November 14, 2003
Exteriors
image: An overall view of
the capitol, looking at the north face of the building. Note the Art
Deco relief figures and office tower.
image: Another overall view, this time of the west face of the building.
image: The top of the capitol, with a hemispherical dome.
image: The dome of the capitol, with an enormous statue known as "The Sower." Note the Native American motifs just below the dome.
image: The capitol backlit by the sun, viewed from the east.
image: The entry vestibule, with Roman columns and Byzantine mosaics in this smaller dome.
image: Looking down on the western side of the building, from the top of the office tower.
image: The southern side of the building, at that point under restoration.
Interiors
image: The larger dome,
which is the center of the building. Note that the building has two
domes: this lower dome, visible only from the inside, and the upper
dome, which caps the office tower. The vaults connecting the axes of
the building are Romanesque.
image: The Nebraskan unicambrial legislature, the design of which is evocative of the Roman senate.
Details
image: This inscription
greets those entering the building from the north.
image: On the southern facade are a number of Art Deco carved images of various historical figures, presumably by their connection with the advancement of politics and law. Here we see Moses and Akhenaton. Moses, of course, led the Exodus from Egypt, and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Akhenaton, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled shortly after the Exodus, established a monotheistic state religion: heresy for ancient Egypt.
image: Hammurabi also occupies a position of prestige on the southern facade, since he established the first written word of law, known as Hammurabi's Code. This was written in cuneiform, the most ancient of writing systems, which can be seen below him in this photograph.
image: Solon was a lawmaker in Athens during the Golden Age, and his legal reforms provided justice for the poor as well as the rich.
image: Julius Caesar, as we all know, brought an end to the Roman Republic. Although he was assassinated before he could take permanent power as emperor, his heirs lived on as rulers of the known world, over the Roman Empire. Caesar here is shown in armor; he was also an accomplished military leader, and he showed his strength in his campaigns in Gaul during the earlier years of his career. Justinian, at Caesar's left in this picture, was a ruler of the Byzantine Empire, which consisted of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, and was based in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
image: A closer view of Caesar and Justinian.
image: Charlemagne (or, as the Germans call him, Karl der Grosse), the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned such by the Pope on Christmas Day in AD 800 in Rome. The orb he holds here is a symbol of the papal authority vested in him. A circular granite stone in the floor near the entryway of St. Peter's Basilica today marks the spot of his coronation. The facade also featured a visage of King Solomon (the third king of Israel), but I somehow managed to delete the pictures I shot of him.
image: Higher up on the facade than these lawmakers, there were two other figures. One of these was John, the beloved apostle, here seen holding open a book supposedly representing the Gospel he wrote.
image: Marcus Aurelius stands nearby John. He was the "philosopher emperor," subscribing to the Greek philosophy known as Stoicism. The scrolls he holds seem to represent his philosophical writings.
image: The attic of the base structure is inscribed all around with the names of the Nebraskan counties, above which are illustrated great moments in history, government, or law. I was amused to find that a Hitchcock County exists in Nebraska, so I photographed its inscription. I haven't been able to decipher the meaning of the relief also visible.
image: The relief above the inscription of Washington County shows Moses carrying the Ten Commandments off of Mount Sinai, to find that the children of Israel are involved in idolatry. This is the same scene I filmed a few months earlier in my short film "The Descent form Sinai." Ironically, this picture was cited in a Supreme Court case, McCreary v. ACLU.
image: Here we see some Roman motifs at work outside of the capitol. In the center is the eagle, which in America stands for freedom. In ancient Rome, however, it stood for the power of the Roman legions, confirmed by the power of the Emperor, and the King of the Gods, Jupiter. Below the shield are the words, "E PLVRIBVS VNVM;" the Latin phrase for "From many, one" which also appears on all of our coins. Note the exclusive capitals and the substitution of "V" for "U;" lowercase letters, as well as "U," "J," and "W" were added to the alphabet in the middle ages. Note the bundles of rods which flank the central design. This is known as a fascis, and it originated in Etruscan society, before the birth of Roman civilization. It was adopted by Rome as the symbol of legal authority, and it has since been picked up by American Democracy to serve as the symbol of its supposed benevolence. These can also be seen in the House and Senate Chambers of the United States Capitol. In the 1920s, Mussolini named his new political party after this ancient symbol. He called his party the Fascists. As with the swastika, an ancient symbol was corrupted for a modern totalitarian regime.
image: On the southern facade are a number of Art Deco carved images of various historical figures, presumably by their connection with the advancement of politics and law. Here we see Moses and Akhenaton. Moses, of course, led the Exodus from Egypt, and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Akhenaton, an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled shortly after the Exodus, established a monotheistic state religion: heresy for ancient Egypt.
image: Hammurabi also occupies a position of prestige on the southern facade, since he established the first written word of law, known as Hammurabi's Code. This was written in cuneiform, the most ancient of writing systems, which can be seen below him in this photograph.
image: Solon was a lawmaker in Athens during the Golden Age, and his legal reforms provided justice for the poor as well as the rich.
image: Julius Caesar, as we all know, brought an end to the Roman Republic. Although he was assassinated before he could take permanent power as emperor, his heirs lived on as rulers of the known world, over the Roman Empire. Caesar here is shown in armor; he was also an accomplished military leader, and he showed his strength in his campaigns in Gaul during the earlier years of his career. Justinian, at Caesar's left in this picture, was a ruler of the Byzantine Empire, which consisted of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, and was based in Constantinople (now Istanbul).
image: A closer view of Caesar and Justinian.
image: Charlemagne (or, as the Germans call him, Karl der Grosse), the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned such by the Pope on Christmas Day in AD 800 in Rome. The orb he holds here is a symbol of the papal authority vested in him. A circular granite stone in the floor near the entryway of St. Peter's Basilica today marks the spot of his coronation. The facade also featured a visage of King Solomon (the third king of Israel), but I somehow managed to delete the pictures I shot of him.
image: Higher up on the facade than these lawmakers, there were two other figures. One of these was John, the beloved apostle, here seen holding open a book supposedly representing the Gospel he wrote.
image: Marcus Aurelius stands nearby John. He was the "philosopher emperor," subscribing to the Greek philosophy known as Stoicism. The scrolls he holds seem to represent his philosophical writings.
image: The attic of the base structure is inscribed all around with the names of the Nebraskan counties, above which are illustrated great moments in history, government, or law. I was amused to find that a Hitchcock County exists in Nebraska, so I photographed its inscription. I haven't been able to decipher the meaning of the relief also visible.
image: The relief above the inscription of Washington County shows Moses carrying the Ten Commandments off of Mount Sinai, to find that the children of Israel are involved in idolatry. This is the same scene I filmed a few months earlier in my short film "The Descent form Sinai." Ironically, this picture was cited in a Supreme Court case, McCreary v. ACLU.
image: Here we see some Roman motifs at work outside of the capitol. In the center is the eagle, which in America stands for freedom. In ancient Rome, however, it stood for the power of the Roman legions, confirmed by the power of the Emperor, and the King of the Gods, Jupiter. Below the shield are the words, "E PLVRIBVS VNVM;" the Latin phrase for "From many, one" which also appears on all of our coins. Note the exclusive capitals and the substitution of "V" for "U;" lowercase letters, as well as "U," "J," and "W" were added to the alphabet in the middle ages. Note the bundles of rods which flank the central design. This is known as a fascis, and it originated in Etruscan society, before the birth of Roman civilization. It was adopted by Rome as the symbol of legal authority, and it has since been picked up by American Democracy to serve as the symbol of its supposed benevolence. These can also be seen in the House and Senate Chambers of the United States Capitol. In the 1920s, Mussolini named his new political party after this ancient symbol. He called his party the Fascists. As with the swastika, an ancient symbol was corrupted for a modern totalitarian regime.
captainlogan@earthlink.net