~The Book Of Wonder Encyclopaedia~
~J~
What could be better than home made jam spread thickly onto a slice of still warm fresh bread? [See 'Bread Making']
For produce from your garden, collected from the hedgerows, and even the local supermarket, these pages will provide a comprehensive guide and recipes for jams, marmalades and chutneys.
Jupiter - Jove - Zeus
Broken into syllables - 'Ju' - from the same root as the Greek 'Zeus', and 'piter' as in 'pater' or 'father' - the literal meaning of Jupiter is 'Zeus the Father'. With the Greek counterparts in brackets - his father was Saturn [Kronos] and his mother was Ops [Rhea], he was also the brother and husband of Juno [Hera], the chief goddess.
Jupiter was the chief of the gods, protector and 'father' of gods and men, controller of justice, director of seasons, weather, agriculture and the course of nature. As a ruler he is depicted sitting on a throne holding a sceptre and an orb; as a controller he is shown as riding in his thunder chariot carrying a shield in one hand and hurling thunderbolts and lightning with the other. His sacred symbols were the oak, the eagle and the mountain peaks.
Jupiter, so the story goes, banished his parents and the older generations of the Titans and took over the world of the gods. His palace on Mount Olympus was where the gods held council and directed the worlds of the gods and of men.
One of the Seven Wonders of the World was a massive statue, by the C5th B.C. sculptor Pheidias, erected at the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline, one of the seven hills of Rome. A 60 feet [approx 18 metres] high majestic structure in gold and ivory which unfortunately no longer exists and can only be imagined from pictures on coins from that era which are said to depict the original statue.
In early times his cult was associated with that of Mars and Quirinus. Later he was especially worshipped, along with Juno and Minerva in the great Capitoline temple, where the gods and goddesses had altars dedicated to them.
Many splendid and elaborate feasts, e.g. the Capitoline Games and the Plebeian Games, were celebrated in Jupiter's honour.
Temples to the gods were built in many places, The Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek having an enigma attached to it that is still unresolved, although many theories and protestations have been put forward. Can you add to the theories?
