Literary Illusions

When you are a polytheist who follows the beliefs and practices of the Ancient Greeks, you must have a profound knowledge of the Ancient Gods, Goddesses, myths, other important figures, rituals and the way all of these things fit together. While most regions of Greece and the rest of the polytheistic world worshipped specific Gods, Goddesses, Heroes, and other important immortal figures, the knowledge of those not as heavily worshipped was nonetheless known.

One of the most worshipped Gods in the Ancient World was Zeus. Zeus was known by the name Jupiter by the Ancient Romans. He was also considered the King of the Gods and the Chief God of Mount Olympus. In all honesty, for those of us who worship Zeus, he still is. Zeus is the God of law, weather, fate, the sky and order. The symbols for Zeus are the lightning bolt, the eagle, the bull, and the royal scepter.

Zeus was born to the leader of the twelve Titans, Cronus and his wife/sister Rhea. The story of Zeus begins long before he is born, with the birth of his father Cronus, God of Time and Ages. Also known as Saturn (Roman), Cronus was born to Ouranos (Uranus) the God of the Sky and Gaia (Terra), the Goddess of the Earth. Gaia and Ouranos had six boys and six girls, known as the twelve Titans. Gaia also gave birth to three giant children known as the Kyklopes (Cyclops) and three giant children known as the Hekatonkeires. The latter three are the Gods of violent storms.

When the six giant children were born, Ouranos was disgusted with them. He banished the Hekatonkeires and the Kyklopes to Tartarus. This is the stormy pit that is located beneath the Earth and is ruled by Tartaros. Tartaros is a protogenos (primordial) God. This means that he was one of the first Gods in existence. He is also the brother of Gaia. It should be noted that while the primordial Gods have been described in human form, the primary belief is that each is a representation of their elemental form (i.e. Gaia is the Earth, Ouranos is the sky, Tartaros is Tartarus). Ouranos left the care of his six children in the capable hands of Tartaros not realizing that his wife Gaia’s discontent would lead to his downfall.

With Gaia guiding Cronus on the path towards overthrowing his father in order to free his six, giant brothers, Ouranos was first castrated and then deposed of by his son, who became the ruler of the Titans in what was known as the “Golden Age”. Unfortunately for Cronus, he feared his brothers, the Kyklopes and the Hekatonkeires so much that he kept them in Tartarus, much to the displeasure of his mother, Gaia.

The disgruntled Gaia took great pride in informing her traitorous son Cronus that he would be overthrown by one of his children in a similar manner to the way he overthrew Ouranos. To prevent this from happening, every time Rhea gave birth to one of their children, Ouranos swallowed them whole. Rhea was not very happy about her husband eating their children. Together, with Gaia, Rhea formed a plan to sneak her youngest child, Zeus, to a safe location. The two women vowed for retribution at the loss of their children, at the hands of their husbands.

Zeus was born on Crete and was hidden by his mother in a cave on Mount Ida. Though myths vary upon whom or what raised Zeus, the major consensus is that he was brought up by his grandmother, Gaia. When Cronus asked Rhea if he could see his son, she had swaddled a rock in blankets and without even looking at his son, the fearful Cronus swallowed the rock whole, assuming it was Zeus.

Zeus did not act with stealth force the way Cronus had with his own father. Instead, with the help of Gaia, Zeus poisoned his father, forcing him to regurgitate the rock as well as his older brothers and sisters. In all, Poseidon (Neptune), Hades (Pluto), Hestia (Vesta), Demeter (Ceres) and Hera (Juno) emerged. Zeus released his giant uncles from Tartarus. The Titanomachy was fought and Zeus, along with his siblings and the giants defeated the Titans. This is how Zeus became the Father God and how he came to rule, making his home with the Twelve Olympian Gods on Mount Olympus.

The stone, which had been used to trick Cronus into believing it was his son, was set down upon the Earth, in the glens of Mount Parnassus. This was done as a reminder of the story of Zeus and his defeat of his greedy father, Cronus, for mortal men to learn from and so they could avoid such greed in their own lives. In thanks, the the Kyklopes forged the thunderbolts that Gaia had hidden away and presented them to Zeus as a gift. Zeus was also given rule over the skies and the weather thanks to the giants.

Zeus was a lover of many things. Though he was considered to be married to his sister, Hera, he had many love affairs with both mortals and Gods alike. He also was known for having male lovers, as well, and for many other things, including being the Father (Chief God) of the Olympics.

Who is Zeus? He’s the greatest of Gods and one I am proud to worship. Though I’ve just touched briefly upon his life in this article, stay tuned for more information on Zeus as I explore his loves, losses, and children in part two of my series on the Greek Gods.

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Most people only know Joan of Arc as the girl that was burned at the stake. Little is known about her life, by the average person, other than that solitary fact. Some believe that she was the girl that pretended to be a boy in order to fight in the Hundred Years War for France, though Joan was much more than that. Long before Joan was burned at the stake for heresy, which has been widely disputed as being an unnecessary action of the English at the time, she was a young girl who believed she was a messenger for God.

Joan was born in 1412 in Domremy, a small farming village in France. Her father was a tenant farmer in the village, which rests on the borders of Bar and Lorraine. When Joan was three, the war began though she would not become involved until much later. The village that Joan lived in, Domremy was in the middle of an extremely unstable environment, especially in the early 1420s. On one side of the village was the Dauphin of France and the other side was home to the Anglo-Burgundians. As if the environment was not dangerous enough, Joan began hearing voices around this time. The voices she claimed to hear were that of Christian saints. Joan said she heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine.

Around the time that Joan was 16, the voices became more persistent, telling her that she needed to help the Dauphin capture Reims, which would gain back the French throne.

In 1428 Joan traveled to Vaucouleurs, to tell the captain there, of her visions. The captain did not believe the girl and told her to go home, but she would come back a few months later, in January, when the voices became stronger. When she returned the captain agreed to let her speak with the Dauphin.

Joan arrived dressed in men’s clothing with a group of six soldiers. Despite not knowing anyone in Chinon when she was forced to pick out Charles from a group of people (he was hiding in the crowd), she did so successfully. After Charles had Joan interrogated for weeks it was time to let Joan have what she wanted. She would be given an Army to fight for France.

On April 27, 1429 her Army was taken to Orleans. She came with supplies and inspired those around her that they needed to fight for their city and for France. She would lead numerous battles until May 7, when she was struck by an arrow. Instead of seeking medical care, Joan dressed the wound and went back out to fight. When she returned to the fight, the French won the battle and on May 8, the English left Orleans. Joan continued her assault on the English and for five weeks she won battle after battle over the English.

July 16 saw Joan coming to Reims. On July 17, Charles VII was crowned the King of France and Joan was there. She was proud to call him king, though she would not remain in Reims for long. On September 8, Joan attacked Paris. She urged the Parisians to surrender to the King of France, but ultimately the King would order her to stop the siege as it would prove unsuccessful. Despite that and her war wounds, Joan would trudge on, fighting several other smaller battles, until December when Charles would ennoble Joan and her immediate family.

However, in May of 1430 things would change for Joan. She snuck into Compiegne to help the town’s defense against the Burgundians. Unfortunately, Joan was captured and would later be sold to the English. This sale led to Joan’s trial before the ecclesiastical court in Rouen for charges of heresy. While Joan was charged with a number of misdeeds, her biggest fault was rejecting the authority of the church in favor of the direct word of God. Joan refused to submit to the will of the church and on May 24 the ecclesiastical court decided to turn her over to the secular court for execution. Out of fear, Joan recanted and was condemned to live life in prison, but she would not be put to death.

Days after Joan was locked up in women’s clothes, the judges entered her cell to find her dressed in male clothing once more. She informed the judges that St Catherine and St. Margaret had scolded her for giving into the will of the church when they wished her to do something else. At this point they claimed that Joan relapsed and labeled her a heretic. On May 29 she was handed over to secular officials. The very next day, May 30, a 19 year old Joan was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen.

Joan’s final request, prior to the pyre being lit was for a priest to hold a crucifix up to her so that she could see it. She also wanted him to shout out prayers so that she could hear the prayers over the roaring flames.

Joan of Arc was the turning point in the Hundred Years War. By 1558, all of France had been relinquished to Charles VII. However, most of it had been fully conquered by 1453. The rest was returned in 1558. As for Joan, in 1920, the Roman Catholic Church made her a Saint. The day of her death, May 30, is her feast day.

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As archaeologists are proving Moses did not write the parts of the Bible that are attributed to him (early papers with the text were not written in his era due to time dating on the paper). This includes the part of the Bible concerning the Ten Commandments. More evidence comes out every day to suggest that the Christian Bible is nothing more than a large fictitious book filled with hate propaganda and other fallacies, I feel that we need to consider the source of the “manual of God.”

I know and am friends with many Christian people. However, that being said, I do not believe in the Christian God. I am a reasonable person though and tend to believe that all religions offer some important life lessons. As I am not Christian, I am going to assume some of the most important life lessons (or rules, in this case) to a Christian would exist in the Ten Commandments. The following article looks at the Ten Commandments, what they mean, and if they are even necessary at all.

First we need to consider the fact that there were two original sets of these commandments. One set was smashed and one was kept whole. Further, there are at least three versions that range in rules and wording. The Protestant, Catholic, and Hebrew versions are all different. However, in the effort of time saving and relative ease we will use the Protestant (King James) version of the Commandments. In all cases, the punishment of breaking a commandment is either death or damnation, so keep in mind that according to the Bible these are some pretty strict rules.

Commandment 1: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

As I am not a Christian and instead am a polytheist this one confuses me somewhat. Having not read the Bible may be impeding my understanding of God and the works, but I was to understand that God was it. If he was fully aware of this (as he should be, since he is God) then why is this rule necessary at all?

Was it just that the writer of the Commandments was insecure and wanted to emphasize the importance of God or was it something else? Naturally, if you believe in History you know that other people did believe in other Gods before the Christian one, so is this the reason for the hatred against other possible Gods?

Furthermore, if God forgives you and allows you into heaven if you repent couldn’t you just worship who you want, find out your wrong, and repent to get into heaven when the time came? This commandment just seems like God was an attention slut. The first rule has to be about him being the most important and only valid God…or else. Really, I thought he would be more mature than that.

Commandment 2: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

You’re seriously kidding me with this right? God sure was a baby! So if I don’t like him, and right now, I am not about to join the fan club, he’s going to punish my children’s children’s children because of me? I think God needs anger management personally. What happened to all that crap about him being a forgiving and loving God? No one told me that you had to like him for him to be cool. What if I don’t like him now, but change my mind on my death bed? Does this mean he only messes with my great-grandkids for part of their lives? Inquiring minds want to know, Oh Holy One. If you could give me a sign I would appreciate it.

Commandment 3: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Simple definition for those who don’t get this one is that you are not allowed to use God’s name falsely stating that he endorses something that he doesn’t, thus defiling his name. It also means that God will punish you for it, as you will not be cleansed. Fine, I can see where this is the case. I don’t want people taking my name in vain either. However, I have questions.

Say God doesn’t believe in premarital sex and I am not married and am…you know…doing it. So, in a heat of passion I scream out the name God or Jesus Christ (I am only human…it happens). Does this mean I am in deep shit because I am advocating something that he doesn’t like?

What about Fundamentalist Christians that blow up Gay people and Abortion Clinics? They often cite God for their reasons. You know, this and that was in the Bible and this led me to Google to learn how to make a bomb. Why doesn’t God make the bomb blow up in their face or something? Is it necessary to allow them to live long lives and torture us when we only talk about God when we are….ya know? I get that he has other things to do, but he’s whipped up plagues in the past. If he is going to create a rule he should enforce it. Otherwise, no one will take him seriously. That’s all I’m saying.

Commandment 4: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor they stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

I will lay this one out simply even though I will be scratching my head on the inside. The week starts on Sunday. Six days later it is Friday. Saturday is the seventh day. The seventh day is the Sabbath. However, Sunday is the day of celebration and Saturday is often a day of work. Considering God did the work, don’t you think he will know which day the Sabbath really is and will wonder why people don’t take it off? I am normally pretty lazy on Saturdays, so I feel I will be safe here, but it has nothing to do with God so he might still get me on his other commandments listed above.

Commandment 5: Honor they father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord giveth thee.

So, in simple terms I need to listen to my mother and father. I see the basic importance to this rule, but shouldn’t there be some amendments or something. For instance, it’s okay to say no if your mother wants to pimp you out (no commandment against that from what I have seen…) or if you’re dad’s an alcoholic and puts Budweiser in your bottle thinking it’s his, is it okay to refuse it? What if your mom’s a feeder and you can’t get through a meal without looking like a stuffed turkey? Can you refuse the extra biscuits or do you need to eat those, too?

I also wonder about how long we need to listen to them? Is this a lifelong commitment? I like my mom, but I didn’t ask to be born to her specifically. I think it’s pretty cruel of God to pick your parents AND make you listen to them for life. Can you imagine if Norman Bates were real? He listened to his mother and it just made him a single, weird guy who owned a deadly motel when he wasn’t in prison for killing anything in a skirt that shared a bologna sandwich with him. That’s just no way to live. No way at all.

Commandment 6: Thou shalt not kill.

What if our mother’s tell us to? I sense a catch-22 in here. Damned if I do kill and damned if I don’t. Whoever wrote these for God should have been clearer about what they meant. Maybe it should say something like, “Thou shalt not kill even if your mother tells you to do so“. This would let us know if our mother’s put the knife in our hand that it was okay to say no. What if someone takes God’s name in vain in a really bad way. Can we stab them as a messenger of God or is that not allowed either?

Commandment 7: Thou shalt not commit adultery.

I could go into this big elaborate comment here, but with a divorce rate of over 90% and one of the most common causes for it being adultery, let me just say, I think a lot of you will be screwed on this one, in a literal sense, of course.

Commandment 8: Thou shalt not steal.

So, my best friend from high school is a Christian. She’s basically a good person. She has nice kids and a good life. However, when we were in middle school she used to steal things from Claire’s Boutique in the mall. They weren’t big things. They were like key chains and hair ties and stuff. Now according to this, she is automatically damned for stealing. Is there a way to get her out of this? Can I send a check for the $17.98 she stole to a Christian foundation to save her soul or is there no way out of this?

Commandment 9: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

So, in simple terms, you cannot lie about your neighbor. This unfortunately is phrased weakly, as well. Can I lie to him directly, but not about him? I mean can I tell him I like him if I don’t or do I have to be honest to and about him? Also, what if I think something is true, like I’m almost positive that he’s a mass murderer and that his wife is in the garden (buried in the garden) and he’s living out his life with his true love, his lawn mower, but it’s not true? Is it okay to tell people this without digging through his bushes for his wife’s bones?

Commandment 10: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.

First let us look to the definition of covet. In Webster’s dictionary the main definition of covet is to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another’s property. Now we have to ask ourselves why was the writer of the Ten Commandments so thorough for this particular commandment? Do I really need to be told not to wrongfully desire someone’s ox or donkey? First off, I don’t even know anyone with these animals.

Next, if the gay thing isn’t allowed why do we need to mention the manservant thing? Isn’t just mentioning this torture for the guy who is trying to ignore certain tendencies in the name of the Commandments? Give that guy a break. Just be like you shouldn’t want anything that isn’t yours. That would be easy enough.

In short, most of these are common sense. Don’t kill, don’t steal, and don’t sleep with someone if your wife will find out. All of the others are just plain unnecessary or so basic that they shouldn’t be required in the first place.

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As a child growing up in the 80’s, I cannot recall hearing any type of discussion concerning religion. Maybe it was the innocence of my youth or just plain luck, but I don’t remember one instance when it was ever brought up. In school, kids did not mention if they were Catholic, Baptist, or anything else for that matter. They were just kids and the world was just here. It was not decided how it got here, except in science where a few different theories were proposed. However, to the world back then, what we learned was never an issue.

I went to Sunday school with my friend and considered going to church camp because those things were fun. It never was about God. It was about entertainment. Unfortunately, as time moves on and the political climate has changed so has the ability to see things through the eyes of an adult without the comfortable ignorance of a child.

Religion has become a business almost as powerful as oil, and it is ruining every facet of our general and social lives. Once upon a time, religion was something thought about on Sundays and when you prayed because something was going wrong in your life. Today, God is a vengeful God you simply cannot escape. He is everywhere you turn.

God is brought up as being the reason for movies, media, and natural disasters. Just look at the fundamentalists, they will tell you all about how God is pissed. For example, Fred Phelps has websites all over the internet concerning how natural disasters occur and how God made them happen because we allow homosexuals (not what he calls them mind you) to run rampant and free without tying their genitals in a bow and shipping them off to a warmongering nation.

I have to believe that the issue here is with Fundamentalists. It’s an issue of brainwashing apparently, because what once was a quiet religious nation is now a raging river of “My God is right and your God needs to get out of my country and take you with him”. Today, there are people that truly believe that the nation should be and IS a Christian one.

Let’s ignore the fact that our President (using this term loosely of course) is a coke peddling, born-again prophet of oil drilling. While we are at it, let’s ignore that this country was founded on the ability to live without religious persecution.

The founding fathers were not particularly Christian by nature, unless you call being members of secret, somewhat occultist societies, and participating in orgies, Christian. This nation, as intolerant and arrogant as we may have become, was founded on freedom. It was never meant to be a place of one God. That, in fact, was what they were escaping from when this country was founded.

It is the fundamentalist way to assume that people should do what you say, not what you do. This apparently includes homework, because a quick Google search and some good research will show you just how religious many of our founding fathers were.

I don’t think anyone could have said it better than Thomas Jefferson when he said, “The Christian god can easily be pictured as virtually the same god as the many ancient gods of past civilizations. The Christian god is a three headed monster; cruel, vengeful, and capricious. If one wishes to know more of this raging, three-headed beast-like god, one only needs to look at the caliber of people who say they serve him. They are always of two classes; fools and hypocrites. To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

In short, it is not God’s (if there is a Christian one) fault for this fundamentalist mess. The idea of Jesus was that of a very open-minded and reasonable man. He wanted to help people, not hurt them. Jesus taught love and in many ways, religious freedom. You did not need to believe in him to receive his compassion.

We should all be as wise as our founding fathers and uphold the belief that religion can get you somewhere when you use it to your advantage, but your real beliefs are those that you should hold as truths; to be self-evident.

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