Babylonian Symbols of the Fertile Crescent

While there are many symbols relating to the Babylon here are some of the most prominent. 

The Lion was the symbol of royal power.

Lions; Museum of London, London

The dragon was associated with the supreme god, Marduk who was the patron deity of the city of Babylon. 

Black and white crop of full plate scan, from Austen Henry Layard's 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 19/83, London, J. Murray, 1853

Babylonian scholars developed a numbering system based on 60, which lead to our 60 min hour and our 360 degrees circles. 

The most prominant image of Babylon is it's hanging gardens. Babylon's hanging gardens became synonymous with the ancient Judaeo-Christian image of eden, it was also one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 

The Goddess Ishtar in the Fertile Crescent

Ishtar is the moon goddess in Ancient Mesopotamia. She is also known as Inanna, Astarte, Ashtar, and later as Isis in ancient Egypt. 

Statue of the Goddess Ishtar in the Louvre, Paris

Ishtar holds the power that can create and destroy and like the moon is always changing in form. 

Ishtar is also the goddess of fertility and war. She is often depicted with standing on a lion or with the talons and wings of an owl. Commonly she is also shown wearing a three-tiered crown of stars, blue lapis lazuli stones, and a rainbow necklace which symbolizes her connection with the sky. 

In Mesopotamian legend she is seen as queen of the heavens; each night riding across the sky in a chariot drawn by lions or goats. 

The constellations of the zodiac (or zodiacal belt) , then known as the Houses of the Moon, was known as the "girdle of Ishtar", a term that referded to the acient moon calander. 

Ziggurats in the Fertile Crescent

Ziggurats evolved from early temple complexes in the fertile crescent. Some of these pyramid-like structure reach as high as 300 ft. 

The White Temple of Uruk (Erech in the old testament), dedicated to the Sumerian God An, lord of the heavens, is one of the earliest exaples and dates back to the late 3000s BCE

Mesopotamian ziggurats were built in series of three, five, or seven. They had narrow terraces with steps for climbing to the next levels. The seven terraces were said to correspond to the seven planetary heavens. 

The first level, according to Sumerian tradition, is linked with Saturn and was painted black. The second level was linked with with Jupiter and was painted white; the third was red and was linked with Mercury. The forth blue level was associated with Venus; the fifth is level of the ziggurats is lost to time; the sixth is Mars and yellow, and the seventh and final level was silver and was thought to represent the moon. 

Sacrifices were usually held at the top level of a ziggurat because they were seen as representation of the cosmic mountain at the center of the world. Ziggurats were seen as ladders between heaven and earth creating a passage way for mortals to ascend and gods to descend. 

On the subject of Bananas

Banana - noun. An edible fruit; typically yellow,green, or brown; grown on herbaceous plants.

Banana Dog - noun. A dog made from the edible yellow fruit, banana.

Banana House - noun. A house made from a banana

Bananas have many functions, they can be used as works of art, in construction of plastics, and even skin care.

Bananas have been the main focused of songs....

and bananas can be turned into just about anything!

But did you know that bananas are on their way to becoming extinct? 

This great and versatile fruit is becoming extinct for being so great, claims researcher Dan Koeppel, in his book Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World. 

The common yellow banana that people know in the US, Canada, and Europe, called the Cavendish, is the most eaten fruit in the United States because it is nutritious, convenient, and affordable. Over 100 billion Cavendish Bananas are consumed annually worldwide. These bananas are perfect from a genetic standpoint; every banana is a genetic twin to the first one found in Southeast Asia which was brought to a Caribbean botanic garden in the early 20th century. 

The banana has become too perfect after fifteen thousand years of human cultivation. Bananas lacked genetic diversity which led it to be virus prone. A fungus that infects a plantation of bananas could infect them all. Imagine a world without bananas.

No more banana phones...

No more bananas at parties...

Could anyone imagine a world without this wonderful yellow fruit?

SAVE BANANAS!!!

The Art of Gift Giving

Christmas is the time of the year where you remember the little things in life and slow down for a bit. 

You remember silly things and floods of memories are at the front of your mind. You remember gifts you've given and gifts you've received, and even memories so precious they were gifts in themselves. 

Many people ask what you would like for a gift, but isn't that a little bit strange?

Asking what a person what they may want takes the excitement out of giving and receiving a gift. It makes gift giving feel like an obligatory tradition that that is inconveniencing the gift giver and putting the person who may receive a gift on the spot. 

Gift giving should be about the person, about what they like, and how they make you feel or your interactions with that person. You don't even need to know the person very long just to know something about them. 

Gift giving is about watching someone's face light up with excitement. 

You don't need to go over the top....

The person who receives the gift just needs to know that you put some thought into giving them a gift that is just for them. 

If someone likes reading, there are a number things that relate to reading that can be great gifts.

Like a first edition of their favorite book, or a leather version of their favorite book with their initials on it.

If you have been to someone's house, what do they have out? What do they collect? What do they like and cherish and keep out for everyone to see?

How did you meet? Did you meet at a fair or because of something?

Or have you known them forever? And know exactly what they would like?

Gifts don't have to be bought either, they can be made. Making a gift is more than just making an object to give to them. The gift should be in honor of the person you are giving it to; if they like cars then give them something car related. 

Gifts are so many things, they don't even have to be an object. They can be a moment that you created just for a person to see or experience. The magic of a single moment can last a lifetime while an object may get lost or corrode away. 

A gift can be so many things from the simplest of gestures to things you plan out specially for someone you love. Any gift can be the most wonderful thing to someone, if you put a little bit of thought into it.