06 May 2009

Secret of Clypidus Revealed

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Clypidus, or as is formally known Cly on Pidus, has been hosting the Qasar relics from 120th BC. But what made this small Mediterranean town an obsession among historians and archaeologists alike was not the existence of half-clay, half-stone ruins, nor were the Doric order moldings which had predated ancient Greeks by a century.



There is a hooked molding common in Greek and Corinthian architecture, particularly in the Doric antae caps, which is technically called the hawk's beak. It is a combination of curves which cannot be described in words, the cyma-recta, so to speak, which is brought into its composition.

But unlike the completely Gothic moldings of ancient Greece which throw a very bold, clear shadow, Qasar relics of Clypidus, the cymatium wrought in relief contained a bigger mystery: a language unknown to mankind.

cymatium of clypidus
After spending four years in Clypidus villages on the hills overlooking the river Pidus, situated 20 km north of present day Cly, researchers headed by Prof. Xulxu of Cinneman University, West Carolina believe that they have finally found the Rosetta stone which will help them decipher one of the oldest languages of the world. The research which documents the team's efforts and findings will be published in the days to come.

Being a frequent visitor of Clypidus, - I only missed a few summers in my life, I just wanted to share it with you; plus, the unbearable pleasure of beating media in its own game, I should add.

Image credit: Alexander Speltz, Styles of Ornament (1906), The Classical Journal


9 comments:

  1. My hat is off to you!! I started research Clypidus because it was unfamiliar to me, then I found out that it is something that doesn't really exist - lol at least not yet! Good luck in your Google SEO endeavors for this term. I just gave you a complimentary stumble!

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  2. Clypidus has always been a regular stop of my psychedelic trips to nowhere in particular: a heat-soaked room, white curtains gently swaying with the wind, never-ending cracks of cicadas and me, having my beauty sleep in a summer afternoon. It is real, very very real.

    Thanks for the stumble, by the way.

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  3. I liked your reference to the Rosetta Stone. I guess that is why they named that set of language books after it. I'd like to see that hawk's beak sometime!

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  4. Yes, the reference to Rosetta Stone sort of expands the geography of the post from Greece/Asia Minor to Egypt subconsciously, as the term comes from deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

    Speltz did a very good job of drawing the hawk's beak in the image. In addition to its function of enriching the story, it has a subliminal role of expansion, too; this time towards East, Persia to be specific.

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  5. I'm not familiar to Clypidus..
    I never had a chance to there..hihi

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  6. Pity, KJ. Maybe I should have posted photos of this little town but the news of discovery pushed me overboard. I simply could not wait.

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  7. cool That's pretty interesting hopefully they'll decipher the language. Maybe it's an alien language.

    ec #46542

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  8. Yeah. I will try, too

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  9. Oh, I can see it from your signature, you have already done so. Good luck! For me, as long as I'm not tainting real results, rather than a competition, it is about creating a myth, a mysterious story and telling about it. An experimental tale into the unknown.

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