Compilation movie of five years of of Attic Dionysia

I may have mentioned once or twice how much I adore and respect the Hellenic organization Labrys. The Labrys Religious Community aims to preserve, promote and practice the Hellenic polytheistic religious tradition through public rituals, lectures, publications, theatrical and musical events, and other forms of action. Their vision is to restore the Hellenic religious tradition and by extension the Hellenic Kosmotheasis and lifestyle to its rightful place, as a respected, acknowledged and fully functional spiritual path.

They have a large variety of rituals and festivals documented, including their 2014 Phallephoria in Athens. The phallephoria was a procession undertaken usually as part of the Dionysia. It was a celebration of freedom, solidarity, and rebellion and was one of the only public assembly's that everyone could attend--women, children, slaves and métoikos included. Men carried huge phalloi through the streets and into the theater and directed ridicule and abuse at the honorands. As with many Dionysian rituals, the phallephoria showed two sides of the theater world: the tragedies that depicted the disasters that befell the heroes of ancient Hellas, and the comedies where these heroes were ridiculed.

According to tradition, the City Dionysia was established after Eleutherae, a town on the border between Attica and Boeotia, had chosen to become part of Attica. The Eleuthereans brought a statue of Dionysos to Athens, which was initially rejected by the Athenians. Dionysus then punished the Athenians with a plague affecting the male genitalia, which was cured when the Athenians accepted the cult of Dionysus. This was recalled each year by a procession of citizens carrying phalloi, and the practice has now been brought back to life.

So, what is better than one video of Dionysian rites? That's right, a video of five of their Dionysia festival celebrations combined. You're welcome!

• Sunday, May 4, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture Dionysia Dionysos festivals labrys video

Descendant of Hippokrátēs' tree preserved in a DNA barcode

Under the heading of 'news you never knew you wanted to hear but were subconsciously missing out on': experts in the US have produced the first DNA barcode of the Oriental plane--that's a tree--that is believed to be a direct descendant of the tree Hippokrátēs taught his students under.

The Archaeology News Network reports that this undertaking was part of the DNA Barcode of Life Project, which aims to create a database of barcodes from every species on Earth. So far, more than 200,000 samples have been collected.

Each barcode comes from a specific specimen that is stored at a museum or similar permanent repository that provides access to research. The raw DNA data is also publicly available.

"The idea of a barcode is that you can go back and find the organism that it came from. So the original can be consulted a hundred years from now," says Dr Driskell, who manages the Smithsonian's Laboratories of Analytical Biology, which carried out the barcoding.

The Hippocrates Tree at the National Library of Medicine has become the source of the first barcode for the Oriental plane tree species.

The lifeline of the tree is a complicated one; the original tree died long ago, but the tree that stood in its place for centuries was believed to be its direct descendant. One of its cuttings was presented to the National Library of Medicine near Washington DC (part of the NIH--the National Institutes of Health) when it opened in 1962. In 1990, however, the tree that had emerged from this cutting got sick, and the botanical and scientific circles rallied to nurse the tree back to health. By 2003, it became clear this would be in vein, and NIH chief landscape architect Lynn Mueller began a desperate quest to find ways to clone the tree and save one of the few tangible links to Hippokrátēs in the US.

After many failed attempts to nurse cutting from the tree to health at a variety of nurseries around the US, Mueller contacted the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive in Michigan where experts managed to produce several clones. Last year the National Library of Medicine tree was pronounced dead and felled. The DNA used to produce the barcode was extracted from the dead tree's wood, just under the bark. April 25th, one of the dead tree's clones was dedicated and planted in the same spot as the original tree, completing yet another circle of death and rebirth from the ashes.

Hippokrátēs, often called the 'father of modern medicine' invented the idea that people with the same disease exhibit similar symptoms which produced similar outcomes. His book, Prognosis, was the first to compare cases in an organised study and remains the basis of the theory of modern medical diagnosis.

"I'm sure that Hippocrates would have been fascinated by the DNA Barcode Project and I think he would have been very excited about how DNA comparison and other modern methods are being used to better understand and ultimately treat human disease," said Dr David Lipman, director of the National Library of Medicine's National Center for Biotechnology Information.

The young tree lives on healthy and happily, and through this process of barcoding, we have preserved yet another link to the ancient Hellenic past of our society.

• Saturday, May 3, 2014
  archeology current affairs Hippokrátēs

Kallimachos' Hymn to Apollon

Well then, today is not the day for a blog post. You are getting a hymn today in the hopes that I'll feel better tomorrow. Oh--reminder: because I'm under the weather you're getting an extra day to donate to Pandora's Kharis' cause, The International Mental Health Research Organization, who won this round as Mounukhion 2014 cause! Have you made your donation yet?

Kallimachos of Kyrēnē (Κυρήνη, Cyrene) was a Hellenic poet and scholar of the Library of Alexandria. He rose to greatness around the third century BC and was the author of a large number of works. Unfortunately, only six hymns and sixty-three epigrams have survived to this day. Kallimachos despised the 'outdated' poetry type of Hómēros and wrote many testimonials against it. His hymns are, therefor, different to the eye than the Homeric and Orphic ones. For the complete hymns, go here. You are getting the Hymn to Apollon today in honour of the upcoming Thargelia.

 

HYMN TO APOLLON

How the laurel branch of Apollo trembles! How trembles all the shrine! Away, away, he that is sinful! Now surely Phoebus knocketh at the door with his beautiful foot. See’st thou not? The Delian palm nods pleasantly of a sudden and the swan in the air sings sweetly. Of yourselves now ye bolts be pushed back, pushed back of yourselves, ye bars! The god is no longer far away. And ye, young men, prepare ye for song and for the dance.

Not unto everyone doth Apollo appear, but unto him that is good. Whoso hath seen Apollo, he is great; whoso hath not seen him, he is of low estate. We shall see thee, O Archer, and we shall never be lowly. Let no the youths keep silent lyre or noiseless step, when Apollo visits his shrine, if they think to accomplish marriage and to cut the locks of age, and if the wall is to stand upon its old foundations. Well done the youths, for that the shell is no longer idle.

Be hushed, ye that hear, at the song to Apollo; yea, hushed is even the sea when the minstrels celebrate the lyre or the bow, the weapons of Lycoreian Phoebus. Neither doth Thetis his mother wail her dirge for Achilles, when she hears Hië Paeëon, Hië Paeëon.

Yea, the tearful rock defers its pain, the wet stone is set in Phrygia, a marble rock like a woman open-mouthed in some sorrowful utterance. Say ye Hië! Hië! an ill thing it is strive with the Blessed Ones. He who fights with the Blessed Ones would fight with my King; he who fights with my King, would fight even with Apollo. Apollo will honour the choir, since it sings according to his heart; for Apollo hath power, for that he sitteth on the right hand of Zeus. Nor will the choir sing of Phoebus for one day only. He is a copious theme of song; who would not readily sing of Phoebus?

Golden is the tunic of Apollo and golden his mantle, his lyre and his Lyctian bow and his quiver: golden too are his sandals; for rich in gold is Apollo, rich also in possessions: by Pytho mightst thou guess. And ever beautiful is he and ever young: never on the girl cheeks of Apollo hath come so much as the down of manhood. His locks distil fragrant oils upon the ground; not oil of fat do the locks of Apollo distil but he very Healing of All. And in whatsoever city whose dews fall upon the ground, in that city all things are free from harm.

None is so abundant in skill as Apollo. To him belongs the archer, to him the minstrel; for unto Apollo is given in keeping alike archery and song. His are the lots of the diviner and his the seers; and from Phoebus do leeches know the deferring of death.

Phoebus and Nomius we call him, ever since that when by Amphrysus he tended the yokemares, fired with love of young Admetus. Lightly would the herd of cattle wax larger, nor would the she-goats of the flock lack young, whereon as they feed Apollo casts his eye; nor without milk would the ewes be nor barren, but all would have lambs at foot; and she that bare one would soon be the mother of twins.

And Phoebus it is that men follow when they map out cities. For Phoebus himself doth weave their foundations. Four years of age was Phoebus when he framed his first foundations in fair Ortygia near the round lake.

Artemis hunted and brought continually the heads of Cynthian goats and Phoebus plaited an altar. With horns builded he the foundations, and of horns framed he the altar, and of horns were the walls he built around. Thus did Phoebus learn to raise his first foundations. Phoebus, too, it was told Battus of my own city of fertile soil, and in guise of a raven – auspicious to our founder – led his people as they entered Libya and sware that he would vouchsafe a walled city to our kings. And the oath of Apollo is ever sure. O Apollo! Many there be that call thee Boëdromius, and many there be that call thee Clarius: everywhere is thy name on the lips of many. But I call thee Carneius; for such is the manner of my fathers. Sparta, O Carneius! was they first foundation; and next Thera; but third the city of Cyrene. From Sparta the sixth generation of the sons of Oedipus brought thee to their colony of Thera; and from Thera lusty Aristoteles set thee by the Asbystian land, and builded thee a shrine exceedingly beautiful, and in the city established a yearly festival wherein many a bull, O Lord, falls on his haunches for the last time. Hië, Hië, Carneius! Lord of many prayers, - thine altars wear flowers in spring, even all the pied flowers which the Hours lead forth when Zephyrus breathes dew, and in winter the sweet crocus. Undying evermore is thy fire, nor ever doth the ash feed about the coals of yester-even. Greatly, indeed, did Phoebus rejoice as the belted warriors of Enyo danced with the yellow-haired Libyan women, when the appointed season of the Carnean feast came round. But not yet could the Dorians approach the fountains of Cyre, but dwelt in Azilis thick with wooded dells. These did the Lord himself behold and showed them to his bride as he stood on horned Myrtussa where the daughter of Hypseus slew the lion that harried the kind of Eurypylus. No other dance more divine hath Apollo beheld, nor to any city hath he given so many blessings as he hath given to Cyrene, remembering his rape of old. Nor, again, is there any other god whom the sons of Battus have honoured above Phoebus.

Hië, Hië, Paeëon, we hear – since this refrain did the Delphian folk first invent, what time thou didst display the archery of they golden bow. As thou wert going down to Pytho, there met thee a beast unearthly, a dread snake. And him thou didst slay, shooting swift arrows one upon the other; and the folk cried “Hië, Hië, Paeëon, shoot an arrow!” A helper from the first thy mother bare thee, and ever since that is thy praise.

Spare Envy privily in the ear of Apollo: “I admire not the poet who singeth not things for number as the sea.” Apollon spurned Envy with his foot and spake thus: “Great is the stream of the Assyrian river, but much filth of earth and much refuse it carries on its waters. And not of every water do the Melissae carry to Deo, but of the trickling stream that springs from a holy fountain, pure and undefiled, the very crown of waters.” Hail, O Lord, but Blame – let him go where Envy dwells!

• Friday, May 2, 2014
  Apollon Elaion hymns Kallimachos Pandora's Kharis this is not a real post

PAT ritual announcement for the Thargelia 2014

Elaion is proud to announce that on the sixth and seventh of Thargelion (so six and seven May), we will be hosting another PAT ritual, this time for the Thargelia. PAT rituals, or Practicing Apart Together rituals, have become a staple for Elaion, where we, as an organisation, provide a date, time, and ritual for the festival at hand, and around the globe, as many of our members as possible perform the ritual at their homes. some do it alone, some in groups, and we tend to share experiences and photographs of the altar or the festivities on the Elaion Facebook page.

On the 6th and 7th of Thargelion (sundown on the 5th to the sundown on the 7th of May), the two day festival of the Thargelia is held in honour of Artemis and Apollon Pythios. The Thargelia was a pre-harvest festival at Athens, and we will be celebrating it in either a one-day or two-day festival, depending on your schedule and willingness. We will soon upload the ritual(s), but the idea is that the focus will be on Artemis on the sixth, and on Apollon on the seventh. You can join either for a one day celebration.

The Thargelia (Θαργήλια) was, as said, held over the course of two days. The first day, a sheep was sacrificed to Demeter Khloe on the Acropolis, and perhaps a swine to the Fates, but most telling about that first day was the following that took place:

In ancient times, two poor, ugly men (or a man and one woman) were chosen each year to be Pharmakoi.  They were fed for a while at public expense and were then paraded around Athens as scapegoats for the people, one wearing a string of black figs to represent the men, the other white figs to represent the women.  At the end of the procession, they were flogged and beaten with fig branches and squills (sea onions), and driven expelled from the city. It could be that in very ancient times, these men were  stoned to death themselves once they reached the place of sacrifice on the shore, but it's likely that they were soon replaced with animals, if they were ever even sacrificed themselves at all. Whatever the case, the bodies were burned, and the ashes thrown into the sea or land, to fertilize.

The second day was a lot less gruesome: a great pot of vegetables was prepared as an offering of the first fruits to Apollon. A panspermia was ritually sown into the earth. The Thargelia also featured choral contests among pairs of phratriai, and was recognized by phratriai as a day of festival and sacrifice. An eiresione (olive branch of supplication) with fillets of white wool and first fruits attached was carried in procession along with a winnowing basket full of fruit.

We hope you join us for this celebration, and with you a blessed Thargelia, regardless!

• Thursday, May 1, 2014
  Apollon Artemis Demeter Elaion festivals Hellenismos 101 PAT Pythian Apollon

Ancient Philippi candidate for UNESCO

The Greek Ministry of Culture has recently announced that the archaeological site of Philippi located in the municipality of Kavala will be the official Greek candidate for evaluation and inclusion in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Philippi's forum and basilica B seen from the acropolis
[Credit: Marsyas/WikiCommons]



A study on the site was prepared and conducted by the Scientific Working Group of Kavala Municipality in collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the local ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and of Byzantine Antiquities, and is awaiting final approval by the Greek Ministry of Culture.

According to the Archaeology News Network, the Ministry of Culture will present a candidature dossier in September at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and in February 2015 the international organization will evaluate the submission.

Philippi (or Philippoi - Φίλιπποι) was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest. The present municipality Filippi is located near the ruins of the ancient city and it is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Kavalla Greece. According to Wikipedia:

"Philippi was established by the king of Macedon, Philip II, on the site of the Thasian colony of Krinides or Crenides (Κρηνἱδες, "Fountains"), near the head of the Aegean Sea at the foot of Mt. Orbelos about 8 miles north-west of Kavalla, on the northern border of the marsh that in Antiquity covered the entire plain separating it from the Pangaion hills to the south of Greece.

 

The objective of founding the town was to take control of the neighbouring gold mines and to establish a garrison at a strategic passage: the site controlled the route between Amphipolis and Neapolis, part of the great royal route which crosses Macedonia from the east to the west and which was reconstructed later by the Roman Empire as the Via Egnatia. Philip II endowed the new city with important fortifications, which partially blocked the passage between the swamp and Mt. Orbelos, and sent colonists to occupy it. Philip also had the marsh partially drained, as is attested by the writer Theophrastus. Philippi preserved its autonomy within the kingdom of Macedon and had its own political institutions (the Assembly of the demos). The discovery of new gold mines near the city, at Asyla, contributed to the wealth of the kingdom and Philip established a mint there. The city was finally fully integrated into the kingdom under Philip V.

 

The city remained. It contained 2,000 people. When the Romans destroyed the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon in 167 BC and divided it into four separate states (merides), it was Amphipolis and not Philippi that became the capital of the eastern Macedonian state.

 

Almost nothing is known about the city in this period, aside from the walls, the Greek theatre, the foundations of a house under the Roman forum and a little temple dedicated to a hero cult. This monument covers the tomb of a certain Exekestos, is possibly situated on the agora and is dedicated to the κτίστης (ktistès), the foundation hero of the city."

No announcements have been made on when either confirmation or rejection of the plan will happen.

• Wednesday, April 30, 2014
  archeology current affairs modern Greece

Guardians of mental health

Yesterday, I found myself inexplicably triggered (by a TV-show of all things!) into a tiny mental breakdown. I spent most of last night crying while huddled up in a blanket, sipping tea and eating chocolate. April is a month of many dark anniversaries, and I always struggle a little throughout it. That said, it had been years since I'd been triggered to this excess. I've told you all a little about my childhood before, and I won't go further into it today, but all of this did inspired today's post, which I will come back to once I have the spoons to do so.

Mental illness in ancient Hellas was often considered as sent by the Gods, either in punishment, as a lesson, or even a reward. It depended on the illness. I don't have a mental illness; I have a complicated past, like most people, honestly. Still, I believe the Gods put us through what we went through for a reason, and I have come to accept my childhood, as I have come to accept that every once in a while, it comes rushing up from whatever chasm of your mind you hid the really dark parts of it in. I've learned to slow down when it happens, to not fight it, and to open up to as any people as possible once I get overwhelmed, because it's an area of my life I don't talk about much or easily, and there are people in my life who deserve to know about it.

I will write more about mental health and the ancient Hellenes soon, I can't put in the research required today. What I can do is share some of the Gods and Goddesses especially willing to assist when you are suffering from mental illness or a dangerously low level of mental health spoons like I am today. I'm sure it won't surprise you that many of Them also take care of the body--the two are intrinsically linked, after all.

Asklēpiós and Hygeia
The most obvious deities associated with any form of health are Asklēpiós and His daughter Hygeia. the ancient Hellenes didn't really distinguish between mental and physical health, and so both came to be petitioned for both, although Hygeia seemed especially receptive to lending aid in the mental department.

Apollon
For neither Apollon, nor Dionysos who follows, I have 'from the top of my head'-sources, so file this one under UPG for today. I'll get back to it. Apollon is a healing God, and the father of Asklēpiós. By extension alone, He can also be petitioned for mental health aid, and UPG-wise, it makes sense to me; as a God of Light, that tends to be exactly what is missing in my head when I trigger; light. Hope. All I can see is what happened over and over again, and I get sad, and guilty, and dark. Apollon can burn that darkness away and offer relief to an aching head and heart.

Dionysos
Again, file under UPG for now, but Dionysos can bring madness, and take it away as well. He is a God whose main influence is felt on the mind, and His influence can be both positive and negative. Until I get the research in, let me tell you a story; sometimes I can feel the darkness coming on. It used to happen a lot when I was still a teen and in my early twenties, although it's been blissfully stable the last few years. Whenever I would feel that, I would dance to the loudest music I could find--uplifting music that I put on high volume on my speakers or headphones, and then I would just dance. I'd dance until I was out of breath and my feet hurt, and my back hurt, and I would pray to Dionysos to lift my burdens from me all the while. I'd dance until I collapsed, and I would always, always, feel better. That is the kind of relief Dionysos offers--the one you need to work for, the one that hurts, but also the one that is so very rewarding in the end.

I'm going back to eat healthy foods today, drink plenty of water, and I'll sleep. Tomorrow, I'll feel a lot better, and I might revisit this. I'll be praying to these Gods today, for help and in gratitude for getting me through yesterday, and hopefully, They will listen.

• Tuesday, April 29, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Asklēpiós Dionysos Hygeia Mythology 101 personal UPG

New statues!

Zero time today due to work and groceries, and a variety of other pressing issues, but Saturday was King's Day in The Netherlands, and I made out like a bandit. For those unaware, King's Day or 'Koningsdag' (formerly Queen's Day) is a national holiday in the Netherlands. Celebration includes parties, live music and markets all around, and while I tend to skip the partying and drinking in orange-coloured outfits, I do tend to scour one ore more flea markets. I don't tent to find much, although last year I got some gems as well. this year, however, I found three beautiful, hand painted, alabaster, statues of the Gods; Eros and Aphrodite Apollon and Daphne (see comments), Athena, and Dionysos. I thought I'd share.

• Monday, April 28, 2014
  household worship personal this is not a real post