The Fertile Crescent is a term for an old fertile area north, east and west of the Arabian Desert in Southwest Asia. The Mesopotamian valley and the Nile valley fall under this term even though the mountain zone around Mesopotamia is the natural zone for the transition in a historical sense.
As a result of a number of unique geographical factors the Fertile Crescent have an impressive history of early human agricultural activity and culture. Besides the numerous archaeological sites with remains of skeletons and cultural relics the area is known primarily for its excavation sites linked to agricultural origins and development of the Neolithic era.
It was here, in the forested mountain slopes of the periphery of this area, that agriculture originated in an ecologically restricted environment. The western zone and areas around the upper Euphrates gave growth to the first known Neolithic farming communities with small, round houses , also referred to as Pre Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) cultures, which dates to just after 10,000 BC and include areas such as Jericho, the world’s oldest city.
During the subsequent PPNB from 9000 BC these communities developed into larger villages with farming and animal husbandry as the main source of livelihood, with settlement in the two-story, rectangular house. Man now entered in symbiosis with grain and livestock species, with no opportunity to return to hunter – gatherer societies.
The area west and north of the plains of the Euphrates and Tigris also saw the emergence of early complex societies in the much later Bronze Age (about 4000 BC). There is evidence of written culture and early state formation in this northern steppe area, although the written formation of the states relatively quickly shifted its center of gravity into the Mesopotamian valley and developed there. The area is therefore in very many writers been named “The Cradle of Civilization.”
The area has experienced a series of upheavals and new formation of states. When Turkey was formed in the aftermath of the genocide against the Pontic Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians perpetrated by the Young Turks during the First World War it is estimated that two-thirds to three-quarters of all Armenians and Assyrians in the region died, and the Pontic Greeks was pushed to Greece.
Israel was created out of the Ottoman Empire and the conquering of the Palestinian terretories. The existence of large Arab nation states from the Maghreb to the Levant has since represented a potential threat to Israel which should be neutralised when opportunities arise.
This line of thinking was at the heart of David Ben Gurion’s policies in the 1950s which sought to exacerbate tensions between Christians and Muslims in the Lebanon for the fruits of acquiring regional influence by the dismembering the country and the possible acquisition of additional territory.
The Christians are now being systematically targeted for genocide in Syria according to Vatican and other sources with contacts on the ground among the besieged Christian community.
According to reports by the Vatican’s Fides News Agency collected by the Centre for the Study of Interventionism, the US-backed Free Syrian Army rebels and ever more radical spin-off factions are sacking Christian churches, shooting Christians dead in the street, broadcasting ultimatums that all Christians must be cleansed from the rebel-held villages, and even shooting priests.
It is now time that the genocide against the Pontic Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians is being recognized, that the Israeli occupation, settlements and violence against the Palestinians stop, and that the various minorities in the area start to live their lifes in peace – without violence and threats from majority populations, or from the West, and then specificially from the US.
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Welcome to Yerevan, one of the oldest cities in the world, yet arguably with the most modern outlook. Friendly, stable, tolerant and safe, this thriving capital has evolved spectacularly since the country’s independence in 1991. Enjoy a sneak preview of a capital city that has managed to preserve ancient traditions, culture and architecture while integrating the last innovations and technology.
Yerevan is open for business and talent, with numerous foreign companies settling to take advantage of the Armenian knowledge economy and financial markets and enjoy its hospitable, fun loving, and welcoming people. Be prepared to be surprised, be prepared to be impressed. This beautifully shot insight into the capital city of Armenia will have you packing your suitcase for “a celebration of life”.
(Be critical when you look at this video 😉 – but it is funny)
The Ankh
Kundalini
Linga-base at the Cát Tiên sanctuary, Lâm Đồng Province, Vietnam
Black stone at the Kabaa
A phallus is a penis, especially when erect, a penis-shaped object, or a mimetic image of an erect penis.Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic (as in “phallic symbol”). Such symbols often represent the fertility and cultural implications that are associated with the male sexual organ, as well as the male orgasm.
The term is a loanword from Latin phallus, itself borrowed from Greek, which is ultimately a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰel- “to inflate, swell”. Compare with Old Norse (and modern Icelandic) boli “bull”, Old English bulluc “bullock”, Greek “whale”.
Shiva, arguably the most ancient of the Indian deities with prehistoric origins as hinted by His epithet “Devadideva” (the primordial Gods before all gods}, and the third of the Hindu Trinity— and the most widely worshipped and edified male deity in the Hindu pantheon, is worshipped much more commonly in the form of the Lingam, or the phallus.
As the father and progenitor of the universe, he is universally depicted and worshipped in his form as the Lingam or the stylized phallic shape to signify his creative power as the Male Polarity or the Cosmic Male.
The lingam (also, linga, ling, Shiva linga, Shiv ling, Sanskrit लिङ्गं, liṅgaṃ, meaning “mark”, “sign”, or “inference”) is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples. In traditional Indian society, the linga is rather seen as a symbol of the energy and potentiality of the God.
The lingam is often represented alongside the yoni, a symbol of the goddess or of Shakti, female creative energy. The union of lingam and yoni represents the “indivisible two-in-oneness of male and female, the passive space and active time from which all life originates”.
Yoni (Sanskrit: योनिyoni, literally “vagina” or “womb”) is the symbol of the Goddess (Shakti or Devi), the Hindu Divine Mother. Within Shaivism, the sect dedicated to the god Shiva, the yoni symbolizes his consort. The male counterpart of the yoni is Shiva’s linga. Their union represents the eternal process of creation and regeneration. Since the late 19th century, some have interpreted the yoni and the linga as aniconic representations of the vulva and a phallus respectively.
In Hinduism, the ancient Indian texts contain the word yoni in various contexts. In Hindu philosophy, according to Tantra, yoni is the origin of life. The yoni is also considered to be an abstract representation of Shakti and Devi, the creative force that moves through the entire universe.
In Indian religions according to Vedas and Bhagavad Gita, Yoni is a form of life or a species. There are 8.4 million yonis total with Manushya Yoni (Human form/human species) as one of them.
A human (manushya yoni) is obtained on the basis of good karma (deeds) before which a human goes through various forms of yonis (for example, insect, fish, deer, monkey, etc.). Bad karmas will lead one to be born in rakshasa yoni (evil form).
The births and rebirths (the cycle of life) of a human happen in various yonis. A human who achieves the enlightenment (Mokshya) breaks the cycle of reincarnation and adjoins Brahma.
Lingam-yonis have been recovered from the archeological sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, part of the Indus Valley Civilization. There is strong evidence to support cultural continuation from the Indus Valley Civilization (Harappan; Indus-Sarasvati) to Vedic and modern Hindu practices.
At Mecca, the Goddess was ‘Shaybah’ or’ Sheba’, the Old Woman, which was worshipped as a black aniconic stone like the Goddess of the Scythian Amazons. The sacred Black Stone that now enshrines in the Kaaba was her feminine symbol, marked by the sign of the yoni (vagina), and covered like the ancient Mother by a veil. No one seems to know exactly what it is supposed to represent today?
The Black Stone rests in the Haram, “Sanctuary”, cognate of “harem,” which used to mean a Temple of Women, in Babylon, a shrine of the Goddess Har, mother of harlots! Hereditary guardians of the Haram were the Koreshites, “children of Kore”, Mohammed’s own tribe. The holy office was originally held by women, before it was taken over by male priests calling themselves ‘Beni Shayban’ (“Sons of the Old Woman”).
The Black Stone is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, the ancient stone building toward which Muslims pray, in the center of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic which, according to Muslim tradition, dates back to the time of Adam and Eve.
The Black Stone was revered well before the preaching of Islam by Muhammad. By the time of Muhammad, it was already associated with the Kaaba, a pre-Islamic shrine that was revered as a sacred sanctuary and a site of pilgrimage.
Evidences of phallic worship in India dates back to prehistoric times. Stone Lingams with several varieties of stylized “heads”, or the glans, are found to this date in many of the old temples, and in museums in India and abroad.
The famous “man-size” lingam in the Parashurameshwar Temple in the Chitoor District of the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, better known as the Gudimallam Lingam, is about 1.5 metres (5 ft) in height, carved in polished black granite. Dated back to ca. 2300–2800 BC, it is one of the existing lingams from the pre-Buddhist period.
The almost naturalistic giant lingam is distinguished by its prominent, bulbous “glans”, and an anthropomorphic form of Parashurama carved in high relief on the “shaft”. Shiva Lingams in India have tended to become more and more stylized over the centuries, and existing lingams from before the 6th century show a more leaning towards the naturalistic style, with the “glans” clearly indicated.
The phallus played a role in the cult of Osiris in ancient Egyptian religion. When Osiris’ body was cut in 14 pieces, Set scattered them all over Egypt and his wife Isis retrieved all of them except one, his penis, which was swallowed by a fish. Supposedly, Isis made a wooden replacement.
The phallus was a symbol of fertility, and the god Min, an Ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times (4th millennium BCE), was often depicted as ithyphallic, that is, with an erect penis.
Min was represented in many different forms, but was often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his left hand and an upheld right arm holding a flail. As Khem or Min, he was the god of reproduction; as Khnum, he was the creator of all things, “the maker of gods and men”.
Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz “lord”) is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr “bestows peace and pleasure on mortals”. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house.
Ardhanarishvara
Taoism
Ardhanarishvara (Sanskrit: अर्धनारीश्वर, Ardhanārīśvara), is a composite androgynous form of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati (also known as Devi, Shakti and Uma in this icon). Ardhanarishvara is depicted as half male and half female, split down the middle. The right half is usually the male Shiva, illustrating his traditional attributes.
The earliest Ardhanarishvara images are dated to the Kushan period, starting from the first century CE. Its iconography evolved and was perfected in the Gupta era. The Puranas and various iconographic treatises write about the mythology and iconography of Ardhanarishvara. While Ardhanarishvara remains a popular iconographic form found in most Shiva temples throughout India, very few temples are dedicated to this deity.
Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation. Another view is that Ardhanarishvara is a symbol of Shiva’s all-pervasive nature.
The conception of Ardhanarishvara may have been inspired by Vedic literature’s composite figure of Yama-Yami, the Vedic descriptions of the primordial Creator Vishvarupa or Prajapati and the fire-god Agni as “bull who is also a cow,” the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad’s Atman (“soul”) in the form of the androgynous cosmic man Purusha and the androgynous myths of the Greek Hermaphroditus and Phrygian Agdistis.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says that Purusha splits himself into two parts, male and female, and the two halves copulate, producing all life – a theme concurrent in Ardhanarishvara’s tales. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad sows the seed of the Puranic Ardhanarishvara.
It declares Rudra – the antecedent of the Puranic Shiva – the maker of all and the root of Purusha (the male principle) and Prakriti (the female principle), adhering to Samkhya philosophy. It hints at his androgynous nature, describing him both as male and female.
Kali
Kālī, also known as Kālikā, is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, Shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga (Parvati). The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death: Shiva.
Since Shiva is called Kāla— the eternal time — the name of Kālī, his consort, also means “Time” or “Death” (as in “time has come”). Hence, Kāli is the Goddess of Time and Change.
Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation of evil forces still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman.
Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess. Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. Shiva lies in the path of Kali, whose foot on Shiva subdues her anger.
Ningishzida (Sumerian: nin-g̃iš-zid-da), a Mesopotamian deity of the underworld, is the earliest known symbol of snakes twining (some say copulation) around an axial rod. It predates the Caduceus of Hermes, the Rod of Asclepius and the staff of Moses by more than a millennium. One Greek myth of origin of the caduceus is part of the story of Tiresias, who found two snakes copulating and killed the female with his staff.
Lagash had a temple dedicated to Ningishzida, and Gudea, patesi of Lagash in the 21st century BC (short chronology), was one of his devotees. In the Louvre, there is a famous green steatite vase carved for king Gudea of Lagash, dedicated by its inscription: “To the god Ningiszida, his god Gudea, Ensi (governor) of Lagash, for the prolongation of his life, has dedicated this”. Ningishzida was one of the ancestors of Gilgamesh.
In some texts Ningishzida is said to be female, which means “Nin” would then refer to Lady, which is mostly how the word is used by the Sumerians. His title is that of ‘Nin’, a feminine determinative and generally translated as ‘Lady’. Despite this Nin-ĝišzida is generally translated as ‘Lord of the Good Tree’ (which would be ‘En’).
The Adapa myth refers to the serpent god Ningizzida as a male. In trying to figure why this was so Sumerologists draw a blank and simply consider that this was the case with other male Deities (generally conceived by En-lil within the Underworld) and so perhaps it meant little. However what the ‘Nin’ title indicates is the Underworld origins of such Deities, were the black Underworld is personified as Feminine, they emerge from below and hey presto they are Masculine.
Ḫaldi
The Araratian (Urartian) god Ḫaldi (Ḫaldi, also known as Khaldi or Hayk) was one of the three chief deities of Ararat (Urartu). His shrine was at Ardini. The other two chief deities were the weather-god, notably the god of storms and thunder, Theispas of Kumenu, and the solar god Shivini or Artinis (the present form of the name is Artin, meaning “sun rising” or to “awake”, and it persists in Armenian names to this day) of Tushpa.
Of all the gods of Ararat (Urartu) pantheon, the most inscriptions are dedicated to him. His wife was the goddess Arubani. He is portrayed as a man with or without a beard, standing on a lion.
Khaldi was a warrior god whom the kings of Urartu would pray to for victories in battle. The temples dedicated to Khaldi were adorned with weapons, such as swords, spears, bow and arrows, and shields hung off the walls and were sometimes known as ‘the house of weapons’.
Armenian
The meeting point between a spiritual God and a physical man was symbolized and spiritually demonstrated through the physical shape of these two triangles. The first triangle which is facing up symbolizes the three components which makes up a human being. The mind, the body and soul. The triangle which is facing down symbolizes God’s intimacy and relationship or covenant bond which descends from above and becomes one with man.
Before God separated the woman from the man, God’s spiritual relationship with Adam was symbolized and concealed in this sign which was made up of two triangles or two pyramids (a star with six corners). After God had finished making the woman out of the man’s rib “Genesis 2:22, then these two triangles with six corners adapted the symbolic description which displays the sexual intercourse and intimacy or relationship between a husband and a wife. Genesis 2:24 says; Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh.
God’s ultimate purpose is to make the Earth His dwelling place. Through the man or husband (a man who reverences God) and the woman (wife), God’s vision, will and purpose for the entire world is birthed, produced, revealed, built and formed into the human conscious through a sexual intimacy that takes place between a holy husband and a holy wife.
An ancient pre-Christian symbol interpreted by some occultists as uniting the male phallus (vertical bar) and the female vagina (horizontal bar). It is also a symbol of the four directions and a powerful weapon againstevil. It is a ancient pagan phallic symbol of the male penis, a symbol of pagan sex worship and the abominable rites of Baalism and the pagan temple prostitution carried out in worship of Astarte (“Easter”).
The Mesopotamian literary corpus is one of the oldest literatures in the world. It is infused with the divine, because religion played a crucial part in the way Mesopotamians expressed their thoughts about human life. Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, with a pantheon consisting of hundreds if not thousands of gods of varying importance. This website offers information about the fifty most important gods and goddesses and provides starting points for further research.
The time period between the end of the Ubaid and the beginning of the Uruk expansion is one of the least known, yet most important eras in the ancient history of the Middle East. This era, which is often referred toas the “Post-Ubaid” period, is marked by major structural changes such as the rise of social hierarchies,technological innovations and economic reorganisation that eventually led to the emergence of proto-statesand cities.
Through the analysis of recently and less recently excavated sites in the Caucasus and Anatolia that bear strong links with the “Post-Ubaid” settlements of Syro-Mesopotamia, the author questions thesignificance of this era, which roughly extends between 4500 and 3800 BC.
More than a “Mesopotamian”episode, she argues, the Post-Ubaid horizon is characterized by multi-directional, structural dynamicsanchored both in the north (Anatolia and the Caucasus) and in the south (Syro-Mesopotamia). For this reason, its significance should be claimed through a change in analytical paradigms, focussing on theinteractions between the Lowlands and the Highlands, with a reassessment of the available data from anon-Mesopotamian perspective.
Cradle of Civilization 