Allison Bruning's Blog, page 62

Ancient Greece: Home of the Ancient Olympics

History of the Olympics

[image error] Michael Phelps in 2008
by marcopako 's photostream @ http://www.fotopedia.com/items/flickr...

The past week and a half has been a fun filled time for everyone all across the globe as thousands of people have descended upon London, England for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. I, like most people in the world, have been watching from my television or keeping tuned in via the internet. Isn't it wonderful how various cultures from all around the world can peacefully join together in one place and cheer on their nation for the race to win the gold? As I contemplate the Olympic spirit while rooting for the United States to bring home the gold (as I write this we are in second place for the most medals with Great Britain in third) I think about how the Olympics all began. The untold stories, the meaning behind the symbols and what stories are yet to be told. 

Where did it all begin?
The first historical documentation we have for the Olympic Games traces to ancient Greece during 776B.C., yet it is believed the Greeks had been conducting them longer than that. Greek legends tell us that it was Hercules who started the first Olympic Games. The poet Pindar wrote:


[image error] Hercules by Jasmine Ramig
@http://www.flickr.com/photos/theleftf... The Olympic Games  The Strong son of Zeus' drove the whole of his host  And all his booty to Pisa,  And measured a holy place  For his mighty Father.  He fenced the Altis and marked it off  In a clean space, and the ground encircling it  He set for rest at supper  In honour of the ford of Alpheos  And the twelve Kings of the Gods.  To Kronos' Hill he gave a name: for before  It was nameless when Oenomaos ruled,  And drenched with many a snowstorm.  In this first birthday-rite  The Fates stood near at hand,  And he who alone proves the very truth,  Time. In his forward march  He has revealed all clearly:  How Hercules portioned the booty, war gift,  Made sacrifice and founded  The fourth year's feast  With the first Olympiad  And the winning of victories.  Pindar c. 518 - 438 BC



Ancient Athletes
 The ancient olympics served as a major religious event that brought several Greek city states together in order to please Zeus, the leader of the Olympian Gods. Every Greek city-state was invited to attend the festivities. The Greeks had colonies that reached from Spain, Italy, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine, and Turkey. People would travel from all over to the plains of Olympia to participate and watch. Unlike our modern day Olympics, there were restrictions on who could participate as an athlete. Only athletes who had been born a Greek could participate. It would be just like saying today, only English born athletes could participate because England is the host. Just as today, the athletes who did participate in the events were often admired by the public. You can read some of the ancient athletes stories here: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Olympics/milo.html The ancient sports included Boxing, Equestrian events (chariot riding and riding), Pankration (a combination of wrestling and boxing), Running and Wrestling. The Summer 2012 Olympics in London has 302 events in 26 sports! What a vast difference!

[image error] Ancient Greece Vase by Patrick Hoesly
@http://www.flickr.com/photos/zooboing... all Greek boys are trained in athletics the games were open to any Greek males to participate. Married women were not allowed to participate nor watch the games. Unmarried women were allowed to watch the games but not allowed to participate.  Unmarried women were allowed to participate in the Herean Games. These games were conducted in honor of Hera, Zeus wife, and were staged every four years.
Some Olympic athletes trained vigorously for the games while other did not. The games held several preliminary matches or heats to determine which athletes were the best. The qualifying athletes would then compete in the semi finals and finals. Today's Olympics follow the same procedure. At the end of the finals, the athlete who won was immediately announced by the Hellanodikis, a Greek judge who would place a palm leave in the athlete's hand. The spectators would cheer and shower the athlete with flowers. To show him victorious, a red ribbon was tied around his head and hands. On the last day of the games, all the victorious athletes would be escorted to the temple of Zeus. There, the Hellanodikis would announce the name of the athlete, his father and his hometown. Afterwards he would place the infamous wreath of olive leaves upon the athletes head. The wreath was considered sacred.  The celebrations did not end there for the athlete. Once he arrived back to home, his hometown would often reward him as well. His town might make a statue of him. They would also award him with a lifetime supply of food, money, tax breaks, honorary appointments or leadership appointments. He would become the hero of his village.


Next time we will continue our study into the history of the ancient olympics as we explore the Olympic Spirit.


What is your favorite Olympic sport to watch?

Who is your favorite athlete?

If you could go to any Olympic city where would you go?

#BlogFlash2012: God's Masterpiece

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Blog Flash #7
 "Sunset"



Dripping colors of blue, purples, yellow and orange escape from God’s paintbrushBack and forthHe strokes his brushGranting his beloved children another unique masterpiece of color.  Everyday, the sky above me tells a new storyNever the same.How I long to see what he has created for his children today. I am in wonder and awe at the Master Artist. Oh, what creativity!Oh what splendors he creates!With a sky that seems to go on forever, His canvas so wide He does not disappoint.Peace and serenity envelope me.As I wait and watch his beautiful painting.
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#PhotoADayAug: Historical Fiction Author

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August 6, 2012 "Writing"
There is a difference between someone who writes as a hobby than someone who writes for a living. I have a passion for writing. I took my passion and made it into a career. Yet I still find some people don't quite understand that its a career and not a hobby. Creative Writing is an art form. It takes practice to perfect and find your voice. I created this in response to the people in my life who told me to quit my writing and get a real job. 
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BlogFlash 2012/6: A Good Writer Is A Good Reader

[image error] [image error] August 6, 2012
You Have To Read If You Want To Succeed!


If I could give one piece of advice to any author, other than to never give up on chasing their dreams, I would have to say "You cannot succeed if you don't read." Why? Every genre had it’s own literary flow. A historical fiction isn’t going to read like a romance book and vice versa, for example. If you are going to write in any genre you need to read books from that genre. By reading both books in the genre you are writing in, you will start to find your own voice. That is how authors are made.  

#PhotoADayAug: Logo

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Photo A DayAugust 5, 2012
"Logo"
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I took a photo of my logo and my book for today's entry. Calico is available at http://amzn.to/JSNRpm

A haunting prophecy has been cast against her. In a harsh world deep within the western American territories of Ohio and Kentucky, French Duchess Calico Marie Turner must learn to survive among the Shawnee and to trust the one man who hates her the most, Chief Little Owl Quick as the Wind.
Calico’s story will immerse you deeply into the world of the frontier Shawnee, where you will find characters at once surreal and totally believable. Bruning’s knowledge of Native American and colonial era language is captivating to read. Her understanding of the period clothing, habits, and lifestyle is evident as she weaves a tale that draws you in from the first chapter and leaves you hungry for more.

If you like my photographs, please do not reuse them unless you give me credit for them where ever you are posting them. Let me know where you are using them as well. I just love to see where my pictures end up.  Thanks, Allison

#PhotoADayAug College Chair

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August 4, 2012"Something You Sat On"
This is the chair where I do all my writing, my school work and anything else that needs to be done. The books on the side are my book for graduate school. I'm studying to get my Master of Fine Arts in Entertainment at Full Sail University. I am also an author. My chair sits at a round table. I love round tables because everyone is equal. 
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If you like my photographs, please do not reuse them unless you give me credit for them where ever you are posting them. Let me know where you are using them as well. I just love to see where my pictures end up.  Thanks, Allison

BlogFlash 2012/5: Aspergers

August 5, 2012 Aspergers

[image error] Frustrated,Confused,I walk in a world,Oblivious to the social cues,Most people see.
My spatial, literacy intelligence superbYet mathematical and logic lost?Daily frustrated by those who don’t understand.
“Stop playing games. You just want attention,”The teachers and professionals claim.
Oh, how I want people to understand me.I’m alone in a world that doesn’t understand.
Am I naïve?Am I dumb?How can I live in a world when nothing makes sense?
Relationships gained, relationships gone.Problems at work, People’s feeling hurtYet I don’t understand why.

BlogFlash 2012/4: I Am A Rebel!

August 4, 2012 I Am A Rebel
I am a rebel
I'll freely admit
[image error] [image error] I don’t understand why society tells me to be the leader of my family.
Now, I’m not saying a woman shouldn’t work,It’s all about priorities.  This world just doesn't understandHow natural it can beFor a woman to take careOf her husband, home and family  America today wantsWomen to be superherosRun here, do this, and don't forget thatFeed the kids, clean the houseAnd don’t forget your job.Why can’t I be the woman who can balance both?Family comes first.My husband and I are a team. [image error] My husband and I with a Nascar driver
at the Carrollton Nascar Festival July 2012

Sequoyah: The Artisan?

Sequoyah: The Artisan [image error] Sequoyah Statue at NSHC
 US public domainThe last time we visited upon Sequoyah we learned he was very close to his mother, who raised him without a father figure and was an affluent native trader. Wut-teh was a wonderful mother who deeply cared for her son. After her death in the beginning of the 19th century, Sequoyah had a hard time dealing with his mother's death and soon began to drown his sorrows with alcohol. He neglected his farm and the trade business, all of which he had inherited from his mother. Sequoyah had more days he was drunk than sober. When he ran out of money to buy alcohol in large quantities he began to plead with his friends for their aide.  He lead such a reckless life many of his friends began to call him "drunken Sequoyah." One by one his friends abandoned him. After awhile, Sequoyah began to realize the destructive path he was creating for his own life. He made the decision to no longer live the life of an alcoholic. Sequoyah was able to do this by taking up a new interest, blacksmithing.
Sequoyah had noticed as the white settlers moved closer to the lands in which his people lived, there were new iron implements being introduced in the trade markets. Eating utensils, hammers, tongs, and other objects made of iron would eventually break. Like other native groups who didn't have the white man's technology, his people would have to depend upon the European traders to provide and repair the new objects. Sequoyah began to think, "Why couldn't the Cherokee learn to create and repair these implements themselves? Why should the Cherokee have to depend upon the white man for something they could do for themselves if they had the right equipment and the knowledge?" Sequoyah quickly abandoned his alcoholism in order to bring the art of blacksmithing to his people. He built his own bellows, forge fires, hammers, tongs, and drills. His reputation as a drunkard was soon replaced with a reputation of a superb blacksmith. People came from all over just to buy the arrows, knives, hoes and other implements he made.  His trade house soon became not only a place to trade but a gathering place for the Cherokee people. He stopped selling alcohol and greatly encouraged the Cherokee to never allow it into their population. Sequoyah's efforts were affluent in the passing of the first prohibition law ever created in the United States, which was not done by the United States but by the Cherokee. While he was blacksmithing he also built up his trade business. Sequoyah would travel far and wide to trade furs he would bring back to his own trade house. In his travels, he often encountered several white people.
[image error] The Blacksmith by Capt' Gorgeous
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_salt...
After he perfected his blacksmithing skills, Sequoyah began to notice his people were sill dependent upon the white traders. The Cherokee were found of the silver ornaments such as arm-bands, broaches, and bracelets. If he could become a blacksmith then why couldn't he become a silversmith, too? Once again, Sequoyah's brilliant mind went to work. He taught himself silversmithing. His reputation soon spread even farther. He not only crafted silver ornaments but also combined his blacksmithing and silversmithing together by creating bridles and other pieces with silver laced in them. People came from all around to buy his silver laced bridles and bits. As he traded with the white man, he began to realize his blacksmithing and silversmithing was an art form. He was selling his art without having his mark on them! He sought out one of his friends to help him, a half-blooded Cherokee chief known as Charles Hicks. Since Charles knew how to write in English, Sequoyah asked him to teach him how to write his name. Charles agreed. Instead of writing the name Sequoyah, Charles wrote Sequoyah's white name and misspelled the last name, simply writing George Guess and not Gist. Sequoyah thank his friend, took the written form and made a die cast of the name. Every piece Sequoyah made in his blacksmithing and silversmithing since then have had the name GEORGE GUESS stamped to it. Who would have known a piece from the same time period with that name upon it would have been made by  Sequoyah's hands? The Father of the Cherokee language.

What is your favorite hobby?

Do you see Sequoyah as a good role model for the young?

Who is someone from the past that you would like to know more about?

Join me next time as we learn how Sequoyah went from artist to creating a written language.

BlogFlash2012/3: Colors Set The Mood.

August 3, 2012Colors Set The Mood
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Did you know you can alter your mood just by the color you wear? It’s called Color Psychology. Color Psychology isn't just limited to the color of the clothes we wear. It can also be applied to your own home by painting the walls of any room to acquire the feel you want to generate. Don't believe me? Try it. Hospitals have begun to use color psychology and it is working. Interior decorators have been using color psychology for years. Here’s a link that tell you more about the effects different colors have on our moods. http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/colors-and-mood-how-the-colors-you-wear-affect-you/