Antikythera wreck to be explored by exosuit

I am not sure if you all know this about me, but I am a total geek. I play tabletop roleplaying games, I studied IT, I can take apart and put back together a computer, and yes, when I hear researchers are going to use an exosuit to search the wreck of the 2000 year old shipwreck which yielded the Antikythera mechanism, I get very, very, excited.

The Antikythera wreck is a shipwreck from the 2nd quarter of the 1st century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Hellenic island of Antikythera in 1900. The wreck manifested numerous statues, coins and other artefacts dating back to the 4th century BC, as well as the severely corroded remnants of a device that is called the world's oldest known analog computer, the Antikythera mechanism.

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses. The computer's construction has been attributed to the Hellenes and was dated to the early 1st century BC. Technological artefacts approaching its complexity and workmanship did not appear again until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clocks began to be built in Western Europe.

The mechanism was housed in a wooden box and is made up of bronze gears (that we know of). The mechanism's remains were found as eighty-two separate fragments of which only seven contain any gears or significant inscriptions. Today, the fragments of the Antikythera mechanism are kept at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

It was reported that--using the latest advances in technology and robotics--researchers will now strive to extract more secrets from the ancient shipwreck, and their main tool will be a robotic 'exoskeleton' dubbed "Exosuit". The Archaeology News Network reports that:

"...the cutting-edge diving suit, essentially still in an experimental stage, will be worn by U.S. divers who will be able to remain deep underwater for extended periods of time, enabling them to conduct excavations and handle the fragile ancient objects with due care. The 1.5-million-dollar Exosuit was made by the Canadian robotics firm Nuytco Research and comes equipped with a number of features that will allow divers to work at the 120-metre depths for an essentially unlimited period of time, without being at risk from decompression sickness."

Scientists are optimistic that the site will yield a second device like the Antikythera Mechanism, as a preliminary survey conducted last year showed a wealth of artefacts scattered over the crash site, as well as a second unknown shipwreck next to the one already found.

The first real test of the suit will take place in July, during underwater surveys off the northeast coast of the United States and the Antikythera mission will take place immediately afterward. It will also be worn by U.S. divers during the Antikythera mission.

• Saturday, June 7, 2014
  Antikythera archeology current affairs modern Greece

Introducing: Nyx

In the category, 'questions I got ages ago and am only now getting to', I want to talk about the Goddess Nyx today. I have received the following reader question:

"Do you know anything about worshiping Nyx in the modern world?"

Nyx (Νυξ) is the deep Night, born from Khaos (Χαος) and the sister-wife of Aither (Αιθηρ, 'Light'). In Hellenic mythology, Nyx draws a veil of darkness between the shining atmosphere of the aither and the lower air of earth (aer) at set times in the day, bringing night to man. In the morning, Her daughter Hêmera (Ἡμερα, 'Day') removes this veil, and exposes the Earth once more to Light. As Hesiod writes in the Theogony:

"[At the ends of the earth, where lie the roots of earth, sea, Tartaros :] There stands the awful home of murky Nyx wrapped in dark clouds. In front of it [Atlas] the son of Iapetos stands immovably upholding the wide heaven upon his head and unwearying hands, where Nyx and Hemera draw near and greet one another as they pass the great threshold of bronze: and while the one is about to go down into the house, the other comes out at the door. And the house never holds them both within; but always one is without the house passing over the earth, while the other stays at home and waits until the time for her journeying come; and the one holds all-seeing light (phaos) for them on earth." [744]

Nyx and Hêmera continually work to both create and dissolve darkness on Earth; Selene (the Goddess of the Moon) moves with Nyx, and Helios (God of the Sun) with Hêmera, as heralded by Eos. In this recap, it is quite obvious we are yet missing a speciffic time of the day: dusk, or the evening. This was in the domain of the Nymphs, in this case the Hesperides (Ἑσπεριδες), who--depending of source--are either the daughters of Nyx or Atlas. Diodorus Siculus, in the 1st Century BC., wrote in his 'Library of History': 

"Now Hesperos (Evening) begat a daughter named Hesperis (Evening), who he gave in marriage to his brother [Atlas] and after whom the land was given the name Hesperitis; and Atlas begat by her seven daughters, who were named after their father Atlantides, and after their mother Hesperides." [4. 26. 2]

Yet, older sources agree that the Hesperides (amongst others like Hypnos and Tartaros) were born from Nyx; Hesiod, for example:

"And Nyx (Night) bare hateful Moros (Doom) and black Ker (Violent Death) and Thanatos (Death), and she bare Hypnos (Sleep) and the tribe of Oneiroi (Dreams). And again the goddess murky Nyx, though she lay with none, bare Momos (Blame) and painful Oizys (Misery), and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Okeanos."

In ancient Hellas, Nyx was only rarely the focus of cult worship. Pausanias mentions She had an oracle on the acropolis at Megara, but that is about it. More often, Nyx was worshipped in other major cults, alongside the main deity: there was a statue called 'Nyx' in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Spartans had a cult of Sleep and Death, conceived of as twins, with Nyx being worshipped as Their mother, etc.

As for modern worship; I have talked before of how I feel all worship is pretty much the same in Hellenismos. The major difference between reconstructive religions and modern ones--especially Pagan ones--is the way worship is conducted. Individual worship of Gods as well as patronage is perfectly acceptable in modern religions, but in Recon religions and the ancient Traditions they were based upon, worship tends to be of the pantheon, not so much the one God or Goddess. What goes for one Olympic God, tends to go for the others as well.

There are five steps to proper, Hellenistic, ritual: procession, purification, prayers and hymns, sacrifice/offerings, prayers of supplication and thanks, usually followed by a feast and/or theatre and sporting events. We can apply this to modern worship quite easily: procession (no matter how short), purification with lustral water (named khernips), a hymn, song or modern poem which praises and draws the Theos in question, a sacrifice of some kind--be it incenses, (mixed) wine, meat or anything else--along with barley seeds tossed on the altar or into the altar fire, prayers or words of thanks, and--in communal rituals--plays, games, or (sports)-competitions. Within communal celebrations, the sacrifice can be some of the (raw) ingredients used to prepare the communal meal that will follow.

Hellenismos is not glamorous; in general, you do the same thing over and over again with minor variations. That is what I love about it. It's simple, clear, and repetitive. As for Nyx, in the Orphic Hymn to Her, torches are prescribed as an offering, and Gods of the night tended to be worshipped at that time as well. Not always, naturally, but the dark night is Her domain. Bring her sacrifices of wine and try to include Her children and husband in your worship as well. Good luck!

• Friday, June 6, 2014
  Diodorus Siculus Hēlios Hellenismos 101 Hêmera Hesiod Introduction series Mythology 101 Nyx requested post Selene

Aristotle’s lyceum scheduled to open this summer

For all you lucky people who either live in Greece or will be visiting it this Summer, I have an addition to your itinerary: Aristotle’s Lyceum in Athens is almost ready to open to the public.

The site of the Lyceum in August 2013, with grass, flowers and herbs growing strong
and a row of young pomegranate trees along the footpath on the west side
of the ruins of the gymnasium [Credit: David John/My Favorite Planet]

 

The 'Lyceum' was a gymnasium and before that a public meeting place in a grove of trees in Classical Athens. It was named in honour of Apollo Lyceus. Though best known for its connection with Aristotle, the Lyceum was in existence long before his founding the school there in 334 / 335 BCE, providing a teaching ground for long list of philosophers and sophists, including Prodicus of Ceos, Protagoras, Isocrates, Plato, and Socrates. The remains of the Lyceum were discovered in modern Athens in 1996 in a park behind the Hellenic Parliament, and is now nearly ready to open to the public, reports the Greek Reporter.

 

The archaeologists of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquities, which is responsible for the site, want it to become a part of Athenians’ everyday life, a place where visitors can take a walk, rest or read. Eleni Banou, the head of the Third Ephorate of Classical Antiquity stated: "Our reasoning is that we don’t want people to be afraid of interacting with the site."

 

When, exactly, the grounds will be opened is unclear, but the expectations are before the end of Summer.

• Thursday, June 5, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology Aristotle Athens current affairs modern Greece

'Oh My Gods!' trailer is finally available

You all know I am a huge proponent of getting our voices heard one way or another, and a beautiful way to do it is to allow a camera crew into your inner circle--if they handle the subject matter well. This is what the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (πατο Συμβούλιο των Ελλήνων Εθνικών, or YSEE) must have thought when they decided to let Anastasia Moumtzaki and her team from vice.com to attend the first outdoor ritual of the year so a documentary could be made about their practices. The trailer dropped a few days ago and you can find it here. Due to the limited embedding options of both vice and blogger, I can't embed it.

The documentary will be called 'Oh My Gods!', and has a clear premise: the Vice team was invited to spent 24 hours with members of YSEE and observe their rituals. They were invited to talk with members and try to understand why anyone would follow the Hellenic Gods--especially in a country where they are continually judged and persecuted by devout Christians who greatly disapprove of the practice of Hellenismos.

YSEE is one of the most organized Hellenistic organization out there today, and is based in Greece. If you have ever looked through the YSEE website, you are well aware that its members have a pretty rough time in their homeland, trying to re-establish the ancient religion. Modern Greece is a very Christian country, and any attempt to practice a different religion--let alone reconstruct an ancient one--is met not only with resistance, but violence, property damage, and a great deal of threats. On top of that, the Greek government refuses to recognize Hellenismos as a valid religion, making it hard to receive funding for temples and celebrations, protection of its members and facilities, and opportunities to worship at the ancient sites.

From the trailer, things look pretty promising, and I look forward to watching the end result. It's already reminding me of 'I Still Worship Zeus', and I enjoyed that immensely. I was hoping for an updated view (I still Worship Zeus is ten years old) and perhaps 'Oh My Gods!' can provide that. I will, of course, keep you updated on this, and will let you know when the full documentary can be viewed.

• Wednesday, June 4, 2014
  current affairs modern Greece YSEE

'Women in the Religious and Intellectual Activity of the Ancient Mediterranean World'

Hi guys. Sorry, writing is not going to happen today, so I'm going to leave you with the voices of top scholars discussing the role of women in the ancient mediterranean world. These lectures were given in honor of Yale Divinity School's Adella Yarbro Collins, and can be listened to for free on iTunes. Enjoy!

• Tuesday, June 3, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture this is not a real post

Labour eight: the Horses of Diomedes

I'm sure all of you remember who Hēraklēs is, and hopefully most of you will remember that I'm doing a Labours series. Today, I'd like to add another part to it: labour eight: the horses of Diomedes. Hēraklēs had just fought Giants and released Prometheus when he was given a new labour to cleanse his miasma after killing his wife and children in a fit of divine-inspired rage. Diomedes (Διομηδης) was a barbaric king of the Bistonian tribe of Thrake who fed his mares a diet of human flesh. Hēraklēs was commanded to fetch these horses.

Diodorus Siculus writes about Diomedes and his horses in his 'Library of History':

"The next Labour which Heracles undertook was the bringing back of the horses of Diomedes, the Thracian. The feeding-troughs of those horses were of brass because the steeds were so savage, and they were fastened by iron chains because of their strength, and the food they ate was not the natural produce of the soil but they tore apart the limbs of strangers and so got their food from the ill lot of hapless men. Heracles, in order to control them, threw to them their master Diomedes, and when he had satisfied the hunger of the animals by means of the flesh of the man who had taught them to violate human law in this fashion, he had them under his control." [4.15.3]

Apollodorus, in his 'Histories', gives more details about Diomedes' divine heritance, as was ascribed to him.

"Now this Diomedes was a son of Ares and Cyrene, and he was king of the Bistones, a very warlike Thracian people, and he owned man-eating mares." [2.5.8]

There is a beautiful description of the horses in question, too, attributed to Philostratus the Elder, in his 'Imagines'. He tells us a different tale than the one to follow--one that discredits the fact that Hēraklēs had the taking of the horses as his eight labour--but that makes no difference on his vision of the horses:

"Let us not consider the mares of Diomedes to have been a task for Heracles, my boy, since he has already overcome them and crushed them with his club – one of them lies on the ground, another is gasping for breath, a third, you will say, is leaping up, another is falling down; their manes are unkempt, they are shaggy down to their hoofs, and in every way they resemble wild beasts; their stalls are tainted with flesh and bones of the men whom Diomedes used as food for his horses, and the breeder of the mares himself is even more savage of aspect than the mares near whom he has fallen." [2.25]

The task was to bring back the horses to Eurystheus, and that is exactly what Hēraklēs did. In the words of Apolodorus:

"So Hercules sailed with a band of volunteers, and having overpowered the grooms who were in charge of the mangers, he drove the mares to the sea." [2.5.8]

There isn't a heroic description available of the actual theft, but there is Philostratus' accounts, which is the only one who mentions Abderos, a son of Hermes of Opus, who was Hēraklēs friend, squire, and--according to Philostratus--his lover. Once Hēraklēs came to the sea, he was overtaken by the Bistones, and during the ensuing fight he entrusted the mares to Abderos for safekeeping as he fought. during the fight, the horses tore up Abderos and partly ate him. In reaction Hēraklēs killed Diomedes and fed his body to the mares, who instantly became tame. He built the town of Abdera, in honour of his unfortunate friend, and then returned to Mycenae to finish the labour.

"Eros enjoins it upon Heracles in addition to many others, and since the hardship laid upon him was no slight matter. For Heracles is bearing the half-eaten body of Abderus, which he has snatched from the mares; and they devoured him white yet a tender youth and younger than Iphitus, to judge from the portions that are left; for, still beautiful, they are lying on the lion’s skin. The tears he shed over them, the embraces he may have given them, the laments he uttered, the burden of grief on his countenance – let such marks of sorrow be assigned to another lover; for another likewise let the monument placed upon the fair beloved’s tomb carry the same tribute of honour; but, not content with the honours paid by most lovers, Heracles erects for Abderus a city, which we call by his name, and games also will be instituted for him, and in his honour contests will be celebrated, boxing and the pancratium and wrestling and all the other contests except horse-racing."[2.25]

Diodorus ends the tale:

"And when the horses were brought to Eurystheus he consecrated them to Hera, and in fact their breed continued down to the reign of Alexander of Macedon." [4.15.4]

• Monday, June 2, 2014
  Apollodorus Hēraklēs Labours series Mythology 101

Reminder: Arrephoria + sacrifices at Erchia

Today, on the third of Skirophorion, the Arrephoria (Ἀρρηφόρια) festival would have taken place. The festival wasn't a state festival; young girls in the service performed a ritual for Athena Polias as a public service, but beyond those girls, their mentors, and perhaps their parents, no one was very concerned with it.

As said in the post on coming of age ceremonies, young girls had only a minor but never the less important role to play in household worship: tending the fire. The family only had them with them for thirteen to fifteen years, on average, after that, she joined her rightful place at the oikos of her husband, where she carried more (religious) responsibility. Outside of the home, however, young girls were placed in service of female deities quite often, especially in city-states like Athens. The girls who were selected for this were in service of Athena Polias for an entire year and were called 'Arrephoros' (Ἀρρήφορος), arrephoroi as a group, consisting of four members.

As a special part of their service, the arrephoroi performed the Arrephoria. During the Arrephoria, the priestess of Athena Polias gave the young arrephoroi sealed baskets to carry to a nearby cave. Here, the girls were supposed to enter, walk the corridor, set down their baskets at the end and pick up ones which have stood there for a year. When they returned with the baskets, it signalled the end of their year of service and they were dismissed. They were replaced with new girls who would serve the Theia.

The Arrephoria is an intricate rite, which has lost much of its meaning today, but it's still an important day to Athena. For much more information about the Arrephoria, please see here.

Also today was a sacrifice to Kourotrophos, Athena Polias, Aglauros, Zeus Polieus, Poseidon & possibly Pandrosos at Erchia, a town in the Attic deme. The Kourotrophos (κουροτρόφος, child nurturer) are (mostly) female deities who watched over growing children--and especially boys. Gaea, Artemis, and Hekate come to mind. The Kourotrophos received a pig, Athena Polias a sheep, the heroin Aglouros received a sheep as well, but the remains of which were not to be removed from the bomos, which was equally true for the sheep Zeus Polieus received. Poseidon and Pandrosos, daughter of the Athenian king Cecrops, also received sheep. All animals were the gender of the deity in question.

• Sunday, June 1, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture Arrephoria Athena Athena Polias Athens Erkhia festivals Hellenismos 101 Heroes Poseidon Zeus Polieus