Fragment 51

We are now going to go back and examine the Death Goddesses. As everyone who has read these "Fragments" knows, I am a Setian with a special devotion to Great Nephthys. So it should not be surprising that I am going to choose Persephone as the Goddess of "On Nature". This "Fragment shall probably reveal some of my unconscious bias, and will definitely show my conscious bias. Although I admit there is evidence for Aphrodite. If one wants they can write up their arguments and evidence for Aphrodite. I would love to read someone's arguments for a different Goddess. Ereshkigal the Death Goddess who encountered Ishtar went off to become Hecate. Yes I believe Nephthys and Ereshkigal are different Goddesses. When we get to Nephthys we have a different encounter: the two Goddesses cooperate with each other. Also we observe in the Greek mythology in the beginning Persephone and Aphrodite also cooperated before having a falling out on who gets to keep Adonis. I think there are only three options on who the Goddess is: first option is Aphrodite, second option is Peresphone, third option it is both Aphrodite and Persephone. I know Nyx has been proposed as the Goddess but I find the evidence underwhelming. I do not want to discourage anyone from arguing it is Nyx. Make your case. A case I shall try to make for Nephthys. Both Nephthys and Kali are Goddesses of the death and rebirth experience. This should remind the reader of the most famous Death Goddess Kali. Nephthys and Kali are both the Goddess controlling the coming into being and death of forms. Compare Shakti and death and rebirth. There are many parallels between Nephthys and Kali. They both have" the Destroyer as consort". There are many parallels between Nephthys and Kali that need to be studied. When we examine the text of the poem I shall provide more evidence. Let us sum up so far. I think that Persephone is the Goddess, and the poem describes a death and rebirth experience. I want to turn to the Initiation experience in the poem What is the Initiation about and why is it formatted as an Initiation experience? Again we must go far back into history to Anaximander (610-546 B.C.). Anaximander was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He does not get much credit because he was so early and most of his writings are lost. The part of Anaximander that I want to focus on, Is he believed that the new knowledge should be publicly accessible to anyone. For Anaximander all the forces of the cosmos are physical and should be examined in a physical way. This is why the Pre-Socratic called themselves "Physical explainers". Anaximander had two pupils that we know of: Anaximenes and Pythagoras. Here we shall only be concerned with Pythagoras. Pythagoras disagreed with his teacher in that he thought the new knowledge should be private and not shared outside of a cult. We have seen this scenario play out in Occultism many times; the most famous being the Crowley-Mather disputes over secrecy. It seems that Parmenides was a rebel Pythagorean. Parmenides was a rebel because he wanted the new knowledge public. So let us move to the Mystery Schools of the ancient world. The subject of the Mystery Schools was always death and rebirth. So What is it they did in the Initiation process? Let us look at some modern examples. Modern examples would be passion plays and Easter vigils, but they seem to be missing something. Like the best parts. People still watch and participate in activities where the best parts have been taken out. An example would be Coca Cola even though they took the cocaine out people kept drinking the cola. What is missing in modern Initiation is that there is no esoteric knowledge that is given to the devotee, and certain activities have been removed. Sex might have been one of those removed parts. Let us look at the New Testament. It would seem that in early Christianity there was an esoteric doctrine that would be revealed to One. There are two resurrections in the New Testament. Let us briefly look at the first resurrection in the Gospels; that of Lazarus. The first thing that one is struck with is the cave Tomb that Lazarus is in is identical to the tomb Jesus was put into. This suggests that it was not a real death but an Initiation into esoteric Christianity. Instead of a Priestess it is Christ that raises Lazarus. Again El is taking out the female principle. This is where I think that sex may have been involved. Remember Isis had to fashion an artificial phallus. It is also said the Pythagoras had a golden thigh, this actually means he had a golden phallus. My fellow Setian Don Webb once claimed that Isis invented the blow job. Now I am wondering if he was joking? To bolster my speculation we shall go to Plutarch. Plutarch mentions the Jews celebrating the God, Bacchus. Where the leader of the Jews says" the Holy Rites of Bacchus are agreeable to the Jews". I wonder if this may have been early Christians or Jewish Christians. In simpler terms there was a lot of overlap in the religions of the time. I think many people of the time knew El was the God of Jews and Christians. Bacchus and Dionysus were equivalent to Christ. Thus it would seem that the resurrection of Lazarus was an Initiation ceremony. The early followers of Jesus had a cave tomb they used for initiation rites. I do think that there are many people throughout history that know that El is the God of the Christians and Jews. Like a certain rich royal family of a middle eastern country, and In the Holy City in Italy. When one looks at Michelangelo's paintings of God one is looking at El. Now let us turn again to Christ's resurrection. Where Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb to raise Jesus, her lover, but he is already gone. I guess after El divorced his troublesome wife that he soured on women altogether. Time to get back to Persephone. My argument is that Persephone is the Goddess and that the poem is a reverse Initiation. Instead, Parmenides gaining esoteric knowledge he brings the knowledge to the public. the Knowledge that Parmenides reveals logic and reason. This process may have started with Parmenides but the project was completed by the Sophists. The Sophists disseminated the knowledge to the public at large. All quotes shall be from David Gallop's book "Parmenides of Elea". So let us go to the poem "On Nature". I have also found D. Gallop's commentaries useful. So let us begin with "Fragment 1" :"Of the Goddess that carries everywhere unscathed the man Who Knows." The person who knows is the person that has been Initiated into esoteric knowledge. All the commentaries I have read agree with this. On his journey, Parmenides meets with the Daughters of the Sun with a chariot The trouble with this line is what is the direction of the journey. This is one of the weak points in my argument. There were the mysteries of Aphrodite and Adonis for women only. No men were allowed in their rites. The answer I give is that the maidens came to escourt Parmenides from light into darkness ; the realm of Persephone. Let us go to Gallop: and they escort him back into the House of Life. " But the words into the light" are more plausibly both in grammar and sense, not with the Daughters immediately after they collect their passenger, and So instead of travelling into rebirth the Initiate travels to the underworld to be taught by the Goddess of the underworld; Persephone. So instead of going from death to life Parmenides goes from life to death. If the Goddess is Persephone does that mean this is a satire of parody of the Mysteries of Aphrodite much like Plato's "Symposium" So there is no question in my mind that the poem has to do with death and rebirth myth, but it is reversed instead of but is reversed instead of going into the light he goes to the House of Night. Now we shall turn to "Fragment 11":" There are the gates of the paths of Night and Day, And a lintel and threshold of Stone surround them, And the Aetherial gates themselves are filled with great doors." Gallop explains thus: "Entry to it is gained through the Gates of the Paths of Night and Day. These gates whose structure and machinery occupy no fewer than ten lines have a special significance . They are the point at which Night and Day meet, a place where opposites are undivided and where the familiar contrasts of human experience can therefore no longer be drawn. Thus the Goddess is located where all difference or contrast has disappeared" For me this is the strongest proof that Persephone is the Goddess of the poem. Those of my readers who are not devotees of a Death Goddess may find this unconvincing. Let me explain. It is alway the Death Goddess that is beyond opposites this was said of both Nephthys and Kali.There are many parallels between Death Goddesses Nephthys, Kali and Persephone that should be explored. Being a devotee of a Death Goddess has taught me a lot about Death Goddesses. Although Aphrodite does make an appearance in the poem in "Fragment 10" :"In the midst of of these is the Goddess who steers the stars; For she rules over hateful birth and the union of all things. Sending female to mingle with male, and again conversely." This is Persephone talking about her sister Aphrodite. One notices that Aphrodite is not the Goddess that knows things as undivided. Most of the ancient commentaries agree this section is about Aphrodite. I have had my say. This whole "Fragment" has been inspired by my meditations on Great Nephthys. So I dedicate this "Fragment" to the glory of Nephthys