1. Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.
2. Answer the following questions:
1. Why was Christian Art discreet during the first years of its existence?
2. Where did early Christian art develop?
3. What were the images in early Christian art like?
4. What did the modest scale of early Christian art reflect?
5. How did Christians depict God?
6. Why was there a strong reluctance to portray the Crucifixion?
7. What is the statue of the Good Shepherd based on?
8. What does the Good Shepherd illustrate?
9. What were sheep closely associated with?
10. How was Christ himself described?
3. Give Ukrainian equivalents of the following words and phrases:
to reflect the humble status of Christian art
existence
to live under the shadow of persecution
to stem from passages
for instance
promise of salvation
portable altars
incentive
visual image
to evolve
in addition
attached to
stark contrast
to be intended to sacrifice
to glorify
at the same time
to be closely associated
to prove a popular image
4. Give English equivalents of the following words and phrases:
захисник
попередній
під час існування
обережний
ситуація покращилася
гарантувати повну свободу
походити від
представити
відображати
тримати у таємниці
пов'язаний з релігією
загрожувати
як результат
розвивати
зображати розп’яття
мати намір
ясна манера
прославляти
в той же час
5. Make up sentences of your own with the given words and phrases.
6. Match a line in A with a line in B.
A |
B |
humble |
a motivating influence, stimulus |
shadow |
a section of a written book |
to grant |
to declare the intention to inflict harm, pain |
passage |
the act of preserving |
salvation |
a dark image cast on a surface by the interception of sun rays |
to threaten |
flat or smooth |
incentive |
conscious of one’s feelings |
to evolve |
to consent to perform or fulfill |
to intend |
to develop or cause to develop gradually |
plain |
to plan to do something |
7. Summarize the text in English Unit 25 text
The Teotihuacan civilization develops outstanding ritual sculptures
The great Central American city of Teotihuacan, with its magnificent religious architecture and exceptional sculpture, reached a peak of creativity from the fifth century.
The ancient city of Teotihuacan is one of the most important archaeological sites in Mexico. Situated to the northwest of the modern town of Puebla, the settlement dates back to around the second century. It developed rapidly and, at the peak of its influence (c. 550), it was believed to be home to as many as 200,000 people, which would have made it the sixth largest city in the world at the time. Teotihuacan remained a dominant force in the region until c. 800, when it was largely abandoned. Even as a ruin, though, it exerts a powerful influence on the imagination. The Aztecs incorporated it into their mythology, and it became a place of pilgrimage for their rulers.
Despite extensive excavations, there are still many unanswered questions about the nature of the earliest settlement. The ethnic origins of the inhabitants are unclear, while the name of the city and its buildings have only been filtered down through the records of the Aztecs. Even so, it is evident that the city functioned primarily as a religious centre. Teotihuacan means "the place of those who have the road to the gods." A long, straight avenue, known as the Way of the Dead, linked its three main buildings — the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Temple of the Plumed Serpent. This avenue was evidently used for ritual processions, and was also deliberately aligned toward Cerro Gordo, a mountainous, dead volcano.
At Teotihuacan, archaeologists have identified the workshops of around 500 craftsmen, who produced goods that were exported throughout Mexico. The city itself was notable for its brightly painted murals and its sculpture, representing religious practices, which revolved around the gruesome business of human sacrifice.
7 Priest of the Cult of Xipe Totec
Artist unknown, c. 400-500
Mexican
The iconic figure Xipe Totec, "our lord the flayed one," was the god of Spring, linked primarily with the renewal of crops. As such, the rituals surrounding his worship were designed to ensure the fertility of the land. During the second month of the year, the Tlacaxipehualiztli, "the flaying of men," the priests sacrificed their victims by removing their hearts. The bodies were then flayed and the skins dyed yellow. These "golden clothes" (teocuitlaquemitl) were then worn by young devotees, until they rotted away. The idea behind this was to mimic the growth of a maize kernel, with the new plant emerging from the husk of an old seed.
These sacrificial practices were reflected in the many cult images of Xipe Totec, which usually take the form of masks or statues, such as this one. Invariably, they show the god or one of his priests wearing the skin of a freshly flayed victim. Artists took delight in highlighting the gory details. The closed lips of the figure are often visible behind the gaping mouth of the pelt. Similarly, the flayed hands of the victim are often depicted dangling limply from the wrists of the wearer, so that the figure appears to have an extra pair of hands.
TASKS