Enlightenment through the Wisdom of Sophia

In the Judeo-Christian tradition the goddess Sophia is the beginning, the source of wisdom, and keeper of the knowledge of all that is righteous and just. With her sound wisdom and guidance, rulers lead their kingdoms to prosper. In the darkness and ignorance that thrive in her absence, the proverbial wasteland eats away at the soul and nations perish. Sophia ("Wisdom"), also called "the Sophia" with the article, is the Gnostic Great Mother or in Greek,meter. She is the Goddess of Heaven and the Mother of the Stars and the Hebdomas, the Seven powers who created the world. They are sometimes called "angels" but are of ambiguous character, since in Gnostic belief this material world is thought to be a lesser emanation of the divine world, filled with hostile and evil powers. The Seven find their antecedants in the seven "planets" of Babylonian belief.

Gnosis means "deep knowledge" or "spiritual understanding", and was usually understood by the Gnostics to mean "revelation". Our word "know" has its roots in "gnosis". The Gnostics were an early mystic sect who existed prior to Christianity, but who were much influenced by it later. In the early centuries of the current era it presented serious competition for the mainstream Church. The new orthodox Church that developed in response rejected Gnosticism and its writings, which included the Gospels of Thomas, Phillip, and Mary Magdalene.
Sophia is considered one of the Aeons, Angels of Manifested Thought, who created all things. She is the mother of Sophia-achamoth (who represents astral light), Enthumesis ("Consideration" or "Esteem") and the Elohim ("the Gods"). With Phronesia ("Purpose" or "Practical Wisdom") and Dynamis ("Power") She created the Angels and the Principalities (the Higher Angels). Called the Spirit of God, She is also sometimes said to be His mother, and some call Her the Bride of Christ.
She is represented here as all-seeing Wisdom.
Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, now Istanbul (not Constantinople--it's been a long time gone), was built by the Emperor Constantine in February 15, 360 CE in honor of Her and remains one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
Hagia Sophia is a great architectural beauty and an important monument both for Byzantine and for Ottoman Empires. Once a church, later a mosque, and now a museum at the Turkish Republic, Hagia Sophia has always been the precious of its time.
The mystical city Istanbul hosted many civilizations since centuries, of which Byzantium and Ottoman Empires were both the most famous ones. The city today carries the characteristics of these two different cultures and surely Hagia Sophia is a perfect synthesis where one can observe both Ottoman and Byzantium effects under one great dome.The Hagia Sophia has a classical basilica plan. The main ground plan of the building is a rectangle, 230 feet (70 m) in width and 246 feet (75 m) in length. The area is covered by a central dome with a diameter of 102 feet (31 m), which is just slightly smaller than that of the Pantheon in Rome.

The main dome is carried on pendentives: four concave triangular sections of masonry which solve the problem of setting the circular base of a dome on a rectangular base. Each pendentive is decorated with a seraphim. The weight of the dome passes through the pendentives to four massive piers at the corners, and between them the dome seems to float upon four great arches.
At the western and eastern ends, the arched openings are extended by semi-domes. The flat wall on each side of the interior (north and south) is called atympanum, and each one has 12 large windows in two rows, seven in the lower and five in the upper.


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