pothos.org

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 12:52 pm**

Since I had a break for one hour and being close to the museum in question, I took the following photos,

http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/IamSy ... t=3&page=1

Surely a different world than the one of ancient Greece and paganism, some marble busts bear the cross, a sign of catharsis from the Christians. I chose some pictures of icons and artifacts but unfortunately I couldnt keep them organized so it will take some of your time to actually find which explanation goes to which artifact.

Most of the icons are dated back to the 13th-15th century. From the most recent ones, a particular one depicts the Saint Sisois in front of Alexander the Great's tomb. I do not know if this depiction has already been used as search material for the tomb (strange, there seems to be glass over the tomb- maybe its a fantastical part created by the biographers of the Saint.) Anyway, Sisois found his way into holyness in the region of Nitria in 357 AD (Nitria is just miles out of Alexandria).

Moreover the icon of the Emperor and Saint Constantine, during th battle against Maxentius that is referenced in

Maxentius organized his forces—still twice the size of Constantine's—in long lines facing the battle plain, with their backs to the river.[155] Constantine's army arrived at the field bearing unfamiliar symbols on either its standards or its soldiers' shields.[156] According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers ... by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked Christ on their shields."[157] Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or "with this sign, you will conquer";[158] in Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night, in which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard, the labarum, for his army in that form.[159] Eusebius is vague about when and where these events took place,[160] but it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins.[161] Eusebius describes the sign as Chi (Χ) traversed by Rho (Ρ): ☧, a symbol representing the first two letters of the Greek spelling of the word Christos or Christ.[162][163] In 315 a medallion was issued at Ticinum showing Constantine wearing a helmet emblazoned with the Chi Rho,[164] and coins issued at Siscia in 317/18 repeat the image.[165] The figure was otherwise rare, however, and is uncommon in imperial iconography and propaganda before the 320s.[166]

Also, the very rare icon of Virgin Mary holding a rose, is called "The Unwithering Rose" is the first of its kind.

Aditionally, by looking at this one http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/IamSy ... ort=3&o=35 I just want to add an from a famous byzantine officer and poet by the name George Akropolitis (1217) whose hymn about Jesus Christ's burial is heard in Orthodox churches all over the world during the Easter.(Carmen in magnum sabbatum) I think the hymn itself is beyond all times.

Here is a direct link to the hymn

http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/IamSy ... sort=3&o=0

and

http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/IamSy ... sort=3&o=1

In the hymn Joseph of Aramathea talks with Pilatos right after the Crucifixion

Give to me Him the foreigner
who, from His birth, like a foreigner
lived in this world like a refugee and
a wanderer

Give to me this foreigner
Whom His countrymen
because of their hatred kill
as if He were a stranger and an enemy

Give to me this foreigner
whose odd death surprises me
Give to me this foreigner Who
knows how to serve and take care
the poor and the foreigners

Give to me this foreigner Whose
countrymen killed this way
because of their hatred
and made Him a stranger in this world

Give to me this foreigner so
I can hide Him in the tomb
because He, as a foreigner
has nowhere to lie his head
so He can rest in peace.

Best

Pauline

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 3:52 pm**

When I watch Byzantine icons and history I feel myself a terribly ignorant person, because I know few names, historical dates and artists. I'm striked by the icon of Saint Christophorus (?) who has a dog's head and is very like the Egyptian god Anubis. Do you know why?
Thanks a lot for sharing these photo!

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 6:07 pm**

This St Christopher was a member of the Marmaritae, a tribe of Africa against whom Diocletian campaigned, although this chap was allegedly sainted under Deciusthirty os so years earlier; in their ignorance the Medievals who invented most of the saint's stories believed the Marmaritae were the Kynoscephaloi - the dog heads - humans with dogs' heads and appetites, they variously eat human flesh or drink blood (their own if their enemies were not obliging). Onesikritos has Alexander face an army of monkeys which become dog-heads in the Romance, I seem to recall.

Alexander's corpse, Paulina, was kept under glass after Ptolemy the umpteenth stole his golden sarcophagos to mint into coin, the mob tore him apart for his pains; the interesting thing, for me is that the casket is empty, now there is only one empty tomb in Christianity, one that matters anyway; was the icon painter a heretic? In the name of all that is Holy, don't tell Dan Browne!!!

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:17 pm**

Thank you both very much for your comments. Agesilaos, the casket contains a skeleton , so it is not empy ( the hyptothetical skeleton of Alexander ).Anyway i think it is a interesting and rare icon never seen before i mean by me.

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:54 pm**

That'll be my aging eyes

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 8:57 pm**

That is very interesting, thank you, Pauline (and a very beautiful hymn).

I did a bit of digging and it seems that this is not the only icon showing St Sisois in front of Alexander's tomb. I found several but each seems to have a skeleton in it. This one seems to be the only empty one. It seems St Sisois (a Greek Egyptian) died in 429 AD after 62 years of aesthetic life. That would seem to place his visit to Alexander's tomb before 367 AD, which is much earlier than the last sighting about 390 AD. The icon of him visiting Alexander's tomb was apparently a popular artistic theme in medieval times because it represented the oppression of Greece by the Turks, a sort of 'how the mighty are fallen' theme. St Sisois is famous for his 'get and keep trying' philosophy - highly apt for Alexander's refusal to give up on anything.

EditThe correct interpretation of the icon should be that the painter was hoping for an Alexander to rise and lead Greece to former glory, or Alexander himself to return.

However, I also came across this post http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-24455, which claims that Alexander's mumified remains may be buried in Gortynia, an ancient site about 40 km east of Olympia on the way to Corinth (about 80km further east). I also found this thread which says that Gortynia is a Macedonian name http://www.pothos.org/forum/viewtopic.p ... t=gortynia (Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordynia).

This is the text from the link above:

This is a descriptive video journal of the +Alexander the Great Discovery*+ iReport which was posted a few months ago. For any further information on the discussed topic and of the images presented in this video, refer to that previous iReport.

This video journal originally premiered on CNN International's "iReport For CNN" program, on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****(6/26/08) As a result of many individuals contacting me about this video journal, I would like to clarify a few points about the material I am presenting.

This video journal is based on the research that I began on July 16, 2007 and have published in order to establish some type of legitimacy for the work that I have done so far. Nevertheless, my research is a work in progress and my theory is relatively new. My theory proposes that Alexander the Great’s mummified remains may have possibly been returned to Greece and specifically to Gortynia-Arkadia, after they vanished from Alexandria, Egypt circa the late 4th-early 5th Century C.E. I am not stating that his remains were immediately buried in Greece after his death. I apologize if the title of the report was misleading, but I was referring to his “final” resting place. I was not referring to his initial burial place, which was historically at first in Memphis and then Alexandria, until his remains vanished without a trace from Alexandria. The theory I propose are based on the following reasons.

Scholars acknowledge, based on biographical accounts, that Alexander became very ill and died in Babylon in 323 B.C.E. There, they mummified his remains, in order for his body to be transported back to Aigai, Makedonia in Greece, as had Perdikas (*one of Alexander’s “Successors”) planned on intending to do. Furthermore, by mummifying him, Alexander was preserved to be a symbol of a god on earth and the people’s connection with the divine, pantheon realm. Mummifying Great Alexander was the best way of preserving him as the ultimate symbol of Hellenism for many years to come.

On its way to Aigai, the body was hijacked by Ptolemaios I and brought to Memphis. Alexander was indeed buried in Alexandria (after being transported from Memphis, by Ptolemaios II Philadelphos-Son of Ptolemaios I), but his mummified remains disappeared around the late 4th-early 5th Century C.E. The remains vanished without a trace, eerily around the same time period when ancient Gortynos in Gortynia-Arkadia was deserted (a city that thrived for over 2200 years) and its remaining inhabitants founded the village of Atzi-Cholos deep within the Lousios Gorge. They had an official seal with an emblem, depicting the thorax and spear of Great Alexander, believed to be a copy of an actual insignia of Alexander’s. Ironically, the first word of “Atzi” has also a very important meaning in the semitic languages of the lands in which Alexander had spread his ideals of Hellenism. Also, the monastery which has this Byzantine icon of Abba St. Sisois, visiting the remains of Alexander (c. mid-16th century), is built within the vicinity of the ruins of the old village of Atzi-Cholos and above ancient Gortynos. (*St. Sisois, one of the early fathers of the Christian Church who lived an ascetic life in Egypt, was one of the last people to have viewed Alexander’s corpse, before he died in 429 C.E.)

From the report:

“According to Pausanias, Alexander in 336 B.C.E., age 20, was named General and King of the Hellenes in their campaign against the Great Persian Empire at the Second Pan-Hellenic Conference held at Korinth (Korinthian League). Before Alexander marched East with his army, he followed the ancient main road from Korinth and reached Gortynos, in order to pay homage to his Arkadian ancestors. Legends and historical accounts (even by Herodotus and Apollodorus) state that the Makedonians were descended from Makedon, Son of Lykaon. At the renowned Sanctuary of Asklepios in Gortynos, Alexander bathed in its healing waters and made sacrifices to the god Asklepios, Son of Apollo. Before he left, Alexander dedicated his armor (thorax, shield, and spear) to the temple, as well as to the Gortynian people.”

<**Now, if Alexander wanted to honor his other ancestors of great Argos, in which he claimed to have been descended from as well, why didn’t he go to the greater Asklepeion there? Instead, he went to the Asklepeion of his other ancestors, in Arkadia. This will be further explained later on, in which it involves Zeus and Alexander’s belief that he was truly his son.>

I am not saying that this icon of Abba St.Sisois proves that Alexander is in the land of Gortynia in Arkadia. Just relying alone on the icon, is not scholarly enough for a claim. It just led me to many other interesting facts and clues, which make a solid argument for them to have been brought to Gortynia-Arkadia...the land of his ancestors. But interesting enough, the icon in the monastery above Gortynos, depicts Alexander the Great not in a “skeletal form”, like other versions of the portrayal, but very differently. When I analyzed it thoroughly, it definitely appears like the depiction of a mummified corpse. Plus, it is the earliest of the icons with this theme ever created.

Furthermore, many researchers and archaeologists are trying to discover the tomb of Alexander the Great in Alexandria or in the Oasis of Siwa in Egypt. They are constantly exploring and excavating the region, for the reason that, according to Diodoros Sikelos, Alexander wanted to buried near his father. Many scholars believe this remark to refer to Alexander's true father, “Ammon Zeus”, thus, they suppose his body is still in Egypt. But Ammon Zeus was indeed worshipped in many other areas, especially in Hellas. He was the equivalent of the Hellenic god, Lykaios Zeus (“Zeus, the Enlightened One”), who was heavily worshipped in Gortynia-Arkadia. Till this day, nothing has been found regarding the tomb of Alexander. Many individuals have been searching his mummified remains for many centuries. But my concern “is not” the tomb (*there have been many supposed tombs recorded, in which Alexander’s remains may have been placed in), but where in fact where his mummified remains mysteriously transported to. The tomb is probably still in Alexandria, but his mummified remains are probably not. It is not that difficult to suppose that maybe his remains may have been returned to Greece, by pagan individuals who still worshipped him, in order to protect him from the rise of Christianity. Now, if Alexander’s mummified corpse was truly destroyed by some individuals or if something happened to it as a result of natural disasters, there would have been some written historical source claiming such an event. Till this day, none exist.

The main reason why I hypothesize why Great Alexander’s remains could have been brought to Gortynia is because in that vicinity of ancient Gortynos is Mount Lykaios...the birthplace of Zeus Lykaios, according to historical sources. Alexander truly believed he was the Son of Zeus. (*Also, he was confirmed to be his son by the Oracle at Delphi and the Oracle at the Ammoneion of Zeus Ammon at Siwa...who was the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus Lykaios. Alexander’s visit at Siwa, truly sealed his belief that he was the Son of Zeus). If you examine all of his biographical accounts from credible ancient sources, in their original languages, Alexander wished to be buried in the land of his Father, when he died. The ancient Hellenes knew of Mount Lykaios as being the holy vicinity of the spirit of Zeus...that is why the Arkadians called it also Mount Olympos. This is why Alexander went to Gortynos at age 20 and sacrificed to the gods, especially to Asklepios in his sanctuary, as well as honoring the Gortynians with his armor as a venerable gesture to his distant kin. He also went there, because Mount Lykaion is in close distance of the city and acknowledged himself as a Pelasgian/Arkadian...in which Pelasgos (father of King Lykaon of Arkadia and grandfather of Makedon) was believed to have been a Son of Zeus himself.

After almost a year of extensive research and translating, the facts that I have found, and keep on finding, makes my argument more credible. I am just opening up the door to a new possibility of research on Alexander the Great. Until scholars have found the mummified remains of Alexander, we cannot discourage any proposed ideas, because they are indeed invaluable in trying to solve this mystery.

> The information provided here is from my research entitled GORTYNIA ARKADIA: The Undiscovered Land for the Remains of Alexander the Great. Copyright 2007.

Start at about 5 mins into the video to see the icon which appears to show the mumified corpse of Alexander with a copper tone to it rather than the usual skeleton.

The narrator doesn't suggest how Alexander's body would have got there though.
EditThe only candidates I can think of would be disciples of St Sisois in 391-3 AD when pagansism was outlawed in the Roman Empire perhaps at St Sisois' instigation?

Posted: **Sat Jun 14, 2014 9:56 pm**

system1988 wrote:Thank you both very much for your comments. Agesilaos, the casket contains a skeleton , so it is not empy ( the hyptothetical skeleton of Alexander ).Anyway i think it is a interesting and rare icon never seen before i mean by me.

If you look closely, that too is a mummy, not a skeleton.

Posted: **Sun Jun 15, 2014 12:03 pm**

having had a bit of a delve I very much doubt that St Sisoes actually visited the Soma, he was an ascetic living and dying in the Egyptian desert. People came to him he did not travel to cities nor would visiting a Pagan site be wise or likely, his floruit is contemporary with the destruction of the Serapaion and general Christian atrocities against Pagans. These icons date to the Middle Ages when Greece was under Ottoman sway, which was not as enlightened as modern TV programmes try to make out. They would represent a hope for the return of a great Hero (a Messiah in Judaic tradition); In England there is a comparable tradition about King Arthur, in Germany it is Friedrich II Barbarossa.

The iNews piece demonstrates the triumph of hope over common sense; the body was seen in Alexandria in the reign of Diocletian, and there are later allusions to it still being there c396, there is no early tradition linking Sisoes to Alexander nor did he have 'disciples', he was the abbot of an Ascetic Monastery and had monks below him and who clearly looked upto him and valued his teaching but he would baulk at calling them disciples, the teachings were those of Jesus not Sisoes and it would be hubris to have put it another way; nor would these monks be likely to pull off 'Grand Theft Soma'. They too were ascetics who had withdrawn from society to pray and starve in the desert. The fact that we are talking Christians here during one of their militant periods means that one has to wonder why they would have given a liturgical mass for the wishes of a long dead Pagan (Alexander does become reconciled with the Church but much later when the notion of the Harrowing of Hell entered Catholic doctrine to explain why Aristotle was not in Hell despite his paganism).

The naivety of the investigator is evident when he places such force on the badge of Gortynia - which came first Pausanias story VIII 28 i, which says only, 'The natives claim that Alexander the son of Philip of Macedon had visited the temple of Aisklepios and dedicated his spear and thorax; they display the thorax and spearhead to this day.' or the emblem? Pausanias' tone implies this was patter for the tourists rather than a fact in any case, and Arrian VII 14, mentions a dedication to Aisklepios, but at Epidauros not Gortynia.

I would not put any weight on the mock etymology of the old pothos thread, it was clearly posted by a nationalist nutter, Gortynia is a place name in both Greece and Macedonia, surprise, surprise both entities spoke Greek.

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