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Antalya museum, a historic
and mythological treasure.... |
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 Medusa,
idol of the museum |
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I have visited some 8 different museums in Anatolia. They
all start their exibitions with a section about the MotherGoddess, as the center of the
universe. It therefore cannot be denied that She was the object of worship for early
mankind |
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Later in time, in fact at the beginning of the agricultural
revolution (10.000 BCE) Gods appear as the Son/Lovers of the Great Mother. These
"dying and resurrecting Gods" embodied the change of seasons, a good harvest and
fertility in general |
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| The development of Green Men goes from "beast
men" (prehistory: identification with animals); personified "dying and
resurrecting Gods" (Tammuz etc.); emphasis on vegetation (the Pan/Satyr/Silenus and
Dionysos group), the Celtic deities to the Green Men of our medieval churches and beyond
(modern times). Crucial is that they are NOT isolated phenomena, but always
"act" as Son/Lover of the Great Mother. Spiritually, the Light is born out of
Darkness, while continuously returning to its Origin |
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from the Pan/Satyr/Silenus/Dionysos group |
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The vineyards certainly
indicate the Dionysos cult |
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 Young
Dionysos |
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 Dionysos |
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 Priapus,
the God with the big phallus
(fertility) |
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After I was to leave the
museum my intuition said: "Go back". And indeed, I found a forgotten corner.
First the masks above the door, then.....a cold shivering....the first "real"
Green Men after the Istanbul museum. |
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They were some of the most
beautiful masks I have ever seen. First the first time I understood, that as masks, they
had a function in Graeco-Roman theatre. It opened my eyes for a new dimension..... |
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