READING COMPREHENSION 2

[1] 


The validity of Hersey's argument about the fact of Greek architectural elements being based on the idea of sacrifice is an argument that supports ancient Greek beliefs and their gods. Most of the Greek designs were inspired on the idea of religious beliefs  and sacrifices just like other cultures around the world, not necessarily just the Greek. The Greeks participated in a number of rituals, rites, ceremonies and sacrifices in order to impress and placate the gods. Temples, shrines and statues were erected as a designated place to offer sacrifices to the gods. The role of the temples were meant to serve as homes for the individual god or goddess who protected and sustained the community. These temples normally stood inside a sacred enclosure known as the temenos reflecting the rural origins of most cults. It generally included natural features such as springs, a grove of trees or caves which was the actual focus of public worship. It was the only part of the complex open to the general public, only priests were admitted into the divine presence to perform the necessary rituals on behalf of the community. Private groups and individuals were encouraged to contribute to the upkeep of the temple through offerings and dedications but otherwise, public participation was limited to taking part in religious festivals and processions. These culminated in lavish sacrifices of prime livestock at the god's altar which stood within the temenos but outside the temple proper.


[2]


When using the Internet one has to be careful of the information being presented, not necessarily all the information being displayed on google is true, and for me as a personal experience, books are more precisely on the information that one is looking for. One strategy to avoid  mis-reading evidence when using the Internet is to do the research on google and always back it off on books to expand more on it, and see if the information coincides with what is being displayed on the Internet. The evidence uncovered  at the Motel of the Mysteries is a good example of how mis-reading evidence could lead you to follow false data or false information. 


[3]

One of the reasons why Queen Hatshepsut chose to build her building in that form was because queens  did not have the same power as the pharaohs.  Pharaohs had the power to build their buildings at any scale, shape or form they wanted. Like any other pharaoh, Queen Hatshepsut built her temple to commemorate her achievements and to serve as an honorary temple for her, as well as a sanctuary of the god, Amon Ra.  When comparing Queen Hatshepsut's building to the pyramids of Giza one begins to see the relationship and start to get a sense of scale. The pyramids remained the tallest man made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. 


[4] 

The two buildings that I chose from each culture to compare are Queen Hatshepsut Temple and the Parthenon. The similarities of these two structures is the orientation of each building, both buildings are located on a mountain, and both buildings were surrounded by trees and nature. Both buildings were designed with columns, and both buildings have stacking. Stacking is shown on Queen Hatshepsut's Temple by the three levels of the temple that are connected by two ramps. However on the Parthenon, stacking is shown by the stairs at the east facade of the building.  Both buildings are very rectangular, no domes nor geometrical floor plans were being designed during these periods of time. The differences between the two is that the Parthenon was a place to conduct city business and store house of wealth. The Parthenon all the proportions are perfect and entirely made of marble. Queen's Hatshepsut Temple was built  to commemorate her achievements and to serve as a funerary temple for her. This building was made of limestone and not sandstone like most other funerary temples of the new kingdom period. 


[5]


Pyramids were only built for pharaohs and wealthy people during that period of time, these pyramids are gigantic and heavy in terms of space wide. The furniture being displayed does not contain as much decorative features as the pyramids. I'm thinking the pyramids displayed more decoration because the pyramids were built for mummification purposes as to be believed for the afterlife. Perhaps people did not pay much of attention to furniture back then, architecture was more important because of volume and space that each structure occupied. 


[6]


Basically women are shown serving the men, and this is interpreted as women being ranked at a much lower rank than men. Men is shown wearing a crown and seating on a well decorated chair, I wonder what the material is, if it is marble or gold , or any other precious mineral. The image on the left seems like the man is giving something to the woman, on the other hand, the image on the right seems like the woman is giving offerings to the man.