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Pergamon: City of Science ... and Satan?
Biblical Archaeology Review ^ | August 2009 (-ish) | Sarah Yeomans

Posted on 08/28/2009 6:52:34 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Although the majority of its superb intact monuments now sit in Berlin's Pergamon Museum, enough remains of the acropolis for the visitor to sense the former greatness of the city that once rivaled Alexandria, Ephesus and Antioch in culture and commerce, and whose scientific advancements in the field of medicine resonate through the corridors of today's medical treatment facilities. Juxtaposed sharply against this image of enlightened learning is that of "Satan's Throne," as described by the prophet John of Patmos (Revelation 2:12-13), which some scholars interpret as referring to the Great Altar of Pergamon, one of the most magnificent surviving structures from the Greco-Roman world...

Pergamon rose to prominence during the years of the Greek empire's division following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. His short-lived empire was partitioned among his generals, with General Lysimachus inheriting the then-settlement of Pergamon and its wealth. Due largely to its strategic position along land and sea trading routes and in part to the wealth of the Attalid kings who ruled the kingdom, the city enjoyed centuries of prosperity that continued when it passed peacefullly to Rome's control in 133 B.C. From that point on, Pergamon's fate was inextricably linked to that of Rome, and it rose and fell in tandem with the great Roman Empire.

(Excerpt) Read more at bib-arch.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs; pergamon; romanempire; sagalassos
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To: SonOfDarkSkies; JoeProBono; SunkenCiv

nephilim is a Hebrew construct - not related to Greek mythology. The scene depicts the war of the Olympian gods vs the early more beastly Titans. To me this struggle in mythology represented the Greeks giving up the earlier gods who were half human and half monster like found in earlier civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt and embracing anthropomorphic gods - gods that looked and acted like men.


41 posted on 08/31/2009 6:05:33 AM PDT by Nikas777 (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious")
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To: Daffynition
Snakes, the symbol for Aesklepios, ornament a marble altar. In the ancient world, snakes symbolized healing and life-renewal. The caduceus was adopted as a symbol of the medical profession because of its similarity with the serpent entwined staff of Aesklepios. IIRC, there is more than one example in situ.

In spiral like the DNA helix.

If you are into fringe stuff like I am (for fun mostly) you would read lots of speculation regarding the connections.

42 posted on 08/31/2009 6:07:29 AM PDT by Nikas777 (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious")
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To: Fred Nerks; SunkenCiv; theFIRMbss

The mythological scenes depicting the war of the Olympian gods vs the early more beastly Titans to me always represented the Greeks giving up or rejecting the earlier gods who were half human and half monster like found in earlier civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt and embracing anthropomorphic gods - gods that looked and acted like men.


43 posted on 08/31/2009 6:11:53 AM PDT by Nikas777 (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious")
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To: Nikas777
In spiral like the DNA helix.

Not really. The two strands in DNA lie head to tail. In the caduceus, they lie head to head, tail to tail. Also, the double spiral of the caduceus has strands that are 180 degrees apart.


The two strands of the DNA helix are not.


The best guess of the origin of the caduceus is the practice of using a stick to provide traction in extracting Guinea worms by winding them up onto the stick as they erupt.
44 posted on 08/31/2009 6:16:48 AM PDT by aruanan
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To: Nikas777

45 posted on 08/31/2009 6:20:50 AM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: JoeProBono; aruanan

I am just saying if you read fringe books, like I do, for fun, the DNA helix/caduceus connection is a big deal. I think in UFO type books.


46 posted on 08/31/2009 6:26:23 AM PDT by Nikas777 (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious")
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To: SunkenCiv
LOL! I hate that Microsoft paper clip. Right up there with Jar-Jar Binks.
47 posted on 08/31/2009 12:26:00 PM PDT by colorado tanker (Martha's Vineyard is great! Hey, honey, let's take a drive . . . .)
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To: Nikas777

48 posted on 08/31/2009 12:50:55 PM PDT by Daffynition ("...... we are about to be czarred and fettered." ~ alterum ictum faciam.)
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To: Daffynition

What is that?


49 posted on 08/31/2009 2:40:01 PM PDT by Nikas777 (En touto nika, "In this, be victorious")
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To: colorado tanker

Ew! I’d repressed the memory of Jar-Jar Binks for years, thanks a lot. ;’)


50 posted on 08/31/2009 6:51:27 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: Nikas777

There were a number of traditions more or less coexisting, which was also the case in Egypt (the consolidated beliefs there were a terrific mishmash as a result), Mesopotamia (and neighboring territories such as Elam), and Europe (which indeed Greece was part of) due to the occasional ingress of big migrations coming out of central Asia down the steppe. The need to make disparate traditions whole (probably for political reasons, unions of towns under one rule, that kind of thing) led to unusual genealogical myths (Venus from the head of Zeus, Apollo from Zeus bangin’ a swan, for that matter, Kronos devouring his children, Ouranos getting castrated, etc). Apollo is actually not originally Greek at all (not even his name), and yet became in some ways the quintessential pagan Greek deity.


51 posted on 08/31/2009 7:25:54 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/__Since Jan 3, 2004__Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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