Jameson Rehm - Paestum, Italy

These photos are from my trip to Italy during 2002 spring break. The temple I am standing in front of that looks as if it should be in Greece is actually located in Paestum, a Greek settlement about twenty miles south of Naples in Italy's eastern planes region These temples, dated back to 500 B.C.E., were completely underground prior to their excavation about one-hundred years ago.

There was also a museum displaying hundreds of very well preserved artifacts from the site. One of these that really had me amazed was a burial box. These boxes displayed four scenes on the inside walls, and were ment to held the remains of the deceased much like a casket. The photo of the "diver" greatly symbolizes an important philosophical concept held by this ancient culture. The man diving symbolizes the move from the sense world to that of the intelligible enlightened state. This motion also was believed to be made by engaging in the arts such as poetry, music, etc. This expresses the idea of the pillar of knowledge, or separate levels of awareness.