Attis
Archaeological highlights and mysteries, become inspired!
Not for the faint of heart: the remarkable tale of the Phrygian God Attis.
There once was a hermaphrodite demon named Agditis who was feared by the Gods. In fear, they cut off Agditis male organ, threw it away after which it grew into an almond tree….. As the goddess Nana held one of its fruits to her bosom it suddenly disappeared and she became pregnant with Attis.
Attis was raised by goats and grew up to be an extraordinarily beautiful man. His beauty even dazzled Agditis who fell in love with him. But when Attis was about to marry a princess, the jealous Agditis struck him with madness. Attis fled to a pine tree where he set down and cut of his own genital, bleeding to death. Out of his blood a conifer arose and Attis was subsequently resurrected, becoming a symbol for the everlasting cycle of life and death and the four seasons. His followers firmly believed in rebirth after death, inspiring many other future religions...
Attis was originally a God from the Phrygians, a kingdom in modern-day Anatolia in Turkey. The kingdom was conquered by the Lydians, Alexander the Great and later on the Romans who often incorporated other Gods in their own pantheon, like Attis.
To appease Attis, or any other God, the Romans gave them gifts. This happened at home, in a military camp or in special sanctuaries. In general, they placed the presents near a small statue of a specific god or on an altar. This bronze statuette of Attis was found at a Roman villa in the vicinity of Maastricht, but unfortunately we will never know the full story of why this gift was offered to the God of rebirth.
All we know is where it was found and that it depicts Attis. He is recognizable by his attributes, namely a Phrygian hat and oriental open pants which refer to his emasculation.
He is on display in our upcoming archaeological exposition Top or Topic from 15th July till 15th October.
Further reading and viewing:
http://ow.ly/RGP630cVxP2
http://ow.ly/67Tr30cVxU8
http://ow.ly/JuLp30cVxWM
http://ow.ly/S1H730cVyfY
El Dorado [Nederlands]
Vanaf de 16e eeuw begonnen de Spanjaarden en Portugezen Zuid-Amerika te verkennen en te veroveren. Deze veroveraars (conquistadores) kwamen in contact met de inheemse volkeren die onder andere prachtige objecten van goud en zilver hadden gemaakt.
De interesse van de nieuwkomers waren gewekt en schepen vol met deze kostbaarheden voeren terug naar Europa. De hebzucht werd verder aangewakkerd toen de inheemse mensen een verhaal vertelde over een koning, bedekt met goudstof. Er was een zodanige overvloed van dit edelmetaal dat er tijdens een ceremonie gouden munten en waardevolle juwelen in een meer werden geworpen. Een legenda was geboren. Het verhaal is geleidelijk geëvolueerd van een koning bedekt met goud tot een volledige gouden stad, ergens verborgen in Zuid-Amerika tot op de dag van vandaag, aangezien de vele expedities van de conquistadores niet succesvol bleken te zijn…
Slechts een fractie van onze geschiedenis is bekend en veel mysteries blijven onopgelost. Het is deze zoektocht naar antwoorden die de archeologie zo fascinerend maakt. Ook in onze eigen regio zijn er nog veel vraagstukken en fascinerende objecten die ons voor een raadsel plaatsen.
Word deel van deze fascinerende wereld en bezoek onze tentoonstelling TOP of TOPIC, archeologische hoogtepunten en mysteries uit de regio in Centre Céramique.
El Dorado is (uiteraard) niet te zien, maar meer dan honderd archeologische topstukken wel.
Misschien kun jij wel een mysterie oplossen?
Meer info:
Meer literatuur:
http://ow.ly/ttEh30cPKlc
http://ow.ly/NZVv30cPKne
http://ow.ly/Cmwc30cPKpa
El Dorado [English]
Since the 16th century, the Spanish and Portuguese started to explore and conquer South America where they sought valuables, riches and gold. These explorers (conquistadores) came into contact with the indigenous peoples who had crafted beautiful objects from gold and silver, fuelling their interest and greed.
They told the newcomers a story about a king, covered in gold dust, who cast gold and precious jewels into a lake like its abundance made it worthless and a legend was born. A legend the conquistadores could hardly resist. The story gradually evolved from a king covered in gold to an entire golden city hidden somewhere in South America to this very day as the many expeditions carried out by the conquistadores were unsuccesfull….
Only a fraction of our history is known and many, many questions remain. It is this search for answers while uncovering great and small wonders about our past that make archaeology so fascinating.
Become part of this fascinating world and visit our exhibition TOP or TOPIC, archaeological Highlights and Mysteries from the Maastricht area at Centre Céramique.
El Dorado is (obviously) not on display, but over a hundred dazzling objects are. Maybe you can solve some great mysteries yourself while gazing at these archaeological highlights?
More info:
More literature:
http://ow.ly/ttEh30cPKlc
http://ow.ly/NZVv30cPKne
http://ow.ly/Cmwc30cPKpa
