Temple of Athena (Wonder Matches & Miracle Beads) (2013) Design por Anatolii Zhamoido

Title: Temple of Athena (Wonder Matches & Miracle Beads)
Series: God in the Palm of the Hand
Artists: Zhamoido Anatolii & Bulba Natalia
Original Design: 2009
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Dimensions:
• Object: 110 x 160 x 90 mm (height)
• Packaging: 215 х 170 х 160 mm (height)
• Weight: 0.855 kg
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Materials:
Medium:
• Eternity
• Matches
• Glue (PVA D3)
Beads:
• Japanese beads
• Czech beads
• Microbeads
Crystals and Pearls:
• Swarovski beads — 5 colors
Rhinestones and Decorative Elements:
• Adhesive Swarovski rhinestones
• Adhesive rhinestones (other brands)
• Sequins — 4 types
• Self-adhesive film
• Metal chain
Additional Materials:
• Silver and gold wire
• Computer graphics
Packaging:
Protective display case made of acrylic glass

The culture of a small Greek people, who sought to comprehend everything happening around them, laid the foundation for universal human culture. It possesses such an enduring and captivating power that it has deeply influenced the worldview and thinking of modern individuals.
Without even reflecting on it, we speak of “Sisyphean labor,” an “Achilles’ heel,” or “Herculean strength,” we recall the “Muses,” and we watch underwater and cosmic “Odysseys.” Behind each of these expressions lies a beautiful and wise Greek myth that has withstood the test of millennia. Artists, poets, and sculptors have always been drawn to the depth and artistic richness of mythical images.
The prototype for the “Temple of Athena” was the Temple of Aphaia on the island of Aegina, and for the beaded statue — Athena Parthenos (the Virgin), a Roman copy of Phidias’s famous sculpture. The traditional Greek ornamentation adorning the friezes and pedestal is printed on transparent printer film.
Athena, in Greek mythology, is the goddess of wisdom and righteous war. She is one of the principal figures of the Olympian pantheon.
Although the myth of her birth from Zeus and Metis (Wisdom) is of relatively late origin, her attributes — the owl and the serpent — are rooted in the oldest period of Greek mythology: the era of matriarchy.
The cult of Athena was widespread across both mainland and island Greece. The name of Greece’s capital is also derived from this goddess.
Under Eastern influence, the Hellenes formed the notion of gods they called Olympians, since their dwelling place was considered to be Mount Olympus. However, multiple mountains bore this name, so it is possible to trace, in general terms, how the gods migrated from Eastern Olympuses to the classical Olympus — located at the border between Hellenes and barbarians.
Hellenic myths, through divine imagery, preserved the story of humanity's conquest of nature and the awareness of our place within it. Each of the Olympian deities, according to myth, also had a terrestrial homeland — a specific region, island, or mountain. It is not difficult to understand that behind these associations stood the places where worship of each god originally arose before they became Olympians.
Cosmogonic concepts in Hellenic culture, even more than in the pantheon itself, reveal Eastern influence. In Homer’s worldview, we find only traces of elements inspired by developed Eastern religions, while Hesiod's Theogony presents a fully-formed cosmogonic system modeled after Eastern traditions.
Hesiod’s cosmogonic scheme was adopted not only in Hellas but also in Rome, becoming canonical. Yet it was not the only one. It stood in contrast to the Orphic cosmogony — which, again, was not Hellenic in origin. Orpheus was believed to be the son of a Thracian river god, a musician who migrated to Hellas and even took part in the voyage of the Argonauts.
Without the foundation laid by Greece and Rome, there would be no modern Europe, nor the New World.
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Inscriptions on the base:
• γνῶθι σεαυτόν — Know thyself.
• λόγος ἔργου σκιά — The word is the shadow of the deed.
• ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι, ταῦτα καὶ γενήσεται — What must happen, will happen.
• ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρά — Life is short, but art is long.
Originally developed as part of an educational project in the form of books and creativity kit published in Ukraine and RF (before the war), this version of the artwork represents a full realization of the concept. Its creation took approximately 3–4 weeks of full-time work. The object stands as both an artifact and an invitation: to rediscover wonder in the smallest materials and the slowest gestures.
A step-by-step illustrated guide to creating the matchstick cottage and beaded trees is available as a PDF and can be ordered directly from the author.
The guide is offered in Ukrainian or Russian (and can be easily translated into your preferred language — for example, by ChatGPT).
Price: €5.
•
Poem 1
In silent fire, the temple gleams,
So small in size — yet vast in thought.
Athena watches over dreams,
Where ancient truths and threads are caught.
Poem 2
From matchstick lines and crystal grace,
A goddess rises, wise and bright.
Her whisper haunts the island’s face,
Aegean winds recall her light.
Poem 3
No stone was used, no chisel rang —
But prayer and thread and dream entwine.
Within a palm, her wisdom sang,
And time bowed down to the divine.

Не з каменю — з молитви й мрій,
Храм Афіни в долоні сяє.
В очах її — і суть подій,
І той, хто знає — не вмирає.
У сплетінні дрібних кольорів,
У прозорих кристалах і тінях —
Богиня пильнує мотив
Мудрості в наших творіннях.

Cтилізований вірш давньогрецькою мовою (Αρχαία Ἑλληνική), що поєднує чотири мудрі дельфійські сентенції (γνωμικά), гармонійно вплетені у форму поетичного тексту. Цей вірш стилізовано у формі гномології (збірки висловів), притаманної орфічним або піфагорійським традиціям.

Ποίημα ἐν Ἀρχαίᾳ Ἑλληνικῇ (давньогрецький вірш)
γνῶθι σεαυτόν, λέγει τὸ μαντεῖον σοφίας·
σκιὰ γάρ ἐστι λόγος ἔργου, ὥσπερ φαντάσματος αὐγή.
ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τέχνη μακρά —
καὶ ἔν τοις σμικροῖς φανερὰ γίγνεται ἀλήθεια.
οἱ ναοὶ μικροὶ — ἀλλ᾽ ἔνδοξοι, πλήρεις θαύματος·
πυραμίδες ἐκ σπίθων, θεαί ἐκ χανδάλων.
ὃ δεῖ γενέσθαι, ταῦτα καὶ γενήσεται•
ἡ μοῖρα οὐκ ὑπνώττει — τέχνη ἀναμιμνήσκει τὸ θείον.
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Український переклад
Пізнай самого себе, — говорить оракул мудрості;
бо слово — тінь діла, мов промінь від марева.
Життя коротке, та мистецтво вічне —
і в малому відкривається істина.
Храми — хоч малі, та повні слави й подиву:
піраміди з сірників, богині з намистин.
Що має статися — станеться,
доля не спить, а мистецтво пригадує божественне.

Γνῶθι σεαυτόν, λόγος ἔργου σκιά·
Ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι, ταῦτα καὶ γενήσεται•
Ὁ βίος βραχύς, ἡ δὲ τέχνη μακρά•
Ἀθηνᾶς φῶς λάμπει ἐν καρδίᾳ.
Транскрипція:
Gnôthi seautón, lógos érgou skiá;
Ha deî genésthai, taûta kaì genḗsetai;
Ho bíos brakhýs, hē dè tékhnē makrá;
Athēnâs phôs lámpei en kardíāi.

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