Chosroes-Nushirvan:

(496-579) aka Khosrow I, Chosroes I, Kisrā, Anushiruwān ("the immortal soul"), Anushiruwan the Just.  King of Kings of the Sasanian Empire of Persia (ruled 531-79), a celebrated emperor.  He laid the foundations of many cities and opulent palaces, oversaw the repair of trade roads building of numerous bridges & dams. He fought Roman-Byzantine Empire in a continuation of the long lasting Roman-Persian conflict, namely the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–91.  His army (discipline wise) was superior to the Byzantines & was well paid.  He also fought the Lazic War for control of Colchis (W. Georgia-Abkhazia).  Art and science flourished under him.  He was interested in literature & the books of Kalilah & Dimnah were translated during his reign.  He took interest in philosophy & under his rule chess was introduced from India.  He introduced a rational system of taxation (based on a survey of landed possessions) & worked to increase the welfare & revenues of his empire which reached its peak of glory and prosperity in his lifetime.

 

Arabesque:

see Chapter IV page 128

 

angular pillars (pyramid temple Chephren/Khafre): * see Endnote <A>

Khafre mortuary complex, Valley Temples, located 500 meters from the Pyramid of Khafre and in close proximity to the Great Sphinx. 

and see page 202

 

plant columns (pyramid of Sahu-re): * see Endnotes <B>

aka Pyramid of Sahure; first pyramid built in the necropolis of Abusir, Egypt, constructed for the burial of Sahure, 2nd pharaoh, 5th dynasty (2480 BC); part of a larger mortuary complex comprising a temple on the shores of Abusir lake, a causeway from this temple to the high temple located against the main pyramid & a separate cult pyramid for the Ka of the king. 

 

pylon: * see Endnote<C>

Greek term for a monumental gateway of an Egyptian temple, consisting of 2 tapering towers, each surmounted by a cornice, joined by a less elevated section which enclosed the entrance between them, the entrance about half the height of the towers.  Contemporary paintings of pylons show them with long poles flying banners.

 

yin-pi (Spirit Wall):

aka spirit screen or screen wall, used to shield an entrance gate in traditional Chinese architecture, positioned either on the outside or inside of the gate;; date from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046–771 BC) when they were a privilege reserved for palaces & the mansions of noblemen such as dukes or princes.  Either solitary structures or attached to a neighbouring wall, they use a variety of materials (brick, wood, stone, glazed tile).  Outer spirit screens were status symbols & richly decorated (symbols of good luck & particularly a dragon motif, famous are the 9-Dragon Walls of imperial palaces & gardens).  Tied to the belief that evil spirits cannot move around corners, the spirit screen blocks them; practically they allow natural light & air circulation to enter a room, while obstructing vision, a solution allowing privacy & cooling.

 

Tao of life’s path:

see Chapter V, page 165

see Chapter I, page 14

 

Hwang Ho: * see Endnote<D>

aka Yellow River; 2nd longest river in Asia, the 6th longest river system in the world, estimated length of 5,464 km; Its basin was the birthplace of Chinese civilization & it was the most prosperous region in early Chinese history.  Because of frequent devastating floods & course changes produced by the continual elevation of the river bed, sometimes above the level of its surrounding farm fields, it is also regarded as China's Sorrow and Scourge of the Han People.

 

Chinese garden architecture: see Endnote <E>

landscape garden style evolved over 3000 years, its history goes back to  the garden architecture of the Shang & Zhou dynasties (16th century BC to 221 BC).  During that period Chinese kings & nobilities began developing forests & woods for the purpose of hunting.  In some cases these areas of forests and woods, covered hundreds of square km.  Between 206-20 BC, the Han Dynasty added living quarters & animals that were raised which became the rudiments of Chinese garden architecture.  The traditional Chinese Garden architecture which has survived dates to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).   The construction of beautiful architecture evolved into man-made hills, pools & fountains & as time went on, as craftsman became more accomplished, this man-made beauty successfully blended with the beauty of the natural environment.

 

islands & promontories of Aegean: * see Endnote<F> 

 

broad plains of Franconia, Saxon & Burgundy (map): * see Endnotes<G>

see map

​

Shakespeare (conflict of will and world):

Conflict takes innumerable forms in Shakespeare’s plays; several plays tell the story of rivals in love or war; others of quarrels in families, brother against brother, parent against child or between families. There are international conflicts (wars against foreign people), domestic conflicts (civil wars).  There is conflict between the generations; between different philosophies & ideologies; class conflict; racial conflict; at the heart of it all, conflict between light and darkness, good and evil.  As well it is not only an external thing but also a process within an individual.  Macbeth & Hamlet both face internal drama, in their minds: there are choices to be made & the conflict is between those choices. The question is always, what to do.  As the action of the play progresses the inner conflict becomes more intense.  At the same time the various conflicts in the action continue: for example, the thanes moving against Macbeth in rebellion, and the plotting against Hamlet’s life.

 

Attic tragedy (relief & recovery):

Catharsis was a term originally used by Aristotle in Poetics (335 BC), to describe the effect of tragedy on the audience.  He compares the effects of tragedy on a spectator’s mind to the effect of a cathartic on the body.  It is the purification & purgation of emotions, particularly pity & fear, through any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal & restoration.  Often discussed with Aristotle's concept of anagnorisis, the moment when a character makes a critical discovery.  It originally meant recognition in its Greek context, not only of a person but also of what that person stood for.  It is the hero's sudden awareness of a real situation, the realisation of things as they stood, and finally, the hero's insight into a relationship with an often antagonistic character.

 

mien:

air, bearing, or demeanour, as showing character or feeling

 

Odysseus…Achilles (enduring):

Both heroes of Homer, in the Iliad & Odyssey.  Odysseus must endure the 10 year Trojan War & then another 10 years getting home, shipwrecked, lost but he never gives up.  He finally arrives, kills the suiters & re-unites with Penelope.  Achilles knows he is fated to die if he goes to Troy; he goes anyway & endures his fate; he must endure the insults of Agamemnon and the loss of his lover Briseis and finally he must endure the death of his lover Patroclus.

 

Cynics:

see Chapter I, page 45

 

Stoics:

see Chapter I, pages, 9, 36

see Chapter III, page 111

see Chapter IV, page 138

 

Epicurus:

341-270 BC, Greek philosopher, founded Epicurean school of philosophy; few of his works survive, most of our knowledge is 2nd hand.  For him the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life, peace & freedom from fear, and the absence of pain and by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.  The root of all human neurosis was death denial & its corollary that death will be horrific & painful (leading to anxiety, selfish self-protective behaviours).  As it is the end of both body & soul should not be feared.  The gods neither reward nor punish; the universe is infinite & eternal; natural phenomenon are the result of atoms moving and interacting in empty space.

and see Chapter I, page 45