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Sunday, October 21, 2018

A Simple Explanation of Ravenna's Garden of Eden Mosaic

As I was standing here this morning researching a different article (which I will write tomorrow instead), I ran across this image of a 5th century mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. Mind you, the only reason I clicked on the Ravenna, Italy, wikipedia article in the first place is because I have a friend named Ravenna and I was casually curious about her name's origin. A silly yet serendipitous research method. 

This mosaic caught my eye. I was initially drawn to the image because yesterday I happened to watch a television show on HGTV where a woman had wallpaper in her living room that looked exactly like this mosaic. She was very attached to the wallpaper and did not want it removed. She actually cried as it was defaced by the contractor. 
This mosaic is known as the Garden of Eden mosaic in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia. 5th century CE. Ravenna, Italy. One wonders how this is a representation of the Garden of Eden until you realize this is a top view of proto-toruses seeding our universe during creation.
By Petar Milošević - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39937959
Top view of torus looks like a sphere with proto-energy exploding outward from the middle (energy; joy) and containment from the outer edge (gravity; love).

No wonder the lady loved her wallpaper and was loathe to let the decorator take it down! Now I understand why she was so attached to it, for I believe she unwittingly sensed the joy of creation whenever she gazed at this design. 


 






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