The use and importance of mythology

Strabo (64 or 63 BC – c. AD 24) was a Hellenic geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Strabo is most notable for his work Geographica ("Geography"), which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known to his era. I came across this part about the use and importance of mythology that I wanted to share with you today. I think his reasoning was true in ancient times, but holds true even today. A wonderful reminder!

"For every illiterate and uneducated person is in some way a child and delights in the same way in stories—similar as well is the case of a person educated moderately. For this person is not ruled by reason, and this is the custom from childhood. Since the marvelous is not only sweet but also frightening, there is a need for both types for children and those in the next age. We use the sweet stories to encourage children and the frightening ones to discourage them. The Lamia, for example, is a story like this, as is that of Ephialtes and Mormolukê.

Many of those who live in cities are compelled toward certain action by incitements of myths when they hear the poets praising the mythical courageous deeds—the deeds of Herakles or Theseus—or the honors accorded from the gods or when they see Zeus in a picture, or cult image, or images signaling the mythical tale in some way. To discourage them, they have tales whenever there are punishments from the gods and fears or threats or things they have received through some tale or unexpected punishment even if they believe it has happened to other people.

For it is not possible to persuade the mass of women and every kind of common person by reason with philosophy and to encourage them to piety, and righteousness, and fidelity; but it is necessary to do this through fear. And that is not [possible] without myth-making and wonder. For the lighting, aegis, trident, torches, dragons, thyrsis-shaking, weapons of the gods, the myths and all the ancient theology, these are all things those who found states use as bogeymen for childish minds.

This was myth-making and it was a good support for the commonwealth and the political arrangement of life and the inquiry of the way things really are; the ancients pursued their childhood’s education into their later years and they supposed that every age could become sufficiently prudent through poetry. In later years, the writing of history and then philosophy entered our consciousness. But these work only for the few; poetry is more useful to the public and can fill the theaters. The poetry of Homer supersedes: but the first historians and natural philosophers were myth-makers as well."

[Geography 1.2.8] 

Translation.

• Monday, August 10, 2020
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 Strabo

The Golden Age of Greek science

A golden age captures the best and greatest virtues of human achievements. These accomplishments, however, must have the potential of uplifting humanity to a higher plane of living and be sufficiently moral for building civilization. Greece had two golden ages. Their legacies, especially in science, made Western civilization.

The first Hellenic golden age took place after the Greeks defeated the Persians in early fifth century BCE. During the fifty years between the Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, Athens in particular shone with a flourishing and confident Greek culture: democracy, building of the Parthenon, philosophy, science, classical architecture, theater, athletic games, and military strength.

The second golden age was the result of another Greek military victory over the Persians. This happened in the second half of the fourth century BC when Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire and spread Hellenic culture throughout the world.

This is a summary of an article by vaggelos Vallianatos, a historian and environmental theorist. He worked on Capitol Hill and the US Environmental Protection Agency for several years. He is the author of hundreds of articles and 6 books. The author’s blog: https://vallianatos.blogspot.com. You can find the full article here.

Alexander and Aristotle
Alexander, 356 – 323 BC, was the son of King Philip II of Macedonia. Philip hired Aristotle to tutor his thirteen-year old son. For about seven years Aristotle taught Alexander Greek history, philosophy, politics, ethics, science and international relations, focusing on the Persian threat and the need for a united Greece to revenge the Persian invasion of Greece in the early fifth century BC. His message to Alexander was this: knowledge about the workings of the world matters, but so does knowing oneself.

Alexandria
In 336 BC, a soldier assassinated King Philip II. Immediately, the twenty-year old Alexander became a king and launched his invasion and conquest of Persia. With Aristotle in mind, Alexander founded Alexandria in Egypt, making clear to his generals Alexandria was to be the Greek Aristotelian capital of his empire. Alexander appointed one of his generals and close friends, Ptolemy, son of Lagos, 367 – 282 BC, to be the governor of Egypt. When Alexander died in 323 BC in Babylon, Ptolemy consolidated his power in Egypt. In 305 BC, he made himself king of Egypt and took the name Ptolemy I Soter (Savor). He started translating Alexander’s Aristotelian dream into reality.

Ptolemy was fortunate to have the assistance of Demetrios of Phaleron, a student of Aristotle who was also author of philosophical works. Demetrios convinced him to replicate Aristotle’s school in Athens in Alexandria, first of all, by building a Library and a Mouseion, Shrine of the Muses (university-institute for advanced studies). Ptolemy was also a student of Aristotle. He encouraged Demetrios to implement the Aristotelian proposal.

Ptolemy I died in 283 BC. His successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphos (of Brotherly Love), 308 – 246, continued his father’s tradition and lavished money and political support to the Mouseion and its staff, famous scientists, poets, and scholars recruited from all over the Greek world.

The Ptolemies also established a Library of about 500,000 volumes in the Broucheion section of the palace and a sister Library of probably 42,000 volumes in the temple of Zeus Serapis or Serapeion / Serapeum.

Alexandria surpassed Athens in scientific and technological achievements. It became the center of knowledge and civilization for Greece and the world.

Science and scholarship
The Greek kings of Alexander’s empire, especially the Ptolemies of Egypt, created the foundations for a rational commonwealth characterized by scientific exploration, state-funded research, the scholarly study of earlier Greek culture and the editing of Homer, Hesiod and the Greek classics. The scholars of Alexandria pioneered the techniques of scholarly research and painstaking study, which spread all over the civilized world. They continue to be the model for classical and scientific studies.

In late fourth century BC, Euclid codified Greek mathematics in his masterpiece, The Elements. Archimedes of Syracuse was such a great third century BC genius in mathematics and mechanics-engineering that, in a real sense, he set the foundations of modern science. Galileo and Newton relied on him.

In the second century BC, Hipparchos, the greatest Greek astronomer, set shop in Rhodes where he invented mathematical astronomy and left his fingertips on the Greek computer.

Antikythera Mechanism
This computer, which archaeologists of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens dubbed Antikythera Mechanism, is a marvel of heavens and Earth. For about half a century, scientists, Greek and foreign, were shocked with an ancient Greek astronomical machine that worked with gears, the first gears that made it from antiquity to modern times. So, not knowing what to make of it, they described it as astrolabe, also ancient Greek invention, but of limited astronomical capabilities. It could identify planets and stars and measure the altitude of a celestial body above the horizon. The Antikythera computer could accurately predict the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon as well as track the movements and position of the planets.

The Antikythera computer was a reliable religious, athletic, and agricultural calendar. It connected celestial phenomena to a calendar of the seasons, sowing and harvest, sacrifices to the gods, and the two and four-year cycles of religious and athletic celebrations in the Greek world. Because of its predictive function, it served astronomers, farmers, priests, and athletes. It revealed the secrets of the stars by exhibiting the order of the whole heavens: it predicted the will of the gods.

A Greek ecumene
Alexander’s successors spread Hellenic, not Hellenic-like or Hellenistic, civilization throughout Asia and the Middle East while uniting Greece for the first time.

Strabo, a Greek geographer whose life covered the violent transformation of the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire, 63 BC to 23 AD, visited Alexandria. He was impressed by its wide streets crossing each other at right angles and suitable for horses and carriages.


Greek education was the badge of civilization. Reading Homer, Plato, and Sophocles and enjoying the comedies of Menander was essential to being a citizen of the Alexandrian Age. Failure in this Greek education was the equivalent to being a barbarian.

• Sunday, June 7, 2020
  Alexander the Great ancient Hellenic culture archeology Aristotle bloggers I admire current affairs Plato Ptolemy Roman Strabo

The use and importance of mythology

I pulled up Strabo's "Geography" for the post about the "Hades gate" post a few days ago. Of course, I couldn't resist a bit more reading. Strabo (64 or 63 BC – c. AD 24) was a Hellenic geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Strabo is most notable for his work Geographica ("Geography"), which presented a descriptive history of people and places from different regions of the world known to his era. I came across this part about the use and importance of mythology that I wanted to share with you today. I think his reasoning was true in ancient times, but holds true even today. A wonderful reminder!

"For every illiterate and uneducated person is in some way a child and delights in the same way in stories—similar as well is the case of a person educated moderately. For this person is not ruled by reason, and this is the custom from childhood. Since the marvelous is not only sweet but also frightening, there is a need for both types for children and those in the next age. We use the sweet stories to encourage children and the frightening ones to discourage them. The Lamia, for example, is a story like this, as is that of Ephialtes and Mormolukê.

Many of those who live in cities are compelled toward certain action by incitements of myths when they hear the poets praising the mythical courageous deeds—the deeds of Herakles or Theseus—or the honors accorded from the gods or when they see Zeus in a picture, or cult image, or images signaling the mythical tale in some way. To discourage them, they have tales whenever there are punishments from the gods and fears or threats or things they have received through some tale or unexpected punishment even if they believe it has happened to other people.

For it is not possible to persuade the mass of women and every kind of common person by reason with philosophy and to encourage them to piety, and righteousness, and fidelity; but it is necessary to do this through fear. And that is not [possible] without myth-making and wonder. For the lighting, aegis, trident, torches, dragons, thyrsis-shaking, weapons of the gods, the myths and all the ancient theology, these are all things those who found states use as bogeymen for childish minds.

This was myth-making and it was a good support for the commonwealth and the political arrangement of life and the inquiry of the way things really are; the ancients pursued their childhood’s education into their later years and they supposed that every age could become sufficiently prudent through poetry. In later years, the writing of history and then philosophy entered our consciousness. But these work only for the few; poetry is more useful to the public and can fill the theaters. The poetry of Homer supersedes: but the first historians and natural philosophers were myth-makers as well."

[Geography 1.2.8] 

Translation.

• Monday, February 26, 2018
  ancient Hellenic culture Hellenismos 101 Mythology 101 personal Strabo

Scientists explain ‘Hades Gate' mystery of ancient Hierapolis

For years, any beast or bird that came in contact with the portal in the ancient Hellenic archaeological site of Hierapolis, or Pammukale, in modern-day Turkey reportedly dropped dead. During Ancient Hellenic and Roman times, people were also said to have been cut down if they dared to approach. In ancient Hellenic times, it was said they were killed by the deadly breath of Hades. Scientists have now discovered the cause of the phenomenon, and it's not Hades--not directly, at least.

"When one crosses over the Mesogis, between the Carians and the territory of Nysa, which latter is a country on the far side of the Maeander extending to Cibyratis and Cabalis, one comes to certain cities.

First, near the Mesogis, opposite Laodiceia, to Hierapolis, where are the hot springs and the Plutonium, both of which have something marvelous about them; for the water of the springs so easily congeals and changes into stone that people conduct streams of it through ditches and thus make stone fences consisting of single stones, while the Plutonium, below a small brow of the mountainous country that lies above it, is an opening of only moderate size, large enough to admit a man, but it reaches a considerable depth, and it is enclosed by a quadrilateral handrail, about half a plethrum in circumference, and this space is full of a vapor so misty and dense that one can scarcely see the ground.

Now to those who approach the handrail anywhere round the enclosure the air is harmless, since the outside is free from that vapor in calm weather, for the vapor then stays inside the enclosure, but any animal that passes inside meets instant death. At any rate, bulls that are led into it fall and are dragged out dead; and I threw in sparrows and they immediately breathed their last and fell.

But the Galli, who are eunuchs, pass inside with such impunity that they even approach the opening, bend over it, and descend into it to a certain depth, though they hold their breath as much as they can (for I could see in their countenances an indication of a kind of suffocating attack, as it were),—whether this immunity belongs to all who are maimed in this way or only to those round the temple, or whether it is because of divine providence, as would be likely in the case of divine obsessions, or whether it is, the result of certain physical powers that are antidotes against the vapor.

The changing of water into stone is said also to be the case with the rivers in Laodiceia, although their water is potable. The water at Hierapolis is remarkably adapted also to the dyeing of wool, so that wool dyed with the roots342 rival those dyed with the coccus343 or with the marine purple.344 And the supply of water is so abundant that the city is full of natural baths.

[Strabo, Geography, 13.15]

According, to a Daily Sabah report, a team of German researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen found what was actually “Hades’ breath”. They discovered that the grotto sits directly above the Babadag fault line from which carbon dioxide escapes the Earth’s crust and fills the cave, at levels that may have been lethal to humans in ancient times. A study published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences reported:

​"In a grotto below the temple of Pluto, CO2 was found to be at deadly concentrations of up to 91 percent. Astonishingly, these vapors are still emitted in concentrations that nowadays kill insects, birds and mammals."

The Hierapolis site retains other powerful places as well. Mineral hot springs cascade down the hill near the ruins of the ancient city. The site has been used as a healing spa since the second century BC under the Greek Seleucid Empire.

Visitors can still admire the ancient city and the museum, while at the same time they can swim in its therapeutic hot springs.

• Saturday, February 24, 2018
  ancient Hellenic culture archeology current affairs Hades Strabo

Herostratus, the (in)famous Hellenic arsonist

Have you ever heard of Herostratus (Ἡρόστρατος)? He was a 4th century BC Greek arsonist who was all but erased fro history because he expressed that his reason for doing what he did was personal fame throughout the ages. Who was this man? What did he light on fire? Let me tell you a story.

Little is known about the life of Herostratos, though he was probably someone of low social standing. On the day Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC, Herostratos decided to burn down the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The site had been of sacred use since the Bronze Age, and the original building was destroyed during a flood in the 7th century BC. A second temple was commissioned by King Croesus of Lydia around 560 BC and built by Kretan architects including Khersiphron, constructed largely of marble, and measuring 337 feet long and 180 feet wide with its pillars standing 40 feet tall. The sculpted bases of the pillars contained life-sized carvings and the roof opened to the sky around a statute of Artemis. This second temple was included on an early list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Herodotus in the 5th century BC, and was well known to many people in the ancient world. This was also the temple Herostratos destroyed. Plutarch mentions the account in "Alexander":

"[...] Be that as it may, Alexander was born early in the month Hecatombaeon, the Macedonian name for which is Loüs, on the sixth day of the month, and on this day the temple of Ephesian Artemis was burnt. It was apropos of this that Hegesias the Magnesian made an utterance frigid enough to have extinguished that great conflagration. He said, namely, it was no wonder that the temple of Artemis was burned down, since the goddess was busy bringing Alexander into the world." [3.3]

So, what happened? Why did he do it? Well, Herstratos was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. Valerius Maximus, in the 1st century AD, recounts in "Memorable Doings and Sayings":

"Here is appetite for glory involving sacrilege. A man was found to plan the burning of the temple of Ephesian Diana so that through the destruction of this most beautiful building his name might be spread through the whole world. This madness he unveiled when put upon the rack."

To dissuade those of similar intentions, the Ephesian authorities not only executed Herostratos, but attempted to condemned him to a legacy of obscurity by forbidding mention of his name under penalty of death. However, the ancient historian Theopompus mentions the name of Herostratus in his Philippica, and it appears again later in the works of Strabo. The latter, in his "Geography" also mentions what happened next:

"Chersiphron was the first architect of the temple of Diana; another afterwards enlarged it, but when Herostratus set fire to it,40 the citizens constructed one more magnificent. They collected for this purpose the ornaments of the women, contributions from private property, and the money arising from the sale of pillars of the former temple." [XIV. I]

• Monday, August 28, 2017
  ancient Hellenic culture Artemis Herostratus Plutarch Strabo

Ancient maps and the modern world

Did you know that every continent has a different world map? Well, the continents are pretty much the same but the way they are portrayed are different. Some examples?

European:

United States:

Canada:

 

Asia:

 

And my favourite, Australia:

 

 

The ancient Hellenes also made world maps. Land ownership and geography was changed mainly according to new rulers and natural disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, and of course the ancient Hellenes didn't exactly have the grasp on geography we have today. Here are some of the major maps of Ancient Hellas:

 

Anaximander (c. 610 – c. 546 BC)

 

 

 

Hecataeus of Miletus (c. 550 BC – c. 476 BC)

 

 

 

 Eratosthenes (276 – 194 BC)

 

 

 

Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD)

 

 

As you can see, not entirely accurate but very amusing--and it worked for them. These maps helped along trade and travel, brought perspective to the world and pushed the art of geography forward. Most of these are reconstructed maps based on descriptions as the original work has been lost, but they are still brilliant to behond.

• Tuesday, January 27, 2015
  Anaximander ancient Hellenic culture current affairs Eratosthenes Hecataeus of Miletus Strabo

A Hellenic Cindarella story

Ancient Hellas was the birthplace of a lot of things, but did you know that the story of Cinderella also has its foundations in Hellenic mythology?

Cinderella, or 'The Little Glass Slipper', is a European folk tale. The best known version of it was written by the Brothers Grimm in their folk tale collection Grimms' Fairy Tales, although most of us will know it best from the Disney movie of the same name. It's the tale of a kind-hearted young woman whose father marries a woman with two daughters of her own. Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters are wicked and treat her like a slave, yet they cannot stop her from attending the King's ball. During the ball, Cinderella loses her (glass) slipper as she hurried to make it out of the palace by the midnight curfew, and the prince finds her slipper, scouring the land for the woman it fits because he fell for her right away. Once he finds Cinderella, they marry and live happy ever after. The end.

Now, back to ancient Hellas where the first Cinderella and her slipper: the Hellenic geographer Strabo first recorded the tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis (Ροδώπις) in his Geographica. The story goes as follows: Rhodopis, a courtesan, was bathing. An eagle snatched one of her shoes from her maid, carried it to Memphis, and dropped it into the lap of the king (named Psammetichus in Aelian's account written in his 'Various History', book 13, chapter 33). The king searched for the owner of the shoe. He found Rhodopis in Naukratis (Ναύκρατις), and married her.

"High up, approximately midway between the sides, it has a movable stone, and when this is raised up there is a sloping passage to the vault. Now these pyramids are near one another and on the same level; but farther on, at a greater height of the hill, is the third, which is much smaller than the two, though constructed at much greater expense; for from the foundations almost to the middle it is made of black stone, the stone from which mortars are made, being brought from a great distance, for it is brought from the mountains of Aethiopia; and because of its being hard and difficult to work into shape it rendered the undertaking very expensive. It is called "Tomb of the Courtesan," having been built by her lovers — the courtesan whom Sappho the Melic poetess calls Doricha, the beloved of Sappho's brother Charaxus, who was engaged in transporting Lesbian wine to Naucratis for sale, but others give her the name Rhodopis.

 

They tell the fabulous story that, when she was bathing, an eagle snatched one of her sandals from her maid and carried it to Memphis; and while the king was administering justice in the open air, the eagle, when it arrived above his head, flung the sandal into p95his lap; and the king, stirred both by the beautiful shape of the sandal and by the strangeness of the occurrence, sent men in all directions into the country in quest of the woman who wore the sandal; and when she was found in the city of Naucratis, she was brought up to Memphis, became the wife of the king, and when she died was honoured with the above-mentioned tomb." [33]

Naukratis, loosely translated as '(the city that wields) power over ships', was a city of Ancient Egypt, on the Canopic branch of the Nile river and the later capital of Ptolemaic Egypt, Alexandria. It was the first and, for much of its early history, the only permanent Hellenic colony in Egypt.

Herodotos told the story of the slave Rhodopis in his 'Histories' almost five centuries before Strabo, without referring to any element of the Cinderella tale. He wrote that she was a beautiful Thracian courtesan, acquainted with the ancient story-teller Aesop. Later on, she was taken to Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Amasis (570–536 BC), and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of Mytilene, brother of Sappho, the lyric poet.

"[F]or very many years later than these kings who left the pyramids came Rhodopis, who was Thracian by birth, and a slave of Iadmon son of Hephaestopolis the Samian, and a fellow-slave of Aesop the story-writer. For he was owned by Iadmon, too, as the following made crystal clear: when the Delphians, obeying an oracle, issued many proclamations summoning anyone who wanted it to accept compensation for the killing of Aesop, no one accepted it except the son of Iadmon's son, another Iadmon; hence Aesop, too, was Iadmon's. Rhodopis came to Egypt to work, brought by Xanthes of Samos, but upon her arrival was freed for a lot of money by Kharaxus of Mytilene, son of Scamandronymus and brother of Sappho the poetess. Thus Rhodopis lived as a free woman in Egypt, where, as she was very alluring, she acquired a lot of money—sufficient for such a Rhodopis, so to speak, but not for such a pyramid. Seeing that to this day anyone who likes can calculate what one tenth of her worth was, she cannot be credited with great wealth.

For Rhodopis desired to leave a memorial of herself in Greece, by having something made which no one else had thought of or dedicated in a temple and presenting this at Delphi to preserve her memory; so she spent one tenth of her substance on the manufacture of a great number of iron beef spits, as many as the tenth would pay for, and sent them to Delphi; these lie in a heap to this day, behind the altar set up by the Chians and in front of the shrine itself. The courtesans of Naucratis seem to be peculiarly alluring, for the woman of whom this story is told became so famous that every Greek knew the name of Rhodopis, and later on a certain Archidice was the theme of song throughout Greece, although less celebrated than the other." [2.134.3 - 2.135.5]

So, there you go, another mythological and historical titbit to share at birthday parties and impress your friends. I bet you are looking at Cinderella different now.

Image source: Wikipedia.

• Friday, July 18, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture herodotos Mythology 101 Rhodopis Strabo

An interactive map to companion the Odysseia

As is (or should be) completely obvious to anyone who has visited this blog for a while, my love for Hómēros' Odysseia knows no bounds. It's my go-to book when I wish to feel connected to the Gods and it is only rivalled by Hesiod' Theogony in times I have reached for it. if you catch me reading out of the house, depending on the amount of space I have available in my bag that day, either the Odysseia or the Theogony will probably be in my hands.

As much as I love the Odysseia, I gave up on dissecting Odysseus' exact route through the Mediterranean Sea long ago. Trying to keep up with that convoluted mess was never a priority for me.  Even in ancient times, though, Odysseus' route was disputed and discussed quite often. Ancient geographers, scholars, and historians took great interest in the journey Odysseus had taken. The most important ancient sources are the first century geographer Strabo, who has collected information on Eratosthenes' and Polybius' investigations into the subject; as well as the 'Dictys of Crete', a novelisation of the Trojan War which many later writers treated as an authentic historical record of the war.

Many of the towns, cities, and other locations mentioned by Hómēros were no longer there in the time these scholars begun to search for them, and many concluded they simply had never been there. None seemed to mind too much; the Odysseia is a work to be enjoyed for what it is: entertainment. Eratosthenes, a Greek third century mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, music theorist, and the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria is (through Strabo) famous for saying: "you will find the scene of the wanderings of Odysseus when you find the cobbler who sewed up the bag of the winds." [1.2.14]

That said, Strabo did come to a consensus at least with himself when he gives us the following list of locations, given here with the corresponding source in the link above, where possible:

• Lotus-eaters: Djerba (1.2.17)
• Cyclops: south-east Sicily, near Etna and Lentini (1.2.9)
• Aeolus: Lipari, among the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily
• Laestrygonians: south-east Sicily (1.2.9)
• land of the Cimmerians: the Bosporus (1.2.9)
• The Ocean: the Black Sea (1.2.10)
• Sirens: either Cape Faro, by the Strait of Messina; or Sirenussae, a headland in Italy between the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno; or Naples itself (1.2.12-13)
• Scylla and Charybdis: Strait of Messina (1.2.9, 1.2.16)
• Ogygia (Calypso's island) and Scheria: "imagined in fantasy" as being in the Atlantic (1.2.18)

After Strabo, many contended these points, and thus, a true consensus was never reached amongst the ancient writers. The majority of classical scholars today hold the view that Odysseus's landfalls are best treated as imaginary places, but that does not mean new attempts to map out the journey have not been undertaken. Most famously is perhaps the study done by the French Homeric scholar Victor Bérard around 1930. Bérard took the views of the ancients and adapted them to the point where he himself was satisfied with the journey. His account thus differed from the ancient writers in some details:

• Lotus-Eaters: Djerba
• Cyclopes: Posillipo in Italy
• Aeolus: Stromboli
• Laestrygonians: northern Sardinia
• Circe: Monte Circeo in Lazio
• The entrance to the Underworld: near Cumae
• Sirens: the coast of Lucania
• Scylla and Charybdis: Strait of Messina
• Island of the Sun: Sicily
• Calypso: the Straits of Gibraltar
• Scherie: Corcyra

Based mostly off of Bérard, Gisèle Mounzer, Product Marketeer at ESRI, has made an interactive map of Odysseus' journey placed on a modern map, making it possible to track Odysseus as he crossed the Mediterranean Sea again and again in his journeys. There are fourteen points laid out by Mounzar, and each is accompanied by a quote from the Odysseia, or an explanation of it. In this regards, it functions as a fascination tool to gain a greater understanding of Odysseus' struggles.

 

If Mounzar's map really depicts the route taken by Odysseus--or even if there was a route at all, or an Odysseus--remains to be seen. All I can say is that it is as well a researched guess as any, and I greatly enjoyed the time I spent studying it.

• Saturday, January 4, 2014
  ancient Hellenic culture current affairs Eratosthenes Hómēros Odysseia Odysseus Strabo

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