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Today we ask what our gods can do for us. We compare promised afterlives, we pray for help for both major and minor things. In ancient times, there was more of a balance between what a god could do for a mortal, and what a mortal could do for a god. We all know about the original idea of sacrifice. One might sacrifice a delicious calf or cow. The Archaic Greeks would wrap the bones of the sacrifice with fat and give it to the gods, while the assembled people would eat the aforementioned delicious meat. Make no mistake, the significant ingredient to offer the god and/or gods was the blood. The fat and bones were secondary. Even Homer or Homer/s spoke about the great power of blood to the dead. It gave them a taste of life again.
Fig. 1 Apulian Red-Figure Krater 4th cent. BC detail
Today we talk of personal sacrifice and the only thing we give to our gods are things like prayer, the signing of hymns, and dedicating your own meal to a god. I’m not going to go as far as say a tithe goes to the benefit of a god, as much as it is a donation made in a gods name. Those are merely the most well-known examples of how the ancients strove to please their gods. In several cases, an ancient Greek literary figure would promise to make regular sacrifices to a particular god for some sort of payment for help or seeking penance for a committed crime. Odysseus attempted to keep the god of the sun from killing his men for eating his prize cattle. Odysseus tempted the sun god Helios with regular sacrifices once he makes it back to Ithaca, somewhere in New York [This is a joke BTW]]. It makes one wonder what god-like endorphin was triggered by a mere sacrifice of livestock. Perhaps, at the end of the day, all the gods added up the spilled blood, burnt offerings, small cakes, and winding smoke gained by each god. If that is the case, the ancient mortals were merely appealing to the ego of a particular god. The Classical Greek Gods are often portrayed like extremely powerful teenagers. From my exposure to Greek and Latin Classics, one thing is evident when it comes to the gods: you can actively set out to give an unknown benefit to a specific god, by making a sacrifice in his or her name. My favorite example is the Roman ‘Evocatio.’ A general of an army stops the troops outside the walls of a hostile city somewhere in Gaul or Asia Minor perhaps, and addresses the main god of the peoples therein. The general makes a sacrifice and calls out to the god of the city. But what does he say to the god? Modern ears, upon hearing this for the first time might guess that the general will call out to the local god and denounce him or her, comparing the lesser known god to the mighty Gods of Rome. This would not be the case. The Roman mentality was much different. They wanted to make Rome the spiritual center of the conquered world by bringing all the gods to it.
Fig. 2 "Evocation" Alexander Rothaug (1870 – 1946), Austrian
The Roman General proceeds to call the local god by name. He tells the god about Rome and how gods who move there experience much more glory and sacrificial gain then could be experienced in such a small city. The General then asks the god to abandon the temples of the hostile city and move to Rome. Of course, once the city was conquered, the people, one might assume, would be told where they can find their god. You know the phrase “all roads lead to Rome?” The roads are important, but what flows along those roads are much more than slaves, soldiers and trade. The moral of the prose: Ask not what your gods can do for you; rather, ask what you can do for your gods.
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Ancient history themed podcast presented by Steve Dotson, history professor.
Recorded Live at Cafe Blackadder in Warrensburg, Missouri during the SpoFest spoken word event, April 1, 2016.
A satirical and informative look at Greek and Roman views of sacrifice to a god or gods.
Ancient Light #1 "Ask Not What Your Gods Can Do For You," Recorded Live, April 2016, Cafe Blackadder, Warrensburg, Missouri.
Plato Republic, Book X 614-621.Translation by Benjamin Jowett
Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth. He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried.
And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile, he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world. He said that when his soul left the body he went on a journey with a great company, and that they came to a mysterious place at which there were two openings in the earth; they were near together, and over against them were two other openings in the heaven above.
In the intermediate space there were judges seated, who commanded the just, after they had given judgment on them and had bound their sentences in front of them, to ascend by the heavenly way on the right hand; and in like manner the unjust were bidden by them to descend by the lower way on the left hand; these also bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs. He drew near, and they told him that he was to be the messenger who would carry the report of the other world to men, and they bade him hear and see all that was to be heard and seen in that place. Then he beheld and saw on one side the souls departing at either opening of heaven and earth when sentence had been given on them; and at the two other openings other souls, some ascending out of the earth dusty and worn with travel, some descending out of heaven clean and bright.
And they told one another of what had happened by the way, those from below weeping and sorrowing at the remembrance of the things which they had endured and seen in their journey beneath the earth (now the journey lasted a thousand years), while those from above were describing heavenly delights and visions of inconceivable beauty. The story, Glaucon, would take too long to tell; but the sum was this:—He said that for every wrong which they had done to any one they suffered tenfold; or once in a hundred years—such being reckoned to be the length of man's life, and the penalty being thus paid ten times in a thousand years. If, for example, there were any who had been the cause of many deaths, or had betrayed or enslaved cities or armies, or been guilty of any other evil behaviour, for each and all of their offences they received punishment ten times over, and the rewards of beneficence and justice and holiness were in the same proportion. I need hardly repeat what he said concerning young children dying almost as soon as they were born. Of piety and impiety to gods and parents, and of murderers, there were retributions other and greater far which he described. He mentioned that he was present when one of the spirits asked another, 'Where is Ardiaeus the Great?' (Now this Ardiaeus lived a thousand years before the time of Er: he had been the tyrant of some city of Pamphylia, and had murdered his aged father and his elder brother, and was said to have committed many other abominable crimes.) The answer of the other spirit was: 'He comes not hither and will never come. And this,' said he, 'was one of the dreadful sights which we ourselves witnessed. We were at the mouth of the cavern, and, having completed all our experiences, were about to reascend, when of a sudden Ardiaeus appeared and several others, most of whom were tyrants; and there were also besides the tyrants private individuals who had been great criminals: they were just, as they fancied, about to return into the upper world, but the mouth, instead of admitting them, gave a roar, whenever any of these incurable sinners or some one who had not been sufficiently punished tried to ascend; and then wild men of fiery aspect, who were standing by and heard the sound, seized and carried them off; and Ardiaeus and others they bound head and foot and hand, and threw them down and flayed them with scourges, and dragged them along the road at the side, carding them on thorns like wool, and declaring to the passers-by what were their crimes, and that they were being taken away to be cast into hell.' And of all the many terrors which they had endured, he said that there was none like the terror which each of them felt at that moment, lest they should hear the voice; and when there was silence, one by one they ascended with exceeding joy. These, said Er, were the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as great.And arriving ever and anon they seemed to have come from a long journey, and they went forth with gladness into the meadow, where they encamped as at a festival; and those who knew one another embraced and conversed, the souls which came from earth curiously enquiring about the things above, and the souls which came from heaven about the things beneath.
Now when the spirits which were in the meadow had tarried seven days, on the eighth they were obliged to proceed on their journey, and, on the fourth day after, he said that they came to a place where they could see from above a line of light, straight as a column, extending right through the whole heaven and through the earth, in colour resembling the rainbow, only brighter and purer; another day's journey brought them to the place, and there, in the midst of the light, they saw the ends of the chains of heaven let down from above: for this light is the belt of heaven, and holds together the circle of the universe, like the under-girders of a trireme. From these ends is extended the spindle of Necessity, on which all the revolutions turn. The shaft and hook of this spindle are made of steel, and the whorl is made partly of steel and also partly of other materials. Now the whorl is in form like the whorl used on earth; and the description of it implied that there is one large hollow whorl which is quite scooped out, and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another, and four others, making eight in all, like vessels which fit into one another; the whorls show their edges on the upper side, and on their lower side all together form one continuous whorl. This is pierced by the spindle, which is driven home through the centre of the eighth. The first and outermost whorl has the rim broadest, and the seven inner whorls are narrower, in the following proportions—the sixth is next to the first in size, the fourth next to the sixth; then comes the eighth; the seventh is fifth, the fifth is sixth, the third is seventh, last and eighth comes the second. The largest (or fixed stars) is spangled, and the seventh (or sun) is brightest; the eighth (or moon) coloured by the reflected light of the seventh; the second and fifth (Saturn and Mercury) are in colour like one another, and yellower than the preceding; the third (Venus) has the whitest light; the fourth (Mars) is reddish; the sixth (Jupiter) is in whiteness second. Now the whole spindle has the same motion; but, as the whole revolves in one direction, the seven inner circles move slowly in the other, and of these the swiftest is the eighth; next in swiftness are the seventh, sixth, and fifth, which move together; third in swiftness appeared to move according to the law of this reversed motion the fourth; the third appeared fourth and the second fifth. The spindle turns on the knees of Necessity; and on the upper surface of each circle is a siren, who goes round with them, hymning a single tone or note. The eight together form one harmony; and round about, at equal intervals, there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne: these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white robes and have chaplets upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens—Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future; Clotho from time to time assisting with a touch of her right hand the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle, and Atropos with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the other.
When Er and the spirits arrived, their duty was to go at once to Lachesis; but first of all there came a prophet who arranged them in order; then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples of lives, and having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows: 'Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity. Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of life and mortality. Your genius will not be allotted to you, but you will choose your genius; and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice, and the life which he chooses shall be his destiny. Virtue is free, and as a man honours or dishonours her he will have more or less of her; the responsibility is with the chooser—God is justified.' When the Interpreter had thus spoken he scattered lots indifferently among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell near him, all but Er himself (he was not allowed), and each as he took his lot perceived the number which he had obtained. Then the Interpreter placed on the ground before them the samples of lives; and there were many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts. There were lives of every animal and of man in every condition. And there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrant's life, others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men, some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth and the qualities of their ancestors; and some who were the reverse of famous for the opposite qualities. And of women likewise; there was not, however, any definite character in them, because the soul, when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different. But there was every other quality, and the all mingled with one another, and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health; and there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucon, is the supreme peril of our human state; and therefore the utmost care should be taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if peradventure he may be able to learn and may find some one who will make him able to learn and discern between good and evil, and so to choose always and everywhere the better life as he has opportunity. He should consider the bearing of all these things which have been mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue; he should know what the effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the natural and acquired gifts of the soul, and the operation of them when conjoined; he will then look at the nature of the soul, and from the consideration of all these qualities he will be able to determine which is the better and which is the worse; and so he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make his soul more just; all else he will disregard. For we have seen and know that this is the best choice both in life and after death. A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness.
And according to the report of the messenger from the other world this was what the prophet said at the time: 'Even for the last comer, if he chooses wisely and will live diligently, there is appointed a happy and not undesirable existence. Let not him who chooses first be careless, and let not the last despair.' And when he had spoken, he who had the first choice came forward and in a moment chose the greatest tyranny; his mind having been darkened by folly and sensuality, he had not thought out the whole matter before he chose, and did not at first sight perceive that he was fated, among other evils, to devour his own children. But when he had time to reflect, and saw what was in the lot, he began to beat his breast and lament over his choice, forgetting the proclamation of the prophet; for, instead of throwing the blame of his misfortune on himself, he accused chance and the gods, and everything rather than himself. Now he was one of those who came from heaven, and in a former life had dwelt in a well-ordered State, but his virtue was a matter of habit only, and he had no philosophy. And it was true of others who were similarly overtaken, that the greater number of them came from heaven and therefore they had never been schooled by trial, whereas the pilgrims who came from earth having themselves suffered and seen others suffer, were not in a hurry to choose. And owing to this inexperience of theirs, and also because the lot was a chance, many of the souls exchanged a good destiny for an evil or an evil for a good. For if a man had always on his arrival in this world dedicated himself from the first to sound philosophy, and had been moderately fortunate in the number of the lot, he might, as the messenger reported, be happy here, and also his journey to another life and return to this, instead of being rough and underground, would be smooth and heavenly. Most curious, he said, was the spectacle—sad and laughable and strange; for the choice of the souls was in most cases based on their experience of a previous life. There he saw the soul which had once been Orpheus choosing the life of a swan out of enmity to the race of women, hating to be born of a woman because they had been his murderers; he beheld also the soul of Thamyras choosing the life of a nightingale; birds, on the other hand, like the swan and other musicians, wanting to be men. The soul which obtained the twentieth lot chose the life of a lion, and this was the soul of Ajax the son of Telamon, who would not be a man, remembering the injustice which was done him in the judgment about the arms. The next was Agamemnon, who took the life of an eagle, because, like Ajax, he hated human nature by reason of his sufferings. About the middle came the lot of Atalanta; she, seeing the great fame of an athlete, was unable to resist the temptation: and after her there followed the soul of Epeus the son of Panopeus passing into the nature of a woman cunning in the arts; and far away among the last who chose, the soul of the jester Thersites was putting on the form of a monkey. There came also the soul of Odysseus having yet to make a choice, and his lot happened to be the last of them all. Now the recollection of former toils had disenchanted him of ambition, and he went about for a considerable time in search of the life of a private man who had no cares; he had some difficulty in finding this, which was lying about and had been neglected by everybody else; and when he saw it, he said that he would have done the same had his lot been first instead of last, and that he was delighted to have it. And not only did men pass into animals, but I must also mention that there were animals tame and wild who changed into one another and into corresponding human natures—the good into the gentle and the evil into the savage, in all sorts of combinations.
All the souls had now chosen their lives, and they went in the order of their choice to Lachesis, who sent with them the genius whom they had severally chosen, to be the guardian of their lives and the fulfiller of the choice: this genius led the souls first to Clotho, and drew them within the revolution of the spindle impelled by her hand, thus ratifying the destiny of each; and then, when they were fastened to this, carried them to Atropos, who spun the threads and made them irreversible, whence without turning round they passed beneath the throne of Necessity; and when they had all passed, they marched on in a scorching heat to the plain of Forgetfulness, which was a barren waste destitute of trees and verdure; and then towards evening they encamped by the river of Unmindfulness, whose water no vessel can hold; of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity, and those who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary; and each one as he drank forgot all things. Now after they had gone to rest, about the middle of the night there was a thunderstorm and earthquake, and then in an instant they were driven upwards in all manner of ways to their birth, like stars shooting. He himself was hindered from drinking the water. But in what manner or by what means he returned to the body he could not say; only, in the morning, awaking suddenly, he found himself lying on the pyre.
And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and has not perished, and will save us if we are obedient to the word spoken; and we shall pass safely over the river of Forgetfulness and our soul will not be defiled. Wherefore my counsel is, that we hold fast ever to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always, considering that the soul is immortal and able to endure every sort of good and every sort of evil. Thus shall we live dear to one another and to the gods, both while remaining here and when, like conquerors in the games who go round to gather gifts, we receive our reward. And it shall be well with us both in this life and in the pilgrimage of a thousand years which we have been describing.
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."
A show about Plato's Forms and the Personification of human traits into a deity. Pictured above, the Statue of Liberty, given to the United States from France. I am in the process of writing an Ancient Light episode on "Lady Liberty" and her place in both ancient and modern history.
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."
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
