Mythology As a Oppurtunity of Motion

S O F I A U N I V E R S I TY

‘ST. K L I M E N T O H R I D S K I’

Faculty of Philosophy History and Theory of Culture Department

MYTHOLOGY

AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR

MOTION OF CREATED WORLD

Report prepared by:

Sonya Ilieva 2 PREFACE

The relationship: ‘man – society – cosmos’ has deeply penetrated into mythology. The interactive relation in principle could be generally thought as motion. What ensures the relationship ‘man – society – cosmos’ is the ritual. The ‘narrated’, (the word), creates the ritual, at the same time it must be and it is thought of during the ‘act of the rite’. In this ‘accomplishment’, the ritual again has a specified position. The myth and the ritual are two inseparable forms of meaningful explanation. If there is a ritual then a myth should exist. It is very difficult to restore these myths in the scriptless societies, but it is still possible. In most of the cases, the sources do not allow us to distinguish cosmogony from mythology. The mythology needs epos. It generates this epos, goes along with the formation of the historic consciousness. The subject of historic - cultural analysis is the entity of all traditions, rituals, legends, and songs.

The main idea, which could be followed throughout the mythology is the creation of the cosmos i.e. the transformation of the chaos, (the nought or uncontrolled space), into cosmos, (structured system of objects and symbols), and the position of every man and the society as a whole in this already created world. Herefrom the global idea for reiteration of cosmogony originates.

The mentality of the ancient people is so orientated that, every single object in the world, every single human act has no own existence, but it is reiteration or an archetype of the heavenly. Every ritual is sacred and time is reborn periodically by it. The New Year is in the centre of the festal cycle. It is connected with the motive of the death and the revival of the deity, who dies and revives every year to provide energy for life of the whole society.

I do maintain that this scheme could be applicable to the majority of the known mythologies and also for the single myth or motives, which are not part of a unified mythology system. I dare to apply this scheme also to some motives from the monotheistic religions, which have borrowed a lot of the motives and rituals of the proceeding religious’ believes.

Provided that this work is not complete as the facts available are somewhat limited and it is also a little bit complicated, there is still a distinct structure, which could be used as a base for more profound research.

3 INTRODUCTION

The culture is this entity, which includes the knowledge, faith, art, moral, law, custom and all other abilities and habits that are natural for the man as a member of the society.1

Doing research on a particular element of the culture and trying to explain it, is the only correct way to do this to explain with phenomena from the same order. In this case I interpret the religion2 analysing its components – myths, rituals and custom.

The religion is a form of social life. Every culture creates its own religion. Emil Durkhem’s determination for the religion3 refers to its sources, which are to be searched for in the society, not in the nature. This means that the actual function of the religion is not to cause thinking or extend the knowledge, but to direct the man to action.

The religion believes are based on a special experience, which value is not less supreme of the scientific test, being absolutely different from it.4 Almost all social truths are born by the religion. In order to become possible, the forms of social lives had certainly begun existing as different types of religious life.

The religious thought is mainly focused on phenomena like the mystery of birth and death, fate, origin of the world etc., which are in the periphery of the science and the purely logical explanation. This explains the well - known vitality of the myths and the religion in general.

In the whole approach to the world of mythology does not allow even slightest elements of chaos. The transformation of chaos into cosmos is the main significant part of mythology, therefore the myths for creation of the world form an inseparable part of mythology. By reiteration of this heavenly act at the ritual the ancient man every time repeats the deities’ actions. The festivity is a peculiar return to the archetypes. Every single human act, every object on the Earth has its own heavenly archetype.

The ancient man accepts himself as part of the cosmos, therefore the myths for creation of the people are also included in the mythology. Although some of them are lost in the years and we no longer fully know them, the rich sources of the folklore and custom enable the restoration of some of them partially - or just to create an assumption.

The regulators of the social life provide the relationship between the world of people and the one of deities: priests, cultural heroes, mediators etc.

1 Е. Тailer, refer to White, L., The science of the Culture, Sofia 1988, p. 280 2 By the term ‘religion’ in the whole work I mean the religious faiths and believes in general 3 Durkhem, E., “Inference” in “Les formes elementanes de la vie religiuse”, In: Ideas in the Culturology, volume 2, p.363-394 4 Refer to White, L., The science of the Culture, Sofia 1988, p.369

4 The cosmos concept of the ancient people is based on the created horizontal and vertical models of world, their intersection point is thought as the Centre i.e. sacral place, where the transformation between sacral and ignoramus (profaned) is realized.

The cosmos revives itself by the ritual of the New Year in order to provide new energy for the life of society.

The main idea I am trying to prove in this work is as follows: The concept of the world in every religion is based on the eternal cycle, on the dialectical triad: birth – death – birth, realized in the ritual during the festivity. This is to implement the relationship man – society – cosmos, wherein the cosmogony myth is reiterated to start a new cycle determinate by the New Year.

5 PART I

FUNCTION OF THE MYTHS

There are an incredible number of definitions of the myth coming from different views for the function of the mythology and its relations with religion, philosophy, art, ritual, stories etc. All these definitions can be split in two categories: the myth is defined as a fantastic concept of the world (a system of deities’ and heroes’ characters, that rule the world) or as a story of the deities’ and heroes’ acts. 5

Harrison and Raglan6 define the myth as a text, going along with the ritual, Fontenrose as stories in prose, which are considered as absolute truth in those societies, which creates them.7

The mythology thought, as it was mentioned above, is focused on phenomena like the mystery of birth and death, fate, origin of the world etc., which are in the periphery of the science and the pure logical explanation. This explains the well-known vitality of the myths and the religion in general. People create myths trying to clarify these phenomena. The mythology renders the less comprehensible by the more comprehensible; it always gives the best solution for everything. The cognitive pathos of the mythology is subordinated to the harmonizing and systematizing purposefulness; it is oriented forwards complete approach, which excludes any chaos.

The mythological symbols function in such way that the private and social behaviour of the man and the view of life support each other within one system. The myth explains and penalizes the existing social system from a point of view, which is typical for the respective culture. The religion explains the world in a way to support the existing system. One of the practical means for support of this social system is the reproduction of myths in regularly reiterating rituals.

Myths and rituals are orientated to the individual psychology of the man in connection with the transformation of human psychological energy into social benefit.

To a great extent the myth is dedicated to the harmony of relations in the social group and the natural environment. The myth is deeply social, because the value of everything is deteminated by the publics’ interest.

5 Meletinsky, E., Poetics of Myth, Sofia 1995 6 Harrison, J., A Study of the Social Origin of Greek Religion, Cambridge 1927 ; Raglan, L., The Origin of Religion, London 1949; refer to Harrison, J., A Study of the Social Origin of Greek Religion, Cambridge 1927 ; 7 Fontenrose, J., The Ritual Theory of Myth, University of California Press, 1966, p. 54-57

6 All images in the mythology reflect the real features of the surrounding world. This reflection of the reality is absolutely complete in the mythology because every single significant social and natural reality originates and finds its explanation and sanction in the religion.

Transforming the accepted forms of life, the religion creates a new reality, which is absolutely accepted as source and perfect image (i.e. archetype of all forms of life) by any member of the relevant culture. Modelling turns to be a specific function of the religion and the myth. Everything is projected in the past using a special tense – the mythology one. Historically transformed together with the reality, the mythological modelling keeps its orientation towards the past and stays within the story of the past as a main and specific way of expression.

On other hand the religion justifies human behaviour. People create archetypes of their own ignorant acts by myths. Battles, conflicts, wars, amoral acts – all these are only reiteration of deities’ acts. The myth is rather justifying and legalizing then explanatory.8

Refer to Mircea Eliade’s statement; wherein the myth is disclosed as satisfaction of the human need to stop the running time and to find the meaning of life and death.9 In other word: this is rejection of the linear historical time. None of the occurrences, mentioned in this work happen in linear, they not only happen in different time but also in particular space – the ritual one which has no place and cannot be found on the sacrifice date and time. Depending on the respective choice the time could be mythological, cycle, doctrinal or concurrent.10

8 Malinovski, B., Myth in Primitive Psychology, London,1926 9 Eliade, M., The Myth of the eternal return, Sofia 1995 10 Refer Fol,Al., The man in the different kinds of time

7 PART II

MYTHS OF CREATION OF THE WORLD

The most typical myths are these about the creation of the world i.e. the transformation of the chaos (the nought or uncontrolled space) into cosmos (structured system of objects and symbols).

The acts of first creation could be a result of spontaneous transformation of any beings or objects into other ones or to have deliberate, purposeful and creative character.

Myths about creation are myths about the beginning of all objects the world consists of. The act of creation could be realized by one of the above two ways, but these are often interweaved. It could be said that the intermediate forms between the verbal – magical and the ordinary – physical even prevail in quantity over the two main alternatives.

In the Egyptian mythology of Heliopolis, that reached its perfection in The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts – 5th and 6th Dynasty; before development of the known Universe structure only an endless ocean of still water Nu existed. In the beginning of that time i.e. the mythological time the God of Sun - Atum comes from Nu. Atum as a deity of Sun is Monad, that’s why he appears without being created by anyone. 11 Other Egyptian deity, who is self – created is Amun – deity – Sun, who is in the centre in Thebes’s cosmogony.12

The appearance of the deities Atum and Amun could be considered as verbal – magical creation. The same is the case with the central figure of the Memphis cosmogony – Ptah, who creates all the deities and the world by the help of the sun (intelligence) and his tongue (speech).13 Ptah creates the world with ‘speech’, the word is made in the heart, then goes to the mouth plays and creates the world.

Far more numerous are the examples of normal – physical birth of the deities. In the Greek Olympus Cosmogony the Goddess – mother Gaia bears the heaven Uranus and the sea – Pontus. Cronos copulates his sister Rhea and she bears Zeus.14 Deities and heroes were born as a result of Zeus’ copulation with goodness and Earth – borns.

The tendency towards creation through normal – physical birth is considerably more distinct in the Rome mythology, probably because the ancient Roman authors represented the mythology as early history of Rome. Romulus and Remus were born by Rhea – Silvia, their father was the war deity – Mars.15

11 The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts – 5th and 6th Dynasty 12 The Leiden papyrus 13 Shabaka stone – 53rd column 14 Hesiod, Theogony 15 Titus Livius, History of Rome, Book I

8 Often the creation is not realised by one of the two mentioned ways. Sometimes gods create gods or people in rather unusual way; from parts of the body (head, thigh) or secretion (sperm, saliva).

The same is the example with Dionysus; Semele lured by Hera to wish Zeus to appear in front of her in his full deity’s power, and she is struck by his lightning. Zeus saved the child from the maternal womb and sewed him in his thigh until Dionysus was born.

Other particular example from the Greek mythology is the birth of Athena. After Zeus was informed from the moirae that Metis the goddess of the wisdom will have two children and one of them will dethrone him Zeus swallowed before bearing her daughter. When time passed he felt an awful pain in his head and asked his son Hephaestus to cut his head and rescue him from the pain. He slogged him and Athena sprang completely - grown and armed from the head of Zeus.16

There are similar examples in the Egyptian mythology. The deity – Creator Atum copulated with himself, sneezed and his son – Shum appeared, spat out and his daughter – Tefnut appeared.17

To the community relations in the Indo-European antiquity corresponds a developed mythology, which is their form and expression for transferring. In the Ancient India of the Vedic age, for which we obtain information from the’Rigveda’ epos, there was a three-level social system. The three deity system corresponds to this order. Each of them together with his minor surrounding deities completes their own sacred destination to keep the existing cosmos order.

The idea of the Indian – European triple structure is convincing due to three reasons: 1. It is considered to originate from the so called ‘pre – Indio – European’ society. 2. It was not ruined during the migration of the ethnos groups. 3. It was preserved in the epic and mythological works.

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).18 Thracian orphism is connected directly with Pythagor. He did not like the order of the cosmos personified with the anthropomorphistic deities of Olympus. Pythagor marked the elements of Orphic Cosmos with numbers, and later his system was connected with the tones. The air is ‘re’, the Earth – ‘mi’, the water – ‘fa’, the fire – ‘sol’. The air wraps the Earth, as it is in the Hesiod’s Theogony,19 but the fertilizing power in the orphism is the water, which is also purifying. Then the Energy which is Fire, Sun and Son of the Great Goddess – Mother was born. Therefore to the first four tones a fifth must be added – ‘la’, which is its sound.

16 Кun, N.А., Greek legend and myths 17 The Ancient Egyptian Pyramids Texts, fragment 527 18 Fol, А., Тhe Thracian orphism, Sofia 1986 19 Hesiod, Works and Days

9 The cosmos seems to be complete, but it is not yet, because the verbal orphism also settles the Earth order. The first –born Son will couple with the Great Goddess – Mother in orphic incest. This indecent act will be made at sunrise or at sunset, when the sunrays penetrate the Earth. Their merger will sound in the tone ‘si’ followed by ‘do’. The foetus’ grown is coming, sounding in the tone ‘ la’. The Son of the Son is born, his PAIS (child and servant), the doctrinal king – priest, the keeper of the society, who is Sun – circle. This mental circle is constantly outlined by the motion of the king through his domains – sanctuaries. He accomplishes the ritual of death and rebirth and makes sacrifice of a horse.

The first four tones include the whole cosmos order: 4 includes 1, 2 and 3, and 4+3+2+1=10. The ‘ten’ is composed from three phases 4+3+3. The triad is claimed as a typical for the Indo – European structure.

From the Slavic folklore and the mentioning in the chronicles an other creation myth is known. The comparative researches of Mircea Eliade show the wide scope of the myth with its two motives; pre-ocean and dualistic creation of the world.20

The following version is known from Sheradzko, recorded in 1898. In the beginning there were only heaven, sea, a God, who sailed in a boat and a devil who appeared from the sea foam. The devil plunged under the water, took a handful of sand and created the Earth. The God and the devil lived together on the Earth but they start arguing and finally the God arose to the heaven and the devil was expelled from the Earth.21

This is a myth with definite dualistic origin, which makes some of the researchers look for the origin of antagonism in the creation of the world in Iran’s believes.

The sharp contradiction between the Good and the Evil in Zaratustra’s concept of the world is famous. Other authors consider that the ocean’s motive travelled from India to Iran and then joined with the dualistic motive.

The existence of the Slavic dualism is well substantiated. We have 24 Balto-Slavic and 12 Fenno - Ugric records for the creation of the Earth by sand brought by the devil from the sea bottom. These records enable Alexander Geishor to assume that this myth is part of the ancient substratum probably pre – Indo- European. According to Mircea Eliade its origin is connected with the large lakes in Middle Asia, where it set off towards America and India in the 3rd millennium BC. The myth explains the imperfectness of the creation and the existence of the Evil and also explains the estrangement of the people from the God.

The myth is such part of the religion, where the relationship between man and heavenly power is expressed in narrative. We haven’t got any pre-Bulgarian mythological stories, what we have are only signs of them kept in the Register of the Bulgarian Khans and a simple mentioning of the mythological creature ‘gryphon’. These appear in one damaged

20 Refer Geishor, A., А., Mythology of the Slavs, Sofia 1986 г. 21 Refer Geishor, A., А., Mythology of the Slavs, Sofia 1986 г.

10 inscription and its image on a pendant of bowl No. 20 from the Nad Sent Miklosh treasure.22 These records makes V. Beshevliev to propose that the myths of creation have existed in the pre-Bulgarian society, but unfortunately they were lost.

22Geishor, A., А., Mythology of the Slavs, Sofia 1986 г., p. 87-98

11 PART III

MYTHS OF CREATION OF THE PEOPLE

The ancient man accepts himself as part of the cosmos, therefore the myths for creation of the people are also included in the mythology. Thereby the relation between the world of people and the one of the deities is realized by mediators.

An extract of Bremner – Rhind papyrus substantiates the creation of people and deities in the Egyptian mythology. The mediators of Heliopolis created heavenly genealogy by including the myth for creation of the people. The deities Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys make the relation between the older cosmos deities and the real political order.

The religion of Olympus proposes an other version for Ellins’ concept for the origin of people and the change of ages - known by Hesiod’s ‘Works and Days’. He shows five centuries sharply opposite. The people from the golden (the first) one and those from the heroes’ (the fourth) one are carriers of ΔΙΚΗ. The golden century is in opposition with the silver (second) one, in which the people are carriers of ΞΒΡΪΣ. The fifth century (the iron one) is in the historical time, there the people are carriers of ΔΙΚΗ and ΞΒΡΪΣ.

It is interesting to follow how these different kinds of times function in the relation ΔΙΚΗ and ΞΒΡΪΣ. In the mythological time of continuous occurrence they are absolute constants, they always happen and always remain. In the cyclic time during the motion they can be changed but at the end they will be again ΔΙΚΗ and ΞΒΡΪΣ. Thus their regeneration is obligatory for the world regeneration.

CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE WORLD OF DEITIES AND THE WORLD OF PEOPLE

Including myths for the creation of people in the mythology, the man searches for his own place in the cosmos and also tries to find CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE WORLD OF DEITIES AND THE WORLD OF PEOPLE. This connection is realized by transforming the Earth – born into gods. This process is carried out in specific time – the concurrent (agone) one – in the own competition ignoring the predetermined of the destiny.

In the ancient Egypt this was achieved by the cult to the king and his heavenly origin. By the myths for Osiris in the sun cycle the priests created an archetype of the God on the Earth, which is expressed through the king’s symbolism. After Osiris’ death his son Horus takes the rule of Egypt. This makes the king’s power to seem to the ordinary man to be heavenly. The king is the visible transformation of Horus for his citizens.

From the fourth Dynasty on, the king is additionally indicated as the Son of Ra – God of the Sun. The temple of Imenhotep III in Luxor shows how the God of the Sun, this time Amun, transformed and merged with the ruling king. With every new pharaoh a new

12 system of chronology starts. The reign is in connection with three mythological and historical events; the beginning of prosperity set by Osiris; the victory of Horus and the unfitting of Upper and Down Egypt. During the festival the pharaoh personally lights a fire to guarantee the light and the life of the society.

In the Thracian society the connection between the two worlds is realized by the king – priest. The orphic 4+3+3 phase rhythm is thought of in numbers and tones and it could be heard and seen by the mystic enlightened only. Another doctrinal polysemy was probably introduced into it – that is the Pythagoras addition and interpretation. Therein one (monad) is the absolute entity – it is the male origin. The two (dyad) – it is the female origin. The three is monad and dyad and also symbol of the first surface. The four (tetrad) is 2+2, raised to the second power nature i.e. the absolute equation. The five (pentad) 2+3 – sensuality, the six (hexed) – maturity. The seven (heptad) 4+3, raised to the second power nature and symmetry and also the incest between the Great Goddess – Mother and her Son. The eight (octad) – the balance, the nine (ennead) – two male origins and 3 multiplied by 3. The ten, (decade), brings the doctrinal cycle to the end with the triumph of the Son of the Great Goddess – Mother’s Son, who is the total of the male and female cosmos origins being both their entity and mind. The creation of the world is completed. The king – priest was born, who is the only mediator between the two worlds. One inscription known from the Rogozen Treasure ‘ΚΟΤΙΟΣ ΑΡΟΛΛΟΝΙΣ ΠΑΙΣ’ is undisputable confirmation of Alexander Fol’s thesis, proved to be absolutely perfect by him.23

Opposite to the Egyptian mythology where the king is the only mediator between the two worlds, the Greek mythology provides numerous connections realized by the heroes; half – deities, half – men, born by marriages between deities and Earth-born.

There are a lot of myth cycles for the heroes in the Greek mythology; Argonauts, 24 Heracles,25 Perseus,26 Prometheus27 etc.

To emphasize the heavenly origin of a ruler, town or people, like the Egyptians, the ancient Greeks created myths where the heroes founded polices and became their rulers.

For example Theseus28, who founded Athena, became the first king of the town and made the first reforms.

23 Fol, А., Тhe Thracian orphism, Sofia 1986 Fol, А., Одриски и трибалски царе от Рогозенските надписи, Векове, 1986, book 3-4, Fol, А., Тhe Thracian Dionysus, Book I: Zagraus, Вook II: Sabazius Fol, A., The Rogozen Treasure, Sofia 1988 24 Appolonius Rhodus, The Voyage of Argo 25 Sophocles, Trachiniare Pausanias, Description of Greece Euripides, Heracles 26 Ovid, Metamorphoses 27 Aeschylus. Prometheus bound Hesiod, Work and Days 28 Plutarch, Theseus

13 The space between the two worlds is quite easy surmountable for the heroes. A hero is considered as a man (Theseus), but also as a deity (after his death Heracles was accepted in the circle of the deities of Olympus, as award for his heroic deeds and suffering).

Such a hero – demon in Thrace is Zalmoxis. As a man he became perfect and reached the second degree of the concurrent time, when transformed into a demon he started to live in the third one as a perfect. Zalmoxis went though the heroic time and for this he could be thought as equal to Orpheus. The hero’s time is not over with these three degrees, it goes on till the whole cycle 4+3+3 is completed.

Another type of hero – the yonak is known by the folklore. The motive for the thrown out child and the first hero who appeared in the Bulgarian legends is the founder of the country. Refer to the ‘Bulgarian Apocrypha chronicle’ (13th century); “ …strong child carried in basket, three years old, who would be named Ispor tsar…”. The appearance of Isperih in this description shows several elements of his existence as a child – yonak. First, he is called strong child, second, his existence is specified as a throw child with the expression ‘carried in basket’. Linking this legend to one medieval story for the Bulgarian army which included also women who carried their children in baskets, Ivan Venedikov concludes29 that the Bulgarian Apocrypha shows this practice. Asparuh was a child when he began his heroic deeds.

The child – yonak acts for two reasons; as a revenger for caused injustices to his family or rescue his fiancée or wife. Therefore one of the main characters in the Bulgarian marriage’s epos is again the yonak. Since he is born, he is surrounded with miracles, weird sisters predictions - and the thrown out child motive is present everywhere.

One of the first unak’s acts was to find a weapon and mainly a horse. This is done usually before growing up again by a miracle. One folk song for Krali Marko30 contains the motive for the thrown out child by his father Valkashin in the River of Vardar, there he was found and brought up by a shepherd. When the hero grew up he met a wood – nymph who gave him power, horse and weapon by a miracle. Krali Marko was ready to start his heroic deeds, to provide the order and wealth for the society.

The main figure that connects the two worlds and controls the relations between them is the priest.

In the Ancient Egypt, usually the doctors belong to the class of the priests. The legal officials are ‘Priests of Maat’, the priest of Ptah – ‘Senior of the representatives of the artists’. A priest hierarchy rules every temple. The obligations of the priests include daily rituals during which religious texts are read. If these rituals are done properly the deities are benevolent to Egypt. Every phase of the sacrifices made was recorded in details in the temple’s papyrus. There is a wall – painting of the pharaoh carrying out the necessary

29 Venedicov, I., Мyths of the Bulgarian lands Book I: The copper threshing, Sofia 1995, chapter 5, Book II: The golden pillar, Sofia 1995, chapter 8, Pre – Bulgarians and the Christianity, Sofia 1995, p. 231-232 30 Collection of Folkor Wisdom (СбНУ), 53, № 143

14 rituals to emphasise that he is personally responsible for the acts of his representatives in the senior priest society.

The responsibilities of the priests in Greece and Rome in particular are strictly regulated.

The priest hiereus is responsible for the sacrifices in Greece, this position takes the priest flamen in Rome; 15 in number they serve the cults of the seniors (flamen martialis, flamen quirinalis) and the secondary (flamen rulcanius, flamen floralis) deities. During the Imperator age another priest flamen – anqustales, he served the cult to the Imperator as a deity.

An other important function of the priest in the ancient society is fortune telling. The priest  tells by the offal of the sacrificed animal (Greece), and the priest augur (Rome) by the birds’ flying and the sacral hen. The mantic is in the possibilities of the oracle. In the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi tells Pythia - a virgin servant and wife of Apollo. A special priest -  explains Pythia’s predictions. There are women priests of Apollo in Rome too – the Cibyls, who are famous with the Cumaean Cibyl who probably wrote the Cibyls’ Books of prophesy.

The ancient man includes in the mythology myths that confirm the heavenly origin of the priests. Numa Pompilius found the class of the priest fetiales (verbenatus, pater patratus) and also salium. All priest are supervised by the senior priest pontifex maximus. The six pontifices hold the cult of all public and personal deities’ adoration.

In the ancient world there were other positions of priests, who served specified temples. Such kind of priests are Fratres Arvales (Dea Dia), vestalis (Vesta) etc.

The function of a mediator in the pre – Bulgarian world was accomplished by the shaman. The Arab writer Phseudomasurdi uses the term ‘magi’ to mark the pre – Bulgarian’s mediators. According to V. Beshevliev 31 they are a special kind of magician in whom it is believed that ghosts have taken position and in this condition they could predict, reveal secrets and give advice. To achieve this condition the shaman must do exact rituals consisting of incantations and dances.

An other notification of the shamanism is known by the Kremon’s bishop Liudprand. He tells that the Simeon’s son Baian had learnt the witchcraft that he could transform into a wolf or any other animal.

The belief that man can transform into wolves is famous in the Archaic and Middle Ages (Germans, Slavs, Lithuanians etc.) and on the Balkan peninsula, (ghoul). It is quite possible that Baian was introduced into the shamanism.

31 Beshevliev, V., The faith of the pre - Bulgarian, Sofia 1939

15 According to the Byzantium chroniclers Teophan 32 and Ohrid’s archiepiscopate Theophylacti 33 the pre – Bulgarian khans carried out religious rituals and sacrifices. Analysing the mentioned sources V. Beshevliev concludes that the Bulgarian ruler had made these sacrifices acting as a priest.34

32 Theoph. Chronographia, rec. C, de Book I, 503 33 Theophylacti Bulgarie archiep, Historia, XV, 29 34 Beshevliev, V., The faith of the pre - Bulgarian, Sofia 1939 , p. 41

16 PART IV

REITERATION OF COSMOGONY

The thinking of the archaic man is so orientated that, every single object in the world and every single human act has no own existence. The object would be sacred because of the fact that it is part of an exact symbol or because it was touched by the deities in illo tempore.

HEAVENTLY ARCHETYPES OF TEMPLES, TOWNS AND TERRITORIES.

The temple – one of the most sacred places has its own heavenly prototype. The oldest document mentioning the sanctuary is the inscription of Gudea, dedicated to temple built by him in Lagash. The king dreamed of the goddess Hidaba, who showed him a picture marked with successful stars and a god showing the layout of the temple.

Not only the temples have prototypes, but also the towns. All Babylon’s towns have their own archetypes in the constellations; the prototype of Sipar is in the constellation of cancer, Ninevia in Ursa Major, Asur in the Arctur’s constellation, etc.

Everything in the men’s surrounding world, every visible object has its own heavenly archetype. This archetype is understood to be as a duplicate of this world, which always exists at a superior cosmic level.

Not everything in the world has an archetype from the same order. Deserts, wild animals’ areas, infertile land, unknown seas etc resemble the chaos in its existence before the creation. Therefore when a man takes possession of such a territory he performs rituals, which symbolically repeat the act of creation. This uncultivated zone is first ‘transformed into cosmos’ and then settled.

ARCHETYPES AS A CENTRE

Together with the belief in the heavenly archetypes, there is another range of believes, referring to their introduction as a Centre. The sacred mountain, palace or temple is located in the Centre of the world, because the cross – point between the human world, the heaven and the world of the dead is there.

In Mesopotamian believes the sacred mountain is called ‘ Mountain of the countries’. This is because it connects huge regions, and also connects the Earth and the heaven. The Olympus Mountain is perceived also as sacred, because the deities live there.

17 Probably and also sacred is the temple of Ptah in Memphis called Huet – ka – Ptah, (house of the Ptah’s soul), that gives it’s name to the whole region.

The Heaven – the Centre –Hell are reputed to be located in the one axis, which means that to pass from one cosmos area into another point is possible only there. Babylon is Вâb-ilâni, (gate of the deities), because there through the deities go down to the Earth. Mortally wounded Heracle asked his son Hil to take him to the mountain Oeta. From there from Athena collects him and takes him to the Olympus world. Orpheus goes down to the underworld of Hades through the dark mountain Tenar. All these examples taken from the myths show that there is connection between the worlds, which means that motion in the created cosmic areas is possible.

All developed forms of common life need a focus point to create them and to provide them with power and support.35

The Byzantium Empire, as most of the historians determine it, starts its existence in 324 when Constantinople was founded as the New Rome. In the view of the foregoing I dare to maintain that Constantinople is perceived as a Centre. Although the archaeological information for the town is quite poor, there are lot sources of literature available. These enable us to form a hypothesis as follows:

The town of Constantinople was a sacred territory. It has its own duplicate - archetype at a superior level. Constantinople is a Centre in the meaning of source of energy.

This image of Constantinople was formed by the act of its creation. The topographic choice for the moving of Rome is not occasional. The analogy with the seven hills is apparent. The old town’s centre, where the agora was restored, a hippodrome and bath were built. Near the hippodrome the new palace of the Emperor was built. The road network was reconstructed and extended. One of the most extraordinary phenomenon was the introduction of the forum with a central column made of porphyry and the statue of Constantine as Apollo Helios in the centre.

Together with temples and a senate house, the minern was moved to the new capital, this undoubtly showed that this was the New Centre, the world started to be measured therefrom.

The idea for existence of a world at a superior level was known in the Christian Byzantium. Constantinople is not an exception - it is perceived as an archetype of the heaven. The Emperor’s Court corresponds to the God’s one. Reading ‘Awesome and Edifying Vision of the Monk Kosmas’36, - abbot in a monastery in Asia Minor, who was ill, got into a trance and saw the God’s House, where he undoubtly recognized monks and

35 Hunger, Herbert, Reich der neuen Mitte. Der christliche Geist der byzantinischen Kultur, Graz; Wien, 1965; 36 Awesome and Edifying Vision of the Monk Kosmas, In: Mango, C., Byzantium. The Empire of New Rome, London 1980, p. 151-153

18 officials. The difference was only that in the Heaven everything is bigger and more exquisite.

God rules the Universe in the same way as the Emperor rules the mankind. When the Emperor appears in public a lot of rituals are completed, all these show that he has heavenly position on the Earth.

The symbol of the Centre is also expressed in the men’s concept for the cosmos models. The space models of the world are part of the general world’s model. They are just more abstractive characteristics of this model along the horizontal and vertical planes.

In the horizontal model the world directions are very important. Not less important is the meaning of the oppositions: centre – periphery; right – left; front – back.

In the ancient concepts the equilateral tetragon is a symbol of the organised world. The tetragon is the world after the primary chaos, after the separation of the heaven and from the Earth. It is the Universe finally established and arranged by the deity and ready to be used by the people. This sacred concept for the world could be found first in the construction. The representative buildings – palaces and temples usually have quadrangular form and are orientated by the cardinal directions. This shows that the horizontal model is in connection with the sacral concept for the cardinal directions; first East – the place where the sun rises.

The heavenly meaning of the cardinal directions is apparent mostly in the architecture. The correlation of the directions could be found in the method of construction of the first Bulgarian capital – Pliska, and also in the buildings in Madara and Preslav.37 The strengthened bivouac of Pliska is positioned to the South, the same orientation has the internal town and almost all of the buildings.38 The town is perceived as a sacred place and a Centre. A legend – ‘The Copper threshing floor’39 - the symbol of the plenty, refers to Pliska. The copper-threshing floor is a symbol of the paganism as an ideology in its complete spiritual and political meaning. Its destruction is the aim of the Christian world, who wants to destroy paganism must stick his pike in the centre of this threshing – floor, where there is a hidden container symbolizing the religious believes. In another historical period of the threshing floor, in the hall and the capital of Bulgarians a bloody fight starts. The king Boris conquers his enemies, who were the leaders of the paganism. This act is not only political as the destruction of the threshing – floor is in connection with its function as a Centre.

The Centre has a maximum sacredness40, it is a Centre of the world, axis mundi passes through it, and here at the beginning of the world in illo tempore the act of the creation

37 Vaklinov, S., The Great Preslav, Sofia 1966 Formationof the Middle Age Bulgarian Culture, Sofia 1977 38 Vaklinov, S., The Great Preslav, Sofia 1966 Formationof the Middle Age Bulgarian Culture, Sofia 1977 39 Venedikov, I., The copper threshing-floor, Sofia 1995 40 Eliade, M., The Myth of the eternal return, Sofia 1995

19 was completed. The axis of the world connects the horizontal and the vertical models and forms the most important cross – point in the space characteristic of the world.41

The ancient settlements have a special organization – usually concentric where the Centre has an important role.42 The Slavic settlements are orientated from periphery to the Centre. The yurta (pre – Bulgarian tent) is also a model of the world, it is round with fireplace in the centre and the cardinal directions orientate it. The plans of the Bulgarian sanctuaries are inscribed into each other tetragons43. This scheme was also applied to the sacrifice stones and the figure ‘dame’. It could be assumed that the ‘dame’ is directly and genetically connected with the quadrangle space model of the world, but bearing profane content.44

The quadrangle horizontal model is typical for the Slavic societies. The so called ‘Zbrutchki Sventovid’ is orientated towards the four directions of the world. The four images of the deity on the four sides of the stone column are orientated: East – West; South – North.

The ancient vertical model is a three – part, it is composed of three space zones. The upper one is the territory of the deities, the middle one – the world of the people and the lower one the world of the dead. The archetype of the Centre is also a vertical model. Examples for this statement are the pyramids – symbol of the power of the pharaohs. Their form resembles a mountain and in most of the cases the pharaoh was laid in the grave in its underground.

Going back to Constantinople: town, archetype and Centre. The more important is to show that the town is a Centre by both horizontal and vertical.

The foundation of the town the moving of Rome. Constantinople is the new relation between the world now and Rome, the place where the Christian church was found. Constantinople is the New Rome, the new Centre; it is new because the Holy Scripture is the New Testament. As Apostle Paul realized the relation between the Old and the New Testament to create a complete ideology, Constantinople continued and unified the idea of Rome.

The idea, which is also connected with the end of the world. According to the Andreas Salos Apocalypse45 Constantinople would be destroyed when the world ended. The last thing that would remain was the column in the Forum, which was located in the Centre and was the connection between the worlds.

41 Топоров, В., О космогических источниках ранеисторических оприсаний 42 Stoinev, А., Bulgarian’s concept of the world, Sofia 1986 The Bulgarian Slavs. Mythology and religion, Sofia 1988 43 Aladjov, J.The world symbol in some of the pre – Bulgarian monuments, Аrcheaology, 1980, book.1 44 Aladjov, J.The world symbol in some of the pre – Bulgarian monuments, Аrcheaology, 1980, book.1 45 The Andreas Salos Apocalypse, In: Mango, C., Byzantium. The Empire of New Rome, London 1980, p. 210

20 The cosmos is understood also as a big tree “arbor mundi”. Ceremonially, mythologically or symbolically the tree is the real cosmos in the process of eternal renewal. This is proved by numerous images of deities around a tree perceived as a Centre. In the Egyptian and Greek mythology the ensemble Goddess – tree is very common. The big ring from Mycenae represents a cult scene showing the Goddess sitting on the tree of life surround by a lot of cosmological elements, as Labyrinth, Sun, Moon, and Water.

Close to the cave where Capitoline she - wolf looked after Romulus and Remus there was a fig tree called ficus rominalis. Considering the heavenly origin of Romulus and Remus the fig tree could be perceived as a Centre i.e. axis of the world.

The tree as a world concept probably appeared because the mythological man considered the flora as eternal, it renews itself periodically during the seasons.46 Separate representative of the flora as oak, sycamore, willow are assumed as eternal, they live more than a human being and also visibly symbolize the relation up – down. The tree is the best natural model to symbolize the arranged cosmos in its horizontal and vertical dimension.

The world tree is located in the Centre, in the most sacral place, where the motion from chaos to cosmos is carried out. Later the symbol of the tree is replaced with the column temple or throne.

Horizontally the world tree unites the four directions of the world and is also in connection with the ritual. The directions are four, the same number as the seasons, the parts of the twenty-four-hour period and the stages of the human life. Vertically the tree symbolizes the three levels of the world, the human body, the time. Briefly it is in relation with the mythology – the cosmogony and the separation between the heaven and the Earth vertically, and sanctifies these concepts by the ritual horizontally.47

At the Slavic the vertical space model is reflected first in the deities hierarchy. Perun is in the up most level, Veles in the lowest. Up – down is the relation between Dazhdbog and Savarog.48 The struggle between the Thunderer and the underground deity (snake, dragon) is a fight for salvation of the world of people.

Pre – Bulgarians also respect the world tree as a symbol of the organised cosmos. Such a tree is shown on a ceramic container from the village of Vokil in Silistra region.49

The same role in the mythology plays the mountain, which is also located in the Centre. Therefore the choice of the Bulgarians for their cult place – Madara is not occasional. The symbol of the vertical model supposes three – level social structure. A picture of a shaman on a tile from Madara proves this, and also one model of a yurta from Devnia and images of the complex – tree, bird and mountain.50

46 Топоров, В., О космогических источниках ранеисторических оприсаний 47 Топоров, В., О космогических источниках ранеисторических оприсаний, с. 66 48 Geishor, А., Мythology of the Slavs, Sofia 1986 49 Аngelova, S., A ceramic vessel from the village of Vockil, Distinct Silistra, Аrcheaology, 1964, book.4 50 Vajarova, V., Slavs and Bulgarians, Моskow, 1976

21 In the Thracian society the tumulus is such Centre. The round shape includes the four cardinal directions and also its solar – fire nature shown in life – death – life of the dual – solar – chthonic Son of the Great Mother – Goddess. At the same time the pits around the tumulus show the relation between the horizontal and vertical model. The second stage is landing over the pits of the tomb place. According to the Orphism the death is thought over, it is transformation into an other category. During the funeral is made a sacrifice of a horse, which is sacrally equal to the man and is the sun sign and also a ritual showing the beginning of a new life leading to the heroic category is performed.

ATTAINMENT TO THE CENTRE IS EQUAL TO INITIATION

The Centre is in a superior stage in the sphere of the sacral and the absolute reality. The way leading to the Centre is difficult and all levels of the reality confirm this; difficult curved stairs in temple, travelling of heroes, wandering in labyrinths. The way is painful, full of dangers, because this is actually the ritual for the transformation of profane into sacral, from the transient into real, death into life, human into divine (Heracle’s heroic deeds and the act of his acceptance in the circle of deities in Olympus).

The initiation is not attained easy; its attainment is concentrated in a tree of life, usually located in a remote place and guarded by a monster. The hero must succeed to reach near the tree and also fight with the monster and win. The struggle has initiation meaning.

The Gilgamesh Epic retells how he wants to reach immortality. He knows that only one man could help him – the wise man Utnapishtim, the one who survived the flood and was granted immortality by the deities. The way to his dwelling is long and dangerous, full with obstacles as every way to the Centre. Utnapishtim lives on an island, surrounded by the water of the death. Gilgamesh did not overcome the obstacles, he showed his weakness and he would not achieve immortality.

Usually gryphons and monsters keep the ways. To reach the golden apple in the Hesperides’ garden Heracles must put to sleep or kill the dragon. It is not important whether Heracle or Atlas lifted the heavenly globe; the most important is that the hero succeeded to go over the heroic test and take the golden apples.51

Dragon also guards the Golden Fleece from Colchis, Jason has to kill the monster to take it.52

Snakes guard every Centre, every place, where the sacral is focused. Gryphons guard the golden mines of Apollo in Skytia. They guard every symbol of the sacral that gives power and life.

51 Sophocles, Trachiniare Pausanias, Description of Greece Euripides, Heracles 52 Appolonius Rhodus, The Voyage of Argo

22 THE SACRAL TERRITORIES ARE INTERITED

The sacral territories are inherited because if their role as a Centre. The pre – Bulgarian pagan cult places are derived from the Thracian sanctuaries. After the Christening the pagan temples were destroyed and churches were built there. The same happen when Turkey conquered all Bulgarian lands.

A cult place that functions like this is Madara. First approvals for this are the marble votive relieves and Greek ceramics – these suppose that the caves in Madara’s rocks are used as Thracian sanctuaries. Later under Daultash a pagan temple was built, transformed later in church. Taking the risk to repeat myself I will mention again that the deriving of the sacral places is in connection with their role of the Centre.

ARCHETYPES OF THE SYMBOLS AND THE RITUALS

In the Egyptian religion the lotus is a sacral blossom, because from Nu together with the first hill appeared a lotus too. The deity of the sun came form this lotus. In the Book of dead there is a spell for transforming the dead Nepfertum (deity respected in Memphis), because he is the lotus, which the deity of the sun smelled.53

In Rome the priests salium wear a shield which felt from the heaven in Numa Pompilius’ age.

The Earth plants (herbs) have a magic power, because in illo tempore the deity touched them. The deity cured, which means the men could cure too. The man could rile, kill, because the deities had done these. The opposite and the fights between the people is reiteration of the struggle between Osiris and Set in the Egyptian mythology.

The ancient man doesn’t know any act, which is not established by the deity. The gesture has a meaning only when it repeats any first act. Such act is the dance. From the very beginning all dancing were sacral, they had a heavenly archetype. The ancient man’s dance always repeats or reminds a myth element. Athena created the dancing with the weapon – pirika, Theseus54 dances in the labyrinth. The dancing is a part of the initiations, the magic – religious ceremonies, marriages etc. Briefly the dance is reiteration and re – actualisation of the ‘illo tempore’.

The marriages also have a heavenly archetype. Didona and Eneus married in a storm the connection between them are equal with connection between the natural elements.55 The marriages imitate Zeus and Hera. Demetra connects with Jason on the sowed soil56 the meaning of this unit is clear – it helps the fruitful.

53 Book of the Dead, Chapter 81 54 Plutarch, Theseus 55 Vergilius, Еneida 56 Homer, Odiseus (V, 125)

23 The orgy and the marriage are created the rituals to imitate the deities’ act and to justify the human ones. The fact that the myth sometimes follows the ritual (it is created after something has already done) does not reduce the sacral meaning of the ritual.

When the ancient man enters in a possession of a territory he does rituals, which symbolize the creation – briefly; sanctify of the territory. This sanctify is made usually in the Centre.

In India before starting to build any building the astrologer shows exactly the spot where the foundation to be based, located upon the snake, which support the world. The builder makes a post from the tree khadira and hammers it in the Earth by a coconut exactly at the pointed spot on the snake’s head. A foundation stone is put on the post, it is located exactly in the Centre. All these imitate the cosmogony act of creation and the act of Soma or Indra.57 This provides the durability and the reality of the building by the transformation of the chaos into cosmos and the historical time into mythological. Every single ritual is act in the sacral place and time.

Every new building is reconstruction of the world. Romulus digs a ditch, fills it with fruits, makes an altar and draws the protected walls of Rome by plough. The ditch is the cross – point of the three levels.58 The conquest of any territory is possible only when the ritual of possession is done. The Roman priest fetialis slays a pig with a stone knife when they contract peace, the war is just only after the fetialis throw a blood shield in the foreign land.59

57 Refer M. Eliade, Tractate for the history of religions, Sofia 1995, p. 421 58 Ovid, Fastes, (IV, 821,825) 59 Batakliev, G., Ancient Mythology

24 PART V

REBIRTH OF THE TIME

REBIRTH OF THE TIME BY THE RITUAL

The general meaning of the feast is the ending of one and the beginning of a new interval of time. New Year begins the time from the beginning or briefly repeats the cosmogony by the death and rebirth of the deity.

The ritual and the myth are two inseparable forms of meaningful explanation. If there is a ritual then a myth should exist. The time is reborn periodically by the ritual. The festival leads to the archetypes and their act every time.

Acceptance of the solar year as a unit of time was done first in Egypt. Most of the historically registered cultures use the solar – moon year which includes 360 days, (12 months with 30 days), and to these 360 days are interpolate 5 days in addition. The end of one and the beginning of another interval of time are very important, as the beginning of the year is movable and its prolongation is different. The necessity of periodical rebirth supposes a new creation, which means a new repeat of the cosmogony act.

The Register of the Bulgarian Khans60 gives us information for the calendar of the pre – Bulgarians. It is based on a 12 months (named with numeral ordinals in Turk language). The sacral meaning of days and hours (good and bad, taboo) is thought of in the calendar. Considered sacral are also the natural season cycles. Undoubtly the most sacral meaning is the New Year, which is ceremonially in connection with the beginning of the world and the order of the Universe. Determined by the moving of the sun and moon the New Year shows the completion of the previous and the beginning of the new cycle.

The range of festivals could be divided into two groups; feasts for the periodically chase of demons, sicknesses and sins and the rituals in the days before and after New Year.

The ritual chase of demons is brought to some main elements – fasts, put out the light of fire, the chasing of demons by noise and cries and ritual drive out of animal or man from the dwelling. The Roman festival Marmurali (14th March) represents a ritual drive out of a man dressed in furs called “Marmuri Verturi” , which means they sent away the winter and the sicknesses. The Egyptians similar to the Romans, sent away a goat, which is the personification of the sins and sicknesses of the dwelling.

60 Моskov, М.,Register of the Bulgarian Khans, Sofia 1988

25 The act of the chase of the Evil almost everywhere coincides with the celebration of New Year. It is rare to find all these elements in one festival. Somewhere dominates the ritual actions with the fire, elsewhere driving out demons. The general meaning of the feast is the finishing of one and the beginning of another interval of time.

Inhabitation of the rituals and customs is approval for the typical similarity of the religions. Specified by the moving of sun and moon the New Year shown the renewal of the society. Christmas day has a pagan origin. It is the day of Christ’s birth and here the symbolism is clear.

The celebration of New Year repeats the ordering of the world; the transmition of the chaos into cosmos, which proceed during the last days of the old year and the first of the new one. Not accordantly the celebrations of the New Year sometimes coincide with ritual that symbolized the death and the rebirth of the deity.

REBIRTH OF THE TIME BY THE DEATH AND THE NEW BIRTH OF THE DEITY

Dionysus – Zagreus is a deity of the vertical structure of the world and master of the thunder. Zagreus keeps his solar – king aspect, because he is created by the spirituality of the Thracian orphic doctrine. The main companion of the deity and his symbol is the dragon (snake). The Thracian Dionysus – Zagreus is the deity – bull, who comes periodically with thunder to be sacrificed and tasted raw by the initiated.61

The transformation of Dionysus – the bull born as a snake with horns is torn exactly to seven pieces – head, limbs, falos and torso, is tasted half – raw and brought into the initiated where he is transformed again in Energy. That’s why the Zagreus myth continues with the scene when Apollo (the equal to Dionysus as the Sun is equal to the Fire) connects again the parts and bury it under the tripod at Delphi.

The Egyptian deity Osiris received the power of the Earth from his father. His brother Set feels jealous and lures him in a chest and throws him in Nile. According to the same verse of Plutarch Osiris is cut in to 14 pieces, his rebirth refer to Isis and Ra.62

THE RITUAL

Zagreus is the object of the big New Year Dionysus’ performance in March, which is in connection with the Christian Cheese Shrovetide and Easter after the christianisation period. The ritual is a symbolic change of the old with the New Year. This is the performance of the Thracian orphic re – organization of the world.63

61 Fol, A., Тhracian culture – said and concealed, Sofia 1995 62 Plutarch, About Isis and Osiris 63 Fol, А., Politic and Culture in Ancient Thracia, Sofia 1990

26 During the change of the old with the New Year a special person – the kuker, reinacts the main ritual. He doesn’t know the name of Zagreus or his hard doctrinal task to be the bearer of the binary oppositions of the cosmological, mythological and religious – social level. The actor performs the ritual with his group for the goodness of the New Year. The most archaic ritual in Strandja is the nestinary custom (fire dancing). The name includes the Thracian toponim ‘asta’, ‘asti’ or ‘esti – nari’ that means ‘ dancing in fire’. The sacral act is performed by a virgin – priest. The sinister orgiastic that the priest transforms to all participants, doesn’t have a doctrinal character, but what is sure here is the mystery. The mystery ensures that the deity’s cosmos body will join with every participant, i.e., will be separated before being made into a whole part again.

The Zagreus’ myth could originate from Asia Minor as well, set under the translation – signification – Sabazius.64 Sabazius is a deity first identified with the stone, which means he is a chthonic deity and has the power to rule the dead and the live matter, because of this he could be separate and unite again. The chthonic characteristic of Sabazius is not in opposition with his solar nature because the two natures create the cosmos that is universal.

Because the Thracian reality is scriptless the cosmogony myth could be restored only by a cultural – historical analyse of the ritual – ceremony complexes. The Christian feast of St. Constantine and St. Elena on 21 May is still respected in the village of Agia Eleni.65 The festival starts in the evening of the previous day when the anastenaries gather together in Agia Eleni. The leader of the ritual acts is the teletarh who maintains the ‘sanctuary’of the anastenaries (‘konak’) and the spring throughout the whole year. The nestinary’s playing (drum and rebeck) starts one week earlier to call on the deity for the days of culmination.

On the 20th of May the teletarh, anastinaries and the musicians gather together in the konak. In the evening two women with lighted candles in their right hands stand on both sides of the main south entrance in the fireplace room. From there they meet and lead forward all processions. The first procession is with roses and candles lead by musicians. The procession goes forward to the house where the icon of St. Constantine and St. Elena is kept. There they receive the sacral ‘shirts’ and ‘cloths’. Only those who had received the cloths are allowed to dance in the performance. The procession goes on to another house where the second icon is kept and then goes on to the monastery. Every motion of the procession is in circle in an opposite to the direction of the sun. The sacral acts around the four sacral springs are followed. The teletarh incensed by the spring and opens the lid, fills one vessel with water and then pours it out in all directions starting from west. All participants wash themselves in front of the entrance but only the anastenaries wash themselves inside.

When they go out of the chapel, the procession goes towards a round place specified for the ‘glowing embers’ dance and then on to the ‘konak’. They leave the sacral objects to their place where special rituals are carried out. The dance of an anastenary then starts.

64 Fol, А., The Thracian Dionysus, Book I, Zagraus, Sofia 1991 65 Fol, А., The Thracian Dionysus, Book II, Sabazius, Sofia 1994

27 She dances with a candle while the others dance with sacral objects. Later, after midnight, when the dance finished the icons are covered and left in the houses.

On the next day, 21st May, the icons are taken back to the sanctuary - again with the same rituals. The sacrificial animal a three, five or seven year old bull (lamb) is adorned with a wreath of roses. The place for the sacrifice is set by the teletarh. At noon the anastenary starts to dance around the sacrificial place. The slayer takes away the wreath and throws it in the sacrificial hole, where the blood flows. The meat is given out to all participants who bring it home not cooked. At midnight the ‘glowing embers’ dance starts, the main dancer bears an icon.

The symbolic of the ritual is clear. The deity Apollo – Dionysus called Sabazius is torn into pieces. Sabazius is the greatest opportunity to understand the pure ritual, because there is no myth. It seems that Zagreus is the nights and Sabazius is the days personification of the Thracian Dionysus where, most important, is their unification in one deity.

The deity died and is reborn again at New Year to provide energy for the whole society. The ritual repeats the cosmogony myth and a new cycle is started.

The Greek meaning of Zagreus / Dionysus is done by the secondary aetiology of the foreign name. Zagreus now is a son of Zeus and Persephone. The Moiraes lures Hera’s jealousy and Zeus is forced to give the child to Apollo who looks after him. The literature interrupts the ancient orphic line of mythology creating, but it keeps the main elements of the verbal story. The solar origin, Apollo unites with the chthonic in Parnas, but again Hera finds him and order to the titans to kill him. During the chasing Dionysus is transformed and torn into seven pieces (half – eaten by the titans almost raw) into image of a bull. Athena (in her personification as the Mother – Goddess) manages to save his heart. Apollo collects the other seven pieces and buries them at Delphi or refers another version where Semele swallows the heart and then gives birth to the Greek Dionysus.66

Later the cosmos deity is lectured by the Greeks in Delphi and the priests unite him with his solar brother finally calling him Dionysus. The unification is act of syncretism that provides the cosmos order. The science that represents this is the killing of the Python by Apollo.

The Dionysus’ celebrations in Athena67 (December – April) symbolize the transformation of the old year into new. In December they celebrate the Little Festival of Dionysus where the theatre performances are acted out. In January - the Lyaeus, but the most festive are the Big Celebrations of Dionysus, (March), which continue for several days and the raved song about Dionysus is sung by choirs.

66 Fol, А., The Thracian Dionysus, Book I, Zagraus, Sofia 1991 67 Bogdanov, B., History of the Ancient Greek culture

28 The secondary nature of Dionysus as a deity of the fertility is consequence and the same as the Osiris’ one. That is symbolized by the grain – the sowing of (funeral), the resting in dark (heaven) and germ (birth).

The New Year here means the lifting of taboo’s for the new crops, which become suitable for the consumption of the whole society. If numerous corn plants are cultivated then several New Year Festivals are observed. This means that the time intervals are regulated by rituals for the revival of the food reserves.

29 S E L E C T E D B I B L I O G R A P H Y

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31 S E L E C T E D B I B L I O G R A P H Y

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