Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Ancient Light #8 Who are the Gods You Serve? #Plato


Ancient Light #8 Who are the Gods You Serve? Plato & Personification

Ancient history themed podcast presented by Steve Dotson, history professor. An explanation & exploration of Plato's Theory of Forms & "Holy" Personification. 

Topics in this episode: Plato's Theory of Forms, personification, mythology, religion, literature, Neil Gaiman, Oprah, philosophy, poetry, Martin Heidegger, phenomenology & literature

Link to an earlier performance of the larger poem 'Young Gods' performed live at a SpoFest event in Montserrat Vineyards, Montserrat, Missouri, 2013. The wind was occasionally blowing into the microphone, so it isn't the best quality. Was that you Zephyr? https://youtu.be/WfbzpfXkR7U

Here is the text of the poem at the end of the show

'Young Gods' excerpt

A well known god is known through the ages
New gods born as old gods needs forgotten
Even the offspring of a god and human
are born then die a final breath goodbye
But the children of the union of gods
can only rise and descend never die
The Immortals, once born never vacant
but after their turn home is in Hades
Roaming the back of the minds of mortal
Shadow of the active gods on the earth
Young gods defining the state of the age

As the long-lived can tell you this one truth
The bastards of gods born from mortal womb:
Herakles, Percy, Alex and the Christ
Saw the old Zeus once young once purveyor
Our Olympic heritage from his sire
Zeus long gone from mortal realm remembered
His corpse named Jupiter now well preserved
During the rise of the strong roman hand
And so they did to the corpse of the Christ
Once martyred man Jesus, now sovereign 
Images of old gods used as puppets
The operator moves the lips and speaks
The deathly appearance not out of place
When the paint fades from the eyes of Greek statue
The image conveys a gaze of blank stare

Not to ramble on about Zeus once young
But must needs him so you can soon relate
ushered in the demise of old Chronos
The old gods who bore their own replacement
Homer in his time tells of Zeus in prime
The days of the blind poet would ne'er see
Old thunderbolt on Olympus skyline
For Mount Ida reared god burying Zeus
Had long descended as man found rust
And melted it into swords and the plow
Old kings turned over in ancient dark age
His offspring Ares spread war and grew large

But who told the humans that Zeus was gone?
Even the gods know the truth of worship 
The religion of mortals always behind
They advance as a whole with the new gods
Having only known the names of the old
Apollo and Perseus wander the realm free
Smelling the perfume of the sacrifice
No matter the name attached to the smoke
The sounds and scent arouse the active gods
Is this sacrifice all that they require?
one may be well informed to know our task
The new god bids change and we rearrange
To know the living gods look around
What law dominates? What new advancement?
What conflicts loom? What new plow to till earth?
How are humans defying nature now?
Therein lies the study of the new gods

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