scholarly journals Transitional Rites in Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 387-407
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
World Order ◽  
Marital Relations ◽  
High Position ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
Early Dynastic ◽  
The World ◽  
Egyptian Culture ◽  
The Universe

Mythopoetic thinking operates on a binary principle, classifying all the phenomena of the macro- and microcosm. The opposition between cosmos and chaos, in other words, between life and non-being, was fundamental. Spaces assimilated by culture, an ordered world, symbolized by various images: a pillar, a mountain, a temple, a dwelling, was conceived as the center of the universe, which was opposed by chaos that threatened order. These ideas about the world order were actualized in the sphere of ritual, designed to preserve the order created in the first times by the ancestors and gods. The repetition of the original myth in the ritual was supposed to restore, renew the world order in the cyclical movement of time. This applied both to the general Egyptian holidays, such as the New Year, and to the initiations that members of society took place at one stage or another of the development of Ancient Egyptian culture. Transitional rites had two aspects: age and social. When passing the initiation, the members of the collective increased their social status, became initiated, moving from adolescence to marital relations, increasing their status in the collective. A special position was occupied by leaders and kings, who confirmed their high position in society during the holiday sd. Funerals were also considered transitional rites. Transitional rituals united ideas about such opposites as life and death, which was equated with the loss of a person's previous social status. An indispensable attribute of rituals was sacrifice, and not only bloody of animals, but also sacrifice with ancient ritual objects during the construction of temples on the site of ancient sanctuaries. Notable examples have been associated with the kings in charge of the prosperity of Egypt.

THE POEM «THE EAGLE» BY N. GUMILYOV: REPRESENTATION OF THE PERFECT DEATH

2019 ◽  
pp. 20-38
Author(s):  
Arkadiy Chevtayev
Keyword(s):  
World Order ◽  
Narrative Structure ◽  
The World ◽  
Poetic Text ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
Lyrical Subject ◽  
Spiritual Reality ◽  
The One ◽  
Alter Ego ◽  
The Universe

The article discusses the poetics of the poem «The Eagl» (1909) by N. Gumilyov in the aspect of mortal conceptualization of the poet’s literary worldview. It defines the meaning of his third book of poems «The Pearls». It is hypothesized that in Gumilyov’s poetic universe the death is a basis and guarantee of convergence found in the internal and external aspects of lyrical subject self-actualization. The study of this poetic text is carried out by combining structural-semiotic and mythopoetic methods that allow the researcher to detect deep semantic layers of Gumiltyov’s literary self-determination. The analysis of the the poem «The Eagle» narrative structure shows that the lyrical narration of the «ornithological» hero’s («the eagle’s») death represents death as an axiological ideal of N. Gumilyov’s lyrical subject. The sacrificial catastrophic nature of the «eagle» flight and the postmortem fusion of the bird with the cosmic universe becomes an ontological measure of existence. «The eagle’s» death is implicitly likened with an act of creative transformation of existance, due to which it is possible to comprehend secret movements of the world order and convergence of microcosm and macrocosm.In Gumilyov’s conception «the eagle» is presented as objectified outward incarnation of the lyrical hero. Therefore, the «the eagle’s» death is extremely alienated from the subjective «I» on the one hand, and it is inextricably assosiated with its thirst for magical overcoming of the universe laws, it is an act of ultimate existential heroism on the other hand. The bird’s sacral ability to posthumously exercise a «regal flight» in the universe gives this «ornithological » character status of an ideal «double» (alter ego) of the lyrical subject who wants to creatively get rid of death, thereby to achieve the world harmony. The author concludes that the ideal manner of the narrative hero’s death is entirely associated with the attainment of immortality in the light of the inviolability of the universe as a spiritual reality of the created world which possesses exceptional status in N. Gumilyov’s mythology.

Mărul, funcții și valențe simbolice

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Marius Ciprian Pop ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Culture ◽  
Greek Mythology ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
Folk Tradition ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Axis Mundi

In the universal beliefs, there are over twenty species of sacred trees considered as the center of the universe, ‘axis mundi’, and the apple is among the trees of these species. In our traditional culture, the apple has a bivalent symbolism magically and Christian religiously, representing the aspect of interdiction and only of reward. As a reflection of the influence of the Greek mythology, one also could find it as a symbol of love, ecstasy, fertility and abundance. According to the belief that each man has a correspondent in the vegetal world, the apple becomes “tree of destiny” accompanying the terrestrial existence in the following stages: birth, marriage, death. From birth the baby accompanies his life with its planting tree in the farmstead yard, and it will support the good way of his life, the one of passing to the world beyond. The multitude and the diversity of the customs and of the passage rituals clearly support the showed statements. It is also necessary to mention the symbolic, juridical valence that apple has in understanding the ancient mythology found in the dispute on the theme of beauty of the Gods Hera, Aphrodite and Athens, known as ‘the marriage of discord’, which defines this aspect. The complementarity of the apple with the fir tree, which is always seconded, is specific to our folk tradition in the context in which both trees have important roles in the mythology of life and death. The space of carols is often marked by the existence of a cosmic tree, the apple of the fir tree, which sums up much of the spiritual activities of our people. Like the fir tree, which is evergreen, the apple, which is preserved as a fruit over the winter, it becomes a symbol of the eternal longing seen in the wishes of passing between years, and as a symbol of fertility, one can find the apple ‘in the breast’ or in the incantation ‘White Apple Flowers’. Therefore, as a reflection of the solar cult, the apple is a landmark in the millennial existence of our nation.

MISQUOTING SOPHOCLES’ OEDIPVS TYRANNVS. A NEW PROOF OF THE INAUTHENTICITY OF PS.-ARISTOTLE, ON THE COSMOS

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 733-735
Author(s):  
Manuel Galzerano
Keyword(s):  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Latin Translation ◽  
Greek City ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Perfect Order ◽  
The World ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The City ◽  
The Universe

Chapters 6 and 7 of the pseudo-Aristotelian treatise On the Cosmos (Περὶ κόσμου = De mundo) display ‘a series of well-crafted and carefully organized analogies’ in order to represent the power of god pervading the whole universe. The last analogy (400b14–28), which is by far the most important in this section, compares the rule of god over the world to the rule of the law in a Greek city (ὁ τῆς πόλεως νόμος). As shown by the author in the previous analogies, the perfect order of the universe is the result of the continuous creation and dissolution of single things: this process—based upon the harmony of opposites—is the keystone of the eternity and equilibrium of our world. Similarly, the law is the unmoved (ἀκίνητος) mover of every activity and experience in the city: both positive and negative situations involving single citizens contribute to the supreme order and stability of the city. Positive examples include the activity of rulers, officials and members of the assemblies (ἄρχοντες, θεσμοθέται, βουλευταί, ἐκκλησιασταί), whereas negative examples include those who go to trial defending themselves (ὁ δὲ πρὸς τοὺς δικαστὰς ἀπολογησόμενος) and those who are imprisoned and destined to capital punishment (ὁ δὲ εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀποθανούμενος). In spite of their difference, all of these actions are due to one single order (κατὰ μίαν πρόσταξιν), that is, the civic law, which ensures the stability of the city. To stress and illustrate this concordia discors, which characterizes both the city and the universe, the author of the treatise closes the passage with a quotation from Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus (lines 4–5):πόλις δ' ὁμοῦ μὲν θυμιαμάτων γέμει,ὁμοῦ δὲ παιάνων τε καὶ στεναγμάτωνThe author reads these verses as a perfect example of a context characterized by opposite situations: in fact, the city is full of paeans (παιάνων), which are interpreted as ‘songs of joy and relief’, and, at the same time, it is also full of laments and mourns (στεναγμάτων). The same interpretation can be found in the Latin translation of the treatise, which gives even more emphasis to the opposition between life and death: uideasque illam ciuitatem pariter spirantem Panchaeis odoribus et graueolentibus caenis, resonantem hymnis et carminibus et canticis, eandem etiam lamentis et ploratibus heiulantem.

scholarly journals SPACE AND TIME RELATIONSHIP IN METAPHYSICAL PAINTINGS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (71) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Space Time ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Social Events ◽  
Time Space ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe

Metaphysics, which deals with concepts such as existence, existentialism, space and god in its general content, is a branch of philosophy. It sought answers to questions related to these concepts through methods and perspectives different from science. The reason for all these questions is the effort to define the universe. Metaphysical philosophy has been the search for a solution to helplessness caused by the uncertainties caused throughout the history by life and death. Perspectives developed in parallel with the perception of the period have also shaped the questions and propositions. All these metaphysical approaches do not contain a definition that is independent of time and space. Time and space, as one of the most fundamental problematics of metaphysics, are accepted as the most important elements in placing and making sense of the human into the universe. In this context, metaphysics, which has a transphysical perspective as well as the accepted scientific expansions of real and reality, was mostly visible in the field of art rather than science. The aim of this article is to analyze the role of metaphysical philosophy in the emergence of metaphysical art in the context of the effects of social events, especially the destructions and disappointments caused by the world wars in the 20th century, on the artists and the reflections of the existential inquiries related to this. Furthermore this study includes definitions and processes of metaphysics. The works of Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carra have been interpreted in terms of form and content within the scope of metaphysics by considering the concepts of time-space. Keywords: Metaphysics, Space, Time, Metaphysical Art

scholarly journals The Foreign Policy Doctrine of Traditional China

2021 ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Oleg E. Nepomnin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
World Order ◽  
Chinese Foreign Policy ◽  
Social Perceptions ◽  
The World ◽  
Tribute System ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Official Status ◽  
The Universe

The article is a continuation of the cycle of theoretical works by Oleg E. Nepomnin (1935–2020) published in previous issues of the “Oriental Courier” [Nepomnin, 2019, 2020, 2021]. Oleg Nepomnin was among the most brilliant theorists of the development of Eastern societies. The author considers the foreign policy doctrine of traditional China as an integral part of China’s social perceptions of the world order. Based on the concepts of “world–cosmos” and “world-society”, the Chinese foreign policy doctrine was based on the fundamental idea of the oneness of the world order. In the “world of men”, world laws were embodied by the Chinese emperor — the Son of Heaven — and Chinese statehood. Next to China and its emperor, there could be no equal states and no equal monarchs. In this view of the world, China had borders and the Celestial Empire had none, implying the worldwide scope of the power of the Son of Heaven. On this ideological basis emerged the foreign policy dichotomy “civilized centre — savage periphery”, or “China — barbarians”. The author examines the origins of this influential concept from antiquity to the fall of the empire in China in the 20th century. A “tribute” system of interaction with other states was a logical continuation of ideas about the world order in China and its place in it. But the author stresses that despite China’s desire to maintain the illusions of a functioning “tribute” system, strengthen the prestige of imperial power and carry out monopolistic state trade with “barbarians”, “barbarian” embassies themselves often arrived in China with purely pragmatic goals: to establish trade, receive rich gifts from the emperor, elevate official status, get investiture and the Chinese title. In fact, China lost its status as the hegemon of the ‘tribute” system and the “Centre of the Universe’ after the Opium Wars in the 19th century. China was relegated to the level of the “sick man of Asia”, although the “tribute system” itself continued to function long after that. Even as the “Chinese world order” rapidly collapsed in the 70–90s of the 19th century, and previous Chinese “tributaries” were turned into colonies and semi-colonies of the capitalist West, Beijing’s rulers clung frantically to the “tribute” system. Up to the fall of the empire, the Manchu rulers could not get rid of the burden of traditional notions of China as the “Centre of the Universe” surrounded by the periphery and “barbarian rebellion”.

scholarly journals СВОБОДА ЯК ОСНОВА ФІЛОСОФІЇ ЛЬВА ШЕСТОВА

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-201
Author(s):  
Т. Прудка
Keyword(s):  
World Order ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
The Other ◽  
Central Position ◽  
The World ◽  
Lev Shestov ◽  
Main Ideas ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Individual Human

The philosophy of Lev Shestov has a close connection with life. The thinker considered it necessary to pay attention to the most burning issues, one of which is the problem of freedom. The article analyzes the phenomenon of freedom as the fundamental principle of Shestov's philosophy. It also reflects the main philosophical ideas of the thinker, analyzes the correlation of religion and philosophy in his work. It is noted that freedom occupies the central position for Shestov. Real philosophy doesn’t exist and can’t exist without it. At the same time, Shestov insists that logic is the main opponent of freedom. The article analyzes Shestov's argumentation concerning this issue. It is emphasized that the philosopher puts faith in God above reason, since God is the Truth, and the human mind tends to wander. It was also revealed that Shestov considered it impossible to judge the meaning of the universe rationally. The philosopher asserts that logic cannot be the only one method of perception of the existance, he is looking for the other forms of penetration into the secrets of the world order. Exactly such method for him occurs the faith in God. Only the faith gives an opportunity to comprehend the secrets of the world. Shestov anticipated the main ideas of late existentialism. The philosopher was worried about the problems of individual human existence, the search for a way out of hopelessness. The philosophy of Lev Shestov deserves careful and detailed studying. But, unfortunately, not enough attention was paid to his work, that fact determined the relevance of this work. The purpose of the study is to identify the importance of freedom as the basis of the philosophy of Lev Shestov, to reflect the central ideas of the thinker. It is concluded that Lev Shestov considered the faith in God is the only possible way of perception, since only faith can give a true freedom. The thinker sees a direct correlation between faith in God and philosophy.

scholarly journals Kai hea kai hea te pū o te mate? Reclaiming the power of pūrākau

Te Kaharoa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Pouwhare
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
The World ◽  
The Universe

The pūrākau our ancestors told about the universe and our place within it have been bowdlerised through the process of colonisation. These narratives, as they were transmitted over generations, were transformed by the European settlers, missionaries and educators, from ‘myths’ – oral traditions imbued with the power of the sacred – into ‘fables’ and ‘folktales’. As such, they have largely been neutered of their epistemological power, and their role in sustaining our culture has been substantially diminished. For example, in its original iterations, the ancient story of Māui in which his quest for immortality was foiled by the Tīrairaka contained a fundamental lesson: Māui dies in the act of penetrating Hine-nui-te-pō; from the sex act comes both new life and the sure knowledge of mortality; women are a source of power, life and death. In translation, this story was sanitised; in particular, the description of Māui’s fatal entrance as a lizard into Hine-nui-te-pō’s vagina, were euphemised and displaced, shifted to less controversial body parts. In my paper and presentation, I propose strategies for restoring the power of performance of our pūrākau through the reclamation of the act of storytelling in diverse media. In making new platforms for performing these old stories, we can revitalise the Reo and tikanga, and in so doing reconnect ourselves and our young people to the world that our tīpuna created.

scholarly journals RUSSIAN OPINION ON THE KAZAKH ISSUE. WAY OF LIFE AND EXISTENCE IN THE STORY «WHITE CELESTIAL BUTTERFLIES» BY R. OTARBAYEV

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (80) ◽  
pp. 75-80
Author(s):  
M.A. Dudareva ◽  
◽  
V.V. Nikitina
Keyword(s):  
Literary Work ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
National Image ◽  
National Space ◽  
Primary Element ◽  
The World ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Cis Countries ◽  
The Universe

The research object is the Kazakh national image of the world, namely the Kazakh people’s idea of the life and death. The research subject is the symbolic meaning of the story “White Celestial Butterflies” from the cycle “Gifts from China” by Rakhimzhan Otarbayev. The research material is the artistic legacy of the modern Kazakh writer. The ethos of life and death in the story are hermeneutically reconstructed. Much attention is paid to the folklore and Sufi traditions in the literary work, which were expressed both explicitly and implicitly. The research methodology is reduced to a holistic ontohermeneutic analysis aimed at highlighting the folklore, ethnographic paradigm of the literary text. Much attention is paid to the musical code in the story, since in Kazakh culture, music is the primary element from which the universe, the world tree emerges. Parallels are drawn with the Russian national space, in which one of the leading codes, national constants is also a tree embodying the functions of the world axis. The research results are in identifying the cultural potential of the story by the modern Kazakh writer for further research on the national topic of Kazakhstan. The results can also be used in training courses on the culture and literature of the peoples of Russia and the CIS countries, culturology, philosophy.

scholarly journals Mõningad märkused nelja ilmakaare kuninga ja jumal-kuninga kontseptsiooni kohta Sumeris ja Akkadis 3. at eKr

Mäetagused ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Vladimir Sazonov ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Sun ◽  
Original Meaning ◽  
Early Dynastic ◽  
Four Corners ◽  
The World ◽  
Ancient Mesopotamia ◽  
Universal Order ◽  
Universal Rule ◽  
The Universe

This article is dedicated to the issues related to the King of the Four Corners and the God-King in ancient Sumer and Akkad in the 3rd millennium BCE. The author shows that the title King of the Four Corners has always deified the ruler, but the ruler who used the title King of the Universe never claimed divinity. What conclusions can we draw? Except in two cases – the case of Erri-dupizir and the case of Utu-ḫeĝal – all kings who used the title king of the four corners were deified. Erri-dupizir was a foreigner, more a warlord or tribal chief of the Gutians than a king, but he tried to legitimate his power by using Akkadian-Sumerian formulas, among them royal titles. Utu-ḫeĝal freed Sumer from the Gutians’ yoke and re-introduced old Sumero-Akkadian ideological elements, among them the king of the four corners, because he wanted to be as powerful and strong as the Akkadian king Narām-Su’en, who was an example for Utu-ḫeĝal. We do not have any proof regarding the deification of Utu-ḫeĝal, as he ruled only 6–7 years, and we have only a few texts from the time of his reign. More interesting is the fact that none of the Sumerian or Akkadian kings who used the title king of the universe in the 3rd millennium and even in the early 2nd millennium BCE (Isin-Larsa period) were deified (at least we do not have a firm proof). How to explain this phenomenon? Firstly, I think the title king of the four corners had a slightly different meaning than king of the universe; however, both are universalistic titles. The title king of the four corners was probably seen as a wider and more important universalistic title in the sense not only of universal rule, but also of ruling the divine universe and divine spheres (heaven, sun, stars, etc.). It seems that it included some kind of divine aspect, while at least the Sumerian version of the title lugal an-ubda-limmuba means “king of the heaven’s four corners”. The title king of the four corners was related to the universe order, to the sun and the cosmos, and to cosmic divine powers, and they were connected to the universal order. We can see that sometimes the title king of the four corners was used to refer to gods in Ancient Mesopotamia – for example in the case of the god Tišpak in Ešnunna – but never king of the universe. Secondly, early dynastic rulers (e.g. Lagash or Uruk), who never used universalistic titles for themselves, addressed universalistic expressions and epithets to the main gods – e.g., Enlil, Ningirsu, etc. For example, Lugal-kiğine-dudu of Uruk claimed: “Enlil, king of all lands, for Lugal-kiğine-dudu – when the god Enlil truly summoned him, and (Enlil) combined (both) lordship and kingship for him”. Thirdly, ruling over all the lands from east to west or over the corners of the universe – these epithets may be used for gods. LUGAL KIŠ (later Akkadian šar kiššati(m)) in its early original meaning was seen only as “ruler over Kiš (or ruler over (the northern part of) Sumer)”; it was an important though more regional and geographic title. Fourthly, only much later did it acquire the meaning king of the universe but I am not sure about that meaning at all. In that case, king of the four corners had a different meaning; the title designated not only ruling over the world but it probably included some kind of divine aspect as well (Michalowski 2010). In that case the title šar kibrāt arbaˀi(m) – king of the four corners could be seen as more universal than LUGAL KIŠ (šar kiššati(m)). There still remain several questions which need to be solved: * Was LUGAL KIŠ in its Akkadian form šar kiššati(m) a universalistic title at all? * Or was LUGAL KIŠ a hegemonic title showing certain hegemonic rule or lordship over (all) Sumer (and Akkad?) but not including the whole world (here: Mesopotamia)? * Could it be for this reason that the king who used the title king of the four corners had to be deified but the king who was LUGAL KIŠ had not?

scholarly journals WEAPONS OF ANCIENT EGYPT: THE MILITARY AND THE SACRED. PART 2

Articult ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 26-46
Author(s):  
Yury S. Reunov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Order ◽  
Ancient Egypt ◽  
Small Arms ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Ancient Egyptian ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Technical Solutions ◽  
The Military

In the second part of the article development of Ancient Egyptian weapons in context of their combat use and ritual and magical understanding continues to be studied. The paper reveals the key aspects of origin and evolution of pole, small arms and throwing weapons. Attention is paid to identifying adoptions of separate technical solutions from other nations, which is mainly relevant to compound bows. Due to the fact that weapons served as a tool for not only solving practical problems, but also performing rites, some Egyptian religious beliefs are briefly discussed, namely those on the role of a pharaoh in maintaining the world order as well as on participation of gods in achieving victory. A system of features that allow attributing weapons as belonging to a utilitarian or ceremonial category is proposed.

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