Asmat Okropiridze
PhD in Art History
The G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation
Chief Research Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0009-0004-9409-5043
Asmat Okropiridze
PhD in Art History
The G. Chubinashvili National Research Centre for Georgian Art History and Heritage Preservation
Chief Research Fellow
Tbilisi, Georgia
ORCID: 0009-0004-9409-5043
On the Relationship of Raphael Eristavi's Poetry
with the Paradigm of Georgian Culture
Raphael Eristavi's inexhaustible spiritual heritage continues to reveal new depths, highlighting its profound connection with the paradigm of Georgian culture. By divine providence, the path from the Tree of Life in Eden to Golgotha was established from the very beginning as the central meaning of Georgia's spiritual existence. In the heart of the country located at the center of the Eurasian continent, the life-giving pillar was raised on the Lord's tunic, with its peak reaching the heavens. The symbolic connection between the Garden of Eden and Golgotha, as evidenced by archaeological materials, was revealed from the outset through the ancient presence of vines and wheat in this ancient homeland of agriculture. The vine and wheat, as plants, are the "heirs" of the Tree of Life, entrusted by the Lord from the very beginning to carry the salvific sacrifice of Golgotha – the blood and body. In this context, Raphael's poetry reveals a minimalist yet profound connection with the paradigm of Georgian culture. In this presentation, several poems and the semantics of their keywords will be discussed: "The Harvest of Bread" (which Akaki Tsereteli called the orphaned pearl of Georgian literature) – words such as "bread," "stream," "shining," "golden," "the Lord's eye"; "The Song of the Vinedresser" – "blessed by the Lord," "mother of red wine," "with a joyful heart," "I am strong and brave through you," "I bless the grace of your Zedashe"; "The Thoughts of Sessia" – "I am the soil of the land," "the earth is my mother and father, my brother, my sister"; "The Homeland of the Khevsur" – "rocky cliff," "tree of immortality," "the paradise of another country."
Keywords: Raphiel Eristavi, Architecture, church, art.