Cetus from Troia

This title will focus on Cetus, a kind of aquatic and reptilian Trojan hybrid monster or beast. In the name of this monster in different publications; It can be found in different spellings as Cetus, Cetos, Ketos. There are depictions of Cetus in ancient ceramic paintings. I think that Cetus, whose mythological story is quite interesting, is an indispensable creature for the ancient Troad geography. Therefore, Cetus was chosen as the inspiration for this study.

Different imaginary beings associated with different cities are known in the ancient Troas geography. While this information is sometimes depicted on city coins, they sometimes appear on a marble relief or sculpture. We often encounter these beings in ceramic vase paintings. Creatures, monsters or whatever we call them, they are all considered fictional. However, the statement that "all legends have an element of truth." is not an exception for Cetus, whom I am talking about. Because a prehistoric fossil found near ancient Troia in the recent past is interesting with features that can be associated with Cetus.

Although paleontology is a modern science, it should not be difficult to guess that ancient people also encountered fossils and were interested in fossils and even formed myths about these fossils. It is as uncertain as not being able to say that an ancient Trojan might have encountered a fossil that could also be associated with Cetus, and that the legends about this fossil constitute the Cetus mythology. This uncertainty has reached the present day by being transmitted through generations as the riches that people put forth by forcing their imaginations. At least that's my opinion. In the continuation of the article, I will try to explain how I worked in creating my own Cetus design, in parallel with the use of local data as a source of inspiration, by focusing on a few examples of Cetus that have survived to the present day.

Cetus, Fatih Karagül, 2023, CGD, AI, NFT

PEGASUS From SKEPSIS

The remains of the ancient city of Skepsis, located in the Bayramiç district of Çanakkale, have come to light today with the withdrawal of the Bayramiç Dam waters. This settlement is a place that has been known for a long time in history and important results have been obtained especially with the excavations carried out by names such as H. Schliemann and F. Calvert. History of Skepsis dating back to the 6th century BC. It is known that it gained importance in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. More importantly, the mythological entity Pegasus, featured on the coins used in this ancient city, draws attention with the mythological richness of other ancient cities in the region. With the example of Pegasus, the city of Skepsis is an important example of hybrid imaginary beings encountered in ancient city coins or mythologies of the Troas region. The depictions of cetus and drake in Troia, griffin in Assos, capricorn in Parion, Gorgon depictions in Abydos and Dardanus reveal the mythological richness of the city of Çanakkale located in the Ancient Troas region. In this article, the effects of ancient ceramic materials on modern society will be discussed, especially through the example of Pegasus.

Skepsis coin with Pegasus, 400-200 BC. Bronze. Source:

Pegasus of Skepsis, Fatih Karagül, 2023, CGD, AI, NFT

Source:

-https://www.coinarchives.com/a/results.php?results=100&search=Skepsis

ANCIENT ANATOLIAN HERBS

Hyssopus officinalis (hyssop, zupu, zufa, çördük) is a versatile pediatric herb. It is known that it has been used for treatment in Anatolia since prehistoric times. It has been used as a raw material for different compositions in healing from the Hittite Empire to the Western Roman Empire (Yurdakök, 2005: 94). This plant, which is referred to as "Zupu" in Hittite texts, was used both in sacrificial rituals and in the manufacture of pickles as a scent and flavoring agent (Baytop, 2007: 77). An Anatolian Roman citizen, Dioscorides from Cilicia, noted that the best hyssop wine is made with Cilicia hyssop, so three ounces of hyssop should be added to one and a half gallons of wine (Dioscorides, 2000:769). This wine is good for pneumonia, asthma, cough, mucus and shortness of breath, removes bruises, removes edema in the spleen, is a laxative and kills worms, is an excellent mouthwash, relieves toothache, when the smoke is inhaled, it is good for ringing in the ears. (Dioscorides, 2000:399; Canevello, 2013:227). Even in the Torah, how to use this plant in the explanation of a ritual is explained in detail (Torah, Numbers, 19/1-10; Köse, 2014: 25).

As can be seen, the characteristics of this local plant originating from Cilicia combined with both Anatolian flora and geography, and affected fields such as mythology and medicine. It seemed a great negligence not to use an ordinary and even insignificant plant, which lays the foundation of such a great wealth, as a source of inspiration in designs. That's exactly why I decided to use the hyssop plant in a card game design based on Anatolian mythology and came up with a design. The image of the hyssop plant used in this card was created entirely with CGD. As a template, Magic the Gathering the ready-made design of the Wizards company was chosen for trial non-commercial purposes. This card, which I call "Giszupu Growth", is designed with a combination that can be very effective when used with Typhon, one of the most important characters from the mythology of Cilicia. In the naming of the card, the Hittite language was chosen and a direct link was tried to be established with the ancient roots of the plant. The support of our important artist friends was realized in the illustration of the cards related to Typhon to be used in the game. The design of the game mechanics is still ongoing. We believe that when the studies are completed, we will have provided a new opening in the name of Anatolian mythology.

Giszupu Growth design by Fatih Karagül

References:

Canevello, S.A. (2013)."Erken Hıristıyanlık Döneminde Cilicialı Şifavericiler: Dioscorides, Cosmas ve Damianus" Selevcıa Ad Calycadnvm III 227

Dioscorides (2000). "De Materia Medica" Ibidis Press

Köse, T. (2014), "Hac Suresi 28-37. Ayetler Çerçevesinde Kurban" Erciyes Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Yyaımlanmamış Y.Lisans tezi

Ünar, Ş. (2018). “Hitit Metinlerinde Geçen Bazı Çiçekler, Otsu Bitkiler Ve Kullanım Alanları”, International Social Sciences Studies Journal, 4(28)

Yurdakök, M. (2005). "Bizanslılarda pediatri" Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Dergisi

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