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Copyright © 2007 The Goddesschess Partnership All rights reserved

May 11, 2008

Art and Artifact::

... a few new graphics entries that we hope will capture your imagination.

Chessays::

The Symbolism of Chess by Titus Burckhardt
"In this essay, Titus Burckhardt ties the game of chess (which originated in India and subsequently underwent minor modifications during its stay in the West) back to a larger, sacred reality. He covers an almost incredible amount of information (the caste system, astrology, and World Cycles) in a short period of time."

"The Doctor's Game - A New Light on the History of Ancient Board Games" (see also PDF section the Chessay's Table of Contents ) "Excavations betweeen 1987 and 2003 on the fringes of the site of Camulodunum revealed an extraordinary funerary site with a Middle Iron Age antecedent." Dr. Ulrich Schadler's specialist report provides us with a high quality analysis of these discoveries from an esteemed authority on Roman era board games. Muchos gracias Ulrich!

For the most recent archives of previous Random Roundup columns - please see the
"What's New" section of this site.

For overflow items

page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4

Rounding up this week's news files...

Hail bounteous May, that doth inspire
Mirth and youth, and warm desire
-- John Milton (1608-1674)

May day, may day By Lubna Abdel-Aziz "May Day is a feast of ancient origins. Egyptians, Babylonians, Indians, Romans and others, celebrated the new season of beauty and pleasure."

May 7, 2008 Archaeologists from the University of Hamburg said they discovered the Queen of Sheba's palace and an altar that may have once held the Ark of the Covenant in Axum, Ethiopia. A Sothic cult appears related to the site and is said to have been a latter arrival."

"A latter arrival..." ?! - This statement is unusual for at least a couple of reasons, some perhaps listing towards historical misrepresentaton. A brief history of Sothis, Sobek and Seba might help resolve some questions - or perhaps the opposite. You decide!

Who is "Sothis"?

• Sothis is the Greek name of a star that the Egyptians considered unusually significant. The star is not explicitly identified, but there are enough clues for modern scholars to be almost unanimous in identifying Sothis as Sirius.

• Sothic cycle
The Sothic cycle or Canicular period is a period of 1461 ancient Egyptian years (of 365 days each) or 1460 Julian years (averaging 365.25 days each). During a Sothic cycle, the 365-day year loses enough time that the start of the year once again coincides with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius (the Latin name for a star called Sothis in Greek, deified by the Egyptians as Sopdet; a single year between heliacal risings of Sothis is a Sothic year).

• Sothic Dating
Sothic Dating Examined - "The Sothic Star Theory of the Egyptian Calendar (A Critical Evaluation)" - By Damien F. Mackey (MA. B Phil.) October, 1995 Sydney, Australia.

• Seba and Sheba?
The Egyptian symbol for the stars was a symbol five-pointed line drawing, resembling the sea stars (aka "starfish") that inhabited the Red Sea.

• The star symbol appears
in many forms from a simple dot or circle through to a five point star as shown here. The five-pointed star was mostly used in formal or decorative scenes or to adorn the sky hieroglyph or the body of the sky goddess Nut.

• Sah and Sopdet (Sothis),
the Egyptian Astral God and Goddess by Jefferson Monet

• The Song of Solomon
"Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies."

Armies in the figurative or literal sense? From The Alpha and the Omega - Introduction by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © 1995, all rights reserved ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN (1) Heb. tsaba', tsaw-baw', or (feminine) tseba'ah, tseb-aw-aw' - and important etcetera relating to astronomical phenomena... i.e. a rotating, cyclical and spiral cosmos.

What was the ancient pentagram board game?
Ambiguous - for one thing...

• Greek Board Games
Roland G. Austin (University of Liverpool, England)
Antiquity, 14, September, 1940, Pages 257-271

• Pente Grammai means "five lines" and was an Ancient Greek game.

• Kurna Pentalpha Game Dr. Ricardo Calvo's numerological reference to the Kurna board games.

The Number "5"
• "The Symbolism and Spiritual Significance of the Number Five" by Dee Finney

Butrint and the Number "5"
• "And right perfection wrongfully disgrac'd"

"As already suggested, precursors of chess such as 5th Century CE hnefatafl and an as yet unproven form of Greek penta gramma or Egyptian pent alpha board game(s) offer various reassurances that the figure of the king had already been established as a viable gaming commodity prior to its inclusion in chess and chaturanja."