Friday, July 30, 2010

Alkonost

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkonost

The Alkonost is a legendary bird in Slavic mythology. It has the body of a bird with the head and chest of a woman. The name Alkonost came from the name of Greek demi-goddess Alcyone transformed by gods into a kingfisher. The Alkonost reproduces by laying eggs on the sea-shore then putting them into the water. The sea is then calm for six or seven days at which point the eggs hatch, bringing a storm. For the Russian Orthodox Church Alkonost personifies God's will. She lives in paradise but goes into our world to deliver a message. Her voice is so sweet that anybody hearing it can forget everything.

http://tars.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/Lubok/lubrelig.html

Among the most common images were the representations of the two legendary creatures, Sirin and Alkonost, depicted in Sirin, the Bird of Paradise and Alkonost, the Bird of Paradise. Loosely based on the stories about sirens, these half-women half-birds allegedly lived "in Indian lands" near Eden or around the Euphrates River, and sang their beautiful songs to the saints foretelling them future joys. However, for mortals the birds were dangerous. Hearing their sweet voices, men would forget everything on earth, follow them blindly, and die. To save themselves from the Sirin, people would shoot the cannon, ring the bells and make loud noises to scare the bird off.

http://bestiary.us/alkonost.php

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Knut Ekval - Fisherman And The Siren

Knut Ekval - Fisherman And The Siren

MAGNET - Lay Lady Lay (With Gemma Hayes) Ft Michael Parkes Paintings

MAGNET
On Your Side (2003)

MAGNET - Lay Lady Lay (With Gemma Hayes)

Michael Parkes - Dream for Rosa

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Michael Parkes - Dark Sphinx

Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.
Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.

Michael Parkes - Deva

Whatever colors you have in your mind.
I'll show them to you and you'll see them shine.

Michael Parkes - Going Nowhere

Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.
Stay lady stay, stay with your man awhile.
Until the break of day, let me see you make 'em smile.

Michael Parkes - Last Poeny [Gemma]
Your clothes are dirty but your hands are clean.
And I'm the best thing that you've ever seen.
(Stay lady stay, stay with your man awhile.)
Why wait any longer for the world to begin?
You can have your cake and eat it too.
(Why wait any longer for the one you love?
I am standin' in front of you.)

Michael Parkes - Anubis

Lay lady lay, lay across my big brass bed.
Stay lady stay, stay with your man awhile.

Michael Parkes - Sky meditation

[Gemma]
You long to see me in the morning light.
You long to reach for me in the night.
(Stay lady stay, stay while the night is still ahead.)
So maybe I'll stay, stay while the night is still ahead.
(Stay lady stay, stay while the night is still ahead.)
So maybe I'll stay,

Michael Parkes - Steltman

[Both]: stay while the night is still ahead.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Aha and Bes

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/bes.html

Bes

Bes (Bisu, Aha) was an ancient Egyptian dwarf god. Bes was a complex being who was both a deity and a demonic fighter. He was a god of war> Yet he was also a patron of childbirth and the home, and was associated with sexuality, humour, music and dancing. Although he began as a protector of the pharaoh, he became very popular with every day Egyptian people because he protected women and children above all others. He had no temples and there were no priests ordained in his name. However, he was one of the most popular gods and was often depicted on household items such as furniture, mirrors and cosmetics containers and applicators as well as magical wands and knives. Over time he came to be seen as the champion of everything good and the enemy of everything evil. It seems that he was originally known as "Aha" ("fighter") because he could strangle bears, lions and snakes with his bare hands. He is described as a demon, but he was not considered to be evil. On the contrary, he was a supporter of Ra who protected him from his enemies. As a result, he was a god of war who protected the pharaoh and the people of Egypt from evil forces. He was often depicted on knives in the hope that this would extend his protection to the bearer of the blade. His image also appears on numerous "magic wands" and on an incredible number of amulets.
He was particularly protective of women and children and was often depicted with the young Horus New Kingdom he was a regular feature of the illustrations on the walls of the mammisi ("birth house"). protecting him as he matured. As a result, he also became a god of childbirth. It was thought that he could scare off and evil spirits lurking around the birthing chamber by dancing, shouting and shaking his rattle. If the mother was experiencing a difficult birth, a statue of Bes was placed near her head and his assistance was invoked on her behalf. Rather sweetly, Bes remained at the child´s side after birth to protect and entertain them. It was said that if a baby laughed or smiled for no reason, it was because Bes was pulling funny faces. By the
Bes also drove away the evil spirits who caused accidents and created mischief (just as mediaeval gargoyles were thought to scare evil spirits away from churches). Many Egyptians placed a statue of Bes near the door of their house to protect them from mishap. His protection could also be invoked by tattooing his image directly onto the body. Performers often had tattoos of Bes because of his association with dancing and music. It is also thought that sacred prostitutes may have had a tattoo of Bes placed near their pubic area in order to prevent venereal diseases, but it is also possible that the tattoos related to fertility.
It is often suggested that he was not a god of Egyptian origin, instead being imported from Africa during the Middle Kingdom. Certainly Bes was described in inscription as "Coming from the Divine Land" and was known as the "Lord of Punt". However, he is also mentioned in records found in Upper Egypt dating to the Old Kingdom suggesting that he may well be Egyptian, but that his worship was not widespread until the New Kingdom. At present there is insufficient evidence regarding his origins to be sure either way.

Archeologists have recovered numerous Bes masks and costumes dating from the New Kingdom. It is thought that these saw regular use and so they may have been the property of professional entertainers. At this point in history he was often linked to Tawret (another demon-deity who offered protection during labour). In fact, he was thought to be her husband until the Ptolemaic Period.They were so popular with the common people that amulets of both Bes and Tawret's were found even at Akhetaten (the city of Akenaten) despite the replacement of many of the other gods by The Aten.

However, it was during the Ptolemaic Period that the worship of Bes reached it height. He appears in numerous temple reliefs, thousands of amulets and charms were made in his image, and there were even oracles of Bes to allow people to benefit from his wisdom. He was given a new wife, known as Beset, who was a female version of himself ."Incubation" or Bes chambers were constructed with images of Bes and a naked goddess (most likely Beset) painted on the walls. It is thought that these chambers were meant to promote healing, remedy certain fertility problems or promote erotic dreams. The Romans also loved Bes and depicted him dressed as a legionnaire. Bes also became popular with the Phoenicians and in Cyprus. Some scholars have suggested that the Ptolemaic version of Bes was in fact a composite god made up of ten fairly obscure gods; Aha, Amam, Bes, Hayet, Ihty, Mafdjet, Menew, Segeb, Sopdu and Tetenu. However, this theory is not widely supported and no evidence has been recovered to date which would clarify the situation.
Bes was also associated with a number of the more powerful gods; including Amun, Min, Horus and Reshep. He was most often associated with Horus the child. Bes often appeared on amulets and stele depicting the young horus and inscriptions intended to protect against snake bites etc (known as "cippi").The two gods also formed the composite deity "Horbes", even although Beset (Bes´ wife during the Ptolemaic Period) was also described as Horus´ mother! Bes was also closely associated with Hathor, who was also described as the mother or wife of Horus. The goddess was known as the "Lady of Punt", and was also a goddess of childbirth, dancing and music who shared many iconographic symbols with Bes.
Bes was generally depicted as a bearded dwarf, sticking out his tongue and shaking a rattle. He is always depicted facing forwards. This was very rare in Egyptian art and gave him a further link with Hathor who also faces the front. However, unlike the simple beauty of that goddess, Bes is a comical figure with pronounced bow legs, prominent genitals and a tail. He usually wears a plumed crown and the lion or panther skin associated with the "stm" priests. Occassionally he wears the Atef crown and is depicted as a winged deity. There are also a number of amulets and depictions of Bes which only show his head (still facing the front), although most of these date from the Third Intermediate Period or later.
Bes was sometimes depicted with feline or leonine features and often sports a long tail prompting the speculation that in earlier times, he was not in fact a dwarf but a lion or cat rearing up on his hind legs. If he did start out as a feline goddess this would give him a further link to Hathor who was herself very closely associated with Bast (a cat goddess) and Sekhmet (a lion goddess) and the "Eye of Ra" (the fearsome protector of Ra). Furthermore, his name may be derived from the Nubian word for cat ("besa") and is written using the determinative for a mammal rather than the determinative of a god or a man (the cow skin). It is equally likely that he was always seen as a dwarf with the strength and power of a cat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aha

http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/religion/deitiesplaces.html

Aha

god protecting women and children at birth (his name means 'Fighter'). Main deity in the Middle Kingdom at Khemenu/Ashmunein (UE15) - later named Bes and widespread as childbirth protector but not as a principal temple god

Bes figure, found at Amarna (click on the image for a larger picture

Ancient Egypt, World Museum Liverpool's Photos

Ancient Egypt, World Museum Liverpool's Photos - Spring and (WET) Summer updates

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From the album: Spring and (WET) Summer updates

By Ancient Egypt, World Museum Liverpool

Amun was a powerful god who was known as both ‘the hidden one’ and ‘mysterious of form’. This may explain why in this extraordinary statuette he appears with as a warrior with the face of Bes. There is a dedication inscription written on all four sides of the pedestal, dedicated by Nesptah, son of Unemuamun and Paneter, and the deity is identifed as a form of Amun-Re.

Date: Dynasty 26 (about 664-525 BC)

Accession number: M11594

Bibliography: Jaromir Malek, Diana Magee and Elizabeth Miles. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume VIII, Parts 1 and 2: Objects of Provenance Not Known: Statues, pp. 1026-7;
A. F. Shore, ‘The Egyptian Collection’, in Gibson and Wright, ‘Joseph Mayer of Liverpool 1803-1886 (London, 1988), pp. 61-66, pl. xiv [b];

Comparanda: This is an exceptional piece that can be compared with only two other known figures. For a discussion on this type of figure see, G. A. Wainwright, 'Some Aspects of Amun', JEA 20 (1934), p. 152-3, fig. 9; Compare with Daressy, 'Statues de divinites' (Cairo, 1906), p. 208, pl. XLIII [Cairo 38836];
Compare with F. G. H. Price, 'Notes upon a rare figure of Amen-Re', proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology XXIII (1901), 35-6.

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rom the album: Spring and (WET) Summer updates

By Ancient Egypt, World Museum Liverpool

Turquoise-blue moulded faience figurine of a dwarfish demon, Aha or Bes, with details added in black under the glaze.

Accession number: 1977.110.2

Date: Late Dynasty 12 - Dynasty 13 (about 1862 - 1650 BC)

Provenance: from Esna, grave 275: excavated by Professor John Garstang for the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology, 1904-1906; assigned to the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology by the government of Egypt; given to Sir Francis Charles Danson by the Liverpool Institute of Archaeology in 1906; Given to the museum as the bequest of Bequest of Lieutenant Colonel John Raymond Danson, 1977.

Published: Dorothy Downes, ‘The Excavations at Esna 1905-1906’ (Warminster, 1974), p. 106, figure 90; Janine Bourriau, Pharaohs and Mortals. Cambridge (1988), p. 112-3, figure 99.

Comparanda: this is a very unusual piece that can be compared with a similar figure of Aha-Bes in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA: Regine Schulz et al., Egyptian Art The Walters Art Museum (London, 2009), p.54