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Hundreds of children's bones fill an ancient Athenian well. Some might immediately recall the use of infant exposure among the ancient Greeks. But wait, the bones in the well are filled with the bones of children of all ages, not merely newborns. Also, the bones of the children are mixed with the bones of dogs. How does this tell us this was unrelated to infant exposure? And, what does this tell us about ancient Greek ideas about dog sacrifice?
From the video: "The Myth of Er is a warning to maintain balance in life, much like the idea of the Middle Way of Buddhism. In conclusion, I am able to extract three rules from Plato’s telling of the myth. These rules will allow you to find balance in life, but more importantly to help you avoid eternity in Tartarus*. 1: Avoid the excesses of life, they lead to folly. This is the simplest form of moderation.
2: Avoid the one sidedness of assigning absolute qualities to things and people. Life is an inseparable mixture of what we consider good and evil.
3: Avoid the ignorance of underexposure: Those who go through life existing in a comfortable, infantile bubble are not developing the skills for the soul to find balance on its journey." *Tartarus: The depths of Hades where tyrants spend eternity in torment.
Video: "The Myth of Er" Ancient Light live, June 12, 2016
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"Where do bad folks go when they die? They don't go to heaven where the angels fly. They go to a lake of fire and fry. Won't see 'em again 'till the Fourth of July."
Ancient History Prose & Satire - SpoFest Steve Dotson pt. 1 [11:16]
Introduction - Ancient Joke #1 - "Origin of a Flower" The story of the lovers Apollo & Hyacinthos - "Good Greek Wives Stay in the Attic" Satirical prose about the "Proper" Athenian wife.
Ancient Light #10 Why We Seek Someone Else To Feel Complete [Plato's Gender Creation Myth]
Ancient history & classics themed series presented by history professor, Steve Dotson.
Ever wonder why you feel incomplete? Do you know we are actually only a half of one person, craving to find the other half? You were once one. Search your heart and you will know this is true. As a whole person, humans were once wise and powerful. You once had four arms and four legs, you had two heads. You could use your multitude of limbs to move quickly in any direction by a rolling movement which also produced amazing power. We thought we could rival the gods and Zeus took out his wrath on us, cutting us in two. You have male and female traits, and there is someone else walking around who has an exact combination of male and female traits to balance out your own. This is why we always search for someone else to make us complete. This also explains the great variety of desires among human kind, as one searches for their own unique opposite. Perhaps this could serve as an explanation for transgender issues. But, even more important to understand is the threat that was made if we should continue to defy the gods. In our modern age, some even deny that the gods exist or confidently claim that there is only one god. Humans, in the past two hundred years having been growing too strong, and even taking on the abilities of the gods for themselves: long distance communication, flight, hurling weapons from the heavens, and other scientific advancements. Zeus has already given us a warning if we are to rival the gods again.
Ever see the musical or movie-musical ‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’? If you haven’t I wont spoil it for you. It is the story of a rock star “Hedwig” who was the victim of a sex-change operation gone bad. Just watch the movie, you will never forget it, and many of you will discover a new favorite film. One of the musical numbers is an animation of an ancient myth from Plato’s book Symposium. The myth tells of how humans were once complete. Plato has the dead playwright Aristophanes tell his own creation myth, as a way to explain the nature of love. The creation myth is quite fantastic, but when the individual components of the story are broken down, we have a complex theory which addresses the complexity and longings of human existence. By the end you probably be able to determine from which proto-human species you came, and there are three: sun, earth, and moon.
What is symposium? Sum pinein - “to drink together”
The story: we were originally three genders. Male, female, and androgynous. The word androgynous is made of the Greek words for man and woman, the androgynous one contains both of the sexes. The three genders were more complex than today. Of the three entities they were known as children of the sun, earth and moon. The sun children were made of two men, the earth children were made of two women, and the moon children contained male and female parts. Everyone had two heads, which could do two things at once. How many times have you felt like you should be doing more than one thing at a time, we were better multi-taskers. We had four arms and four legs, we must have looked like some depictions of a Hindu god. As of now, you should be able to ascertain that we had double of everything. With our ability to multitask, enhanced brain power, super speed and momentum, we became too proud and began to rival the gods. The gods thought about killing them with thunderbolts, like they did to many of the giant-race of Titans, really their fathers and mothers. Instead, Zeus made use of them as tools of worship, but first he had to weaken them as well as punish. He decided to cut humans in two, so they loose their great advantages. Humans from then on, walked and moved about, with only two legs, two arms, and one head. It is at that point we began to seek others to embrace, kiss, copulate, and a desire to not be alone. But, wait, we were still not the exact physical form we are today. After a while, the text does not say how long, Zeus took pity on mortals, as he watched them attempt to join with each other physically, he came up with a helpful aid for these awkward humans. He made one more anatomical adjustment. Instead of the genitals hanging off the side of the body, like it once did, god moved the genitals of the man and the woman to their front and middle. This way, humans could now join together in copulation while they embraced, kissed and sank into each other’s eyes. Perhaps this is about the time the Kama Sutra needed to be invented. Humans would have to invent new bedroom habits. The physical repositioning must have been very helpful. Acts of love making, with one’s genitals hanging off the side of the body, probably killed most of the intimacy.
Ancient Light #9 How to Speak to the Dead. The Nekyia.#Paranormal #GreekClassics
Ancient history themed podcast presented by Steve Dotson, history professor. In this episode, we are exploring book 11 of the Odyssey and the occult knowledge it contains. The last part of the show is a reading in the original Greek.
Topics in this episode: Necromancy, Ancient History, Greek, Homer, Nekyuia, Odyssey, Teiresias, Circe, Elpenor, mythology, ritual, ghosts, underworld, Hades, sacrifice, blood, magic, magick, occult, ceremony, classics, paranormal.
Odyssey XI. 20-58 In the Odyssey book ten lines 20-58, we are given a glimpse of a Homeric metaphysics of the dead. It is difficult to say if this specific ritual was a real procedure or only a manifestation of oral tradition. The academic study of ritual and religion is particularly enriched by the detailed procedure to evoke, and Odysseus’ interaction with, the dead in the underworld in these passages. The ritual power of fresh blood and the promise made by Odysseus to sacrifice more in the future is nicely illustrative of ancient ideas about the function of blood in ritual. One of the great points about this selection is that the sacrifice is not a customary sacrifice made to a well-known god. Blood does more than please the ambrosia eaters, it holds a power and value throughout the worlds of the non-mortal it would appear through my reading of my translation. Blood seems to give the dead a temporary taste of life force. It is ethereal heroin so to speak. The ritual specifications, ingredients, and corollary instructions from Circe create a detailed set of religious or mythical structures that open up many helpful hints and queues many questions about ancient Greek ideas regarding the afterlife and the nature of one’s non-physical form or soul.
English Trans. S Dotson. Hom. Od.11.20-58 11.20 Then coming to a spot, we beached our ship and took out the sheep 11.21 We were going to the current of Oceanus 11.22 until we are to arrive at the place which Circe told us. 11.23 There Perimedes and Eurylochus held the sacrificial victims. 11.24 I drew my sharp sword from my thigh and 11.25 dug up a pit a great as a cubit from here to there, 11.26 around it I poured a libation to all the deceased, 11.27 first with mild and sweet wine 11.28 the third with water, sprinkling it on white barley-meal. 11.29 I was making much entreat to the powerless heads of the dead: 11.30 when I go to Ithaka, I will throw a barren cow, she being one of my best, 11.31 onto the sacrificial pyre and fill it with goods, 11.32 and to Teiresias alone I will sacrifice separately a ram, 11.33 all black, who was our most outstanding of our fold. 11.34 Then with those vows and prayers, there to the dead, 11.35 I had made my entreat, taking those sheep, I cut their throats 11.36 into the pit, and dark clouds of blood flowed. 11.37 The spirits of the dead gathered out of Erebus; 11.38 young married women, youth, unfortunate old men, tender 11.39 female virgins having endured sorrow in their hearts, 11.40 and many who have been wounded by bronze tipped spears, 11.41 men killed in war, with their armor splattered in blood, 11.42 the multitudes roamed wildly about the pit form one place to another 11.43 with an unspeakable cry. Pale fear was beginning to take me 11.44 there and then I called, rousing my companions with the sheep, 11.45 Those sheep which lie there having been slaughtered with the pitiless bronze, 11.46 to cleave and flay them, and to make prayer to the gods, 11.47 to mighty Hades and dread Persephone. 11.48 I myself drew my sharp sword from my thigh 11.49 and sat. I did not allow the powerless head of the dead 11.50 to go nearer to the blood, until I had inquired of Teiresias. 11.51 The first soul to come was my companion Elpenor, 11.52 for he had never been buried under the broad-wayed earth, 11.53 for we left his body in the hall of Circe 11.54 unlamented and unburied, since another task urged us on. 11.55 When I saw him I took pity in my heart, crying, 11.56 and I began speaking, addressing him with winged words. 11.57 "Elpenor, how did you come from beneath the underworld? 11.58 Coming on foot, you have been faster than me with my black ship."
