What is in the right hand of the statue of liberty. Who gave America the Statue of Liberty? How was the Statue of Liberty used?

The Statue of Liberty has been one of the symbols of the United States for more than a century. But very many ideas about it are wrong, and something is extremely little known. Let's find out more about this unusual monument.

First of all, we note that officially it is called differently - "Illuminating the World of Freedom." The sculpture is located on the island of the same name, three kilometers southwest of Manhattan. For a long time it was called Bellow Island. The monument holds a torch in its right hand (which, as it were, “illuminates” the world), and in its left hand, a tablet with the date of the United States Declaration of Independence, written in Latin numerals. One of the legs of the “Illuminating” tramples on torn shackles.

The seven rays in the crown crowning the statue symbolically represent the seas and continents. And yet, what is the Statue of Liberty made of in the USA? It would seem that it should be steel or stone, judging by the perception.

However, not all so simple. Steel is present there - 125 tons. The sculptors also used 31 tons of copper, which covers it with a layer of just over two and a half millimeters. However, the figures for both steel and copper simply pale in comparison to the concrete base, which reaches twenty-seven thousand tons. Thin copper sheets are mounted on top of a steel frame. Together with the foundation and the pedestal, the height to the top of the torch reaches ninety-three meters.

Where was the Statue of Liberty made?

The monument symbolizing the USA was not actually made in America and not even in the Western Hemisphere!

The author of the sculpture is the Frenchman Frederic Auguste Bartholdi. The idea was to present it as a gift for the centenary of the United States. It is interesting that they were going to install it in the Egyptian Port Said and call it "The Light of Asia". However, the Cairo government decided not to spend money on installation and transportation.

When France and America entered into an agreement, they were supposed to make, respectively, the sculpture and installation at the expense of Paris, and the pedestal at the expense of Washington. But the material difficulties that arose on both sides of the ocean slowed things down.

What material was used for manufacturing?

It seems that we already know the answer to this question. But ... let's not rush. Copper for that very statue was either mined in Bashkiria or smelted in Nizhny Tagil. The pedestal under it is made of German cement.

However, that's not all! In addition to the sculpture itself, there are many copies of it. There are four in Paris alone; gilded version with a lantern instead of a torch in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer. There are many other versions - for example, in one of the casinos in Las Vegas, in Japan, the beaten off head of the once-existing "freedom" in the Tretyakov Gallery, in Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Budapest, Riga.

After the September 11 tragedy, the original Statue of Liberty was closed to the public. Currently, it is available to everyone, but subject to thorough screening, similar to that carried out at international airports. Consequently, the symbol of the United States is one of the safest objects for tourists in the world.

On the day of the celebration in the West of Satanic Halloween, we will talk about the statue that has become a symbol of the new Atlantis, as some of the United States of America are called. The Statue of Liberty was officially opened in New York on October 28, 1886. What is it dedicated to and who does it represent?

This is our article.

official history

The sculpture is a gift from France for the 1876 World's Fair and the centenary of American independence. The statue holds a torch in its right hand and a tablet in its left. The inscription on the tablet reads "eng. JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (written in Roman numerals the date "July 4, 1776"), this date is the day the United States Declaration of Independence was adopted. With one foot, “freedom” stands on broken chains.

Visitors walk 356 steps to the crown of the Statue of Liberty or 192 steps to the top of the pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown, which symbolize earthly gems and heavenly rays that illuminate the world. The seven rays on the crown of the statue symbolize the seven seas and seven continents (Western geographical tradition has exactly seven continents: Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia).

Statue of Liberty in numbers:

• Height from the top of the base to the torch 46.05 m
• Height from the ground to the top of the pedestal 46.94 m
• Height from the ground to the top of the torch 92.99 m
• The height of the statue is 33.86 m
• Hand length 5.00 m
• Index finger length 2.44 m
• Head from crown to chin 5.26 m
• Face width 3.05 m
• Eye length 0.76 m
• Nose length 1.37 m
• Right arm length 12.80 m
• Right arm thickness 3.66 m
• Waist thickness 10.67m
• Mouth width 0.91 m
• Plate height 7.19 m
• Plaque width 4.14 m
• Plate thickness 0.61 m
• The thickness of the copper coating of the statue is 2.57 mm.
• The total weight of the copper used to cast the statue is 31 tons
• The total weight of its steel structure is 125 tons.
• The total weight of the concrete base is 27,000 tons.

The statue was built from thin sheets of copper minted in wooden moulds. The formed sheets were then mounted on a steel frame.

Usually the statue is open to visitors, usually arriving by ferry. The crown, which can be reached by stairs, offers extensive views of New York Harbor. The museum, located in the pedestal, houses an exhibition of the history of the statue. The museum can be reached by lift.

The territory of Liberty Island (Freedom) originally belonged to the state of New Jersey, later was administered by New York, and is currently under federal administration. Until 1956, the island was called "Bedloe's Island", although it has also been called "Liberty Island" since the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1883, American poet Emma Lazarus wrote The New Colossus, a sonnet dedicated to the Statue of Liberty. 20 years later, in 1903, it was engraved on a bronze plate and affixed to the wall in the museum, located on the pedestal of the statue. The famous last lines of "Freedom":

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In Russian translation by V. Lazaris:

“To you, ancient lands,” she cries, silent
Lips not parted - to live in empty luxury,
And give me from the bottomless depths
Your outcasts, your downtrodden people,
Send me the outcasts, the homeless,
I’ll light a golden candle for them at the door!”

In a translation closer to the text:

“Leave, ancient lands, the praise of the ages to yourself!”
Calls silently. "Give me your weary people,

The Statue of Liberty (yes, with a small letter), if you look at it without propaganda tinsel - this giant woman in a crown with seven rays, with a book and a torch in her hand ... who is she? Another fairy tale about the American dream and the ideals of democracy, the national pride of the non-existent American nation? It is not customary to talk about the true origin and ordeals of sculpture, about its origins, originating in incompatible cultures, or about the financial side of the existence of a “lady”. The fable about the gift in honor of the friendship between France and the United States travels the world as traditionally as the ruddy Santa Claus - another brainchild of commerce. But we still turn over a few pages of history back and see how it really happened.

The idea of ​​​​creating a statue belongs to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi - if you can call it an idea to create an unoriginal monument, boasting only fragments of classical art and gigantic dimensions. Bartholdi was born in 1834 into a wealthy Jewish family and studied with the famous masters of Paris - without much zeal, but full of ambitious plans. In order to get out into the people, Bartholdi resorted to the help of influential relatives who were directly related to the Freemasons.

Quite a lot is known about the influence of Freemasonry on the creation of the United States, from the founding fathers to the symbolism of the dollar. Pyramids, stelae, the all-seeing eye, etc. also decorate various government buildings in the US. Let us remind you that on July 4, 1776, representatives of their fraternity signed the Declaration of Independence, which opened the way to the creation of an independent state (we wrote about this in the article “What is the USA or why was this state created? (Part One)”).

However, about the most important symbol of the United States - the Statue of Liberty - as a rule, no connections are made with Freemasonry.

Egyptian sketches

In the 70s of the XIX century, under the control of Freemasons in Egypt, the construction of the Suez Canal took place. The young ambitious Bartholdi came here, and his imagination was struck by the majestic monuments of this region, which survived the millennia. So the idea was born in his head to create something as colossal and impressive that would forever perpetuate his name. Meeting with the head of construction, Ferdinand Lesseps, Frederick persuaded him to intercede about his plan. The proposal looked like this: to install a giant statue at the entrance to the future channel - it was supposed to be twice as high as the Great Sphinx and serve as a lighthouse.

Bartholdi decided not to wait for the muse, but to hastily make some kind of layout for consideration by the local government (it was he who was credited with the alleged financing of the project). Yes, and it was not necessary to invent anything - this was already done by the ancient Greeks, who created the Colossus of Rhodes around 280 BC - one of the seven wonders of the world. This huge statue of an athletic youth staring out to sea was erected at the entrance to the harbor of the island of Rhodes and subsequently partially destroyed by an earthquake.

Bartholdi “dressed up” the model in Egyptian clothes, placed an amphora in his hand, and crowned his head with a wreath. But Lesseps advised him to use the attributes of the ancient Iranian god Mithra - the god of peace, harmony, and later the sun.

marginal notes

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Mithra is the Indo-Iranian god of light and the sun, close to the ancient Greek Helios. His usual attributes were a chariot and a golden throne. Over time, the cult of Mithra penetrated into Asia Minor and changed significantly. Mitra became the god of friendship, who united, reconciled, protected, enriched people. They depicted him as a young man in short, flowing clothes and a Phrygian cap. The cult of Mitra at the beginning of our era spread in the Roman Empire, enjoyed the patronage of emperors, and was later supplanted by Christianity.

A special photo of the head of the Statue of Liberty at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878. http://gorod.tomsk.ru/uploads/34046/1285959951/45270518_Exposition_Paris_1878.jpg

When the cult of the god Mithra spread in Ancient Rome, the following legends began to be told about the god of the Sun. He was born as a rock at sunrise. In one hand he held a sword, in the other hand a torch. Mithras fought the Sun, conquered it and thus became its ally. After that, he subdued the bull (a symbol of ancient civilization), dragged him into his cave and killed him there. The bull's blood fertilized the soil, and plants, fruits, and small animals flourished everywhere.

The Sun God was revered throughout the Roman Empire. Four hundred places of sacrifice that have survived from those times testify to this even today. The god Mithra was especially revered by ordinary people who performed religious rites in his honor. Thanks to the soldiers, Mithraism became known throughout the world of that time. The places of this cult known today exist mainly as altars in the rocks.

Miter with rays and an eagle, which later became a symbol of the United States http://geo-politica.info/upload/editor/news/2015.12/567f624427790_1451188804.jpg

Along with numerous symbols, they are engraved with the signs of the zodiac. The god Mithra himself always takes the place of the Sun on them - the central constellation of the ancient Romans.

Thus the statue received a torch and a seven-pointed crown from the god Mithras, although there is another deity who looks similar. Have you started thinking about the title: "Progress Bringing Light to Asia"? Or replace "progress" with "Egypt"? And then they remembered the popular in France painting "Freedom on the Barricades" by the romantic painter Eugene Delacroix. The word "freedom" was already temptingly "glued" to the project of the statue, but the government refused to spend money on a gigantic idol - so Bartholdi returned to France without salt and slurp.

French incarnation

The time of the creation of the statue coincides with the entry of Bartholdi into the Masonic lodge (Alsace-Lorraine branch) - it was 1875.

And the year 1876 was approaching - the centenary of American independence. Hearing in the political circle complaints about the lack of genuine masterpieces of art dedicated to Freedom in America, the French senator and member of the same order of Freemasons, Edouard de Laboulet, decided to revive the failed project in Egypt. All this, of course, had to be properly presented to the masses: it was decided to “gift” the statue to the States “as a token of friendship between the peoples of the two countries.”

But the "gift" had to be paid - both by French and overseas ordinary citizens. A whole Franco-American Union, headed by Laboulet, was urgently established, and committees were organized in both states to organize fundraising. And at the head of the French headquarters was none other than our old friend - Ferdinand Lesseps! The fundraising campaign in the United States was led by Joseph Pulitzer, later known as the creator of the most prestigious journalism award, and then still the publisher of the New York World newspaper. With an understanding of all the intricacies of influencing the masses, he criticized rednecks and moneybags, referring to ordinary Americans (the merchant was not a blunder - this significantly increased the circulation of his newspaper). No one will tell us exactly how much money the friendly gentlemen laundered in this good deed, but in the USA alone, 100,000 dollars were withdrawn from circulation in this way.

The main work on the creation of the statue was done by the famous French engineer Alexander Gustave Eiffel (Bonikhausen), then known for his adventure in embezzling huge funds for fictitious work during the construction of the Panama Canal, but who became famous thanks to the construction in the center of Paris.

Eiffel was also a member of the Masonic lodge, and another brother in the lodge, who at that time served as Prime Minister of France, helped him get out of the Panamanian scam.

Eiffel made all the calculations, and also designed the iron support of the monument and the supporting frame, which was then sheathed with metal sheets. Then Bartholdi got down to business again, and added a few modern details: at the feet of the statue, he placed “broken chains of tyranny”, more like the chains that bound the statue itself.

He put the Book of Laws (Declaration of Independence) into his left hand, dressed the now “lady” in Roman clothes.

Some believe that Bartholdi gave her the features of his mother, Charlotte Beiser, although the model was the recently widowed Isabella Boyer, wife of Isaac Singer, an entrepreneur in the field of canal equipment and sewing machines, who sponsored Jewish socialists along with Rothschild.

The process of making a statue in pictures

american life statue

After being made, the statue, hopelessly late for the event to which it was dedicated, was brought to the USA and installed on Bedloe Island (it was renamed Liberty Island only in 1956). Later, it was here that business districts, dizzying skyscrapers appeared, and in general the largest financial center of the world was formed.

The official opening of the statue on October 28, 1886 was attended by representatives of the Freemasons, including US President Grover Cleveland. The pathetic speech was delivered, apparently to pay tribute to refined sarcasm:

"We will never forget that Liberty chose her home here, nor that her chosen altar will never be abandoned."

At first, masculine "freedom" did not evoke any enthusiasm or patriotic feelings among people. And Bartholdi had to somehow explain the suspicious symbolism of his offspring: the torch is supposedly an attribute of the Enlightenment, and the crown is a symbol of the seven oceans and seven continents.

And now the time of the First World War has come - the right moment to cash in on the patriotism of gullible townsfolk.

The proceeds from the sale of these multi-colored pieces of paper (under the guise of a true symbol of America's Freedom), and covered almost half of the military budget.

Statue of Liberty - goddess of darkness

It's time to move on to the most interesting. We have previously pointed out that symbolically the attributes of the Statue of Liberty can be attributed to the ancient Iranian god Mithra, whose cult spread throughout Ancient Rome, the heir of Egypt (where all Western civilization originates), however, we indicated that there is another deity that looks similar.

Some believe that since the statue depicts the goddess of freedom, it means that this is Libera (Greek Kore or Persephone), who was the deity of fertility, but also the underworld in ancient Roman mythology and religion. She was often identified with the goddesses Proserpina (among the Greeks Persephone) or Ariadne and was the wife of Dionysus-Liber.

marginal notes

Bacchus (among the Greeks - Dionysus) - the patron god of vineyards, winemaking and wine. His wife was the goddess Libera, who helped winegrowers and winemakers. The holiday in honor of this married couple was celebrated on March 17 (close to the ides of March, read about them) and was called liberals. In the cities on this day, in addition to solemn sacrifices, theatrical performances were arranged, and in the countryside it was marked by cheerful processions, jokes, dances and feasts with an abundance of libations to Bacchus-Liber, "liberating a person from all sorts of worries", and his wife Libera. During liberalism, sacrifices were also made to the goddess Ceres. The sanctuary of Liber and Libera was placed in the temple of Ceres. The cult of Bacchus-Liber was very close to the cult of the Greek Dionysus.

Dionysus, in turn, is a late interpretation of the ancient Egyptian god Osiris, in connection with which many authors saw in Liber the widow (the widow again emerges) of Osiris Isis and the mother of Horus.

However, here you can find some oddities - why is the goddess of freedom holding a torch in her hands, and not a cornucopia? Yes, and the mentioned goddesses of abundance, for all their similarities, were traditionally portrayed differently.

But the goddess Hecate, who was the mistress of hell, darkness, night visions and witchcraft, was depicted precisely with a torch and horns-rays on her head (according to legend, there were also snakes in her hair, like the Gorgon medusa). By the way, it was believed that she was close to various goddesses of fertility in her chthonic functions and in many ways close to Persephone, who was the wife of Hades, the god of the underworld.

She was identified with the moon goddess Selena, the mistress of the underworld Persephone, the patroness of wild animals Artemis. Endowed with ambivalent functions. Acts as the leader of the "wild hunt", connects the world of the dead and the world of the living. Statues of Hecate with torches and swords in ancient times were placed at forks in the road and in front of houses to "keep evil spirits at bay." Most clearly, her image is characterized by a connection with the moon, which was considered to send madness or obsession and, in general, personifies the dark side of the feminine.

Hekate is associated with magical traditions and rituals. In ancient times, people tried to appease her by leaving chicken hearts and honey cakes in front of their doors. On the last day of the month, gifts were brought to the crossroads - honey, onions, fish and eggs, with sacrifices in the form of dolls, baby girls and female lambs. The Sorcerers gathered at the crossroads to "show respect" to her and such characters as "Empousa" - brownie; "Kekropsis" - poltergeist; and "Mormo" is a vampire.

One occult appeal of the polytheists to Hekate was recorded in the 3rd century by St. Hippolytus of Rome in the Philosophumene (the full title is “Philosophical opinions or denunciation of all heresies”, which consists of 10 books; in the first four books, the author examines the opinions of Greek philosophers and the traditions of ancient pagan magic and astrology, which, in his opinion, were the sources of heresies in the Christian world; five books deal with heretical teachings, starting with the most ancient and ending with sects of the 2nd century - Callistians and Elcazaites; the tenth book is an abbreviation of the previous ones):

“Come, infernal, earthly and celestial Bombo (Hecate), goddess of wide roads, crossroads, you who travel to and fro at night with a torch in your hand, enemy of the day. Friend and lover of darkness, you who rejoice when bitches howl and warm blood flows, you who roam among ghosts and graves, you who satisfy the thirst for blood, you who cause fear in the mortal souls of children, Gorgo, Mormo, Luna, in a thousand species, cast your merciful glance at our sacrifice ”(Russian translation, see“ Orthodox Review ”for 1871 by Archpriest Ivantsov-Platonov,“ Heresies and Schisms of the First Three Centuries of Christianity ” / modern. Iz-vo Knizhny Dom "LIBROCOM", 2011, Series: Academy of Fundamental Research: history).

It is characteristic that the very work of Hippolytus of Rome became known only from 1841, when the Greek philologist Constantine Minoida Mina allegedly acquired in the Athos monastery for the French government part of the 14th-century manuscript of the "Refutation", which, at the place of its further stay, was called "Parisian": Parisinus suppl . gr. 464 saec. XIV, bombicinus, truncus, foll. 1-132, 137, 133-136; 215×145 mm (textus: 160×105-115 mm, 23-28 versus), it was a partial list from the "Philosofumena", which was previously associated with Origen, but later the authorship was recognized by Hippolytus.

According to the Philosophumene, the power of Hekate extended to the time sphere consisting of three parts - past, present and future. The goddess drew her magical power from the moon, which has three phases - new, full and old. Like Artemis, she was accompanied everywhere by a pack of dogs, but Hekate's hunt is a night hunt among the dead, graves and ghosts of the underworld. Food and dogs were sacrificed to Hekate, her attributes were a torch, a scourge and snakes.

Occultists sought out a match for Hekate in Indian mythology - Kali - the goddess of time, destruction and transformation. The period of time to which modernity is attributed is called Kali Yuga in Hinduism, i.e. he is “protected” by Kali (Hekate).

Cult places of Hekate were considered caves. Her ancient altars were circular, with different inscriptions on them. For divination, the Greeks used the so-called. "Circle of Hekate" - a golden ball with a sapphire inside. How it worked is not very clear.

Most closely associated with Hekate were other chthonic deities (Hermes, Hades, Persephone and Gaia), as well as Zeus, Rhea, Demeter, Mithra, Cybele and the sun gods Helios and Apollo. The names of the chthonic gods - Hermes, Hades, Persephone and Gaia - are also most often found on defixions (tablets with curses), and Zeus and Rhea appear in the Chaldean Oracles (moreover, Zeus is the central deity).

Over time, some other goddesses were partially or completely identified with Hekate - such as Brimo, Desponia, Enodie, Genetillid, Kotida, Krateida and Kurotrofa. In addition, they began to bring her closer, and often identify with such goddesses as Artemis, Selene, Mena, Persephone, Fizida, Bendida, Bona Dea, Diana, Ereshkigal and Isis.

Often Hecate was associated with Hermes, because of all the representatives of the male part of the Greek pantheon, he was most closely associated with the ideas of the frontier and threshold. On defixions, Hermes Chthonius is often mentioned together with Hekate Chthonia.

The statue of Hermes Propylaea, who, according to Pausanias, stood at the entrance to the Athenian acropolis, performed the same protective function as the images of Hecate Propylaea. And in the binding spell from the Greek magical papyrus 22, the names of these two deities are even combined into a single name:

"Trapper, Mistress of corpses, Hermes, Hecate, Hermecate."

In ancient times, there was a peculiar practice. Lead tablets were compiled (lead is the metal of Saturn), buried in the ground or lowered into the burial, in which the petitioner turned to Hermes the Underground and Hekate the Underground with the intention of harming and damaging his enemy. For example:

“I betray Ophelion and Canarid to Hermes the Chthonic and the subjugator Hermes. I curse Ophelion"

For curses, in addition to Hermes and Hecate, Gaia, Persephone and Hades were called. Often there is a formula like:

“As this lead is dry and soulless, so let the deeds of my enemy be dry and soulless.”

More ancient roots

If you look more broadly, then Isis, Persephone, Hekate, Ceres, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis and many, many other female goddesses, one way or another, are reflections of the antediluvian ancient single cult of the mother goddess.

Often the mother goddess is associated with the earth, she is the fullest embodiment of the female creative principle. Like the goddesses of later religions, whose image goes back to the prehistoric image of the mother goddess, in different cultures she is also associated with caves (which are perceived as the bosom of the goddess), the water element, vegetation, astral objects, which indicates the universal nature of the cult of this deity. Mother gives life, therefore her most important attribute is fertility. But in ancient mythology, the mother goddess not only gave life, but also took away. Hence, she is often the goddess of the underworld.

oldest known cults

In antiquity, the cult of the Mother was almost universal. Archeology gives evidence of the widespread cult of the Mother in the Stone Age. In the vast expanse from the Pyrenees to Siberia: in pre-Aryan India, in pre-Israeli Palestine, in Phoenicia, in Sumer, and today they find female figures carved from stone or bone. Such figurines are called Paleolithic "Venuses". They have common features: large breasts, hips, stomach. The head and arms are not expressed or absent.

In the Neolithic era, ideas about the feminine principle as the source of everything that exists under the influence of changing living conditions were transformed, but did not lose their original essence.

It should be noted that different cultures entered the so-called Neolithic period at different times: in the Near East, the Neolithic began around 9500 BC. e., that is, approximately 11,500 years ago, just after the global catastrophe that entered the myths of many nations, like the Flood. Therefore, some transformations of the ancient cult are not surprising.

In Neolithic art, the mother goddess was sometimes depicted with a child in her arms or as a woman giving birth (in Chatal Huyuk, she is depicted giving birth to the heads of bulls and rams - symbols of antiquity, by the way). The image of the mother goddess is a "projection" of the mature stage of a woman's life, in contrast to the other two - the images of the young Virgin and the old Ancestor. This cult survived to historical times in the collective image of the Great Mother of the Middle East and the Greco-Roman world. Its religious continuity is clearly traced in the images of such famous goddesses as Isis, Nut and Maat in Egypt; Ishtar, Astarte and Lilith of the Fertile Crescent region; Demeter, Kore and Hera in Greece; Atargatis, Ceres and Cybele in Rome D0%B0%D1%82%D1%8C)

In Celtic mythology, it was the goddess Danu.

The cult of the mother goddess is most clearly manifested in Celtic mythology and, first of all, in the best preserved Irish and Welsh sagas. In Irish mythology and the position of the Great Mother of the Divine Creator or the Great Mother of the Planet Earth, the goddess Danu was considered. Danu was recognized as the mother-progenitor of the gods, who were part of the subhuman divine race of the inhabitants of Ireland (and Wales). This race was called that - the Tribe or the Family of the goddess Danu or the Tuatha de Danann, which again refers us to the antediluvian times, when the past global civilization was divided into two races: long-livers, therefore almost gods, - the race of masters, and short-lived slaves, from which, after a global catastrophe, today's humanity has gone. About this, read the article "The Atlantean prehistory of slavery of the current planetary civilization"

The main gods and goddesses of the Tribe of the goddess Danu were Dagda, Manannan, Oghma, Lug, Morrigan, Bridget and others. They were tall, superbly built fair-skinned men and women with light blond, golden (according to some sources, reddish) hair and blue eyes. The male gods wore beards and had an athletic figure, the female goddesses had a slender female figure with long legs, a thin waist and an irresistible appearance. The gods and goddesses of the Tribe of Goddess Danu were solar gods and goddesses, which is supported by the widespread belief that Danu was the wife of the sun Belenus.

On the one hand, Danu was considered the goddess of fertility and abundance, that is, everything that grows and develops, on the other hand, she was the goddess of the underworld - the world of death. Danu was also the goddess of light and water. In the rare images of the goddess that have survived to our time, she was depicted sitting in heaven, in the underworld and turning into a heron.

Some researchers believe that the symbolic image of Danu among the Celts and Gauls were statues, bas-reliefs and drawings of three matron deities, feeding babies, holding a cornucopia or fruit baskets in their hands (symbols of abundance, fertility and saturation), associated with the cult of Mother Earth (http://www.dopotopa.com/emansipirovannye_zhenskie_obschestva_-_vzgljag_iz_glubiny_vekov.html).

Sumerians

The Sumerians are tribes of unknown origin, in con. 4th millennium BC e. mastered the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates and formed the first city-states in Mesopotamia. The Sumerian period of the history of Mesopotamia covers about one and a half thousand years, it ends in con. 3 - early 2nd millennium BC e. so-called. III dynasty of the city of Ur and the dynasties of Isin and Larsa, of which the latter was already only partially Sumerian.

One of the most typical images used by the Sumerians is the image of the mother goddess (in iconography, images of a woman with a child in her arms are sometimes associated with her), who was revered under various names: Damgalnuna, Ninhursag, Ninmah (Mach), Nintu. Mom, Mami. Akkadian versions of the image of the mother goddess - Beletili ("mistress of the gods"), the same Mami (having the epithet "helping with childbirth" in Akkadian texts) and Aruru - the creator of people in Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian myths, and in the epic about Gilgamesh - "wild" man (symbol of the first man) Enkidu. It is possible that the patron goddesses of cities are also associated with the image of the mother goddess: for example, the Sumerian goddesses Bay and Gatumdug also bear the epithets “mother”, “mother of all cities”.

In the myths about the gods of fertility, there is a close connection between the myth and the cult. The cult songs from Ur (end of the 3rd millennium BC) speak of the love of the priestess "lukur" (one of the significant priestly categories) for King Shu-Suen and emphasize the sacred and official nature of their union. Hymns to the deified kings of the III Dynasty of Ur and the I Dynasty of Isin also show that between the king (at the same time the high priest "en") and the high priestess, a sacred marriage ceremony was performed annually, in which the king represented the incarnation of the shepherd god Dumuzi, and the priestess - the goddess Inanna, which the Akkadians later came to call Ishtar.

Pay attention to the symbols of owls, lions, snakes (Ishtar's hair) taken later by the Masons.

Sometimes she was depicted with a star on her head:

The content of the works about Innana-Ishtar (constituting a single cycle "Inanna-Dumuzi") includes the motifs of the courtship and wedding of the heroes-gods, the descent of the goddess into the underworld ("country without return") and replacing her with a hero, the death of the hero and crying for him and the return of the hero to earth. All works of the cycle turn out to be the threshold of the drama-action, which formed the basis of the ritual and figuratively embodied the metaphor "life - death - life". The numerous variants of the myth, as well as the images of the departing (dying) and returning deities (which in this case is Dumuzi), are connected, as in the case of the mother goddess, with the disunity of the Sumerian communities and with the very metaphor "life - death - life" , all the time changing its appearance, but constant and unchanged in its renewal.

In the 2nd millennium BC. e. the cult of Ishtar spread widely among the Hurrians, Hittites, Mitannians, Phoenicians (corresponds to the Phoenician Astarte). There are three main functions of Ishtar: the goddess of fertility and carnal love; goddess of war and strife; the astral deity, the personification of the planet Venus, is associated with the day of the week - Friday (now the day of general drinking after the working week).

Ishtar is a female deity in Akkadian mythology, corresponding to the Sumerian Inanna. Ishtar goddess of war and love. She offers her love and patronage to the famous hero Gilgamesh. But he refuses, knowing the evil fate of her former lovers. Ishtar takes revenge on Gilgamesh by sending a terrible celestial Bull (again, this symbol of ancient civilization) to his city. However, Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill him. Ishtar also descends into the underworld for his beloved Tammuz, threatening the goddess of the underworld, Ereshkigal, to release all the dead to earth. But Ereshkigal kills the goddess of fertility and only agreeing to the persuasion of his advisers, sprinkles her with living water. After that, Ishtar returns to earth along with the rescued Tammuz.

period of ancient civilizations

With the Egyptian, Greek and Roman periods of the life of the mother goddess can be found through the myths and legends of ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome. Above we wrote about Isis, Hekate, Persephone and other hypostases of the mother goddess, so we will not go deep. But the medieval period in the life of the mother goddess is characterized not only by the cult of the Mother of God of Jesus, but also by the cult that gave it a start.

Early Middle Ages

We wrote in an article about Ivan the Terrible () that in the history of the West there is a myth that the Middle Ages in the territory of present-day Europe were a time of constant wars and the Inquisition. The Belgian financier Bernard A. Lietar has a different opinion on this matter, which he outlined in the book “The Soul of Money” (Bernard A. Lietar. The Soul of Money. - M .: Olympus: AST: Astrel. 2007. - 365 p. ). In his opinion, from the 10th to the 13th centuries, Europe flourished economically, it was at this time that a huge number of temples were built, people consume good food and are taller and healthier than the Europeans of the dark ages.

“Some historians even claim that the quality of life ordinary people were highest in European history during a particular economic boom! Here are the statements of French historians. Historian Forget: “For France, the thirteenth century was the last century known as “general prosperity”. Historian François Ixter: "Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Western world prospered, as evidenced by a population explosion unprecedented in history." Historian Damashke: "The time between 1150 and 1250 is a period of rapid development, economic prosperity, which we can hardly imagine today."

Between the years 1000 and 1300, the population as a whole is estimated to have reached unprecedented growth, doubling. In fact, it was not until 1700 that the population of England recovered its numbers and reached the level of 1300!

As for religion, the unequivocal opinion prevails in this matter that practically all of Europe was Catholic, especially after the separation of the churches in 1054. However, Lietar has a different opinion. He discovered the connection of the economic prosperity of European society with the religious system, which he called: "The Cult of the Black Madonna."

1. Contrary to modern Christian traditions, all official documents ... always put the name of the Black Madonna before the name of Christ.
2. A number of well-known religious figures, who later became saints of the Latin Church, worshiped the black Madonna. Joan of Arc prayed to the Black Madonna, known as Notre Dame Miraculeuse (Miraculous). The legend claims that Jesus Christ himself, surrounded by four evangelists, worshiped the statue of the Black Madonna.
3. The first unusual feature of the legend attributed to most of the Black Madonnas - and only to these types of statues - is the claim that the statue was not made, but necessarily found nearby, or even in the most ancient pagan symbolic place, for example, in dolmens.

Moreover, these statues turn out to be important markers on the road to Santiago de Compostela.

This road is one of the oldest pre-Christian routes in Europe, as evidenced by the markings dating back to the Stone Age. All this means that the cult of the Black Madonna is one of the oldest religious cults known to man. French author Jacques Bonvin concludes:

“Only the Black Madonna was able to crystallize all the beliefs of the pagan traditions with the Christian faith, without falsifying at least one of all the countless beliefs. This is where the Black Madonna is unique.”

1. No original Black Madonna is dated after the 13th century.
2. The sculpture is always represented by the “Virgin in Majesty”, where the seated Mother and Child look at the same point in the distant perspective.

1. It is always invariably placed in the place of the pre-Christian cult of the Celtic or other pagan Mother Goddess. Even when a whole cathedral was being built for Her, she always kept in a vault under the cathedral.
2. Sanctuaries were often located near holy springs or wells, or near the stones of prehistoric cults.
3. The legend associated with the statue usually has a clear oriental element: a crusader who brought a statue from the east, pilgrims to the holy land, saved, awakened by Her, etc.
4. The official title attached to this statue is Alma Mater- Noble Mother.
5. The face of the Virgin is always and Her hands are almost always black, thus justifying Her name - "Black Madonna".

Blackness was systematically reduced by the Roman church. Until today, the church has tried to explain the blackness as accidental, as the result of candle smoke. But if the face and hands of the Virgin and Child were originally black, why weren't their many-coloured clothes also discolored, and why didn't a similar process happen to other statues from the same period? In a series of historically proven cases, priests subject to Rome repainted the face and hands of the shrine white.

In the temple of Diana at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, completely black goddess statue. It is in this city, it is assumed that Mary lived after the death of Christ, and Her Ascension took place in a place called karatchalti(literally "black stone").

Mother Earth

The question of deciphering the image is ambiguous and probably depends on the morality of the contender for the secret meaning. The most literal reading is that the Black Madonna symbolizes mother earth, and the Child represents humanity, each of us. Moreover, one of the first depictions of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Christ child was located in a Christian monastery in Jeremiah, Egyptian Sahara, and was obviously inspired by the Egyptian iconography depicting Isis nursing Horus.

By the way, the legend says that in Egypt people adored the "Virgin Mary" even before the birth of Christ, because Jeremiah predicted to them that the savior would be born from the Virgin. The standard encyclopedias of classical mythology contain entire sections devoted to "the identification of Isis with the Virgin Mary » .

Bernard Lietar found that the fall of the cult of the Black Madonna occurred simultaneously with a change in the financial system and was "accompanied by a massive decline in the standard of living of ordinary people." In a book with the significant title Before the Black Death” the author brings the research of that period to the modern level and refutes the previous idea that the Black Death was the cause of the decline. On the contrary, the plague is consequence economic decline that began 50 years before it.

Today

One of the most interesting images of the Mother Goddess was created by the Jewish artist Leon Bakst in his painting The Ancient Horror (1908), in which he depicted not only the ancient goddess, but also the flood that destroyed the previous Atlantean civilization.

Interesting details: on the left side of the picture - a dying city with a huge statue of a warrior, and on the right - buildings that are architecturally similar to Egyptian ones that survived on a hill. In the middle, in the classic Masonic colors: white, blue and red, “Venus” herself, melancholy looking at the disaster and mysteriously, like the Leonard Gioconda, smiling, holds a dove in her left hand, which has become a symbol of peace.

It should be noted that since the middle of the 20th century there has been an active promotion of Phenimism, the beginning of which many attribute mainly to the suffragist movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries, in which property rights for married women and the right to vote for women were key issues. This process is accompanied by the appearance of female symbols in culture.

In addition to the total use of the image of women to influence the instinctive programs of men who have not gone far from baboons in terms of the type of structure of their psyche, images of “strong women” appear more and more often in mass culture: from politicians and public figures of various levels to cinema.

We found an interesting “feminized” statue of the attribute of the “messenger of the gods” of Hermes Trismegistus - the caduceus (the Latin word caduceum comes from the Greek “messenger, harbinger”, and in Greek it has a common root with the word rooster, the great harbinger of the morning and the Sun), which the sculptor James N. Muir (James Muir), performed in the form of a figure of a woman entwined with snakes, in a seven-beam crown (like the statue of liberty) and with wings (like the goddess Ishtar). At the same time, the caduceus, as it were, hatches from the planet Earth, split at the feet of the statue.

Does all this mean that someone, losing control, is trying to return the ancient cult of the mother goddess, which for a long time was deeply sealed inside the secret order structures?

It may well be…

Conclusion

Today, the Statue of Liberty is promoted no worse than the Eiffel Tower and the pyramids in Giza, continuing to bring income to the circle of the “chosen ones”. And the statue still stands on a pedestal, at the base of which the words are carved:

"Give me your weary people,
All those who yearn to breathe freely, abandoned in need,
From the narrow shores of the persecuted, the poor and orphans.
So send them, homeless and exhausted, to me,
I raise my torch at the golden gate!

But what gate? Gateway to what kingdom? Underground? Darkness, hell and underworld? Symbolically - it may very well be ... Although the symbolism of female goddesses goes into the deep past and is associated with the cult of Mother Earth. But, if we talk about the statue of liberty, then it is most similar to Hekate.

The main symbol of the United States is none other than a statue created by the hands of a French freemason, depicting the ancient deity Hekate, who traces her “pedigree” from the antediluvian cults of the mother goddess, who has always acted as the guardian of the underworld.

By the way, the traditional rivalry between France and England also left its mark on the history of the creation of the statue. France supported the efforts of American Freemasons to gain independence from Britain, with which it was then in conflict. Versailles clearly dreamed that London would cease to claim maritime dominion. Is it not because of this that the seas and continents are symbolically given over to the power of the goddess of darkness, who has planted her feet behind the pillars of Hercules?

Will the Americans be able to get rid of the dark chthonic past of the goddesses of darkness, night, the underground kingdoms of the dead in their culture and make the statue of liberty a statue of Mother Earth? At this stage, it's unlikely.

Such is a brief history and excursion into the background of the main symbol of the United States, which, in fact, has a rather sinister origin.

Materials:

Statue of Liberty - goddess of darkness
http://communitarian.ru/publikacii/istoriya_taynykh_obshchestv/ctatuya_svobody_-_boginya_tmy_04072013/

What does the Statue of Liberty really symbolize?
http://origin.iknowit.ru/paper1306.html

Emancipated women's societies: a view from the depths of centuries (about the leading role of women in the development of human civilizations and the existence of states and peoples ruled by women). Great Mother Goddess (White Goddess)
http://www.dopotopa.com/emansipirovannye_zhenskie_obschestva_-_vzgljag_iz_glubiny_vekov.html Goddess Ishtar
http://lia-lu.blogspot.ru/2011/10/blog-post_11.html

Statue "Caduceus", ("Caduceus" St. Louis University), USA
http://kontinent-mu.livejournal.com/55633.html

Where is the most famous symbol of the New World

The full name of the Statue of Liberty is "Liberty Enlightening the World". This is the absolute champion among all the symbols of the United States and the American continent in terms of mention and significance for pop culture. It was she who became the first and most significant object that hundreds of thousands of immigrants saw when sailing into the bay of New York. Therefore, “Freedom” for Americans is immediately associated with a large number of symbols: it is both a new life and a rejection of everything old, and at the same time something so blatantly neoclassical and European right in the center of the metropolis.

The exact location of the Statue of Liberty

The monument is located in North America, on the Atlantic coast in the largest US city, New York.

More precise location: Liberty Island at the mouth of the Hudson River at 40.68 degrees North and 74.04 degrees West.

The place where the statue stands is picturesque and from many angles looks picturesque: a lonely and relatively small island in the middle of a bay with a strong current, surrounded by sparkling skyscrapers. All this in the heart of New York next to Manhattan.

Statue of Liberty as a tourist attraction

The history of the emergence of the Statue of Liberty is the history of the realization of the American pathos of the young Republican people. It is symbolic that the sculpture symbolizes not only abstract freedom, but also its universality and universality. Its creators were inspired by the spirit of the European Enlightenment and faith in the power of industry and progress in the 19th century. Therefore, it is not surprising that the co-author of its creator, Frederic Bartholdi, was the same Gustave Eiffel, who designed the famous tower in Paris. At the same time, copper for coating, apparently, was taken from the Ural deposits, so the project turned out to be truly international and global.

The construction required incredible forces, since at that time the technical capabilities were much less. That is why it took a detailed study of the steel frame by Eiffel. A copper shell, created by the sculptor Bartholdi, is already attached to the frame. Delivery and installation in themselves proved to be a titanic task and required a lot of effort from both countries, France and the United States. Even the creation of a massive concrete pedestal on a small island took a long time and was associated with difficulties.

The Statue of Liberty was presented by the French government to the American people in 1876 on the centenary of the American Revolution. The whole design is filled with symbolism: seven rays symbolize the number of continents, the torch is designed to illuminate the world, spreading the light of freedom, while in the left hand there is an image of the US constitution, as the guarantor of these freedoms. What Liberty looks like as an ancient Greek goddess is also an attempt to create continuity in the symbols of European history and instill the neoclassical tradition in the New World.

With a total weight of 183 tons and a height of 93 meters, the Statue of Liberty seems to be a large object even against the backdrop of skyscrapers, in the 19th century it was simply amazing and instilled faith in the achievements of technology and industry.

But look at another topic roaming the net:

At first glance, everything is known about the Statue of Liberty. It was presented to the United States by the French for the centenary of independence. The monument, created by Frederick Bartholdi and Gustave Eiffel, was inaugurated on Liberty Island at the mouth of the Hudson River on October 28, 1886. "Lady Liberty", meeting ships arriving in New York, is very ponderous. It contains 204 tons, of which 90 are copper blocks with which the figure is lined.

It is these 90 tons that have been the subject of heated debate among historians from different countries for many years. It is clear that the supplier of such a huge batch of non-ferrous metal should have made very good money - the cost of copper at that time averaged $2,500 per ton. But the question of who got this money is still open. No documents relating to the purchase of copper have survived, and in the memoirs of people involved in the creation of the Statue of Liberty, the topic of the origin of the metal is strangely hushed up.

Some historical background:

The creation of the monument was entrusted to the sculptor and architect Frederic Bartholdi. A deadline was set - by 1876 it was necessary to complete the monument, timed to coincide with the centenary of the US Declaration of Independence. It is believed that this is a joint Franco-American project. Americans worked on the pedestal, and the statue itself was created in France. In New York, all parts of the Statue of Liberty were assembled into a single whole.

After the start of construction, it became clear that much more funds were needed than originally planned. On both sides of the ocean, a large-scale fundraising campaign, lotteries, charity concerts, and other events were initiated. When calculating the design parameters of a huge statue of Bartholdi, the help of an experienced engineer was required. Alexander Gustav Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tower, personally designed the construction of a strong iron support and frame, which allows the statue's copper shell to move freely, while maintaining the balance of the monument itself.

Americans were reluctant to part with funds, because there were difficulties in collecting the required amount, so Joseph Pulitzer wrote a series of articles on the pages of his World newspaper, addressing representatives of the upper and middle classes and urging them to allocate money for a good cause. Criticism was extremely harsh, and it had an effect

By August 1885, the United States managed to raise the required amount, by which time the French had already completed their part of the work and brought parts of the statue to New York. The Statue of Liberty was divided into 350 parts and transported on the frigate Ysere in 214 boxes. For 4 months, all parts of the monument were assembled, and with a huge gathering of people, on October 26, 1886, the opening ceremony of the legendary monument took place. It so happened that the gift for the 100th anniversary was 10 years late. It is worth noting that the hand with the torch was collected even earlier and was even exhibited at an exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.

Now back to the material:

They tried to solve the riddle by comparing the lining material with samples taken from the largest mines in the world. The experiment made even more confusion, versions grew like mushrooms after rain. Copper samples similar in composition of impurities were found in the English mines in Swansea, in the German Mansfield and in the Spanish mining region of Huelva. Norwegian scientists have little doubt that Bartholdi purchased 90 tons of copper from the Visnes mine, which was developed in the 1870s on Karmoy Island in the North Sea. At the same time, the company that owns this mine was managed by a Frenchman and was headquartered in Paris. The Norwegians were so eager to consider themselves "suppliers of building material for the American Liberty" that they ordered spectrographic analysis from Bell Laboratories. His results showed that the copper from the North Sea was very similar to that of the statue, but not identical. And this gives a chance to develop another theory about the origin of the metal - this time Russian.

Nizhny Tagil, Copper mine. fox mountain

From the Urals to Paris

Miniakhmet Mutalov, a Bashkir scientist, candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences, and employees of the Vysokogorsky mining and processing plant have no doubt that copper for Lady Liberty was purchased from the Demidov industrialists, who owned the Nizhny Tagil mines. True, they are guided by their experience in mining, and not by the results of research from American laboratories. Nevertheless, one cannot but agree with them that in the 1870s, Russian copper was indeed very popular in the West, where it was called "Old Sable". The Demidov mines undoubtedly could provide the required volume of production. In 1814, a huge copper quarry was opened on Mount Vyiskaya near Nizhny Tagil, and by 1850 copper production there reached 10,000 tons per year. By comparison, the Norwegian mine - the number one candidate - then produced only 3,000 tons.

Nizhny Tagil copper was sold mainly in the markets of Western Europe, despite the fact that the mine was very far from the consumer. In 1851, at the first World Exhibition in London, she received three bronze medals, and in 1867, the Demidovs won first place at the Paris Exhibition.

In France, they heard about the successes of Russian miners before. French specialists often came to the Urals to study. In the Nizhny Tagil archives for the 19th century, hundreds of contracts with foreigners who were hired by the Demidovs have been preserved. They employed 42 foreigners - British, Swiss, Germans, Belgians, Italians and 14 French. The personal consultant of the industrialists was a mining engineer from France Leple, and his compatriot by the name of Bokar worked as the administrator of the Nizhny Tagil plant. Such close cooperation greatly contributed to the establishment of channels for the supply of metal to a Western buyer.

Secret signs

Conspiracy sources also testify in favor of the version about the Russian origin of the Statue of Liberty. It is known that Bartholdi and Eiffel were members of the French Masonic lodge, and it was the “freemasons” who helped them raise 3.5 million francs for the manufacture of the statue. The construction of the pedestal was financed by the Masonic Lodge of New York. Media magnate Joseph Pulitzer donated about $100,000 to the monument, with the condition that a note with his name and the words "Russian emigrant and Jew" be placed at the base of the monument. At the same time, according to official data, he was born in Hungary and it was from there that he moved to the United States.

It is known that French and American Freemasons maintained rather close relations, including those of a business nature, with Russian "freemasons". And the Demidovs occupied a very high position in the Masonic hierarchy of Russia. After the uprising of the Decembrists, the emperor banned Masonic lodges, and they had to go underground. "Freemasons" from the capital's aristocracy and the bourgeoisie hastily got rid of images of compasses, trowels and pyramids on clothes, carriages and facades of houses. The Demidovs were the only ones who continued to openly display Masonic symbols - a silver hammer and a tool that looked like a trowel were depicted on their family coat of arms.

Pavel Pavlovich Demidov, who in the 1870s headed the complex of Nizhny Tagil enterprises, spent his youth in Paris. In the mid-1860s, after graduating from the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, he continued his education under the guidance of a well-known scientist, publicist, political figure and ... Freemason Edward Rene de Laboulaye. At the same time, the young, promising sculptor Frederic Bartholdi was sculpting a bust of his idolized Laboulet.

On one of the summer days of 1865, the flower of French Freemasonry gathered in Laboulet's house: Oscar and Edmund Lafayette, grandchildren of the Marquis Lafayette - the Masonic brother of George Washington, historian Henry Martin and, of course, Bartholdi. Edouard Rene shared an idea with his friends: what a beautiful gesture on the part of the French Republicans it would be to give the Americans a memorial symbolizing freedom as a token of their friendship! Contemporaries called Laboulet "the main admirer of America in France", among other things, the gift was to highlight the contrast between American democracy and the repressive political methods of the Second Empire. For the 31-year-old Bartholdi, who did not hesitate to pick up the idea of ​​​​an older comrade, this was a chance to show his talent to the whole world.

It wasn't built right away.

The implementation of the idea had to wait until the end of the Franco-Prussian War. In 1871, Laboulet invited Bartholdi to go to America and do everything necessary so that the monument was opened on July 4, 1876 - the centennial anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Without money and a sketch of the monument, but with a pile of letters of recommendation to the American brothers, the sculptor sailed to America. The idea of ​​the statue appeared in his head when he was already sailing to New York - Frederick quickly made a sketch.

Three years later, Bartholdi returned to France, where he established the Franco-American Union to raise funds for the construction of the monument "Liberty that illuminates the world." Soon he began work on its creation together with the Parisian company Gaget, Gauthier & Cie.

The sculptor wrote off the face of "Freedom" from his mother. First, he made a four-foot clay model, then a nine-foot plaster model, then he began to proportionally increase each of its parts by nine times ... But the deadlines were delayed due to a constant lack of funds.

Although more than 100,000 French people donated to the monument, the Masons managed to raise the necessary money only by 1880. Probably, the missing amount was presented to them by the Americans. It was not for nothing that Bartholdi invited United States Secretary of the Treasury Levi P. Morton to install the first piece of copper cladding on the big toe of the statue's left foot. On July 4, 1884, two months after the completion of the work, the monument was officially presented to the US Ambassador to Paris, Levi Morton. For another two years, Lady Liberty stood in Paris, waiting for a pedestal to be built for her in Hudson Bay.

On August 5, 1884, in the pouring rain, which forced the cancellation of the Masonic parade (there would still not be enough space for it on a tiny island), the ceremony of laying the first stone in the pedestal of the statue was held. Then under it was that famous “box with a secret”, in which, in addition to the names of the Masonic presidents and Pulitzer’s strange statement about his Russian roots, they say, the names of all the people who took part in the creation of “Lady Liberty” are indicated, but for some reason reasons for not admitting it.

In June 1885, disassembled and packed in 214 containers, the statue arrived in New York. It took another 15 months to collect it, and finally, on October 28, 1886, a gift from France appeared before the Americans in all its glory. The opening ceremony of the monument was presided over by the President of the United States Freemason Grover Cleveland. The monument was consecrated by the Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of New York, Henry Potter, also a member of the Freemasons Lodge. Grand Master Senator Chauncey M. Depew delivered the commencement speech.

And only Russian Freemasons could not openly announce their participation in the construction of the monument - most likely, they would not have been praised for this in their homeland. Perhaps that is why all the documents evidencing the sale of 90 tons of Russian copper to France were carefully destroyed.

Marriage of convenience

In general, the policy of the Russian tsars in relation to lodges was not consistent. So, while pursuing "free masons" in his country, Alexander III nevertheless actively collaborated with the French Masons. The desire not to get involved in international adventures and wars pushed him to rapprochement with Paris, where at that time the lodges ruled the ball. The sovereign had no choice - Great Britain encroached on Russian territories, Prussia was too aggressive. Alexander had to accept the foreign policy line for rapprochement with France, which was offered to him by Foreign Minister Girs.

Alexander only benefited from cooperation with Masonic France - huge investments flowed into the country. In 1888, Gosquier, an emissary of French banks, arrived in St. Petersburg for negotiations with Finance Minister Ivan Vyshnegradsky, who later began to manage the capitals of all members of the royal family. In November 1888, a decree was issued to issue a Russian gold four percent loan.

Initially, its amount was only 500 million francs. But already in February of the following year, Alexander ordered the issuance of a consolidated loan of the first series in the amount of 175 million rubles for the conversion of five percent bonds of numerous railway loans of the 1870s. The French, who saw Russia as a guarantor of protection against the Prussian threat, actively subscribed to it, and thereby stimulated St. Petersburg to expand business contacts.

The deal went through, and already in April, the so-called loan of consolidated Russian bonds of the second series appeared, in the amount of 310.5 million rubles. It was released in conjunction with the Rothschild bank and was also a huge success. After that, the French began the actual "economic occupation" of Russia. They invested in the construction of railways and factories, cut down mines and erected oil rigs. This continued almost until the outbreak of the First World War.

Perhaps if Russia and France had made friends a little earlier, the sale of copper for the ambitious Bartholdi project would not have had to be hidden. But now the historical truth is no longer so important, all the same, the statue remained in history not as a Masonic symbol, but as a talisman of emigrants who come to the New World in search of a new life.

But look at another example from history, like one person, but with. Yes, and if you remember something about major transactions, for example The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

The most recognizable symbol of New York and the United States throughout the world is the monumental Statue of Liberty. The full name of the sculpture is "Liberty Enlightening the World" (English - Liberty Enlightening the World).

The statue rises in New York Bay, on Liberty Island, located 3 km from the south coast of the always busy Manhattan. In honor of the statue, the former Bedloe Island was popularly called as early as the beginning of the 19th century, it was officially renamed in 1956.

The sculptural image of the goddess of Liberty is deeply symbolic. The inscription on the tablet, which Liberty holds in her left hand: "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" - "July 4, 1776" - the official date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. With one foot, the goddess stands on broken fetters. The Crown of Liberty has seven rays - this number echoes the number of continents and seas (seven each - according to Western geographical tradition).

Monuments-copies of the Statue of Liberty Bartholdi can now be found in different countries of the world. The most famous of them are in Paris, Tokyo and Las Vegas.

Weight and height of the Statue of Liberty in the USA

According to various sources, the weight of copper in the statue is from 27.22 to 31 tons, the weight of the steel structure is 113.4-125 tons. The total weight of the Statue of Liberty exceeds 200 tons.

The height of the Statue of Liberty in New York is 93 meters, it includes a concrete and steel pedestal and a 46-meter female figure with a torch in her right hand and a tablet in her left.

There is an elevator inside the pedestal. To climb to the crown of Liberty from the level of her feet, it is necessary to overcome 377 steps.

Contrary to popular belief, the Statue of Liberty in the United States is not one of the ten tallest monuments in the world in terms of its height. However, taking into account the pedestal, it takes 6-8th place in the list of the largest monuments (depending on classification), is the tallest statue in the United States.

History of the Statue of Liberty

France is the country that donated the Statue of Liberty to the United States on the centenary of the American Revolution.

Copper neoclassical sculpture designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The supporting structure was carefully thought out by Gustave Eiffel and his assistant engineer Maurice Koechlin. According to the agreement, the monument was erected by the American side according to the project of R. M. Hunt.

The site for the monument in New York Harbor was approved by Congress in 1877, taking into account the wishes of the sculptor Bartholdi, who chose the island, past which all ships sailed to New York.

For a number of reasons, the statue was installed later than the anniversary date. Funding problems were relevant for both countries. To attract investors, the right hand torch was first completed: they were exhibited in 1876 at the Philadelphia World's Fair in 1876, and then exhibited in New York's Madison Square.

The French part of the monument - the figure of Liberty - was completed in 1884. The frigate Ysere delivered the statue to New York on June 17, 1885. 350 components of the future design were packed in 214 boxes. It took about 4 months to assemble.

The opening of the Statue of Liberty on October 28 was accompanied by a solemn parade through the streets of New York. The ceremony on the island was attended by senior politicians chaired by US President Steven Grover Cleveland. The builders laid the first stone of the pedestal on August 5, 1885. To strengthen the structure, steel lintels and upward anchor beams (similar to the frame of the Eiffel Tower) were built into the masonry for mounting the statue.

A green coating characteristic of copper has been covering the statue since about 1900, natural oxidation protects the metal from atmospheric influences.

Since 1933, the statue has been administered by the US National Park Service (NPS).

During the Second World War, the landmark-symbol remained open to tourists, but was not illuminated at night. On the day of the successful Normandy operation on June 6, 1944, the lights of the lighthouse statue transmitted the message of victory (letter V in Morse code).

In 1946, the inside of the statue was covered within reach of visitors with a special plastic from which the inscriptions can be easily washed off.

The original torch of the Statue of Liberty is now in the museum inside the pedestal. As you know, it was badly damaged as a result of an explosion on the Black Tom Peninsula in 1916, later modernized, but still required restoration, since water began to penetrate through it into the monument. As part of a large-scale restoration in 1984, the torch was replaced with its exact historical copy: it reflects the sun's rays during the day and is illuminated by searchlights at night.

The American Statue of Liberty was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984 as "a masterpiece of the human spirit, a powerful symbol of peace, human rights, the abolition of slavery, global democracy and opportunity."

In a restored form, the statue became available to visitors in 1886. A second temporary closure occurred shortly after the September 11 attacks until the end of 2001, but the pedestal only became available in August 2004. Later, the monument was closed to visitors twice: for the period of installation of new elevators (for a year from October 2011), due to the suspension of the government (October 1-13, 2013).

How to get there

The entrance to the Liberty Island National Park is free, but access to it is possible only by ferry, for which you need to pay a fixed fee. The route also covers Ellis Island, which is now home to the Immigration Museum. The piers of the island are closed to private vessels.

Special cruise ferries (Statue Cruises ferries) run daily (except December 25), departing from two berths: from Manhattan's Battery Park and from Liberty State Park to Jersey City (New Jersey). The first ferry to the island departs at 9:30, the last at 15:30.

The cost of a ferry ticket to the Statue of Liberty: for adults and children from 13 years old - $ 18.5, for children 4-12 years old - $ 9, for the elderly (from 62 years old) - $ 14, children under 4 years old - free of charge. It is recommended to book tickets in advance - on the official website of the ferry company (so that the site is available - the entrance is anonymous). You can also check additional rates on the US National Parks website.

Statue of Liberty webcams

New York webcams with a view of the Statue of Liberty view the main monument from different angles - a great way to see the landmark in absentia.

Video "Statue of Liberty"