HELLAS WILL ABIDE

Normally I would be continuing a series (such as the current one on griffins) but its time and timely to do a brief interruption.

Some of you may have seen news reports about recent FIRES in GREECE wild fires forest fires bushfires whatever you call them they are bringing death and destruction!

So a word of support! 

Well several ...

HELLAS WILL ABIDE 

Greece has endured earthquakes floods droughts invasions 

May it abide as the first European shore to be touched by "rosy fingered Dawn" ! 

Writing from a land also frequently effected by wild or arson caused fires remember the green will return and yes there will be a lot of unproductive finger pointing and people trying to exploit the situation.

Rebuild replant trees just maybe a lot less fast growing conifers and more slower growing elms cypress oak and please consider buying up burnt out properties to create a green belt of say playing or sports fields or public parks  to act as a fire barrier between housing and coastal scrub 

These work ! 

Unblock old stone cisterns 

Clear springs and waterways

Even a few degrees of coolness made a difference.  

Create more open space and public beach parks 

But most of all 

ABIDE 

Meine 

And know I'm seeing a lot of Australians not just of Greek descent working on ways to help you all ! 

MORE GRIFFINS

 MORE GRIFFINS

Whether the Griffin is depicted in Near Eastern Greek Roman or later art it is consistently shown with a slender feline body often described as leonine though some look more feline and whether or not it has wings a raptors head BUT WITH A CREST . 

One theory is that someone saw a fossil of a crested dinosaur or perhaps a bone deposit of several fossils tangled together but whatever started the stories the griffin is certainly one of the most striking creatures we have legends about and artistic depictions!

Here's some more Griffin art!

Here's a Persian frieze in which the Griffin has horns and a lions face rather than a crest.

More typical of Middle Eastern art was this ivory fragment.

Finally something Hellenic.

This griffin has a rather dragonish crest but the distinctive erect ears and beak and the artist has also included a sphinx and a leopard for contrast or as a complement.

 

Near Eastern Griffin

GRIFFIN IN IVORY  

The images of griffins in Mycenaean Greek Persian and other art had prototypes in works like this.

This is a fragment of a larger item but we can see the leonine or feline tail the avian beak and crest and the plumage of the wings. Check my prior post and wait for the next ones to see other Griffins. 

A MINOAN GRIFFIN

A MINOAN GRIFFIN 

#griffin #minoan #Larnax 

The Griffins from the Knossos Throne room for various pieces of century or seal rings are better known than this work which is somewhat less refined.

 It makes me think of some later Protgeometric and Geometric period art. The wings however instead of being furled or seen in profile are spread up and down across the clay panel which is one side of an larnax. The idea of the griffin being near a plant in bloom is very Minoan and we can see an avian crest and a tapered beak plus a leonine tail. This shows us how far back stories about griffins existed. 

THREE SPHINXES

 THREE SPHINXES

I've arranged these in chronological order to illustrate style changes 

Archaic

CLASSICAL 

Roman Empire 120 AD

Greek Alphabet on a Bowl

 GREEK ALPHABET ON A BOWL 

#greekalphabet #ceramics 

I was actually looking for examples of early Greek inscriptions and came across this.

Our modern "Classical" forms took an while to become the standard forms of written Greek!

That Archaic Smile

 THAT ARCHAIC SMILE 

doesnt appear only on freestanding statues.

This youth's image is carved onto the side of a memorial stele.

 Scroll down for further close-ups and zoom in for a view of the small girl who accompanies him.

He seems to be holding a flower and definitely is carrying a small container perhaps of oil slung from one wrist.

Notice how the rough strokes of carving still visible in the background bring further emphasis to the polished smoothed facial features?  There does not seem to be any traces of painting though apart from the pupil of the eye and that could simply be texture or grain of the stone? 

I hope you have enjoyed this Archaic Smile series?