HELEN OF SPARTA

ANA MARIA SEGHESSO

INHERITANCE  MATRILINEARE


           

                    Dante Gabriel Rossetti

The story of Helen unfolds in Mycenaean Greece, around the 13th-12th centuries BC, corresponding to the end of the Bronze Age, that is, about 3200 years ago.
The escape of the Queen of Sparta to Troy with Prince Paris is narrated by Homer in the 8th century BC, in the Iliad, an epic poem that recounts the war of the Greeks against Troy; more than four hundred years had passed since the events.

The events recounted were considered historical by the poet's contemporaries, as a demonstration of the clash of two civilizations, East and West.
The character of Helen has undergone significant transformations throughout the centuries.

Alternatively considered a trophy, spoils of war, a conquest, or a victim of circumstance. But when Helen is presented as a partner or lover, her reputation collapses, and historians, writers, and theologians do not hesitate to call her a prostitute.
The Homeric Helen was created many centuries before the concepts of good and evil, invented by Christian theologians. These principles are considered in monotheistic religion as two opposing forces that battle each other to gain followers.

For the Greeks and polytheistic cultures, things were not so clearly defined.
The pagan gods performed alternating actions, which could sometimes be considered good and other times bad.

Helen is the product of a polytheistic model, and the episodes of her life portray a woman who follows an ambiguous path for the archetypes of the Christian West.

The understanding of the complex pagan morality gradually disappeared with the spread of Christianity, which labeled it diabolical, turning it into an abomination and an object of contempt.

However, as expected, men and women continued to enjoy the gifts of Nature, incurring the wrath of the clerical hierarchy.
In the Middle Ages, women considered to be emulating Helen were punished by being forced to wear a white penitential cap, as a form of mockery, in a corner of the church.

Tyndareus, king of Sparta and father of Helen, makes his daughter heir to his kingdom.
The future king and consort will be chosen by the princess from among the suitors who will compete.

Such an important prize could only be desired by someone who could guarantee reciprocity in terms of material goods. A rich and beautiful heiress was joined to another family that had to be of equal rank and fortune to deserve such an honor.

Since Helen was deemed worthy only of the best of her social class, her father organized a tournament where suitors had to compete in physical trials in addition to offering riches.
The poet Hesiod recounts that, in their desire to win Helen's hand, the heroes brought
"immense flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, as well as exquisite tableware of gleaming gold and silver."

Competitions were common in antiquity and took place during annual celebrations in honor of the gods, at funerals, and in sanctuaries.

The battles were fierce and were waged by the aristocratic elite to select men from boys, or rather, to establish who was truly the best and therefore deserved power.
Iconographic sources from the Bronze Age depict men fighting in friendly matches, honing their hand-to-hand combat skills and conveying the courage and brutality of the combatants, who clashed in boxing and stick fighting.

A crown was obtained by winning a wife.
Menelaus, prince of Mycenae, was chosen by Helen as the future king of Sparta, as the myth tells us.

According to surviving literary sources, in Bronze Age Sparta, the right to rule did not pass from fathers to sons, but from mothers to daughters, and the right to the throne belonged to the women, who then chose the consort and king.
This was likely due to the low population resulting from constant wars, which, unlike contemporary wars, ended in the total destruction of the enemy.

All male members of the group, including children, were eliminated, while women were transformed into sexual partners or slaves.
This was a specifically physiological motivation, suited to the continuity of the social group.

Tradition recounts that Tyndareus had two sons, Castor and Pollux, with Clytemnestra and Helen. However, it is never mentioned that either of them inherited their father's title upon his death.
Helen is the heir to the throne, securing the royal status and sovereignty in Spartan territory.
Orestes, for his part, will become king of Sparta when he marries Hermione, Helen's daughter. Subsequently, one of Hermione's sons will inherit the throne.

Helen's sister, Clytemnestra, queen of Mycenae, married to Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of all the Achaean leaders who fought in the Trojan War, retains control of the kingdom and makes her lover, Aegisthus, king while her husband is away fighting in Troy.

Odysseus's wife, Penelope, is in charge of the throne of Ithaca for the 20 years her husband is fighting in Troy and then wandering the Mediterranean, as Homer tells us in the Odyssey.

Penelope had the prerogative to choose among the suitors who would be the next king.
Pelops (who gives his name to the Peloponnese) becomes king of Pisa, in Elis, through his marriage to Hippodamia, the daughter of King Oenomaus.

The famous Oedipus, who kills his father, becomes king when he marries Jocasta, the queen of Thebes and his mother, Yocasta.

                The Sacrifice of Iphigenia
                            Abel de Pujol (1785-1861)

The custom of transmitting the title of king through women, by means of matrilineal inheritance, allowed unions between different aristocratic families, creating a web of power.
It also prevented the constant tragedies among sons over inheritance.

King Tyndareus, aware of the suitors' belligerence, made them swear an alliance pact when they arrived in Spartan lands, before they began to fight, race their chariots, and offer gifts to the princess.

Since there could be only one victor and the suitors were numerous, they had to swear eternal loyalty to whichever of them won the princess. All had to be faithful to the victor and assist him in any situation where help was needed.

The wedding was celebrated with great pomp, and Helen lived for several years with Menelaus, reigning in Sparta.
Until Paris arrived, and Helen fled with the Trojan prince and the Spartan treasure, which belonged .




                   Achilles and Hector

                                   ********

Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann, known as Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), was a Prussian millionaire who dedicated himself to archaeology.

He continued the excavation work at the site of Troy, or Ilium, at the suggestion of the diplomat Frank Calvert, who had worked there a few years earlier.

Hisarlik is currently the Turkish name for the hill where the ancient city of Troy stood.
Heinrich Schliemann excavated at other sites, such as Mycenae, Tiryns, and Orchomenus, 

“that the Iliad actually described historical events”

     

THE MYTH OF HELEN

 

Jupiter and Saturn Conjunctions

ENGLISH

THE THEORY OF CONJUNCTIONS IS BASED ON THE MEETING OF THE HIGHER PLANETS, PRIMARILY SATURN AND JUPITER.

ANA MARIA SEGHESSO

The notion of the Great Cosmic Year may have been known to the Hindus during the reign of Cyrus, around 550 BC (according to the historian Pingree), and from there it spread to Iran under the Sasanian dynasty.

It is likely that Sasanian astrologers, under the influence of Greek and Hindu doctrines, integrated the Great Cycles of Jupiter and Saturn within millennial periods.

The doctrine was developed in the Middle Ages by Arab astrologers, such as Albumasar, Pedro d'Ailly, Messhalla, Ali Aben Ragel, and Pedro Ciruelo, each contributing nuances to their interpretation.

                                               ALBUMASAR

In summary, the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn are classified into four categories:

• Minor Conjunctions, which occur every twenty years in signs of the same element.

• Major Conjunctions, which occur every 60 years, repeating the initial sign.

• Major Conjunctions, which mark the transition from one triplicity to another, beginning with Fire, followed by Earth, Air, and ending with Water.

• Maximum Conjunctions, which indicate the beginning of a new series of Minor and Major Conjunctions through a new conjunction in Fire signs.

• Conjunction of Saturn and Mars in Cancer, which occurs every 30 years.

The critical moment occurs when the triplicity changes, according to the regular succession of:

FIRE-EARTH-AIR-WATER

and this change is called by the Arabic word INTICAL, which means change, migration, death.

TECHNIQUE OF THE GREAT CONJUNCTIONS

Pedro Ciruelo, in his study "Of the four great conjunctions of the three superior planets, three of which—the Greatest, the Mean, and the Minor—are the conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter, the fourth being that of Saturn and Mars in Cancer," specifies that the Luminaries take precedence over the superior planets and therefore it is necessary to observe the conjunction or opposition of the Sun and Moon preceding the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. This concept is also from Ptolemy, who considers the predominance of the Luminaries over the three superior planets.

The use of this practice to judge the effects is due to the slowness of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, which makes it impossible to pinpoint the exact moment it occurs.

To establish the effects of the conjunction:

• The figure of the conjunction or opposition of the Sun and Moon preceding said entry into the specific coordinates is drawn.

The Ascendant sign is thus determined.

If a great conjunction follows an eclipse, the effect of that eclipse should be calculated equal to the number of years of that conjunction, so an eclipse could have an effect of up to 800 years and a lunar eclipse more than 100… 

(

As for the method of estimating great conjunctions, it is similar to the criterion used to judge eclipses, identifying the two main signs, that is:

• Sign in which the great conjunction occurs

• Ascendant sign of the figure

Then, according to Pedro Ciruelo, the sign where the planet that dominates these two signs is located is sought. In this way, the location where the effects will be verified is determined.

For the identification of the dominant planet, preference is given to the planet above the horizon, in the east and direct; In addition, the traditional dignities are taken into consideration: domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term, and face.

Not only is the dominant planet sought, but also a significant fixed star; the last one to have transited the angle preceding the point of conjunction, that is, the westernmost angle. As for the quality of the effects, these are derived from the type of planets that are dominant either individually or in association.

The general properties of the Maximum Conjunction last until the next one, that is, approximately 800 years, and its specific virtue remains until the next Major Conjunction, which occurs in a different

THE LIBRARY OF ASHURBANIPAL

ANA  MARIA  SEGHESSO

                                 

                         ASHURBANIPAL

The Library of Ashurbanipal was located in Nineveh, an Assyrian city, belonging to King Ashurbanipal, who reigned in the 7th century BC. It consisted of a collection of clay tablets written in cuneiform script, the oldest known writing system. In the 19th century, an English archaeologist discovered the remains of the library and took the tablets, more than 20,000 of them, to the British Museum. This marked the beginning of excavations that continued for several years and, in the 20th century, led to the understanding and dissemination of the highly refined Sumerian culture. At least 4,000 tablets contain astrological predictions based on astronomical and meteorological observations prior to 2000 BC.

              CUNEIFORM  TEXT

They are not limited to astrological predictions; they cover a wide range of subjects, including grammar, lists of cities, mathematics and astronomy, literature, art, history, and religion. Excavations in the Middle East, carried out by American and European scholars, have uncovered an unexpected treasure, significantly extending the boundaries of Antiquity. "In Sumer, more than a thousand years before the Hebrews wrote the first books of the Bible and the Greeks the Iliad and the Odyssey, a brilliant literature already exists, composed of myths, epics, hymns, and laments, as well as numerous collections of proverbs, fables, and essays. It is not unreasonable to predict that the recovery and reconstruction of this ancient literature, so long lost to oblivion, will be one of the greatest contributions of our century to our understanding of the origins of history." "It is fascinating for the decipherer of terracotta tablets, for the translator of cuneiform texts, to trace the path of ideas and works through these ancient civilizations, from the Sumerians to the Babylonians and from the Assyrians to the Hittites, Hurrians, and Arameans." “The Sumerians did not exert a direct influence on the Hebrews, since they disappeared long before the latter entered history.” But there is no doubt that they influenced the Canaanites, who preceded the Jews in Palestine. This is the only possible explanation for the numerous analogies discovered between Sumerian texts and the books of the Bible. The analogies are not isolated but are found in series; it is therefore a true parallelism.” [1]

           ASHURBANIPAL 

The primordial waters, the separation of Heaven and Earth, the clay from which humankind was molded, moral and civil laws, the manifestation of suffering and resignation among mortals—all these themes were addressed by the Sumerians before any other civilization. 

They foreshadowed the fundamental tenets of all subsequent religions, both monotheistic and polytheistic. 

          ENKI AND NINHURSAG 

The Sumerian mythical poem, "Enki and Ninhursag," tells of the paradise created by the gods in the land of Dilmun. The poem recounts that there is a region called Dilmun; it is a pure, limpid, and radiant place, where neither sickness nor death reigns. 

However, something is lacking in Dilmun: fresh water, essential for animals and plants. Enki, the Sumerian god of fresh water and wisdom, commands Utu, the sun god, to bring forth water and abundantly irrigate the land. Dilmun thus becomes a splendid garden. 

The Great Mother Goddess Ninhursag, after generating the divinity of flowing water and three generations of goddesses, causes eight plants to grow in the paradise of the gods. 

The plants possess the power to enable the goddess's procreation and fertility. The poem highlights the fact that Ninhursag's childbirths were painless. Enki, curious to know the taste of the plants—or perhaps to seize female fertility—has them gathered by his messenger, Isimud, and then eats them, one after the other. Ninhursag, outraged by the theft of her plants, curses him and leaves paradise. 

The ingested plants have the quality of generating new beings, but in a womb, and since Enki does not possess one, eight parts of his body, which correspond to the eight plants, suffer poisoning.

                           ENKI

Enlil, god of the air and the principal male deity of the Sumerians, is also unable to cope with the situation. Only Ninhursag possesses the greater power to create life and save Enki from death. 

A new character intervenes: the fox, who negotiates with Enlil, promising that for a reasonable sum, he will convince the goddess to return. Enlil agrees. It is not known how the fox did it; some lines are missing from the narrative, but Ninhursag returns among the gods. Meanwhile, Enki is on the verge of death. 

The goddess has him sit beside her and asks him which part of his body is causing him pain, and Enki tells her, one by one. Ninhursag then creates eight deities to heal the eight illnesses afflicting Enki. 

        

                           ENKI

The goddess possesses greater power than the other gods of the pantheon, and she uses it. This is the plot of the Sumerian myth. The similarity to the Myth of Paradise, written a thousand years later.

 According to tradition, Jehovah planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he placed the man he had formed. “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided into four headwaters.” 

Genesis 2:10 

The sin committed by Enki in stealing the eight plants of Ninhursag evokes the sin committed by Adam and Eve, eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

                  MICHELANGELO

The reaction to disobedience:

 “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat from it,” Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return. The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever. 

Therefore the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. - So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Michelangelo Buonarroti The modern ideology of monotheistic religions is far removed from the Sumerian doctrine. - 

A state inferior to that described in the Sumerian text is evident, where women gave birth without suffering. - The wrath of the monotheistic god is expressed in curses against his creatures. - The pagan goddess is moved by Enki and does not allow his death. 

The codes of conduct created by pagan culture and the foundation of its religion have varied considerably in monotheistic religions. 

(1) “I Sumeri”. Samuel N. Kramer. Grandi Tascabili Economici Newton, 1997.

 

THE PAGAN CELEBRATION OF THE SUN

ANA MARÍA SEGHESSO

                           Emperors with the solar crown

                                         like the Unconquered Sun

Between December 22nd and 25th in the Northern Hemisphere, the hours of darkness reach their maximum relative to the hours of daylight. From the 25th onward, daylight gradually increases, following the Winter Solstice, a circumstance that the ancient Romans celebrated with the Rite of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun – Dies Natalis Solis Invicti – the god of Light destined to triumph over the darkness of evil.

Several solar deities with the role of saviors of humanity, such as Mithras, Helios, and El-Gabal, represented the Sun in their respective religions.

El-Gabal, in its Latinized form Elagabal or Elagabalus, was an ancient Syrian solar deity whose cult arrived in Rome during the reign of the Roman emperor Elagabalus, at the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

Al-Gabal was originally venerated in the Syrian city of Emesa.

The birth of Christ has been placed in that period three centuries after his actual birth, although it is true that this date is not mentioned anywhere in the Gospels.

The feast of Christmas was instituted by Constantine the Great, according to a Roman historian and chronographer, Furius Dionysius Philocalus, in an almanac where the following entry appears:

“Eighth day before the Kalends of January (December 25): Christ, born in Bethlehem of Judea.”

Constantine integrated Christianity—previously persecuted—as the religion of the Roman state. After experimenting with various popular religions, he settled on the cult of the Sun, perhaps the most popular among the majority of the population. 

The emperor needed to adopt a religion that would serve the political needs of Rome, which was on the verge of disintegration due to continuous attacks both within and beyond its borders. 

Thus, he adopted a strategy to forge a new order in the Empire—a political, spiritual, military, and economic order—by merging the Church, Stoic philosophy, and the Roman State. One of the consequences of this new religious order was the different way of measuring time, inspired by religion, as the celebrations of the Empire began to be replaced by Christian celebrations. 

The basic Julian calendar—365 days and 6 hours, divided into twelve months—remained unchanged, but introduced three modifications to its organization: - Sunday as a holy day - the seven-day week - the official celebration of fixed or solar festivals, such as Christmas, and movable or lunar festivals, such as Easter.

Sunday was adopted as the first day of the week, a concept unknown to the Romans, who used a different system based on the Kalends (beginning of the month, new moon), Nones (first quarter of the moon), and Ides (full moon).

Sunday, called Sol Diem or Dies Solis (Day of the Sun), was decreed by Constantine as a day of rest on which no work was to be done. Later, the name Dies Solis was replaced in the Romance languages by Dies dominicus or Day of the Lord, as in the Italian Domenica and the French Dimanche. 

In other languages, its original meaning was retained, such as the English Sunday, the German Sonntag, and the Danish Søndag. 

The Constantinian week quickly gained popularity among the Romans, partly because the days coincided with the names of the Roman gods and their astrological and astronomical significances: five for the known planets, in addition to the Sun and the Moon. 

                          ASTROLOGICAL CHART

Christian jurists, bishops, and priests, not entirely in agreement with the pagan meaning of the Sun, tried to justify the Emperor's decision by emphasizing the concept that Christ, like the Sun, was the light of the world.

                                              RELIEF

                                          VATICAN MUSEUMS

  

- Sol Invictus ("unconquered sun") or, in its full form, 

Deus Sol Invictus (Latin, "the invincible Sun God"), 

was a religious title applied to at least three distinct 

deities during the Roman Empire: El Gabal, Mithras, 

and Sol.

- Julian the Apostate, Roman emperor, declared 

Helios the sole deity, with the other deities being 

manifestations of this god. 

During his reign, the religion of the Sun became 

the official religion of Rome.

- Chronography: The science of determining the order and dates of historical events.