Paganism

Temple of Artemis to be Rebuilt

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“I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, ‘Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught [anything] so grand'” – Antipater of SidonWord has come from Turkey that the famous Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is going to be rebuilt and restored to its former glory. Artemis of Ephesus”With support from Austrian scientists, [Dr. Atilay] Ileri [founder of the Selcuk Artemis Culture, Arts and Education Foundation] had Swiss architects prepare a plan for the reconstruction of the temple. Ileri, who has dreamed of reconstructing the temple for 10 years, said: ‘When completed, the temple will not be a copy or an imitation of the original Artemis but the Artemis itself. And its sisters of the past will set their eyes on it with pride and emulation.'”The project will cost an estimated 150 million dollars, and will involve sculptors from around the world. The government of Turkey, while not directly financing the project, is supportive of Ileri’s efforts.

Paganism

Recommended Reading

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I’ve got some great links for any of my readers looking for some new online reading material. To start with, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, which recently heard the testimony of Pagan chaplain Patrick McCollum on religious discrimination in prisons, has posted the full transcript of the proceedings.”If the same standards that are being required of the Wiccans were applied to the Protestants, you guys would have to fire all the Protestant chaplains right now because they don’t have any ground to stand on at all in all the services that they’re getting.”This is historic testimony on behalf of minority faiths before a U.S. governmental body, and should be required reading for any Pagan concerned about our religious freedoms. Turning from political concerns, the comics/pop-culture web site Sequential Tart interviews Thista Minai about her Hellenic faith, and her recently published book “Dancing In Moonlight: Understanding Artemis Through Celebration”.”And, of course, I’m nuts about animals and wilderness. I work as a veterinary technician, and I remember a rather amusing trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with my (very Catholic) father. There was a pendant on display showing Artemis as Potnia Theron, the Mistress of Animals, and I was explaining to my father (who by then was well aware of my obsession with Artemis and suspected that it was more than academic) exactly what all that meant. When I finished, he looked at me, looked at the pendant, then looked back at me and said, ‘So, basically, She’s the Goddess of veterinary technicians.’