tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post862869492226084074..comments2024-02-26T00:59:26.907-08:00Comments on Ana the Imp: Civilization and Death, exploring the Halls of MontezumaAnastasia F-Bhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-77163626991326606442009-10-05T16:32:54.821-07:002009-10-05T16:32:54.821-07:00You do wonders for my ego. :-)You do wonders for my ego. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-81367218886639508692009-10-04T17:26:12.598-07:002009-10-04T17:26:12.598-07:00Yes, this blog more than enough makes up for what ...Yes, this blog more than enough makes up for what you missed at the exhibition.Rehan Qayoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02391797858691917631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-10448588933711397902009-10-04T16:18:28.046-07:002009-10-04T16:18:28.046-07:00No, I missed that Rehan. I would have been away a...No, I missed that Rehan. I would have been away at school at that time. But I did see lots of wonderful things in Mexico itself in my gap year.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-87833922641447106562009-10-04T16:05:08.455-07:002009-10-04T16:05:08.455-07:00I wonder if you saw the unique Aztecs cultural exh...I wonder if you saw the unique Aztecs cultural exhibition at the Royal Academy in 2003. I had to queue outside for about half an hour. The Aztecs created the one of the most impressive civilizations in the space of a mere 2 centuries - (1325 - 1521). Among the fascinating artefacts on display wre those made from turqoise, gold and jade as well as those giant stone sculptures so reminiscent of their culture. Some of the exhibits were shown outside Mexico for the first time and included some never displayed before.Rehan Qayoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02391797858691917631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-67225207287567286972009-10-01T16:34:05.858-07:002009-10-01T16:34:05.858-07:00Carthage, yes. I discovered the real horror behin...Carthage, yes. I discovered the real horror behind the Moloch cult when I read Flaubert's <i>Salambo</i>. Yes, Jamie, blood and the cycles of life lie at the root of the religious impluse itself. Even Roman gladiatorial contests originally served a sacred purpose. With the Aztecs it took on a completely self-destructive form. I know of earlier Mesoamerican civilizations that quite literally drowned in blood, destroyed by the pollution that the death cult occasioned. <br /><br />Your last para has really given me cause to think. Thank you so much for your wonderful contributions. :-)Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413130168723738166.post-18641882445442637082009-10-01T03:01:46.927-07:002009-10-01T03:01:46.927-07:00Yes, mankind is deeply flawed, Ana, and thoughts o...Yes, mankind is deeply flawed, Ana, and thoughts of death are never far away. And yet the concept of sacrifice seems to have originated from honourable motives ; for it is the giving back in gratitude of a portion of that which has been received. Life is a given, so some life has to be given back. Our early ancestors realized that, as human life has been given, so human life has to be sacrificed.<br /><br />The more advanced civilisations have sublimated the urge to make human sacrifices ; thus Jews and Moslems have the ritual blood sacrifice in the killing of animals for food, while people sacrifice only their material comforts ; while, for Christians, the blood sacrifice is a symbolic one (though no less real for that). These sublimations reflect our growing understanding of the nature of life and love.<br /><br />The Aztecs never seemed to get around to sublimating their urge to blood sacrifice ; indeed, they seem to have perverted it. One suspects that they gloried in the gore. The Carthaginians (bless you, Hannibal!) sacrificed living children to an interesting extent - which horrified even the Romans).<br /><br />Many people in Britain today have all but abandoned their traditional religion. They seem nowadays to have embraced an obsessive interest in their own bodies and its material comforts ; a kind of body-worship, perhaps ; an aspect of paganism.<br /><br />Is it to be wondered that the urge to blood-sacrifice has taken on a new form? Two hundred thousand abortions a year is a giving back to be reckoned with ! Of the fruits of love, modern pagans sacrifice about one-third to Eros in gratitude for pleasures received. But who knows? one day they might feel a desire to sublimate their urges.JMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05770347372942866924noreply@blogger.com