Introducing: the daughters of Asklēpiós

Yesterday's post about female physicians in ancient Hellas, sparked the desire to discuss the Goddesses presiding over the healing process today. Asklēpiós may be one of the major Theoi associated with healing, but His daughters do much of the heavy lifting. Hygeia (Ὑγεια) is the Goddess of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, Iasô (Ιασω) the Goddess of recuperation from illness, Akeso (Ἀκεσώ) the Goddess of the healing process, Aiglê (Αιγλη) the Goddess of beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment, and Panakeia (Πανακεια) the Goddess of universal remedy.

Chaos ----------------------- Gaea

                             |                      |       

      Ouranos --- | ----------------- | 

                      |                      |

                     Kronos --- Rhea  Koios --- Phoibê

                      |                      |

Phlegyantis     Zeus -------- Leto

|                     |

      Korônis ------- Apollon
      |
                        Asklēpiós --- Êpionê
                             |
                            Hygeia, Iasô, Akeso, Aiglê, Panakeia

Asklēpiós was born to a human mother and a divine father: Apollon, a great healer Himself. Apollon, however, kills his mother when she commits adultery, and Asklēpiós is brought up by Kheiron, the Kentauros. His mother was Korônis, and she is associated with the mythology surrounding the constellation Corvus: the raven. Apollodorus wrote about this event, and the events that followed:

"Besides them Leucippus begat Arsinoe: with her Apollo had intercourse, and she bore Aesculapius. But some affirm that Aesculapius was not a son of Arsinoe, daughter of Leucippus, but that he was a son of Coronis, daughter of Phlegyas in Thessaly. And they say that Apollo loved her and at once consorted with her, but that she, against her father's judgment, preferred and cohabited with Ischys, brother of Caeneus. Apollo cursed the raven that brought the tidings and made him black instead of white, as he had been before; but he killed Coronis. As she was burning, he snatched the babe from the pyre and brought it to Chiron, the centaur, by whom he was brought up and taught the arts of healing and hunting." [3:10:3]

After His training is complete, Asklēpiós receives the blood of Médousa from Athena. Drawn from two different blood vessels in Médousa's neck, some of it can kill, and some of it can heal even the dead. Asklēpiós uses the blood to resurrect the dead, but this is against the wishes of Zeus, who kills Him. He is either placed amongst the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, or revived by Zeus as a God to satisfy a furious Apollon. No matter his disputed revival, Asklēpiós does get a chance to father children. With his wife Êpionê (Ηπιονη), He begets seven children, two boys and five girls. The men are mortal, the women immortal. Machaon (Μαχάων) and Podaleirios (Ποδαλείριος), His male children fought in the Trojan war on the side of the Hellens. Podaleirios survived the war. Hygeia, Iaso, Akeso, Aiglê, and Panakeia assist Asklēpiós in guarding over mankind.

Hygeia is the Theia of health, cleanliness, and sanitation, and a companion of the goddess Aphrodite. She is perhaps the best known of Asklēpiós' daughters, and has been so since ancient times. She is mentioned alongside her father, grandfather, and sister Panakeia in the original Hippocratic oath. the ancient Hellenes regarded Her as one of the most revered of all Theoi, because without her blessings (good health), nothing could be accomplished in life, and life itself would cease. In fact, She has her own Orphic hymn [67], and in it, She is solely responsible for averting all disease. She is depicted with a snake, usually curled around Her arm.

Iasô is the Theia of cures, remedies and modes of healing. In the temple of Amphiaraus at Oropus a part of the altar was dedicated to Her, along with many of Her sisters and other Theoi petitioned for healing. Recovery is Her domain, and as such, She is one of Asklēpiós' most valued attendants. She is depicted with a mirror.

Akeso is the Theia who oversees the healing of wounds and the curing of illness. She does not bring the cure itself, but oversees the process of healing. Not much is known about Her, but She is a faithful attendant of Her father.

Aiglê is the Theia of the beauty, splendor, glory, magnificence, and adornment that comes with good health. She represents radiance, and Her blessings are very much sought after, because they allow a person to live up to their full potential.

Panakeia is the Theia of cures and panaceas--healing aids in the form of medicines, salves and other curatives. After Hygeia, She is perhaps the best known of Her sisters. Her gifts of medicine are of great value, and she is mentioned in the original Hippocratic oath along with Apollon, Asklēpiós, and Hygeia.

There are other children of Asklēpiós, most notably the dwarf God Telesphoros (Τελεσφόρος) who is the recovery from illness. His daughters, however, are best known and provide mankind with health, beauty, and a full and long life.

• Sunday, July 7, 2013
  Aiglê Akeso ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Asklēpiós genealogy Hygeia Iasô Introduction series Kheiron Médousa Mythology 101 Orphic Hymns Panakeia Zeus

A brief introduction to the ancient Hellenic female physicians

Through a discussion on Facebook, I became aware that many Hellenists and ancient Hellas enthusiasts are unfamiliar with the fact that in ancient Hellas, female physicians were quite commonplace (although their numbers were small), and that they were by and large accepted and honored as skilled workers. As the image of the role of women in ancient Hellas is--very much unnecessarily so--equated solely with submissiveness and housewifery, I would like to paint a portrait of women as physicians in ancient Hellas, and give you a few examples of them.

The practice of having women doctors dates back to roughly the fifth century B.C. Very little information remains about the female physicians of ancient Hellas, which--in and of itself--can be interpreted as a favorable sign of their accepted existence; apparently, their role was commonplace enough not to keep track of and refer to often. An exception is Plato, who mentions the female physicians in passing:

"And if, I said, the male and female sex appear to differ in their fitness for any art or pursuit, we should say that such pursuit or art ought to be assigned to one or the other of them; but if the difference consists only in women bearing and men begetting children, this does not amount to a proof that a woman differs from a man in respect of the sort of education she should receive; and we shall therefore continue to maintain that our guardians and their wives ought to have the same pursuits.

 

[...] One woman has a gift of healing, another not; one is a musician, and another has no music in her nature? [...] And one woman has a turn for gymnastic and military exercises, and another is unwarlike and hates gymnastics? [...] And one woman is a philosopher, and another is an enemy of philosophy; one has spirit, and another is without spirit? [...] Then one woman will have the temper of a guardian, and another not. Was not the selection of the male guardians determined by differences of this sort? [...] Men and women alike possess the qualities which make a guardian; they differ only in their comparative strength or weakness." [445]

Plato, here in his Republic, does not only include female physicians (and athletes, warriors and philosopher), but uses them to prove his point that men and women are both suited for al professions, but have natural dispositions to professions, which rely not on gender but skills and character traits.

Plato's view was a modern one, though, as ancient Hellenic female physicians had quite a rough ride at first. It seems that women were allowed to learn gynecology, obstetrics, healing, and midwifery in the time of Hippocrates, and could study these arts at Hippocrates' school in Asia Minor. After Hippocrates died, however, Athenian lawmakers found women doctors doing abortions; something tolerated in ancient times, but most certainly not encouraged. As a result, they either restricted or banned women from medicine. They imposed the death penalty for violators. 

As female physicians left the medical field, the death toll amongst ancient Hellenic women began to rise; with social modesty rules keeping sick women from speaking to a male physician, it became impossible to seek help. Then, in the fourth century B.C., an Athenian woman named Agnodice (Ἀγνοδίκη) disguised herself as a man. She went to the great University at Alexandria, studied medicine, and entered the medical field. She kept her disguise, and set up a medical practice for women.

Needless to say, Agnodice became a popular physician amongst the ancient Athenian women, and her male colleagues became jealous of her success. They charged her with corrupting women patients, and Agnodice was forced to reveal herself as a woman. As practicing medicine (or certain types of medicine) were still punishable by death, Agnodice found herself in a world of trouble. Thankfully, she was acquitted when her many patients arrived at her trial to praise her successes as a physician and chastised their husbands for trying to execute Agnodice. After it concluded, Athenian law changed the law to allow women to be treated by female physicians in Athens.

There is very little evidence to support Agnodice's existence, although she could have most certainly existed. It is possible that Agnodice's story is a way to mythologize the new ruling for women to return to medicine.

Although female physicians were active in gynecology and obstetrics in ancient Hellas, it was rare that women physicians practiced in other areas of medicine. Childbirth and obstetrics in antiquity were viewed as acceptable areas of medical practice for women who were able to gain medical training as physicians, in large part because of the ancient tradition of midwifery and its association with women trained by other women.

There are many more examples of female doctors in ancient Hellas. The temples of Hygeia and Panacea had female healers, and their work was highly praised. Other famous examples include Metrodora, a Hellenic female physician and author of the oldest medical text known to have been written by a woman, On the Diseases and Cures of Women, Antiochis of Tlos, who was rich and influential enough to have a statue made in her honor--alluding to the possibility that she treated men as well, and that her practice went beyond the typical 'female fields'--and a Hellenic medical lecturer called Philista who was said to be so brilliant and beautiful she had to teach from behind a curtain.

This list and exposition are not complete by far, but do give an impression of the existence, history, and status of female physicians in ancient Hellas. Perhaps it will clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding women in ancient Hellas.

• Saturday, July 6, 2013
  a woman to know series Agnodice ancient Hellenic culture Asia Minor Athens Metrodora Plato

PBP: Navel of the world

I'm probably going to regret this by the time the Pagan Blog Project reaches the 'O's, but today, I'll be talking about the navel of the world at the ancient holy site of Delphi. The navel of the world was called the 'omphalos' (ὀμφαλός) and was not so much a hole in the ground but a religious stone artifact. I guess this makes the world an 'outty'.

I might still discuss omphalos stones in general for the 'O's, but today, I want to talk only about the omphalos stone found in Delphi and the mythology that surrounds it.

There are two myths connected to the stone that is said to be the bellybutton of the world: The first is the birth of Zeus, blessed King of the Theoi. It is said that when He as born, His father Kronos intended to swallow Him whole as He had done all His brothers and sisters. Rhea, His mother, fed him a large stone instead, which Kronos regurgitated once Zeus grew up and confronted His father.

A beautiful retelling of this myth can be found in Hesiod's Theogony:

 

"But Rhea was subject in love to Cronos and bare splendid children, Hestia, Demeter, and gold-shod Hera and strong Hades, pitiless in heart, who dwells under the earth, and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, and wise Zeus, father of gods and men, by whose thunder the wide earth is shaken. These great Cronos swallowed as each came forth from the womb to his mother's knees with this intent, that no other of the proud sons of Heaven should hold the kingly office amongst the deathless gods. For he learned from Earth and starry Heaven that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, strong though he was, through the contriving of great Zeus. Therefore he kept no blind outlook, but watched and swallowed down his children: and unceasing grief seized Rhea. But when she was about to bear Zeus, the father of gods and men, then she besought her own dear parents, Earth and starry Heaven, to devise some plan with her that the birth of her dear child might be concealed, and that retribution might overtake great, crafty Cronos for his own father and also for the children whom he had swallowed down. And they readily heard and obeyed their dear daughter, and told her all that was destined to happen touching Cronos the king and his stout-hearted son. So they sent her to Lyetus, to the rich land of Crete, when she was ready to bear great Zeus, the youngest of her children. Him did vast Earth receive from Rhea in wide Crete to nourish and to bring up. Thither came Earth carrying him swiftly through the black night to Lyctus first, and took him in her arms and hid him in a remote cave beneath the secret places of the holy earth on thick-wooded Mount Aegeum; but to the mightily ruling son of Heaven, the earlier king of the gods, she gave a great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Then he took it in his hands and thrust it down into his belly: wretch! he knew not in his heart that in place of the stone his son was left behind, unconquered and untroubled, and that he was soon to overcome him by force and might and drive him from his honours, himself to reign over the deathless gods." (ll. 453-491)

The 'great stone wrapped in swaddling clothes' swallowed by Kronos obviously became the stone located in Delphi; the place where it was either regurgitated or placed after the events of the next myth, which labels Delphi as the center of the world, and the stone its navel. it is said that Zeus sent out two golden eagles, one from the western edge of the world, and one from the eastern edge. Where the two met, must be the center of the world. The animals met over Delphi, and thus, this became its center. The myth is well-known, but finding the source is ridiculously hard. It is mentioned by Pindar, but retold by Strabo in his 'Geography':

"Now although the greatest share of honor was paid to this temple because of its oracle, since of all oracles in the world it had the repute of being the most truthful, yet the position of the place added something. For it is almost in the center of Greece taken as a whole, between the country inside the Isthmus and that outside it; and it was also believed to be in the center of the inhabited world, and people called it the navel of the earth, in addition fabricating a myth, which is told by Pindar, that the two eagles (some say crows) which had been set free by Zeus met there, one coming from the west and the other from the east. There is also a kind of navel to be seen in the temple; it is draped with fillets, and on it are the two likenesses of the birds of the myth." [9.6.3]

Pausanias in his 'Description of Greece' expands upon this knowledge, and references Pindar as well:

 

"What is called the Omphalus (Navel) by the Delphians is made of white marble, and is said by the Delphians to be the center of all the earth. Pindar in one of his odes supports their view." [10.16.3]

The stone itself has a carving of a knotted net covering its surface, and has a hollow center, which widens towards its base. The stone may have been a copy of the original, even in ancient times, but was still located in the Adyton of the Temple of Apollon, and was viewed only by the priests and priestess who had access to the chamber. It was used as a seat--either literally or figuratively--for the oracle of Delphi. Euripides says this most beautifully in 'Ion':

"I have come to this land of Delphi, where Apollo, sitting on the central navel, chants to mortals, always prophesying the things that are and will be." [5-7]

 

The omphalos from Delphi currently resides in the museum of Delphi.

Image source: omphalos watercolor image

• Friday, July 5, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture Delphi Hesiod Mythology 101 Pagan Blog Project Pausanias Pindar Strabo

On the 'handle-kiss'

One thing I love about research is that you are never done. No matter how much you know, or how well you know a text, there will always be some reference inviting further research. While I was researching for my post on abstinence, I came across a small mention of something interesting: the 'handle-kiss'. In Hans Licht's 'Sexual Life in Ancient Greece', he makes note of the following:

"Eunicus wrote a comedy, Anteia, yet we can say nothing more explicit of the hetaira of this name nor of the comedy itself than that from it only a single verse is preserved - 'Take me by the ears and give me the handle-kiss'." [p.308]

Intrigued, I took to the internet, as my bookshelves offered no further explanation. Here, I found an excellent paper by Richard Hawley, titled 'Give Me a Thousand Kisses', which focusses on kissing practices in ancient Hellas. It's quite a wonderful read. He also mentions the handle-kiss--or as he calls it, the 'jug-kiss', translated from the same source Licht used.

 

"The affectionate kissing of children, indeed, spawns a unique type of special kiss, the chutra, or ‘jug-kiss’. The Greek lexicographer Pollux records (Onomasticon 10.100) that the chutra is a type of kiss when one kisses one’s children, holding them up by the ears, as if they were two handles of a jug. By way of illustration Pollux cites a fragment (fr. 1) of the comedy Anteia by Eunicus: ‘lift him up by the ears and give him the chutra kiss.’ Bizarrely perhaps, this classical custom is still alive and kicking by the time of Tibullus in the late first century BC, who refers to a child kissing his father while holding his father’s ears (2.5.92), and Plutarch, who writes in the first-second century AD that ‘many people kiss little children by holding their ears and asking the children to do the same’ (Moral Essays 38c).

It is significant that in these instances, it is the parent who is generally described as the active agent, the kisser, and the child as the passive recipient of the kiss. Although sometimes the child kisses back, the narrative focus is upon the kiss as a symbol of the love the parent bears the child, and thus acts to characterise the parent’s virtue of familial affection." [p.5]

From his, we can gather that the handle-kiss (or jug-kiss, or chutra kiss) was a kiss between parent and child, a non-sexual kiss, meant to convey affection by reaching for the ears of the child, or sometimes where the child reaches for the ears of the parent as well. It sounds like a sweet practice.

Julius Pollux's Onomasticon--a collection of ten books which functions as a dictionary for ancient Hellenic life--is not available in English online, not even for purchase, I fear. from him, we will thus learn no more about this practice. Albius Tibullus was a Latin poet, and we can access his works. the full sentence Hawley refers to goes as follows:

"And the mother will bear him a child, the child grab his father’s ears to snatch a kiss: and the grandfather won’t be bored with watching his little grandson, the old man babbling with the young." [2.5.92]

It is part of a poem about the blessings of Apollo(n), should Apollon chose to place blessings upon mankind. 'So once it was, but at last, you, kind Apollo, submerge monstrous things in the savage depths...'. We can also find the reference to Plutarch. In full, it reads:

"Most people in bestowing an affectionate kiss on little children not only take hold of children by the ears but bid the children to do the same by them, thus insinuating in a playful way that they must love most those who confer benefit through the ears. For surely the fact is plain, that the young man who is debarred from hearing all instruction and gets no taste of speech not only remains wholly unfruitful and makes no growth towards virtue, but may also be perverted towards vice, and the product of his mind, like that of a fallow and untilled piece of ground, will be a plentiful crop of wild oats. For if the impulses towards pleasure and the feelings of suspicion towards hard work (which are not of external origin nor imported products of the spoken word, but indigenous sources, as it were, of pestilent emotions and disorders without number) be allowed to continue unconstrained along their natural channels, and if they be not either removed or diverted another way through the agency of goodly discourse, thus putting the natural endowments in a fit condition, there is not one of the wild beasts but would be found more civilized than man." [38c-d]

Thus, Plutarch gives us a valuable clue about the 'why' of the handle-kiss: he feels that the kiss exists because children need to learn that listening--to knowledge being shared, but also military orders and sound advice--needs to be associated with good things (kisses and affection) very early on, and that they must listen to those who speak with hat same affection. He also stresses that those who confer wisdom need to be appreciated for it, this is why the child is asked to hold the ears of his father as well.

The tradition of the handle-kiss suddenly makes a lot of sense in the grand, Hellenic, scheme, doesn't it? With its focus on knowledge, temperance and learning, it seems like a wonderful way to confer to your children from a long age that their ears are there to use and gain great things through. Perhaps, if I ever have a child, I will place the kiss on them as well. It never hurts to try.

• Thursday, July 4, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture Julius Pollux Plutarch Tibullus

Notes on Baring the Aegis

Baring the Aegis is a little more than a year old, and I have been Hellenistic for a few hours shorter than that. It's amazing to read back some of the struggles of that first week, starting with my first post, to struggling with my devotion to Brighid, to Brighid letting me go, all in the span of 24 hours. When Baring the Aegis was week old, I was Hellenistic to the core, and I can still recall that feeling effortlessly, just like I can recall every moment of that time I sacrificed Pringles to the Theoi. I can recall lots of favorite moments I wrote about here: my wake for Athena (part one and two), the Anthesteria, moving from English to Dutch for my daily practice, actually having a daily practice (although I have since added the household Gods, Athena, Asklēpiós, and Hygieia to my daytime prayers), and answering your questions. I especially love doing that.

When I wrote that first post, I wasn't sure I would keep blogging. I had tried to blog before, and it never stuck. I didn't have anything interesting to write, nothing that others might want to read. I don't believe in writing things down for prosperity alone; it's the reason I can't keep a journal. I need people to read my words, or I will stop writing them. Yet, that first month especially was such a flurry of learning and sharing that I became hooked. Still, I mean it when I say that I need you guys. Writing Baring the Aegis is a devotional activity for me, but it's also my personal learning tool. I am forced to earn something new about Hellenismos every single day, and that's a great gift.

I want to do more than thank you guys in this post--which will be a bit of a collection of random things about the past and future of the blog--I want to ask you again to tell me what you want to see on Baring the Aegis; topics, specific posts, more or less of something... all feedback is appreciated. I started Baring the Aegis as a learning tool for myself, and it will continue to be so, but you guys make all the early mornings and late nights worth it. 411 posts and 60.000 views (on here alone) in, and writing Baring the Aegis is still one of the highlights of every day.

Silent July
Sannion over at The House of Vines had made a proposal: that polytheist bloggers join in protest over being marginalized and put down by the greater Pagan community and shut down their blogs for the month of July. I have my issues with Sannion, but in essence, he is a really good guy, and I get where he is coming from. That said, I'm not going to participate: Baring the Aegis is staying over for business throughout the month of July.

"Not only would this send a powerful message about what Paganism is like without polytheism but I think it would be very good and healing for everyone involved. Especially if this was used as an opportunity to deepen our practice and relationships with our gods and spirits.

Imagine what you could accomplish if every time you got an itch to make a post or check what other people are saying you instead went to your shrine and prayed or made an offering or created something of beauty to honor your divinities?"

Blogging has never been a reason why I don't get 'actual worship' done: I do get worship done. Twice a day, and because I blog, I also open my books and do my research at least once a day. Even through graduation, through illness, through bad nights with three hours of sleep, and vacation periods, I have blogged on here every single day. That time is precious to me, and it has helped me to be a better Hellenist. Because I blog, I know what I'm doing when I get to my altar. And no, I don't make art, or other things to honor the Theoi: not everyone has to make art. My art (read: gift of devotion) is my blog. So I'm staying here.

As for the 'Pagan vs. Polytheist' thing, in its many incarnations... personally, I think it's rubbish. I couldn't care less if someone else sees the Gods differently than I do, or worships them in another way, or doesn't worship Them at all. This may be hubris talking, but I feel that if the Theoi cared, They would have done something about it. I have stayed out of these debates, and I will continue to do so. I'd rather enjoy my life and religion than worry about someone else's practice. So no, I'm not going dark on Baring the Aegis because of an argument on the internet that I feel should have dies a slow death months ago. Sorry. I practice temperance in everything, and all of this feels very gung-ho.

I did talk to Jonathan Agathokles--who is about an hour's drive from me, I believe--and we have decided to pen pal for at least the duration of the protest. I think it's a good way for us to see if meeting up for any type of worship would benefit us, and I like Jonathan, so it should be fun.

Devotional week
Next week, my girlfriend is going away on work vacation. Separate from the Silent July initiative, I have decided to make this week a bit of a devotional week, especially because this Hellenistic year--and Olympiad--ends on the eighth of July with the Hene kai Nea. Besides libations to Zeus and Athena, I don't think this was a big happening for the ancient Hellenes, but I do want to go into the new year with a good cleanse.

My devotional week will consist of at least a fast, purification, lots of reading, and increased prayer schedules. I haven't figured out how and what I want to do exactly, but this is a head's up that this is going to happen for me, and you might be hearing about it on the blog for a while. In the spirit of Practicing Apart Together, I might set up a date and time for a shared libation to Zeus the Savior and Athena the Savior, but I'll leave it to you guys to say if this is something you would like to participate in.

I look forward greatly to my second year as a Hellenist and a Hellenist blogger. I have met such wonderful people--even if only online and over the phone--and learned so much. The Theoi have such a beautiful place in my life now, that I can only be inspired to discover what comes next. Thank you for making the journey with me. It's been a heck of a wild ride.

• Wednesday, July 3, 2013
  bloggers I admire blogging community personal

Abstinence and ancient Hellenic rites

In a roundabout way, I was asked about sexual abstinence of priests prior to ritual yesterday. As the end of my scholastic career has finally come, I feel inspirationally somewhat deflated, so at this point, I will accept any excuse to borrow someone else's writing subject. If you have any questions about ancient Hellas, Hellenic religion, or mythology--or anything else I cover on this blog--I'd be eternally grateful at this point. Back to the question at hand, though: abstinence. I have tried to find some information on it, but it is sparse. As with my post on the packages of ancient Hellenic statues, there will be lots of euphemisms in this post to prevent my blog from showing up on specific searches by Google.

Honestly, I don't think I have ever come across scholarly work demanding abstinence before ritual. Mikalson in 'Ancient Greek Religion' does mention that intercourse led to 'pollution' (miasma) and that a bath was required before entering a temple after intercourse as a form of katharmos. He, however, does not give a source, and I don't know one either. It is a reoccurring idea, though, mostly centered on the male's excretions during the activity. The Hellenic religious organization 'Labrys' echoes the sentiment, but also without sourcing. Miasma would be one of two reasons I can think of that would support abstinence in a religious setting; power and strength would be the other.

It was common knowledge in ancient Hellas that a male's seed was a source of power for them. In a true 'save it for the game' type of deal, ancient Hellenic athletes were encouraged to abstain before a contest: in this way, they had an extra reserve of (male) power. How this would help them in ritual, I do not know, so I think abstaining for power or strength in ritual would be somewhat counterproductive to the worship part of the rite. That said, 'power' can refer to mean mental strength; in the Symposium, Plato evaluates abstinence as a means to access truth and practice self-control.

Celibacy--a far more extreme form of abstinence--was rarely practiced; that we do know. Priests and priestesses of celibate Theoi would sometimes practice it for the duration of their term, and some even beyond that, but in general, it wasn't a religious requirement, and it wasn't looked upon kindly, even in mythology. As an example, Hippolytos famously forswore his sexuality for the sake of extreme religious devotion to Artemis. When Hippolytos’ step-mother, Phaedra, falls desperately in love with him, he rejects her. Phaedra kills herself in revenge, and accuses Hippolytos of rape in a suicide note. Theseus, the boy's father, reads the note and calls to the Theoi to bring death u;on his son, who is swiftly killed. The playwright Euripides famously brought this story to the stage in his tragedy Hippolytus, which explores this question of suppressing sexual desire in order to access a higher religious objective--namely that his extreme piety is arrogant, as sexual desire and love are gifts from other Theoi.

Total male abstinence is problematic since it paradoxically exemplifies self-control while opposing the Hellenic ideal of moderation. Although elements of sexual restraint are virtuous in certain contexts, permanent abstinence was considered both unnatural and dangerous. From everything I have read, it seems women were even less capable of abstaining, and it was considered especially dangerous to allow women to do so as their wild and primal nature would emerge. Interestingly enough, when women were required religiously to abstain, it was during festivals of Demeter and Persephone. I suspect that this was in large part due to a fertility element linked to the festivals, but I can not help link a certain sense of wildness to the practice as well, especially because these festivals were largely women-only.

Hippocratic writings on health from the fifth century BC address the virtues of self-control and the dangers of being oversexed or undersexed. Hippocrates speaks of 'undersexed women' in (I believe) 'Nature of the Child' or 'The Seed', meaning virgins and celibates, and describes that they display signs of lethargy, numbness, and madness, ascribed to 'a build up of fluid due to a lack of sexual intercourse'. Marriage and the sexual intercourse that surely follows is seen as the ideal cure for such symptoms. For men also, abstinence was seen as unhealthy.  At the other end of the spectrum, excessive sexual activity was considered unhealthy and dangerous. In 'The Seed' sperm is identified to be the most potent and vital part of the body, since 'the body is significantly weakened by its loss'.

It seems that  abstinence was tolerated as a temporary practice, notably during athletic competitions and festivals, but not encouraged as a permanent state of being. The philosophers, specifically Orphics and Pythagoreans, promoted abstinence of meat and sex, but their ideas were on the fringes of Hellenic society, and did not reflect more widely accepted ideas. It is important to note that even they only encouraged male abstinence.

So, do I feel abstaining is necessary for Hellenistic rites? No, unless there is documented evidence that the ancient Hellenes did it for that specific festival. If you do have sexual relations before a rite, take a bath or shower. Present yourself clean and free of miasma. The ancient Hellenes had a very healthy view of sex, and saw the desire for it as completely healthy and divinely inspired. I'm  big proponent of viewing sex in a likewise manner.

• Tuesday, July 2, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture Demeter Hippolytos katharmos miasma Mythology 101 Persephone Perseus requested post

Live without sorrow (Αλυπως βιου)

I am an active follower of the Delphic Maxims, and they are standard reading material for me. The one that always cuts the deepest, and it one of the most valuable ones in my life is number 90: 'live without sorrow' (Αλυπως βιου). I have struggled with that in my life, an it's good to have a reminder.

I should try to describe what I read when I read this maxim. To me, living without sorrow means to not dwell in the past, to accept your own actions, and to move past them if they were somehow shaming or less than up to par. For me, living without sorrow means to accept my own faults and strive to better them, without wearing myself down over events I cannot change.

In a Hellenistic perspective, this maxim goes hand in hand with a lot of others, mostly those which describe perfection. 'Control anger', for example, or 'make just judgements'; these type of maxims call for a perfect way of being. Yet, we are all human, and in some ways, that will always make us imperfect. What matters is that we strive to be the best we can be, to practice arête. If we fall or struggle in this quest sometimes, accept that it happened an move on. Better yourself.

It seems that, in this interpretation of the maxim, it clashes with another of the maxims: 'regret falling short of the mark' (Αμαρτανων μετανοει). It doesn't; 'live without regret' comes after regretting to accomplish what one sets out to do. Regret is a valuable and powerful emotional response. No only does it signal that our ethical framework is intact, it is also one of the ways we learn. Regret is a signal to examine events and draw conclusions from them. It offers a chance to learn. Getting stuck in that regret, however, is counterproductive.

Once lessons are drawn, it is time to move on, to leave the situation behind and put what has been learned to the test. You set new goals, once more, you will strive for perfection. You forget the regret, because you have a new purpose, new inspiration, to do and be better.

I have tried all my life to be perfect, and there are only two events in my life that I truly regret. These events still hurt to think about, although my examination of the Delphic Maxims has lessened the sting. After each event, I examined the situation and my behavior, and located the warning signs. I haven't relapsed into them so far, and I doubt I ever will. As such, I can live without sorrow that the original events took place... although there are still moments I wish they had not happened at all.

• Monday, July 1, 2013
  arete athike arete Delphic Maxims personal Star Foster's Delphic Maxims