Tales from the Island of Serendip 4 4

[Flex Mentallo]

Snorri is referenced in Jules Verne's novel A Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which a German professor discovers a slip of paper from a fictitious scientist, hidden inside a manuscript written by Sturluson, that eventually leads him to embark on an expedition into the Earth's interior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The proposed interpretation is that:

1. Our ancestors of the high and far-off times were endowed with minds wholly comparable to ours, and were capable of rational processes—always given the means at hand

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

2. That they were particularly fascinated by astronomical observations...

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

... and that they made many discoveries, particularly:

 

3. The precession of the axis was discovered long before the accepted date of the Greek discovery, and that this was discovered by an ancient (perhaps as late as 4000 BC) civilization of unsuspected sophistication (per #1).

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

4. This civilization believed that the world passed through cyclical & Zodiacal stages based on precession...

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

And indeed, the majority of myths have to do with astronomy, and are not principally related to sex or the weather, and that myths which encode this astronomical knowledge symbolically transmit this belief, typically through a story relating to a millstone and a young protagonist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

In particular, the book reconstructs a myth of a heavenly mill which rotates around the pole star, and grinds out the world's salt and soil, and is associated with the maelstrom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

"And from that time there has been a whirlpool in the sea where the water falls through the hole in the mill-stone. It was then that the sea became salt."

Snorri's Edda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The millstone falling off its frame represents the passing of one age's pole star (symbolized by a ruler or king of some sort). It's restoration is associated with the victory of the new king following the overthrow of the old. Thus establishing a new age (a new star moving into the position of pole star).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

But Hamlet's Mill was severely criticized by academic reviewers on a number of grounds: tenuous arguments based on incorrect or outdated linguistic information; lack of familiarity with modern sources; an over-reliance on coincidence or analogy; and the general implausibility of a far-flung and influential civilization existing and not leaving behind solid evidence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2014 by Flex Mentallo

[Flex Mentallo]

But there was a sea-faring civilization that flourished in biblical times which it has been argued could have voyaged across the oceans in search of trade.... the greatest mariners the world had ever seen...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

 

However, I wonder if perhaps the assessment in your last line may be a bit harsh.

 

It may be. She was an extraordinary person.

 

Maria Reiche lived in Nazca and frequently employed local people to assist her in her work. She did seem to have very fixed ideas about the purpose of the lines, and she would seem now to have been wrong. Her own sense of mission both saved the lines for posterity but also seemingly prevented her from considering alternative theories.

 

 

When the Horizon documentary team visited Nazca some fifteen years ago to make a film, they found that the local people had an oral tradition that preserved the knowledge of the lines purpose, which was to do with rainfall, or the absence thereof. It's many years since I watched it, but if memory serves, they were the direct descendants of the Nazca, but they no longer walked the lines. They had no reason to. They had outlived their own religion, though not the memory of it. Since no-one had bothered to ask them what they knew, they hadn't bothered to explain. But they agreed to do so for the documentary. Quite an astonishing sight, to watch hundreds of people bring the hummingbird and the spider to life! By walking the lines the Nazca had intended to activate the symbols as a form of prayer or ritual - a message to the Gods to bring rain.

 

The photos I included are evidently of staged events for the benefit of tourists, at local religious sites near the lines, which are now protected.

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

 

Stephens continued his investigations of Maya ruins with a return trip to Yucatán which produced a further book.

 

His books served to inspire Edgar Allan Poe, who also reviewed three of his travel books for the New York Review and Graham's Magazine.

 

I don't believe I've heard of Stephens - I've certainly never read his books - but this is the sort of thing I love!

[Flex Mentallo]

 

Flex, thanks for sharing your wide ranging knowledge here. Do you ever wonder whether this site is the best channel for your communications? These are some important ideas and should be enjoyed by a wide audience!

 

The bit that I really enjoy is the investigative research to refresh and add to my dredged up knowledge - which is very rusty!

 

What I especially enjoy is the format of posting on the boards because it is somewhat akin to a comic book. I spend far more time searching out suitable images to match - or frequently replace the text. I invariably find I learn far more than I started with - and sometimes I'm obliged to ditch my intended train of thought altogether in favor of something unexpected.

 

I never expected to carry on this long. I just find I'm enjoying the journey.

[MrBedrock]

I just find I'm enjoying the journey.

[Flex Mentallo]

There are a lot of latencies in this thread since I got it back to comparative mythology. It is quite literally a labyrinth. My golden thread is I suppose the psychology of it all.

 

In that respect, it seems to me that Maria Reiche dedicating her life to - in a certain sense - "recreating" the Nazca lines while surrounded by the indifferent descendants of their makers bears a striking similarity with the Inca remaking their sacred valley - a work not just of a lifetime but generations.

 

They were the keepers of the flame.

 

It's all about belief - and nothing to do with objective truth. With belief, people literally move mountains.

 

What I feel mythic structures most significantly reflect is our need - our readiness - to believe in something greater than ourselves.

 

We search for meaning, and we seize upon it, and having done so, hold grimly to our course, often in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

 

This happens to be true of virtually every person mentioned in this thread.

 

If the Nazca lines were Maria Reiche's folly, it is a noble one. I think of the young, lonely girl sailing through four rainbows on her way to South America to be a teacher.

 

She had no clue what awaited her...

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The Phoenicians

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

The Phoenicians were the first maritime civilization to venture beyond the Gibraltar straits into the Atlantic, navigating by the stars...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

They were great traders. Merchandise included highly desired purple fabrics using a dye extracted from the marine snail Murex.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flex Mentallo]

Hence the Phoenicians were also named "the Purple People".