Ancient Dion by Mythical Routes

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE | FIELD GUIDE

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MYTHICAL ROUTES HISTORICAL SERIES

ANCIENT DION ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

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Table of Contents Table of Contents

Historical Series

Cradle of Western civilization

Dion

About the Author

Books by G. Baltoyannis

Historical Series collection

Photography Series

Adventure Travel Greece

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Historical Series Mythical Routes Historical Series is a location-based series of architectonical / historical guides based on the best seller books by architect and author G. Baltoyannis. For more information visit Mythical Routes | Books.

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ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHTHONIC AND CELESTIAL ❖

Editor in chief: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Author: George Baltoyannis

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Translation: Chris Loutroutzis

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Text editing: Lorraine Adams

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Graphic design: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Design Layout & Pagination: Mythical Routes IKE

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ISBN: 978-618-84479-0-5

“Mythical Routes inaugural mission is to help spread the ideas and facts of Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning throughout the international adventure community”

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Cradle of Western civilization Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.

From the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organized into various independent city-states (polis), which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and culture.

The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  7 of 22

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HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

Dion Religious Center of Macedonia This shrine was destroyed by the Aetolian army in 219 B.C., but was rebuilt by the Macedonians, because it is their eminent holy site. It was here that Phillip II celebrated the fall of Alynth and Alexander started his conquest of the east. 25 statues of the partners who fell in the Battle of Granicus were erected in this site, the statues were works of Lysippos.

! Dion ÂŠ 2017 Mythical Routes

The sacred site of Dion differs from all of the previous ones, because in its current state it is shaped as a town, in fact one of the Roman Imperial period. Namely, it has a cosmopolitan vibe, which corresponds to the form that Hellenism assumed after the invasion of the east by the Macedonians, led by Alexander. So then Dion is a town of each empire and not a city-state.

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Dion Dion, even though it preserves some characteristics, like the Macedonian tomb to the northwest of the town, does not seem interested in developing connective axes like the city-state of Athens, that we noticed in the 1st part of the book "Holy Sacramental Journey to Greece". Its gods are also imported from the provinces, like Isis, Serapis or the Egyptian Anubis, and are worshiped along with the local gods like Demeter, Asclepius or Aphrodite in the same place as Isis. After the roman conquest, the Orphic logic of Delphi starts to change, and the curvilinear structures start to rise to the surface. That is why alcoves appear in Dion, in which idols are placed, pretty much like in the temple of Isis. We are at a period of search, during which construction is difficult to represent worship, when the gods - chthonic and celestial - try to find their own spot in a new pantheon which would also represent the Empire of the Roman state. This transitional period can be clearly seen in the worshiping site of Dion. However, no matter the evolution of the site of Zeus, the initial worship was of the Olymian Zeus and the Muses, that is why the sanctuary is located east of Olympus on the eastern side of Greece. The Necropolis of the Dion is located to the northwest of the site, bellow the village Karitsa, where a burial column of the 5th century B.C. was discovered. After our wandering, let us see what kind of relationship may be forming between the shrines we visited (image VII), investigating more thoroughly the Orphic logic. Based on the Pythagorean Philosophy, the equilateral triangle between Necromateion - Delphi - Delos, is about the number 3, which for the Pythagoreans is time. They considered time to be that which includes the Past the Present and the Future. Thus a vast equilateral triangle is formed, with a side of roughly 192,50 kilometers. If we observe it, it looks like the triangular base of a solid, with a side of roughly 1,040 stadiums (1 stadium=184,92 meters), namely roughly 35 poles. The axis of said solid passes through the point defined by the bisetrixes of the triangle and moves upwards (like the pyramids and ziggurats), towards the celestial gods. Because, however, there is also the Necromanteion, the axis

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also extends downwards, towards the chthonic gods, resulting in the formation of a double triangular pyramid of five edges, namely a six sided polyhedron.

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The number 6 is associated with the sides of the polyhedron, and according to the Pythagoreans the only number which perfectly fits the Soul. They call it "Plenum", like Orpheus, and it "Harmonically Exists". It symbolizes the 6 kinds of living beings (Gods, Daemons, Heroes, Men, Animals, Plants); namely, what we observed in our mythological route, Delphi - Necromanteion - Olympus (Dion). As far as the Past is concerned, the death of a person is the past for the living, just as were the chthonic gods, since they were pushed aside by the celestial ones through struggles, but also by Apollo in Delphi. Therefore this is the role of the Necromanteion. The Present is associated with Zeus who existed since the Minoan civilization and still exists in the new mythology formed in Delphi. Therefore it is about Olympus (Dion). Finally, the Future, is about Delphi, with the Inextinguishable Light which illuminated the Greeks and the Barbarians. Here the main character is Apollo, who as the Sun, is reborn creating the evolution of civilization. If then, centered around Ω we draw the circumferences with a radius Ω-Delphi = Ω-Dion = Ω-Necromanteion, we will create a sphere, which will include the six sided polyhedron. Keeping in mind the theory of the Orphics, the created sphere is indeed the Cosmic Egg, because it at least fits the general rules of the Orphic Thoughts, concerning everything that has to do with the Universe and the Celestial Sphere (image XVIII). For the Orphics the Sky is the celestial and chthonic spaces combined. Its shape is spherical. Furthermore, the equilateral triangle, shows a deviation from the north by 23,5 degrees, compared to Olympus, a fact which suggests the axial movement of the earth, which is completed every 26,000 years. Therefore the triangular pyramid, which is surrounded by the forming sphere (Cosmic Egg), is a depiction of the earth (image VII). For the Orphics, however, the Sky is considered the begetter of Cronus-Time the pyramid may not have a square base like that of the Egyptians, because it depicts time and not orientation. The orientation is assumed based on the relation of the north to Olympus from the point Ω.

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Subsequently, the world of the Greeks had its own pyramid-sphere, which is not evidently shown by them who feel superior in comparison to other civilizations, because this shape carries wisdom within it. At point ÎŠ, there is the ancient city Metropolis (near Karditsa), which we have already mentioned. This is a composite word Mitra (womb) + Polis (city) and is in accordance with Phanes of the Orphics; it is a center of civilization, a birthing force and mother of cities.

! Mount Olympus

Over Dion, in Olympus, lies Zeus who is the father of Persephone (Zeus Demeter) and Apollo (Zeus - Leto). Therefore we have two half siblings, Persephone who is located in the Necromanteion and is about the Underworld and Apollo who is found in Delphi and is about the World Above. These deities, besides their relation, they are also connected through the oracles that Pythia receives directly from Hades. Namely, we observe the mythological relation between the shrines, which is confirmed by their geometrical alignment on which the myth making scientists and priests worked within the geographical area of Greece.

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Apollo as the Sun moves, while Persephone remains still. Therefore the axis performs circular movements with its lower part fixed, thus we have the movement of 23,5 degrees of the axis on the northern part of the earth. This is the reason for the purification of Apollo at the Hyperborean peoples. It is then characteristic that Apollo does not go to the northern peoples but beyond them, to the North Pole, namely Northernmost (Hyperborea). This way, Persephone is at the South Pole. It is now proven that the triangular moving rhombus is in fact the Earth; its axis, performs a procession of 23,5 degrees every 26.000 years. Rhombus was the name of the ancients for the spinning top, a child's toy. It spins just like the Earth. This is the logic of the Orphics as we have mentioned before. We can see this movement of the Earth in image VII. Zeus naturally comes to take over point ÎŠ and becomes Phanes of the Orphics, the creator of everything. Zeus is also presented in mythology in the same way. Thus the axis of the rhombus is formed, namely Apollo-Zeus-Persephone, therefore also the axis of the Earth.

! Pantheon of Rome

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The triangle then, Necromanteion - Zeus - Persephone, is a fixed one and the positions of the shrines are not chosen randomly. The triangular rhombus is as stable and immutable, with the formation of the axis Apollo-Zeus-Persephone, therefore the sphere surrounding the triangular rhombus is also stable and immutable and, in extension, the Cosmic Egg which symbolizes the Earth is also stable and immutable (image VII).

! Hadrian's Villa (Villa Adriana in Italian) at Tivoli, Italy

The Pantheon of Rome, rebuilt by Apollodorus of Damascus in 113-123 A.D., during the reign of emperor Hadrian, who was initiated in Eleusis in 125 A.D., constitutes a practical application of this Orphic logic. The dome of the Pantheon, with a diameter of 43,30 meters, outgrew after 1.350 years the dome of the Treasury of Atreus of Mycenae, with a diameter of 14,60 meters. On the dome of the Pantheon there is a circular opening "lamp", as it is shown in the picture, through which a beam of sunlight enters, cyclically illuminating the interior walls of the temple, following the circular movement of the Earth; therefore, in accordance to the logic we described above about the movement of the earth's axis. In this case the movement is daily, while in the case we described above the movement is completed every 26.000 years (Axial

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Precession). Anyway Hadrian was involved with Astronomy and Astrology, performing various experiments, like his estate in Tivoli (Villa Adriana) which was a representation of the "Elysian Fields”.

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About the Author George Baltoyannis was born in Athens, Greece in 1941. His father was from Epirus and his mother from Andros. He studied architecture in Rome and took part in art exhibitions (Margutta – San Luca – Artecom – Palazzo Delle Esposizioni etc.). He returned to Athens in 1970 and worked as a freelance architect and at the same time was an employee, successively at the Greek Ministry of National Defence (Pentagon), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Autonomous Building Organization for Officers (AOOA). Today, alongside the above activities he also researches and lectures on history of art.

His books and theories have been embraced by the Università degli Studi dell'Aquila in Italy, where he was invited several times to give lectures, and the theories of his book “Sacred Architecture” have been integrated into the curriculum of lesson "Elements of Geometry" of the University of Ioannina in Greece.

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Books by G. Baltoyannis With more than 30 years of Historical research on the relation between ancient Greek architecture and ancient religion, George Baltoyannis is the author of five best seller Greek books. Most books are available in English language and eBook reflow format. For more information, visit our Shop.

Sacred Architecture

Sacred Journey to Mystical Greece

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Sacred Astronomy

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Historical Series collection To view the full Historical Series collection eBooks and get all available Mythical Guides, in mobile-friendly layout, visit our Shop.

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Photography Series Mythical Routes Photography Series is dedicated to understanding photography, learning about the history of travel photography and adventure photography specific techniques, mastering equipment and much more.

Angelo Baltoyannis | architect

Angelo Baltoyannis is an Architect and Urban Planner with postgraduate studies in Art and Photography. He was a project partner with Nikon Greece in 2017, contributor in many photographic magazines like iFocus, Overland Times and editor in chief in Mythical Routes Publishing. Angelo has been involved in Travel Photography for over twenty years and focused mainly on Adventure Photography. He has closely worked with the American motorcycle clothing company KLiM, the Swiss motorcycle luggage company Enduristan and the Greek motorcycle gear company Aurora Rally Equipment. His has been marketing and art director for the Greek adventure gear shop Most Wanted Warehouse since 2014 and his work has been featured in the

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German overland magazine Overland Journal, the social accounts of Nikon Greece, and the Austrian Brand Management company Seven MMD GmbH, manager of companies like KTM, Motorex, FMF and more.

Memories from the East

Adventure Travel Photography

“ Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets ” ~ Oscar Wilde

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Adventure Travel Greece Our travels and expeditions showcase the beauty and the hidden historical facts of the Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning of the term while riding through the breathtaking scenery of long mountain ridges, forest national reserves, remote dragon lakes and isolated hi-planes.

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