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Showing posts from February, 2021

The Holy Chalice

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  The Holy Chalice — biblical chalice: The Holy Chalice , also known as  the Holy  Grail, is in  Christian  tradition the vessel that Jesus used at the Last Supper to serve wine. The Synoptic Gospels refer to Jesus sharing a cup of wine with the Apostles, saying it was the covenant in his blood. The  Holy Chalice , also known as the  Holy Grail , is in  Christian tradition  the vessel that  Jesus  used at the  Last Supper  to serve wine. The  Synoptic Gospels  refer to Jesus sharing a cup of wine with the  Apostles , saying it was the  covenant  in his blood. The use of wine and  chalice  in the   Eucharist  in  Christian churches  is based on the Last Supper story. In the late 12th century, the author  Robert de Boron  associated the pre-existing story of the  Holy Grail , a magical item from Arthurian literature, with the Holy Chalice. This association was continued in many subsequent Arthurian works, including the  Lancelot-Grail  (Vulgate) cycle, the  Post-Vulgate Cycle , and Sir 

The Statue of Marduk

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    I mportant Babylonian cult statue lost at some point during the 5th–1st centuries BC. The Statue of Marduk , also known as  the Statue  of Bêl (Bêl, meaning "lord", being a common designation for  Marduk ), was the physical representation of the god  Marduk , the patron deity of the ancient city of Babylon, traditionally housed in the city's main temple, the Esagila. The  Statue of Marduk , also known as the  Statue of Bêl  ( Bêl , meaning "lord", being a common designation for Marduk), was the physical representation of the god Marduk, the patron deity of the ancient city of Babylon, traditionally housed in the city's main temple, the Esagila. There were seven statues of Marduk in Babylon, but 'the' Statue of Marduk generally refers to the god's main statue, placed prominently in the Esagila and used in the city's rituals. This statue was nicknamed the  Asullḫi  and was made of a type of wood called  mēsu  and covered with gold and silve

Ark of the Covenant

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    Biblical repository for the  Ten Commandments  (lost after the  Babylonian  invasion of  Jerusalem ). The  Ark of the Covenant   also known as the  Ark of the Testimony , and in a few verses across various translations of the Bible as the  Ark of God , is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. According to New Testament Book of Hebrews, it also contained Aaron's rod and a pot of manna. The biblical account relates that, approximately one year after the Israelites exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai. Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately 800 meters or 2,600 feet) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men. When carried, the Ark was alwa

Irish Crown Jewels

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  The  Irish Crown Jewels   (lost 1907). The  Jewels Belonging to the Most Illustrious Order of Saint Patrick , commonly called the  Irish Crown Jewels  or  State Jewels of Ireland , were the heavily jewelled star and badge  regalia  created in 1831 for the Sovereign and Grand Master of the  Order of St. Patrick , an  order of knighthood  established in 1783 by  George III   as  King of Ireland  to be an Irish equivalent of the English  Order of the Garter  and the Scottish  Order of the Thistle . The  British monarch  was the Sovereign of the order, as monarch of Ireland  until 1801  and of the  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland  thereafter. The  Lord Lieutenant of Ireland  was the Grand Master in the absence of the Sovereign. The insignia were worn by the Sovereign at the  investiture  of new Knights as members of the order, and by the Grand Master on other formal ceremonial occasions. They were stolen from  Dublin Castle  in 1907 along with the  collars  of five knights

Library of Alexandria

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The Great Library of Alexandria:     The  Great Library of Alexandria  in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts. The idea of a universal library in Alexandria may have been proposed by Demetrius of Phalerum, an exiled Athenian statesman living in Alexandria, to Ptolemy I Soter, who may have established plans for the Library, but the Library itself was probably not built until the reign of his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The Library quickly acquired many papyrus scrolls, due largely to the Ptolemaic kings' aggressive and well-funded policies for procuring texts. It is unknown precisely how many such scrolls were housed at any given time, but estimates range from 40,000 to 400,000 at its height. Alexandria came to be regarded as the capital of knowledge and learning, in part because of the

Ten Lost Tribes of Israel

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  Ten Lost Tribes   Ten Lost Tribes of Israel , 10 of the original 12  Hebrew  tribes, which, under the leadership of  Joshua , took possession of  Canaan , the Promised Land, after the death of  Moses . They were named  Asher ,  Dan ,  Ephraim ,  Gad ,  Issachar ,  Manasseh ,  Naphtali ,  Reuben ,  Simeon , and  Zebulun —all sons or grandsons of  Jacob . In 930  BC  the 10 tribes formed the independent  Kingdom of Israel  in the north and the two other tribes,  Judah  and  Benjamin , set up the Kingdom of Judah in the south. Following the conquest of the northern kingdom by the  Assyrians   in 721  BC , the 10 tribes were gradually  assimilated  by other peoples and thus disappeared from history. Nevertheless, a belief persisted that one day the Ten Lost Tribes would be found.  Eldad ha-Dani , for instance, a 9th-century Jewish traveler, reported locating the tribes “beyond the rivers of Abyssinia” on the far side of an impassable river called  Sambation , a roaring torrent of stones