|
| Andhra Pradesh ~ India ~ International ~ City ~ Entertainment ~ Business ~ Sports ~ Technology ~ Health ~ Features |
| Twitter ~ Facebook |
|
Home
/ Technology News / 2009 / November 2009 / November 23, 2009 |
Older siblings of autistics tend to develop hyperactivity
How brain hears the sound of silence
Solar winds blow away Martian atmosphere
Pterodactyls hung out with birds in prehistoric Japan
Soon, spy in the sky to follow a car
An American defence research agency is developing a radar system, which will monitor vehicular movement across a city using a few uncrewed aircraft. ANI
Animal population grows in the Arctic
The overall number of animals in the Arctic has increased over the past 40 years, says a new study. ANI
An extra hour of sleep can boost pupils exam results
A comprehensive school in the UK is giving pupils an extra hour in bed in the hope that it will boost their concentration levels. ANI
A new research has indicated that the ancient Greeks deliberately built their temples to face the rising Sun, which suggests that they were inclined towards the worship of the sun.
London, November 23 : A new research has indicated that the ancient Greeks deliberately built their temples to face the rising Sun, which suggests that they were inclined towards the worship of the sun.
According to a report in the Times, an investigation into temples built by Greek colonists in Sicily has found strong evidence that they were aligned to the East.
The findings, by Alun Salt, of the University of Leicester, UK, suggest that Ancient Greek religion may have included ritual elements inspired by astronomy, as well as illuminating the national culture of settlers who founded communities beyond the mainland. he study could settle a long-running dispute among archaeologists and classicists about temple orientation.
Although it has long been known that most of these shrines face east, some academics have questioned whether this alignment reflected a deliberate plan.
Critics of astronomical theories have pointed out that some temples face north, south or west, and argue that their orientation was not important to the Greeks.
Dr Salt's research, however, indicates that the predominant east-west alignment is almost impossible to explain by chance, and probably followed a religious convention founded on astronomy.
Temples laid out in accordance with astronomical phenomena could have highlighted the role of gods and goddesses as arbiters of nature, or helped priests to interpret celestial omens.
They could also have helped in observations needed to calibrate the religious calendar.
In the study, Dr Salt found that 40 of 41 temples that he analysed in Sicily were oriented towards the eastern horizon.
A statistical analysis all but eliminated the possibility that this was due to chance.
Dr Salt also examined data for Greece, collected by Gregory Retallack, of the University of Oregon.
Though there were more exceptions, he again found a highly significant bias towards east-facing layouts.
Dr Salt said that while the reasons for this preferred layout have still to be established, he suspects that astronomical factors played a significant part.
"It may have had something to do with the priest looking into the sky for omens," he said.
"There is also evidence that astronomy was important to the relgious calendar, and there was probably a practical purpose too. A temple that faces the sunrise would be well-lit at dawn, so the priest would not be working in the shadows," he added.
ANI
