"Agora"

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"Christianity gets a bad rap in Alejandro Amenabar's 'Agora', a historical epic in which the early church is shown violently oppressing other faiths, science and women in its bid for political power," writes Mike Goodridge in Screen. "An enormously ambitious attempt to recreate the conflicts of 4th century Alexandria, many of which are still raging today, 'Agora' ultimately fails to hang together narratively and does not engage on the same grand emotional level as the sword and sandal epics of old - 'Quo Vadis?,' 'Ben-Hur' et al - which it is clearly trying to reinvent."

Introducing his interview with Amenabar for the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Goldstein tells us first how the director became interested in Hypatia, "who lived in Alexandria during the 4th century AD, in the waning days of the Roman Empire. The daughter of Theron, the last director of the famed Library of Alexandria, she was not only a brilliant theorist in astronomy, but a mathematician and philosopher.... It's the story of Hypatia, who is played by Rachel Weisz, that Amenabar tells in 'Agora'... It's a fascinating film, crammed with both stirring visual images and intellectual ideas. The film is at its most compelling when Amenabar shows the once-stable civilization of Alexandria being overwhelmed by fanaticism, perhaps because the bearded, black-robe clad Christian zealots who sack the library and take over the city bear an uncanny resemblance to the ayatollahs and Taliban of today."

"Amenabar gets most of the epic staples out of the way relatively early: flatly acted scenes of textbook exposition, overly earnest extras, main characters who wander unscathed through hordes of butchery and, of course, frequently swelling music." Natasha Senjanovic in the Hollywood Reporter: "The story then becomes a timely parable on religious intolerance, inexorable fundamentalist violence and the powerlessness of reason and personal freedom in the face of both."

"Amenabar, the director of visually memorable features such as 'The Others' and 'The Sea Inside' clearly aimed to make an old school epic of Cecil B Demille proportions, and ended up with a hollow reflection of one," writes Eric Kohn at indieWIRE. "It's worth noting that 'Agora' looks fantastic, with magnificent virtual camera movements that swoop down from space to a large scale replica of Alexandria, taking full advantage of the wide screen canvas. Frequent cutaways to the cosmos, which underscore Hypathia's lectures, would look great on IMAX. In the context of the movie, they overshadow the rest of the narrative." (...)

By David Hudson

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"Αgora", η Ταινία για τη Φιλόσοφο Υπατία

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Την Αλεξανδρινή φιλόσοφο της σχολής του Πλωτίνου (μαθηματικές και εμπειρικές σπουδές) Υπατία έκαναν γνωστή η Ρέητσελ Γουάιζ και ο Αλεχάνδρο Αμεναμπάρ στο κινηματογραφόφιλο κοινό την Κυριακή στο φεστιβάλ των Καννών.

Την Ελληνίδα λόγια (αστρονόμο/ μαθηματικό), που έζησε τον 4ο αιώνα μ.Χ και της οποίας ο θάνατος στα χέρια ενός χριστιανικού όχλου (διαμελίστηκε με όστρακα και στη συνέχεια κάηκε ζωντανή) θεωρείται από κάποιους πως σηματοδότησε το οριστικό τέλος της ελληνιστικής περιόδου (και του τρόπου σκέψης που αυτή πρέσβευε), ενσαρκώνει η βρετανίδα ηθοποιός Ρέητσελ Γουάιζ ( «Ο επίμονος κηπουρός», «The Fountain» ) στην ταινία «Αγορά» (Agora).

Ενώ η πτώση της ρωμαϊκής αυτοκρατορίας βρίσκεται προ των πυλών, στην Αλεξάνδρεια της Αιγύπτου η Υπατία προσπαθεί να διατηρήσει την επιστημονική γνώση της αρχαιότητας απέναντι στους όχλους των χριστιανών ζηλωτών - οι οποίοι, βλέποντας τους αριθμούς τους να αυξάνονται και το χριστιανισμό να κερδίζει συνέχεια έδαφος στην αυτοκρατορία, στρέφονται εναντίον των ειδωλολατρών και των Εβραίων. Ένα από τα θύματά τους είναι και η Αλεξανδρινή φιλόσοφος, η οποία χαρακτηρίζεται ως μάγισσα από τους ηγέτες των χριστιανών και οδηγείται σε ένα βίαιο θάνατο.

Κατά τη Γουάιζ, η ιστορία της Υπατίας είναι επίκαιρη ακόμα και σήμερα: «ουσιαστικά τίποτα δεν έχει αλλάξει από τότε. Έχουμε τεχνολογική και ιατρική πρόοδο, αλλά όσον αφορά τα φονικά στο όνομα ενός θεού, ο φονταμενταλισμός εξακολουθεί να βασιλεύει…ενώ δεν είναι λίγες οι κοινωνίες όπου οι γυναίκες θεωρούνται ακόμα πολίτες δεύτερης κατηγορίας και τους αρνείται το δικαίωμα στη μόρφωση».

Ο Αμεναμπάρ (που έχει επίσης σκηνοθετήσει το διάσημο θρίλερ «Οι Άλλοι», όπου πρωταγωνιστούσε η Νικόλ Κίντμαν) ανέφερε πως η ιδέα για την «Αγορά» του ήρθε αμέσως μετά την περάτωση του δράματος «Η Θάλασσα μέσα μου» (Mar adentro), το 2004, το οποίο και είχε τιμηθεί με βραβείο Όσκαρ Καλύτερης Ξενόγλωσσης Ταινίας. Κατά τα λεγόμενα του Χιλιανού σκηνοθέτη, ήθελε κάποιον αστρονόμο, αλλά όχι μια διάσημη φιγούρα όπως για παράδειγμα ο Γαλιλαίος - οπότε και οι έρευνές του τον οδήγησαν στην Υπατία.

«Διαπιστώσαμε πως εκείνη η περίοδος της αρχαιότητας είχε πολλά κοινά με το σήμερα. Τότε τα πράγματα έγιναν πολύ ενδιαφέροντα, καθώς καταλάβαμε πως είχαμε τη δυνατότητα να γυρίσουμε μια ταινία για το παρελθόν, ενώ στην πραγματικότητα γυρίζαμε μια ταινία για το παρόν» δήλωσε σχετικά.

Μιλώντας για το ιδιότυπο ερωτικό τρίγωνο που εμφανίζεται στην ταινία (ανάμεσα στην Υπατία, έναν αφοσιωμένο σκλάβο και έναν από τους μαθητές της- το οποίο δεν ευδοκιμεί, καθώς η φιλόσοφος αφιερώνεται στην επιστήμη), η Γουάιζ ανέφερε πως βρήκε έμπνευση στην ίδια την οικογένειά της, μέσω της 85χρονης θείας της- ερευνήτριας πάνω στον καρκίνο.

«Όταν τη ρώτησα γιατί δεν παντρεύτηκε ή δεν έκανε παιδιά, μου απάντησε πως 'ποτέ δεν πίστεψα πως θα υπήρχε άνδρας που θα μου επέτρεπε να εργαστώ όσο σκληρά επιθυμούσα... με το πέρασμα των χρόνων συνειδητοποίησα πως αγαπούσα τη δουλειά μου πιο πολύ από το καθετί, και δεν ήθελα κανέναν να μπει ανάμεσα σε εμένα και αυτήν».

Κατά τον Αμεναμπάρ, αν η Υπατία είναι ουσιαστικά μια ενσάρκωση της σύγχρονης γυναίκας, η ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία εκείνης της περιόδου αποτελεί την ενσάρκωση μιας υπερδύναμης σε κομβικό σημείο: «πιστεύω πως αυτή τη στιγμή οι ΗΠΑ βρίσκονται στην ίδια θέση με τη ρωμαϊκή αυτοκρατορία, καθώς τώρα, περισσότερο από ποτέ άλλοτε, βρισκόμαστε εν μέσω μιας κρίσης, κοινωνικής και οικονομικής. Είναι ώρα για αλλαγή... ξέρουμε πως κινούμαστε προς κάποια διαφορετική κατεύθυνση, αλλά δεν ξέρουμε προς τα πού μας οδηγεί αυτή. Και καθώς είμαι αισιόδοξος εκ φύσεως, θέλω να πιστεύω πως δεν θα μπούμε πάλι σε μία περίοδο αντίστοιχη του Μεσαίωνα».

www.kathimerini.gr

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The Gods of the Bible

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Some of the Gods mentioned in the Bible:

Adrammelech     II Kings 17:31   Sepharvite God.
Anammelech      II Kings 17:31   Sepharvite God.
Ashima          II Kings 17:30   Samaritan Moon Goddess.
Ashtoreth       I Kings 11:05    Canaanite Goddess.
Baal            I Kings 18:19    Canaanite God ("Lord") of
                             fertility, vegitation, and storms.
Baal-berith     Judges 8:33      A regional variation/aspect of Baal.
Baal-peor       Numbers 25:03    Moabite regional variation/aspect of
                             Baal.
Baal-zebub      Luke 11:19       Philistine/Ekronian regional
                             variation/aspect of Baal.
Baalim          I Kings 18:18    Canaanite Gods ("Lords"), a
                             collective of the different
                             aspects of Baa.
Bel             Isiah 46:01      Assyrian/Babylonian/Sumerian God
                             ("Lord").
Chemosh         I Kings 11:07    Moabite war God.
Dagon           I Samuel 05:02   Philistine/Ekronian/Babylonian God
                             of agriculture.
Diana of the
Ephesians     Acts 19:35       Ephesian moon and nature Goddess,
                             ("Divine/Brilliant").
Jehovah         Exodus 6:03      Hebrew God
Jupiter         Acts 14:12       Roman God (possibly derived from
                             'Zeus-pater', Father Zeus).
Lucifer         Isiah 14:12      ("Light-Bearer")
Mercurius       Acts 14:12       Otherwise known as the Roman God
                             Mercury, God of communication and
                             travel, and messenger of the
                             Gods...which is probably why Paul
                             was called this at Lystra.
Milcom          I Kings 11:05    Ammonite God
Molech          I Kings 11:07    Ammonite God, also called Moloch,
                             most probably Baal-Hammon of
                             Carthage.
Nebo            Isiah 46:01      Assyrian/Babylonian/Chaldean God of
                             wisdom and writing, also called
                             Nabu.
Nergal          II Kings 17:30   Cuth/Assyrian/Babylonian war and
                             underworld God, also called
                             Meshlamthea.
Nibhaz          II Kings 17:31   Avites God
Nisroch         II Kings 19:37   Assyrian God
Rimmon          II Kings 05:18   Babylonian/Syrian storm God
                             involved (as Ramman) with the
                             Deluge, according to Hebrew texts;
                             also known as Ramman/Rammon.
Succoth-benoth   II Kings 17:30  Babylonian fertility Goddess ("She
                             Who Produces Seed"), also known as
                             Zarpanitu/Zerpanitum.
Tammuz          Ezekial 8:14     Assyrian/Babylonian God
Tartak          II Kings 17:31   Avites God

Please note that I'm not referring to any Deities not mentioned by name (for instance, the golden calf is not here).


By Norbert Sykes

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Italian dig uncovers "oldest" temple in Cyprus

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An Italian archaeologist says she has discovered what is believed to be the oldest site of religious worship in Cyprus, a temple which is about 4,000 years old.

The find at the Pyrgos-Mavroraki site close to the southern city of Limassol predates any other discoveries in Cyprus by about 1,000 years, Italian archaeologist Maria Rosaria Belgiorno said.

"This is the first evidence of religion in Cyprus at the beginning of the second millennium BC," she was quoted as telling the Cyprus Weekly newspaper from Rome.

The Cyprus Antiquities Department said further examination would be required before the find could be verified. "We cannot dismiss the claim but we cannot verify it either," Antiquities Department official Maria Hadjicosti told Reuters.

Belgiorno said she had found the outline of a triangular-shaped temple, comprised of two rooms, on the site. There was a sacrificial altar flanked by a channel on two sides.

"We found no statues, but there is evidence that it is a monotheistic temple," she said. It was probably destroyed in an earthquake and abandoned in 1800 BC.

In ancient religions, triangles typified spiritual gateways or embodied three separate deities.

In the past, the Pyrgos-Mavroraki site has also yielded finds ranging from an ancient perfumery to one of the earliest records of how olive oil was used to fire furnaces.

NICOSIA (Reuters)

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The Khanty People

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Khanty / Hanti (obsolete: Ostyaks) are an endangered indigenous people calling themselves Khanti, Khande, Kantek (Khanty), living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together with Mansi peoples. In the autonomous okrug, the Khanty and Mansi languages are given co-official status with Russian. In the 2002 Census, 28,678 persons identified themselves as Khanty. Of those, 26,694 were resident in Tyumen Oblast, of which 17,128 were living in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and 8,760—in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. 873 were residents of neighbouring Tomsk Oblast, and 88 lived in the Komi Republic.

(Wikipedia)

Religious Beliefs. The ecology movement illustrates ideological changes for new generations of Khanty struggling to reconcile or adapt ancient beliefs without entirely rejecting their traditions as "primitive." Khanty religion traditionally included reverence for spirit masters of animals, forests, and rivers. The chief intermediaries with such spirits, and with an elaborate hierarchy of gods, were shamans, religious and medical practitioners who often served as sensitive community leaders. Other Khanty could also communicate with the spirits by making appropriate reindeer or horse sacrifices. Sacrifices were performed in sacred groves that served as ecological preserves where no animals could be hunted. Kin groups, whose identities were linked with specific trees, presided over these groves. The groves featured ancestral male and female spirit images, called "idols" by Russians who held them in contempt. One of these grove-based groups was disbanded in the 1960s by Communist party leaders (who had previously thought such groups extinct).

The cosmology of the spirit world was multilayered, including eastern sky gods, earth spirits, and an underworld sometimes associated with the North. Some of the earth spirits were believed to be deceased ancestors, especially shamans. Kin identity was mirrored in spirit organization: each lineage and phratry had "totemic" animal associations. Thus the Por people, linked with the sacred bear, were forbidden to hunt or eat bear except at Por ceremonies. Most people held hares sacred. The binding of kinship with ancestors meant that spirits as well as elders became enforcers of morality and taboos. This idea, plus a belief in reincarnation, is maintained by some Khanty. Aspects of Russian Orthodoxy (Christ as the main sky god, Numi-Torm) are also merged with ancient Turkic concepts (eastern sky gods).

Ceremonies. The translation of beliefs into action became problematic in the Soviet period, when the major ritual leaders—shamans—were persecuted and all religion was discouraged as superstition; a "last" bear ceremony to serve as an initiation was recorded in the 1930s. Secularization of traditional bear ceremonies was reflected in rituals filmed in the 1970s, although many Khanty still consider the bear sacred, with all-seeing powers. In addition to the feasting and dancing that accompany appeals to the bear spirit, there were satirical plays and buffoonery, sometimes mocking Russians. Bear festivals can therefore be seen as "rituals of reversal," and are enjoying a dramatic revival. Sacrificial rituals are performed in sacred groves, but more common are small tokens of respect for spirits, such as coins, flowers, and cloth, left in the groves. Some of the groves are sites for women's worship of female fire and fertility deities. Rituals for major events in the life cycle, such as births and weddings, have declined and sometimes have been supplanted by secular rituals. Yet divination to discover a child's identity as a reincarnated ancestor is still performed very frequently. A major Ob River holiday is the midsummer Day of Fisherman, a time for drinking and carousing.

Arts, Historically, the greatest performances were part of phratry ceremonies, including dramatic masked dancers emerging from the forest and transvestite men imitating bride-capture. Shamanic séances held participants enthralled with drumming, zither playing, dancing, ventriloquism, and sleight-of-hand stunts. Folktale and legend chanting took up many winter nights; some elders still know the chants. Owned lineage songs include geographical and kinship lore that were once part of the education of young men. Women's crafts include intricate appliqué fur designs symbolizing animals and kin affiliations, on clothing and bags. Men's wood and ivory carving is both commercial and religious.

Medicine. Various shamans ministered to ill Khanty, depending on the nature of the illness and the shaman's reputation. Powerful shamans believed capable of trance during séances (elta) to recover lost souls were isyl'ta-ku (men) or isyl'ta-ni (women). Shamans specializing in dream interpretation to diagnose illness, ulom-verta-ni, were often women, whereas "legend-singers," arekhta-ku, were men. Séances featured journeys by shamans or helper spirits to upper and lower cosmological worlds. Helpers ranged from mosquitoes to sacred bears or even Saint Nicholas. Once intense group-oriented cathartic performances of astonishing virtuosity, shamanic séances became private and covert. Western medicine, administered in clinics and hospitals, is chosen for many illness and births. A few shamans are revered and feared by those who believe in the dangers of soul loss and offending ancestral spirits.

Death and Afterlife. Belief in multiple souls (as many as four for women and five for men) means that special precautions must be taken for their well-being during burials and memorial feasts. Whereas one of the souls, lil, can reside in ancestral images and eventually be reincarnated, others may travel skyward or become birds and evil soul-stealing spirits. The Khanty concept of heaven, adapted from Russian Orthodoxy, envisions Khanty spirits living a normal reindeer-breeding existence in one area, with Russians living in another.

World Culture Encyclopedia

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