Sophists

Ancient Olympia, Greece: cdnbusiness

Sophists

Independent Greek public speakers of the 5th century BCE, teaching for a fee about politics, philosophy and rhetoric.

Protagoras is usually regarded as the first with Gorgias being another prominent sophist. Wikipedia also lists Prodicus, Hippias, Thrasymachus, Lycophron, Callicles, Antiphon, and Cratylus.

Plato portrays them in his dialogues as foils for the sober, sound argumentation of Socrates.

In the most general sense sophists are usually depicted as denying the existence of ultimate reality and morality in favor of worldly pleasures derived from the senses.

Likewise, they’re often said to reject the Greek gods and advocate the perfection of humanity.

In actual fact, there is no single school of Sophist thought. Plato’s response to the leading Sophists is as complex as are their various positions. Although generally slighted by Plato, the sophists were highly intelligent, contributing to knowledge about linguistics, drama and a prototypical form of applied sociology.

On the Web:

• Video touching on some of the topics that the ancient Greeks debated, topics that carried on to the Middles Ages and to today.

» Baudrillard (Jean, A.)

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Sibyl

The Libyan Sibyl by Cliff

Sibyl

A name representing alleged prophetesses consulted in ancient Greece and Rome, said to prophecize in ecstasy, under the temporary possession of Apollo.

Ten Sibylline oracles have been recorded by history. The best known Sibyl is said to have resided in a cave at Cumea, near Naples–”The Cumean Sibyl.”

In Vergil’s Aneid this Sibyl is visited by Aeneas before his descent to Hades. She is also believed to have composed the original Sibylline books.

These prophetic works were taken to Rome, where they were guarded by two nobles. Extended volumes of Sibylline books survived into the 4^th century CE.

Another famous Sibyl lived in Erythia in Asia, “The Erythian Sibyl.”

Sibyls appear in Christian art and literature. Early Christian interest in the Sibylline oracles raised them to a status comparable to the Old Testament Prophets.

In 1973 a popular novel, Sibyl, was written by Flora Rheta Schreiber based on the life of Shirley Ardell Mason, a woman diagnosed with multiple personality disorder or MPD. In 1976 the book was made into a film with Sally Field as Sibyl.

In the 19^th and 20^th centuries, two other novels have also been entitled Sibyl.

» Mistletoe, DSM-IV-TR

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Numerology

L'icona di Easy Numerology by Omar Cafini

Numerology

The ancient and contemporary belief that there is an intimate connection between numerical quantity and the workings of the universe.

Numerology has roots in India, China and Greece.

Hindu culture was the birthplace of the concept of zero. The base-10 number system we use today was invented by the Hindus and brought to the West by the Arabs, who further refined the decimal system.

The Mayans also used zero in a base-twenty numeral system.

The Chinese allocated numbers on a sacred board, the Lo Chou, and believed that even and odd numerals represented different objects and conditions (e.g. day and night, white and dark, hot and cold, fire and water, sun and earth).

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras advanced number theory to new heights, applying it to the study of ratios and geometry without precluding the idea of cosmic interrelations.

On the Web:

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Tyche

Caligula with Tyche Syria by Joe Geranio

Tyche (Greek: luck)

The Greek goddess of chance or fortune, usually identified with the Roman goddess Fortuna. Personifications of Tyche are somewhat unclear, although the abstract idea of Tyche is found throughout ancient literature and her imprint appears on ancient Hellenistic coins some three centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Tyche is often referred to as one of the Fates or as a daughter of Zeus. Temples for Tyche were mostly built around cities, offering protection or good luck.

In art she’s sometimes depicted as blind but her influence goes further than that. In medieval times

she was depicted as carrying a cornucopia, an emblematic ship’s rudder, and the wheel of fortune, or she may stand on the wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate. In the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara, Tyche became closely associated with the Buddhist ogress Hariti.†

One source says she’s an Oceanid, one of a group of 3,000 nymphs who are daughters of the oldest of the Titans, Oceanus. » Taboo

On the Web:

• Youtube video showing a temple of Tyche and giving a wonderful feel of the ancient world: “The Zeus temple, high tower, and mausoleum date from the Hellenistic Olba kingdom while the city gate, colonnaded street, fountain, and temple of Tyche are from the Roman period” (MariaJBogaerts)

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† http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyche

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Greek Orthodox Church

Greek Orthodox Church, Cape Town by RobW

Greek Orthodox Church

Formerly part of the Orthodox Church, after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks the Greek Orthodox Church became self-governing in 1833, with the See of Athens being the primacy of honor.

The Greek Orthodox Church does not believe in the Catholic dogma of Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.

Orthodox theologians reacted negatively to the new dogmas proclaimed by Pope Pius IX: the Immaculate Conception of Mary (1854) and papal infallibility (1870). In connection with the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII (1950), the objections mainly concerned the presentation of such a tradition in the form of a dogma.¹

To this Zacharias adds:

The Orthodox Church most emphatically does -not- believe in the Immaculate Conception.

This heretical doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church states that the Virgin Mary was born -without sin.- Think about that! How could a human being be born without the effect of original sin? How could she born not subject to bodily death as every human being is, being a product of a fallen world?

The Virgin Mary was not born this way, but she was born subject to the passions and to death just as every other human being. Our Lord Christ Jesus is the only person who has lived who was born without sin besides Adam and Eve, who were created before sin entered the world.

We DO believe however that Mary lived a holy life, not agreeing with the heretical doctrine of the Latin Church does not diminish this fact at all. » See in context

» Orthodox Churches, Goddess vs. Goddess

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¹ Source » “Orthodox Church Beliefs” http://mb-soft.com/believe/txw/orthobel.htm

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Vulcan

041/366: Vulcan

Originally uploaded by mosesxan

Vulcan

In earliest Roman mythology, Vulcan was the god of destructive fire, particularly that of a volcano.

His temple was usually at the outskirts of a city, attended to by a priest (flamen). And his festival, Volcanalia, was celebrated on August 23.

When the Volcanalia also paid homage to the Nymphs and other deities, live fish were thrown into a fire as a sacrificial offering to Vulcan.

In the Greece during the classical period Vulcan became Hephaestus the master blacksmith.

In his giant forge at Mount Olympus he fashioned the armor and shield of Achilles, as well as Cupid’s arrows and Jupiter’s thunderbolts.

He was depicted lame and his offspring were usually ugly.

In the American TV and film productions of Star Trek, Vulcan is the home planet and the alien race to which Mr. Spock belongs.

Originally a highly savage and barbaric race, Vulcans almost destroyed themselves in the ancient past. They overcame global disaster by repressing all emotion in favor of highly developed logic.

Star Trek Vulcans have supra-human strength and intellect but are less adept at creative, intuitive problem solving.

Vulcan Stranger

Originally uploaded by blakeemrys

In keeping with Carl Jung’s idea that mythic symbols represent and evoke the numinous, spiritual aspects of the unconscious mind, it seems likely that Star Trek creators chose the mythic name of Vulcan, hoping it would resonate with Western viewers and the archetypal images they’re familiar with.

In this larger sense, then, Mr. Spock and his people may be regarded as a continuation of the original Roman myth.

» Romulans, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Original Series, T’Pol

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Venus

Birth of Venus

Originally uploaded by Sandruz

Venus

In Roman mythology Venus is the parallel to the Greek Aphrodite, although Venus is more somewhat more subdued than Aprhodite.

Venus is a goddess of seduction and, in one group of rites and myth, she is associated with Roman wine fesitvals (Vinalia) and thus regarded as a mediator between Jupiter and the Roman people.

She is also the mother of Aeneas, who according to the poet Vergil is the founder of Rome.

And she was the lover of Mars, who with the mortal Rhea Silva begat the twin brothers Romulus and Remus.

Since Rome was named after Romulus, who after disposing of Remus became the first ruler of Rome, Venus plays a kind of dual role in the founding of Rome. As such, she was given a solemnity among the Romans that Aphrodite did not enjoy among the Greeks.

Venus’ first known temple was built shortly after 295 BCE. And despite New Age and Jungian attempts to treat her as some pristine archetype, and others to link her to the Indian Vedic term for desire, her historical roots remain obscure.

However, it’s clear that her character did develop, as most mythic entities do, along with sociopolitical changes in Rome. The influential aristocrat Sulla called her his “Protectress” and by the time of the Roman Empire, Venus was incorporated into the official pantheon.

In astronomy Venus is the second planet from the sun. Due to its brightness, Venus looks like a star and is accordingly called the “morning star” or “evening star.”

» Aliens, Aphrodite, Cupid, Earth, Ishtar, Libra, Taurus

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Xenophanes

Gold and Ivory Artemis(?)

Originally uploaded by greekgeek

Xenophanes (c. 570 BCE)

Greek thinker born in Colophon, an Ionian Greek coastal city.

Xenophanes critiqued the cosmology of Homer, Hesiod and the popular pre-Socratic take on religion and mythology.

From his surviving fragments – and from others commenting on his work – it’s clear that Xenophanes satirized the anthropomorphic nature of the Greek pagan gods, arguing that God must be unmoving and changeless.

5. But mortals suppose that the gods are born (as they themselves are), and that they wear man’s clothing and have human voice and body. [Zeller, 524, n. 2. Cf Arist. Rhet. ii. 23; 1399 b 6.]

6. But if cattle or lions had hands, so as to paint with their hands and produce works of art as men do, they would paint their gods and give them bodies in form like their own-horses like horses, cattle like cattle. [Zeller, 525, n. 2. Diog Laer. iii. 16; Cic. de nat. Deor. i. 27.]

Arthur Fairbanks, ed. and trans. “Xenophanes: Fragments and Commentary,” The First Philosophers of Greece (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1898), p. 67.

Likewise, the early Christian writer Clement of Alexandria (2^nd – 3^rd CE) wrote in his Miscellanies 5. 109:

Xenophanes of Colophon puts it well indeed in teaching that god is one and without a body (asomatos): “There is one god, greatest among gods and men, who is not like human beings either in form (demas) or in thought (noema).”

Source » “XENOPHANES of Colophon” http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/xenophanes.html

Offering piercing criticisms of the pre-Soctratic mindset, Xenophanes nevertheless believed that we cannot be certain about anything. As such, he said that his observations were necessarily conjecture.

E. L. Hussey says that Xenophanes made the “first known attempt at philosophical theology”–i.e. thinking about faith instead of glossing over and mindlessly reproducing its cultural and historical aspects (Ted Honderich, ed., Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 1995, p. 920).

» Comparative Religion

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Zeus

Athens, Greece Zeus Temple 2007

Originally uploaded by Titanas

Zeus The son of the Titan Cronus and Titaness Rhea, Zeus is the chief of the second generation Greek gods, usually arrayed with thunderbolts and an eagle.

By the time of Homer he came to be the most powerful deity in the Greek pantheon, his main role role being the overseer of cosmic justice. As such, he protects property, receives prayers and sacrifices, and punishes transgressors.

Because he was so big, he ironically had a relative few polis festivals (i.e. city festivals) in his honor. Polis festivals were generally reserved for lesser deities presiding over a particular city, such as Athena or Apollo.

Zeus had numerous offspring with several different goddesses, the most famous being Aphrodite.

He apparently had amorous relations with his young male cup-bearer, Ganymedes.

The mythologer Robert Graves says

The Zeus-Ganymedes myth gained immense popularity in Greece and Rome because it afforded religious justification for grown man’s passionate love for a boy.

The Greek Myths, Combined edition, London: Penguin, 1992, p. 117.

According to NeoPlatonist thought, Zeus isn’t at the top of the all-time divinity charts. Instead, the NeoPlatonists lowered his status from his previous rank of King.

Zeus’ Roman equivalent is Jupiter.

» Aesculapius, Aliens and Extraterrestrials (ETs), Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Castor and Pollux, Demeter, Dionysus, Dyaus, Fates, God, Hera, Hercules, Hermes, Hesiod, Jupiter, Muses, Odin, Olympians, Orphic Mysteries, Persephone, Poseidon, Romeo and Juliet, Shapeshifter, Titans, Tyche

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Abyss

The Abyss

Originally uploaded by imagical

Abyss (Greek, abyssos, Latin abyssus). Myths about an abyss or bottomless pit are found in most cultures.

In Judaism the abyss lies deep within the earth, a place where evil spirits of the dead are banished (Job 32:22, Psalm 6:5, 143:7).

In ancient Greece the majority of the dead retire to a gloomy underworld, an abyss of “shades” where they endure punishment for worldly sins.

The ancient Greek idea of heaven is not well developed. In fact, only a few heroes pass on to the favorable Blessed Isles. After the 5th century BCE the belief that the dead reside among the stars appears. But this still radically differs from the concept of heaven as forwarded by Jesus Christ.

In Hindu lore, a popular version of the Ramayana epic portrays the heroine Sita being consumed by a great opening in the earth.

The Druidic tradition tells of evil foes falling down into bottomless caverns.

The biblical Satan is bound by an angel and cast into a bottomless pit (Rev. 20:3).

Mircea Eliade notes that myths about “binding” evil beings are quite plentiful.

New Testament (NT) accounts of an abyss refer to a hellish region from which a wild beast emerges to temporarily destroy prophets after they have completed their mission.

The Abyss in the NT is likewise described as a prison for evil spirits (Luke 8:31; Rev 9:1-2; 11; 11:7-8).

Interestingly, Victorian Fairy imagery is replete with watery underworlds inhabited by ghoulish beings, amidst which fairies are protected from harm by dwelling, often sleepily, within a sort of magical cocoon.

In the Beowulf myth, an evil water-troll is slain in her underwater lair by use of a magical sword discovered by the hero, deep under the water’s surface.

More recently, the invention of the bathysphere and the submarine opened the door for pulp fiction and numerous Hollywood “B” movies about underwater horrors.

An underwater abyss is also found in the science fiction film, The Abyss.

Sci-fi also depicts the abyss motif in outer space. In several episodes, Star Trek Voyager’s Captain Janeway stands perilously above an almost bottomless cylinder within a Borg ship.

Likewise, Star Wars‘ Luke Skywalker perches on a ledge over an abyss in the evil Emperor’s Death Star. And the more recent Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is replete with strange subterranean beings.

In psychoanalytic terms, Freudians see the abyss as a symbol of the mother’s womb or the tumultuous forces of the instinctual id.

Jungians tend to regard the abyss as an archetypal image of the collective unconscious.

Regardless of which school one subscribes to, in the most general sense a fear of total destruction seems to coexist with a potential for victory over, and order arising from, the dark chaos of the abyss.

As Rod Serling put it in the close of the 1961 Twilight Zone episode “The Shelter” (pictured above), in which apparently normal American neighbors go beserk during an atomic bomb scare:

For civilization to survive the human race has to remain civilized.

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