Views on Mother Earth (Gaea)

Observing every moment of my life the role of the earth and woman, in divine creation, the road was unique, the eternity of the Divine Creations hiding all the magic within a small cycle in the plant and animal kingdom, seed and ovum bearing millions of lives and plants for millions of years.Woman and Earth bear life and Death - they receive the sperm in order to reveal Divine Creation. Divine love releases energy to fertilise the sperm in the body of woman to bear man who will live in the embrace of the great giver of all, Mother Earth.The Earth receives the triple seed of Sky, Light-Air and Water - the Heavenly Father and Creator lives eternally through the ages. The soul itself is the protagonist in the drama of life and struggles with the mind - man is the great ascetic of truth.

How perfectly does Kazantzakis describe it in his ascetic work:

"To SEE and accept the boundaries of the human mind without vain rebellion, and in these severe limitations to work ceaselessly without protest - this is where man's first duty lies.
Build over the unsteady abyss, with manliness and austerity, the fully round and luminous arena of the mind where you may thresh and winnow the universe like a lord of the land.
Distinguish clearly these bitter yet fertile human truths, flesh of our flesh, and admit
them heroically: (a) the mind of man can perceive appearances only, and never the essence of things; (b) and not all appearances but only the appearances of matter; c) and more narrowly still: not even these appearances of matter, but only relationships between them; (d) and these relationships are not real and independent of man, for even these are his creations; (e) and they are not the only ones humanly possible, but simply the most convenient for his practical and perceptive needs.
Within these limitations the mind is the legal and absolute monarch. No other power reigns within its kingdom.
I recognize these limitations, I accept them with resignation, bravery, and love, and I struggle at ease in their closure, as though I were free.
I subdue matter and force it to become my mind's good medium. I rejoice in plants, in animals, in man and in gods, as though they were my children. I feel all the universe nestling about me and following me as though it were my own body.
The mind is patient and adjusts itself, it likes to play; but the heart grows savage and will not condescend to play; it stifles and rushes to tear apart the nets of necessity.
What is the value of subduing the earth, the waters, the air, of conquering space and time, of understanding what laws govern the mirages that rise from the burning deserts of the mind, their appearance and reappearance?
I have one longing only: to grasp what is hidden behind appearances, to ferret out that mystery which brings me to birth and then kills me, to discover if behind the visible and unceasing stream of the world an invisible and immutable presence is hiding.
If the mind cannot, if it was not made to attempt the heroic and desperate breach beyond frontiers, then if only the heart could!
"The Earth, for Lovelock, is a living organism which is nurtured with chemical and solar energy". It breathes through its forests and the seaweed of the oceans, through which energy flows by means of the food chain - that is the processes which take place when the sun and water make vegetation grow - the hare eats the vegetation and the eagle eats the hare. Gaia can regulate itself, as do all organisms. Scientists maintain that thanks to these processes, for 3.8 million years, the Earth has never become too hot nor too cold to support life...".
Somehow like this did the "Gaia hypothesis" start - another concept of the planet where we live, which we loot, which we are indifferent towards. In the same way that we owe to the Earth its survival, and therefore our own survival, should we guard and protect even the smallest insignificant organism, and thus we are obliged to respect and maintain the customs and traditions of the smallest to the largest social group. Because through this complex and variety in beauty everything new is created, which blends with others, loves, lives, evolves...
Because the culture of the living Gaia is everything.
Because everything is its hypostasis.
The "Gaia hypothesis" sprang from the question "What is Life" and concluded in answering to the creation and the purpose of man, the socio-political aspect of it, the moral aspect of it, and God. It made Universal life accessible to our thoughts - that the Universe is a living Being. It teaches us with natural, biological facts how human societies must live side by side. It endeavours to compose new ethics, a spiritual ecology and an optimistic prospect for a declining mankind.
The being that is called "man" is but the cell of the organism called "mankind". And mankind is a new species on the earth - creating an "entity" in the organism which appears as a beautiful blue revolving sphere within the solar system. One of the most fundamental characteristics of organisms is its tendency for cooperation and acquisition of close relationships with others. There are no sole beings. Every creature is connected and depends, in one way or another, on all the others.
These connections secure a continuous cyclical exchange of material and energy. They are connections of cooperation, co-existences, mutual dependence and multi-levelled symbiosis. Every entity consists of smaller parts and, at the same time is part of a wider "whole". There is layered order, a tree, a hierarchy. Through this self-transcendence there is stable progress out of plethora and chaos towards unity and order.
Generally speaking, no one being can be regarded as a singular unit. What survives is the organism within its own environment. (An organism which looks to its own survival will inevitably destroy its environment, resulting, as bitter experience shows, in the destruction of itself.)
Every observing human being conceives of the fact that the soul does not die but exists after death - that live here on Earth is only for a few years.
In my work I have always travelled on this eternal journey and when I created, I escaped into it and felt I was painting things I had never thought of.
This state is the transcendence of the small "ego" to enable the soul to unite with the universe. Woman is one and the same with Mother Earth who both live in a universe which has the power to reveal great and unspoken truths.
I live in Thrace and many times have felt my left arm to be the land of Ionia and the right arm to be Greece, Macedonia, Thessaly, Athens, the Peloponnese - with both arms open embracing the Aegean. To the south, the Great Egypt, a country full of mystics and sacred mysteries. The whole of the Aegean - a baptismal font of immortality - a holy water in the Mediterranean transforming souls and nourishing Gods. I would become one and the same with all this theurgy, all this greatness of Man where the Divine Logos was born and lived in this great embrace. And Man, where is Man with all these great gifts of God's love?
Being lost, he searches for peace, while peace is beside him. He searches for tranquility while tranquility is beside him. He searches for love while love is around him. He searches for God, while God is within himself.
Listen to me in the truth of your soul.
Listen to me in the emotions of your heart.
Listen to me in the quietness of your mind.
Listen to me everywhere. Whenever you have a question, simply "remember" that I have "already" answered it...
My truth is in the whispering of the wind, in the trickling of the stream, in the roar of the thunder, in the patter of the rain.
It is the texture of the soil, the perfume of the lily, the warmth of the sun, the lure of the moon.

"We are part of them, part of Nature... the air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath: the beast, the tree, the man. We are a part of the land. Everything on the earth is sacred to my people.
The greed of the white man will devour it all, whatever exists on Earth, leaving behind it a vast desert. Hereon with life has finished!
Now does survival begin!"
Extract from the letter from the American Indian Chief, Seattle, to the President of the United States of America, 1854.
Dr. Ch. M. GKITAKOS

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE WORK OF LITA MAVROGENI BY DR. H. M. GKITAKOS

Lita Mavrogeni captures on canvas the archetypal relationship between man and horse. This radiant animal (the horse as a radiant animal is a courser - Plutarch) is connected to the cycle of death-rebirth-immortality.

Every symbol embodies truths and values recognized by every tradition inspired by authentic spirituality and overcomes the special role which is probably emphasized in some traditions. The horse as a mythical-religious symbol is heroic and radiant but also doleful and chthonic. This symbolism found in some cultural circles, as triumphant but lugubrious creature, as radiant but chthonic, as godly but demonic is not a contradiction, as will be illustrated below.

According to J. Chevalier and A. Cheerbrant (1) the horse is regarded as a symbol of the dark godly underworld, whether it rises galloping from the bowels of the earth or from the abyss of the sea. A conviction deeply rooted in the memory of all peoples connects the horse with the dark godly underworld. The horse is related to the night and to mystery and is a forbearer of death as well as Resurrection.

One of the oldest known remembrances in the German language refers precisely to the sacred relationship between man and horse. According to C. Grunanger (3) we imagine him being called by a rider, in the heart of the ancient forest, to cure his warhorse, whose leg had dislocated and could not take a step further. Sensing that he had become lost in the dark kingdom of evil spirits and monsters, he turned to the one who only he could save him, Votan, the indefatigable wayfarer of all roads, father and teacher of all magic and requesting him to intervene, recalls to mind an episode of the myth in which he found himself in such a plight. While accompanied by gods, he was crossing the forest and the warhorse belonging to his most beloved son, the young Balder, god of Light, dislocated its leg. The episode perhaps belongs to the prophetic signs which announce the imminent death of the young god on whom the demons have designs, and the end of the world. In vain, the most powerful goddesses and practitioners of magic are exorcised of evil by Sounna, the goddess of the sun with her sister, Sidykoud, the wayfaring warrior, Freya, the wife of Votan, with her sister Fola. The powers of Light and life are unable to wrought anything against the powers of darkness - the reason why the order of universe itself seems threatened. Until the intervention, eventually of Votan who exorcised "as only he himself knew how to exorcise".The holy words "bone for bone, blood with blood, limb for limb, bind together", which he murmured in a slow, solemn voice, this time resulted in reviving the wounded limb and the man and his faithful horse being saved. In this extract the deepest bond between man and horse comes to the fore as does the awareness of same.

The sacred and initiatory character of the horse is encountered in all civilizations. The divine and chthonic dimension are splendidly imprinted in Hellenic tradition. The land of Orpheas, Thrace (the fourth daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope), where Lita Mavrogeni comes from and paints, and Thessaly inspired all the Greek land with a horse-related spirit. I point out that Orpheas is the reputed trainer of animals through music, and the Thracians themselves for centuries are considered excellent trainers of horses. The sacred character of the horse stems from the fact that the Thracians awarded special importance to the descent into the underworld and placed their horses in their tombs. A substantial role in funereal ceremonies is performed by the horse in the Homeric era - the winged horse was a messenger of spirits. In Greek tradition the horse is related with water, as is suggested by the relation of the winged Pegasus with Poseidon. Finally, the initiatory character is expressed by the role of the Centaurs who initiate to strength and wisdom. A featured example of this is Chion, tutor to Achilles. In Rome, there was a temple to Zupitez on horseback on Palatine Hill, where, every year, a horse was sacrificed in the sacred woods to the honor of Diana Nemeses in memory of the first king Vizbio.

The Holy Sees document the sanctity of the horse in Germanic tribes. Indeed, the Vikings took oaths on their horse and their weapons and the wellbeing of their vessels, shields, horses and sword blades. Commensurately, a curse was cast on those who gave a false vow for their ships not to sail not even with a tail wind, for their horses not to gallop even when evading the enemy, and for their weapons to be incapable of striking anyone else but themselves. (5)

A clear allusion to the sanctity of the horses are the predominant amicable or hostile names given to them. According to the Saxon Grammatikos the Slavs of the Baltic kept horses near a sanctuary so that gods could ride at night. Horses in sacred woods were also kept by the Germanic people. This sacred animal also has other qualities, encountered in all movements of European tradition: it speaks, it advises, it knows or foretells the future. (7)

Georges Dunedin actually notes that in Slav languages the terms "horse" and "destiny" are related. The horses of Apollo and the wise horse of the hero Susan, with which, according to an Ossetian legend, he rode to the Country of the Dead, had all the charisma of speech. As it is mentioned in the flesh of the Volsunghi, when Siguzdh was nearing death, his horse, which also spoke, sensed it and was sad. Particularly in Scandinavian peoples the appearance of a red horse is an alarming sign (see the flesh of Vatnsdal). Finally the Germanic races and the people of the Baltic attributed a prophetic character to the horse. (8)

In Celtic tradition, the goddess Erraia, protector of horses, is linked with the Underworld Kingdom and the god Lug. In many Irish legends, in particular, it has a demonic character and is related to the forces of water. Its supernatural features are revealed frequently: when, for example in the cycle of Cuchulain a horse cries with bloody tears, when death was approaching Saint Columbia (9).

In Spain the worship of the Dioscuri of the horse is widespread and it is viewed as a friend and protector of man. The rider and his horse in fact symbolize spiritual salvation. The sacred dimension of the horse is also clear in Hindu tradition. Its sacrifice in Rig-Veda is understood as a sacred ritual. In Shamanism its role is key and two-fold; it accompanies the dead as well as the actual soul of the Shaman to the kingdom "Beyond". Even the tambour, the main Shaman instrument, is called "horse", since the Shaman communicates with the dead through the horse. In spite of the obvious chthonic elements, the horse along with fire in Shamanism, expresses the divine element in hunting, in war (the horse of Cid grants him the last victory even though he was already dead), in the grave and further than the grave, it helps one to overcome stumbling blocks, it advises. It leads his soul. It is a form of theophany. For these reasons its presence is connected to a sacred, initiatory and symbolic dimension.

In Christianity the role of the horse is two-fold: a) it disinclines and b) it protects (10). Indicative examples are the representations of Saint George, Saint Marino and of course of Christ himself as a Rider, seen on the doorway of the temple of Lida where he kills the Antichrist. In Coptic iconography the Saints appear on horseback.. Needless to say however, in the Christian concept the "medium" is not of greater significance than the one who rides it.

The symbol of genuine chivalry, such as the Middle Ages knew, is the knight on his horse -  master of his horse with which he forms a harmonious unity of mind and strength combined for a cause. In medieval culture the importance of the horse reaches a climax and its symbolism expands. Undoubtedly, from the outset the horse symbolism contains the heroic element as well. In Greek and Roman tradition the horse is a noble animal, a war animal, for the hunter, for sacred battle and not for labor. This is the reason why, in the Iliad, the definitions of Riders and Knights are used only for heroes. (11).

According to Raymond Lioul (12) the Knight uses horse and weapons with religious veneration exactly like a priest when performing the Liturgy, because they have a significance related to his office. And since the ministry of a priest is similar to that of a knight, the Knightly Order provides all a Knight needs to practice his service and reveal the nobility of knighthood. The initiation to knighthood leads exactly to the awareness of the sanctity of the weapons, of the horse and of the moral superiority of the knight, which consequently leads him to understand his duties. A horse is given to the knight, as R. Lioul writes, as a sign of Nobility because on the horse he stands higher than all the other men. The horse symbolizes the body in which the knight must dominate and be acclaimed victor and from which he must be served in all circumstances.

Through the term "Knight" we have the invocation of an archetype: that of a man on an animal. This includes the symbolic nature and purpose of chivalry: the noble impulse for the fight and imposition of "the inferior nature"of man so that a submission to a transcendent and regulatory power of the spirit is achieved, and as a consequence, the notion of victor is conquered by the knight himself. The knight cannot be separated from his horse. On this he dominates and leads it to fulfilling the duty of the warrior. They form together a harmonious ensemble thrown into battle cooperating to achieve victory.

The horse carries, the man guides. In this traditional symbolism the excess of the purely biological condition is expressed, the warrior on horseback defeating a monster also symbolizes victory over death, which, according to the Christian concept means victory over spiritual death. The appearance of the knight united at times with his horse or sharing with it danger and glory as well as equilibrating the event of being thrown off the horse, is possible, according to Avola, to be taken to mean more than the purely material point of view and be related to the ancient symbolism of the horse: as a being with wings which rises to the heavens and which to ride it is a trial for the hero-gods, the horse appears in the well-known myths of Persis and Vellerfontis. The symbolism becomes more obvious in the Platonic myth where the result of the contrast between a white and a black horse, with the soul of a charioteer, determines the transcendent destiny of the soul. I. Evala even recalled that in certain classic illustrations the "heroic" soul appears as a rider or escorted by horse. T. Malvani writes that the trials in chivalrous legends associated with the horse, are laden with meaning (13) and poetry. Also interesting is the alchemical interpretation expressed by Malvani. If the Knight represents the divine element (that is to say  the principle to which it is referred, then ultimately, the real responsibility of every battle just as of every victory or defeat, then the horse (which "bears" this principle) obviously symbolizes the life principle and the mercurial essence of every human being. Consequently, all the trials where the appearance of a white horse left to be mastered by the Knight are regarded as positive. On the contrary, the trials have a dark and demonic meaning when the cover of the horse is dark or when the animal tries to assert itself on the Knight and carry him into dark woods or to terrifying cliffs in the depth of which there are always turbulent, dark, flowing rivers.

The sacred relationship between man and horse is obvious in Ancient times, in the Middle Ages andeven in Modern writings where, in certain cases, the wisdom of the horse is emphasized. Hesiod, Xenophon, Thucydides, Herodotus, Strabo, Steinbeck, Rudyard Kipling, Benzyl Markham, William Sazayan amongst others wrote about the horse.

Lita Mavrogeni illustrates this meaningful and emotional world. The style and ethos of her work alludes to the cosmogonical and transcendental truth. The authentic spirituality of this series inundates the viewer with emotion, memories and images.Having observed the creative stages and the corresponding "series"of works of Lita Mavrogeni, I am impressed each time by the new unity which she composes forever within the framework of her concept. Truly spiritual people of every generation have a duty to return to the origins, to see, to feel and to restore a dialogue with the great works of the past.

In Lita Mavrogeni's work the "historical element"is the cause that she is personally associated with tradition, with her own demands as criteria for such. She gives concrete expression to the traditional values and for this reason I wanted to set, at the beginning of this article, a background showing the eternal, the everlasting yet contemporary elements.

The symbolic touch in Lita Mavrogeni's work is marvellously incorporated into her most successful yet very personal staging. Her designs depict dreamlike people and malleable forms. She succeeds thus in creating her own personal space and time beyond any context, vibrant with lively memory.

Lita Mavrogeni, endowed with true inspiration, follows her own course of search. She also achieves an adherence to the essence. Her work evokes a sense of fullness. Her emblematic depictions engender a coherent game of memory and emotions. Her compositions are characterized by harmony of form, structure and color. Her subjects are radiant which is why each painting is diffused with light. Within an explosion of color archetypal symbols and life itself play their part.

Some elements are really memorable and which, in this article, I regard as individual. Specifically, I refer to the focused action but also the expression and the colorful groupings in a field of metaphysical depth. Generally, Lita Mavrogeni's art is characterized by certain standards.

Flowing form based on emotional values coordinates with meaningful existence of illustrations. For this reason her work is immediately recognizable precisely because of the spiritual and metaphysical hypostasis. This explains the structure which is charismatic in a transcendent texture and is transfused with the spirituality of the past. Thus it concludes in a schematic form which conveys a living memory as her work has undoubtedly an extolling dimension.

The final conclusion is this. Lita Mavrogeni has the charisma to set high goals for herself and the ability to meet them fully.

Dr. Ch. M. GKITAKOS

Biography

It was given birth in Xanthi, her parents they were refugees from the
Black See Pontus.
Her father was a person with rich virtues and wide education which
influenced immediately her uneasy children's soul.
Today her artistic obligations keep her away from the beautiful city of
Xanthi, for great intervals,  time which remains for her  inspiration and
creation under the light and the colours of her birth place.
Her figurative searches have a deeper aim a touch upon the mental
expectations of a person and when  she discovers them they will come out
outside with her figurative Reason, for that reason she is classified in
the symbolic artists.
For her different subjects she haw created 4 great categories of themes through her pursuits
    Moral uplift
   The Rider of the Light
    The  Angels of  Revelation (apocalypses)
    The trilogy Dionysus -Orpheus-Christ
- In 1989 she had a proposal for scholarship from University  MEIMAR  SINAN
of  Istanbul.
- In 1993 she entered in to the University of Good Arts as exceptionally
talent
  above her creative work, which has been recognized internationally, she
offered and continues into offer in the cultural growth of her country.
- She is member of Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece.
- Member of International Professional Artiste of   UNESCO.
- Founding member of cooperative for the intellectual rights of Fine Arts
authors Greece
- Elected member of committee of (EETE) Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece for the regional growth
Macedonia -Thrace.
In 1990 she organised in Xanthi in collaboration with the Democritus University of Thrace the
Municipality Xanthi and the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece, the international symposium of fain Art 
on the subject:  NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IN THE ART
she taught in the NELE Xanthi (1987-1991)
she has made 13 reports in countries of abroad and 5 in Greece.

     Congresses  -Seminars
  - Athens - the 1995,1996,1997,1998, annual congresses of Union of  σύλλογος
Educational Artistic Courses
- Berlin - October 2003.   Participated as member of Artistic Chamber
Greece in the world Meeting of Artistic Education
  - Kamιnarιa Cyprus - July 2004   Called, from the Artistic Chamber
Cyprus it represents the Greek attendance in Pan European
meeting of artists on their contact with the Cypriot Ceramic Art.
Participated 35 artists from 17 countries as well as Turk Cyprus artist


ceramists - Afrodisiada and Jerapolis  -Turkey - August 2004 -
Pilot Program of European Union ( Yiasar Tsali )
  Schoolteachers and students of faculties of Beauties of Arts create
joint.
Participate Poland, Germany, France, Greece Turkey.

After a proposal she became the chairman of the Museum and
  Academy of Children's Art in  Greece in which
take part Students from three Universities of our country
of Fain Art  University of Athens
Democritus University of  Thrace the  Pedagogic department, and of Fain Art  University of Thessalonica.

For her work they published:
Lexical Greek Artists,  editorial house Bee
The book of knighthood    R. LULL (in translation Charm Gkitakou)
Discriminations
- In the 4-10-97 she was honoured by the General of .  Mr. Ekaterinis for
her offer in the Greek Culture.
- In the 14 -9 -2000 she was honoured with the golden medal of the
Association of Greek Man offs letters for her Offer in the Culture and the
artistic Education.
- In the 3-10- 2001 the Commercial Chamber of Smyrna in Turkey granted her
  as Ambassador of love and peace and culture between the two countries
With the attribute as Artist Educator
From 1988 she is teaching painting, especially to children of 4-15 years
making at the same time research above in the Worldwide Children's Art (in
the space of figurative) The child that is the healthiest cell of society
will play a important role in the life..
Her Students are distinguished in World and International competitions as
well as in the Greek space winning silver and golden medals
for more information you can visit her web page   www. artlita. gr
she collaborates with:
- Children's Academy of Moscow
  With the organism of Children's Art  Biennale Kanakawa of   Japan
- With the Children's Museum of Berlin
The rich experience and the contacts with the International space  led her
to an idea to a vision.
       Year 2000 Founded the Museum and the Academy of Children's Art in Xanthi,
a not speculative institution which is supported in the voluntary offer of
his members, depending on the art.
  In the Museum and the Academy of Children's Art they are realised two big
biennale Programs
       The Bridges of Love
       Worldwide  Biennale of   Children's Art Xanthi
In 2004 in this program participated 90.000 children from 123 countries,
were rewarded 1.150 works with golden and silver medals
  The Organisation of the 2Biennale is supported from the Hellenic Culture Ministry,
  the Macedonia  -Thrace Ministry and the Prefecture Thessalonica
The exposition was presented:
November 2004 Government owned museum of Modern Art Thessalonica
December 2004  TEHNOPOLJS  Accelerator in collaboration with the Municipality
of Athens
December 2005, took place the double World Competition  Bridges of Love
1) construction of a doll
2)writing of a Fairy tale
The organisation is supported from the Macedonia  -Thrace Ministry and General
Secretary of Youth