Ruins Of Temples Research Articles

Birger Sandzen: an illustrated biography

Explaining why he sold his works of art at moderate prices, Birger Sandzen not only revealed his philosophy on art but offered a glimpse of his philosophy on life. It is just as well to let them go and meet people, he said, than sit here with too high prices and out of touch with the Combining biography - based on excerpts from letters, interviews and critical art reviews - with a selection of the artist's work, Emory Lindquist brings to life Birger Sandzen, who used bold brush strokes and brilliant colours to express the landscapes he admired and generosity, humour and diligence to express himself. More than just an artist, Sandzen was a gifted teacher, linguist and translator, musician, and devoted husband and father. He kept in touch with art trends and fellow artists; travelled throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe; wrote articles on art and short stories; and read widely on social, economic and international developments. Despite gaining a prosperous international reputation as an artist - his works have appeared in more than 600 exhibitions in the United States and Europe - the European-trained artist chose to live in Lindsborg, Kansas, rather than New York, the heart of the American art world. Although Sandzen and what was then called the modern school were somewhat of an anomaly on the prairie, he did not regret living in the Midwest. How artists are able to work in the confusion of New York is a mystery to me...My individuality and freedom I cannot give up, he wrote. Sandzen found his artistic freedom along Kansas rivers, on Colorado mountains and in southwestern deserts. Where others saw lifeless aridity or uninspiring treeless expanses, Sandzen would find huge boulders or fantastic fortresses and castles. Along a Kansas creek he would envision perpendicular sandstone walls, high and gay coloured palaces, minarets and temple ruins against the sparkling greenish blue sky. In 1894, 23-year-old Birger Sandzen set sail from his native Sweden for a two- or three-year teaching appointment at Bethany College in Lindsborg. Two years stretched into 60 and resulted in a legacy that left a lasting impression not only on Sandzen's students but on everyone who views his illuminating images.

Un exemple de civilisation de ports-entrepôts des Mers du Sud : le Sud Kedah (Malaysia) Ve-XIVe siècles

The civilization of South Kedah (Malaysia) was closely linked, from the 5th to the 14th centuries A.D. to international sea trade between several parts of Asia: China, the Middle East and India. Entrepôt ports arose, which were more or less controlled by the Sumatran thalassocracy of Srivijaya. The archaeological remains consist, on the one hand, of large amounts of sherds of ceramic (mostly Chinese), sherds of glass vessels from the Middle East, and beads, and, on the other hand, of the ruins of temples devoted to Buddhism or Hinduism. After the 10th century, these two religions were probably practised together with predominating Hinduism. These temples were the local pragmatic adaptation of classic Indian structures. They are not evidence of an Indian colonization or of a small Indianized Malay state but were only ordered by the Indian traders and built in the neighbourhood of the entrepôt ports with the permission of the local Malay potentates. It is very probable that the other communities of foreign merchants also had their temples and their mosques but that these were built with perishable materials.

The Healing Gods of Ancient Civilizations

We know that our primitive ancestors believed in varying degrees of pantheism. Nearly all peoples had their pantheons of gods and goddesses. Moreover, deities of healing were especially prevalent in these ancient cultures. Most of us know of Asklepios, the Greek god of healing, and of Imhotep, his Egyptian counterpart, but the remainder of the healing deities are virtually unknown. In this volume, a host of such gods and goddesses are presented from the ancient cultures of Europe, the Middle East, and India. Short descriptions are given of each deity, some of whom had been outstanding physicians in their day and were subsequently raised to supernatural rank by a grateful people. The ruins of temples to these gods may be found from India to Ireland. An account of the medical concepts of each of these ancient civilizations is given, with the result that one is impressed by the similarities of