@ladykrampus / ladykrampus.tumblr.com
Engraved with two nude male figures, the figure on the right standing wearing a helmet and mantle, leaning on a shield with his left hand and holding a spear in his right hand, and the figure on the left, a satyr wearing a fillet tied around his head, leaning on a thyrsus in his right hand and holding a bone in his left hand, with foliate decoration on either side and below,
The Pilos helmet, takes its name from the felt shepherd’s cap whose form it replicates. This helmet type came into use during the later Peloponnesian War, replacing earlier more closed and restrictive forms like the Corinthian type. The Pilos was especially favored among Macedonian cavalrymen of the 4th century BC. The helmet appears prominently on Macedonian coinage of Alexander the Great and his successors.
5 strands of red faience beads with 10 silver spacer plaques and a modern clasp
Mount Ślęża is a remarkable place - the legendary, historic and mystical heart of Silesia. Mysterious statues and stone walls have been discovered on its slopes - the oldest traces of an ancient cult within Poland’s boundaries - and the whole mountain is said to radiate with enormous energy. Precipitation and mists occur far more often here than in the surrounding area and atmospheric electric discharges are exceptionally intense. The massif, built mainly of granite, is a world known place where beds of nephrite, magnesite and chrysoprase were discovered. Mount Ślęża is one of the stormiest places in Europe; it is even said to attract lightning.
Regular human settlements appeared here in the Stone Age, ca. 4000 BC. There is much evidence to show that already at that time the mountain was being worshipped by Proto-Germanic or Proto-Slavonic tribes living at its foot (the identity of these peoples remains a matter of controversy among the specialists). The place became a centre of worship at the time of the Lusatian culture around 600 BC. Atop Mt Ślęża and Mt Radunia, the second highest summit of the massif, they built cult rings surrounding their holy places. Ślęża is believed to have been associated with a solar cult, and Radunia with a lunar cult. Such rites drew extensively upon the symbolism of fertility and natural cycles. The famous cult statues carved out of granite may also date back to that time. Around the 5th century BC, following a Scythian invasion, the Lusatian cult at Ślęża disappeared.
The transition period between the pre-Christian and Christian epoch brings even more mysteries. Around the 5th century AD a powerful Slavonic tribe, later to be known as Ślężanie, settled in this area. These people revived the worship of Mt Ślęża. They were probably the builders of the stone walls (ramparts) on the site of the earlier sacred circles. Reportedly, old-Slavic holidays were celebrated on the mountain in the 11th century, such as Kupala Day with bonfires called Sobótki.
Christianity gradually wiped out the pagan cult. But the massif has continued to attract seekers of spiritual truth, esotericists and enthusiasts of ancient cultures. The mountain is generally believed to emanate some mysterious energy. For this reason, it has been explored since the 14th century by the “Walloons” (a term applied by the locals to all prospectors of foreing origin), diviners and writers of “secret” books.
Sources: “Mt Ślęża - the Silesian Olympus”, “The Ślęża Massif - Overview”. Image source.
