The Greeks made use of their myths to read and understand the world around them. They mixed their mythological tradition making use of their moral concepts and developed some supreme beings to praise.
The life span of the gods organized the foundations for the comprehension of how to live a virtuous life. These myths were passed down through their society’s storytellers like Homer, who wrote the epic poems the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey.” These works of art are the source of much of our knowledge of the Greek gods , and the beliefs surrounding them.

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The twelve Olympian gods ( they are named after their dwelling place, Mount Olympus) were the best known gods. They ruled after the overthrow of the Titans.
The relationship between ancient Greeks and their gods was based on a fairly easy concept: if men worshipped and made sacrifices towards the gods, then your gods would look favourably upon them in exchange.
The Olympians:
Aphrodite : Goddess of love and beauty . Her son was Eros , the god of love. She is also considered to have kept a watchful eye over sailors.
Apollo : Beautiful god of the light, medicine and music. Apollo represents order, harmony, and civilization
Ares : God of war. He had an affair with Aphrodite, and was father to many kids.
Artemis : Goddess moon, forest, childbirth and the hunt. Although she was associated with childbirth and kids, Artemis was a virgin.

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Athena : Daughter of Zeus and goddess of knowledge and war and also the patron goddess of Athens. Like Artemis , she was a virgin goddess too.
Hades : God of the Underworld.
Hephaestus : God of fire and the forge. Mated to Aphrodite.
Hera : Queen from the Gods, wife of Zeus a, protector of marriage.
Hermes : The messenger of the gods, god of business. He was a very smart child, inventing the lyre using a tortoise’s shell as he was just a baby baby.
Hestia : Goddess of home, symbolized by the hearth which holds the ever-burning flame.
Poseidon : God of the sea and earthquakes. As god of the seas Poseidon held great power, and could calm the waves or create terrible storms. He’d an unreliable temper, and used his powers to generate fear and punishment on people as revenge.
Zeus : King from the Gods, god of the sky, symbolized by the thunderbolt. Because the ruler of the Olympian gods, Zeus held enormous power and almost absolute authority. His role was primarily to watch over the activities of the other gods, and make sure they weren’t exceeding their powers.
The Titans, also called the elder gods, ruled the planet earth before the Olympians overthrew them.
The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was de-throned by his son Zeus .

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Prometheus : He stole the sacred fire from Zeus and also the gods.
Atlas : Zeus punished him to forever bear the heavens upon his shoulders.
December 24 2011 | General | No Comments »

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Selimiye Mosque (Turkish: Selimiye Camii) is an Ottoman mosque in the city of Edirne, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Sultan Selim II and was built by architect Mimar Sinan between 1568 and 1574. It was considered by Sinan to be his masterpiece and is one of the greatest achievements of Islamic architecture. This mosque is the center of a külliye (complex of a hospital, school, library and / or baths around a mosque) which comprises a madrassa (Islamic school teaches two lessons Islamic and scientific), a giving-ul Hadis (the school Al-Hadith), a timekeeper’s room and a arasta (row of shops). In this mosque Sinan employed an octagonal supporting system that is created through eight pillars incised in a square shell of walls. The four semi domes at the corners of the square behind the arches that spring from the pillars, the parties are intermediaries between the huge encompassing dome (31.25m diameter with spherical profile) and the walls.
InteriorWhile conventional mosques were limited by a segmented interior, Sinan’s effort at Edirne was a structure that enabled us to see the mihrab from any location in the mosque. Surrounded by four tall minarets, the mosque of Selim II has a great dome above. Around the rest of the mosque were many additions: libraries, schools, hospices, baths, soup kitchens for the poor, markets, hospitals, and a cemetery. These annexes were aligned axially and grouped, if possible. Opposite the mosque is a rectangular courtyard with an area equivalent to that of the mosque. Innovation does not come from the size of the building but the organization of its interior. The mihrab is pushed into an alcove with an apse-like space with a sufficient depth to allow light window on three sides. This has the effect of the tile panels of its lower walls sparkle with natural light. The merger of the main hall as an octagon merged with the dome-covered square.
Formed by eight massive dome supports, the octagon is crossed by four corners of the dome cover half the square. The beauty resulting from the conformity of geometric shapes prey to the other was the culmination of Sinan’s life long quest for a unified interior space. The Bulgarian site of Edirne in 1913, the dome of the mosque was hit by artillery of Bulgaria. Due to the rugged construction of the dome, the mosque survived the assault only minor damage. Custom Atatürk, has not been restored since then, serve as a warning to future generations. The damage can be seen in the photo above, the central circle between calligraphy red and dark blue to its immediate left. The mosque has been represented at the bottom of the 10,000 Turkish lira banknotes from 1982 to 1995
Selimiye Mosque, which is close to the Selimiye Kışlası (Selimiye barracks), was built muvakkithane (Time magazine), a fountain, and sabil (sebil) of Sultan Selim III (1761-1808). The mosque was built in a large courtyard, which has four doors and Western architectural styles reflect the cultural calendar. In additon, because of the minarets of the mosque originally appeared on a massive, moody and polished and made thinner. In 1823, one of the minarets collapsed completely and one partially collapsed in a strong south-west of the storm. Later, the two minarets were erected again.
A difficult time with the past nearly five centuries, the people fascinating in its magnificence, enthronement Ottoman architecture and its superiority and uniqueness in terms of technical features and fascinating, all controlled by the silhouette of the city Selimiye is a valuable piece of art as the greatest gift to the Ottoman Sultan Edirne its dome, minarets, decorations and acoustics.
The mosque was built by hewn stones in the period, Nureddin Ahmad Efendi was one of the most important architects, but we do not know who was the architect. The dome of the mosque measures 14.60mi diameter, five sets of windows, and is supported by four half-domes. It is not difficult to say that the mosque, whose mihrab and pulpit are of porphyry, is a masterpiece of marble handicrafts and carpentry.
Selimiye Mosque, which was created by Mimar Sinan, at the age of 80 and what he called “my master work” a masterpiece not only the history of the Ottoman – Turkish architecture, but also the architecture of world history.
August 31 2010 | General | 75 Comments »