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Post by Montezuma on Aug 5, 2022 23:31:28 GMT -5
"In days gone by, when bears were common in Europe, their image became part and parcel of European culture. Thus, in the ancient world, a brown bear was associated with the virgin goddess of hunt, mountains, and forests, and the patron of wild animals Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology). Together with other animals, bears belonged to the goddess’s suite; tamed bears used to be kept at temples in her honor. In Attica, priestesses participating in Artemis’ rituals would wear bear skins and call themselves she-bears."
"Celts’ and Old Germans’ religious beliefs were closely tied with the bear...This mighty animal was an embodiment of the Scandinavian god Odin: frenzied warriors, berserkers (derivative of “ber”, a bear), were dressed in bear skins, and their enemies would mistake them for bear turnskins."
"In medieval heraldry the bear became a symbol of strength, clumsiness and kindheartedness. In European countries you can see it on heraldic images put on house walls and on the roofs of catholic cathedrals to grant protection (together with chimeras) against evil spirits. The image of a bear is reflected not only on the coats-of-arms of many European (and Russian) cities but also in their names, such as Berlin and Bern."
scfh.ru/en/papers/the-most-russian-of-all-beasts/#:~:text=All%20in%20all%2C%20there%20are,to%20get%20along%20with%20people.
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Post by arctozilla on Oct 30, 2022 16:51:03 GMT -5
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Post by arctozilla on Nov 6, 2022 8:48:49 GMT -5
Roman Emperor Valentin I used bears as bodyguards.  books.google.it/books?id=L0ggAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Roman+Emperor+Valentinian+I+(ad+321+to+375;+became+emperor+in+ad+364)+used+two+quite+large+brown+bears+in+the+capacity+of+%22bodyguards,%22+chaining+them+nightly+in+front+of+his+sleeping+chamber.+His+bodyguards+were+apparently+effective+at+their+home+post,+as+the+emperor+died+during+a+battle+in+Moravia.%22&dq=%22Roman+Emperor+Valentinian+I+(ad+321+to+375;+became+emperor+in+ad+364)+used+two+quite+large+brown+bears+in+the+capacity+of+%22bodyguards,%22+chaining+them+nightly+in+front+of+his+sleeping+chamber.+His+bodyguards+were+apparently+effective+at+their+home+post,+as+the+emperor+died+during+a+battle+in+Moravia.%22&hl=it&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN1u7s2Jn7AhUynf0HHdtMA-UQ6AF6BAgFEAM#%22Roman%20Emperor%20Valentinian%20I%20(ad%20321%20to%20375;%20became%20emperor%20in%20ad%20364)%20used%20two%20quite%20large%20brown%20bears%20in%20the%20capacity%20of%20%22bodyguards,%22%20chaining%20them%20nightly%20in%20front%20of%20his%20sleeping%20chamber.%20His%20bodyguards%20were%20apparently%20effective%20at%20their%20home%20post,%20as%20the%20emperor%20died%20during%20a%20battle%20in%20Moravia.%22 Inviato dal mio 21061119DG utilizzando Tapatalk |
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Post by arctozilla on Nov 6, 2022 9:01:33 GMT -5
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Post by Gorilla king on Nov 6, 2022 9:06:21 GMT -5
Reply #62:
This is a really good find bro!
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Post by Montezuma on Nov 6, 2022 22:00:14 GMT -5
arctozillaThose are great finds bro. I appreciate it. Although unlike Greek mythology, the bear does not rank in Roman myths however it is obviously clear that in roman times the bear was seen as a strong warrior animal as a symbol of Strength, Courage and Royalty. When i opened it so i saw 73 notification. I wonder despite of my inactivity for a stretchy period (sorry guys, i try to avoid screen but i wil try to give some time to bears) how could i get 73 notifications? I opened and saw that arctozilla liked by posts about European and Siberian bear reverence. Thanks for admiring my posts bro. We have enough proof in this thread about bear reverence in all over european landscape. Old nordic people (Germans, Scandinavian and Englishmen), Slavs (Greeks, Russians, Poles and Balkanians) and Celts (French and Scotish) people held the Bear as the most respected animal. Our other thread of cultural reverence also have overwhelming information out there. Soon i will also make a thread that "Why no Bears in Mesoamerican mythology" since its a very important topic to be disscussed as many people are unaware that the bears weren't in central mexico. Anyways, it will be discussed in detail later.
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Nov 7, 2022 1:59:50 GMT -5
/\ I have recently did a research on the Roman Empire. Turns out in conquered most of Europe all the way to half of Neatherlands. No wonder most Europeans look a bit Italian like.
It seems the whole of ancient EU respects brown bears.
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 10, 2023 3:35:45 GMT -5
Artemis and The Bear cultArtemis is one othe most important diety in Ancient Greek civilizations. And many of her cults and legends are associated with a bear. We have alreadily discussed some earlier but here we see in more detail about Artemis and Bear cult. Here is Artemis importance in Greek myth.
"In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (/ˈɑːrtɪmɪs/; Greek: Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature,
vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity.She was heavily identified with Selene, the Moon, and Hecate, another Moon goddess, and was thus regarded as one of the most prominent lunar deities in mythology, alongside the aforementioned two. She would often roam the forests of Greece, attended by her large entourage, mostly made up of nymphs, some mortals, and hunters."
"The goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis
Her importance for the Ancient Greeks can be considered when looking at her gaint temple in Ephesus (Turkey), which one of seven ancient wonders of the world.
Ancient look reconstruction
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Jan 10, 2023 6:26:17 GMT -5
/\ Anymore info on brown bear culture in Europe? I think the Vikings culture with brown bears are the most popular one.
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 11, 2023 3:55:05 GMT -5
"The sacrifice of a bear for Artemis started with the Brauron cult. Every year a girl between five and ten years of age was sent to Artemis' temple at Brauron. The Byzantine writer Suidos relayed the legend in Arktos e Brauroniois. A bear was tamed by Artemis and introduced to the people of Athens. They touched it and played with it until one day a group of girls poked the bear until it attacked them. A brother of one of the girls killed the bear, so Artemis sent a plague in revenge. The Athenians consulted an oracle to understand how to end the plague. The oracle suggested that, in payment for the bear's blood, no Athenian virgin should be allowed to marry until she had served Artemis in her temple ('played the bear for the goddess')."
topostext.org/work/240#al.3958
"Iphigeneia’s shedding of her robes is an act done by the “bears” of Brauronian Artemis, as depicted by vases which show the bears having shed their robes and naked, an act which is significant as the fulfillment of a bear’s career. Iphigeneia makes the original sacrifice and the “bears” continue the ritual by shedding their saffron robes."
From:
Stinton, T. C. W. 1976. “Iphigeneia and the Bears of Brauron.” The Classical Quarterly 26:11-13
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Jan 11, 2023 6:09:10 GMT -5
I feel sorry for the bear, it is the fault of the parents who did not teach the girls to respect the bear. Just because the bear is tamed does not mean it is harmless. If someone pokes us the same way long enough, we will eventually get angry.
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 11, 2023 12:29:03 GMT -5
"Another myth is much more simple. According to this myth, two Athenian men killed a bear sacred to Artemis, who, “responding by sending a plague that would cease only if the Athenians would consecrate their daughters to her, the ‘bear Artemis’, every five years.” Artemis was worshipped as the Great-She-Bear and the girls, who were required to undergo a period of ritual ‘wildness' before puberty, were her images, the arktoi, and often wore bear masks in rituals."
"Hughes notes that "the etymology of the name Artemis would be ark-temnis, “bear-sanctuary,” or more fully paraphrased, “she who establishes (or protects) the bear sanctuary.” Such sanctuaries were commonly and most characteristically groves of trees."
"The dance, also called the "arkteia", was made up of slow, solemn steps meant to imitate the movements of a bear and was performed to a tune from a diaulos (double flute). The young girls also carried baskets of figs. Little is known about exactly what each stage of the ritual actually meant, but it is understood that they each symbolized a gesture of devotion to Artemis in return for her protection over the young and guidance on their way to maturity. Early on the participants wore actual bear skins, but by the 5th century bears had become scarce. The skins were substituted with Krokoton. These short, saffron-yellow chiton dresses were meant to symbolize the bear skins and were "shed" during the final ritual to symbolize the participant's maturation."
From:-
Walbank, Michael (1981). "Artemis Bear-Leader". The Classical Quarterly (Cambridge University Press) 31 (2): 276-281.
From:-
Hughes, J. D. 1990. “Artemis: Goddess of Conservation”. Forest & Conservation History; 34:191-197
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Post by oldcyansilverback on Jan 11, 2023 15:16:56 GMT -5
/\ Time to prepare the story of a female bear name Armetis.
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Jiren
Black bear
“Water can flow, or it can crash”.
Posts: 322
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Post by Jiren on Jan 11, 2023 18:58:31 GMT -5
Completely unrelated, but, Vikings ( like the Jarl and berserker ) wear bear armor. |
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 19:55:32 GMT -5
"Remains of bears are only represented in very few Greek sanctuaries, but traditions of bear cults show that they belonged to the very oldest strata of religion in Greece, where the bear was worshipped as the essence of the good and caring mother." The bear was the special animal of the goddess Artemis, with whom it had a dual relationship-being both protected by her against others and being sacrificed in her honour." In his book on Achaia (7.18) Pausanias tells us about the fes- tivals in honour of Artemis Laphria in Patras, to where the cult had been moved from Ka- lydon by the Emperor Augustus. Here, on the second day of the festival sacrifices were of fered to the goddess."
"The Sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron was supposed to be the resting place of Iphige- nia, and in one version of the story of her sac- rifice by Agamemnon her place was taken not by a hind but by a bear. At Brauron the bear (napкTOS) was the sacred animal of Artemis and the festival in her honour was called the arkteia, while the young girls who served the goddess were called arktoi. It seems that Artemis had the power to transform human beings into bears, as is seen by the substitu- tion of a bear for Iphigenia and the designa- tion of the little girls acting as arkti."
"In an illuminating article Lilly Kahil pub- Bern.20 lished some fragments of fifth-century kra- teriskoi which confirm the literary evidence for the arktoi. One of the fragments shows some naked girls in a race, and a bear stand- ing by a palm-tree, while below is a frieze of deer hunted by dogs (Fig. 6). Another frag- ment shows a naked man wearing a bear's mask: linking it to the goddess Artemis, it
Kallisto was one of Artemis' nymphs who was punished by the goddess for becoming a mother. Artemis transformed her into a bear and shot her. Pausanias (8.35.8) mentions her tomb in Arkadia. Here another bear myth tells of Atalanta, who only survived in- fancy because she was suckled by a she-bear, as was the Trojan prince Alexandros. The as- sociation of Artemis with Kallisto and with Iphigenia, who was connected with child- birth at Brauron, was related to the opinion prevalent in the ancient world that the she- bear was an emblem of motherhood. This was partly because, as Pliny tells us, it was be- lieved that the female licked her cubs into shape, partly because Atalanta and other hu- man beings were suckled by bears. In Roman times we find the Gaulish goddess Artio, who had a tame bear with which she is portrayed in a small bronze group in the museum in shows her with Apollo and Leto shooting a deer. The small naked girls could be inter- preted as mock-sacrificial victims to the bear."
"So, if our little bear belonged to a foun- tain, where it was held by a divinity or a mythological person, that person would probably have been a woman, the goddess Artemis or one of those female figures close- ly identified with her: Iphigenia, Atalante or Kallisto."
books.google.com.pk/books?id=JwmwioHTnBkC&pg=PA280&dq=ancient+Greek+cults+of+the+bear&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiQr7mcrbb8AhVR6qQKHR2_BagQ6AF6BAgJEAM&authuser=1#v=onepage&q=ancient%20Greek%20cults%20of%20the%20bear&f=false
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 20:04:26 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 20:16:21 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 20:24:24 GMT -5
Agrius and Orius: The two horrible Greek Bear demons.
 Polyphonte was punished by Aphrodite for the former did not worship her, instead becoming a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis. The goddess of love made her to couple with a bear which resulted to her twin savage children, Agrius and Orius.
"She [i.e Polyphonte] brought forth two children, Agrius and Orius, huge and of immense strength. They honoured neither god nor man but scorned them all. If they met a stranger they would haul him home to eat, Zeus loathed them and sent Hermes to punish them in whatever way he chose. Hermes decided to chop off their hands and feet. But Ares, since the family of Polyphonte descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help of Hermes he changed them into birds. Polyphonte became a small owl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and keeps her head turned down and the tips of her feet turned up. She is a portent of war and sedition for mankind. Orius became an eagle owl, a bird that presages little good to anyone when it appears. Agrius was changed into a vulture, the bird most detested by gods and men. These gods gave him an utter craving for human flesh and blood. Their female servant was changed into a woodpecker. As she was changing her shape she prayed to the gods not to become a bird evil for mankind. Hermes and Ares heard her prayer because she had by necessity done what her masters had ordered. This is a bird of good omen for someone going hunting or to feasts."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrius_and_Oreius_(mythology)
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 20:28:46 GMT -5
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Post by Montezuma on Jan 12, 2023 20:43:56 GMT -5
A detailed documentry of Bear cult in ancient and prehistoric europe. Micheal pastoreauo is quoted from 0:12.
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