A&A make the show

Another brief reflection on how Apollon and Artemis work together. The music to day is much interlinked with show and dance. When you have a music show it has dance and, obviously, a dance show has music. Apollon is the patron of music and Artemis of dancing, thus this is another activity in which the twins work together as a single force with two components.

I think that the fact that the gods are twins means much more than most people ever care to investigate.

Paean and Paeonia

It is possible that Paean and Paeonia and its inhabitants, the Paeonians, are connected. The Paeonians were a Northern tribe present in the Iliad, sided with the Trojans. They lived in the place that later became Macedon. The hypothesis of some form of connection with them and Paean or Apollo in general has been suggested, rejected, re-suggested and re-rejected only to be suggested once again.

It may be possible that Paean is an adjective, meaning "of healing", since it has been associated with Apollo and Asklepios, both healing gods, and when used in the Iliad alone also refers to a healing god. Some scholars say that maybe then this was the title given to the healing deity of the Paeonians, which seemed to be their patron male deity, possible Helios, Apollo or some other God associated with the sun, who was worshipped along with Artemis, associated with the moon.

Not much is known about the Paeonians. We know their religion was centered not only on the sun and the moon (as Apollo and Artemis), but also on the rivers and lakes. In fact, the Axius, a river, was the great-grandfather of the chief Paeonians in the Iliad. From the Iliad we also know that they used to wash their to-be-kings in the water of this river and that would make them kings.

Herodotos says that they offered to Artemis offerings in the same fashion as those sent from the North to Delos from the Hyperboreans. Another clash with Apollo's cult is the fact that they worshiped Helios with rituals similar to those performed in the Daphnephoria.

Their chief god, whomever he was, was linked with not only the sun but also with water. He was a great healer, the god of healing waters and, mostly, of healing herbs, just like Paean and, not surprisingly, Apollo.

It appears that the Paeonians themselves were known for their salves and their knowledge of healing herbs and that Paeonian could also mean "doctor", as iatros.

Another curious thing about the Paeonians, one which I find beautiful and easy to incorporate in modern devotion and cult of Paean, Apollo, Helios or Asklepios, is that they were refered as the famous Northmen of famour pharmakoi and their land was in the road of rose gardens (because in their land grew roses and peony).

One last thing, besides Paean, Apollo and Asklepios, another healer linked with them is Chiron, whom they taught how to heal to Asklepios himself.

More Apollo and Artemis

I have been thinking more and more on Artemis and how she connects to Apollo. I think I am becoming a devotee of the Goddess of Hunt, so, I'll leave you with a book and another image.

First, the book. I haven't read it yet because I don't have much money right now and to pay the shippings bills across the Atlantic I usually buy several books each time, so I'm putting this book on my list and buy it next time. It was written by Thista, keeper of Cataleos. It is on Artemis: Dancing In Moonlight (click the name for a link to Lulu)

And now, another image of Apollo and Artemis, this time seeing them as Gods of Sun and Moon. Done by Malicekisho. Again, click on the image to see it in the original context.

Apollo and Artemis

I think it is interesting that in some areas of Greece Apollo and Artemis were husband and wife. The most curious thing is that even in "mainstreem" Greek polytheism they relation between the two is still rather erotic (for the lack of a better word). Take the myth of Orion, for instance, when Apollo tricked Artemis into killing her to-be-lover, or when Artemis chases those that hurt Apollo in some other myths.

In fact, the Gods are highly connected. They are brothers, twins, lovers, married, only because we don't have a word for complete symbiosis - they complete each other, one ends what the other starts - the wild and the civilized, women and men, opposites that are embodied in Artemis and Apollo, whom are so close to each other only to show us that opposites are illusions and boundaries artificial.

So, here is the picture that got me thinking, click on it to go to the original site. It was done by the wonderful artist blackeri.

On Archers in Ancient Greece

This is an excerpt from the bood Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece by Lesley and Roy Adkins, an excellent book which I highly recommend. This part is about Archers, under the chapter on warfare:

"Archers were used in Greek warfare from earliest times, and archery is mentioned quite often in Homer's Iliad. Archery seems to have played a crucial role in the Trojan War, but Homer implies that archers had a lower status than spearmen. Leaders like Teucer and Odysseus were proficient with the bow, but they also fought with other weapons. However, there is some evidence of groups of specialist archers even at this early date.

Later Greek armies concentrated on soldiers of the phalanx, and archery seems to have been neglected, except in Crete. Contingents of archers in Greek armies were therefore often mercenaries, usually Scythians or Cretans. Athens employed Scythian and Cretan archers as early as the 6th century BC. Scythian archers were often portrayed in contemporary Attic vase paintings, frequently shooting from a kneeling position. They wore a distinctive longpointed cap or hat, loose tunic, and trousers; slung from their belt was a bow case, which also contained their arrows. The Scythians protected the hoplites, and in the 5th century BC Scythian archers who had been bought as public slaves for Athens served as a police force in the city.

Nevertheless, the importance of archery was not fully appreciated until the latter part of the Peloponnesian War, and archers were not always used effectively. In part, this may have been because Greek archers pinched the bowstring between thumb and forefinger, a weak grip that did not allow them to use the most powerful bows. The Scythian used the first three fingers of the hand curled around the bowstring (the "Mediterranean loose", still used today) and so could draw the more powerful Scythian bows. Hellenistic armies made greater use of archers, but unlike the Parthian armies, the Greeks never used archers as a main element of their forces. Archers were generally armed with only a bow and arrows and did not wear armor. They were almost always foot soldiers; mounted archers were rarely used by the Greeks until the time of Alexander the Great."

Some notes to be taken:

• Even though specialized archers were inferior in class, don't forget that Apollo also uses the sword and is, after all, the Lord - we could say he is sort of a special archer;
• Strenghtning how special he is, on the myth of Delphi he came mounted on a Dolphin and then shoot the Python, but not mounted, much like the leaders in the Broze Age would drive charriots or horses to the battle, but unmount to fight;
  
• The Greeks employed foreigns to their archery ranks and they were better archers than the Greeks; Apollo is also the god of foreign people, maybe it is just a coincidence?;
• Archers as policeman sounds really odd, but it fits Apollo as protector of the community.

Know Yourself and Know Your Limits

Apollo is the God of gifts. If you think of it, all gifts can be seen as coming from Apollo: beauty, physical excellence, intelligence, balance, compassion but also cold thought, any form of artistic talent, any skill with the body or the mind. If you have a gift, and you are bound to have at least one, odds are Apollo is related to it somehow. Perhaps it comes from being the God of perfection.

This may seem to draw him nearer humanity, as a distributor of gifts, but because he has all the gifts it actually draws him farther away. He is all we will never be alone, but he is all we could be if we came together and joined our gifts to make our jobs, his lesson is that we need to know ourselves, know what we excel at, then we can contribute with it to the building of a greater humanity, because you cannot try to do it all by yourself, you have to know your limits and be kind with your friends who will help you when your limits can't be overcome.

Knowing thyself and knowing your limits is not meant to be a barrier to your deeds. Instead, it is meant for you to know when to stop and realize that only together, working with the rest of humanity, can we hope to draw nearer the God of Light, who is also, coincidently, God of Community Building and the founding of colonies, in this age spiritual colonies and communities.

So, we need to find our Oracle of Delphi again, not as the physical place where the future is told, but as the spiritual place where all humanity will come together and seek advice from each other, complementing each other with the gifts the god gave us, for that is, in truth, seeking the God himself and having his light as our guide.

Apollo, to you, of you

Apollo,
Beam of music and dance,
Sound of the universe,
You who cross the skies,
Melody of Olympus,
I call.

Paian,
Trance of healing and chaos,
Creator of unseen beauty,
You who command the mind,
Destroyer of light and shadow,
I praise.

Phoebus,
Light of the stars and suns,
Fame of voice and body divine,
You who outdo all,
Whisper of wisdom and oracles,
I worship.

And to you,
Archer of plagues and blessings,
Wizard and Shaman of Gods,
To you who work from afar,
Orb of infinity and nothingness,
I offer this prayer.