The Adyton at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae: Multiple Cult Worship in the Adyton

<p>Situated on Mount Kotilion in the Peloponnese, the Temple of Apollo at Bassae sits high in the middle of a mountain range. Upon rediscovery, it became evident that most of the offerings had long since disappeared, and this was in turn paired with a lack of primary literature. Though the temple is mentioned in Pausanias’ work, discussion about the cultic aspects of the temple is severely lacking. This leads to a large gap in the knowledge of the temple’s religious function. It is for this reason that the architecture of Bassae is explored to help understand the cultic aspects of this temple. This thesis shows that multiple cults were celebrated at the temple of Bassae, and that there is a high probability that multiple cult worship occurred in the adyton of the building. The cult at Bassae has been celebrated since geometric times, and worship to Apollo was fairly consistent until the sanctuary’s demise in the third century BCE. Three epikleseis are often associated with this temple: Apollo Epikourios, Apollo Bassitas and Hyperborean Apollo. The epithet of Epikourios comes from Pausanias’ passage, and nowhere else. The original reason for this epithet may be either medicinal or martial, and both are explored within this thesis. Bassitas is another epithet provided. However, this is in the form of a singular archaeological find, a small bronze tablet found in the wider Kotilion sanctuary. The third epithet, Hyperborean, is a tenuous but commonly made connection. This epithet relies heavily on the localised subject matter of the sculptural programme at Bassae. The architecture of the building is also in need of discussion. The temple at Bassae is famed for its odd, and in some cases, unparalleled architectural design. The temple is on a north-south axis, and features not only a northern entranceway, but also an opening in the eastern wall, leading into the adyton. This eastern doorway allows light to enter twice a year, which hits the southern wall. The decorative features of the temple are unparalleled, with the first known Corinthian column and extended engaged Ionic columns. These unusual design features create a focus within the adyton. Within the adyton, four positions can be considered possible sites for housing offerings or cult statues. These include the southwest corner, the centre of the southern wall, the centre of the northern limits of the adyton directly south of the Corinthian column, and finally, the Corinthian column itself. The evidence for these positions being a focus for cult comes from architectural features, such as the paving of the adyton floor, the light phenomenon and a small plinth. These four positions are by no means definite, and this thesis discusses the probability of each of these positions in terms of the likelihood of them being the focus of a cult. While the southwest corner is the most likely position for a cult statue, the Corinthian column seems the least likely. The architecture at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae strongly suggests worship occurring inn the adyton of the temple, and it seems likely it was at least one of these three epithets that was celebrated in one of the four positions in the adyton.</p>

The Adyton at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae: Multiple Cult Worship in the Adyton

<p>Situated on Mount Kotilion in the Peloponnese, the Temple of Apollo at Bassae sits high in the middle of a mountain range. Upon rediscovery, it became evident that most of the offerings had long since disappeared, and this was in turn paired with a lack of primary literature. Though the temple is mentioned in Pausanias’ work, discussion about the cultic aspects of the temple is severely lacking. This leads to a large gap in the knowledge of the temple’s religious function. It is for this reason that the architecture of Bassae is explored to help understand the cultic aspects of this temple. This thesis shows that multiple cults were celebrated at the temple of Bassae, and that there is a high probability that multiple cult worship occurred in the adyton of the building. The cult at Bassae has been celebrated since geometric times, and worship to Apollo was fairly consistent until the sanctuary’s demise in the third century BCE. Three epikleseis are often associated with this temple: Apollo Epikourios, Apollo Bassitas and Hyperborean Apollo. The epithet of Epikourios comes from Pausanias’ passage, and nowhere else. The original reason for this epithet may be either medicinal or martial, and both are explored within this thesis. Bassitas is another epithet provided. However, this is in the form of a singular archaeological find, a small bronze tablet found in the wider Kotilion sanctuary. The third epithet, Hyperborean, is a tenuous but commonly made connection. This epithet relies heavily on the localised subject matter of the sculptural programme at Bassae. The architecture of the building is also in need of discussion. The temple at Bassae is famed for its odd, and in some cases, unparalleled architectural design. The temple is on a north-south axis, and features not only a northern entranceway, but also an opening in the eastern wall, leading into the adyton. This eastern doorway allows light to enter twice a year, which hits the southern wall. The decorative features of the temple are unparalleled, with the first known Corinthian column and extended engaged Ionic columns. These unusual design features create a focus within the adyton. Within the adyton, four positions can be considered possible sites for housing offerings or cult statues. These include the southwest corner, the centre of the southern wall, the centre of the northern limits of the adyton directly south of the Corinthian column, and finally, the Corinthian column itself. The evidence for these positions being a focus for cult comes from architectural features, such as the paving of the adyton floor, the light phenomenon and a small plinth. These four positions are by no means definite, and this thesis discusses the probability of each of these positions in terms of the likelihood of them being the focus of a cult. While the southwest corner is the most likely position for a cult statue, the Corinthian column seems the least likely. The architecture at the Temple of Apollo at Bassae strongly suggests worship occurring inn the adyton of the temple, and it seems likely it was at least one of these three epithets that was celebrated in one of the four positions in the adyton.</p>

Enhancing student scientific literacy through participation in citizen science focused on companion animal behavior

The Covid-19 pandemic served as the impetus to implement activities designed to engage students in the remote instructional environment while simultaneously developing scientific literacy skills. In a high enrollment general education animal science course, numerous activities were designed to improve scientific literacy. These included specifically developed videos covering strategies for reading published science literature, the utilization of topically relevant scientific articles that captured student interest, and engaging students in a citizen science exercise on whether dogs align themselves to the Earth’s magnetic field during excretion behavior. Employing pre- and post- self-perception surveys coupled with tasking students to apply their scientific literacy skills in an assessment scenario demonstrated that students’ self-perception of their scientific literacy improved 30% (p &lt; 0.05) with approximately 80% of students accurately applying their literacy skills. The citizen science study on excretory behavior was modeled on previously published findings thereby providing an opportunity to validate the published work which had indicated that dogs align their bodies in a North-South axis during excretion. The present study did not demonstrate preferential alignment to any geomagnetic orientation which emphasized to the students the need for scientific replication. Inclusion of simple activities that were relevant to students’ daily lives, and providing interpretive context for those activities, resulted in improved self-perceived scientific literacy.

The onset of the early Toarcian flooding of the Pliensbachian carbonate platform of Central Tunisia (North-South Axis) as inferred from trace fossils and geochemistry

The flooding of the Lower Jurassic shelf in the North Gondwana Palaeomargin during the early Toarcian occurred on a fragmented and irregular topography affected by differential subsidence—due to the activity of listric faults along the North-South Axis of Tunisia—that favoured lateral changes in facies and thickness at a kilometric scale. The onset of Toarcian sedimentation (Polymorphum ammonite Zone, NJT5c nannofossil Subzone) in two adjacent sections was characterised by the deposition of limestones under high-energy conditions. The Châabet El Attaris section was located in a depressed sub-basin, and recorded restricted environmental conditions owing to water stagnation and an oxygen-depleted sea-bottom. Therefore, dark mudstones developed, with increased TOC contents and enhanced accumulation of redox-sensitive elements. The sedimentation of limestones bearing gutter cast structures is related to gravity flows probably linked to storm activities. These processes favoured the remobilization of sediments at the sea floor, as well as oxygen input to bottom waters, as shown by the record of trace fossils including Zoophycos, Ophiomorpha, and secondarily, Chondrites and Diplocraterion. The thinly interbedded dark mudstones are locally rich in thin-shelled bivalves that re-colonised the sea bottom after the sedimentation of these high-energy deposits, and subsequently underwent mass mortality related to the return of oxygen-depleted conditions. The Kef El Hassine section is located in the upper part of a tilted, less subsident block, as indicated by its reduced thickness compared with the Châabet El Attaris section; the absence of dark mudstones implies oxic conditions. The Polymorphum Zone consists of limestones showing evidence of sedimentation under high-energy conditions, along with hardgrounds. The occurrence of Zoophycos (deep-tiers) in the upper part of some limestone beds of the Polymorphum Zone is linked to minor erosive processes. The top of the high-energy sequence—below the deposits of a marly interval corresponding to the Levisoni Zone—is interpreted as a hardground given the high content of belemnites and Arenicolites, some of them boring on the eroded Zoophycos and Thalassinoides. This study shows that the sedimentary expression of the Jenkyns Event is not uniform across Tunisia, supporting the importance of local conditions in determining the development of anoxic conditions.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5510162

DIVERSIFICATION OF GAS SUPPLIES AS A CORNERSTONE OF GAS SECURITY IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE THREE SEAS INITIATIVE

The article overviews approaches to the diversification of gas supplies in the framework of the Three Seas Initiative. The modern geopolitical situation in Eastern and Central Europe is characterized by transformation processes in the energy sector. Due to the implementation of decarbonization policy in the European Union and subsequent shift from coal as a main energy source, a need in alternative fuel sources, such as natural gas, emerges. Therefore, a significant increase in natural gas consumption is expected, which raises a number of issues, such as dependence on a single gas supplier and orientation of the EU’s gas transmission system in East-West direction only. This issue is crucial for Eastern and Central European states, due to the underdeveloped gas infrastructure in the region and heavy dependence on a single gas supplier, such as Russia or Turkey. Hence, the Three Seas Initiative is considered as a powerful tool, designed to develop energy, transport and digital infrastructure of the region in the North-South direction, where one of the most potentially promising projects within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative is represented by the development of gas infrastructure, aimed at solving the diversification of supplies in the gas market in Eastern and Central Europe. The implementation of developed gas infrastructure and diversification of gas supplies consists of several regional projects that are relevant for those countries in the region in which they are implemented in particular and for all member states of the Three Seas Initiative in general. The main purpose of the implementation of these projects is the creation of a unified natural gas transportation infrastructure in Eastern Europe along the North-South axis. The result of such a grand reorganization in the field of gas supplies to Europe will be an increase in the number of independent suppliers in the European gas market and a decrease in the dependence of the EU countries on gas supplies from Russia. In the article, the author traced in detail the tendency of the formation of energy infrastructure along the North-South axis with focus on the projects that are being implemented by each of the participating countries within the framework of the Three Seas Initiative. This approach allows to assess the scale and integrity of the gas transportation infrastructure, that is being created in the Eastern Europe region and its contribution to the common European energy security policy.

Acoustics of a Music Venue/Bar—A Case Study

A vacant unit, once used by a Portuguese Deli, was converted to a bar/music room in Toronto. The unit was divided into two spaces along its north-south axis. The western portion was designed as a music room that would provide a performance space from a solo artist to a Jazz combo to a small rock band. The eastern part was designed as a regular bar/dining area. The plan also called for a microbrewery unit at the back of the unit. The bar music can be loud, while the music room can be pianissimo to forte depending on the type of performance. The acoustical design aspects are critical for the music room. In addition, the acoustical separation between the two spaces is equally important. The music room/bar is currently in use. The design results are compared to actual field measurements. The results showed that the music venue performed satisfactorily. The acoustical separation between the music venue and the bar/restaurant was better than expected other than an installation deficiency of the south side sound lock doors. The background sound along the northern portion was NC-35 or less. However, the southern portion’s background sound exceeded NC-35 due to the hissing of the return air grille. The acoustical design and the performance results of the music venue-bar/restaurant are presented in this paper.

Acoustics of a Music Venue/Bar—A Case Study

A vacant unit, once used by a Portuguese Deli, was converted to a bar/music room in Toronto. The unit was divided into two spaces along its north-south axis. The western portion was designed as a music room that would provide a performance space from a solo artist to a Jazz combo to a small rock band. The eastern part was designed as a regular bar/dining area. The plan also called for a microbrewery unit at the back of the unit. The bar music can be loud, while the music room can be pianissimo to forte depending on the type of performance. The acoustical design aspects are critical for the music room. In addition, the acoustical separation between the two spaces is equally important. The music room/bar is currently in use. The design results are compared to actual field measurements. The results showed that the music venue performed satisfactorily. The acoustical separation between the music venue and the bar/restaurant was better than expected other than an installation deficiency of the south side sound lock doors. The background sound along the northern portion was NC-35 or less. However, the southern portion’s background sound exceeded NC-35 due to the hissing of the return air grille. The acoustical design and the performance results of the music venue-bar/restaurant are presented in this paper.

Turning preference in dogs: North attracts while south repels

It was shown earlier that dogs, when selecting between two dishes with snacks placed in front of them, left and right, prefer to turn either clockwise or counterclockwise or randomly in either direction. This preference (or non-preference) is individually consistent in all trials but it is biased in favor of north if they choose between dishes positioned north and east or north and west, a phenomenon denoted as “pull of the north”. Here, we replicated these experiments indoors, in magnetic coils, under natural magnetic field and under magnetic field shifted 90° clockwise. We demonstrate that "pull of the north" was present also in an environment without any outdoor cues and that the magnetic (and not topographic) north exerted the effect. The detailed analysis shows that the phenomenon involves also "repulsion of the south". The clockwise turning preference in the right-preferring dogs is more pronounced in the S-W combination, while the counterclockwise turning preference in the left-preferring dogs is pronounced in the S-E combination. In this way, south-placed dishes are less frequently chosen than would be expected, while the north-placed dishes are apparently more preferred. Turning preference did not correlate with the motoric paw laterality (Kong test). Given that the choice of a dish is visually guided, we postulate that the turning preference was determined by the dominant eye, so that a dominant right eye resulted in clockwise, and a dominant left eye in counterclockwise turning. Assuming further that magnetoreception in canines is based on the radical-pair mechanism, a "conflict of interests" may be expected, if the dominant eye guides turning away from north, yet the contralateral eye "sees the north", which generally acts attractive, provoking body alignment along the north-south axis.

Contemporary Icarus: Gustav von Aschenbach’s Journey towards the Sun

The point of departure for the reflections contained in this article is the motif of the sun in Tomasz Mann’s Death in Venice. Analysing the presence of the sun in the work turns out to be fruitful for distinguishing and connecting several symbolic planes, on which the issues of Death in Venice and the drama of the main character are depicted: the relationship between contemporary times and antiquity, the cultural North-South axis, the destructive power of beauty as well as the individual fate of the artist marked by decadence. The figure of the sun seems to provide material for the interpretation of the figure of Gustav von Aschenbach as an incarnation of contemporary Icarus and allows the reader to see the path which the protagonist of Death in Venice follows in a new light.

Peacemaking in Darfur and the Doha Process

This chapter provides a practitioner’s perspective on the negotiations leading to the 2011 Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and its aftermath. It explains how international actors constrained peace in Darfur by framing Sudan’s conflicts on a north/south axis; by repeating past mistakes in mediation; and by focusing too much on clashes between government and rebel forces when the main threat to civilians came increasingly from government forces and proxy militias. It argues that international actors often pursued approaches that were at odds with each other and should have put more weight behind democratisation. It shows how the Bashir regime used the DDPD to provide cover for its pursuit of a military solution and manipulated implementation to strengthen its grip in Darfur. It also shows how some lessons from past experience are still valid as a new phase in Sudan’s peace process gets underway.