PO PRAWICY DZEUSA. PRZESTRZEŃ SAKRALNA STAROŻYTNYCH GREKÓW I RZYMIAN
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Date
2011-03-31
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Pracowania Humanistycznych Studiów Interdyscyplinarnych WFPiK UAM
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On the right hand of Zeus. The sacred space of ancient Greeks and Romans
Abstract
The aim of the article is to give a portrayal of certain aspects of how ancient Greeks and
Romans perceived the space surrounding vertical and horizontal oppositions. A selective
presentation of ideas originating in religion and classical literature at different stages of its
development is supposed to indicate some consistency in the conveyance and judgment of spatial
categories.
The division between t h e t o p and b o t t o m appears to be in close relation to the
Universe from its very beginning. In cosmogony itself, which is based on a vertical axis, there is
an analogy in sacred architecture and aetiological myths (the foundation of Rome, the
constructing of the Oracle of Delphi). The exchange of energy between different levels in the
Universe is also based on a vertical line, including all the moments of transfer between them
(ascensus, descensus). Those moments – through mythology – found their way into literature
(Homer, Plato, Vergilius).
The horizontal opposition had its imprint on divinities whose right-hand side is regarded
as the righteous and auspicious one. The semantic extension of the perception of this category
can be found in the fact that being right-handed is often associated with mastery in arts. This
penetrated modern Romance languages via Latin. What is more, in many cases Latin linguistic
inheritors replaced the lexeme which was related to the left in space with a foreign word which
could indicate its bad connotations connected with the Latin sinister.
The variety described in this selective presentation does not allow the author to draw
more general conclusions. The article is merely trying to signal that certain patterns do exist in the
perception of the ancient sacred space and still influence the reception of basic oppositions
which build the world around the modern European.
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Keywords
Prawo - lewo, Right - left, Góra - dół, Up - down, Religia Greków, Greek religion, Religia Rzymian, Roman religion, Sacrum
Citation
INTERLINIE. Interdyscyplinarne Czasopismo Internetowe, 1 (2)/2011, pp. 99-105.