"Reason, like a good potter, introduces a beautiful form to the soul."

The Similitudes of Demophilus 5

"Remember that you are an actor in a drama of such sort as the author chooses. If short, then in a short one. If long, then in a long one. If it be his pleasure that you should enact a poor man, see that you act it well; or a cripple, or a ruler, or a private citizen. For this is your business, to act well the given part; but to choose it belongs to another."

Epictetus, The Handbook 17

"And do those things which will not harm you, and reflect before your deed."

The Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans 39

"Do not ever dare to taunt a man for deadly poverty, which eats out the heart; it is sent by the deathless gods. The best treasure a man can have is a sparing tongue, and the greatest gift, one that moves in measure; for if you speak evil, you yourself will soon be worse spoken of."

Hesiod, Works and Days 717-721

"We worship God rightly if we render our intellect pure from all vice, as from some stain."

Iamblichus, Exhortation to Philosophy Chapter 2 gnômê 11

"Excess destroys many a fool, because it is hard to know the due measure when good things are at hand."

Theognis, Elegies 693-694

"Since the roots of our natures are established in God, we should tenaciously cling to our root; for streams of water, and other offspring of the earth, when their roots are cut off, also become rotten and dry."

The Pythagorean Sentences of Demophilus 38

"Duties are measured on the whole by social relations. Is a certain man your father? In this are implied taking care of him; submitting to him in all things; patiently receiving his reproaches, his correction. 'But he is a bad father.' Is your natural tie, then, to a good father? No, but to a father. Is a brother unjust? Well, preserve your own just relation towards him. Do not consider what he does, but what you are to do, to keep your own will in a state conformable to nature. For another cannot hurt you unless you choose it. You will then be hurt when you consent to be hurt. In this manner, therefore, if you accustom yourself to contemplate the relations of neighbor, citizen, commander, you can deduce from each the corresponding duties."

Epictetus, The Handbook 30

"The intellect derived from philosophy is similar to a charioteer, for it is present with our desires and always conducts them to the beautiful."

The Similitudes of Demophilus 34

Notes On The Odyssey

Some thoughts I had regarding my latest reading:

This time through I carried a stronger knowledge of Hellenism than the last time. I was aware Odysseus was considered in ancient times to represent the soul, and his journey the path of the soul to the divine. This opens up a lot of meaning in the story, and unlocks its metaphysical significance.

Odysseus in ancient Greek meant "to be troubled" or pained.

Odysseus begins as a wealthy man, crowned with a kingdom and unified with a beautiful and perfectly loyal wife. This is the state of the soul before falling into material desire, incarnation, etc.

Odysseus experiences a fall -- departure from his wife as he leaves for Troy. The war of Troy ends in Odysseus being lost at sea.

The sea is the constant landscape of the story, with Poseidon as the former antagonist (the latter antagonists being Penelope's suitors).

Poseidon is often referred to in terms that sound that same as how Zeus is referred to; an omnipotent king, ever present, presenting trials that angrily surge upward from the depths. His servant is Polyphemus, the cyclops.

Polyphemus -- ancient Greek for "much spoken of", in the sense of being notorious.

Cyclops' one eye is a double entendre -- cyclops is sexual passion, the male genitals even. His consumption of flesh an allegory for the effects of unrestrained sexual appetite. He is an aspect of the destructive nature of Poseidon -- the cthonic god who rules the unconscious (whereas Zeus is the divine mind/illumination).

Some of Odysseus's companions are consumed by the cyclops -- they are consumed by sexual desire, which effectively catapults them from their spiritual journeys (death).

The reason Odysseus is not consumed by Polyphemus is because he had already overcome his sexual trial when he was with Calypso, the goddess who ensnared him for sexual purposes. Though ensnared, Odysseus never forgot Penelope (his constant, ever loyal higher self), and greatly mourned that his sexual life with Calypso was keeping him from her. His eventual escape is his victory over lust and therefore the continuation of his reunification with Penelope.

Telemachus (Gr. for "far fighter") is the distant memory of the spiritual potentiality that Odysseus glimpsed as a consequence of his former unification with Penelope (having only seen Telemachus as a baby is the indication of Odysseus only having caught a glimpse of this potentiality). This glimpse, this memory of a spiritual epiphany arising from his marriage, is part of what spurs Odysseus on, motivates his journey even though Telemachus is a distant memory, symbolized by his living far from Odysseus' initial troubles. Hence, "far fighter".

Zeus as totality

All events in The Odyssey, both good and bad, are attributed to Zeus. Even the actions of other gods are ultimately the actions of Zeus; sometimes this is simply acknowledged by Odysseus and other characters, sometimes Zeus is depicted as directly giving direction or permission. This applies not only to the actions of the gods, but to natural phenomena and to the behaviors of mortal men. This ties directly into the poem's central theme of hospitality.

Hospitality (Xenia) as the metaphysical ground of The Odyssey

The entire poem revolves around hospitality and reciprocity. Odysseus is a fallen soul, represented by his poverty and the image of him being dressed in rags (the state of being mortal).

The poem declares time and again that hospitality is necessary because the estranged, impoverished soul is Zeus. To show generosity to an ailing soul is to show generosity to Zeus, to give Zeus his due. This is an even more striking indication of Zeus's position as totality; Zeus is not only the cosmos and the cause of physical events, he is the souls that populate the cosmos.

Thus, the Orphic and Platonic interpretation of Zeus as the demiurge and the source of souls is not a departure from mythology. The entire concept is Homeric. The idea that Platonism is decadent or proto-Christian, at the expense of pagan orthodoxy, is an illusion and not true to the spirit of Homer's works.

This same theme is present in Vedic, Roman, and Nordic literature. The king god (Odin, Vishnu, Jupiter) in all these myths dresses down as impoverished beggars and wanderers, testing the hospitality of man. They are the totality of the cosmos, appearing to us as the creatures and mortals we encounter in life.

"But concerning all the pains that men suffer by Divine Fate,
whichever fate you have, endure this and do not be irritated."

The Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans 17-18

"But as for you, turn your foolish heart altogether away from these things, and, as far as you are able, sacrifice to the deathless gods purely and cleanly, and burn rich meats also, and at other times propitiate them with libations and incense, both when you go to bed and when the holy light has come back, that they may be gracious to you in heart and spirit, and so that you may buy another’s lands and they not buy yours."

Hesiod, Works and Days 335-341

"As much food is injurious to the body, so is much wealth pernicious to the soul evilly inclined or disposed."

Iamblichus, Exhortation to Philosophy Chapter 2 gnômê 6

"He who does good to the baser sort gets himself little thanks; he might as well sow the waters of the hoary brine. You would no more receive good if you did good to the bad than you would reap corn if you sowed the waters. For the mind of the bad is insatiable; you make but one mistake, and the friendship is poured out and lost from all the past. But the good are wont to forget the worst of wrongs when they suffer it, whereas they keep remembrance afterward of good that is done them and remain grateful for it."

Theognis, Elegies 105-112

"God has no place on the earth more suitable to his nature than a pure and holy soul."

The Pythagorean Sentences of Demophilus 44

"Be assured that the essence of piety towards the gods lies in this: to form right opinions about them, that they exist and govern the universe well and justly, and to fix yourself in this duty: to obey them and yield to them in everything which happens, and to willingly follow it as being accomplished by the wisest intelligence. ... But it also becomes incumbent on every one to offer libations and sacrifices and first-fruits, according to the customs of his country, purely, and not heedlessly nor negligently; not stingily nor extravagantly."

Epictetus, The Handbook 31

In his commentary on the above passage, the philosopher Simplicius writes that "when the soul has been purified in the manner described, it should also offer the first fruits of the externals given to it by God, using a purified instrument and garments as pure as possible" (On Epictetus' Handbook 93.37–40).

It is important that we give offerings to God, but we must first purify ourselves physically and spiritually. Only then will the offerings be efficacious. What is the "manner described"? It is to (1) understand that the gods are good, that they govern the universe well and justly, and that they care for human beings; and (2) to live according to that knowledge, accepting fate and following God wherever He leads.

The tradition outlines our means of achieving this: first, we use ethical literature that is in accord with true opinion (such as the Handbook or the Works and Days) to train our irrational soul and to acquire the cardinal virtues. Additionally, we harmonize our souls using music therapy and cleanse our bodies with gymnastics and pure food. Once we have done these things, we will have obtained the appropriate purity. This purity will allow us to receive the blessed energies of the gods in response.

"If a good man sacrifices to the gods and keeps them constant company in his prayers and offerings and every kind of worship he can give them, this will be the best and noblest policy he can follow ... But if the wicked man does it, the results are bound to be just the opposite. Whereas the good man's soul is clean, the wicked man's soul is polluted, and it is never right for a good man or for God to receive gifts from unclean hands—which means that even if impious people do lavish a lot of attention on the gods, they are wasting their time, whereas the trouble taken by the pious is very much in season." (Plato, Laws 716d-717a).

"A port is a place of rest to a ship, but friendship, to life."

The Similitudes of Demophilus 14

"First, honor the immortal gods, as set down by the law, and revere the oath."

The Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans 1-2

Here's how you can best help in our mission to revitalize classical spirituality:

1. Tell other people about it, whether online or in real life.
Most people do not know that the West has a rich and deep non-Christian spirituality. They think their options are Christianity or Eastern spiritualities, like Buddhism. Explain to them that our philosophical tradition was originally a spiritual tradition akin to that found in the Indian Upanishads, that philosophers such as Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle were not mere "intellectuals" or "academics" but were profoundly spiritual men who influenced and shaped European thought, religion, and culture. Tell them that we have our own traditional medicine, music therapy, and a full-blown "path to enlightenment."

2. Research.
We are in desperate need of intelligent, passionate students of the tradition willing to do focused research. For years our community has stumbled along half-blind, trying our best to practice a religion we only knew the vague outlines of. Things were made even more difficult by extreme politicization, a barrage of (sometimes willful) misinformation, and sheer buffoonery. But there's good news: we are now entering a new era. Thanks to the hard work of many people, the sad days of guessing our way to spiritual fulfillment are ending. There is now a clarity to classical spirituality—what it is and what to do—that I could only dream of 6 or even 2 years ago. But there is still a lot of work to do! If you are so inclined, I suggest focusing your research on one of the following areas:
🔸Moral education, as understood in this tradition.
🔸Traditional medicine. Europe has a vast and complex medical literature, and, like the traditional medical systems of, say, India and China, it is spiritually relevant.
🔸Philosophically informed ritual practice.
🔸Mathematics and science as purifications.