RFL: Artemis at Ephesus

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Teleport Point) is sponsored by Leri Miles Designs.

Artemis, called Diana by the Romans, was the Greek Goddess of the Hunt, known for her purity, virginity, and care for women in childbirth, though the Artemis worshiped at Ephesus has older origins than the twin of Apollo and was portrayed as a many-breasted goddess, and her connection with the goddess the Greeks called Artemis is a slender thread. The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus is an ancient site, it's first building dating back to the bronze age and claimed as a holy site for the Amazons, legendary women who lived in a martial, matriarchal society who were historical enemies of the Greeks whose writings about them survive. The original temple was destroyed by a flood in the seventh century B.C.E. and rebuilt around 500 B.C.E. in about ten years. It fell to fire next - specifically arson, a destruction which lasted for about the same span of time. The final rebuilding began in the 300s B.C.E., and was larger and grander than any of it's previous forms with sculptures from many of the contemporary artists of the time. Antipater of Sidon, who compiled the seven ancient wonders of the world, said of its third incarnation:

"I have set eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labour of the high pyramids, and the vast tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand".

It survived some six hundred years before the Goths brought it to the end in a raid. The Hagia Sophia, in fact, gained some of it's columns from the Temple of Artemis after it's destruction. Now, only a single column made up of scraps from the temple remains on its original site, but reproductions have been made around the world.

This was by far the easiest sim for me to navigate to date, as all of the stores are organized on three of four sides of the square around the reproduction of the Temple. I'm clearly a picky, persnickety person, as now that I got what I wanted - an easy to navigate sim - I was caught up with complaints about it's simplicity! Unable to be pleased, that is clearly me. The Temple itself is lovely. While I wish some of the effect of the carvings at the base of the columns could have been represented, the leaf pattern used was lovely; and while I would have loved to see the iconic figure of the Goddess of Ephesus represented in Second Life, there were some original and pre-fabricated sculptures in place within the temple.

The outfit I'm wearing is a novelly put together top, belt, and skirt from AlaFolie available in a wide variety of colors. The color I'm wearing is the one for sale for a donation to RFL, though the ad on the board shows two very different colors from this one. The neat thing about it is how it's piecemeal - with the dress coming in three parts, you can mix and match with other items easily. Just a heads up, it's transfer ok/no copy, so don't be surprised when you open it! The jewelry is from Virtual Impressions, a new-to-me store with some really amazing options. I'm wearing a completely texture-change set; there are a bunch of colors to pick from, and you can tint the large gem separately from the surrounding ones. It's also transfer-ok/no copy, just as a heads up. It is also fullbright out of the box, but you have modifying rights, so that can easily be fixed. Finally, I'm wearing a tanner skin with a gorgeous cosmetic set from Belleza in shades of teal. I had originally picked the teal to match the color of the dress I thought I'd gotten from AlaFolie, but I think it works just as well with the mustard shade! A nice bit of contrast to make my look more interesting.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Belleza, Amy Med FFL 0 (RFL Donation)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 04-A
Eyeliner: Squeek!, Eyeliner Yellow
Hair: Truth, BabyDoll
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Virtual Impressions, Honour Jewelry (RFL Donation)
Dress: AlaFolie, Veronique (RFL Donation)
Shoes: NYU, Collared Bow Heels

Poses: !bang

Location: RFL: Artemis at Ephesus
Light Settings: Places Duskwood

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Color Challenge: Week 37 - Royal Blue

Royal Blue is a gorgeously rich color, and I fell into it quite by accident as a group gift from Dressed by Lexi; I suppose you could say I'm Lexidressed! The usual alpha issues of dresses with semi-transparent fabric show up here and there, but Lexi did something very clever when she built the skirts and made them multilayered and highly textured - which means often the alpha occlusion disappears in the layers covering layers. Combine that with the bias-hanging skirt, and you have a dress that is beautiful to watch move. This is a dress to dance in; Photographs of it in a static state really don't do it justice. The jewelry was made to match - I took the easy way out - and both are nearly free; the dress is a group gift and the jewelry and shoes are on sale. I paired it with this adorable hairstyle from Wasabi Pills, with it's cute over the ear style. No real closeups, though! It's often hard to pair hairs with ears and make it look good, so photography angles and shadows become very important. The little tattoo on my throat is from Belleza; all of the zodiac symbols were made for 50$L Friday but don't seem to still be available (sorry!). It comes in dark and faded (I'm showing dark) along with heart and star tattoos. I accidentally bought Capricorn, so I know the heart and star aren't just for the most important sign, Pisces.

I got really into Cristina Rad this week, who's a vlogger through Free Thought Blogs. I am not an atheist and I'm only halfway a skeptic (with the other half being mystic) but I really like her perspective even when I disagree with what she sees. The same goes for a lot of the bloggers on Free Thought Blogs; Pharyngula was my gateway drug, but I'm also a huge fan of Butterflies and Wheels and Greta Christina's Blog. I spend a lot of time reading blogs and very little time responding, but often what I read is carried through by me into larger, broader thoughts to try to encompass more of the world in a more accurate way. Now and then, there are dismissive comments made about how 90% of the population is a consumer instead of a producer; a similar perspective shows up in Second Life, where several bloggers have expressed horror at the people who come into Second Life, wear clothing, go to clubs, talk to other people, and never create anything. I personally think that the consumers are the other half of the equation; part of talking is having people listen, and with no one to listen, talking becomes more of an internal process rather than something which may have any meaning outside of the individual. Likewise, created clothing without buyers just sits on shelves unworn. Rather than the consumer being parasitic on the creator, I believe it's much more of a symbiotic relationship which has echos across human culture.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Rainbow
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: De La Soul, Inked
Lipstick: Mock, Micare Lipglimmer Hypoxia
Tattoo: Belleza, Picses Zodiac Dark
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Gloria Mesh
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Dress: Dressed By Lexi, Dangerous Beauty - Midnight (group gift)
Jewelry: Dressed By Lexi, Dangerous beauty Jewelry
Shoes: G Field, Lady Rose Shoes, Blue

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only