the help of no man. The builder makes a single request; that he may have help from his stallion Svaðilfari, and due to Loki's influence, this is allowed. The stallion Svaðilfari performs twice the deeds of strength as the builder, and hauls enormous rocks to the surprise of the gods. The builder, with Svaðilfari, makes fast progress on the wall, and three days before the deadline of summer, the builder was nearly at the entrance to the fortification. The gods convene, and figured out who was responsible, resulting in a unanimous agreement that, along with most trouble, Loki was to blame.[9]
The gods declare that Loki would deserve a horrible death if he could not find a scheme that would cause the builder to forfeit his payment, and threatened to attack him. Loki, afraid, swore oaths that he would devise a scheme to cause the builder to forfeit the payment, whatever it would cost himself. That night, the builder drove out to fetch stone with his stallion Svaðilfari, and out from a wood ran a mare. The mare neighed at Svaðilfari, and "realizing what kind of horse it was," Svaðilfari became frantic, neighed, tore apart his tackle, and ran towards the mare. The mare ran to the wood, Svaðilfari followed, and the builder chased after. The two horses ran around all night, causing the building work to be held up for the night, and the previous momentum of building work that the builder had been able to maintain was not continued.[10]
When the Æsir realize that the builder is a hrimthurs, they disregard their previous oaths with the builder, and call for Thor. Thor arrives, and kills the builder by smashing the builder's skull into shards with the hammer Mjöllnir. However, Loki had "such dealings" with Svaðilfari that "somewhat later" Loki gave birth to a grey foal with eight legs; the horse Sleipnir, "the best horse among gods and men."[10]
In chapter 49, High describes the death of the god Baldr. Hermóðr agrees to ride to Hel to offer a ransom for Baldr's return, and so "then Odin's horse Sleipnir was fetched and led forward." Hermóðr mounts Sleipnir and rides away. Hermóðr rides for nine nights in deep, dark valleys where Hermóðr can see nothing. The two arrive at the river Gjöll and then continue to Gjöll bridge, encountering a maiden guarding the bridge named Móðguðr. Some dialogue occurs between Hermóðr and Móðguðr, including that Móðguðr notes that recently there had ridden five battalions of dead men across the bridge that made less sound than he. Sleipnir and Hermóðr continue "downwards and northwards" on the road to Hel, until the two arrive at Hel's gates. Hermóðr dismounts from Sleipnir, tightens Sleipnir's girth, mounts him, and spurs Sleipnir on. Sleipnir "jumped so hard and over the gate that it came nowhere near." Hermóðr rides up to the hall, and dismounts from Sleipnir. After Hermóðr's pleas to Hel to return Baldr are accepted under a condition, Hermóðr and Baldr retrace their path backward and return to Asgard.[11]
In chapter 16 of the book Skáldskaparmál, a kenning given for Loki is "relative of Sleipnir."[12] In chapter 17, a story is provided in which Odin rides Sleipnir into the land of Jötunheimr and arrives at the residence of the jötunn Hrungnir. Hrungnir asks "what sort of person this was" wearing a golden helmet, "riding sky and sea," and says that the stranger "has a marvellously good horse." Odin wagers his head that no horse as good could be found in all of Jötunheimr. Hrungnir admitted that it was a fine horse, yet states that he owns a much longer-paced horse; Gullfaxi. Incensed, Hrungnir leaps atop Gullfaxi, intending to attack Odin for Odin's boasting. Odin gallops hard ahead of Hrungnir, and, in his, fury, Hrungnir finds himself having rushed into the gates of Asgard.[13] In chapter 58, Sleipnir is mentioned among a list of horses in Þorgrímsþula: "Hrafn and Sleipnir, splendid horses [...]".[14] In addition, Sleipnir occurs twice in kennings for "ship" (once appearing in chapter 25 in a work by the skald Refr, and "sea-Sleipnir" appearing in chapter 49 in Húsdrápa, a work by the 10th century skald Úlfr Uggason).[15]

Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks

Odin sits atop his steed Sleipnir, his ravens Huginn and Muninn and wolves Geri and Freki nearby (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.
In Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, the poem Heiðreks gátur contains a riddle that mentions Sleipnir and Odin:
36. Gestumblindi said:
"Who are the twain
that on ten feet run?
three eyes they have,
but only one tail.
Alright guess now
this riddle, Heithrek!"
Heithrek said:
"Good is thy riddle, Gestumblindi,
and guessed it is:
that is Odin riding on Sleipnir."[16]

Völsunga saga

In chapter 13 of Völsunga saga, the hero Sigurðr is on his way to a wood and he meets a long-bearded old man he had never seen before. Sigurd tells the old man that he is going to choose a horse, and asks the old man to come with him to help him decide. The old man says that they should drive the horses down to the river Busiltjörn. The two drive the horses down into the deeps of Busiltjörn, and all of the horses swim back to land but a large, young, and handsome grey horse that no one had ever mounted. The grey-bearded old man says that the horse is from "Sleipnir's kin" and that "he must be raised carefully, because he will become better than any other horse." The old man vanishes. Sigurd names the horse Grani, and the narrative adds that the old man was none other than (the god) Odin.[17]

Gesta Danorum

"Hadingus and the Old Man" (1898) by Louis Moe.
Sleipnir is generally considered as appearing in a sequence of events described in book I of Gesta Danorum.[18]
In book I, the young Hadingus encounters "a certain man of great age who had lost an eye" who allies him with Liserus. Hadingus and Liserus set out to wage war on Lokerus, ruler of Kurland. Meeting defeat, the old man takes Hadingus with him onto his horse as they flee to the old man's house, and the two drink an invigorating draught. The old man sings a prophecy, and takes Hadingus back to where he found him on his horse. During the ride back, Hadingus trembles beneath the old man's mantle, and peers out of its holes. Hadingus realizes that he is flying through the air: "and he saw that before the steps of the horse lay the sea; but was told not to steal a glimpse of the forbidden thing, and therefore turned his amazed eyes from the dread spectacle of the roads that he journeyed."[19]
In book II, Biarco mentions Odin and Sleipnir: "If I may look on the awful husband of Frigg, howsoever he be covered in his white shield, and guide his tall steed, he shall in no way go safe out of Leire; it is lawful to lay low in war the war-waging god."[20]

Archaeological record

Two of the 8th century picture stones from the island of Gotland, Sweden depict eight-legged horses, which are thought by most scholars to depict Sleipnir: the Tjängvide image stone and the Ardre VIII image stone. Both stones feature a rider sitting atop an eight-legged horse, which some scholars view as Odin. Above the rider on the Tjängvide image stone is a horizontal figure holding a spear, which may be a valkyrie, and a female figure greets the rider with a cup. The scene has been interpreted as a rider arriving at the world of the dead.[21] The mid-7th century Eggja stone bearing the Odinic name haras (Old Norse 'army god') may be interpreted as depicting Sleipnir.[22]

Theories

John Lindow theorizes that Sleipnir's "connection to the world of the dead grants a special poignancy to one of the kennings in which Sleipnir turns up as a horse word," referring to the skald Úlfr Uggason's usage of "sea-Sleipnir" in his Húsdrápa, which describes the funeral of Baldr. Lindow continues that "his use of Sleipnir in the kenning may show that Sleipnir's role in the failed recovery of Baldr was known at that time and place in Iceland; it certainly indicates that Sleipnir was an active participant in the mythology of the last decades of paganism." Lindow adds that the eight legs of Sleipnir "have been interpreted as an indication of great speed or as being connected in some unclear way with cult activity."[21]
Hilda Ellis Davidson says that "the eight-legged horse of Odin is the typical steed of the shaman" and that in the shaman's journeys to the heavens or the underworld, a shaman "is usually represented as riding on some bird or animal." Davidson says that while the creature may vary, the horse is fairly common "in the lands where horses are in general use, and Sleipnir's ability to bear the god through the air is typical of the shaman's steed" and cites an example from a study of shamanism by Mircea Eliade of an eight-legged foal from a story of a Buryat shaman. Davidson says that while attempts have been made to connect Sleipnir with hobby horses and steeds with more than four feet that appear in carnivals and processions, but that "a more fruitful resemblance seems to be on the bier on which a dead man is carried in the funeral procession by four bearers; borne along thus, he may be described as riding on a steed with eight legs." As an example, Davidson cites a funeral dirge from the Gondi people in India as recorded by Verrier Elwin, stating that "it contains references to Bagri Maro, the horse with eight legs, and it is clear from the song that it is the dead man's bier." Davidson says that the song is sung when a distinguished Muria dies, and provides a verse:[23]
What horse is this?
It is the horse of Bagri Maro.
What should we say of its legs?
This horse has eight legs.
What should we say of its heads?
This horse has four heads. . . .
Catch the bridle and mount the horse.[23]
Davidson adds that the representation of Odin's steed as eight-legged could arise naturally out of such an image, and that "this is in accordance with the picture of Sleipnir as a horse that could bear its rider to the land of the dead."[23]
Ulla Loumand cites Sleipnir and the flying horse Hófvarpnir as "prime examples" of horses in Norse mythology as being able to "mediate between earth and sky, between Ásgarðr, Miðgarðr and Útgarðr and between the world of mortal men and the underworld."[24]
The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture theorizes that Sleipnir's eight legs may be the remnants of horse-associated divine twins found in Indo-European cultures and ultimately stemming from Proto-Indo-European religion. The encyclopedia states that "[...] Sleipnir is born with an extra set of legs, thus representing an original pair of horses. Like Freyr and Njörðr, Sleipnir is responsible for carrying the dead to the otherworld." The encyclopedia cites parallels between the birth of Sleipnir and myths originally pointing to a Celtic goddess who gave birth to the Divine horse twins. These elements include a demand for a goddess by an unwanted suitor (the hrimthurs demanding the goddess Freyja) and the seduction of builders.[25]

Modern influence

The horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi.
According to Icelandic folklore, the horseshoe-shaped canyon Ásbyrgi located in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park, northern Iceland was formed by Sleipnir's hoof.[26] Sleipnir is depicted with Odin on Dagfin Werenskiold's wooden relief Odin på Sleipnir (1945–1950) on the exterior of the Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway.[27] Sleipnir has been and remains a popular name for ships in northern Europe, and Rudyard Kipling's short story entitled Sleipnir, late Thurinda (1888) features a horse named Sleipnir.[28][26] A statue of Sleipnir (1998) stands in Wednesbury, England, a town which takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon version of Odin, Wōden.[29]

See also

  • Helhest, the three-legged "Hel horse" of later Scandinavian folklore
  • The "táltos steed", a six-legged horse in Hungarian folklore
  • Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology
  • Santa Claus's eight flying reindeer.

Notes


  • Orchard (1997:151).
    1. Noszlopy, Waterhouse (2005:181).

    References

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  • Kermode (1904:6).

  • Larrington (1999:58).

  • Larrington (1999:169).

  • Larrington (1999:243).

  • Larrington (1999:258).

  • Faulkes (1995:18).

  • Faulkes (1995:34).

  • Faulkes (1995:35).

  • Faulkes (1995:36).

  • Faulkes (1995:49–50).

  • Faulkes (1995:76).

  • Faulkes (1995:77).

  • Faulkes (1995:136).

  • Faulkes (1995:92 and 121).

  • Hollander (1936:99).

  • Byock (1990:56).

  • Lindow (2001:276–277).

  • Grammaticus & Elton (2006:104–105).

  • Grammaticus & Elton (2006:147).

  • Lindow (2001:277).

  • Simek (2007:140).

  • Davidson (1990:142–143).

  • Loumand (2006:133).

  • Mallory. Adams (1997:163).

  • Simek (2007:294).

  • Municipality of Oslo (2001-06-26). "Yggdrasilfrisen" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2008-12-02.

  • Kipling, Rudyard (1909). Abaft the Funnel. New York: B. W. Dodge & Company. Retrieved March 16, 2014.






  • Standard of Ur

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    Jump to navigation Jump to search
    The Standard of Ur
    Standard of Ur - War.jpg
    "War" panel
    Materialshell, limestone, lapis lazuli, bitumen
    Writingcuneiform
    Created2600 BC
    DiscoveredRoyal Cemetery
    Present locationBritish Museum, London
    Identification121201
    Reg number:1928,1010.3
    The Standard of Ur is a Sumerian artifact of the 3rd millennium BC that is now in the collection of the British Museum. It comprises a hollow wooden box measuring 21.59 centimetres (8.50 in) wide by 49.53 centimetres (19.50 in) long, inlaid with a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli. It comes from the ancient city of Ur (located in modern-day Iraq west of Nasiriyah). It dates to the First Dynasty of Ur during the Early Dynastic period and is around 4,600 years old. The standard was probably constructed in the form of a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace represented on each side through elaborately inlaid mosaics. Although interpreted as a standard by its discoverer, its original purpose remains enigmatic. It was found in a royal tomb in Ur in the 1920s next to the skeleton of a ritually sacrificed man who may have been its bearer.

    History

    The Standard of Ur, in the British Museum.
    The artifact was found in one of the largest royal tombs in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, tomb PG 779, associated with Ur-Pabilsag, a king who died around 2550 BC.[1] Sir Leonard Woolley's excavations in Mesopotamia in 1927–28 uncovered the artifact in the corner of a chamber, lying close to the shoulder of a man who may have held it on a pole.[2] For this reason, Woolley interpreted it as a standard, giving the object its popular name, although subsequent investigation has failed to confirm this assumption.[3] The discovery was quite unexpected, as the tomb in which it occurred had been thoroughly plundered by robbers in ancient times. As one corner of the last chamber was being cleared, a workman spotted a piece of shell inlay. Woolley later recalled that "the next minute the foreman's hand, carefully brushing away the earth, laid bare the corner of a mosaic in lapis lazuli and shell."[4]
    Plan of grave PG 779, thought to belong to Ur-Pabilsag. The Standard of Ur was located in "S"
    The Standard of Ur survived in only a fragmentary condition. The ravages of time over more than four thousand years caused the decay of the wooden frame and bitumen glue which had cemented the mosaics in place. The soil's weight crushed the object, fragmenting it and breaking its end panels.[2] This made excavating the Standard a challenging task. Woolley's excavators were instructed to look for hollows in the ground created by decayed objects and to fill them with plaster or wax to record the shape of the objects that had once filled them, rather like the famous plaster casts of the victims of Pompeii.[5] When the remains of the Standard were discovered by the excavators, they found that the mosaic pieces had kept their form in the soil, while their wooden frame had disintegrated. They carefully uncovered small sections measuring about 3 square centimetres (0.47 sq in) and covered them with wax, enabling the mosaics to be lifted while maintaining their original designs.[6]

    Description

    "Peace" panel
    The present form of the artifact is a reconstruction, presenting a best guess of its original appearance.[2] It has been interpreted as a hollow wooden box measuring 21.59 centimetres (8.50 in) wide by 49.53 centimetres (19.50 in) long, inlaid with a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli. The box has an irregular shape with end pieces in the shape of truncated triangles, making it wider at the bottom than at the top, along the lines of a Toblerone bar.[3]
    Inlaid mosaic panels cover each long side of the Standard. Each presents a series of scenes displayed in three registers, upper, middle and bottom. The two mosaics have been dubbed "War" and "Peace" for their subject matter, respectively a representation of a military campaign and scenes from a banquet. The panels at each end originally showed fantastical animals but they suffered significant damage while buried, though they have since been restored.

    Mosaic scenes

    "Peace", detail showing lyrist and possibly a singer
    "War" is one of the earliest representations of a Sumerian army, engaged in what is believed to be a border skirmish and its aftermath. The "War" panel shows the king in the middle of the top register, standing taller than any other figure, with his head projecting out of the frame to emphasize his supreme status – a device also used on the other panel. He stands in front of his bodyguard and a four-wheeled chariot, drawn by a team of some sort of equids (possibly onagers or domestic asses;[7] horses were only introduced in the 2nd millennium BC after being imported from Central Asia[8]). He faces a row of prisoners, all of whom are portrayed as naked, bound and injured with large, bleeding gashes on their chests and thighs – a device indicating defeat and debasement.[3] In the middle register, eight virtually identically depicted soldiers give way to a battle scene, followed by a depiction of enemies being captured and led away. The soldiers are shown wearing leather cloaks and helmets; actual examples of the sort of helmet depicted in the mosaic were found in the same tomb.[5] The nudity of the captive and dead enemies was probably not meant to depict literally how they appeared in real life, but was more likely to have been symbolic and associated with a Mesopotamian belief that linked death with nakedness.[9]
    The lower register shows four chariots, each carrying a charioteer and a warrior (carrying either a spear or an axe) and drawn by a team of four equids. The chariots are depicted in considerable detail; each has solid wheels (spoked wheels were not invented until about 1800 BC) and carries spare spears in a container at the front. The arrangement of the equids' reins is also shown in detail, illustrating how the Sumerians harnessed them without using bits, which were only introduced a millennium later.[5] The chariot scene evolves from left to right in a way that emphasizes motion and action through changes in the depiction of the animals' gait. The first chariot team is shown walking, the second cantering, the third galloping and the fourth rearing. Trampled enemies are shown lying under the hooves of the latter three groups, symbolizing the potency of a chariot attack.[3]
    "Peace" portrays a banquet scene. The king again appears in the upper register, sitting on a carved stool on the left-hand side. He is faced by six other seated participants, each holding a cup raised in his right hand. They are attended by various other figures including a long-haired individual, possibly a singer, who accompanies a lyrist. In the middle register, bald-headed figures wearing skirts with fringes parade animals, fish and other goods, perhaps bringing them to the feast. The bottom register shows a series of figures dressed and coiffed in a different way from those above, carrying produce in shoulder bags or backpacks, or leading equids by ropes attached to nose rings.[3]

    Interpretations

    The original function of the Standard of Ur is not conclusively understood. Woolley's suggestion that it represented a standard is now thought unlikely. It has also been speculated that it was the soundbox of a musical instrument.[2] Paola Villani suggests that it was used as a chest to store funds for warfare or civil and religious works.[10] It is, however, impossible to say for sure, as there is no inscription on the artifact to provide any background context.
    Although the side mosaics are usually referred to as the "war side" and "peace side", they may in fact be a single narrative – a battle followed by a victory celebration. This would be a visual parallel with the literary device of merism, used by the Sumerians, in which the totality of a situation was described through the pairing of opposite concepts.[11][12] A Sumerian ruler was considered to have a dual role as a lugal (literally "big man" or war leader) and an en or civic/religious leader, responsible for mediating with the gods and maintaining the fecundity of the land. The Standard of Ur may have been intended to depict these two complementary concepts of Sumerian kingship.[3]
    External media
    Standard of Ur 901bis.jpg
    Audio
    The Standard of Ur programme as part of the BBC's 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
    Video
    The Standard of Ur, Smarthistory[13]
    The scenes depicted in the mosaics were reflected in the tombs where the "Standard" was found. The skeletons of attendants and musicians were found accompanying the remains of the kings, as was equipment used in both the "War" and "Peace" scenes of the mosaics. Unlike ancient Egyptian tombs, the dead were not buried with provisions of food and serving equipment; instead, they were found with the remains of meals, such as empty food vessels and animal bones. They may have participated in one last ritual feast, the remains of which were buried alongside them, before being put to death (possibly by poisoning) to accompany their master in the afterlife.[14]

    See also

    References


  • Hamblin, William James. Warfare in the ancient Near East to 1600 BC: holy warriors at the dawn of history, p. 49. Taylor & Francis, 2006. ISBN 978-0-415-25588-2
    1. Cohen, Andrew C. Death rituals, ideology, and the development of early Mesopotamian kingship: toward a new understanding of Iraq's royal cemetery of Ur, p. 92. BRILL, 2005. ISBN 978-90-04-14635-8

    External links

    This article is about an item held in the British Museum. The object reference is EA 121201 / Reg number: 1928,1010.3.

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  • The Standard of Ur, British Museum. Accessed 2010-12-05.

  • Zettler, Richard L.; Horne, Lee; Hansen, Donald P.; Pittman, Holly. Treasures from the royal tombs of Ur, pp. 45-47. UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 1998. ISBN 978-0-924171-54-3

  • Woolley, Leonard (1965). Excavations at Ur: a record of twelve years' work. Crowell. p. 86.

  • Collon, Dominique. Ancient Near Eastern Art, p. 65. University of California Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-520-20307-5

  • Chadwick, Robert (1996). First Civilizations: Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Editions Champ Fleury. ISBN 9780969847113.

  • Clutton-Brock, Juliet (1992). Horse Power: A History of the Horse and the Donkey in Human Societies. U.S.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-40646-9.

  • Gates, Charles (2003). Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 9780415121828.

  • Bahrani, Zainab (2001). Women of Babylon: Gender and Representation in Mesopotamia. Routledge. p. 60. ISBN 9780415218306.

  • Settemila anni di strade. Milano: Edi-Cem. 2010.

  • Harrison, R.K. "Genesis", p. 441 in Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (ed.), International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1982. ISBN 978-0-8028-3782-0

  • Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, p. 24. Cengage Learning, 2009. ISBN 978-0-495-57360-9

  • "The Standard of Ur". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved March 27, 2013.

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