From my History of Architecture Notes - Greek & Roman Gods

Recently, I was digging my book shelves for some old reference books when I found my notes from college days. It dates back from the year -1998 when I was pursuing my studies in Architecture. The notes includes timelines, sketches, brief writings on architectural styles from the past. I had made some of these notes during our live sessions with our professor who taught us History of Architecture, but most of them were made later when I would spend a few hours at our college library making notes from the book 'History of Architecture' by Sir Bannister Fletcher. 

I thought this was an interesting find, so I took the liberty to post some of these notes while I have some time in hand, hoping that it will help somebody out there who is searching for some information on History of Architecture. 

This post includes a brief on Greek and Roman Gods, for these revered figures were represented in the major architectural buildings in that era.  

I thought this was an interesting find and may help those of you who are looking for some information on Greek and Roman Figures and their influence on Architectural buildings.

Cover page of my History of Architecture Notes

The Greeks consecrated temples for these major Gods focusing on the exterior beauty rather than on the interiors. While the Romans followed and built temples for Gods too, they also began to build structures for their citizens including gathering areas like amphitheatres, bathhouses, etc. and utilitarian structures like bridges, aqueducts, roads, etc. 

Below is a snapshot from my notes on the Greek and Roman Gods. The twelve olympians include: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena, Poseidon, Dionysos, Demeter, Artemis, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares.

From my Notes - Greek and Roman Gods

For those of you who find my handwriting illegible, here's an updated list of the same.

List of Greek & Roman Gods

The list may not be comprehensive, and may have excluded some revered figures. If you find more you can add to the list. 

I hope to post more from my notes and I hope that this will be useful for those aspiring students of architecture and for anyone who wants to learn about history of architecture.

Thank you for stopping by...

Have a good day!

Paint Mandalas for Healing

What are Mandalas?

People have got really creative during the past year of the pandemic and have used their time creatively. And I can say that as I have scrolled down pages of creative posts and various art portals day after day during the past one year. What I found commonly in all the posts were beautiful hand painted intricate mandalas posted not just by adults but by children too. This made me wonder why was it so popular and I decided to give it a try myself. I have drawn mandalas in the past too, but this time it was different-it was for a purpose!

I did a little study about the mandalas and here's a little brief about them. 

In Sanskrit, mandala meaning 'circle' is a geometric design that holds symbolic value in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. In their basic forms, mandalas are circles contained within a square and arranged into sections that are all organised around a single central point. 

In Hinduism, the belief is that by entering the mandala you are guided through the cosmic process of altering sufferings into joy and happiness. Similarly, in every culture, the mandalas serve the same purpose; centering of an individual or community to encourage introspection and ultimately that will make us aware of our place and purpose in the world which will lead to peace of mind.

Hand painted Mandalas

In Indian Architecture, you would have heard about Vastu Purusha Mandala; that is explained as a diagram of the universe. The Vastu Purusha Mandala has been the governing device for temple architecture. 

Carl Jung has popularized the mandala in the west. The Mandala, whatever form it takes, encourages individuals to explore ourselves, our relations, our purpose in this world. Nowadays, you will find Mandala coloring books for adults, recognized for their efficacy in reducing stress. You will find mandala paintings or posters in many offices. The purpose is universal: to encourage one to remain calm and recognize that all we need to do is focus on the centre to find peace.

Why and how I painted Mandalas?

I had some free time in hand and decided to make one mandala each day and see how it progresses. It was difficult to draw freehand in the beginning because I have lost the touch with pencil and paper, and I have been using the computer to aid me in my drawings and projects. But believe me, once I started I was not disappointed. 

Somebody has truly said "If you want peace of mind, stop fighting with your thoughts". 

It gave me a immense peace of mind as I tried to focus on the mandala and erase everything that was happening around me and with me. The few hours that I took off from the daily grind gave me immense joy and peace. It was kind of healing me from inside!

I started with drawing concentric circles on a sheet of paper, then I drew the rough design on the sheet with HB pencil and finally finished painting them sometimes with a single color or more. I used poster colors mostly, but my daughter also joined me once in a while and we explored with pencil colors, sketch pens and whatever other coloring medium we found lying around the house.

Step 01 - Draw concentric circles using a compass
Step 02 -  Sketch patterns using a HB pencil

Step 03: Paint or color them with the desired coloring medium

Mandala painted using Crimson Red and Black poster colors

I usually took a couple of days to paint the mandala; the first would be spent on making the rough sketch and the later would spent in coloring it. Here are some more mandalas as we explored them each day.

Mandala on black poster paper, made with pencil colors

Mandala on black chart paper, painted with poster colors

Mandala painted with light blue poster color

Mandala with poster colors

Mandala on white chart paper with poster colors

Mandala on white chart paper, painted with poster colors

Some useful tips to paint the mandala:

• You require a lot of patience when you are dealing with geometric designs. Try to make the rough sketches with light H or HB pencil if you are going to color it later. That way, any time you can modify your pattern and it won't be messy.
• Make use of geometric tools like compass, scales etc. to make them perfectly geometric and symmetrical. I tried a lot of freehand drawing - it was kind of challenging to make them perfectly geometric and repeat those patterns several times around the circle.

Painted mandalas for a poster at home

How to use these mandalas?

• Make them on fabrics so you can use them to make cushion covers or wall hangings.
• You can make them on sheet of your choice, get them framed and decorate your homes or offices.
• Make small greeting cards to gift to your friends.
• Paint your kitchen ware like dinner plates or tumblers and exhibit them when you host parties in your house. You can even make a gift set of hand-painted mandalas for your close friends who like hand-made stuff.

You can use the above tips or just paint them for fun or for your own peace of mind.

Hope you find this post useful.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a nice day!