This is the final post of my Greek mythology adventure series. Enjoy
Know thyself (carved into the Temple of Apollo)
From the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, I walked down the mountain road to the Temple of Athena, gazing out over the valley as I walked along. I was one of only three people visiting the site, so I was able to find some solitude under an olive tree for a couple of hours, reading a book, day dreaming, and tossing bits of food to the stray cats. The olives in the trees were large, but were they ripe? A few had fallen to the ground, so I picked one up and rolled it around in my hand. It was black with a spot of green. I squeezed it, but it didn’t yield to the pressure. Since I didn’t know the first thing about olives, I couldn’t guess if this meant that it was ripe or not, so I tossed it back on the ground.
This was my last full day exploring mythology in Greece. The next day, I would be taking the bus back to Athens and catching a plane to Malta, for a completely different kind of adventure. I even considered cancelling my flight and spending more time in Delphi; I really loved it there that much.
The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia was quite small compared to the Sanctuary of Apollo up the hill or the Acropolis back in Athens. But I was energized nevertheless. The site has three main temples, all believed to be attributed to Athena, but built at different times. All were in ruins and roped off from the public. It’s possible that this sanctuary was built on top of a more ancient cult site dedicated to Gaia (Earth), the powerful female goddess who gave birth to the Mountains, the Sea, and provided the foundation for the lives of immortals and mortals alike. It was her union with Uranus (Sky) that gave birth to all of the gods, goddesses, Titans, Cyclops, and others that have become so popular in myth.
I sat thoughtful for a while, wondering what kind of pagan ritual I might participate in to honour these ancient Greek gods. And then I was struck by an idea. I had been excited to see an ancient coin depicting an image of Athena on one side and a picture of an owl on the other. I was excited because I seem to have an affinity for Athena, more so than with the other gods and goddesses, and then to find that we shared the same spirit animal was fabulous. I worked my way up to the village, scouring the tourist shops for replicas of old coins, when I finally met with success. I found a replica of the exact coin I was searching for in a tiny shop on the main drag. I bought the coin for a few Euros, and then the salesman convinced me to buy another coin depicting the oracle, one side showing just the face of the oracle Pythia, and the other showing her sitting on the adyton tripod giving a prophecy.
I decided I was going to conduct my own little ritual, for fun. One thing I like about pagan rituals is that there are no rules about how to do them; there is no elder or priest espousing the “proper” method, such as is found in most of the monotheist religions. Paganism is the idea that we have a personal relationship with the gods, with nature, and with no higher authority telling us how to pray or how to conduct a ceremony. We can just do our own thing.
I took the coins down to the Kastalian Spring to cleanse them, much like the priests and faithful would have done to themselves before entering the temple. The spring no longer flows directly into the 2,600-year-old stone fountain, but it flows right beside it and is easily accessible. I washed my hands in the cool water, cleansed the coins, and then walked back down to the Temple of Athena, where I found myself alone among the ruins, except for the guard, who was sitting in a booth at the far end of the site. I wandered around the site, trying to find a place where I could be out of sight of the guard, not because I thought I was doing anything particularly wrong – it was a temple designed for worship after all – but I was slightly embarrassed about the ceremony I was about to perform and didn’t want to feel the sting of shame if I were caught. I finally found a good spot, sat on a stone ruin, reached across the barrier rope, and placed the Athena coin on the Temple of Athena. In lieu of making an animal sacrifice, I buried some Euros in the dirt below me. I asked Athena to bless the bearer of the coin with wisdom, health, strength, and courage – essentially the virtues attributed to Athena. Then I thanked Athena for the health I have and the wonderful life I’m living.
For the record, I don’t actually believe that Athena existed, but there is still value in the ceremony. To hold the blessed coin is to give focus on those particular virtues, which is often all that is needed. For example, if I were to be in a job interview, knowing that I carry the coin could give me courage and calm my nerves.
I placed the Athena coin in my pocket. But I wasn’t finished with my fun pagan ceremonies. I took the oracle coin that the store owner convinced me to buy and walked back up the hill to the Apollo Temple. It was a little more difficult finding a secluded spot near the temple, but finally the tourists cleared and I was left alone. Once again, I reached across the barrier, this time placing the oracle coin on the Temple of Apollo, the structure in which the oracle would have made her predictions. I buried some money in the dirt and then I said in a whisper, “Apollo, please let the oracle’s wisdom flow through this coin, to allow me and others to make wise decisions. Thank you.” Then I looked around to see if anyone had seen or heard me.
So now I had a coin that would provide me answers from the oracle. Perhaps if I asked a yes/no question and flipped the coin, the oracle would answer. But which side of the coin would be ‘yes’ and which side would be ‘no’? So I asked it a series of questions to see if it would work. Question 1: “I will flip a one-Euro coin. Will it fall with the owl up?” I tossed the oracle coin and it came ‘sitting oracle” up. Then I flipped the Euro coin and it came owl up, which means the ‘sitting oracle’ side of the oracle coin should mean ‘yes’. Question 2: “Will the next person to step off the stairwell behind me be a woman? The oracle coin said ‘yes’, and sure enough, the next person to step off the stairwell behind me was a woman. Question 3: “Will the next group of tourists who pass me be speaking English?” The coin said ‘no’, and the next group of people passing me were speaking German. Three for three: the side of the coin with the sitting oracle means ‘yes’, and the side of the coin with just the face of Pythia means ‘no’.
Again, for the record, I wouldn’t trust the coin to make major life decisions, but for entertainment value, it is a lot of fun to ask the oracle for a prophecy. For example, I asked the oracle if I should do another adventure back in Europe in 2018. The answer came back ‘yes’, so I’m considering another Camino adventure in the fall. I wanted to go anyway, and the coin just confirmed my existing desire.
I sat on a bench by the Temple of Apollo day dreaming until a friendly security woman reminded me to make my way to the exit, since it was closing time. I walked away with a smile on my face. I really loved it here and found the ancient Greek pagan beliefs in gods fascinating. Such great culture and interesting history with its pagan worship; it’s so easy to get caught up in. And why not? No current religion provides better tools, or promise, or truth than any of the pagan ceremonies, and with the pagan worship, you don’t have people in power lording over you and threatening you with exile or suffering for lack of followership. Although my personal beliefs don’t fit the mold of any particular religion, I still found my Greek mythology adventure to be refreshing and exciting.
I finished my bottle of wine at my hotel, spent hours on my balcony staring out in the silent darkness of night, and smiled with the glow of someone thoroughly happy with his life.
