C. H. Valiñani

I tweet about the traces of worship to Neolithic deities in present-day Mediterranean folklore and about... whatever actually.

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

#goddess

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

Luck fruit -

That’s what pomegranate has been to Greeks for many, many centuries. I was first introduced to the regal pomegranate about a decade ago by a Greek folklorist. She was giving a talk on the symbolism of food, and it became obvious that of all the fruits in the Greek garden the pomegranate, with its turret-like crown, its course, ruddy skin and honeycomb of ruby beads within, is one of the most ancient and mythical. From earliest times, the pomegranate has been the fruit of fertility, of death and rebirth, of hope. It is also one of the main New Year symbols for modern Greeks.

In Greece, the fruit is closely associated to the myth of Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, who was abducted away to the Underworld to share the throne of Hades. Demeter, goddess of agriculture and spring, begged for her daughter’s return but Persephone had been tricked into eating six pomegranate seeds in the land of the dead and was permitted to come back for only part of the year. The legend is obviously an allegory about the cycle of life, the stilling of the Earth for six months in fall and winter and of its rebirth in spring and summer.

Pomegranates, as a symbol of fertility, were also an important part in the worship of Demeter during the ancient festival held in her honor, open only to women for three days each October. The third and final day, the Calligenera, was devoted to the fertility of women and the eating of pomegranate seeds was an important part of the rituals.

Today in Greece, echoes of the ancient world can still be found in the way pomegranates are eaten and used decoratively. For example, combined with walnuts and wheat stalks, pomegranates appear in the wreaths that bedeck doorways in the fall, a custom that dates to antiquity when autumn marked the start of the year. The pomegranate is still the symbol of our modern day January New Year’s. It is also the fruit that, until fairly recently, young brides would toss into the threshold of their new homes, the seeds bursting forth representing their hopes for a marriage filled with children and good fortune. More somberly, it is a common ingredient in Kolyva, the sweet funerary dish made with whole wheat kernels, nuts and raisins which also symbolizes rebirth.

The ancient Greeks believed that the pomegranate first appeared in Cyprus, having been planted there by Aphrodite. It is among the world’s earliest cultivated fruits, so old that its provenance can never be marked for certain. Persia, Armenia, the Caucasus, India, even the Himalayas are among the places that have been called the pomegranate’s first home. We know that the fruit was familiar very early to the region of India because there is a word for it in Sanskrit. Like so many other plants known to the Mediterranean today, it probably started its journey westward from the Middle East. It was known to the Egyptians as far back as 16th Century BC.

(source: Chef Diane Kochilas - Food traditions of ancient Greece)

© Lampros Kakionis

#archaeohistories

[World History Encyclopedia @whencyclopedia]

Atalanta is a figure from Greek mythology famed as a huntress, wrestler, and runner. The heroine was a key participant in the Calydonian boar hunt, striking the first wound in this fearsome beast with her bow. Long-determined to...https://t.co/xkaONcC9c1

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

#Goddess

[Greek City Times @greekcitytimes]

Uncovering Artemis' Secrets: Hidden Past Revealed in Ancient Greek Temple Excavation https://t.co/IsgGvpyTFR

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

Superb

[Guardian Opinion @guardianopinion]

Return the Parthenon marbles, and more besides. The British Museum has too much stuff anyway besides | Simon Jenkins https://t.co/jBf0ZUBTeE

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

¡La Caza del Octubre Rojo esta tarde en @PamountNetESP! Una de mis favoritas
🍿🤩

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

🇬🇷 Όχι

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

@historyinmemes Donatio Constantini

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

Notorious de #Hitchcock a @VerdiClassicsTV, amb Ingrid Bergman i Cary Grant!!! Peliculón!!! 😍

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

Just a few days ago I discovered @nahresol 's YouTube videos "How to sound like..." (Satie, Debussy, J.S. Bach, Ravel...), starting from the melody of "Happy Birthday to You".
@nahresol , you are a GENIUS

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

@escairador Genial! Moltes felicitats!!!
Maria, sisplau, per Nadal plaques sense gluten per fer els canelons 🙏🏼🙏🏼

[TheGreekVibe @TheGreekVibe]

The rules to drinking coffee in Greece (and the reasons why Greeks are always out for coffee) https://t.co/RAq2H9vDim

[Anime Aesthetics @anime_]

Mood.

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

@AntigoneJournal Quo vadis - Sienkiewicz

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

@GreekPictures And before Apollo, dedicated to #goddess Gaia.
Great picture!

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

@AplecClassiques Κλεψύδρα ⌛

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

💙

[Greek City Times @greekcitytimes]

FEBRUARY 9: Celebrating International Greek Language Day (VIDEO) https://t.co/3kBh2ebXNn
#greece #greek #greekcitytimes #greeklanguageday

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

I més aquesta traducció pel Lluís Feliu i l'Adelina Millet que són uns CRACS

[ADESIARA EDITORIAL @ADESIARAEDITORI]

Es pot dir que el «Poema de Gilgamesh» va ser l’obra fundacional de tota una cultura, com ho va ser també la «Ilíada». Si encara no l’heu llegit, us recomanem que ho feu de seguida, perquè d’aquí a molt poc temps tindrem novetats ben sucoses pel que fa a «obres fundacionals».

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

Εδώ είμαστε!

[C. H. Valiñani @cvalinani]

Ahir vaig veure Sonata De Tardor (Höstsonaten). Quina meravella

[Sumerian and Hittite Language (Hasan Türk) @SumerianHittite]

The Temple of Garni
is the only standing Greco-Roman colonnaded building in Armenia and the former Soviet Union. Built in the Ionic order, it is located in the village of Garni, in central Armenia. It is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia.