March 19, 2008
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I’m very tired, so no real post today, just today’s festivals and noteable history. Tomorrow’s the vernal equinox though, so big Ostara post then.
March 19th
Akitu is a ten day long Babylonian festival held in memory of the marriage of heaven and earth.
In Greece, this is known as the Micra (lesser) Panathenaea in honor of Athene. This became the Quintania or Quinquatrus in honor of Minerva in the hands of the Romans. The Panathenaea is the most ancient and most important of Athenian festivals. The Lesser Panathenaea is celebrated every year, with the Megala (greater) Panathenaea held every fifth year and in the third year of every Olympiad. Only later was the Micra Panathenaea moved to spring, perhaps by Roman influence to make it correspond to the Quinquatrus of Minerva. The date of the Micra Panathenaea in the earlier Greek period was May 5th.
In the lesser festival, there are three games conducted by ten presidents. On the evening of the first day, there is a race with torches. On the second, there is gymnastic combat and trials of strength and bodily dexterity. The last is a musical contest, instituted by Pericles, and concerts are performed. The poets compete in four plays, called the tetralogia, the last of which is a satire. The victor in any of these games is rewarded with a vessel of oil and a crown of olives (which are sacred to the goddess), which grew in the grove of Academus.
Other ceremonies were added, such as a procession in which Minerva’s sacred peplos, or garment, is carried. Woven by a select number of virgins called ergazika, from ergos, “work,” the peplos is white or saffron and sleeveless with gold embroidery detailing the achievements of the goddess. Two of the arrephoroi, young virgins between the ages of eleven and seventeen, attend the ergazika. The arrephoroi wear white with ornaments of gold.
In the ceramicus outside the city near the Hill of Ares, a ship is built. From this, Minerva’s peplos is hung as a sail. The ship is taken to the temple of Ceres Eleusinia and then to the citadel where the peplos is placed upon Minerva’s statue. The statue lies upon a bed (plakis) woven or strewed with flowers.
The Quinquatrus or Quinquatria in honor of Minerva continues for five days. The first day of the festival commemorates her birth and the founding of her temple, the Minerva Capta. All those whose employment fall under the protection of the goddess celebrate Quinquatria. Students have a holiday during the festival, and begin a new course of study when it is over. Teachers receive their yearly stipend at this time – the minerval. Women and children (as spinners and weavers), artisans and artists, and poets and painters observe the festival of Minerva.
Eyvind Kinnrifi is a martyr for Odin, remembered today.
The Elizabethan statute against witchcraft was enacted in 1563.
Comments (1)
I apologize for the break between responses. I didn’t look at Xanga for a few days. Here goes.
“No… that it will not bear discussion means that in the process of discussion, ignorance and narrow-mindedness becomes exposed and can then be dealt with, which is why to remain silent is to allow ignorance and intolerance to continue.”
Here’s the fundamental problem with human language. It is imprecise. My interpretation of the statement was a few feet to the left of yours, and my trail of thought became miles apart.
Your interpretion, of course, holds true. However, discussion just doesn’t work with some people. Consider someone who, every time you try to open deeper conversation with them, simply keeps telling you they are stupid, complacent (or pretending to be), and tries to force you to stop talking to them. You redefining patriotism would have no effect in their case; they wouldn’t listen to you. The only reason what I say would get through is that their protest becomes meaningless over it; it hits them like a ton of bricks, and they are at least forced to see their own mistakes.
“We really can’t force people to change their POV, but I would be happy enough if they chose to assimiliate my form of patriotism over the one espoused by our politicians.”
Thoughtless assimilation of ANY information is stupid.
“At least my kind of patriotism encourages people to consider whether our leaders are worthy of such devotion, which if you think about it, is not something that can easily be assimilated.”
The amount of sheer information that is out there on our leaders suggests otherwise. Information, however, spreads through so many media these days, and as so much rumor and falsehood, that it is simply doubtable from all sides.
It is very easy, at this point, to simply believe Bush & co. are assholes, without ever having read anything true or unslanted in order to know why; it is only marginally less easy to doubt what you hear and hence come to the opposite (but blind!) conclusion, that the Bush administration has faced attacks based on falsified information, and support them.
In the end, it is actually difficult to know what is real. Most of us simply don’t have access to the necessary information. However, we are forced to take a stand based on our insufficient understanding and that is where we screw up.
I could consider your question all day, if I were going by mainstream sources for facts and information while understanding that they are manipulated, and come to no meaningful conclusion about the present government. However, this very (/chuckle) truth leads me to the conclusion that there’s more a lot more implied in our predicament than the present government.
I doubt most people would follow my train of thought. I think they’d stop at the beginning, reach the conclusion that our current administration is not worthy of our allegiance, and go no further than that.
“Anyone who agreed with me on the nature of patriotism would be required to think about who they are following and why and whether they are loyal to our leaders or to our nation.”
Disagreement can be blind.
“My point is that disagreement with our leadership does not make you unpatriotic (no matter how much our leaders might like people believe so) because our leaders are not our country. We are our country.”
Alright, now I’ll tell you the real reason I answered the patriotism question as I did. I was debating your questions for so long that this never came to light.
We are heading for a one-world government. It’s clear as daylight from what I understand of our money, our organizations, our governments, our politics, AND our people.
I support the spiritualism behind our unity. We are, in fact, from the same substance; I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel united at all to the land, people, and the universe. However, there are no lack of people out there who see this unity as a tool to gaining power.
Your patriotism is a filter you give to this unity. Through your questions, it allows you to separate the rational from the irrational, the intelligent from the stupid, the soulless from the people who might still make it when there finally exist higher understanding, no money, and no need to hold devastating power over others. However, the fact that you still claim it as patriotism won’t do more than confuse the people to whom patriotism is blind, like the person I described who calls themself “stupid” whenever you try to open a rational discussion and does anything not to let you talk. (And it might mislabel you to people who, even after listening to your words, still go by their version of patriotism.)
I know some for whom your entry would spark a light. I know others for whom it might ring true for a moment, and then they’d go back to their version of blindness. And there are still others, for whom nothing short of a ton of bricks would work.
I’ll work my way, you can work yours, and perhaps together we’ll change the world.