#tellus mater

Louvre-Lens : il y a une expo : “Mondes souterrains : 20.000 Lieux sous la terre”. la suite et fin.

Triple Hécate - Asie Mineure, 150 av. J-C.

Triple Hécate - Philippopolis, Macédoine, 200 apr. J-C.

Fac-simile de la Diane d'Ephèse - 150 av. J-C.

Tellus Mater, allégorie de la Fertilité - Carthage, 150 apr. JC

Jean Arp : "Déméter" - 1961

figurines : Suse, 3000-1100 av. J-C. ; Kish, 2000 av. J-C. ; Suse, 1500 av. J-C. ; Girsu, 2000 av. J-C.

Create until nothing is left to create And the universe bursts with an overworked sigh

EVOHÉ

[Tellus Mater, Black Metal, France, Oaken Shield, 2005]

"I will sing of well-founded Earth, mother of all. She feeds all creatures.. all that go upon the goodly land, and all that are in the paths of the seas, and all that fly: all these are fed of her store. To you (O Queen) it belongs to give means of life to mortals and to take them away".

I've been rewatching the wonderful 'Nature is Speaking' series of videos and the Mother Nature one, beautifully & powerfully voiced by Julia Roberts reminded me of the Homeric hymn to Tellus Mater (aka Terra, Gaia). How blessed we are to be children of this wondrous world & how sad that we treat her so poorly!

"Vou cantarlle á Terra, nai universal, de sólidos cimentos, a máis augusta, que nutre todo o que hai na súa terra. O que ande pola terra divina ou a través do mar, ou o que voa, nútrese da túa exuberancia. Ti (Raíña) corresponde darlles os medios de vida aos mortais e quitarlles".

Estiven mirando de novo a marabillosa serie de vídeos "A natureza está a falar", e o da Nai Natureza, narrado de xeito fermoso e poderoso por Julia Roberts, lembroume o himno homérico a Tellus Mater (Terra ou Gaia). Que bendicidos somos de ser fillos dela e que tristura que tratámos-la tan mal.

Gaea Bronze sculpture by Gerhard Marcks, 1965. Displayed at the Rheinpark, Cologne, Germany. Photo by HOWI, 2007 via Wikimedia Commons (X) License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Gerhard Marcks was a German artist known for his sculpture, ceramics, woodcuts, lithographs, and drawings. He taught at the Bauhaus and other highly-regarded schools of the arts. His works were declared “degenerate” by the Nazi regime in 1937; around two dozen pieces were confiscated and destroyed, and Marcks was prohibited from working or exhibiting. After WWII, Marcks resumed teaching until his retirement.

Orphic Hymn 26 to Gaia 

Divine Gaia, mother of men and of the blessed gods, you nourish all, you give all, you bring all to fruition, and you destroy all. When the season is fair you are heavy with fruits and growing blossoms; and, O multiform maiden, you are the seat of the immortal cosmos, and in the pains of labor you bring forth fruit of all kinds. Eternal, reverend, deep-bosomed, and blessed, you delight in the sweet breath of grass, O goddess bedecked with flowers. Yours is the joy of the rain, and round you the intricate realm of the stars revolves in endless and awesome flow. But, O blessed goddess, may you multiply the gladsome fruits and, together with the beautiful seasons, grant me favor.

- translation by Apostolos N. Athanassakis