‘The Brooklyn Mysteries’

   

Apropos of nothing, maybe just because it reminds me of this time of year, here is a photo of an untitled work by artist Martha Posner, made of honeysuckle and mixed media. I shot this photo a few years ago when the piece was one of the many works exhibited on the grounds of Boscobel, approximately across the Hudson from West Point.

It’s been several weeks already, so I better tell you about the Eleusinian Mysteries ceremony I attended at Observatory in Brooklyn last month, before what’s left of my mind loses the beautiful details.

Courtesy The Daily Green

Actually I won’t describe it in too much detail because it should be experienced; it was very well presented and, except for my own allergic reaction to a certain fruit—that I kept to myself—everything went off without a hitch. Ms. Pam Grossman began by leading us through an opening ritual, and concluded by leading us through a closing ritual, both of which I think would be recognizable and appreciated in most esoteric circles. Wholesome ones, anyway. In between those was a harmonious mix of readings and hands-on transmissions all intended to channel, if not recreate somewhat, the Eleusinian initiatory rites of ancient Greece.

The evening’s activities engaged the four cardinal directions, and several others; involved the four classical elements, and beyond; and a variety of ritual elements gratified the five physical senses, and then some. It all can succeed in, to phrase it basically, changing one’s state of mind. That is essential to receiving an initiation, which that night, was presented in the form of the story of Demeter, the central mythological figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries. You can read the essence of this here.

Courtesy deviantART

Longtime Magpie readers have come to expect detailed descriptions of special occasions, but I have to treat this differently since I was only a visitor accepting an invitation. If Ms. Grossman will host this event again next fall, I surely will publicize it here and encourage you to check it out. It’s really worth your time.
     

‘The Eleusinian Mysteries...in Brooklyn!’

     
It’s that time of year—fall equinox, colder days, longer nights, harvests, booths, leaves changing, etc.—when the mind turns to the connections to ancient ancestors by way of timeless ritual traditions which celebrate nature’s tireless, harmonious cycling.

The best known of the ancient mystery rites, unquestionably, are the Eleusinian Mysteries. For approximately two millennia, the small town called Eleusis, not far from Athens, was the site of a temple where the myth central to pre-Hellenic Greece’s spiritual understanding of autumn was imparted to initiates. That myth, of course, was the story of how Persephone came to live her dual life, dividing her time between the underworld and Mount Olympus. It is an allegory of the change of seasons, like most sacred stories key to the ancient mysteries.

You probably know the general story of this myth, but here it is with some detail, courtesy of Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths: Demeter (meaning Barley Mother), the goddess of the cornfield, with Zeus, bore a daughter named Core (meaning Maiden), and the two were very close. Hades, god of the underworld, fell in love with Core and asked her father/his brother, Zeus, for permission to marry her. Zeus, fearing Demeter’s reaction if he consigned their daughter to the underworld, declined either to grant or deny this request; Hades interpreted the ambivalence as a favorable decision. While making a rare visit above ground, Hades found Core one day while she picked flowers in a meadow, abducted her, and hastily raced his chariot back to the world of the dead.

Foregoing rest and refreshment, Demeter searched for her daughter for nine days and nights. After some investigation, she learned the truth: that Hades had absconded with Core, hereafter named Peresphone (meaning She Who Brings Destruction), to the underworld. Armed with the facts, Demeter was so angry and despondent that she continued to wander the earth, forbidding agriculture to grow. Mankind was at risk of extinction. Zeus made repeated entreaties to calm Demeter and to restore life to the trees and grain, but she was relentless. Messenger god Hermes brokered the deal: Peresphone may return to the world of the living on the condition that she has not yet tasted the food of the dead.

It was at Eleusis (meaning Advent) where Peresphone and Demeter were reunited, but it was revealed that the daughter had eaten seven seeds of the pomegranate—that fruit so prevalent and so symbolic in so many myths and faiths—while in the underworld. Because of this, Peresphone would not live her life above ground, and because of Demeter’s refusal to retract her curse upon the land, her daughter would not be sent to live in the underworld either. The commonly understood compromise consisted of Peresphone dividing her time equally between life above ground and life below ground denoting, respectively, the warm weather months of abundance and the cold weather months of deprivation and death. (The classical understanding of this schedule puts Peresphone in the underworld for only three months a year.) Placated, Demeter prepared to return home, but first initiated several of her allies, who had aided in the search for Peresphone, into her mysteries and worship. One of these, Triptolemus, son of King Celeus, was sent around the world to teach mankind the art of agriculture.

Triptolemus receiving wheat sheaves from Demeter, and blessings from Persephone, in this 5th Century BCE relief on exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Click to enlarge.

I won’t bother repeating the sparse information on the orgiastic doings of the Eleusinian Mysteries, but there is a brief sketch of the ritual published by John Michael Greer in his The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Hidden History. Excerpted:

“Initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries involved a strict process that took more than a year and a half to complete. Candidates first took part in the Lesser Mysteries, the Myesis, which was celebrated in February each year on the banks of the Ilissos River near Athens. Each candidate sacrificed a pig to the gods, bathed in the icy waters of the Ilissos, and received instruction in the myth of Demeter, the goddess of the earth, and her daughter Persephone….

“After the Lesser Mysteries, candidates had to wait until September of the following year before they could take part in the Greater Mysteries, called the Teletai. These rites formally began on the 14th of the month of Boedromion, when priestesses from Eleusis came to Athens carrying baskets. The baskets contained sacred objects that were stored in the Eleusinion, a temple in Athens; what those objects were, nobody knows. Candidates began fasting on the 10th, and on the 16th they marched in a procession down to the sea to purify themselves in its water, then went into seclusion for the next two days.

“At dawn on the 19th, the candidates gathered at the Painted Porch in the central marketplace of Athens, donned myrtle wreaths, and formed a procession with the priestesses and their mysterious baskets. They left Athens by the Sacred Gate and proceeded along the Sacred Road toward Eleusis. At a bridge they met priests who gave each of them a carefully measured portion of a beverage called kykeon (meaning The Mixture), containing water, roasted barley, and pennyroyal. At a second bridge, another detachment of priests tied a thread to the right hand and left foot of each candidate. Finally, around sunset, the procession reached Eleusis and marched by torchlight into the sacred precinct. They entered the Telesterion, where the Hierophant, the chief priest of Eleusis, sat on his throne just outside the entrance to the Anaktoron.

“It is at this point that most of the surviving sources fall silent....

“According to Clement of Alexandria, a Christian writer from the fourth century, initiates of Eleusis had a special password, the synthema: ‘I have fasted, drunk the kykeon, taken things out of the large basket, worked with them, put them into the small basket, and then back into the large basket.’ Comments from many initiates indicated that whatever they saw within the Telesterion freed them from the fear of death—a point that merely deepens the mystery that surrounds Eleusis.”

Where was I going with this? Yes! Brooklyn.

On Friday night, Observatory in Gowanus will host a ritual workshop led by Pam Grossman. From the publicity:

Autumn Descent and the Eleusinian Mysteries

Friday, September 27

7:30 to 9-ish p.m.

Observatory

543 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York

Admission: $20

You must RSVP to phantasmaphile(at)gmail.com if you’d like to attend, as space is limited.

Persephone’s descent into Hades, and Demeter’s subsequent mourning, were celebrated in late September in ancient Greece via a 9-day long series of elaborate rites called the Eleusinian Mysteries. Though relatively little is known about these rituals to this day, they mirrored the changing of the seasons, and allowed initiates to reflect deeply upon the cycle of birth, death, and resurrection.

So shall we celebrate this time when the world turns dark and our thoughts turn inward. This evening will be filled with myth, ritual, and meditation to prepare us for the colder months. We will journey to the underworld, and return with messages to help guide us in the coming seasons. Themes will include harvesting, giving thanks, honoring shadow, and letting go.

Please bring:

• Any altar objects you like. These can be decorative (Thanksgiving and autumnal décor of any kind is welcome), and/or personal objects which you’d like to have charged
• A candle and holder
• A cushion, pillow, or fabric, as we will be sitting on the floor (chairs will be available for those who need).

Note-taking is welcome. This workshop is open to men and women, novices and advanced practitioners alike.

Pam Grossman

Pam Grossman is a writer, independent curator, and teacher of magical practice and history. An initiate in the wise woman tradition, she is a graduate apprentice of the green witch, Robin Rose Bennett. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent, and Associate Editor of Abraxas Journal. She lectures on such topics as “The Occult in Modern Art 101,” teaches classes on herbalism and ritual, and is the co-organizer of the Occult Humanities Conference at NYU.

Her writing has appeared in numerous mediums, including The Huffington Post, MSN.com, the Etsy blog, Sciences Occultes magazine, and various Fulgur press publications. As a featured guest on The Midnight Archive web series, Expanding Mind radio, and the C-Realm, Psychonautica, and Labyrinth podcasts, she has discussed the role of magic in contemporary life. Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, Alchemically Yours, and Sigils & Signs have been featured by such outlets as Art & Antiques Magazine, Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Reality Sandwich, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She is a co-founder of Observatory, where her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach.
     

‘The Icarus Syndrome’

  
In the Masonic Light group last Wednesday, the brother known worldwide as the Canberra Curmudgeon posted the text of an edict from his grand master Down Under – United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, specifically – that was hot off the presses. Since then I’ve seen it on the Dummies blog, and the FD2L blog, various vBulletin sites, and even on Facebook. Despite being one of the first to read the edict on the web, I guess I’m pretty much the last to blog about it, and since we have a few final minutes of Father’s Day remaining, I will try to explain, drawing from the lesson of one of mythology’s great father-son disasters, why the edict is no big deal.

But first, the nothing about which there is much ado:

Grand Master’s Edict

Announced at the Grand Communication – 13th June, 2012

On 12 May 2010 the Board of Management passed a resolution stating the principles governing esoteric research. These principles are central to the practice of Regular Freemasonry. In order that there be no doubt that they bind every brother and Lodge in this jurisdiction I have decided to make them the subject of a Grand Master’s edict. At my request the Board of Management has rescinded its resolution so that it may be substituted with the following edict which takes effect immediately.

1. Authorised, official Masonic Education and Instruction is only ‘Regular’ when applied to Free and Accepted or Speculative Masonry (Regular Freemasonry).

2. Because of the widely divergent interpretations which can be placed upon it, I am concerned about the unqualified use of the word ‘esoteric,’ or any of its derivatives or extensions, within Regular Freemasonry. Such use needs to be avoided as it has been and can be misconstrued to the detriment of the Craft.

3. I encourage all Masons to make daily progress in the acquisition of Masonic knowledge. Speculation and discussion within the Landmarks of the Order are to be commended.

4. Within Regular Freemasonry, interpretive discussion and exposition concern only the progressive acquisition of Masonic knowledge towards an understanding of the secrets and mysteries of the Craft, promoting the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God. To avoid any misapprehension, such regular discussion and exposition shall be described as ‘speculative,’ and the term ‘esoteric’ shall not be applied.

5. Regular Freemasonry does not permit within it any form of esotericism which encompasses or tends towards occultism, sorcery, alchemy, astrology, profane mysticism, transcendentalism, supernaturalism, druidism, rosicrucianism, satanism or any concept or movement related to any of these. The presentation, endorsement and/or promotion of such subjects in any Lodge holding under the UGL of NSW and ACT whether the Lodge be open, adjourned, at refreshment or closed or at any connected or associated Lodge function should be deemed irregular and is strictly forbidden.

6. Any breach of this Edict constitutes serious unmasonic conduct and shall be treated accordingly.

7. The Grand Master from time to time may grant dispensations to permit the presentation of papers on esotericism which would otherwise constitute a breach of this edict. A dispensation may be granted on such terms and conditions as the Grand Master may impose. An application for a dispensation must be made to the Grand Master in writing through the Grand Secretary. Normally it will only be granted if the proposed paper is a genuine and proper piece of masonic research.

Okay, and here is why I say this is nothing to worry about, much less justify the bizarre caterwauling (“book burning!” “thought control!”) that I’ve seen on web these past several days. It’s the Nekillim Syndrome, defined by psychology researchers as “the mindless, hysterical (but often amusing) reaction to the action of a Masonic grand master.”

As I phrased it in our conversation on ML:

Having had some time to digest this news, I’m looking more closely at what this edict states, and what it does not state.

The grand master is governing the Craft lodges, and not interfering with Masonic Rosicrucians or any appendant or concordant group. He does not prohibit activities independent of Freemasonry.

The edict prohibits sorcery, satanism, and the like in the lodge. We don’t object to that, do we? It prohibits alchemy and rosicrucianism in the lodge. Is that really so problematic? I don’t think a ban is necessary, but I can’t say it deprives Masons of urgent or fundamental Masonic knowledge. Others listed in Item 5 sound reasonable to me. I don’t want Freemasonry confused in the mix of New Age activities.

I work in Masonic education because I believe Masons ought to be educated about Masonry. There is a lot to learn in Freemasonry. A lodge that focuses on Masonic learning will not run out of material to cover any time soon. Maybe that is better than having programs on transcendentalism in the lodge.

There is a group on Facebook called “Esoteric Masons” or something like that. It has some useful information; it has some less-than-useful information; it also has Masons advertising their availability for Masonry’s invitational orders. It has a lot of talk, some of it plagiarized, about rosicrucians and other topics. What is missing usually is a mention of Freemasonry. I think there is esoterica to Freemasonry, and maybe this grand master wants that explored before lodges diversify their activities by going off topic.

That said, I doubt there is some frantic need for this edict. Are the lodges in New South Wales hives of satanist astrologers or something?

I’d encourage the brethren to follow the model of Canonbury and Rose Circle, and host conferences that explore other avenues of esoteric study, independently of the Craft so they may enjoy full freedom. It can’t be too difficult to find an accessible venue where Masons can spend a Saturday learning about, say, the similarities of symbols in Masonry and Alchemy; or Masonry and Tarot. If there’s a demand for that, someone will show up. If it is organized professionally, maybe the event would qualify for the dispensation that is offered.

Keeping calm and carrying on,

Jay

I do not know the Grand Master of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territories, so I cannot view his edict through or in proximity to his eyes, but looking at it with my own eyes, it makes some sense.

There is another syndrome in Freemasonry, and I have diagnosed and named it myself. The Icarus Syndrome is exhibited by Masons who really should be laying their personal foundations of Masonic knowledge by – if I may paraphrase a few rituals – going to lodge, conversing with more knowledgeable brethren, studying the Liberal Arts and Sciences, being charitable toward their brethren, and making a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge, but who instead pursue other knowledge for which they are not yet prepared. Or maybe they are prepared, but make a wrong turn and wind up in dubious rites and orders.

Courtesy The Folio Society

In Greek mythology, Daedalus, whose name means “bright” or “cunningly wrought,” was an extremely handy inventor and craftsman – “a wonderful smith,” in the words of Bro. Robert Graves in his The Greek Myths anthology – and the father of Icarus. Both were imprisoned on Crete by King Minos, and to make their escape, Daedalus fashioned a set of wings for each of them. Thread held together the large quill feathers, and wax was used to hold the smaller feathers in place.

They took flight, literally, in a northeasterly direction. The father warned his son not to fly so low as to wet his wings in the sea, nor soar so high as to melt the wax in the sunlight.



You know the rest: Icarus, not ready for the knowledge and responsibility entrusted to him prematurely, enjoyed the wonderful freedom of motion too much and sailed too high. The sun melted the wax of his wings, and he fell into the sea, drowning.

The end.

Don’t let this happen to you.

I know all the nonsense about sorcery, Satanism, druidism, etc. is not any concern of any real Freemason in any real Masonic lodge but, frankly, the Alchemy and Rosicrucianism do figure into Masonic studies, with other parallel and related practices as well.

Those will be there for us when we are ready for them. To make oneself ready for them, a Mason divides his time in a specific method, measures his thoughts and actions in certain ways, and applies himself with deliberation and finality to achieve an ultimate, desired result. So you have to ask yourself if you want to be a “seeing is believing” Mason who is in control of his passions, his physical powers, and his intellect, or do you want to be a “believing is seeing” Mason who can be fooled into just about anything because he lacks the fundamental knowledge and acquired experience that creates wisdom.

It’s all free will and accord, brethren. No one is going to arrest your movement whichever way you go, but remember what happens when you fly too high before you’re ready.

‘Heroes: Mortals and Myths’

    
There is no obvious connection here to Masonic ritual and symbol, unless you really do a background check on a certain artificer we know, during which you will bump heads with Greek gods and heroes like Hephaestus and Daedalus. Of course in other inquiries we can meet Hermes, Pallas Athena, and others. All this makes the current exhibition at the Onassis Cultural Center in midtown Manhattan well worthwhile for the thinking Freemason.

As the curator says:

Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece
Exhibition to explore the role of heroes in society
Onassis Cultural Center
October 5, 2010 - January 3, 2011

The age-old figures of Herakles, Odysseus, Achilles and Helen continue to fire the popular imagination today-and so does the concept of heroes, which began with the stories and images of these and other fabled Greek characters. Yet the very word “hero” has a different meaning in our society than it did in an ancient Greek world that seemed, to its people, to be alive with Greek heroes and heroines.

Heroes brings together more than 90 exceptional artworks focusing on the Archaic, Classical and the Hellenistic period (6th - 1st century BCE), drawn from collections in the United States and Europe. Through these objects, which range from large-scale architectural sculptures to beautifully decorated pottery and miniature carved gemstones, the exhibition shows how the ancient Greek heroes were understood and how they served as role models. It also explores this human need for heroes as role models through the arts of one of the oldest and most influential civilizations in history.

To provide a better understanding of the lives, fates and meanings of the first heroes and heroines, to explore the inherent human need for heroes and to give audiences an opportunity to measure their own ideas of heroes against the ideas represented by a wealth of extraordinary Classical Greek artworks, the Onassis Cultural Center in Midtown Manhattan presents the exhibition Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece, on view from October 5, 2010 to January 3, 2011. Admission is free.

The exhibition has been organized by the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, in cooperation with the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA).

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Comprehensive brochures are offered free to visitors.

Educational programs include guided tours for students of schools, colleges and universities and bi-weekly tours, every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m., open to the public.

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m - 6:00 p.m.
Admission: Free

Entrances on 51st and 52nd streets between Fifth and Madison avenues.

Please do visit the Onassis Center website to read much more and enjoy the photos.

Maybe I will see you there. I’m going to try to get Mythology Café and my classical literature book club to make group trips and take the tour.

Head of Polyphemos, First or second century A.D., Roman, Thasian marble, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Photo © 2010 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
    

‘At Atlas-Pythagoras’

‘The Lessons of Atlas,

and the Teachings of Pythagoras’

Having visited Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge No. 10 numerous times over the years and always enjoying myself there, it was a great pleasure to be the guest speaker this evening. The name itself interests me; this lodge is an amalgamation of a number of other lodges – some near, some not so near – so I’ve always been impressed that the names Atlas and Pythagoras were the last ones standing after the repeated acts of combustion inherent in lodge mergers and consolidations. So two names vital to Greek culture comprise this lodge’s hyphenated handle. It could have gone very differently, and in a variety of permutations and combinations. The lodge could have become Atlas-Franklin, or Century-Pythagoras, or Vailsburg-Century, or Atlas-Century-Franklin-Pythagoras-Vailsburg-Merrill-Lynch-Sacco-Vanzetti Lodge. You get the idea.

Actually it was several years ago that Bro. Mohamad first asked me to come to the lodge to speak. He was planning ahead for his term as Worshipful Master. “Sure, I’d love to!” I told him, figuring he’d forget by now and I’d still get to be a good guy for agreeing to do it. But he didn’t forget, and while I absolutely dread public speaking – the Magpie Mason is more of a writer than a lecturer – things went pretty well tonight. Lots of friendly faces out there too: Franklin, John L., Don M., Josè, Don S., Greg, Henry, David D! and others in addition to the actual lodge brothers, like Thurman, Vincent (on his 90th birthday!), Moises, Pete, and the many young Masons who know “A-P 10” is the place to be.

Tonight’s topic? Ah, yes. Getting back to my appreciation for the name, and the incalculable, statistical unlikelihood that two Greek mytho-historical figures would jointly become namesakes of a Masonic lodge in central Jersey, I spoke on “The Lessons of Atlas, and the Teachings of Pythagoras.” (I was very much hoping to add a humorous third segment titled “The Legend of Atmas-Pymagoras,” but the brother who could best tell this amazing true story was not in attendance.)

I find it interesting that a lodge would choose the name Atlas for itself. Unlike Pythagoras, the Atlas of Greek mythology plays no direct role in Craft ritual or symbol. I found nothing in either traditional or contemporary AASR degrees. Didn’t see anything in any of the many Egyptian-oriented rites documented in the past decade by the Grand College of Rites. I mean it’s not unthinkable that a lodge would want to be named Atlas. New Jersey has had Apollo Lodge No. 156, Orpheus 137, Orion 56, and Diogenes 22. But the choice of Atlas (No. 125, chartered in 1872) for a lodge is interesting. But then it may have been named for some guy named Jimmy Atlas. I’ll defer to the lodge historian!

So my goal, as I saw it, was to explain the mythology of Atlas, and direct the brethren’s attention to whatever commonality there may be with Masonic thought.

It’s easiest to just list the items:

His name: Means “very enduring” or “one who endures” or “one who suffers.” A fitting name for most Worshipful Masters, and probably all secretaries.

His family:

• He is a son of Iapetus, who is the same character as Japhet, a son of Noah in the Book of Genesis, who is known to Royal Arch Masons.
• He is the father of the Pleiades, seven daughters placed in the heavens as a constellation, which is the cluster of seven stars seen in Master Mason Degree tracing boards, slides, aprons, and other illustrations.
• Atlas also is the brother of Prometheus (who deserves a lodge of his own). He also is the father of Calypso, the Hyades, and the Hesperides.

Above: In traditional illustrations of Masonic symbols, the seven-star cluster called Pleiades often is seen in the vicinity of the All Seeing Eye and/or the Sun and Moon, as this close-up shot of this classic 19th century print shows. Below: Close-up shot of the Moon and Pleiades.

Atlas was one of the Titans, the generation of proto-gods who ruled earth before being overthrown by Zeus. In his victory, Zeus banished Atlas to an existence of servitude in which he, depending on the story you hear, used his great strength to uphold the earth, or uphold the heavens, or uphold the two pillars that support heaven and earth. From the first version, we get our name for a book of maps. From the second comes the name of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. And the third? If you will cast your eyes to the West, you will behold two pillars, one supporting the earth, and one supporting the heavens. (Again, I’m not alleging causality, but simply noting some commonality.)

He also is the namesake of Atlantis, the legendary island defined by Plato as a wonderland, but that went missing in the Atlantic, the ocean named for it.

So where is the Lesson of Atlas?

Atlas is also frequently associated with Heracles (Hercules), and in the Heraclean legends the hero is given 12 labors to execute as punishment for murdering his family. Labor No. 11 is a mission to seize the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, which were wedding gifts given by Mother Earth to Hera that were guarded by Atlas’ daughters. I will let Bro. Robert Graves, the renowned scholar and author, conclude the story:

Nereus had advised Heracles not to pluck the apples himself, but to employ Atlas as his agent, meanwhile relieving him of his fantastic burden; therefore, on arriving at the garden of the Hesperides, he asked Atlas to do him this favor. Atlas would have undertaken almost any task for the sake of an hour’s respite, but he feared Ladon, whom Heracles thereupon killed with an arrow shot over the garden wall. Heracles now bent his back to receive the weight of the celestial globe, and Atlas walked away, returning presently with three apples plucked by his daughters. He found the sense of freedom delicious. ‘I will take these apples to Eurystheus myself without fail,’ he said, ‘if you hold up the heavens for a few months longer.’ Heracles pretended to agree, but having been warned by Nereus not to accept any such offer, begged Atlas to support the globe for only one moment more, while he put a pad on his head. Atlas, easily deceived, laid the apples on the ground and resumed his burden, whereupon Heracles picked them up and went away with an ironical farewell. (Source: The Greek Myths.)

The lesson? If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! (Sorry. I promised the Worshipful Master I’d be serious tonight.)

For his part, Pythagoras has much more to say to Freemasons of course. Being not at all qualified to discuss Pythagorean mathematics and geometry, I instead read to the brethren The Golden Verses of Pythagoras. These 71 lines of philosophical monologue – none of that Socratic stuff here – are timeless pieces of advice conducive to mankind living in brotherhood, under the fatherhood of deity. (And again, I do not allege any connection between the Pythagorean mystery school and Freemasonry, but there are undeniable similarities between the universal truths in these verses and our Masonic teachings.) And I should point out that the 71 verses are not necessarily 71 distinct sayings, but they are numbered as are biblical verses, meaning one concept may be expressed in multiple lines.

The Golden Verses are understood in two denominations: the Practical Virtues, and the Divine Virtues. The former are 47 in number, and are intended to make a good man better. The latter complete the body of 71, and are intended to perfect good men, so as to render them worthy of the Grand Architect’s use.

It’s getting late, so I will list only a few good examples:

5. Of all the rest of mankind, make him a friend who distinguishes himself by his virtue.
6. Always give ear to his mild exhortations, and take example from his virtuous and useful actions.
7. Avoid as much as possible hating a friend for a slight fault.
8. (And understand that) power is a near neighbor to necessity.

In 5 and 6, we are reminded of some of the standards to maintain when considering a petitioner for initiation. Nos. 7 and 8 hint at the Closing Charge.

9. Know that all these things are as I have told you; and accustom yourself to overcome and vanquish these passions:
10. First gluttony, sloth, sensuality, and anger.
11. Do nothing evil, neither in the presence of others, nor privately.
12. But above all things respect thyself.

This quatrain recalls the first goal of the Apprentice: to learn to subdue the passions and improve oneself in Masonry.

13. In the next place, observe justice in your actions and in your words.
14. And accustom not yourself to behave in any thing without rule, and without reason.

These two verses neatly summarize the virtues of circumspection, right thinking, and right action.

24. Observe well, on every occasion, what I am going to tell you:
25. Let no man either by his words, or by his deeds, ever seduce you.
26. Nor entice you to say or to do what is not profitable for yourself.
27. Consult and deliberate before you act, that you may not commit foolish actions.
28. For it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection.
29. But do that which will not afflict you afterwards, nor oblige you to repentance.
30. Never do anything which you do not understand.
31. But learn all you ought to know, and by that means you will lead a very pleasant life.

So mote it be.

48. But never begin to set the hand to any work, till you have first prayed to the gods to accomplish what you are going to begin.

Just as Masons never undertake any labor without first invoking the blessing of Deity.

54. You will likewise know that men draw upon themselves their own misfortunes voluntarily, and of their own free choice.
55. Unhappy that they are! They neither see nor understand that their good is near them.
56. Few know how to deliver themselves out of their misfortunes.
57. Such is the fate that blinds mankind, and takes away his senses.
58. Like huge cylinders they roll to and fro, and always oppressed with ills innumerable.
59. For fatal strife, innate, pursues them everywhere, tossing them up and down; nor do they perceive it.
60. Instead of provoking and stirring it up, they ought, by yielding, to avoid it.
61. Oh! Jupiter, our Father! if You would deliver men from all the evils that oppress them,
62. Show them of what dæmon they make use.
63. But take courage; the race of man is divine.
64. Sacred nature reveals to them the most hidden mysteries.
65. If she impart to you her secrets, you will easily perform all the things which I have ordained.
66. And by the healing of your soul, you will deliver it from all evils, from all afflictions.
69. Leaving yourself always to be guided and directed by the understanding that comes from above, and that ought to hold the reins.
70. And when, after having divested yourself of your mortal body, you arrive at the most pure Æther,
71. You shalt be a god, immortal, incorruptible, and death shall have no more dominion over you.

To which I can only add Ecclesiastes 12:

1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Thanks for the hospitality brethren. I will see you soon.
     

At the Onassis Cultural Center

     
The New York City Greek Mythology and Classical Literature Book Club is planning a trip to this exhibition in two weeks.


Worshiping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens
December 10, 2008 – May 9, 2009

The galleries of the Onassis Cultural Center in New York will be transformed into evocations of ancient Greek sanctuaries, each filled with artistic masterpieces assembled from international collections, for the major exhibition Worshiping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens.

This is on view through May 9.



The exhibition brings together 155 rare and extraordinary archaeological objects in order to re-examine preconceptions about the exclusion of women from public life in ancient Athens. The story told by these objects, and experienced in the galleries, presents a more nuanced picture than is often seen, showing how women’s participation in cults and festivals contributed not only to personal fulfillment in Classical Greece but also to civic identity.

Worshiping Women is organized by the Onassis Foundation (USA) in collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Greece. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Nikolaos Kaltsas, Director of the National Archaeological Museum of Greece, and by Dr. Alan Shapiro, the W.H. Collins Vickers Professor of Archaeology at Johns Hopkins University. Worshiping Women is the first major exhibition in the tenth anniversary season of the Onassis Foundation (USA) and the Onassis Cultural Center.

Among the treasures being brought to New York for the exhibition are marble statues of the goddesses Artemis and Athena (National Archaeological Museum, Athens); a white-ground vase with an image of Artemis, by the Pan Painter (State Hermitage Museum, Petersburg); a red-figure vase with an image of Iphigenia, the legendary heroine worshiped as a cult figure and seen as a model for priestesses (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Ferrara); a vase showing the Trojan priestess Theano, another model for priestesses, receiving the Greek warriors who had come to recover Helen from Troy (Vatican Museums); and a limestone grave marker (conserved with support from the Onassis Foundation) carved with the image of a young woman in bridal costume, holding a votive offering (State Museums of Berlin). Interspersed with these and other exquisite artworks are archaeological objects that document the religious practices of Classical Athens and tell the complex story of women’s roles in that society.

“If all Greek religion was about creating and maintaining a state of harmony between mortals and gods,” the curators state, “then the role of Athenian women was an integral part of that process. It was women’s essential contribution to share equally in securing and maintaining the divine favor that made Athens great.”

Worshiping Women tells this story in three main chapters. “Goddesses and Heroines” introduces the principal female deities of Athens and Attica, in whose cults and festivals women were most actively engaged: Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, and Demeter and her daughter Persephone. This first section also investigates the role of heroines, a special group of women believed to have lived in the distant past, who like Iphigenia became important figures of cult worship after their deaths.

The second chapter, “Women and Ritual,” explores the practice of ritual acts such as dances, libations, sacrifices, processions and festivals in which women were active in classical antiquity. Here the critical role of the priestess comes to light, specifically in her function as key-bearer for the temples of the gods.

In the final chapter, “Women and the Cycle of Life,” the exhibition explores how religious rituals defined moments of transition. Because the most important transition in a girl’s life was understood to be marriage, the wedding took on great significance, with its rituals depicted on a variety of vases associated with nuptial rites and wedding banquets. Death was another occasion on which Athenian women took on major responsibilities, such as preparing the deceased for burial and tending the graves of family members.

By presenting this story in the only way it can be properly told—through artworks and the material culture of the time—this important exhibition corrects the common, bleak picture of the lives of Athenian women. Although their participation in the political process was indeed severely restricted, the exhibition demonstrates that religious ritual allowed them to define themselves not only as women but as Athenians and as Greeks. Their involvement in cults, festivals and life-cycle observances, whether alongside men or separate from them, was essential for the successful functioning of the city—and was understood as such.

The Curators
Dr. Nikolaos Kaltsas is the director of the National Archaeological Museum of Greece and the author of a prize-winning book, Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens (2002), as well as many other widely published archeological studies. Dr. Kaltsas is a member of the Central Council of Museums, the Central Council of Modern and Contemporary Monuments, and the Committee for the Conservation of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios.

Dr. Alan Shapiro, the W.H. Collins Vickers Professor of Archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, has a particular interest in Greek art, myth, and religion in the Archaic and Classical periods, especially in the interrelationships among art, religion, and politics. He is an authority on vase iconography and has written numerous studies, including Personifications in Greek Art (1993) and Myth into Art: Poet and Painter in Classical Greece (1994). In addition, he is the co-author of Women in the Classical World (1994).

The Catalogue
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue edited by Dr Kaltsas and Dr Shapiro, with essays by Professor Mary Lefkowitz of Wellesley College; Professor Olga Palagia of the University of Athens; Dr. Angelos Delivorias, director of the Benaki Museum; Professor Michalis Tiverios of the Aristotelion University of Thessaloniki; Professor Joan Breton Connelly of New York University; Professor Jenifer Neils of Case Western Reserve University; and Professor John Oakley of the College of William and Mary in Virginia, among others.

Public Programs
A variety of educational programs will be scheduled in conjunction with the exhibition, including gallery talks, lectures and an international conference.

Monday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Admission is free
The Onassis Cultural Center offers complimentary guided tours every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00 p.m., open to the public.

Text and art courtesy of Onassis Cultural Center.
     

‘Hermes, Guide of the Soul’

     
The C.G. Jung Foundation has a daylong seminar scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 21 at its Manhattan headquarters. Led by Gary D. Astrachan, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst from Maine, this event will “explore, celebrate and delight in the Hermetic mythologem, with lecture material, slides, music, readings and lively discussion.”

Recommended readings are excerpts from Charles Boer’s “Homeric Hymns” and Karl Kerenyi’s “Hermes: Guide of Souls.”

The Foundation is located at 28 East 39th St. General public admission costs $70 per person.