The Aquarian Theosophist Volume III, Supplement #5 March 17, 2003 Email: [email protected] ARCHIVE: http://www.teosofia.com/AT.html Jason and The Argonauts The first glorious, audacious, and The Crew common deed of the Hellenes was the Being commanded to fetch the fleece, Jason Argonautic Expedition which took place sought advice from his pedagogue , Cheiron, around 1400 BC or much earlier (2000 BC) — or he consulted the oracle — who advised according to some others. him to assemble the nobles of Hellas and sail away. Orpheus mentions 49 men, As a matter of fact it is too difficult if Apollodorus 45, Apollonius 64 and not impossible to be precise when dating Diodorus 54. Among those who assembled prehistoric events. However, it is worth were the following: Jason who became their mentioning here that the dating of the admiral; Tiphys who steered the ship — he Orphic Hymns through astronomical could steer it by watching the stars at night methods by the Greek astronomer C. S. and the sun during the day; Argos-the Chassapis, proves that these, regardless of excellent shipbuilder-who would repair any the time of their gathering and registration damage that might be caused; Orpheus who (during the 6th c BC), were formulated was their religious leader-a wise and widely much earlier and were communicated from travelled man, the founder of Orphism and generation to generation by the initiated of famous for his music as well; Castor and Orphism. Herman Diels in Fragmenta der Polydefkis — the Dioskouri — who were Vorsokratiker says that the very ancient strategical geniuses and sailed round the Hellenes wrote their opinions and their Aegean sea pursuing the pirates, thus observations on very thin boards. And he clearing the sea; three seers: Amphiaraous, was justified by the latest find in Castoria Mopsus and Idmon; Asclepius and Erivotis, (North-West of Hellas). The date of the experts in medicine; Lynceus — he was inscribed board discovered in Dispilio in believed to be clear sighted — who would Castoria, derived from radiocarbon(C14) stand on the prow searching the sea analyses, goes back to ca 5000 BC. The carefully; Idas and Hercules as prow- Orphic hymns were the genuine product of officers; Peleus and Telamon as stern- Hellenes who lived in the country in the officers; Zetes and Calais who were petty depths of the 2nd Millenium BC (Orphica - officers and Nauplius, Erginus and Ancaeus, I.Passas). If this date is true then the Argonautic Expedition, where Orpheus took TABLE OF CONTENTS part, could not have taken place in 1400 BC 1 but much earlier. Jason and the Argonauts 1 Dionysus and Orpheus 3 1 An occultist might date this closer to the sinking of Correspondence 5 Poseidonis — around 8 or 9,000 BC. The Glossary entry for Orpheus reads: “Literally, the ‘tawny The Curse from a Philosophical one.’ Mythology makes him the son of Æager and Point of View 7 the muse Calliope. Esoteric tradition identifies him Letter from Damodar 16 with Arjuna, the son of Indra and the disciple of Krishna. He went round the world teaching the Meditation 20 nations wisdom and sciences, and establishing Secret Trial of Tibetan Monks 21 mysteries. The very story of his losing his Eurydice and finding her in the underworld or Guest Editorial — “Unity in Diversity” 22 Hades, is another point of resemblance with the story of Arjuna, who goes to Pâtâla (Hades or hell, considered dark in complexion even by the Greeks, but in reality the Antipodes or America) and finds who were never very fair-skinned themselves.” (p. there and marries Ulupi, the daughter of the Nâga 242) king. This is as suggestive as the fact that he was The Aquarian Theosophist, Vol. III, Supplement #5 March 17, 2003 Page 2 experts in navigation. Anceus took over the with as soon as they came out of Bosporus Argo after Tiphy's death. He was also said could not have occurred in the Euxinus to be an astronomer. The rest of the Pontus which is an inland sea. Perhaps Argonauts rowed. some ancient copyists quite ignorant of the Judging from the above we cannot but fact that the Mediterranean had access to the admire the perfect organization of the Atlantic Ocean, placed Bosporus in the Argonauts-all of them being well-educated Euxinus Pontus which was a well-known sea and experts in their fields as well as good at the time. fighters — and therefore conclude that the The Argo, after having sailed across Argonautic Expedition must have been a the Mediterranean and through Hercules' voyage of discovery as well. Pillars, was carried to the American Continent by the Gulf Stream. They sailed Crew List to the south of the Sargasso Sea ("The [See pages 6 & 7.] floating islands", Apollonius Rhod. Book II [There are two major theories 285, 295-298) and touched at Puerto-Rico. regarding the actual itinerary of the voyage. The Sargasso Sea was named after the weed, We give the most recent, which may turn out known as sargassum, which floats in closer to truth than the orthodox version!" For scattered patches over hundreds of square extensive information on this subject go miles throughout this vast area. to: http://www.greece.org/poseidon/work/argo At Puerto-Rico they met the seer nautika/argo.html Vasilis Haskas of Greece is to be credited with Phineus and freed him from the "Arpyias" the major part of this article. — Eds. A.T.] which are not a poetic exaggerated invention but according to Apollonius' detailed Another unconventional and more description these birds must have been the revolutionary theory which really deserves "Hoatzin" as they are called now in South particular mention is that of Henriette Mertz, America. From there the Argo passed an American archaeologist and researcher of through the Windward Passage between the the Hellenic Prehistory. two islands of Haiti and Cuba (Cyanean Rocks or Clashing Rocks). At this point I After 1950 Henriette Mertz, following am citing the remarks of Henriette Mertz Apollonius Rhodius' scripts on Argonautica from her book "The Wine Dark Sea" Book II, sailed over the east coasts of South regarding the detailed description of the America and across the Amazon, covered natural phenomenon of tide by Apollonius long distances on foot in the Andes range in Rhodius, which should make researchers Perou, Bolibia and Colombia and concluded think. "Apollonius Rhodius accurately that the Argonauts had sailed as far as South described the high tide surging through the America where gold was in plenty. passage and the white-foamed spray According to her, the Miletian geographers clashing high on cliffs of both sides — the quite mistakenly placed Colchis in the Cyanean Rocks. The allusion of rocks Euxinus Pontus where the ancient clashing together referred to the high tide — philologists sent the Argonauts to get the as the tide swelled rushing in, lower rocks "Golden Fleece". became submerged by the rising seas, As for the word "Bosporus" -used by disappearing from sight and appearing to Apoll.Rhod. Book II-, I. Passas in his widen the passageway giving an optical "Hellenic Prehistory" says that it might not illusion of the two headlands moving away. have been used as a geographic location but When the tide receded and the water level as a term for the strait which the Argo sailed dropped, lower rocks again became exposed through. The huge waves like mountains and appeared to suddenly come together. and the contrary winds they were confronted Thus they opened and closed. Since the vast The Aquarian Theosophist, Vol. III, Supplement #5 March 17, 2003 Page 3 surge of foaming sea rises twice every day terrestrial anthropomorphism, he abolished with an unexpected suddenness the rocks human sacrifice and instituted a mystic were said to clash together (Symplygades- theology based on pure spirituality. Cicero Clashing Rocks)". calls Orpheus a son of Bacchus. It is strange that both seem to have originally come from According to Mertz the detailed and India. At least, as Dionysus Zagreus, accurate description of this natural Bacchus is of undoubted Hindu origin. phenomenon would be possible only by Some writers deriving a curious analogy eyewitness and this phenomenon exists between the name of Orpheus and an old precisely as described and exists in no other Greek term, ÏDN<Òl, dark or tawny- place. On the other hand, such tides do not colored, make him Hindu by connecting the take place in inland seas like the Black Sea term with his dusky Hindu complexion. See or the Mediterranean -hardly of sufficient Voss, Heyne and Schneider on the force to whirl a ship around ("The current Argonauts. whirled the ship around" Apoll.Rh.). The Glossary (p. 242) entry for After passing through the Clashing “Orphic Mysteries” reads: Rocks the Argo was said to have sailed into another broad sea, the Caribbean, "where the These followed, but differed greatly two seas met" (Apoll.Rh.). Here the two from, the mysteries of Bacchus. The seas are the Atlantic and the Caribbean. system of Orpheus is one of the purest Coming out into the Caribbean Sea we read morality and of severe asceticism. The about a windless calm and airless silence theology taught by him is again purely while the Argonauts bending over the oars Indian. With him the divine Essence is inseparable from whatever is in the infinite are sweating and panting. It is true that universe, all forms being concealed from all travelling from the cold and wild Atlantic eternity in It. At determined periods these into the warm and calm Caribbean through forms are manifested from the divine the Windward Passage one can instantly feel Essence or manifest themselves.