Braganza Brooch

 #Braganza Brooch Greek Brooches

What a beauty. Given the size and shape I suspect this was for pinning a heavier woolen garment and probably given the warrior holding a shield a cape for a man and maybe also a military cape  ? 

Do remember while admiring this that most people would have only been able to afford the simple style of pins I posted earlier.

Gold Hellenistic brooch

Gold Hellenistic Pediment Brooch

 

Metro Museum says this object is a brooch though the back is not shown. However I could see this working if it was one of a pair at the shoulders of a garment or for the sort of cape that pinned on both shoulders. What do you think? 

Ornate October - # Greek Brooches

 #ornateoctober

Back at the beginning of the month I suggested an alternate theme for October might be Ornate October for those not doing Inktober or Classicstober.

Greek Jewellery Ranges from the indeed "classically" severe and plain through  to very ornate objects.

Brooches - personai - for pinning clothing and capes looked more like a very simple twisted pin at use but became increasingingly ornate and there was a time when wealthy Ionian Greeks whether  Islanders or Mainlanders living in Asia Minor were noted for long flowing robes and hair and GOLD brooches on their clothing. 

Personally I think despite claims everything was pinned that there was some seams at the sides and shoulders for some garments but I base that on NOT seeing pins depicted in paintings and the way some garments draped and the fact constantly inserting metal pins into linen or wool could have lead to rips and holes in garments! 

Here's a very early pin 2200 BCE

and this is what I meant by brooches / pins looking like safety pins.

and from the Archaic era one last example.

Classicsotber

 #classicstober

Its half way through alright and due to other projects I've barely finished anything but ...

This is a png with a transperent background

I will also post this to my #metousia #patreon as an unlocked post for people to download

You can always keep it for next year ! I will have a few other things in the unlocked posts and the $1 hellenika tier 

Do visit and view ?

https://www.patron.com/Metousia

aaargh schedule change

Okay the start of my new casual job suddenly got moved forwards so only weekly posts or even a hiatus due to me replacing staff at short notice.

Yeah Im working on a Sunday which I normally avoid for religious reasons but the Divine will forgive since there was ....well Sydneys out of lockdown but ...whatever  was going to fi ish blog post peep this arvo but ... something will be posted soon ! 

Slip as Ink

Ive been thinking about Classical Greek "painting" on ceramics as a form of drawing. 

Did these painters also work in full color on murals or specialize on painting on clay with slip ? 

Let us consider for a moment there was NO drawing paper.

Yes NO Paper !

And imported papyrus would have been too expensive for rendering anything other than finished works? 

The sketch pad for artists would have been wax tablets spare clay tiles or fragments of broken ceramics or possibly strips of linen from discarded clothing ?

So perhaps we should view those masterworks of painting as also masterworks of drawing with colored clay slip being used instead of paint or rather I should say clay being used as the binder instead of gum or glue or plaster ? 

ClassicsTober 2021

A new trend in #classicstwitter is the suggestion artists into classics do items from this list inspired by the #inktober concept. 

It seems to me many of these items could be useful for word studies or class discussion topics ? 

Share the list ! 

Hieros Versus Hagios

There are various words to express the concept of something or one being holy blessed or divine in Greek. 

The two most people recall easily are adjectives derived  Hiero- or  Hagi- along with related verbs and nouns.

I was actually looking for which words Greek Classical or Koine  uses for "temple" and while looking at the usage of hieron for temple once again pondered on its New Testament usage. 

While both words are used hieron frequently means not just any temple but the one at Jerusalem with naos used for jewish n greek shrines and holy is more often hagios or hagia.

Part of the reason for hagios being a preferred usage seems to be its meaning holy and also often pure ? 

A Temple in Greek is usually a  Hieron holy thing or a Naos a dwelling place for a god separated from the mundane by a Temenos.

However other beings persons and places can be holy. 

One notes the Holy Spirit is Hagia not Hiera but yet the Jerusalem Temple is Hieron and not Hagios.

I think another factor may be Hieros was seen as being  more formal and literary than Hagios. 

Plus the need to stress while there were many temples and shrines - naos there was only one Temple at Jerusalem.

Being hagios - holy for early Christians was not simply a privilege associated with temples and the Jerusalem elite. It was something you didnt have to go to Jerusalem to experience and acquire. Othere things a d places a d actions could be hallowed - hagizoo the verb  from the hag root.

Anyway those are my opinions and thoughts on that subject. 

Hopefully they are of som ed use to you?