Friday, April 16, 2010

Creator/Destroyer



The remains of the Temple of Mercury at the Heiligenberg. Photo from Google.


I suppose it shouldn't surprise me exactly, but I was still shocked to learn yesterday from a friend about the number of Christian churches which were built directly on top of pagan sites of worship. One key example is the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome, which literally means the Saint Mary church over Minerva since the site was devoted to the Roman goddess Minerva and, some suggest, Isis in still earlier times. There are examples throughout Europe and Martin of Tours even went so far as to destroy sacred trees. The victors write history, I suppose. Or, at least, they used to.



This brings to mind the site of the Heiligenberg in Heidelberg, Germany, which we had the pleasure of visiting with our good friends Bodecea and WirrLicht in 2006. Meaning essentially Sacred Mountain, it has seen much construction and reconstruction over the centuries as various faiths have had supersedence. Bodecea talks about it at - http://kultplatz.blogspot.com/2007/01/der-heiligenberg.html



Oh, for some tolerance, without this need to destroy, grab and claim.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Ostara

Image from the brilliant Thalia Took at www.thaliatook.com
Warm wishes to my Northern friends as you celebrate Ostara, brimming with the promise of Spring's growth.