Byzantine Cross

For my symbol in the mosaic I decided to do the Byzantine Cross, a famous cross that was found in the Byzantine Empire. It is mostly used in the Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, and cannot be found in any other ones. The second bar from the top is for the INRI inscription while the bottom one is for his footrest. This sign represents sacredness and religion, it is commonly found in churches and serves as a sign of sacredness. Over all, I chose this for my mosaic because it really had a meaning and at the same time could be done. This project was really interesting and I look forward to more interactive projects.

Unit Reflection

The Byzantine Empire played a huge in conserving history and brand a lot down to the modern world. Once it built its empire from the Greeks and the Romans, the Byzantine Empire preserved valuable aspects from them after they disappeared. In this way, the Byzantine Empire was the keeper of the past and therefore the keeper of many mysteries. To begin with, literature and religion were a large part of the Byzantine Customs. They mainly wrote and spoke in Greek and adopted many Roman aspects as well. They copied the Roman and Greek language that came with great files of history that may have been gone for sure. Through writing and literature, the Byzantines saved a lot of knowledge regarding science, math, philosophy and many more. Religion and Christianity also flourished during the Byzantine Empire which still carries onto modern religion and beliefs. Next, the Byzantines had a great architectural knowledge also excelled in art. The Byzantines built great buildings and decorated with fine art. For example, the Hagia Sophia Church was a huge Christian Church. With great knowledge it was built and decorated with mosaics of saints and other sacred and holy people. Icons could also be spotted of Jesus and Mary, for example. To place it all together, the Byzantine Empire kept all the lost achievements from the Greeks and Romans. They basically put those two empires together and formed a new one that would affects all up to modern days. Without the Byzantine Empire, we would not have many information that are crucial today. We excel in science and math from their basic research. Even if the Byzantine Empire is long gone, is still is a crucial topic because it brings so much to our modern lives. Over all, without them we would not have had such advanced technology, religion, knowledge and architectural skills.

St. Petka's Reflection

Today, we went to the Saint Petka's chapel and were assigned a drawing of a mosaic. For my mosaic drawing, I drew Mary, a very important and crucial figure. Although I only drew Mary, she was being worshiped by another figure. This figure was very colorful, and included blue, red, yellow, orange, purple and gray. Mary was wearing purple, a supposed royal color. However, she was covered in a gray ordeal, that covered most of her body. As seen in many other mosaics, Mary had the halo indicating the sign of power and importance. For the objects, Mary was sitting on two pillows,one that was red and the other one blue. Along with the two pillows, Mary was placed in a decorated chair. The figure worshiping her was not as important, due to the fact it did not have power signs. Mary also had floating feet, the same goes for the figure to the left.

I believe that this mosaic does go along with the rules set by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both of the figures have floating feet, and in this case, Mary is taller than everyone, indicating power. Mary is larger than the other figure and the picture is more focused on her. If the figures were to join, Mary would certainly over lap the remaining figures or objects. Over all, I believe that this mosaic perfectly fits the standards or rules given to us by the Museum.

Lastly, this mosaic is a perfect example of Byzantine Art. It is very similar in size, color, shape and objects. This mosaic seems to perfectly fit the Byzantine Art standards. The mosaics are very similar, and have equal details. In conclusion, this Mary mosaic will certainly fit and be a great real life example of Byzantine Art.

Saint Nicholas

A saint is a person of great holiness and sacredness. A person that is worshiped and of great importance. There are a couple of "aspects" that they have to fulfill before they become one. For example, they have to worship god and have this special beautification of the religion and themselves. I can tell you, that becoming a saint is not an easy thing to accomplish. For my biography, I will talk about Saint Nicholas.

Saint Nicholas was a prospered saint in the 4th century as well as Greek bishop. Because he has been known for his great miracles, some have called him, Nikolaos the Wonder Worker. Nicholas was born in the village of Patara and lived with his parents. Once his wealthy parents died from an epidemic, Nicholas dedicated himself to serving those in need and to Christianity. Since that event, he has been known for his great generosity and helping of those in need. In the ruling of emperor Diocletian, he has ordered for every single Christian to be put in jail and soon that included St. Nicholas. Along with many bishops and priests Nicholas spend a lot of time in the jail cell. However, when he was released, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. Sadly, Nicholas died on December 6, A.D 343 in Myra and was buried in the cathedral church. Many decoration were included, making his importance felt. Even know, his death is remembered on December 6, as Saint Nicholas Day.

There are still many legends regarding St. Nicholas and his deeds he accomplished. He is known for his generosity, open mindedness and caring attitudes. He was always in the help of others with need making him deserving of a Saint. Some of the miracles would include secret gifting of people, which is one of his most famous deeds. Over all, St.Nicholas was a great Saint, making his existence last for eternity.

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Whose the best civilization?

There are many strong civilizations that existed at those times. But when I studied it closely, I came up with one strong conclusion. In this blog post, there will be many examples representing why the Byzantine Empire is the strongest of all. According to me, that empire out beats the rest, with technology, trade and many more.

To begin with, the Byzantine Empire was much more organized and peaceful than the rest. There were no battled and bloody sights. The Byzantine Empire contained of a strong army and defense system. There was no outbreaks and risks towards their protected people. For the organization, there were much more laws and simple systems that kept everything going. For example, the marriage system. As said in the research, marriage was a part of religion in the Byzantine beliefs. In this way, marriages were stable and growing. Divorces were very rare and were never bound to happen and react.

My second fact is the amount of technology, as well as the architecture the Byzantine Empire acquired. To start off with the architecture, the Byzantines built many strong and effective buildings that became a daily part of Byzantine life. There were palaces, city halls, extravagant buildings and most importantly various churches. For example, the Hagia Sophia Church, was a Byzantine center of religion, and it still stands today in Istanbul, Turkey. As for the technology, the Byzantine Empire had enhanced new ideas and brought life to an easier level.

The third and final fact on why the Byzantines were the most advanced civilization is because their wealth and their geographic location. The whole basic level of this fact is their trade. Via trade, the Byzantine Empire became a wealthy empire and along with their geographical location, they were able to conceive great trade roots. The Byzantines were firstly between the Black Sea and Aegean Sea which allowed them to have strong sea trades. Secondly, the Byzantine Empire sat on the crossroads of trade between Europe and Asia which gave them ground trade. And lastly, they were on a peninsula which meant great land protection. Overall, they were a domination due to a small part if trade and a lucky location.

In conclusion, I want to state that the Byzantine Empire was the most advanced and special of all. Due to its great technological, organizational, architectural and due to their geographic location (Trade), they were able to go a far. To conclude, the Byzantine Empire is the most modern and strong empire.

Rome and Christianity Reflection

1. Describe how you prepared/studied for the unit test.

I used many ways to study for the test. The first way was by contributing during my classes. In that way, I saw what my classmates had to say which added on to my knowledge. I learned different points of view and how specific factors could affect something way larger. The second way in which I studied was my making graphs and webs. In this way, I laid out all my knowledge in one place, so studying that became much easier. I could point out the basic structures of a certain topic or idea. Along with this, I could associate important people and places that would add on to the basic idea. After all of the remaining factors were in my brain, I focused on details and more specific happenings. Sadly, not many could be found in the final test. After all, I used many different ways to study fr this test and over all, I am happy with the result.

a. Do you think your studying strategies were effective-why/not?

I believe that my studying habits were effective, although I sometimes focused on parts that were not on the actual test. I did a pretty nice studying job, although I could have concentrated on some other stuff. I could have also certainly payed more attention to Christianity.

b. How will you prepare next time?

For the next test, I believe I will focus in the same way, but touch more topics basically then one totally. In this way, my organization of studying will be increased and touched. When I look at it, my studying will never change, but my organization, in my opinion should.

2. What was the most surprising thing you learned about during this unit?

The most surprising thing I learned throughout this unit is about Early Christianity. How it evolved and became a great religion. All the people that accompanied the prosperity of that religion. I found fascinating the interesting facts about Christianity and how it prospered.

3. If we had more time to spend on Rome + Christianity- what would you want to learn more about?

If we had more time to spend on Rome I would totally learn about gladiators, the Colosseum and how they affected Rome and its development. After all, this unit was really fascinating but if we had more time, I would study gladiators and entertainment.