Ivan Yefremov - Thais of Athens

That was where the cult of the triple goddess Hecate, the snake goddess of Crete and Libya, had spread from all other Hellenic countries. Her beautiful, seductive priestesses, or Lamias, became the terrible night demons in Hellas. The owl-goddess turned into a demon too, becoming Lilith, the first wife of the first man, in Syria. The Syrian moon goddess was sometimes portrayed with a snake’s body, and sometimes with a lion’s head when she was pictured in Egypt. Neit was essentially the same three-faced snake, the goddess of Libya. The main goddess of Attica, Athena the Wise, was born on the shores of the lake Triton in Libya as a triple snake goddess. The triple goddess of Love dominated all ancient religions, and that was where three Muses or Nymphs came from. In the later myths, she was always defeated by a male god or a hero, like Perseus.

The Delos philosopher said that goddesses and gods of the ancient religions always transformed into evil demons when they were transferred to new people. It was necessary to soil the old in order to establish the new. That was just the way people were, unfortunately.

The great Mother Goddess, or Ana, who united the faces of Wisdom, Love and Fertility, turned her other side toward people. She became the goddess of Evil, Destruction and Death. But the intuitive memory was stronger than that, and the ancient beliefs constantly floated up from under the mass of the new ones. The image of Ana divided and became the goddesses of Hellas: Ur-Ana, Aphrodite; Di-Ana, Artemis; At-Ana, Athena. The moon goddess, Artemis, the most ancient one of all, preserved her triple image and became Hecate, the goddess of evil enchantment and night illusions, the leader of the night demons. Her brother, Apollo the Assassin, became the glorious god of the sun and healing.

“Are you not afraid to speak of gods as if they were people?” Thais asked with concern, having listened to the bearded man without interrupting.

“The Delos teacher have already told you. And besides, I am a poet, and all poets revere the female goddess. There is no poet without her, he only addresses her. She must succumb to the power of his words. For a poet always seeks the truth, and comes to know things that do not interest Muse or Love. She is a goddess, but she is a woman, too.”

“You are speaking to me as if I were…”

“That is why he is a poet,” a weak but clear voice sounded behind them.

They both jumped up and bowed to the Delos priest.

“You have even forgotten that Nikturos have already reflected in the waters of the river,” he said.

The bearded man, having instantly lost his solemnity, mumbled something to justify himself, but the Delos philosopher signed for him to stop.

“A poet should always be ahead of a man,” the philosopher said, “for such is his essence. If something mighty became overripe or dead, it must be destroyed, and the poet becomes a destroyer, directing the strike of humiliation. If something sweet is still weak, not fully grown or even destroyed, it needs to be created anew, and have new power poured into it. This is where a poet is dreamer, exalter and creator. That is why he always has two faces, or better yet, three, like the Muse. But woe for him and the people if he only has one face. Then he is a spreader of harm and poison.”

“I would like to object, Delos scholar,” the bearded man said, lifting his head. “Why do you only speak about a poet? Are the philosophers not equally responsible for their words?”

“I am not talking about the limits that are equal for all. You know how the magic of word and sound is much stronger than the quiet voices of the sophists. The power of a poet over people is much greater, which is why…”

“I understand, teacher, and I bow again before your wisdom. Do not waste any more words.”

“No, I see you have not yet reached all of the depth of a poet’s power, even though you are initiated by the Five Petals of Lotus. The notion of a poem originates from the root of the word ‘struggle’, but a poet in his other guise always stops the warring parties. He is a peacemaker, and has been since ancient times. Why is that?”

The bearded man spread his fingers to indicate that he was at a loss, betraying by this gesture that he was from Mitilena, and the Delos philosopher smiled.

“Then you listen too, Thais, for this will help you understand many things. After the establishment of male gods, the arrogant male spirit replaced the order and peace, associated with female dominance. These male gods came from the north with Achaeans, Danaians and Aeolians, the tribes that had enslaved the Pelasgoans, ‘People of the Sea’, fifteen centuries ago. Warrior-heroes replaced the splendid female rulers of love and death and the priests declared war on the female beginning. But a poet serves the Great Goddess and is, therefore, a woman’s ally, even though a woman herself is not a poet, but a Muse.

“New people separated the Sun and the Moon, the male god from Anatkha-Ishtar, bestowing upon him the greatest power and considering him to be the beginning and the end of all existence. You were just telling Thais, and correctly so, that the gods of old religions become demons of the new one. I will add to this that the goddesses, as the rulers of evil magic, are being increasingly pushed away. This is happening in the east, in the west and in Hellas. Along with the goddesses, poetry is leaving as well, the number and the power of poets decreases. I foresee trouble from this far in the future.”

“Why trouble, Father?” Thais asked quietly.

“The essence of a person is being torn in half. A poet-thinker is becoming increasingly rare. Nus and Fronema, the mind more typical among men, becomes more dominant, rather than that of Mnema, Estesis and Timos, memory, feeling, heart and soul. And men, as they lose the poetic force, become akin to the Pythagorean number-crunchers, or to the vengeful and calculating deities of Syrian and western peoples. They declare war to the female beginning, and with it lose the spiritual interaction with the world and gods. When they pay their debt to a deity, they count their honors and sins like money, and instead of a cleansing they receive a fateful feeling of guilt and helplessness.”

“When did it start, Father? Why did it happen?”

“A long time ago. When a man first picked up a tool or a weapon, invented a wheel, he lost faith in himself and started relying on the tools he invented, increasingly departing from nature and weakening his inner strength. A woman lived differently and preserved herself better, becoming spiritually stronger than men in love and in the knowledge of her essence. That is what the Orphics believe. But enough discussion, night has fallen, it is time to go.”

Anxiety hastened Thais’ breath. She followed the men through a small courtyard which led to a stone pylon. The pylon was erected over a gallery, which led into the slope of a hill. For some time they walked silently, stepping carefully in the dark.

Then Thais heard the bearded poet ask the Delos philosopher, “Must we understand from what you said, that we Helenians, despite enormous knowledge and great art, purposely avoid creating new tools and machines so we can avoid parting from the feelings of Eros, beauty and poetry?”

“I think yes, although it is possible we do not even realize we are doing it.”

“Is it wise?”

“If the entire world is going toward the separation of a poet and a philosopher, feeling and mind, toward the acceptance of the all-intelligent and all-powerful, toward a punishing god and away from living nature to polises, under the protection of walls and machines, then our way will lead to destruction.”

“But it will be a glorious demise. We shall be sung about for centuries.”