Task 8: What was Paganism? Ancient Olympics [May 27, 2012, 6:21 a.m.]
This task is really a continuation of the Council of Nicea task.
In 1806 a German scholar discoversed an ancient town buried in soil in an area called Jerash (Jordan).
At the time, findings like these were quite rare (although a similar discovery was made in pompeii).
As of today hundreds of these sites (towns), with similar artefacts have been discovered,
(too many, and too large in area -globally-, and too similar to have been faked).
And more get discovered by the day.
In this task you are going to identify the features that are in common with all these towns.
This task requires you to answer the following questions.
What 3 features (artefacts) do all these discoveries have in common and then conclude which empire they belong to.
Read the following extracts and then write your answer.
Extract 1:
...The middle of the three churches is that of St. John the Baptist, dating from 531 AD.
Its mosaic floor, now damaged, included images of the four seasons, plants and animals, and the cities of Alexandria and Memphis in Egypt.
The church of St. George, the southernmost, was built in 530 AD.
It continued to be used after the earthquake of 749 AD,
and its mosaics were destroyed when the 8th century Christian iconoclastic movement banned the representation of humans and animals. ...
See the full article here:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/jordan/jerash
extract 2:
...The South theatre. Built in 90s AD, this is the oldest theatre in Jerash.
The theatre was completed in the early second century AD.
Designed purely for entertainment, it is one of the most impressive of its type.
It had the capacity to seat around three thousand people...
...Northern Theatre. Built during the Roman redesign of the city in the 160s AD,
the north theatre is smaller than its southern counterpart.
Its lower seats are marked in Greek with the names of the cities voting tribes,
suggesting it may have operated as a council chamber...
(image of temple of Zeus at Jerash)
The sanctuary of Artemis was much larger than that of Zeus.
It was also the first to be renovated in the second century.
Work began in 150AD.
Little remains of the naos or house of the goddess within the temple
although archaeologists have deduced it was lined with marble.
Hooks have been found on the inner walls that would have held the slabs in place before they were removed to nearby Christian churches.
See the full article here:
http://suite101.com/article/the-archaeology-of-the-roman-city-of-jerash-jordan-a289455
------------------
Okay answering the question.
In your introduction sentence mention that many pagan sites have been discovered either buried, or built over.
Your next 3 sentences should mention mozaics, amphitheatres and Temples to Olympian gods such as Zeus.
You should finish by saying that it looks like a Pagan culture (cooperative Etruscan/Hellenistic maybe), and was replaced by Christianity.)
In 1806 a German scholar discoversed an ancient town buried in soil in an area called Jerash (Jordan).
At the time, findings like these were quite rare (although a similar discovery was made in pompeii).
As of today hundreds of these sites (towns), with similar artefacts have been discovered,
(too many, and too large in area -globally-, and too similar to have been faked).
And more get discovered by the day.
In this task you are going to identify the features that are in common with all these towns.
This task requires you to answer the following questions.
What 3 features (artefacts) do all these discoveries have in common and then conclude which empire they belong to.
Read the following extracts and then write your answer.
Extract 1:
...The middle of the three churches is that of St. John the Baptist, dating from 531 AD.
Its mosaic floor, now damaged, included images of the four seasons, plants and animals, and the cities of Alexandria and Memphis in Egypt.
The church of St. George, the southernmost, was built in 530 AD.
It continued to be used after the earthquake of 749 AD,
and its mosaics were destroyed when the 8th century Christian iconoclastic movement banned the representation of humans and animals. ...
See the full article here:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/jordan/jerash
extract 2:
...The South theatre. Built in 90s AD, this is the oldest theatre in Jerash.
The theatre was completed in the early second century AD.
Designed purely for entertainment, it is one of the most impressive of its type.
It had the capacity to seat around three thousand people...
...Northern Theatre. Built during the Roman redesign of the city in the 160s AD,
the north theatre is smaller than its southern counterpart.
Its lower seats are marked in Greek with the names of the cities voting tribes,
suggesting it may have operated as a council chamber...
(image of temple of Zeus at Jerash)
The sanctuary of Artemis was much larger than that of Zeus.
It was also the first to be renovated in the second century.
Work began in 150AD.
Little remains of the naos or house of the goddess within the temple
although archaeologists have deduced it was lined with marble.
Hooks have been found on the inner walls that would have held the slabs in place before they were removed to nearby Christian churches.
See the full article here:
http://suite101.com/article/the-archaeology-of-the-roman-city-of-jerash-jordan-a289455
------------------
Okay answering the question.
In your introduction sentence mention that many pagan sites have been discovered either buried, or built over.
Your next 3 sentences should mention mozaics, amphitheatres and Temples to Olympian gods such as Zeus.
You should finish by saying that it looks like a Pagan culture (cooperative Etruscan/Hellenistic maybe), and was replaced by Christianity.)