Shinto Shrines

.

Shinto shrines are places of worship and the dwellings of the kami, the Shinto "gods". Sacred objects of worship that represent the kami are stored in the innermost chamber of the shrine where they cannot be seen by anybody.

People visit shrines in order to pay respect to the kami or to pray for good fortune. Shrines are also visited during special events such as New Year, setsubun, shichigosan and other festivals. New born babies are traditionally brought to a shrine a few days after birth, and many couples hold their wedding ceremonies there.

The following structures and objects can be typically found at a shrine:

	Torii One or more torii gates mark the approach and entrance to a shrine. They come in various colors and are made of various materials. Most torii, however are made of wood, and many are painted orange and black.
	Komainu Komainu are a pair of guardian dogs or lions, often found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Inari Shrines, they are foxes (see picture) rather than dogs.
	Purification through Found near the entrance, the water of these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall. Click here for more details.
	Main and offering hall Depending on the shrine's architecture style, the main hall (honden) and offering hall (haiden) are two separate buildings or combined into one building. The main hall's innermost chamber contains the shrine's sacred object, while visitors make their prayers and offerings at the offering hall. Click here for more details.
	Stage Stages for bugaku dance or no theater performances can be found at some shrines.
	Ema Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true. Most people wish for good health, success in business, passing entrance exams, love or wealth.
	Omikuji Omikuji are fortune telling paper slips found at many shrines and temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from daikichi ("great good luck") to daikyo ("great bad luck"). By tying the piece of paper around a tree's branch, good fortune will come true or bad fortune can be averted.
	Shimenawa A shimenawa is a straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (gohei). It marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on torii gates, around sacred trees and stones, etc. A rope similar to the shimenawa is also worn by yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo wrestlers, during ritual ceremonies.

There can be a variety of additional buildings such as the priest's house and office, a storehouse for mikoshi and other auxiliary buildings. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are almost never found at shrines, because death is considered a cause of impurity in Shinto, and in Japan is dealt with mostly by Buddhism.

The architecture and features of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples have melted together over the centuries. There are several construction styles, most of which show (Buddhist) influences from the Asian mainland. Only a few of today's shrines are considered to be built in a purely Japanese style. Among them are Shinto's most important shrines, the Ise Shrines.

There are tens of thousands of shrines across Japan, some of which can be categorized into a few major groups of shrines. Some of these groups are:

• Imperial Shrines
  These are the shrines which were directly funded and administered by the government during the era of State Shinto. They include many of Shinto's most important shrines such as the Ise Shrines, Izumo Shrine and Atsuta Shrine, and a number of shrines newly built during the Meiji Period, such as Tokyo's Meiji Shrine and Kyoto's Heian Shrine. Imperial shrines can be recognized by the imperial family's chrysanthemum crest and by the fact that they are often called "jingu" rather than "jinja".
• Inari Shrines
  Inari Shrines are dedicated to Inari, the kami of rice. They can be recognized by fox statues, as the fox is considered the messenger of Inari. There are several ten thousand Inari Shrines across Japan, among which Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine is most famous.
• Hachiman Shrines
  Hachiman Shrines are dedicated to Hachiman, the kami of war, which used to be particularly popular among the leading military clans of the past. Of Japan's thousands of Hachiman Shrines, the most famous is probably Kamakura's Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
• Tenjin Shrines
  Tenjin Shrines are dedicated to the kami of Sugawara Michizane, a Heian Period scholar and politician. They are particularly popular among students preparing for entrance exams. Tenjin Shrines can be recognized by ox statues and plum trees, Michizane's favorite trees. The first and most famous Tenjin Shrine is Dazaifu Tenmangu near Fukuoka.
• Sengen Shrines
  Sengen Shrines are dedicated to Princess Konohanasakuya, the Shinto deity of Mount Fuji. More than one thousand Sengen Shrines exist across Japan, with the head shrines standing at the foot and the summit of Mount Fuji itself.
• Shrines dedicated to the founders of powerful clans
  Some powerful clans in Japanese history established and dedicated shrines to the their clans' founders. The most famous example are the several dozens of Toshogu Shrines dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, including the famous Toshogu Shrine at Nikko. Another example is Kanazawa's Oyama Shrine which is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the powerful, local Maeda clan.
• Local Shrines
  Many shrines are dedicated to local kami without association to other shrines.

.

Pagan Frisia

.

Engraving from 1662 depicting Redbad

Friesland was one of the last nations to convert from their pagan religion, and this by force after under Charlemagne in the 8th century. Remnants of paganism continued for a few hundred years, and, like the rest of the Germanic peoples, elements of the old paganism were drafted into Catholicism to make it more palatable to the people. Elements like the excessive reliance on relics and saint-worship.



Pagan Frisia, by Catherine Buma


It is difficult to define ‘Frisian paganism’ as the religious practices of Western Europe usually varied from one area to another. In Frisia, each terp, (a raised settlement to avoid flooding), could have its own established rites, favourite gods, or shrines. In addition, there are few surviving sources that can define the heathendom of Frisia as it existed in ancient and early medieval times. However, from the artifacts and inscriptions found in Friesland today and elsewhere, it is apparent that while the religion of the Frisians was similar to their Germanic neighbours, it did contain elements that separated it from them.

In pre-Roman times, the Germanic tribes tended to imbue their immediate environment with divine powers. While the tree or stream itself was not divine, it could be inhabited by a spiritual presence. It wasn’t until the Germanic tribes were influenced by the Romans that power began to be invested in divinities with human characteristics and forms.

From the time of Constantine onwards, a concerted effort was made to Christianize the various ‘heathen’ peoples that inhabited much of Western Europe. Redbad, the leader of Frisia from 679 – 719 AD, is the greatest folk hero of the Frisians and was a devoted heathen. Previous to his rule, Christian missionaries had been let into Frisia. He soon saw to their expulsion and burned their churches behind them. After Redbad’s death, Charles Martel, ‘The Hammer,’ managed to defeat the Frisians at the Battle of the River Boorne in 734 AD. In the following years missionaries once again ‘converted’ the Frisians. This was only a superficial arrangement and almost certainly was mainly a lip service paid by the Frisian leaders. However, the church influenced the ruling class to stamp out the oral tradition of the Frisians by silencing the heathen priests and skalds or bards who had sung the epic poems of Frisia. It is reported that in 793 AD there was only one bard left alive, Bernlef. Most consider the actual defeat of heathenism in Frisia as the date when Charlemagne, Martel’s grandson, defeated the alliance of East Frisia and Saxony in 785 AD. However, it is interesting to note that when Charlemagne codified the laws of all the conquered people sometime after 800 AD, the Frisians produced not only the Lex Frisonium but also a pagan legend accompanying its creation. The tale revolves around the 12 Asegas, or ‘law-speakers,’ of Frisia. When asked for their laws, they inform Charlemagne that they cannot agree upon them and so he sets them adrift in a ship without a helm. After a time spent in prayer, a thirteenth person appears with them; a god with a golden axe, presumably Fosite, the god of justice, who proclaims Frisian law to the Asegas. It is obvious, then, that Frisian paganism existed well past the time of their ‘conversion.’

The Lex Frisionium, completed in approximately 802 AD, detailed the laws of the Frisians, many of which were based or ratified according to pagan tradition. Over the years, fixed actions, designed to evoke a certain outcome, had evolved. Rites involving transitions such as birth, maturity, death or fertility, including those designed to increase crop yield, are probably the most common. A child’s birth, for example, involved a certain ritual to grant it status as a member of the tribe. First, a child had to be raised from the ground and set upon the father’s knee where it was sprinkled with water. Up until this point, it was acceptable to kill a child without legal repercussions. Liudger, a Frisian and also Catholic missionary to his homeland, urged the bard Bernlef to baptize as many infants as he could as he traveled about Frisia. By this baptism, they were no longer at risk of being killed. In the Lex Frisionium, infanticide was still acknowledged under some circumstances, obviously a remnant of this tradition.

The religious beliefs of the Frisians were a form of Odinism or Asatru. Many of us are familiar with Odin and his pleasure palace at Valhalla for those honoured warriors, or Thor swinging his mighty hammer. The northern Germanic peoples, too, had their variations of these legends and gods and almost certainly told epic tales concerning them before their oral tradition was wiped out under the church and the Frankish empire. In Frisia, for example, it is known that Odin went by the name of Wêda. The Frisians named the central day of the week after him, Wensdei or Wernsdei. Even today we can see traces of Odinism in the days of the week. The god Tiu or Tiwaz to the Frisians became Tiisdei or Tiwesdei, our Tuesday. Donar was the ‘thunderer’ and was named Thuner by the Frisians and Saxons and so we have Thunresdei or ThunersdePagan frisian god Freyri. Frîjaor Frigg became Friday (Frigendei) and Sunday and Monday were named after the cult of the sun god and the moon goddess respectively, (Snein en Moandei).

Heathenism did not imbue moral principles to an individual. Instead, an individual functioned according to a system of obligations based on his given word.

Marriage, for example, was an oath that bound two people together and so led to certain obligations that would then help establish a working society. This is why the swearing of an oath was so important to the Frisians. To break an oath almost certainly meant death

Despite the reorganization of their social structure from the 8th century onwards, the Frisians adapted and retained their place as a unique group amongst the peoples of Western Europe. And if the ancestor worshipping pagans were correct, Redbad is still with them in spirit.






.

The Persian Renaissance

.


Did you happen to see that amazing Iranian parade last March on Madison Avenue? The smiling women were beautifully made up and garbed in colorful silks. The men wore blue headdresses and robes. Marchers carried a sign that read, "Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds." The music was engaging, the floats were filled with flowers, and happy marchers were chanting joyfully about Iran.

It's not likely that you did see the parade, because these Iranians are Persians, and we don't hear much about them. We should: They may end up being America's best allies in the war against Islamic jihadists.

There are, in fact, two Irans, and the lesser known one to most Americans is undergoing a renaissance that the ruling Iranian mullahs fear the most. If the Persians are awakened to their identity as children of Cyrus the Great, who wrote mankind's first charter of human rights, these oppressive regimes will topple domino-style. Besides Iran, the Persian heritage is embedded in Iraq and Afghanistan, and were it to be rekindled, a revolution unheard of in scope could occur. Does this sound like a pipe dream?

Not according to an Iranian dissident and former Muslim I met recently who told me that Korans are being burned in Iran, and that there is a strong movement toward the philosophy of Zoroastrianism. This man showed me the pendant he now wears, a symbol of the ancient religion (it is older than Judaism). This symbol, carried by many of the parade marchers, can be seen at persianparade.org.

I had to travel outside New York to meet with this individual, who still has relatives living in Iran. The trip was worth it, as I was able to learn more about what's happening behind the headlines.

"Immediately after September 11," my new friend said, "I knew we must go to Iraq." That the war option was apparent to this and other Iranians has eluded most of the liberal elite.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," George Santayana said, and I think of this quotation every time I read the speeches at the anti-war rallies and marvel at the ignorance displayed there. Sad to say, Americans aren't big on history, and that goes for our diplomatic representatives as well. The truth is, Americans have been fighting jihadists since Colonial times, when Muslim pirates were seizing American ships. I thought James Baker, a former secretary of state, was a smart man, and yet he and the Iraq Study Group came up with the naïve notion that we can negotiate with jihadists.

This is absolutely senseless. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams reported why after their failed peace mission in Paris: "It was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise."

Gee, that sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? Well, as it turned out, the only thing that stopped the jihadists was war, and so Jefferson led us into the First Barbary War. James Madison led us into the second Barbary War.

The Persian Renaissance, known as Anjomane Padeshahi Iran, is being spearheaded by a charismatic leader, Dr. Froud Fouladvand. He has offered Iranian people the reason to fight by awakening their semidormant national identity, an identity that was overshadowed by radical Islam. In fact, my friend said, "the API draws on centuries of experience handed down by those who have battled this enemy from its virtual inception. We slew the first three rulers of Islam as Persians — and many of their military governors. Few people — even our own — are taught that even Imam Ali, father of the Shiites, was sent to hell by a Persian."

There are more than 7 million Persians living outside Iran, and many are connected through online communications, meaning theirs may end up being the first revolution fueled by Internet technology. According to API's English-language Web site, at iransara.info, Dr. Fouladvand is nearing Iran, and the overthrow of Islamic rule is scheduled to take place before the Iranian New Year, March 21. My Iranian contact says America should leave Iran to the Iranians, and that may be what is happening. Liberal pundits are continually criticizing the administration for not going after Iran because of its support of the Iraqi insurgency. Maybe President Bush has read his history and knows the Persians are coming, the Persians are coming.




By Alicia Colon.

.

The Roots of Western Mysticism: Parmenides, "On Nature"

.

• 1 The mares, which carry me as far as my heart desires, were escorting me. They brought and placed me upon the well-spoken path of the goddess, which carries everywhere unscathed the mortal who knows. Thereon was I carried, for thereon the wise mares did carry me, straining to pull the chariot, with maidens guiding the way. The axle, glowing in its naves, gave forth the shrill sound of a pipe, urged on by two rounded wheels on either end, even whilst maidens, Daughters of the Sun, were hastening to escort me, after leaving the House of Night for the light, having pushed back the veils from their heads with their hands.
  
  Ahead are the gates of the paths of Night and Day. A lintel and stone threshold surround them. The aetherial gates themselves are filled with great doors, for which much-avenging Justice holds the keys of retribution. Coaxing her with gentle words, the maidens did cunningly persuade her to push back the bolted bar for them swiftly from the gates. These made of the doors a yawning gap as they were opened wide, swinging in turn the bronze posts in their sockets, fastened with rivets and pins. Straight through them at that point did the maidens drive the chariot and mares along the broad way.
  
  The goddess received me kindly, took my right hand in hers, uttered speech and thus addressed me: "Youth, attended by immortal charioteers, who come to our House by these mares that carry you, welcome. For it was no ill fortune that sent you forth to travel this road (lying far indeed from the beaten path of humans), but Right and Justice. And it is right that you should learn all things, both the persuasive, unshaken heart of Objective Truth, and the subjective beliefs of mortals, in which there is no true trust. But you shall learn these too: how, for the mortals passing through them, the things-that-seem must 'really exist' and must be, indeed, all there is. (fn a)

The Way of Objectivity (Aletheia)

• 2 "Come now, listen, and convey my story. I shall tell you what paths of inquiry alone there are for thinking:
  • 1. The one: that it is and it is impossible for it not to be. This is the path of Persuasion, for it attends upon Truth.
  • 2. The other: that it is not and it necessarily must not be. That, I point out to you, is a path wholly unthinkable, for neither could you know what-is-not (for that is impossible), nor could you point it out.
• 6 "Whatever can be spoken or thought of necessarily is, since it is possible for it to be, but it is not possible for nothing to be. It is this last point I urge you to consider, for I restrain you firstly from that path of inquiry, and secondly from:
  • 3. The one on which mortals, knowing nothing, wander, two-headed, for helplessness in their breasts guides their wandering minds and they are carried, deaf and blind alike, dazed, uncritical tribes, for whom being and not-being are thought the same and yet not the same, and the path of all runs in opposite directions.
• 7 For never shall this be proved: that things that are not are. But do restrain your thought from this path of inquiry, and do not let habit, born from much experience, compel you along this path, to guide your sightless eye and ringing ear and tongue. But judge by reason the highly contentious disproof that I have spoken.
• 8a "One path only is left for us to speak of: that it is. On this path there are a multitude of indications that what-is, being ungenerated, is also imperishable, whole, of a single kind, immovable and complete. Nor was it once, nor will it be, since it is, now, all together, one and continuous. For what coming-to-be of it will you seek? How and from where did it grow? I shall not permit you to say or to think that it grew from what-is-not, for it is not to be said or thought that it is not. What necessity could have impelled it to grow later rather than sooner, if it began from nothing? Thus it must either fully be, or be not at all. Nor will the force of conviction ever allow anything, from what-is, to come-to-be something apart from itself; wherefore Justice does not loosen her shackles so as to allow it to come-to-be or to perish, but holds it fast.
  
  "The decision on these matters depends on this: either it is or it is not. But it has been decided, as is necessary, to let go the one as unthinkable and unnameable (for it is no true path), but to allow the other, so that it is, and is true. How could what-is be in the future? How could it come-to-be? For if it came-to-be, it is not, nor is it if at some time it is going to be. Thus, coming-to-be is extinguished and perishing unheard of.
  
  "Nor is it divisible, since it all alike is. Nor is there any more of it here than there, to hinder it from holding together, nor any less of it, but it is all a plenum, full of what-is. Therefore, it is all continuous, for what-is touches what-is.
  
  "Moreover, unchanging in the limits of great bonds, it is without beginning or end, since coming-to-be and perishing were banished far away, and true conviction drove them out. Remaining the same, in the same place, it lies in itself, and thus firmly remains there. For mighty Necessity holds it fast in the bonds of a limit, which fences it about, since it is not right for what-is to be incomplete. For it lacks nothing. If it lacked anything, it would lack everything.
• 8c "Since, then, there is an ultimate limit, it is completed from every direction like the bulk of a perfect sphere, evenly balanced in every way from the centre, as it must not be any greater or smaller here than there. For neither is there what-is-not, which could stop it from reaching its like, nor is there a way in which what-is could be more here and less there, since it all inviolably is. For equal to itself in every direction, it reaches its limits uniformly.
  • 3 "The same thing is there for thinking of and for being.
  • 4 Look upon things which, though absent, are yet firmly present in thought. For you shall not cut off what-is from holding fast to what-is, since it neither disperses itself in all directions throughout the order of the Cosmos, nor does it gather itself together.
  • 8b The thought of a thing-that-is and the thing itself are the same, since you will never find thought without what-is, to which it refers. For nothing is nor will be except what-is, since it was just this that Fate did shackle to be whole and unchanging; wherefore it has been named all things that mortals have established, persuaded that they are true: 'to come-to-be and to perish', 'to be and not to be' and 'to shift place and exchange bright colour'. (fn a)
  
  

The Way of Subjectivity (Doxa)

• 5 "Wherever I begin, it is all one to me, for there I shall return again.
• 8d "Here I stop my trustworthy speech to you and thought about objective truth. From here on, learn the subjective beliefs of mortals; listen to the deceptive ordering of my words. For they made up their minds to name two forms, one of which it is not right to name at all (here is where they have gone astray) and have distinguished them as opposite in bodily form and have assigned to them marks distinguishing them from one another:
  • 1. Here, on the one hand, aetherial flame of fire, gentle, very light, everywhere the same as itselfΚ-
  • 2. But not the same as this other, which in itself is opposite: dark night, a dense and heavy body.
• "All this order I present to you as probable, so that no mortal belief shall ever outdo you.
• 9 But since all things have been named light and night, and their powers have been assigned to each, all is a plenum of light and obscure night together, both equal, since nothingness partakes in neither.
• 10 "You shall know the nature of the aether and all the signs in the aether, the destructive works of the splendid Sun's pure torch, and whence they came-to-be. And you shall learn the wandering works of the round-faced Moon, and its nature, and you shall know also the surrounding heaven, whence it grew and how Necessity did guide and shackle it to hold the limits of the stars.
• 14 The Moon: night-shiner, wandering around the Earth, an alien light,
• 15 always looking towards the rays of the Sun.
• 15a The Earth: rooted-in-water.
• 11 And you shall learn how Earth and Sun and Moon and the aether common to all, the Milky Way and the outermost heaven, and the hot force of the stars did surge forth to come-to-be.
• 12 "For the narrower rings are filled with unmingled fire, the ones next to them with night, but a due amount of fire is inserted amongst it. In the midst of these is the goddess who governs everything. For she rules over hateful birth and union of all things, sending female to unite with male, and again conversely male with female.
• 13 "She devised Love first of all the gods.
• 18 When man and woman mingle the seeds of love that spring from their veins, a formative power, maintaining proper proportions, moulds well-formed bodies from this diverse blood. For if, when the seed is mingled, the forces therein clash and do not fuse into one, then cruelly will they plague with double seed the sex of the offspring.
• 17 She placed young males on the right side of the womb, young females on the left.
• 16 "According to the union in each person of scattered body parts, so does mind arise in humans. For it is the composition of body parts which does the thinking, and this is the same in each and every human. For the plenum is thought.
• 19 "Thus, according to belief, these things were born and now are, and hereafter, having grown from this, they will come to an end. And for each of these did humans establish a distinctive name.
• 20 One and unchanging is that for which as a whole the name is: 'to be'."

'
.

Associations between the Welsh Dôn and the Irish Dana

.

Don and Dana

Welsh-Irish Traditions of Folklore and Mythology

The mother goddess of Ireland was considered to be the goddess Dana who gave her name to the Tuatha de Danann, or the People of the goddess Dana. In Wales, another mother goddess of the same position was known as Don. This article will demonstrate the relationship and commonality held between these two goddesses in an attempt to support and explain Heathen traditions which span both Irish and Welsh culture.

Within Wales, Don held the position of the mother of the gods and gave her name to the children of Don (MacKillop: 130). In the Welsh Triads, the husband of Don is said to be Beli Mawr (ibid.). The descent of many powerful royal families in Wales have claimed that their lineage is derived from Beli and Anna, the `Ancient One' of Wales, that were known together as the Coil Hen (Pennick: 102). The use of this lineage has stemmed from both Heathen and Christian times (ibid.). The actual name Don appears to be a form of the Welsh Donwy which can be directly link phonetically to the Irish Danann (Rees: 52). This term is evident in the names of a few rivers in Wales such as the Trydonwy and the Dyfrdonwy (ibid.). The Dyfrdonwy is identified as one of the `three wells of the ocean' and according to a late text `comes through the veins of the mountains like the flinty feast made by the King of kings.' (ibid.).

The equivalent goddess was called Dana in Ireland. Dana is connected linguistically to the Old Irish word "anai" which means wealth (O'Hagain: 151). In medieval manuscripts she is called Ana (Maier: 12), later known as Danand (O'Hogain: 151), and finally as Danann (Maier: 17). The mutation of Ana to Dana was the result of a prosthetic "D" being added to her name (MacKillop: 130). The Irish goddesses Dana and Danu were not initially the same goddess, but instead appear to be merged together via oral tradition (Green: 77).

Ana held deep associations with two mountains located within Co. Kerry in Ireland which were called the Da' Chich nAnann, or the Paps of Ana (Green: 30). Early texts refer to Ireland as `iath nAnann' or the land of Ana (O'Hogain: 152). Many families within Ireland claim to be descended from this goddess (Squire: 245).

Both the Irish Dana and Welsh Don are considered to be the mother of the Children of Light. In early manuscripts they are both known as either Ana or Anna, and are related to the prosperity of the land itself. Dana is derived from the Old Irish "anai" meaning wealth and Don is the sister of Math whose name means wealth (Rolleston: 350).

Although it must be remembered that the name of a goddess is specific to that goddess, we can still examine the root of Ana and therefore illustrate the spread and integration of her worship in both Ireland and Wales. Other examples of goddesses which exhibit this same root are as follows:

Aine

South Munster (Ireland) - Cnoc Aine
Her day of celebration was on St. John's eve. She is considered the first ancestress by many famous Irish families (Squire: 245).

Annis

British Isles
Also called the Blue Hag, she is said to suck the blood from children. This is a very late period form of Ana (Ann and Imel: 501).

Aynia

Ulster (Ireland)
(Squire: 245)

Black Annis

Leicester (England) - Dane Hills
She is depicted as a black cat that devours children and is fairly late period. In her more temperate aspects she is referred to as Gentle Annie (Ann and Imel: 505).

Boann

Ireland - Boyne River
Her name means "she who has white cows" (MacKillop: 40). Ptolemy mentions a possible earlier form of her name, Bou-vinda (ibid.). She was the wife of Nechtain, and in other stories of Elcmar, who had an affair with the Dagda and by him conceived the child Aengus (MacKillop: 157). Her pregnancy was hid by the Dagda who cause the sun to stay in its place for nine months until the child was born and could be fostered by Midir (Green: 44).

Buanann

Ireland, Wales, and Scotland
She is considered to be the mother of heroes, and her name means "the lasting one" (MacKillop: 56). With Scathach, she taught martial arts at a school for warriors (Ellis: 54). She was given the honorary title of, the "mother of the Fianna" by Fionn and the Fianna. The Morrighan was referred to as Buan, the male form of the name, in the Tain Bo' Cuailgne (MacKillop: 56).

Resources

Ann, Martha and Imel, Dorothy Myers. "Goddesses in World Mythology." (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1993).

Ellis, Peter Berresford. "A Dictionary of Irish Mythology." (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 1987).

Green, Miranda J. "Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend." (London: Thames and Hudson, 1992).

Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel. "A History of Pagan Europe." (London: Routledge, 1995).

MacKillop, James. "Dictionary of Celtic Mythology." (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).

Maier, Bernhard. trans by Cyril Edwards. "Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture." (New York: Boydell Press, 1997).

O'Hogain, Daithi. "Myth, Legend, and Romance: An Encyclopedia of the Irish Folk Tradition." (New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1991).

Rees, Alwyn and Rees, Brinley. "Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales." (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1961).

Rolleston, T. W. "Celtic: Myths and Legends." (London: Senate, 1994).

Squire, Charles. "Celtic Myths and Legends." (New York: Portland Hose, 1997).

By: Aisling Bronach of House Shadow Drake

.

Court quashes man’s plea to be known as 'god'

.

MUMBAI: A man claiming to be “god” and wanting recognition of his “divine status” on Thursday failed to get the judicial endorsement he had sought.

The Bombay High Court rejected 30-year-old Dharmendra Mishra's application, saying it was not in its jurisdiction to respond to his prayers.

“I am Vishnu, Buddha, Christ. I know everything that goes around,” said Mishra, who also pleaded with the court that he should be given the reins of the country and the UN as he was god.

The matter came up before a division bench of acting Chief Justice J N Patel and Justice S C Dharmadhikari, who dismissed Mishra's plea.

Mishra, a resident of Kurla who works in a call centre, claimed in his petition that he had written to President Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterji, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan about his divinity.

He claimed in his petition that his wife is “Laxmi”, and she recollects her previous births. Mishra also told reporters that he was ready to undergo a cyanide test and claimed he would not die.


The Times Of India



What kind of a god needs a court of law to validate his divinity?

.

Angry God, Angry People

.


New re­search may clar­i­fy the re­la­tion­ship be­tween re­li­gious in­doc­tri­na­tion and vi­o­lence, a top­ic that has gained new no­to­ri­ety since the Sept. 11 at­tacks.

In the stu­dy, psy­chol­o­gist Brad Bush­man of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mich­i­gan in Ann Ar­bor, Mich. and col­leagues sug­gest that vi­o­lence sanc­tioned by God in scrip­tures can in­crease ag­gres­sion, es­pe­cial­ly in be­liev­ers.


The find­ings ap­pear in the March is­sue of the re­search jour­nal Psy­cho­log­i­cal Sci­ence.

The au­thors worked with un­der­grad­u­ate stu­dents at two uni­ver­si­ties: Brig­ham Young in Pro­vo, Utah, where 99 per­cent of stu­dents re­port be­liev­ing in God and the Bi­ble; and Vrije Uni­ver­si­teit in Am­ster­dam, where just half re­port be­liev­ing in God, and 27 per­cent in the Bi­ble.

The par­ti­ci­pants read a par­a­ble adapted from a rel­a­tively ob­scure pas­sage in the King James Bi­ble. It de­s­c­ribes the bru­tal tor­ture and mur­der of a wom­an, and her hus­band’s sub­se­quent re­venge on her at­tack­ers.

Half the par­ti­ci­pants were told that the pas­sage came from the Old Tes­ta­ment; the oth­er half, that it was an an­cient scroll un­earthed by ar­chae­o­lo­gists. In ad­di­tion, half the par­ti­ci­pants from both the Bi­ble and the an­cient scroll groups read an ad­justed ver­sion that in­clud­ed the verse: “The Lord com­manded Is­ra­el to take arms against their broth­ers and chas­ten them be­fore the LORD.”

Par­ti­ci­pants were then paired up and in­structed to com­pete in a sim­ple re­ac­tion game that meas­ures ag­gres­sion. The win­ner gets to “blast” his or her part­ner with a noise that can be about as loud as a fire alarm.

The Brig­ham Young stu­dents were more ag­gres­sive—that is loud­er—with their blasts if they had been told the pas­sage they had read was from the Bi­ble rath­er than a scroll, the re­search­ers found. Like­wise, they were more ag­gres­sive if they had read the ad­di­tional verse that de­picts God sanc­tion­ing vi­o­lence.

At the more sec­u­lar Dutch school, the re­sults were sur­pris­ing­ly sim­i­lar, the sci­en­tists said. Al­though the stu­dents were less like­ly to be in­flu­enced by the source of the ma­te­ri­al, they blast­ed more ag­gres­sively when the pas­sage they read in­clud­ed God’s sanc­tion­ing of the vi­o­lence. This held true even for non­be­liev­ers, though to a less­er ex­tent.

The find­ings shed light on the pos­si­ble ori­gins of vi­o­lent re­li­gious fun­da­men­tal­ism, the re­search­ers said, and fit with the­o­ries hold­ing that vi­o­lent scrip­tures help lead ex­trem­ists to ag­gres­sion. “To the ex­tent re­li­gious ex­trem­ists en­gage in pro­longed, se­lec­tive read­ing of the scrip­tures, fo­cus­ing on vi­o­lent ret­ri­bu­tion to­ward unbe­liev­ers in­stead of the over­all mes­sage of ac­cept­ance and un­der­stand­ing,” wrote Bush­man, “one might ex­pect to see in­creased bru­tality.”



Courtesy Association for Psychological Science and World Science staff

.

Greek Archaeologists Find Hera Statue

.


A 2,200-year-old statue of the goddess Hera has been found in a wall of a city under Mount Olympus, mythical home of Greece's ancient gods, archaeologists announced Thursday.

The headless marble statue was discovered last year during excavations in the ruins of ancient Dion, some 50 miles southwest of Thessaloniki.

Archaeologist Dimitris Pantermalis said the life-sized statue had been used by the early Christian inhabitants of the city of Dion as filling for a defensive wall.

He said the 2nd century-B.C. find appeared to have originally stood in a temple of Zeus, leader of the ancient Greek gods, whose statue was found in the building's ruins in 2003. The statue of Hera stood next to that of Zeus in the temple, said Pantermalis, a Thessaloniki University professor who has headed excavations at Dion for more than three decades.

“The statue represents a female form seated on a throne, and is made of thick-grained marble like the one of Zeus,'' he said. “It shows exactly the same technique and size, which led us to link the two statues beyond doubt.''

Pantermalis said that, if confirmed, it would be the first time two statues of different gods have been located from a single temple in Greece. He said it was also possible that a statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom, could have stood in the temple of Zeus. He said he was hopeful that it might be found during future excavation.

Dion was a major religious center of the ancient Macedonians. Alexander the Great offered sacrifices there before launching his victorious campaign against the Persian Empire in the 4th century B.C.

Excavations so far have revealed temples, theaters and a stadium, city walls, a hotel, baths and streets with an elaborate drainage system, as well as many statues.

The area was first inhabited during the Iron Age, and survived into early Christian times, when it was the seat of a bishop.

Pantermalis will present the find on Friday, during a three-day archaeological conference that opened in Thessaloniki Thursday.



Costas Kantouris, The Associated Press

.

ΜΙΑ 15ΧΡΟΝΗ τίναξε στον αέρα τη γιορτή των Τριών Ιεραρχών στο Σικάγο!

.

«Πολ Ποτ ο Ιουστινιανός»

«Ο χριστιανισμός υπεύθυνος για πολλές θηριωδίες»

Και εγένετο... χαμός! Μόνο έτσι μπορεί να περιγράψει κανείς τις κωμικοτραγικές σκηνές που διαδραματίστηκαν στη γιορτή των Τριών Ιεραρχών στο Σικάγο, που διοργάνωσε, όπως κάνει κάθε χρόνο, η ελληνική παροικία της πόλης.
Στο γεύμα που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο ξενοδοχείο «Ritz» παρίσταντο εξέχοντα μέλη της ελληνοαμερικανικής κοινότητας μεταξύ των οποίων και ο αρχιεπίσκοπος Αμερικής Δημήτριος και ο μητροπολίτης της πόλης Ιάκωβος. Οπως κάθε έτος έτσι και φέτος είχε κληθεί ένας ομιλητής να αναπτύξει ένα θέμα. Το φετινό θέμα ήταν ο ελληνοχριστιανικός πολιτισμός και ομιλήτρια η Προμηθέα, μια 15χρονη κοπέλα με μαγικές επιδόσεις στα μαθηματικά. Σε ηλικία 6 ετών η Προμηθέα είχε τελειώσει την ύλη του δημοτικού και του γυμνασίου και σε ηλικία 14 ετών είχε πάρει πτυχία σε θετικές επιστήμες από μερικά από τα κορυφαία αμερικανικά πανεπιστήμια. Πέρα από τα μαθηματικά, η Προμηθέα είχε και ένα άλλο χόμπι: την αρχαία Ελλάδα και τον αρχαιοελληνικό πολιτισμό. Μάλιστα, «Το Βήμα» πρόσφατα είχε δημοσιεύσει ένα πορτρέτο της νεαρής μαθήτριας στο οποίο έκανε εκτεταμένη αναφορά στην αγάπη της για την Ελλάδα.

Ξεκινώντας την ομιλία της σε άπταιστη καθαρεύουσα, αν και με αμερικανική προφορά, η νεαρή μαθηματικός έθεσε το ερώτημα σχετικά με τα αίτια που κατέστρεψαν τον αρχαίο ελληνικό πολιτισμό. Για να να δώσει αμέσως την απάντηση: «Ο χριστιανισμός», αυτή «η θρησκεία μίσους», ο χριστιανισμός ήταν ο ένας και μοναδικός υπεύθυνος για αυτή την «ανεπανάληπτη θηριωδία», αυτό το «αποτρόπαιο έγκλημα», όπως το χαρακτήρισε, κατά της αρχαίας Ελλάδας. Συνεχίζοντας η νεαρή ομιλήτρια περιέγραψε με ιδιαίτερα γλαφυρό τρόπο, χρησιμοποιώντας πηγές της εποχής, τις θηριωδίες που διέπραξαν οι χριστιανοί εναντίον των αρχαίων Ελλήνων κατά τα πρώτα έτη της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας.

Η ομιλήτρια επικεντρώθηκε ιδιαίτερα στο στρατόπεδο συγκέντρωσης της Σκυθούπολης, αυτό το «χριστιανικό σφαγείο», το οποίο είχαν στήσει οι πρώτοι μετά τον Κωνσταντίνο βασιλείς του Βυζαντίου. Εκεί μεταφέρονταν αλυσοδεμένοι όσοι Ελληνες επέμεναν να διατηρούν τα παλαιά ήθη για να εξοντωθούν μετά από φρικτά βασανιστήρια. Το στρατόπεδο αυτό λειτούργησε για 20 έτη και, όπως είπε, έπαιξε καθοριστικό ρόλο στο «βάρβαρο και απάνθρωπο τρόπο» με τον οποίο οι χριστιανοί εξόντωσαν τους συνεχιστές της αρχαιοελληνικής παράδοσης.

«Δεν υπήρξε ποτέ ελληνικότητα του Βυζαντίου», διακήρυξε η ομιλήτρια και συνέχισε περιγράφοντας τους διωγμούς του Ιουστινιανού, αυτού του «αιματοβαμμένου τυράννου» και «ανθρωπόμορφου δαίμονα», όπως τον χαρακτήρισε. Ο Ιουστινιανός εφάρμοσε μια πολιτική φυσικής και πνευματικής «γενοκτονίας» του Ελληνισμού, καταστρέφοντας ναούς και αγάλματα και απαγορεύοντας τους Ολυμπιακούς Αγώνες, τα Ελευσίνια Μυστήρια και τη λειτουργία του Μαντείου των Δελφών. Με αυτόν τον τρόπο προσπάθησε -όπως αργότερα ο Πολ Ποτ στην Καμπότζη- να εξαλείψει κάθε σύμβολο που θύμιζε την παλαιά εποχή.

Οι παριστάμενοι φυσικά είχαν μείνει άναυδοι. Ιδιαίτερα αμήχανοι ήσαν οι δύο εκπρόσωποι της Ορθοδοξίας, ο αρχιεπίσκοπος Δημήτριος και ο μητροπολίτης Ιάκωβος, που κάθονταν στα δεξιά και αριστερά της ομιλήτριας. Ασφαλώς θα προτιμούσαν να άνοιγε η γη να τους καταπιεί.

Συνεχίζοντας απτόητη η νεαρή Προμηθέα έφτασε και στα νεότερα χρόνια. Η Ορθόδοξη Εκκλησία, είπε, προσπάθησε «με αφορισμούς και απειλές» να σταματήσει την εξέγερση των Ελλήνων εναντίον των Τούρκων. Ταυτόχρονα, η ομιλήτρια έκανε εκτεταμένη αναφορά σε περιπτώσεις -όπως του γιου του Κολοκοτρώνη, Ιωάννη- που προδόθηκαν από κληρικούς και καλόγερους στους Τούρκους με αποτέλεσμα να βρουν τραγικό θάνατο. Η ομιλήτρια δεν παρέλειψε να τονίσει ότι το Κρυφό Σχολείο ήταν «μύθος» και το μόνο που ενδιέφερε την Εκκλησία ήταν να κρατήσει τους Ελληνες στο σκοτάδι και στην αμορφωσιά. «Ο μοναδικός μοχλός πίεσης για την αλλαγή του καθεστώτος», είπε: «ήσαν οι Ελληνες Διαφωτιστές του εξωτερικού». Και αυτός ήταν ο λόγος -συνέχισε- που κυνηγήθηκαν τόσο πολύ από την Ορθοδοξία.

Οσο προχωρούσε η ομιλία τόσο αυξανόταν το κλίμα της δυσφορίας στην αίθουσα. Και όταν πλέον πλησίαζε το τέλος, πολλοί θερμόαιμοι ακροατές, όρθιοι, διέκοπταν την ομιλήτρια και την πλησίαζαν με απειλητικές διαθέσεις. Την κατάσταση έσωσε ο μητροπολίτης Ιάκωβος ο οποίος παίρνοντας το μικρόφωνο και αποτεινόμενος με οργισμένο ύφος στους ταραξίες είπε: «Δεν είσαστε μόνο εσείς ορθόδοξοι και Ελληνες. Μην διακόπτετε! Οφείλετε σεβασμό στην ομιλήτρια!».

Και με αυτόν τον τρόπο αποφεύχθηκαν τα χειρότερα και επικράτησε και πάλι η επί γης ειρήνη. Ολόκληρο το βίντεο της ομιλίας και της εκδήλωσης μπορείτε να το βρείτε στο: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/05/01/sunday/c01050105_03.txt




ΤΑΚΗΣ ΜΙΧΑΣ, ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΟΤΥΠΙΑ

.

Η λατρεία της θέας Αφροδίτης στην Κύπρο και τα μυστήρια των Κινυράδων

.


Σύμφωνα με τους αρχαίους ιστορικούς άλλα και την αρχαιολογική σκαπάνη, ιδρυτής και αρχιερέας του ναού της Θεάς Αφροδίτης στην Παφο, ήταν ο βασιλιάς της περιοχής Κινύρας.

Ξεχωριστή θέση ανάμεσα στις εορτές της θεάς που τελούνταν πολλές φορές των χρόνο, ήταν τα περίφημα μυστήρια των Κυνηράδων . ’λλες γνωστές εορτές, τα ονόματα των οποίων διασώθηκαν, ήταν τα Ζαρκόρια, γιορτή που έκαναν προς τιμή της θεάς οι ιερείς και οι υπηρέτες του ναού . Τα Περιόρια , εορτή καθαρμού που προηγείτο της μεγάλης εορτής των Αφροδίσιων . Τα Aφροδίσια τελούνταν τον Απρίλη, διαρκούσαν τρεις ολόκληρες μέρες και συγκέντρωναν χιλιάδες κόσμου , όχι μονό από την Κύπρο άλλα από όλες τις περιοχές της μεσογείου.

Οι αρχαίοι ιστορικοί άλλα και οι σύγχρονοι ερευνητές αναφέρουν, ότι τα μυστήρια των Κυρινάδων ελάμβαναν χώρο τον μήνα Ιούλιο. Αν και οι πληροφορίες που διαθέτουμε είναι πενιχρές λόγω της εχεμύθειας που επιβαλλόταν στους μύστες , γνωρίζουμε ότι οι τελετές μύησης των μυστηρίων, χωρίζονταν σε τρεις βαθμίδες.

Η μύηση στην πρώτη βαθμίδα διαρκούσε τέσσερις μέρες . Ο μυούμενος έδινε στον ιερέα ένα νόμισμα και ο ιερέας έδινε στον μυούμενο αλάτι και ένα ομοίωμα φαλλού . Μέσα από αυτή την συμβολική ανταλλαγή ο μυούμενος εκδήλωνε προς το ιερέα την απόφαση του να λάβει μέρος στα μυστήρια και να πάρει έναντι των υλικών αγαθών, το σύμβολο της γονιμότητας , που είναι ο φαλλός και το αλάτι που συμβολίζει την θαλάσσια προέλευση της θεάς.

Την πρώτη μέρα των μυστηρίων της πρώτης βαθμίδας, ο μυούμενος λάβανε μέρος σε αθλητικούς αγώνες, την δεύτερη πήγαινε στην θάλασσα και λουζόταν και την τρίτη πρόσφερε αναίμακτες θυσίες στην Θέα. Την νύκτα πριν την τέταρτη μέρα ο μυούμενος έμενε άγρυπνος στο ιερό της Θεάς και το πρωί ανακηρυσσόταν μύστης από τον αρχιερέα του Ναού, που του πρόσφερε τον << Πυραμούντα >> μια πίτα από αλεύρι και μέλη.

Η τελετή τελείωνε με ελαιοχριστία του ιερού κώνου, που συμβόλιζε την θεά.

Η μύηση στην δεύτερη βαθμίδα διαρκούσε δυο η τρεις μέρες και είχε ως κύριο σημείο αναφοράς, τον μύθο της Αφροδίτης και του ’δωνη. Την πρώτη μέρα που ονομαζόταν ΄΄Αφανισμός΄ , ο μυούμενος θρηνούσε τον θάνατο του ’δωνη και καθώς στόλιζε την νεκρική κλίνη με λουλούδια, έψελνε επιτάφιους ύμνους.

Την δεύτερη η την τρίτη ημέρα, που ονομαζόταν ΄΄Εύρεση΄΄ ο μυούμενος εόρτασε με χορούς και ύμνους την ανάσταση του νεαρού θεού.

Η τρίτη βαθμίδα μύησης αναφερόταν στην τελειοποίηση των μυστών. Δυστυχώς τα στοιχεία που έχουμε για την ανωτάτη αυτή βαθμίδα, είναι τόσο πενιχρά που μπορούμε να κάνουμε μόνο εικασίες .

Πιθανολογείται πάντως ότι κατά την διάρκεια της μύησης τελούνταν εορτές προς στην Πωγωνοφόρο και Ουράνια Αφροδίτη. Σύμβολα αυτών των τελετών ήταν τα περιστέρια και οι οβελίσκοι.



ΟΙ ΙΕΡΕΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΙΕΡΕΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΘΕΑΣ

Το ιερό της Αφροδίτης στην Παφος υπηρετούσαν δύο οικογένειες, οι Ταμιράδες και οι Κινυράδες.

Η Ταμιράδες ήταν οικογένεια μάντεων ιερέων με γενάρχη τον Ταμίρα, ο τελευταίος, εισήγαγε την μαντική τέχνη στην Κύπρο από την Κυλικία. Οι Κινυράδες ήταν οι απόγονοι του βασιλιά της Πάφου Κινύρα.

Στην αρχή της λειτουργίας του ιερού οι δυο αυτές οικογένειες υπηρετούσαν την θέα από κοινού. Με την πάροδο όμως του χρόνου και κάτω από συνθήκες που δεν έχουν διευκρινιστεί, οι Κινυράδες υποσκέλισαν τους Ταμιράδες και πήραν εξολοκλήρου, τα ινία της λειτουργίας του ναού.

Η ιερατική τάξη ήταν διαιρεμένη σε διάφορες βαθμίδες. Επικεφαλής του Ιερού ήταν ο ιερέας της ’νασσας και ακολουθούσε ο Αγύτωρ που διεύθυνε τις προσφορές των πιστών προς την Θεά. ’λλοι γνωστοί τίτλοι είναι ο νύχιος νηοπόλος που πιθανολογείται ότι ήταν ο νυκτερινός φύλακας του ιερού και η Ανθηφόρος αρχιέρεια που απαντάται στους γυναικείους τίτλους.

Η λειτουργία του ναού της Αφροδίτης διεκόπη μετά από την εφαρμογή των διαταγμάτων του βάρβαρου βυζαντινού αυτοκράτορα Θεοδοσίου στην Κύπρο , το 400 μετά χριστιανικής χρονολογήσεως.

Η λατρεία όμως της Θεάς δεν ξεριζώθηκε από τις ψυχές των ανθρώπων , οι νεαρές τις περιοχής, ανάβουν μέχρι σήμερα το κερί τους και απευθύνονται στην δέσποινα παναγία την Αφροδίτισσα για να τους χαρίσει γονιμότητα. Η εκκλησία που κτίσθηκε από τα ερείπια του ναού, δίπλα από το αρχαίο ιερό, ονομαζόταν μέχρι πρόσφατα Παναγία η Αφροδίτισσα. Αυτό βέβαια δεν είναι το μόνο παράδοξο που συμβαίνει στην περιοχή , τα τελευταία χρόνια ντόπιοι και τουρίστες αφού πρώτα ορκίζονται στο όνομα της Αφροδίτης αιώνιους όρκους αγάπης προς τον σύντροφο τους , δένουν ακολούθως κορδέλες στα κλαδιά των δέντρων και των θάμνων που βρίσκονται έξω από το ιερό της θεάς αλλά και στην παραλία που μυθολογείτε ότι αυτή αναδύθηκε.

Βιβλιογραφία

1) Χρονικό 19 Μαΐου 2002 . ’ννα Μαραγκού . Έκδοση Εφημερίδα Πολίτης
2) Οδηγός ψηφιδωτών Πάφου.W.G. Daszewski ,Δ. Μιχαηλίδης . Έκδοση , Πολιτιστικό Ίδρυμα Τράπεζας Κύπρου 1989
3) Σύντομη Ιστορία και περιγραφή της Παλαίπαφου . F.G. Maier .Έκδοση , Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία.



Χάρηs Φουρνίδηs


.

Circe

.

Circe is the witch living in the island of Aeaea, who was visited by the crew of heroes called the Argonauts and the Trojan War hero Odysseus. Circe was a powerful witch who, with the help of herbs, muttering incantations, or praying to her gods, could turn men into animals or create unsubstantial images of beasts. She was able to darken the heavens by hiding the moon or the sun behind clouds, and destroy her enemies with poisonous juices, calling to her aid Nyx (Night), Chaos or Hecate, goddess of the crossroads. In her presence and because of her enchantments the woods could move, the ground rumble and the trees around her turn white.

But as witchcraft may make a victim also of him or her who practices it, the nights of Circe could be wasted in fear because of the uncontrolled visions which filled her house. And so, for example, the walls and chambers of her palace could seem to be bathing in blood, while fire could seem to devour her magic herbs. That is why it was a relief for her when daylight came and she could bathe and clean her garments forgetting the scaring nightly visions.

If these were visions, those who came to her abode could hallucinate as much as she did, and if not, her world was in fact transformed. For Circe is said to have been surrounded by all kinds of beasts which cannot be seen elsewhere, having an appearance which reminds of what earth produced out of primeval slime. And yet, when others came to the palace of Circe, they also saw many beasts, but of the regular kind, that is, such as lions, bears and wolves, which however, acted as domesticated animals showing their kindness by wagging their tails. Some say these were actually the drugged victims of Circe.

The witch Circe, whose hair resembled flames, lived in Aeaea, an island which could be located off the western or eastern coast of Italy, where she was brought by her father Helius. The name of this elusive island is what some call a palindrome, for it is the same when read backwards or forwards.

Some of those who visited Aeaea have told that Circe, who lived in a house made of stone in the middle of a clearing in a forest dell, used to sit on a throne wearing a purple robe and a golden veil. They said that her attendants were Nereids and Nymphs, whose only task to sort out the plants and flowers of Circe's herbarium, and put them in separate baskets.

Besides supervising them Circe, while singing beautifully, wove delicate and dazzling fabrics, which is one of the goddesses' favorite occupations. Others have said that Circe was attended by four maids, one who threw covers over the chairs, another who drew silver tables up to the chairs, placing golden baskets on them, another who mixed the wine, and a fourth who fetched water and lit up the fire to warm it.

Circe fell in love with Glaucus, brother of the Nereids, who some say had once been a mortal fisherman but afterwards became a sea-deity by chewing a plant. However Glaucus loved Scylla, who was a most beautiful young woman, and when she went to bathe in the sea, Circe, out of jealousy, poisoned the water with her magic drugs. This is how the beautiful girl became a monster with the face and breast of a woman but having in her flanks six heads and twelve feet of dogs, and a danger for ships passing the strait of Messina between Sicily and Italy.

It is in the neighbourhood of Circaeum, when the witch Circe was once gathering herbs, that she met Picus and instantly fell in love with him. This Picus, son of Cronos, was a demigod living on the Aventine hill. He also used powerful drugs and practiced clever incantations, being able to play many tricks. Circe loved him, but he, being in love with the singer Canens, daughter of Janus, refused her. Turning twice to the east and twice to the west while touching Picus thrice with her wand as she sang her charms, Circe turned him into a woodpecker.

And after this she populated the surroundings with many beasts, for Picus' friends coming to her and asking for the young man, were all transformed by her into animals of many shapes, while Canens, in grief for Picus' absence, melted away in tears and vanished.

The island of Circe was visited by the Argonauts, when they were escaping the Colchian fleet. Some say that Medea, who was with Jason and the Argonauts, wished to visit her aunt, but others have said that it was the ship "Argo" itself which instructed them to come to Circe and be purified for the assassination of Medea's brother Apsyrtus. Others say that Zeus himself was seized by wrath when he learned about the ruthless murder of Apsyrtus, and he ordered that the Argonauts should be cleansed by Circe. In any case Medea and the Argonauts could leave Aeaea purified by the witch.

It was in great despair and exhaustion that Odysseus and his crew arrived to Aeaea, for they had barely escaped the Cyclops Polyphemus and the cannibals in the land of the Laestrygonians. After resting on the beach for three days Odysseus, who had seen a wisp of smoke in the distance, divided his men in two groups and sent Eurylochus with twenty two men to explore the terrain.

When Eurylochus's party found Circe's house, the witch invited them to enter and all of them followed her except captain Eurylochus, for he, suspecting a trap, stayed outside. Those who came in Circe treated with a mixture of cheese, barley meal, and honey flavored with Pramnian wine, to which she added a powerful drug to make them forgetful of their native land. When they had eaten their meal she struck them with her wand, and driving them off, put them in the pig sties, for they now looked like swine and grunted exactly like pigs, though their minds were unchanged.

When this happened Eurylochus hastened back to the beach and reported to Odysseus that his whole party had vanished. And when Odysseus decided to go to Circe's house there was no way to convince Eurylochus to make his way back to the house of the witch.

So Odysseus went by himself and in his way to Circe's he met Hermes who, while giving him an antidote (a plant called Moly with black root and white flower), which would rob Circe's drugs of its power, told him to oppose his sword to her wand, for she, fearing for her life, would shrink from him in terror and invite him to her bed. Hermes also advised Odysseus to accept Circe's favors while making her swear an oath not to try any more tricks, for otherwise, Hermes said, she could rob him of his courage and manhood.

That is how Odysseus could take Circe by surprise, and when she was threatened by him she remembered that Hermes had once told her of the arrival of this man to her island. And as Hermes had predicted she invited him to her bed:

"...so that in love and sleep we may learn to trustone another." (Circe to Odysseus)

and then Odysseus persuaded her to free his comrades. Circe then smeared their pig heads with a salve and they became men again, some say even more handsome and taller than before. And from that moment there was friendship between Circe and Odysseus' crew, and charmed by the hospitality of the witch they stayed with her for a whole year.

When the year had passed and Odysseus beseeched her to keep her promise and send him home to Ithaca, Circe told him that before she could do that, he would have to make a journey to the Underworld and consult the soul of the seer Tiresias about the outcome of his wanderings.

And this was the first time a ship sailed to Hades, blown by the North Wind (Boreas), and Odysseus was given by Circe all the instructions necessary to reach the Underworld, where to beach his boat, and how to proceed in order to meet the souls of the dead.

Returning from Hades the ship of Odysseus put in at Aeaea once more, where the whole crew sat with Circe and feasted on a rich supply of meat and wine. At night Odysseus and Circe retired and, before his departure the day after, she described for him the dangers that still awaited, instructing him as how to avoid the SIRENS and still listen to their enchanting song, and warning him, among other things, about the rocks that are the abode of Scylla & Charybdis.

Circe, they say, had children by Odysseus, perhaps too many considering the time he spent in Aeaea, but goddesses, and even witches, may perform miracles.

When Telegonus, who others call son of Calypso, learned from his mother Circe that he was a son of Odysseus, he sailed in search of his father. Having come to Ithaca, he drove away some cattle, and when Odysseus defended them, Telegonus wounded him with a spear and Odysseus died of the wound. Telegonus bitterly lamented what he had done, but it is said that he was made immortal by Circe and sent to the Islands of the Blest together with Penelope.

Faunus was another child of Circe. This is the Half-goat god who was king of Latium and that is sometimes identified with Pan or with a Satyr. Some say he was a son of Picus & Canens, the daughter of Janus and the Nymph Venilia.

.

Is Prince Philip a god?

.




High in a mist-shrouded mountain village, an ancient tribe patiently awaits the return of its divine leader.

He is no mere mortal like themselves, dressed as they are in and straw sheaths to protect their modesty — rather, they believe he is the human face of an ancestral spirit who left their island many moons ago to look for a bride.

Their legend tells how this spiritual ancestor ended up in England — and eventually married a queen. Which explains why the Duke of Edinburgh, who is well aware of his role as a god in the eyes of the Yaohnanen tribe, has established a curious relationship with these people, who dwell in a simple village in the centre of the Vanuatu island of Tanna in the South Pacific.

Such is the revered status the Duke holds among the 400 tribespeople that, as their chickens scratch the dirt, they speak of him with the kind of devotion Catholics reserve for the Virgin Mary.

'We are waiting for him to return to us,' says white-haired Jack Naiva, the aged tribal chief, who thinks the Prince's 85th birthday, a week today, would be the perfect opportunity.

'But he'd better hurry up because I'm not getting any younger — and neither is he. We'll build him a nice little house, he can have all the servants he wants and every day we will come to kneel at his feet because he is our true leader.'

Now, while this might seem to be jungle mumbo-jumbo to the outside 'civilised' world, the fact is that Prince Philip has officially accepted his revered role within this remote tribe, which hunts wild pigs with bows and arrows and cooks on hot stones in the ground.

The proof of this remarkable relationship is three autographed photographs which Philip has discreetly sent to the tribe, and in the letters that have flowed between his staff and old chief Jack.

The most surprising photo, which Chief Jack and his people continue to worship, shows the Duke holding a traditional war club — a nal-nal — which was sent to Buckingham Palace in the 1970s. The Yaohnanens requested only one thing in return for their gift: a picture of Prince Philip holding the weapon.

Panic raced through the palace corridors. How on earth does one hold a nal-nal?

Finally, a former British Resident F Commissioner from the islands came to the rescue and Prince Philip donned a smart morning suit and wandered out into the palace gardens to pose coming austerely for the photograph, which has, until today, remained out of the public eye.

Following island custom, he should have posed naked apart from a nambas, a grass penis sheath, but the Queen might have

Ffrowned upon such a display. So the formal photo was taken and off it went to the wonderful world of witch doctors, warriors and cannibal descendants in the South Pacific.

Chief Jack, who prefers not to talk about the cannibal days, keeps the photo in his hut, where he protects it as best he can from the humidity, occasionally bringing it out so the tribe can pay its respects. So strong has been the 10,000-mile relationship, and so determined has Buckingham Palace been to keep it under wraps, that a private secretary urged great secrecy in one official letter.

However, we can reveal today the contents of a letter that John Champion, the British Resident Commissioner between 1975 and 1978, wrote to Buckingham Palace regarding what he described as a 'tall story' but one which was very real to the Tanna people.

Mr Champion wrote, from his official residence in Port Vila — the capital of the New Hebrides, as Vanuatu was known in the 1970s — that a deity living in the volcano near the Yaohnanen village 'became a white man who went away to Britain to marry the Queen there'.

Mr Champion added that the ideal gift to the tribal people would be to 'arrange for the return of HRH himself', with appropriate gifts, 'to live with them for ever. .. dressed, no doubt, in a nambas'.

As this was clearly not an ideal solution, wrote Mr Champion, he advised that a very good return gift would be a signed photograph of HRH and a supply of tobacco pipes, 'which the elders could smoke in the long evenings . . . while discussing the affairs of their community over the ritual kava'.

And so the first official photograph was sent to Tanna and presented with great ceremony by Mr Champion to the tribe. The second photo, of the prince with the war club, arrived several years later, just as the country was about to celebrate its independence from Britain and France.

When I visit the tribe, Chief Jack brings the pictures out of his grass-roofed hut, his eyes beaming with pride. But there is sadness on his face, for as Prince Philip's 85th birthday approaches and Jack holds on to life in his 90s, he says time is running out.

'Before we go,' he says, 'I would like to invite him to the village, and there can be no better time than his birthday. He will be guest of honour and we'll roast pigs and bullocks for him. We'll cook him yams and celebrate with coconut shells filled with kava. All the girls will dance for him.

'We want him to spend the last years of his life here, because we believe that when he returns as our god, his powers will make our wrinkles disappear and we will have many wives to attend to our every need. He won't have to hunt for pigs or anything. He can just sit in the sun and have a nice time.'

But what about the Queen? 'Oh, she can come, too,' says Chief Jack, generously. 'After all, she has a big family like me.' He patiently lists his 13 children, 64 grandchildren and countless great-grandchildren. Simply background divine: Prince this Philip's amazing pose relationship between the Prince and this remote tribe is equally bizarre and stretches back to long before Vanuatu, still a member nation of the Commonwealth, shook off its joint European masters in London and Paris in 1980.

Some time in the very distant past, so the legend goes, a mysterious stranger in a long, flowing cloak appeared on Tanna proclaiming that one day the active volcano on the island's east coast would burst its sides and gifts would fall down to earth.

Then, during World War II, in the Pacific, refrigerators, cars and boxes of food did indeed float down onto the island — on the end of parachutes dropped from aircraft and destined for U.S. troops on the ground.

But all the islanders remembered the cloaked stranger's promises, and using a name popular among the U.S. troops, the tribes began referring to him in their pidgin English as Jon Frum (Jon From) America.

with religion a war grew club up is treasured the by name, its followers known as cargo cultists, and it spread as far west as Papua New Guinea. Today on Tanna, adherents are known as the Jon Frums.

Chief Jack's tribe is a C splinter group from the Jon Frums, but they share the belief that goods — cargo — will one fall from the sky, bringing wealth to everyone. The Yaohnanens believe that Jon Frum had a spiritual brother who lived in the volcano but later emerged to take the form of a white man and move far away, before marrying a very powerful lady. But how on earth did this isolated tribe weave London and British royalty into their beliefs?

Like all good legends, the answer is shrouded in the mists of time. But it seems likely that decades ago the the tribesmen Yaohnanen, right stories of Britain and the Royal Family by British government representatives who made occasional contact with the village. They fitted these new 'great people' into their traditional beliefs, and the legend of Philip as their god was born.

Imagine the delight of Chief Jack in the early 1970s when, as a mere warrior, he was one of the paddlers in a war canoe that greeted the Royal Yacht Britannia when the Prince and the Queen visited the New Hebrides.

'I saw him standing on the deck in his white uniform and I knew then that he was the true Messiah,' Chief Jack says. 'It is a memory I will always have of him — to see him in the flesh like that, even though I know that deep inside he is more than flesh and bones.'

But while Chief Jack and his fellow warriors were delighted to see the Prince, the tribesmen were very unhappy with the British administration. In time, John Champion, the Resident British Commissioner, discovered why.

Years earlier, another Resident Commissioner had been entertained at a magnificent feast in the village and had been ceremoniously presented with the most treasured gift: a pig. He left without giving anything in return — a great slight — and, as Mr Champion was to recall later, 'this lack of courtesy had rankled ever since'.

As a result, Mr Champion wrote to the Palace, explaining the tribe's belief that the Duke was Jon Frum's brother — and a god — and that a signed photograph might settle the old hurt. When the signed photo duly arrived, it was, he recalled, received with great dignity and satisfaction.

As a thank-you, the tribe sent the Duke the war club and the request for another photo showing the Prince holding it.

In 1980, the new picture arrived at the village and was presented in great secrecy to the former headman, Chief Kalpapung, by the last serving British Royal Commissioner of the New Hebrides, Andrew Stuart.

THERE were riots and rebellions throughout the island at the time — some against the British, some against the French — but the Yaohnanens stayed out of it, and British diplomats wanted to believe it was because of the Duke's gesture.

In a fitting tribute, Mr Stuart wrote in an official summary of his days on the islands: 'Yaohnanen's people have a gentlemanly naivety at which it is too easy for sophisticates to sneer.

'Even at their weirdest, the various branches of the Jon Frum do not deserve to be dragged into the quarrels of the modern world. And if by respecting the beliefs of Chief Kalpapung we encouraged his people to stay quiet and uninvolved in the troubles, who is to say that we were not doing them a service?'

But there are uneasy rumblings in the village now, as the tribe's patience is tested. Where is Prince Philip? Why doesn't he come?

There was great excitement last October when the news reached the village that the Queen was heading their way. Alas, it was a terrible mistake. It was not the Queen who arrived in Tanna but her baton, on the way to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.



The Yaohnanens are only just getting over their disappointment and still they wait for word from the Palace. And the word is that the Duke of Edinburgh will not be celebrating his birthday on Tanna.

A spokeswoman for the Prince says he has commitments in the UK next weekend and will be marking his birthday privately.

There is further bad news for the tribe — the Palace says the Duke has no plans to visit Tanna in the near future.

So Chief Jack will probably die without seeing his 'Messiah'. However, the tribal elder has plenty of sons — and Prince Philip has three of his own — so there is always the possibility of a tribal gathering of royals and warriors in years to come.


.

Πλατωνας , ο εισηγητής της αστρικής θρησκείας

.

«Ο άνθρωπος θέλει να είναι ευτυχισμένος»·

Όσο διάστημα η πόλη είναι αυτοδύναμη και ελεύθερη η δράση του κάθε πολίτη, του κάθε ανθρώπου, είναι στραμμένη προς την υπηρεσία της πόλης. Ο πολίτης είναι και οπλίτης. Μπορεί ο Αριστοφάνης να ξεφωνίζει τον "ξεμωραμένο Δήμο" αλλά ο Έλληνας πολίτης μέσα στην άκαμπτη εφαρμογή του Νόμου, νιώθει ελεύθερος. Είναι αυτός που μίλησε γι' αυτόν τον Νόμο ή τουλάχιστον τον ψήφισε. Η ευτυχία του ανθρώπου μέσα στα όρια της πόλης είναι δεδομένη και αυτονόητη.

Τα πράγματα διαφοροποιούνται δραματικά κατά την Ελληνιστική εποχή. Τώρα ο πολίτης δεν νιώθει ελεύθερος. Οι νόμοι δεν ορίζονται από αυτόν αλλά από κάποιον που βρίσκεται πολύ μακριά του. Ούτε έχει και την δυνατότητα να πει την γνώμη του, να τον ψηφίσει ή να τον καταψηφίσει. Απλά μόνο υπακούει σ' αυτόν. Δεν νιώθει οπλίτης. Η ελευθερία επιλογής του έχει δραματικά μειωθεί.

Για να είναι τώρα πια ευτυχισμένος ο άνθρωπος πρέπει να μπορεί να βρίσκει την ελευθερία μέσα του, εφαρμόζοντας το αξίωμα του «Καθ' ημάς Αδέσποτου», και όχι στα πλαίσια της πόλης - κράτους, που νιώθει πως δεν είναι πια ελεύθερη.

(Ας θυμηθούμε τις Θεϊκές τιμές που υποδέχθηκαν οι Αθηναίοι τον Δημήτριο τον Πολιορκητή όταν αυτός μπήκε στην Αθήνα διώχνοντας τον Δημήτριο τον Φαληρέα που ασκούσε την διοίκηση στο όνομα του Κάσσανδρου από την Μακεδονία.)



Η νέα κατάσταση των πραγμάτων τον σπρώχνει να καταφύγει και να αναζητήσει νέες απαντήσεις στην παλιά όμως θρησκεία της πόλης. Πολύ γρήγορα ανακαλύπτει ότι η θρησκεία της πόλης δεν μπορεί να του δώσει νέες και αξιόπιστες απαντήσεις πάνω σε αιώνια και καίρια ερωτήματα όπως :

1. Της προέλευσης και διάταξης του Σύμπαντος

2. Της σχέσης των θεών και του Δικαίου, του πως δηλαδή είναι δυνατόν ο
άδικος άνθρωπος να θριαμβεύει και ο δίκαιος να καταστρέφεται διατυπώνοντας το
πρόβλημα του "Ενάρετου που Υποφέρει".

3. Της ύπαρξης της ψυχής και του ΠΕΠΡΩΜΕΝΟΥ που ξεκίνησε με την
θρησκευτική ομάδα των Ορφικών και θεμελιώθηκε από τον Πυθαγόρα.

Στα ερωτήματα αυτά δεν μπορεί να απαντήσει η θρησκεία της πόλης, με έναν τρόπο νέο και πειστικό.

Αυτές οι απορίες ξεκίνησαν βέβαια πολύ πριν την Ελληνιστική εποχή. Ήταν ερωτήματα του κάθε τότε σκεπτόμενου ανθρώπου και βγήκαν στην επιφάνεια από τα μισά του 5ου αιώνα αναγκάζοντας τον Πλάτωνα να διατυπώσει τότε το δόγμα της "Ατομικής Θρησκείας", στην προσπάθεια του πρώτον να αντικρούσει τους σοφιστές στα τελευταία 30 χρόνια του 5ου αιώνα και δεύτερο να διορθώσει τις ασθένειες του πολιτικού σώματος. Στην διάρκεια όμως της Ελληνιστικής εποχής αποχτούν δραματική έξαρση και η εύρεση απαντήσεων καθίσταται επιτακτική για την πνευματική ελίτ της εποχής.

Το πρόβλημα λοιπόν της αναζήτησης της Ελευθερίας, καθιστά στην Ελληνιστική εποχή, επιτακτική την ανάγκη ψηλάφησης και προσδιορισμού του «Καθ' ημάς Αδέσποτου».

Και από δω και πέρα αρχίζει μια έντονη διαφοροποίηση στις φιλοσοφικές σχολές.

Από τη μια οι θετικοί Ίωνες φιλόσοφοι με προεξάρχοντα τον Επίκουρο, και από την άλλη οι Νεοπλατωνικοί με του Στωικούς.

Η Ελευθερία, μας λένε οι Νεοπλατωνικοί και οι Στωικοί, είναι ιδέα, και ως ιδέα βρίσκεται στον κόσμο των ιδεών, στον ιδεατό κόσμο, σ' αυτόν τον κόσμο που με έναν θαυμάσιο τρόπο μίλησε ο Πλάτωνας στον μύθο του σπηλαίου.

Ο Πλάτωνας πριν χρόνια είχε διατυπώσει την άποψη ότι η υπεροχή της Ιδεατής πραγματικότητας οφείλεται στο αμετάβλητο της. Η κατωτερότητα της ορατής πραγματικότητας οφείλεται στην αέναη αλλαγή της.

Ωστόσο υπάρχει μια συγκεκριμένη ορατή πραγματικότητα που αλλάζει πάντα και αιώνια με τον ίδιο τρόπο, που η κίνηση της είναι απόλυτα σταθερή. Και αυτή η πραγματικότητα είναι ο ουράνιος θόλος και τα ουράνια σώματα. Μια τέτοια αρμονική, συμμετρική, σταθερή, αιώνια και αμετάβλητη κίνηση προϋποθέτει σίγουρα μια Κινούσα Ψυχή προικισμένη με Διάνοια. Υπάρχει λοιπόν μια Θεϊκή Διάνοια που κινεί τους ουρανούς και αυτή η Διάνοια είναι ο Θεός που θέει τα αστέρια.

Οι Νεοπλατωνικοί λοιπόν παίρνουν το κληροδοτημένο δόγμα του Πλάτωνα που λέει πως ο άνθρωπος για να είναι ευτυχισμένος πρέπει να ζει σύμφωνα με την φύση του. Και ποια είναι η ανθρώπινη φύση; Η απάντηση του Πλάτωνα των Νέο -Πλατωνικών και των Στωικών αργότερα είναι πως η ανθρώπινη λογική είναι ένα θραύσμα της θείας και Συμπαντικής λογικής, Του Υπέρτατου Αγαθού, Της Υπέρτατης Διάνοιας. Συνεπώς και «το καθ` ημάς Αδέσποτον» είναι μέρος της θείας Ελευθερίας.

’ρα το να ακολουθείς τη φύση σου ως άνθρωπος είναι το ίδιο πράγμα με το να ακολουθείς τη φύση του Θείου Όλου, τη Συμπαντική Φύση. Συνεπώς : Αρετή σημαίνει να είσαι πάντα συμβατός με την Συμπαντική Διάνοια. Αρετή σημαίνει

δηλαδή αποδοχή της Συμπαντικής τάξης, με άλλα λόγια Αρετή είναι ΥΠΟΤΑΓΗ στην Συμπαντική Διάνοια, ή αλλιώς αποδοχή του ΠΕΠΡΩΜΕΝΟΥ.

Ο Σοφός, ένα με τα αστέρια, στοχάζεται την τάξη του Σύμπαντος και σ' αυτόν τον στοχασμό βρίσκει την ελευθερία του, γιατί ενώνεται με το Πρώτο Κινούν τα αστέρια, των οποίων η αέναη και πάντα σταθερή κίνηση τους ρυθμίζεται από την Συμπαντική Διάνοια, την αιώνια και Θεία εσωτερική Συμπαντική Αρχή. Ο Σοφός απόλυτα πεπεισμένος πως η θέληση του βρίσκεται σε πλήρη αρμονία με την συμπαντική θέληση, νιώθει ικανός να κυβερνήσει άλλους ανθρώπους. Βασίζεται στην αρετή του και δεν υπολογίζει τίποτα άλλο. Από το συλλογισμό αυτό πηγάζει το πλατωνικό αξίωμα : "Οι σοφοί να κυβερνούν ή οι κυβερνώντες να φιλοσοφούν".


Σχόλια

1. Ο Πλάτωνας λοιπόν και οι Πλατωνιστές αργότερα μιλώντας για Ιδεατό κόσμο και για κόσμο των Ιδεών διαχωρίζουν τον ΔΙΑ - ΛΟΓΙΣΜΟ, σε διαλογισμό

2 Η Αδράστεια είναι το Αναπόφευκτο, αυτή δε φρουρεί τον Δημιουργό των πάντων,

διότι ο Δημιουργός τρέφεται από την Αδράστεια, συνυπάρχει δε με την ανάγκη και

γεννά την Ειμαρμένη (το μοιραίο).

Όταν δε λέμε Ειμαρμένη εννοούμε όσα είναι επακόλουθα εκείνων που προηγήθηκαν.

Και αφού σκέψεις ή πράξεις έχουν προηγηθεί και δεν είναι δυνατόν να ακυρωθούν,

τα επακόλουθα τους είναι αναπόφευκτα.

Συνεπώς η Ειμαρμένη δεν είναι ότι μοιραίως "μέλλει γενέσθαι" αλλά το επακόλουθο

των σκέψεων ή πράξεων του παρελθόντος. (Βλ. λέξη τετρακτύς, Ζωογονικό τρίγωνο κ.τ.λ.)

πάνω στις αξίες ενός Ιδεατού κόσμου και σε διαλογισμό πάνω στον πιο βαρύ και διαφορετικής ποιότητας κόσμο της ύλης. Διαλογίζομαι όμως θα πει σκέφτομαι και σκέφτομαι θα πει πράττω. Και επειδή δεν μπορώ να πράττω σε έναν ιδεατό κόσμο, σε έναν κόσμο ιδεών, ότι είναι να πράξω, θα το πράξω στον κόσμο της ύλης. Σκέψη λοιπόν χωρίς πράξη για τον ιδεατό κόσμο, και σκέψη και πράξη για τον κόσμο της ύλης.

Ο Διαχωρισμός της θεωρίας και πράξης έχει συντελεστεί. Οι χτίστες Στωικοί και νέο - Πλατωνιστές έχτισαν ένα λαμπερό οικοδόμημα στα θεμέλια της Πλατωνικής θεωρίας όπως διατυπώθηκε αυτή χρόνια πριν.

2. Η θέση του θείου μετατοπίζεται. Η Θρησκεία της πόλης τοποθετούσε το θείο μέσα στη φύση. Η Φύση ήταν κάτι το θεϊκό, κάτι το Ιερό. Τώρα το «Πρώτο Κινούν», η Συμπαντική Διάνοια βρίσκεται έξω από τη φύση, ο Θεός έξω από το δημιούργημα του, το οποίο δημιούργημα ελέγχει, καθοδηγεί, και κάποιος θα μας πει πως το χαρίζει όπου θέλει. Το δημιούργημα είναι κάτι προς εκμετάλλευση. Έχει χάσει την ιερότητα του, Σημασία δεν έχει το δημιούργημα αλλά ο Δημιουργός, η Συμπαντική Δύναμη και Διάνοια που κινεί το δημιούργημα. Δεν υπάρχουν μέσα σ' αυτό ούτε Νύμφες Ναϊάδες, ούτε Πάν, ούτε ιερές δρύες, ούτε ψίθυροι φυλλωμάτων, ούτε ιερές πηγές.

3. Και το πιο σημαντικό : Αυτήν την Κινούσα Διάνοια ο καθένας την οραματιζόταν και την φανταζόταν όπως ήθελε. Συνεπώς η θρησκεία εδώ αποκτά έναν καθαρά προσωπικό χαρακτήρα έναν ατομικό χαρακτήρα, όπου το Ιερατείο είναι το μόνο υπεύθυνο να προσδιορίσει τις ιδιότητες του θείου και να μας Αποκαλύψει τη θεϊκή βούληση του.

Οι ιδιότητες του θείου δεν μπορούν να αποτυπωθούν ούτε στο μάρμαρο σαν άγαλμα, ούτε στο μάρμαρο σαν ανάγλυφο. Η μύηση μέσα από τα αγάλματα και τα ανάγλυφα θα χαθεί για πάντα. Ο μύστης αδυνατεί να παρακολουθήσει τη Συμπαντική Διάνοια, αδυνατεί να την κατανοήσει, αδυνατεί να την οραματιστεί και αντί το Ιερατείο να τον βοηθήσει, τον παραμερίζει λέγοντας πως είναι πολύ μικρός για να συλλάβει το θείο. Ο μόνος τρόπος για να επικοινωνήσουμε μαζί του είναι ένα είδος πνευματικής επαφής που ΥΠΕΡΒΑΙΝΕΙ ΤΗΝ ΚΑΤΑΝΟΗΣΗ. Συνεπώς είναι δουλειά των απεσταλμένων του θείου, των απεσταλμένων του Θεού, είναι δουλειά του Ιερατείου.

Ο Δόλος στην πίστη έχει πλέον εισαχθεί και αρχίζει να ριζώνει.

Στα ερωτήματα,

1. Ποια η δράση του Θείου στον κόσμο;

2. Ποια η σχέση του θείου με την ηθική;

3. Ποια η σχέση του θείου με το ανθρώπινο πεπρωμένο;

Οι απαντήσεις έρχονται αποκλειστικά από το Ιερατείο. Τίποτα δεν βοηθά την μύηση, το πνευματικό πέταγμα του μύστη, την προσέγγιση του θείου μέσα από την φιλοσοφία δηλαδή μέσα από την Λογική που τόσο ύμνησε ο Έλληνας.

4. Και δεν είναι τυχαίο πως αφού οι Νέο - Πλατωνιστές προετοίμασαν και έστρωσαν το χαλί για την επερχόμενη πανούκλα του Εβραιοχριστιανισμού, όταν αυτό το νέο εβραίο χριστιανικό δόγμα έγινε επίσημη θρησκεία και διαχειριστής εξουσίας, οι λεγόμενοι Νεοπλατωνιστές δεν προλάβαιναν να κλείνουν μια - μια τις σχολές τους για να ενταχθούν στην νέα θρησκεία που σάρωνε, ισοπέδωνε και λήστευε τα πάντα στο πέρασμα της από τη μια και μοίραζε τις σάρκες, το χρήμα και την εξουσία από την άλλη στους πρώτους πυρήνες της δικής της εξουσίας. Εξ άλλου οι θεωρίες των Νέο - Πλατωνιστών και του εβραιοχριστιανικού δόγματος απείχαν μόλις ένα βήμα, για να μην πούμε πως ο Παυλιανισμός είναι σχεδόν το σύνολο των Πλατωνικών θεωριών χτυπημένες στο μίξερ της εβραϊκής τοκογλυφίας. Και μόνο η Ακαδημία

του Πλάτωνα με τα τόσο γερά στηρίγματα της Αθηναϊκής φιλοσοφικής παράδοσης έμεινε πιστή στην ελληνική πνευματικότητα ώσπου το «εις έδαφος φέρειν του Θεοδοσίου» την ισοπέδωσε και αυτήν.

Και βέβαια η ζωή δεν χαρίζει κάστανα. Μόλις οι Νέο - Πλατωνιστές φορώντας τα ράσα αξιωματούχων της νέας θρησκείας τολμούσαν να διατυπώσουν μια λογική ή λογικοφανή θέση πάνω στον ιμπεριαλισμό της νέας θρησκείας γινόταν εκείνα τα θρησκευτικά πραξικοπήματα των οικουμενικών συνόδων και τους έστελναν στο «πυρ το εξώτερον».

Ένα ερώτημα σαν επίλογος :

Σήμερα η επιστήμη έδωσε απάντηση στην αέναη κίνηση των ουρανίων σωμάτων διατυπώνοντας τη θεωρία της παγκόσμιας έλξης. Έτσι ο Επιστήμων Πλάτων πήγε περίπατο και μας έμεινε αμανάτι η αστρική θρησκεία της κινούσας Διάνοιας. Μας έμεινε αμανάτι η θεωρία ενός Θεού που άλλη δουλειά δεν έχει από το να ασχολείται με την κίνηση των ουρανίων σωμάτων.

Αν λοιπόν στον Πλάτωνα ήταν γνωστή η σημερινή γνώση θα μιλούσε για Συμπαντική Διάνοια και για Κινούσα Αρχή; Θα μιλούσε για Συμπαντική Δικαιοσύνη και για τόσες άλλες αφηρημένες και μεταφυσικές έννοιες, απόρροια άγνοιας και έλλειψης ΓΝΩΣΗΣ που τις πήραν οι Νέο - Πλατωνιστές και τις έκαναν ροδοπέταλα στον επερχόμενο Παυλιανισμό;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Το πνευματικό κίνημα που ξεκίνησε με τον Πλατωνισμό είναι μια απόδραση, μια πτήση προς την αιωνιότητα μήπως και βρεθούν τα χαμένα στηρίγματα.

Δυστυχώς κατέληξε να κουβαλάει νερό στο μύλο της λαίλαπας του Εβραιοχριστιανισμού.

****

Το μήνυμα του Επίκουρου είναι διαμετρικά αντίθετο.

Και εδώ συναντάμε τη διαπίστωση ότι:

"Ο άνθρωπος θέλει να είναι ευτυχισμένος".

Δύο πράγματα όμως εμποδίζουν την ευτυχία του ανθρώπου :

1. Η Επιθυμία ( Επιθυμία για ζωή) και

2. Ο φόβος. ( Ο φόβος του θανάτου)

1. Περιορισμός λοιπόν της Επιθυμίας. Εγκράτεια και Αυτάρκεια. Να οι πρώτες Αρετές για τον Επίκουρο.

Η Αρετή για τον Επίκουρο δεν έχει τίποτα το μεταφυσικό. Είναι απόλυτα γήινη και έχει να κάνει αποκλειστικά και μόνο με τη λογική. Η λογική είναι το μόνο εργαλείο τιθάσευσης της Επιθυμίας. Από τη λογική ξεκινά η κατηγοριοποίηση των Επιθυμιών και αναγκών για να φτάσει στο πρώτο δόγμα της τετραφάρμακου που μεταξύ άλλων λέει πως ότι πραγματικά χρειαζόμαστε μπορούμε εύκολα να το αποκτήσουμε, εννοώντας τις φυσικές και αναγκαίες ανάγκες. Όλες οι υπόλοιπες υποθάλπονται από την κοινωνική ζωή.

Όσο για το Φόβο αυτός είναι αποτέλεσμα άγνοιας, έλλειψης γνώσης, έλλειψης λογικής.




Δημητριάδης Δημήτρης


.

"Καθεστώς Θρησκευτικής Ενωσης", η Νέα Πρόταση του ΥΣΕΕ

.




Μία από τις σοβαρότερες ασθένειες του ισχύοντος νομικού πλαισίου της χώρας μας σε ό,τι αφορά τα θρησκευτικά ζητήματα είναι η στην πράξη εξουδετέρωση όλων των μη «βυζαντινών» Θρησκειών (δηλαδή όλων των Θρησκειών εκτός του Ορθόδοξου Χριστιανισμού, του Μωαμεθανισμού και του Ιουδαϊσμού) μέσω της παντελούς έλλειψης της κατάλληλης νομικής μορφής για να εκφρασθούν αυτές ως εκείνο που όντως είναι, δηλαδή ως Θρησκείες.

Για την θεραπεία αυτής της ασθένειας, η οποία δεν βλάπτει μόνο την Ελληνική Εθνική Θρησκεία, αλλά ακόμα και πανίσχυρα χριστιανικά δόγματα όπως οι Ρωμαιοκαθολικοί και οι Προτεστάντες ή μεγάλες Θρησκείες όπως οι Βουδιστές και οι Ινδουϊστές, το Ύπατο Συμβούλιο των Ελλήνων Εθνικών (Υ.Σ.Ε.Ε.) έχει, ως γνωστόν, συμπεριλάβει στο από τον Μάϊο του 2006 Υπόμνημά του προς τις πολιτειακές και πολιτικές αρχές της χώρας μας («Για την Θεσμική Αναγνώριση της Ελληνικής Εθνικής Θρησκείας»), το αίτημα της καθιέρωσης και στην Ελλάδα του νομικού προσώπου «Θρησκευτική Ένωση», το οποίο θα επιτρέψει επιτέλους στις Θρησκείες να εκφράζονται ως τέτοιες, αντί να «στριμώχνονται» υποχρεωτικά σε άλλες νομικές μορφές, τυπικά άσχετες με την θρησκευτική σφαίρα (όπως λ.χ. αστικές εταιρείες μη κερδοσκοπικού χαρακτήρα).

Επιπρόσθετα, η απαράδεκτη συνέχιση της ανυπαρξίας νομικής μορφής «Θρησκευτικής Ένωσης», η οποία είναι αυτονόητο ότι για να αποκτηθεί θα προβλέπει

1.ένα ελάχιστο βάθος χρόνου ύπαρξης

2.έναν ελάχιστο αριθμό μελών, και

3.έναν ελάχιστο αριθμό δημόσιας δραστηριότητας,

εξισώνει με προσβλητικό τρόπο τις νομικά άστεγες πραγματικές Θρησκείες με κάθε είδους ολιγάριθμες ομάδες, ομάδες-σφραγίδες ή ακόμα και «cover organizations» αντιπάλων Θρησκειών, που ανά πάσα στιγμή μπορούν να εμφανίζονται κυριολεκτικά από το πουθενά, δίχως την ελάχιστη αναγνώριση από ομοειδείς ανά τον κόσμο Θρησκείες και να διεκδικούν θρησκευτική υπόσταση όχι στα πλαίσια του μη διαπραγματεύσιμου και νόμιμου δικαιώματος αυτοπροσδιορισμού, αλλά κατά κανόνα μαινόμενες εναντίον σοβαρών και πολυάριθμων προγενεστέρων θρησκευτικών φορέων, των οποίων παριστάνουν τους δήθεν διαφωνούντες «ομόδοξους».

Τα ανωτέρω κρίνονται αναγκαία να επισημανθούν για μία ακόμη φορά, με αφορμή την εμφανώς συντονισμένη προσπάθεια των τελευταίων εβδομάδων για γελοιοποίηση της Ελληνικής Εθνικής Θρησκείας από κάποια ανεύθυνα ή εξωνημένα Μ.Μ.Ε. σε συνεργασία με το «βαθύ κράτος» της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας και διάφορα ανεύθυνα έως φαιδρά άτομα ή μικροομάδες που, κάτω από αηδιαστικούς ηλεκτρονικούς τίτλους (λ.χ. «Εμφύλιος Πόλεμος Δωδεκαθεϊστών») υποδύονται στις τηλεοπτικές οθόνες τούς δήθεν «πιστούς» στην Πατρώα Θρησκεία και Κοσμοαντίληψη, σείοντας ως σημαία την μανία τους για άνευ όρων και ορίων αυτοπροβολή, ή παρουσιάζοντας παραπλανητικά μία απόφαση πρωτοδικών για κάποια ίδρυση απλού σωματείου (!) σαν δήθεν. «αναγνώριση» της «Αρχαίας» Θρησκείας.

Εδώ και εβδομάδες, η ιερότητα της λαμπρής Θρησκείας του έθνους των Ελλήνων, η οποία αποτελεί και την Θρησκεία ημών των σύγχρονων Ελλήνων Εθνικών, τσαλαπατιέται σε ζουγκλοειδή τηλεοπτικά «πάνελ», τα οποία απαρτίζουν όχι μόνον ολίγοι φαιδροί αυτόκλητοι δήθεν «πιστοί» της, αλλά και υστερικοί και εξίσου αστοιχείωτοι παπάδες της κρατούσας Θρησκείας, θρησκόληπτα «παριστάμενα» δείγματα της «κοινής γνώμης», παραληρούντες θεολόγοι και παρεκκλησιαστικοί, καθώς και μισαλλόδοξοι ή απαράδεκτα μεροληπτικοί «δημοσιογράφοι» (λες και κάθε φορά που παρουσιάζεται, σπανίως ούτως ή άλλως, μία αντίληψη διαφορετική από τις κατεστημένες, είναι υποχρεωτικό σε αυτήν την χώρα να παρατάσσεται απέναντί της μία πανικόβλητη πανστρατιά «αγανακτισμένων» δούλων του πολιτισμικού καθεστώτος).

Και αυτή όμως η νέα προβοκάτσια δεν θα περάσει.

Το Ύπατο Συμβούλιο των Ελλήνων Εθνικών (Υ.Σ.Ε.Ε.), υπερασπιζόμενο τα προαιώνια θρησκευτικά σεβάσματα του έθνους των Ελλήνων,

1.πληροφορεί για μία ακόμα φορά το δημοκρατικό τουλάχιστον και καλλιεργημένο τμήμα του ελληνικού λαού ότι, με ενοχή όλων των έως σήμερα κυβερνήσεων από ιδρύσεως του σύγχρονου Ελληνικού Κράτους, δυστυχώς δεν προβλέπεται «νομική αναγνώριση Θρησκείας» πέραν των τριών προαναφερθέντων «βυζαντινών» και άρα αποτελεί ωμή απάτη ο όποιος ισχυρισμός ομάδων ότι έχουν δήθεν «αναγνωριστεί» ως Θρησκεία,


2.ανανεώνει με μεγαλύτερη μάλιστα ένταση το λογικότατο αίτημά του για καθιέρωση από τον Έλληνα Νομοθέτη του νομικού προσώπου «Θρησκευτική Ένωση» και μάλιστα το ταχύτερο δυνατόν, και τέλος


3.καταγγέλλει στο δημοκρατικό τουλάχιστον και καλλιεργημένο τμήμα του ελληνικού λαού την εδώ και πολύ καιρό συντονισμένη και πολύμορφη προσπάθεια εξευτελισμού των σεβασμάτων των προγόνων μας Ελλήνων και αρκετών χιλιάδων σύγχρονων ομοδόξων τους από ένα χυδαίο μεσαιωνικό κατεστημένο που αντιδρά σπασμωδικά στην ιδέα ότι οι καιροί της ασυδοσίας του έχουν πια οριστικά παρέλθει.



ΥΠΑΤΟ ΣΥΜΒΟΥΛΙΟ ΤΩΝ ΕΛΛΗΝΩΝ ΕΘΝΙΚΩΝ (Υ.Σ.Ε.Ε.), ανακοίνωση υπ' αριθμ. 191 / 6.2.2007


.