The Poet’s Lore: Orphic Mysteries
The Orphic Egg1 “What they will say is this, that such being his disposition, the just man will have to endure the lash, the rack, chains, the branding iron in his eyes, and finally, after every extremity of suffering, he will be crucified.� - Plato, The Republic It is evident that philosophy emerged from the religious Mysteries of antiquity, not being separated from religion until after the decay of the Mysteries. Hence he who would fathom the depths of philosophic thought must familiarize himself with the teachings of those initiated priests designated as the first custodians of divine revelation. The Mysteries claimed to be the guardians of a transcendental knowledge so profound as to be incomprehensible save to the most exalted intellect and so potent as to be revealed with safety only to those in whom personal ambition was dead and who had consecrated their lives to the unselfish service of humanity. Both the dignity of these sacred institutions and the validity of their claim to possession of Universal Wisdom are attested by the most illustrious philosophers of antiquity, who were themselves initiated into the profundities of the secret doctrine and who bore witness to its efficacy. 1
The ancient symbol of the Orphic Mysteries was the serpent-entwined egg, which signified Cosmos as encircled by the fiery Creative Spirit. The egg also represents the soul of the philosopher; the serpent, the Mysteries. At the time of initiation the shell is broken and man emerges from the embryonic state of physical existence wherein he had remained through the fetal period of philosophic regeneration. From Bryant's An Analysis of Ancient Mythology
The question may legitimately be propounded: If these ancient mystical institutions were of such "great pith and moment," why is so little information now available concerning them and the arcana they claimed to possess? The answer is simple enough: The Mysteries were secret societies, binding their initiates to inviolable secrecy, and avenging with death the betrayal of their sacred trusts. Although these schools were the true inspiration of the various doctrines promulgated by the ancient philosophers, the fountainhead of those doctrines was never revealed to the profane. Furthermore, in the lapse of time the teachings became so inextricably linked with the names of their disseminators that the actual but recondite source - the Mysteries - came to be wholly ignored. Symbolism is the language of the Mysteries; in fact it is the language not only of mysticism and philosophy but of all Nature, for every law and power active in universal procedure is manifested to the limited sense perceptions of man through the medium of symbol. Every form existing in the diversified sphere of being is symbolic of the divine activity by which it is produced. By symbols men have ever sought to communicate to each other those thoughts which transcend the limitations of language. Rejecting manconceived dialects as inadequate and unworthy to perpetuate divine ideas, the Mysteries thus chose symbolism as a far more ingenious and ideal method of preserving their transcendental knowledge. In a single figure a symbol may both reveal and conceal, for to the wise the subject of the symbol is obvious, while to the ignorant the figure remains inscrutable. Hence, he who seeks to unveil the secret doctrine of antiquity must search for that doctrine not upon the open pages of books which might fall into the hands of the unworthy but in the place where it was originally concealed. Far-sighted were the initiates of antiquity. They realized that nations come and go, that empires rise and fall, and that the golden ages of art, science, and idealism are succeeded by the dark ages of superstition. With the needs of posterity foremost in mind, the sages of old went to inconceivable extremes to make certain that their knowledge should be preserved. They engraved it upon the face of mountains and concealed it within the measurements of colossal images, each of which was a geometric marvel. Their knowledge of chemistry and mathematics they hid within mythologies which the ignorant would perpetuate, or in the spans and arches of their temples which time has not entirely obliterated. They wrote in characters that neither the vandalism of men nor the ruthlessness of the elements could completely efface. Today men gaze with awe and reverence upon the mighty Memnons standing alone on the sands of Egypt, or upon the strange terraced pyramids of Palanque. Mute testimonies these are of the lost arts and sciences of antiquity; and concealed this wisdom must remain until this race has learned to read the universal language - SYMBOLISM. The book to which this is the introduction is dedicated to the proposition that concealed within the emblematic figures, allegories, and rituals of the ancients is a secret doctrine concerning the inner mysteries of life, which doctrine has been preserved in toto among a small band of initiated minds since the beginning of the world. Departing, these illumined philosophers left their formulĂŚ that others, too, might attain to understanding. But, lest these secret processes fall into uncultured hands and be perverted, the Great Arcanum
was always concealed in symbol or allegory; and those who can today discover its lost keys may open with them a treasure house of philosophic, scientific, and religious truths.2 (Dreamtime…) That morning a fair young man appeared from behind the hills, and everyone wondered who he was. His face was shining with splendor bestowed upon him by the mighty Sun-god, as he was holding a lyre of which the most pristine sounds emerged, while he was singing with heavenly voice that even the angels would covet. All were enchanted by this blissful melody of his - even the Maenads’ lure for the young boys seemed ludicrous when compared to this young man’s arcane beauty. He came close to the Holy Rock and bowed down to the sanctuary of the Hidden Temple, the sacred womb of Deio3, the Mother of God, whom they called Dione in Dodona. He then turned to the gathered crowd of people, who followed him in a single procession mesmerized by his music and appearance, and spoke in a solemn voice: “Close the doors, you uninitiated4 for before you stands the Son of Man – Orpheus5 – who will now proclaim the Word of God to the meek and humble”. His voice compelled even the most prudent to shiver at his awe and behold the magnificent oracle prophesying the Truth: ”I was sent forth by Zagreus6 - the Almighty, the resurrected one, the Liberator - to show you the way of the Mysteries7 through the 2
From: http://www.sacred-texts.com
3
In the Rosetta stone Demotic text, the pharaoh (Ptolemy V) called his own people the children of Dea.
4
Extract from the Derveni Papyrus. The text is a commentary on a hexameter poem ascribed to Orpheus. Fragments of the poem are quoted. The poem begins with the words "Close the doors, you uninitiated", a famous admonition to secrecy, recounted by Plato. The theogony described in the poem has Nyx (Night) give birth to Heaven (Uranus), who becomes the first king. Cronus follows and takes the kingship from Uranus, but he is likewise succeeded by Zeus. Zeus, having heard oracles from his father goes to the sanctuary of Night, who tells him "all the oracles which afterwards he was to put into effect." Upon hearing them, Zeus swallowed the phallus [of the king Uranus] who first had ejaculated the brilliance of heaven. ( From Wikipedia)
5
In Greek mythology, Orpheus was a musician, magician, and priest of Dionysus, believed to have lived sometime around 1150 B.C., although the first Greek poets to mention him came from the 500s. B.C. He was also said to be king of the Ciconians, a people in Southern Thrace who were said to have sided with Troy in the Trojan War. Legend had it that he was a son of Oeagrus, king of Thrace, or alternatively, the son of Apollo. Apollo and Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, were said to have taught Orpheus to play the lyre. Orpheus was also named as one of Jason’s Argonauts, but is probably best known for venturing into Hades in order to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice (also known as Agriope). In the story authored by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century B.C., Orpheus goes down into the netherworld in order to rescue his wife. Using his lyre, he becomes the first mortal to pacify Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the dead. Having pleased them, he is allowed to bring Eurydice back into the world of the living, but only if he goes ahead of her and did not look back. But in his anxiety, he looks back and his wife disappears before his eyes. (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php)
6
Many Orphic cultists referred to Dionysus as Zagreus, relating to a Dionysian mystery centered in Thrace. (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php)
7
The Orphic Mysteries were formed in the 500s B.C. from a combination of pre-Hellenistic beliefs and the Dionysus-Zagreus cult originating in Thrace, an area of land spread over Turkey, southern Belgrade, and northeastern Greece. The Dionysian mysteries are an even older female-dominated cult that materialized sometime
dark passages of the underworld that awaits you. Here me out thou ignorant and unattained, for out of your Nysa8 the Savior was born. My way is not a bright one, and it is full of traps - its gloomy corridors will be the demise for even the most ardent seekers among you. Hear me out and drink from this wisdom, so that you may never forget the Truth, and know your way back to the light. I have suffered many tribulations both from men9 and women, as I was toiling to release my true love from the darkness that befell her. The road to the underworld is paved with many a vile encounters, some tempting, and some repugnant. Oh hear me out thou daring and bold: beware of the serpents that reside within your body, for they will be your guides and your persecutors. Preserve the light of Father Sun10 in your mind and cherish the love of Mother Earth in your between 3000 and 1000 B.C., and was best known for using wine and drugs to enter into trance-like dances or liberate their primal natures. Depictions of these ecstatic dances appear to have included the head flick characteristic of Voodoo. As such, the cults were largely marginalized by mainstream Greek society and practiced mostly by women, slaves, outlaws and foreigners. Dionysus is best known in Greek mythology as the god of wine, but he has also been associated with peace, agriculture, law, civilization, and most especially, the theatre. In Thrace he was known as Eleutherios, “the Liberator,” or Liber Pater, “the Free One,” because he freed people through drunken ecstasy. Homer names five places where it is said that Dionysus was born, including Thrace but assured his reader that “they all lie.” According to him, Zeus had the baby Dionysus raised by the rain-nymphs in the unidentifiable land of Nysa, a land vague enough to be considered mythical. There Dionysus learned the culture of the vine and the methods of grapepressing. Like Heracles, Hera struck Dionysus with madness and so wandered to Phrygia (Turkey), where he was cured by the goddess Cybele, whom the Greeks called Rhea. She taught him her religious rites and he set out through Asia to teach people the cultivation of the vine. He is even said to have spent several years in India. (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php) 8
In Greek mythology, the mountainous district of Nysa, variously associated with Ethiopia, Libya, Tribalia or Arabia by Greek mythographers, was the traditional place where the rain nymphs, the Hyades, raised the infant god Dionysus, the "Zeus of Nysa". Though the worship of Dionysus came into mainland Greece from Asia Minor (where the Hittites called themselves "Nesi" and their language "Nesili"), the locations of the mythical Nysa may simply be conventions to show that a magically distant chthonic land of myth was intended. The name Nysa may even be an invention to explain the god's name. Hesychius of Alexandria (5th century Byzantine lexicon) gives a list of the following locations proposed by ancient authors as the site of Mount Nysa: Arabia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Babylon, Erythraian Sea (the Red Sea), Thrace, Thessaly, Cilicia, India, Libya, Lydia, Makedonia, Naxos, around Pangaios (mythical island south of Arabia), Syria. On his return from Nysa to join his fellow Olympians, Dionysus brought the entheogen wine. (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php)
9
According to Homer, Dionysus was kidnapped by sailors who wanted to rape him because of his beauty. But then, “Suddenly flutes were heard; ivy and grapevines fouled the oars and sails; wild beasts appeared on the deck (lions, panthers, bears). The sailors jumped into the sea, but were transformed into dolphins. One of them was put in the sky as a constellation (Delphinus) as a warning to sailors to behave.” 10
Orpheus decides at the end of his life to worship no other god but the Sun, whom he names Apollo. He goes to Mount Pangaion, the home of the Dionysian cult in Thrace, so that he could worship Apollo at sun rise. There he is attacked by the Maenads, female revelers who worshipped Dionysus and were said to gain supernatural strength after drinking themselves into frenzy. The word maenad itself means “raving one,” and as the name suggests, they were known as wild, insane women. Maenads were said to have clothed themselves in fawn skins, called basaris, wore vines as tiaras, and danced naked in the woods in wild abandonment in order to commune with nature. But the intoxicating effects were said to have led them into violent orgies of sex and bloodletting. The Maenads are said to have killed Orpheus for not honoring Dionysus, yet in doing so, they seem to be portrayed as killing a manifestation of Dionysus himself. (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php)
bosom - only thus will you be able to escape the ultimate peril for your souls - for she is the Universe11, out of which the Sun was born, who is life to all men and women, to all visible and invisible. Do not therefore follow the teachings12 of those who ravished the land and deprived her of her spoils, who came with the Shadow to proclaim the word of the Phoenix Warlords with the power of the signs they stole from myself - for which I suffered immensely13. Beware, oh keepers of the Sun, I was deceived by their wit - do not fall into the same trap yourself, for it will be a long night for your children, and their children’s children, that their word will proclaim. I am telling you this for I come from the Word and with the Word to proclaim the Kingdom of the Sun.” The people then saw the light shining from his face and saw the vision of the night to come. They shivered to the unspeakable terror that appeared in the revelation and then they started to cry, begging God for mercy. To this the Sun shed a golden ray upon Orpheus’s face and the people bowed for they knew he was telling the Truth. “How shall we know the true way then, oh fair one, tell us, how shall we know which way to take?” They all cried in despair. “Thou shall have only one God14, not many as those who came with the Shadow, and though shall live a life of modesty and humility. Live a life of chastity and thou will attain divinity. Do not indulge into gluttony, nor covet what is not yours. Do not entertain yourself with earthly affairs, less you want to perish from this earth and wait in captivity for the end of time in the underworld. You are all free and divine, and yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. This world is only your prison wherefrom you can set yourself free only if you lead your lives with care and dexterity. Only thus will you separate the subtle from the gross within you and attain divinity.”
11
According to the Thracian Orphism primary there exists the Great Goddess – Mother. She is the Universe: she self conceived and bore to her first-born son, who is the Sun during the day and fire during the night, (personified as Zagreus or Sabazius). (from Wikipedia)
12
The main elements of Orphism differed from popular ancient Greek religion in the following ways: (a) by characterizing human souls as divine and immortal but doomed to live (for a period) in a "grievous circle" of successive bodily lives through metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls; (b) by prescribing an ascetic way of life which, together with secret initiation rites, was supposed to guarantee not only eventual release from the "grievous circle" but also communion with god(s); (c) by warning of postmortem punishment for certain transgressions committed during life; (d) by being founded upon sacred writings about the origin of gods and human beings. (from Wikipedia)
13
According to another version, Orpheus was killed by a thunderbolt for revealing secret sayings to men outside the cult.
14
The Orpheus cult raised the notion of a single creator god - as opposed to the multitude of deities the ancient Greeks believed in - and influenced later monotheistic faiths. "In a way, it was a precursor of Christianity,'' Pierris said. "Orphism believed that man's salvation depended on his knowledge of the truth.'' Veleni said that the Derveni manuscript "will help show the influence of Orphism on later monotheistic religions.'' (From Ancient Scroll May Yield Religious Secrets Live Science)
They all trembled to the sight of glory that encircled the place where he was proclaiming his word. The earth trembled and the sky revealed its splendor as he walked towards the people: “This is my Way15 and if you follow it you will see the face of the One who illuminates her Womb, and rejoice in heavenly grace. I am telling you now, this is the Living Script that is written in everyone’s heart, and whosoever learned from its pages will live forever. There will be many cycles before you find freedom for your souls but if you live your lives in accordance to the Living Truth, then you will find peace and happiness. Therefore, pray for the souls of the living, and when the time comes, send the dead to the underworld with a golden message written in their hearts. When their souls are swallowed by the darkness of Hades, have them say: “I am the son of Earth and Starry Heaven. I am thirsty; please give me something to drink from the fountain of Mnemosyne”16. Thus they will not forget their Way, and will soon return to this world to attain their glory.” The people started singing songs of glory. They all received the Word, every one of them and they knew that the salvation was at hand. Orpheus touched their foreheads and said: “Now you are dead, and now you are born on this very day, thrice blessed. Tell Persephone, that Dyalus himself has redeemed you. Tell her it was the Son of Man17 who sent you forth, so that
15
The “Orphic way of life” was one of asceticism similar to that of the Pythagoreans, which included: abstaining from sex, meat, eggs, and beans. It has been argued that the prohibition against beans, however, is symbolic for using “counting beans” in elections, which would hypothetically mean it was a prohibition against becoming involved in politics. Like Plato and Paul, the Orphics believed that the soul was imprisoned in the world of the flesh as punishment and that the body was a kind of “jailhouse.” By following these prohibitions, and possibly other initiatory rites, Orphics believed they could escape continuous reincarnation and commune with the gods. Those who fell away into greater depravity would meet with divine punishment in the afterlife. Also like the monotheistic religions and unlike the pagan religions, the Orphics took their authority from sacred writings, believed to have been written by Orpheus or his disciple, Musaeus. Even though most scholars believe that the majority of Plato’s ideas about the afterlife originated from the Orphic cults, Plato himself does not portray them in a very favorable light. In The Republic, he describes them as vagrant beggar-priests who went door to door among the rich, offering purifications for the atonement of sins: “And they produce a host of books written by Musaeus and Orpheus, who were children of the Moon and the Muses - that is what they say - according to which they perform their ritual, and persuade not only individuals, but whole cities, that expiations and atonements for sin may be made by sacrifices and amusements which fill a vacant hour, and are equally at the service of the living and the dead; the latter sort they call mysteries, and they redeem us from the pains of hell, but if we neglect them no one knows what awaits us.” - Plato, The Republic, Book II (http://bahumuth.chaosnet.org/mysteries5.php) 16
Gold leaves found in graves from Thurii, Hipponium, Thessaly and Crete (4th cent. BC) give instructions to the dead. When he comes to Hades, he must take care not to drink of Lethe ("Forgetfulness"), but of the pool of Mnemosyne ("Memory"), and he must say to the guards: "I am the son of Earth and Starry Heaven. I am thirsty, please give me something to drink from the fountain of Mnemosyne."
17
In medieval Christianity an Interpretatio Christiana of the Orpheus myth occurs where Eurydice is humanity that fell and died as a result of the original sin committed by Eve. Orpheus is Christ who descended into the realm of death to bring her back to life.
she may bring you back to life. Sing hymns with my name - Orpheus18 - so that she may recognize you.” So he (sc. Orpheus) named all things in the same way as finely as he could, knowing the nature of men, that not all of them have a similar nature nor do all want the same things. When they have the power, they say anything that occurs to each one’s heart, whatever they happen to want, never the same things, through greed (or: arrogance), sometimes also through lack of understanding. Earth (Ge), Mother (Meter), Rhea and Hera is the same (or: are one and the same). She was called Earth (Ge) by convention; Mother, because all things are born from her (or: from this one). Ge and Gaia according to each one’s dialect. And she was called Demeter as the Mother Earth (Ge Meter), one name from the two; for it was the same. And it is said in the Hymns too: ‘Demeter Rhea Ge Meter Hestia Deio’. For (she) is also called Deio because she was torn (or: ravaged) in the mixing/sexual intercourse. He will make it clear when, according to the verses, she is born... And (she) is called Rhea because many and... animals were born... from her. Rhea and...19
18
Orphism (more rarely Orphicism) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices in the ancient Greek and Thracian world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned. Orphics also revered Persephone (who descended into Hades each winter and returned each spring) and Dionysus or Bacchus (who also descended into Hades and returned). Poetry containing distinctly Orphic beliefs has been traced back to the 6th or at least 5th century BC, and graffiti of the 5th century BC apparently refers to "Orphics". Classical sources refer to "Orpheus-initiators" (Orpheotelestai), and associated rites, although how far "Orphic" literature in general related to these rites is not certain. As in the Eleusinian mysteries, initiation into Orphic mysteries promised advantages in the afterlife.
The Orphic theogonies are genealogical works like the Theogony of Hesiod, but the details are different. They are possibly influenced by Near Eastern models. The main story is this: Dionysus (in his incarnation as Zagreus) is the son of Zeus and Persephone; he is murdered and boiled by the Titans. Zeus hurls a thunderbolt on the Titans, as Hermes snatches Zagreus' heart to safety. The resulting ashes, from which sinful mankind is born, contain the bodies of the Titans and Dionysus. The soul of man (Dionysus factor) is therefore divine, but the body (Titan factor) holds the soul in bondage. It was declared that the soul returned repeatedly to life, bound to the wheel of rebirth. The heart of Dionysus is implanted into the leg of Zeus; he then makes the mortal woman Semele pregnant with the re-born Dionysus. Many of these details are referred to sporadically in the classical authors. The epigraphical sources demonstrate that the "Orphic" mythology about Dionysus' death and resurrection was associated with beliefs in a blessed afterlife. (from Wikipedia) 19
An extract from the Derveni Papyrus, Column 22 (Gábor Betegh, The Derveni Papyrus: Cosmology, Theology, and Interpretation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, pp. 5-55. Ch. 1 of Betegh’s book well describes the finding of the papyrus, its script (but with little on its orthography or dialect.)
People saw him ascend unto heavens as a swan20, with the melody of magic lore that accompanied his journey. He left the Holy Rock in glory only to return in the end of days, to proclaim the Living Truth to all.
Those who remained remembered well the words he said for they feared that the gods of those who ravaged Deio would scatter the Truth, they all witnessed, across the underworld. They passed it on from mouth to mouth until Lethe flooded the world, whence they recorded it on a papyrus which they hid in a golden urn, and buried it in a place called Derveni21, in the heart of Macedon. 20
In The Republic, Plato speaks of a soul seeing Orpheus choosing to be reincarnated as a swan “out of enmity to the race of women, hating to be born of a woman because they had been his murderers.�
21
A collection of charred scraps kept in a Greek museum's storerooms are all that remains of what archaeologists say is Europe's oldest surviving book - which may hold a key to understanding early monotheistic beliefs. More than four decades after the Derveni papyrus was found in a 2,400-year-old nobleman's grave in northern Greece, researchers said. Thursday they are close to uncovering new text -- through high-tech digital analysis - from the blackened fragments left after the manuscript was burnt on its owner's funeral pyre. Large sections of the mid-4th century B.C. book - a philosophical treatise on ancient religion - were read years ago, but never officially published. Now, archaeologist Polyxeni Veleni believes U.S. imaging and scanning techniques used to decipher the Judas Gospel - which portrays Judas not as a sinister betrayer but as Jesus' confidant - will considerably expand and clarify that text. "I believe some 10-20 percent of new text will be added, which however will be of crucial importance,'' said Veleni, director of the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum, where the manuscript is kept. The scroll, originally several yards of papyrus rolled around two wooden runners, was found half burnt in 1962. It dates to around 340 B.C., during the reign of Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. "It is the oldest surviving book, if you can use that word for a scroll, in western tradition,'' Veleni said. "This was a unique find, of exceptional importance.'' Greek philosophy expert Apostolos Pierris said the text may be a century older. "It was probably written by somebody from the circle of the philosopher Anaxagoras, in the second half of the 5th century B.C.,'' he said. Anaxagoras, who lived in ancient Athens, is thought to have been the teacher of Socrates and was accused by his contemporaries of atheism.
(Awakening…) The Orpheus Mysteries, taking its roots in Thrace, having strong links to the Great Mother goddess cult, and being closely related to funerary rites in Macedonia, makes this unique monotheistic cult the precursor of Christianity, which probably came as a natural consequence given the circumstances under which it developed. The Orpheus Mysteries were obviously venerated among the Macedonians, ever since Philip II of Macedon’s reign, or even earlier, when the Hellenic influences were still far away from the Macedonian highlands. The ancient Greeks obviously could not rationalize this unique mystical viewpoint with their demagogical understanding of human affairs. To the Greek rational mind it seemed absurd to sustain such an idea as that of One God for all, a belief where meekness was the only way to attain salvation, thus promoting the attributes that directly rebuked those of their so-esteemed deities, who were venerated for their petulant and vindictive nature, that gave boost to their devious society, inclined to politics as a means to attain better living standards, rather than the veneration of the mysteries of life as it was the case with the natives who called themselves the children of the Great Mother. There is a simple logic in all of this, knowing that Plato disapproved of the idea that people could pray or go through some kind of ritual in order to make up for some injustice, and argued that, if that were the case, it would be better off to just go on performing injustices and simply make up for it with prayer and proselytizing: “Nevertheless, the argument indicates this, if we would be happy, to be the path along which we should proceed. With a view to concealment we will establish secret brotherhoods and political clubs. And there are professors of rhetoric who teach the art of persuading courts and assemblies; and so, partly by persuasion and partly by force, I shall make unlawful gains and not be punished. Still I hear a voice saying that the gods cannot be deceived, neither can they be compelled. But what if there are no gods? or, suppose them to have no care of human things why in either case should we mind about concealment? And even if there are gods, and they do care about us, yet we know of them only from tradition and the genealogies of the poets; and these are the very persons who say that they may be influenced and turned by ‘sacrifices and soothing entreaties and by offerings.’ Let us be consistent then, and believe both or neither. If the Last month, experts from Brigham Young University in Utah used multi-spectral digital analysis to create enhanced pictures of the text, which will be studied by Oxford University papyrologist Dirk Obbink and Pierris, and published by the end of 2007. "We were now able to read even the most carbonized sections, as there were pieces that were completely blackened and nobody could make out whether there were letters on them,'' Veleni said. The scroll contains a philosophical treatise on a lost poem describing the birth of the gods and other beliefs focusing on Orpheus, the mythical musician who visited the underworld to reclaim his dead love and enjoyed a strong cult following in the ancient world. The Derveni grave, about five miles northwest of Thessaloniki, was part of a rich cemetery belonging to the ancient city of Lete. "It belonged to a very rich man, a Macedonian nobleman, warrior and athlete who had a lot of very important and valuable artifacts in his grave,'' Veleni said. Finds included metal vases, a gold wreath and weapons. From Ancient Scroll May Yield Religious Secrets Live Science
poets speak truly, why then we had better be unjust, and offer of the fruits of injustice; for if we are just, although we may escape the vengeance of heaven, we shall lose the gains of injustice; but, if we are unjust, we shall keep the gains, and by our sinning and praying, and praying and sinning, the gods will be propitiated, and we shall not be punished.” -Plato, The Republic, Book II This clearly demonstrates the mentality that shaped the Greek society in a direction that would later influence the whole of the world, through a process we all dearly call democracy, a vicious produce of the most venerated human “doctrine of fallacies” – that of logic and rationalism.