Shinto Shrine - Ryan Bell

General Description

A Shinto shrine is a general term for a structure in Japan that is designed to house a kami (a sprit in the Shinto religion. The sprit can represent various things like trees, lake, and mountains). There are over 100,000 estimated to be in Japan and some are even considered national treasures since the Shinto religion is so important to Japanese culture.

Architectural Design

The shrines are not all the same though, as there are different types of shines. They range from huge shines to small local shines. But they do have some things common. A shrine usually has honden which is a place to hold the kami. It is usually in the back of the shine and visitors are not allowed to visit it. There also could be a haiden or offering hall for visitor to come to pray and make offerings. It can be it own building or connected to the honden depending on the shrine. Building a shrine will vary depending on when it was built. Early shrines where plain while later ones are more colorful and decorated because of a Chinese Buddhist influence. One or more Torii gates usually are on the entrance to the shine. They are usually painted orange and black. All of the structures in a shine are usually made up out of wood and don’t use nails.

Harmony with Nature

The Shinto religion has always stressed a harmony with nature. Early Shinto shrines were traditionally near unusual "concentrations" of nature such as waterfalls, caves, rock formations, mountain tops, or forest glens and instead of building mounds, groves, and caves where used. Currently since the religion has become more popular since then, larger complexes needed to be built to allow more people to visit the kami. But they are still built in harmony with nature since it is a base of the religion.

Symbolism and Sacred Objects

There are also of symbols and sacred object in a Shinto shrine. In the Honden where the kami is housed, there is usually a mirror or statue to represent it. If the shrine has multiple torii in the shrine, they symbolize the increasing holiness as one gets closer to the Honden. Komainu are statures of lions are dogs at the get that are said to protect the shrine. And the kami sprit itself is a symbol for something. The shrine itself is also very sacred. There are a number of rule for visitors so that impurities with not be dirty to sacredness of the shrine.

How it is used by Worshippers

Shinto shrines have many purposes in the Shinto religion and the Japanese culture. People visit the shrines to pray for good fortune and to pay respect to the kami. Shrines are also visited during special events such as New Year and other festivals. New born babies are traditionally brought to a shrine a few days after birth, and many couples hold their wedding ceremonies there. Also if the shrine has a kaguraden, a special stage, they have Noh or kagura ritual dances on it.

Sources

http://orias.berkeley.edu/visuals/japan_visuals/shinto.HTM

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2059.html

Parthenon and the Acropolis - Savanah Anderson

Parthenon and the Acropolis


General Description

The Parthenon is the remains of the temple to the Greek goddess Athena, goddess over the entire ancient city of Athens, and by far the most famous structure still existing in Ancient Greece. The temple was built to honor Athena, and to show gratitude for the recovery of Athens to Greece during the time of the Persian Wars. The temple has been a part of the Greek culture for over 2,500 years. As such beauty should never be gone or forgotten.


Architectural Design

The style of the Parthenon is traditional in the time of its creation, designed by a famous sculptor named, Phidas, at the request of Pericles. Pericles was a Greek politician that is credited with starting the "Golden Age of Greece." However, the construction of the temple was supervised by two Greek architects, Iktinos, and Kallikrates. It was built using the Doric-Style. The Doric is best known for its plain, un-embellished style, distinguished and more recognizable by its basic columns. The Parthenon is built of forty-six columns, with most of the stone coming from Mount Pentelicus, which is about 10 miles from Athens. The columns themselves are wider at the bottom and progressively get smaller at the top. However, the corner columns are slightly larger, giving the illusion that the columns within the structure are straight. On top of the columns, the area called the metopes display the battles of Amazons, Centaurs, Giants, and the Greeks. The building of the temple occurred during 447 - 438 BC; but some of the decorations were completed later. The exact measurements of the temple are still in the air, but the best and most familiar measurements that have been given are about 30.9 meters by 69.5 meters.

Harmony with Nature

The Greeks inherited and industrialized an eye for certain surprisingly specific combination's of landscape features as meaningful of particular holiness. This came about because of a religious tradition in which land was not a picture but a true force which physically incarnate the powers that ruled the world. The place it's self holy and before the temple was built upon it personified the whole of the deity as a recognized natural force. With the coming of the temple, housing its image within it and itself developed as a sculptural epithet of the god's presence and character. There for, the formal elements of any Greek sanctuary are, first, the specifically sacred landscapes in which it is set upon.


Symbolism and Sacred Objects

The temple was sacred to two different aspects of the Greek goddess Athena, and Athena Parthenos (young maiden). The "on" ending means "place of", so Parthenon being the "Place of the Parthenos". Inside of the Parthenon stood a bronze statue of Athena, which originally stood in the center of the temple but was taken by a Roman emperor and destroyed. There is also a triangular area above the columns called pediments, which house a display of Athena's birth on the eastern corner and on the western side one of Athena's battle with Posiden, and again on the northern side with depictions of the Trojan War.

How it was used by Worshipers

The Parthenon was used for the worship of Athena (Pathenos), the "Virgin Athena." It was the most important temple in ancient Greek religion of almost a thousand years. Around the 5th century AD the temple was turned into a Christian Church devoted to the Virgin Mary, but once considered to be the house of the Franks and later of the Turks. After so, once again the Parthenon was once again converted into a Mosque in 1460. Until 1687, when gun powder stored by the Turks inside the temple exploded and destroyed the central area, and again in 1801-1803 when much of the remaining sculpture was sold by the Turks, and finally ended up in the British Museum.

Sources:
Web. April 10, 2009
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Parthenon.html
Web. April 10, 2009
http://ancient-greece.org/architecture/parthenon.html

Ziggurat of Ur - Jamie Banks

Ziggurat at Ur

General Discussion
The Ziggurat at Ur is the most well preserved ziggurat. It was built back in the time of the Sumerians around 1700 BC . It is said to be the biggest and most beautiful ziggurat built, and because of its well preservation most of it is still standing today. Because of its size and popularity, the ziggurat at Ur is often referred to as The Great Ziggurat at Ur. The site of the Great Ziggurat was excavated by J. E. Taylor and is approximately 210 by 150 feet .

Architectural Design
A ziggurat is usually square or rectangle, and the Ziggurat at Ur is comprised of smaller platforms placed near or on top of one another. It contains a court, a secondary court, and three great temples, all on a large rectangular platform. At the top of the structure stands a building that was once a temple . The building is made of mud-brick covered by “a thick skin of burnt-brick for protection” . One could get to the actual ziggurat by stairways that were located either on ramps on one side or a spiral ramp from the base . Interestingly the corners of the structure pointed North, East, South, and West , possibly signifying an importance of location to the Sumerians. Even though the ziggurat was constructed around 1700 BC, it was not finished until the 21st century BC by King Shulgi .

Harmony with Nature and Symbolism and Sacred Objects
These two subtexts go hand in hand with the Ziggurat at Ur. According to Dr. Richard Ingersoll from Rice University, the Ziggurat at Ur “recreated a tangible vision of the cosmological order” . He also states that the Great Ziggurat at Ur established the center of the world, or the “axis mundi” to the hill people and that the Ziggurat gave a “necessary link between heaven and earth that will ensure that fertility and prosperity continues”. This is significant with the Ziggurat at Ur because of its location. It is located in the center of a desert, so its grand size is emphasized due to this adding the interpretation of the building at the center of the world and the high place of worship.


How it is used by Worshipers
The Ziggurat at Ur was remodeled by Urnammu, to worship Nannar, the moon god. Only priests were allowed in the ziggurat temples, and they were thought to be in connection with the god of the temple. In the case of the Ziggurat at Ur, the priest would connect to the moon god, Nannar. Here the priest would attend to the needs of the gods and worship them. Because of this the rooms of the ziggurat were made for the priests, such as the sacred workshops, granaries, storehouses, kitchens, and special rooms. For the people of the land, the Ziggurat was used as a place to get closer to the heavens to worship. Because of its great height, it gave the people access to the city god.
The Ziggurat at Ur was an important building in the city of Ur. It helped end the first depression of Ur. It gave the people of Ur a place of hierarchy, in which the proximity to the center is relative to the social hierarchy, in the order of kings, high priest, soldiers, artisans, and then slaves . The construction was set at the center of a walled city, also signifying its importance to the community. Because of this, the building must have been the center and the main focus of the city.

The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan - Melanie Alvarado

General Description
The Pyramid of the Sun is located in Teotihuacán, an ancient city that was built by a pre-Aztec culture and was later inhabited by the Aztecs. Until today, very little is known about the Teotihuacan. It is thought that Teotihuacan was established around the time of Christ as a place for spiritual worship. By the fourth century, it had become one of the largest cities in the world with an estimated population of 125,000. Around the seventh century this civilization seemed to come to a sudden end for reasons that up to date are unknown. The central axis of Teotihuacan is the Avenue of the Dead. East of this avenue, at a central location within the city, the Pyramid of the Sun was built. It is the third largest pyramid worldwide.
Architectural Design
The pyramid is made of stone at an impressive size of 738 square feet at base, and a height of 233 feet. The original design is thought to have consisted of four distinct platforms, a temple, and an Adosada platform. The structure was finished with lime plaster on which colorful murals have been painted. The temple along with the upper portion of the pyramid has been destroyed, and it is not known to which deity the temple was dedicated. The pyramid has been reconstructed in the early 20th century with five platforms, which has later been criticized as not accurate. A large stairway leads up the west side of the pyramid.
Harmony with Nature
The name, by which the pyramid is known today, like the names of all other structures in Teotihuacan, was given by the Aztec people. What the Teotihuacános called the pyramid, and whether they had in fact built it in worship of the sun is unknown. The large stairway is facing west towards the setting sun, but no strong connection with solar phenomena has been noticed. The Aztecs highly worshipped the sun, and it is possible that they simply thought of this pyramid as dedicated to the sun due to its impressive size and height that makes it stand out from the surrounding structures. It is also noted that the pyramid appears to be standing “central, but separate and unique” (Pasztory, 1997) within the city. However, if this meaning was intended by the Teotihuacános is not known to us. Another, less speculative, example of how the natural elements are incorporated in the construction of the pyramid is the fact that a natural cave was found underneath the pyramid. Even though the significance of this cave is not fully known, it seems that the presence of the natural cave has been the reason for the pyramid to be built at its exact location.
Symbolism and Sacred Objects
Very few sacred objects were found within the cave underneath the pyramid. Among the findings was a vessel with an image of the Storm God Tlaloc that was commonly offered in burials. However, the identity of the God is not believed to represent the function of the pyramid. The interior of the pyramid is currently the focus of a research project in which physics attempt to investigate the inside material with the help of electron accelerators (Alfaro, 2003). It is not considered impossible that a burial chamber might exist deep inside the pyramid similar to the Egypt pyramids, but no evidence for this assumption exists to this point. Furthermore, the adosada platform was decorated with a number of jaguar and snake figures, both of which were associated with deities in later civilizations.
The cave underneath the pyramid is thought to have been of symbolic significance to the builders of the city. Several suggestions regarding its meaning have been made. For example, similar to the Aztecs, the Teotihuacános might have believed that their people emerged out of the earth from that cave.

How it is used by Worshippers
We do not know how the Teotihuacános originally used this pyramid. It is believed that the cave underneath the structure might have been used for certain ceremonial activities. The finding of several sacred objects within the cave supports this theory, even though it is not clear what kind of rituals were performed in the cave. Furthermore, whether the entire pyramid was intended primarily as a burial place or as a place dedicated to the gods, or both, is not known. What is clear is that the Aztec people later considered it a place for worship of the sun. Evidence exists to suggest that the cave was also of significance to the Aztecs. The glyph the Aztecs used to refer to Teotihuacán consisted of two pyramids over a cave. Today, the pyramid is accessible to tourist and has become a place of primarily historic significance. Thus, its uses have greatly changed over the centuries depending on the peoples that inhabited the city and its surrounding area.







Sources
Alfaro, R. et al (2003). Searching for Chambers and Caves in Teotihuacan’s Sun Pyramid. AIP
Conference Proceedings 670(1), 493-500. Retrieved March 8, 2009 from the Academic Search Complete Database.
Lazzari, M, Schlesier, D. (2002). Exploring Art. A Global, Thematic Approach. Thompson
Learning, 262-265.
Pasztory, E. (1997). Teotihuacan: An Experiment in Living. University of Oklahoma Press.
Retrieved electronically March 4, 2009 at http://ipac.mclennan.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?term=teotihuacan&index=.GW#focus
Witcombe, C. (2009). Art of the Americas. Art History Resources on the Web. Retrieved March
4, 2009, at http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHamericas.html

Sacred Space

Stonehenge
General Description
One of Britain’s national icons, Stonehenge is a prehistoric circle of upright stones and is still a mystery. It was constructed over 5,000 years ago, and although historians cannot pin point any one reason for its construction, it is known that it was not constructed for any casual reason, because the creation took a lot of effort and time (Lacey).
Theorists think that the stones were brought from the inland mountains to the headwaters of Milford Haven by the use of roller and sledge, and then placed on rafts to travel to Somerset, and then floated down a river, once again, to West Amesbury, then having only a short distance to the Stonehenge site. The giant stones weigh as much as 50 tons each (Gerald). This was a lengthy and strenuous process, signifying that the construction must have been for an important reason. The monument’s assembly has been largely attributed to the people of the late Neolithic period (Lacey).
The Stonehenge of today is in a state of ruin because many of the original stones have fallen, or have been removed. Visitor contact has been prohibited since 1978 because serious damage occurred. Even the prehistoric carvings are wearing (Lacey).

Architectural Design
The architectural design of Stonehenge is believed to have been built in different stages. In the first stage, a 320 foot circular ditch was created, using deer antlers as picks. The ditch was 20 feet wide and 7 feet deep. Inside of the circle, 56 holes were dug, and two parallel stones were put up at the entrance to the circle. This first stage of Stonehenge is believed to have been used for 500 years (Rodney). The second stage of involves a semicircle of granite stones. These 80 stones, each weighing up to 4 tons each, came from mountains that were nearly 250 miles away. The third stage of Stonehenge construction is accountable for the stone circle that can be seen today. During this stage, a circle of upright sarsen stones, and each pair of stones as topped with a stone. Originally there were 30 upright stones, and only 17 of these still stand today. These stones weigh nearly 50 tons each (Gerald).

Harmony with Nature
Stonehenge has been argued to have summer solstice alignment because the opening of the Stonehenge is in the direction of the midsummer sunrise. Gerald Hawkins has argued that Stonehenge was created as an astronomical calculator (Gerald).

Symbolism and Sacred Objects
The astronomical significance of Stonehenge is very apparent. The Stonehenge site clearly had religious and social significance, and was connected to the rituals of the people, and may have played an important role in setting the calendar. (Rodney)

How it is used by worshippers
Modern day sun-worshippers head for Stonehenge, and in 2007, more than 24,000 worshippers visited Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice, and it has been increasing ever since (Wilshiretimes).