The Famous Acropolis
Built By Ancient Greek Feng Shui Masters?
The Famous Acropolis
Built By Ancient Greek
Feng Shui Masters?
by Eleni Kairi-Bartels
Before we go back into time, 2500 years ago, let us point out that Western civilization is based on the ancient Greek culture, which is mirrored in architecture in cities like London, Paris, Rome as well as in many neoclassical buildings in the United States. Let me guide you on a journey into the past and discover the achievements of a most fascinating era.
On the way to the Acropolis let’s take a look at the city of Athens at the time of the philosopher Socrates and Pericles, one of the founders of democracy and the man under whose orders the monuments of the Acropolis were built.
The site for ancient Athens was not chosen accidentally. Around the city, there are physical protective boundaries, mountains in the North for protection against strong, cold winds and invasions. A mountain in the East, and a lower mountain in the West. In the front, towards the South, there is a big, open area with direct access to the sea. An ideal location according to Feng Shui.
The landscape was enrapturing, with endless forests. The whole area of Attica, where Athens is situated, was a forest. The climate was one of the best in the world. The ancient Greeks named dawn in their city rose-like due to the pleasant colour which accompanied it and called Athens the lilac crowned city, inspired by the reflections of the twilight at sunset. The colour formations were so beautiful that the Athenians used to gather together when the sun went down in order to admire the unique spectacle. The beauty of the city of Goddess Athena as well as of the surrounding nature was similar to the beauty of the Goddess.
In the middle of the city, which corresponds to health, there is the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis, just as there was the altar of Goddess Estia, the protector of the home, in the middle of the patio of ancient Greek houses. An ancient Greek house was built exactly as the Chinese ones, square, without windows towards the exterior of the construction, with a courtyard in the middle where the altar was placed. The Parthenon, the temple of Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, who protected the city, which was named after her, provided the crowning touch to her city and the Acropolis, surrounded by other outstanding monuments.
Not only did the ancient Greeks live in harmony with nature, but they embellished it, as the preserved monuments testify. Go to Plaka one day, the old town of Athens, to the highest point, just below the Acropolis and look at the temple of Hephaistos. See how this structure embellishes the remaining nature and think how the landscape must have been before with the pine forests and other kinds of trees. Then, take a look at modem Athens and see the difference.
From my flat, I can still see, many times, the wonderful reflections which are formed in the horizon at sunset, between heaven and the sea, and I can imagine how this historical city must have been in antiquity.
Before I begin with the description of the Acropolis, I should like to explain what it is. Acropolis means the highest point of a city and is, therefore, the name of the Sacred Rock on which the famous temple, the Parthenon, is situated surrounded by other beautiful temples.
The Parthenon, this masterpiece of architecture, was constructed according to Feng Shui principles. Ancient Greek architects had studied nature and knew that, in nature, there is nothing absolutely identical. The leaves of a flower are never exactly the same, even if they seem to be. There are always minute differences such as the lines of a leaf which may differ a little from one another. This is also true, as it is known, of the human body and face. One side is different to the other one, the limbs do not have the same length. One arm and one leg are somewhat longer than the other. Old tailors knew it and took it into account. Our face does not have the same proportions on both sides. The right side is slightly different from the left one, and if one takes two different pictures of the two sizes of one’s face, one will not recognise oneself if one looks at the photographs put together.
This very fact and their knowledge of optical illusion prompted the creators of the Parthenon, lktinos and Kallikratis, to construct the temple of Athena in such a way that the structure would give the impression of a living organism, a being who moved and pulsated. Straight lines are hard while curved ones are soft. There are no straight lines on or in the Parthenon! The lines look straight, due to optical illusion, but the eyes rest on curvatures, which they do not see consciously, but perceive subconsciously. The floor of the temple is not straight, a fact which can be ascertained by the known experiment with the hat. If one places a hat on the basis of the Parthenon and goes to the apposite side in order to see it from the level of the hat, one cannot see it because the floor is not even. It from a slight, apparently invisible, curve. The roof was made of special, transparent marble which allowed the daylight to penetrate into the interior of the temple.
The columns do not have the same dimensions in order, again, to make the Parthenon look like a moving being from afar. Another remarkable feature is that they would form a pyramid if extended! The pyramid is invisible in the physical world, but it, nevertheless, exists. It is a symbol of fire and corresponds to the yang force. The rectangular shape of the temple is a symbol of earth and corresponds to the yin force. It is the union of the two forces in one structure achieved in a subtle way!
A French doctor, who limps a little with the left leg suddenly started, walking without difficulty while going from one side of the Parthenon to the other, along the building and felt the incredible power of its uplifting energy. To use his own words: ,,I felt the uplifting energy of the columns going through my body. Just like a miracle, it enabled me to walk without any difficulty while I was passing along them.”
The ancient Greeks avoided sharp edges. At the points where the rectangular shape of the temples creates corners, there are round columns in front of them.
The Parthenon was painted, and the colours which were used as well as the sculptures of Phidias had been calculated in relation to light and shade. Phidias was one of the greatest sculptors of antiquity. Ancient Greek architects and artists studied the depictions which they designed for the temples and other monuments in connection with the cardinal points and the impression that they wanted to create and the message which they wanted to convey. The sculptures of the temple of Athena, were designed in such a way. to show motion caused by the right proportions and the correct perspective, sunlight and shade, depending on the time of the day. Tue colours contributed much to the optical movement of the depicted figures, for which reason buildings were not white, just as nature is not. It has an abundance of colours that create the particularity of its diverse forms, activate energy and compose a harmonious, tremendous spectacle.
The Parthenon was not a tourist attraction in antiquity, it was the home of Goddess Athena, the protector of the city of Athens.
The ancient Athenians ascended to the Acropolis once a year they celebrated the Panathinea, the festival in honor of the Goddess. Nothing hid the temple, and the impression which it created was very different to the one it gives today. Constructed according to the secrets and it breathed together with the Goddess.
One can see on the Acropolis the balance and the union of the two opposite forces yin and yang, which are embodied in the ancient Greek ideal a that they depicted on their monuments and their statues. The ancient Greeks, harmoniously united on the Acropolis two different architectural styles the plain. Doric order of the Parthenon and the more elaborate, Ionic order of the two other monuments. They added the famous Karyatides. Depictions of graceful, female dancer, in the place of columns, at one of the other temples in order to create the perfect balance. Balance and harmony were two of the strongest beliefs of the ancient Greeks, and the fundamental principles of feng shui. The proportions of the Karyatides are related to the perspective from which they can be seen.
They were made shorter and thicker than normal because, from the angle from which one looks at them, they would have looked to thin and too tall if they had been given the actual proportions.
One realises how much of that wisdom has been lost when one sees the statues in the museum today. The authentic copies which have been placed at the temple in order to protect the statues from smog look elegant and graceful, but the original statues, which were placed in a small room in the museum of the Acropolis, directly on the floor, look short and plump. They were supposed to be seen at a certain height, f from a certain distance. The yin and yang was not calculated, balance and harmony are not present.
One of the Karyatides is in the British Museum, in London as well as sculptures from the pediments pf the Parthenon. The latter are known as The Greek Marbles.
The Parthenon dominates the Sacred Rock of the Acropolis but its vigour is balanced by the other monuments. At the Propylea, the entrance to the Acropolis, in a certain place, left, as one ascents, behind the first columns, which welcome the visitor, there is one, single Ionic column among the Doric Ones. I believe that it was placed there to remind of the existence of the other order, the other force. There is much that we can learn from these monuments. They were created by geniuses and their skillful hands and they are timeless, as nature, since they were constructed according to it rules. These architects and the artists were masters of EF ZIN (well-being), the ancient Greek ideal and equivalent of Feng Shui.
There are such magnetic forces around the Acropolis that do not allow pigeons to fly over it.
The Parthenon and the other monuments of the Sacred Rock have such a tremendous impact of people, that a man like Hitler gave a special order not bomb Athens during the Second World War in order to save the Acropolis!
The statue which depicted Athena, made from ivory and gold, a creation of the famous Phidias, was in the temple, but there was another, bronze one outside, in the middle of the Acropolis so that the Goddess could see her city and the priestesses could see her daily as well as the Athenians, when they went to Acropolis. They could see her as she was, mistress of the Sacred Rock. Those who arrived in Piraeus, the harbour of the Athens could see her lance glittering in the Mediterranean sun. The glitter of her helmet could be seen from Cape Sonuion, 60 kilometres from Athens.
There is so much harmony in those monuments that we still admire them today and are inspired by them, in spite of the damage which they have undergone, the rock of the Acropolis was, in antiquity, higher that it is today, it dominated the city, and the Athenians could see it from everywhere and could sleep and awake the feeling of security which the Goddess offered the Athena protected them day and night. I, sometimes believe that Goddess Athena still protects the city that has kept her name up to our time. Who knows?
The Greek Gods…
The Appearance of Goddess Diana
Artemis (Diana), Apollos sister was the goddess of hunting and the mistress of forests. She walked through the open country protecting wild animals. Deer were sacred and the ancient Greeks did not hunt them, otherwise they would have to endure the severe, pitiless punishment of the goddess. She was the life giving deity and the goddess of childbirth. She had the power to heal, as her brother. and her beauty was equal to Aphrodite’s. She protected youth and virginity, and from a certain time onwards was also identified with the moon goddess Selene.
The sanctuary of Artemis is situated in Brauron (Vravrona in Modern Greek), a summer resort near Athens, 1m from the sea. It lies at the foot of a low hill, which provides good protection around it with a view to a valley in the front. A very good Ef Zin location which characterizes ancient Greek sites. The valley is part of a greater region known for its wine and the red clay fertile soil. It is a very picturesque area with pine trees and vineyards, surrounded by a lace-like coast with numerous bays and sandy beaches, which seduce people to bathe in their sapphire blue and emerald green water.
It is summer time, midnight and full moon. The appropriate day to meet the goddess. Two figures appear in the dark. A man and a woman are approaching the sanctuary in the shimmering moonlight. They met few weeks ago and are becoming acquainted day by day. The beauty of this special night has attracted them to Artemis’s holy place. They walk slowly towards the entrance, stop for a few seconds in order to admire the scenery, and then go into the shrine. They stop in the middle of the site and look around them. The moon goddess is smiling gently at them from above, revealing her absolute beauty. There is a marvelous combination of gold and silver that makes everything so mystical, so magical. In the sky, the moon is golden and on the earth sanctuary and the landscape are bathed in silver. It is fabulous, beyond description, there is a spell in the air. Shakespeare would have chosen this site as the scenery for his “Midsummer Night Dream.”
The couple is speechless, enchanted by the magic of the place. They look at the site at the hill, at the rooms of the young girls, who were in the service Artemis in this sanctuary, then they look at each other. they look at the full moon and admire its beauty, they look again around them, at the silver-like hill, at the ruins of the temple. They look at each other once more and, instantly, fall in love. They cannot utter a single word, but their eyes speak for them and exchange words of deep affection. They embrace each other warmly and, at this moment, everything seems to be transformed. The temple and rooms of the young priestesses take up form, they shine more brightly in reflections of the moon, which seems to watch them carefully and throw more light onto their hair.
They look around them again and stare in wonder. There is presence near them, an invisible but clearly perceptible divine presence. “Artemis is here.” whispers the woman in awe. “She is here, she has come down from heaven.” “She has come down from heaven to be with us in her sanctuary,” says the man with great astonishment. “Let us pray to her to make us happy.” says the woman. She had always wanted to have children, but she had lived for many years with a man who did not share her desire, and, although, she is young enough, she is beginning to feel that she may not have time to become a mother. “Artemis, oh Artemis.” says the woman. “We fell in love in your sanctuary, you led our steps to your holy place. We thank you from the depth of our heart and beg of you to help us have a child.” “Yes, goddess,” says the man, “please fulfill our wish “
They embrace each other again, deeply touched by the encounter with the goddess and feel her blessing. They walk out of the shrine hand in hand, as happy as fairies in wonderland and slowly return to the nearby village where they had come to spend the day.
Three months later the woman was pregnant. She gave birth to a beautiful, lovely girl with strikingly exceptional intelligence, who was named after the goddess, Artemis. Two other children followed.
This extraordinary story happened seven years ago and was told to me by the charismatic mother of the three children during an Ef Zin consultation. “You must go to the sanctuary one day with full moon”, she kept telling me. “ It must be full moon. We fell instantly in love. The goddess was there, Artemis came down, the goddess came down from Heaven!”
The Greek Gods & Two Incredible baby stories
God Apollo Listens to You In the Oracle of Delphi
No one remains untouched by the breathtaking beauty of the site. The Oracle of Delphi, the
The Oracle was originally dedicated to the worship of the goddess Earth (Gaia) and was guarded by her son. the dragon Python. Later, Apollo, the god of light, music
A gap in the earth produced
A group of tourists was guided in the site of Delphi. The guide instructed her group very conscientiously and talked proudly of her country’s glorious history. She showed them the enrapturing beauty of the surrounding nature, asked them to
When she had finished, a kind American lady took her aside and told her gently: “I have been trying for years to have a baby, in vain. Do you believe that god Apollo will help me fulfill wish if I pray to him?” The guide replied: “If you want to pray to him, madam. do so.” The lady looked for the appropriate place, where she could say her prayer undisturbed, and the guide departed with the group in order to go for lunch. The kind lady joined them sometime later.
Eleven months later the guide received a letter from her amiable tourist informing her that she had become the mother of a very healthy boy!