Ancient World Review

Politicizing The Venus Of Willendorf

Maybe it's just me, but this narrator sounds like a pervert.

"The Venus of Willendorf is a perfect example of [Paleolithic art designed to be carried around]. Josef Szombathy, an Austro-Hungarian archaeologist, discovered this work in 1908 outside the small Austrian village of Willendorf. Although generally projected in art history classrooms to be several feet tall, this limestone figurine is petite in size. She measures just under 4½” high, and could fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. This small scale was very deliberate and allowed whoever carved (or, perhaps owned) this figurine to carry it during their nearly daily nomadic travels in search of food. " Source: The Khan Academy.

Like almost everything else these days, the Venus of Willendorf has been politicized by the Left. For example, the common name for the figure -- the Venus -- is said to be Eurocentric and misleading even though the statue " is believed to have been carved during the European Upper Paleolithic," according to Wikipedia, and most of these Venus figurines have been found in Europe and Eurasia. Furthermore, naming the statue after the Goddess of Love and Beauty implies a standard of beauty that doesn't fit with the current feminist narrative. Because of all this, some politically-correct archaeologists and art scholars have taken to referring to the statue as the Woman of Willendorf, which is far less descriptive but more politically acceptable.

The Venus has also been analyzed in terms of the "female gaze," a term from feminist film theory. This toxic women's-studies jargon has even crept into presentations by the British Museum.

One of the most striking things about the Venus of Willendorf is how fat she is. The Venus and other figures like it are usually described as having exaggerated sexual characteristics, but their Brobdingnagian breasts, thighs, stomachs and buttocks aren't all that outlandish when you consider the fact that in modern terms they're morbidly obese. For instance, compare the Venus of Willendorf's body to the bodies of these fat strip club dancers, if you dare. Predictably, the feminists and "fat activists" have latched onto the figure's corpulence, arguing that being fat used to be celebrated, but now it's stigmatized and so on.

Just as a side note here, the idea that obesity "used to be celebrated" in the Stone Age is pure fantasy. And the claim that obesity is "stigmatized" today isn't completely accurate, either. Granted, being so fat you have to use a mobility scooter to get around is generally considered to be unhealthy and unattractive these days, but we still have fat fetishists and "feeders," so the swamp donkeys of the modern world haven't been completely stigmatized.

Various theories explaining the Venus of Willendorf's plumpness have been proposed. For instance, some have argued that she was actually pregnant or that she was a self-portrait done by a Stone Age woman looking down at herself. The selfie-theory doesn't make much sense and the pregnancy argument doesn't hold water unless you think that getting knocked up turns women into The Blob.

According to another theory, the Venus and other statues like it provide evidence that obesity might have been a common thing back in the Paleolithic:

"...if these sculptured carvings of the female figure were approximately anatomically accurate, then there can be no doubt that overweight [sic], obesity, and extreme obesity in females clearly existed (although likely sporadically) throughout the Upper Paleolithic Era in Europe." Source: The PaleoDiet (2016).

I don't really buy this, either. It's possible, I suppose, that fatties were waddling around in the Stone Age, but I find it hard to believe considering the rigorous conditions of daily life back then. In and of itself, being fat implies that you have a sedentary existence and a surplus of food, two things not normally associated with the lifestyle of hunter-gatherers. I'm guessing that obesity wasn't even possible until the rise of settled agricultural communities.

It doesn't really matter, though, because all of these arguments are based on the assumption that the Venus figures are more or less anatomically-correct representations of what women looked like back in the Stone Age. Once you get away from all the contemporary politics, the general scholarly consensus seems to be that they are exaggerated fertility symbols, not models from real life. But even if they were based on the figures of real women, that doesn't mean that there was anything typical about them. As it turns out, these bloated Venus statues aren't the only depictions of females which have been discovered from that time. The women in these fantastic works of Stone Age art come in all shapes and sizes, so I don't see how you can argue that women shaped like the Venus of Willendorf were a common sight in the Paleolithic.

The Venus of Galgenberg from 30,000 years ago.

The Big Roman Villa (Dinnington, Somerset)

Note: "Dinnington is a village and civil parish [Pop. 65] in [the] English county of Somerset, according to Wikipedia. This villa "was excavated by the archaeological television programme Time Team in 2002 and 2006. The Romano British site has been the site of surface finds of tesserae, roofing slates and pottery. A number of coins have been found and also a small bronze dog."

Related: Dinnington and Yarford: two Roman villas in south and west Somerset

Villa Mosaic's Secrets Revealed

Ancient Near Eastern Art - Sumer & Akkad

Note: "The ancient art of Mesopotamia incorporates that of Sumeria, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria, until the sixth century BCE, when Babylon fell to the Persians. Mesopotamian Sculpture (c.3000-500 BCE) includes a host of ceramic art, varieties of stone sculpture, in the form of both statues and reliefs, steles, mosaic art, carved cylinder seals and monumental architecture exemplified by Ziggurats built in Ur, Babylon, Uruk, Sialk, Nimrud and elsewhere (3200-500 BCE), and the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built in the ancient city-state of Babylon, by King Nebuchadnezzar II. Mesopotamia was also home to megalithic art like that of Catalhoyuk in Asia Minor." Source: Visual Arts Encyclopedia.

Ancient Roman Paintings

"The history of Roman painting is essentially a history of wall paintings on plaster. Although ancient literary references inform us of Roman paintings on wood, ivory, and other materials, works that have survived are in the durable medium of fresco that was used to adorn the interiors of private homes in Roman cities and in the countryside." Source: The Met - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

"... The majority of Roman frescoes were found in Campania, in the region around the Bay of Naples. It is here that Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., burying much of the countryside, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and nearby private residences. As so often happens in archaeology, a disaster served to freeze a moment in the past, allowing excavators to delve into the life of this region’s ancient inhabitants. Frescoes from the villas at Boscoreale and Boscotrecase provide an unparalleled record of the life of wealthy Romans during this period."

Spectacular Wall Frescoes Discovered At Pompeii

"Archaeologists working at Pompeii continue to uncover incredible finds, 270 years since the remains of the ancient city were first discovered." Source: Archaeology News Network.

"The latest discovery is a newly unearthed house with brightly coloured animal frescoes, revealed at the site earlier this week."

The Villa Of P. Fannius Synistor At Boscoreale

"Boscoreale, an area about a mile north of Pompeii, was notable in antiquity for having numerous aristocratic country villas. This tradition endured into the time of the Bourbon kings, as is attested by the region’s name, the 'Royal Forest,' which implies that Boscoreale was a hunting preserve. Some of the most important wall paintings surviving from antiquity come from a Roman villa at Boscoreale built shortly after the middle of the first century B.C. The villa, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., is referred to as the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, one of its owners during the first half part of the first century A.D. Excavated in the early 1900s, the villa’s frescoes are among the most important to be found anywhere in the Roman world." Source: The Met - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

A reproduction of the cubiculum (bedroom/meeting room/library/art gallery) in the villa.

Note: "Ownership of the villa has been contested. While there is no doubt P. Fannius Synistor did reside there, excavated bronze tablets show another name, that of Lucius Herennius Florus. Many things were marked with seals in ancient Rome to indicate possession. It is believed that since the tablet with the letters 'L. HER. FLO' on the front of it was found inside the villa, it must serve as a mark of villa ownership. These two are the only confirmed owners in the early 1st century BC and 1st century AD, though there may have been earlier owners." (Wikipedia)

The Villa Where Augustus Died?

Video from 2015.

"Tradition has it that the so-called ‘Villa of Augustus’, also known as the Dionysiac Villa in Somma Vesuviana, near Nola (an ancient Campanian town in Naples) was the place where Emperor Augustus breathed his last, circa 14 AD. Now while from the scholarly perspective this claim is debatable, there is no doubt about the archaeological eminence of the site. Pertaining to the latter, Altair4 Multimedia has virtually reconstructed the ‘Villa of Augustus’, based upon the extant remnants of the substantially large structure. And the end result [see below] is glorious to behold, standing as a testament to ancient Roman art and architecture." Source: Realm of History (2016).

Note: "Although the findings to date from the excavation do not validate the hypothesis that this villa belonged to the Emperor Augustus, it nevertheless provides ample evidence to understand late antique Campania." Source: Apolline Project.

The Sun Temple At Konarak

"On the shores of the Bay of Bengal, bathed in the rays of the rising sun, the [13th cent. Hindu] temple at Konarak [aka Konark] is a monumental representation of the sun god Surya's chariot; its 24 wheels are decorated with symbolic designs and it is led by a team of six horses. Built in the 13th century, it is one of India's most famous Brahman sanctuaries." Source: UNESCO World Heritage List.

According to Myoksha, a provider of pilgrimage tours and temple guides in India, "Konark Temple was referred to as 'Black Pagoda' by European travelers sailing the shores of the Arabian sea. It was so called maybe because of its dark colour due to continuous plastering and subsequent blackening of the surface over many centuries as mentioned by S.P Gupta in his book 'Temples in India'. It may also be that some European scholars believed that the exceptionally frank eroticism [next video] of many of the Konark sculptures has given it the name 'Black Pagoda'."

"The Sun Temple at Konarak was built in about 1250 AD by the East Ganga king Narasimhadeva, It is thought he built the temple to commemorate military successes against Muslim invaders." Source: Sacred Destinations.

"According to local legend, the temple has a great aura of power that comes from two very powerful magnets said to have been built into the tower - magnets that allowed the king's throne to hover in mid-air."

This magnetic aura could also be the reason for the name "Black Pagoda:"

"European mariners sailing off the coast used the temple's tower for navigation, but dubbed it the Black Pagoda for the frequent shipwrecks that occurred along the coast. They attributed the disasters to the legendary magnets' effect on the tidal pattern." (Sacred Destinations)

This is a magnificent temple, but King Narasimhadeva should be especially remembered for the fact that he "defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who were constantly posing a threat to the Eastern Ganga dynasty's rule over Odisha [ancient Utkala], and because he was "one the few rulers in India who took the offensive against the Islamic expansion over India..." (Wikipedia)

Narasimhadeva should receive the same respect that we give to Charles Martel in the West.

The Mysteries Of Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Cathedral is a spectacular example of the way Christianity usurped the old pagan religions and literally overlaid the sacred sites of the pagan world. According to Chartres Cathedral.net, "the town of Chartres has been of religious importance since ancient times. It was the site of Druid ceremonies, which were held around a well that was later discovered under the cathedral crypt.

"Sometime later, a Gallo-Roman temple stood on the same spot. The early Christians erected a basilica there during the 4th century, and St. Bernard preached the Second Crusade there in 1146. Later in history, Chartres was the coronation site of Henry IV in 1594."

Part Two here.

Many of the legends surrounding Chartres can be traced back to pagan beliefs. According to Ancient Origins, "[the legendary roots of the site] come from the time when Druids, the Celtic priests of Britain and Gaul, held sacred rites there." A Druidic statue of the mother goddess of infants found at the site may have inspired the Christian legend that the pagans "had foretold the story of a virgin who would give birth to a child for the good of the world." This is speculative, but it makes sense considering the way the Christians hijacked pagan beliefs to support their new religion.

"During the Gallo-Roman times, the underground waters of the site were believed to have been revered by the Druids. Legend also says that Roman soldiers attacked Christians while they were celebrating their faith at the virgin shrine. It seems that Christians identified the mother goddess of the Druids with the virgin Mary." (Ibid)

The cathedral has been associated with the Knights Templar, the famous Catholic military order founded in 1199 to protect the Kingdom of Jerusalem after its liberation by the First Crusade. Originally consisting of only nine men who could do little more than provide an armed escort for pilgrims to the Holy Land, the order grew into one of the richest and most powerful organizations of its day until it was violently suppressed and virtually exterminated in 1307.

Surrounded by conspiracy theories then as now, "[t]he Knights Templar have become associated with legends concerning secrets and mysteries handed down to the select from ancient times," according to Wikipedia. According to Ancient Origins, the Chartres cathedral's association with the Templars comes from the two black madonnas which can be seen there:

"According to legend, the Black Madonna was a lady of the Templars. The statue of the Black Madonna with a child was commissioned in 1508. It is perhaps a black wooden copy of the silver Madonna that was located on the main altar before. The statue sits on the top of the pillar and is often called the ''Lady of the Pillar''. Before the French Revolution, the Chartres Cathedral had a second Black Madonna in the crypt. Unfortunately, it was probably burned during the revolution, although some resources are convinced that the church didn't suffer in this period. Today, tourists and pilgrims can see a copy in the church that was made in 1857. "

These black madonnas are apparently found in churches all over France and other countries in Europe.

"Throughout Europe, especially in France, about 500 Black Madonnas, painted or carved in wood or stone, stand in Catholic churches, with a few in museums. Most date from the 11^th to the 15^th centuries. These medieval images of the Virgin holding the Christ Child gaze benignly on their devotees, who come as pilgrims and associate them with miracles and healing." Source: Europe Up Close.

I'm not sure what to think about the Templar connection with these images, but they seem to have a pre-Christian origin. According to Europe Up Close, "[m]any scholars say that the Black Madonna is a link to religions that existed long before Christianity. Her shrines are often in locations that were once pagan shrines to Diana, Artemis of Ephesus, Cybele and other goddesses. Some Black Madonna figures look just like the Egyptian goddess Isis with her infant son Horus, showing the influence of old ways on changing faiths. Even further back than that, she may represent the archetypal Earth Mother, the ancient, eternal power of the feminine force."

The great Oswald Spengler saw the Gothic cathedrals as prime symbols of the Faustian spirit of Western civilization, but even though Spengler believed that the Classical and Western worlds were fundamentally separate, the pre-Christian influences on Christianity, especially on Catholicism, can be seen both in its teachings and its architecture. These fantastic cathedrals contain all sorts of mysteries that can be traced back to very ancient times. As for the Chartres cathedral, it's currently being restored (I'm not sure if the work has been completed yet). The renovation has apparently created a lot of controversy.

Video from 2016.

The Bridgeness Slab

"The Bridgeness Slab is a Roman distance slab, marking a portion of the Antonine Wall built by the Second Legion, and was created around 142 CE. It is regarded as the most detailed and well preserved of the Scottish distance slabs." Source: Wikipedia.

Note: "Some of the most impressive archaeological finds on the Antonine Wall have been the distance slabs. These ornate engravings were made by the Legions to record their achievement at building various lengths of Wall. There are believed to be many still waiting to be discovered but a significant number can be found in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow." Source: The Antonine Wall.