noone will ever know the secret of Eleusis
HELLENICA & ANCIENT WISDOM
Information
This group is to give access to and a space for discussion of spiritual issues in general and from the Western traditions, as distinct from the groups on eastern wisdom (Buddhist, Taoist etc) including the ancient sources of mystery religion, especially but not exclusively Greek mythology, religion, mysteries, oracles and practices.
Members: 34
Latest Activity: Apr 22
Access to Sources
Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Gregory Nagy translation
Hugh Evelyn-White translation
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite
Gregory Nagy translation
Hugh G. Evelyn-White translation
Discussion Forum
Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by David Brazier Apr 22. 1 Reply 0 Likes
Translation, notes and metrical explanation copyright 1997 Elizabeth Vandiver; all rights reserved.Iridescent-throned Aphrodite, deathless Child of Zeus, wile-weaver, I now implore you, Don't--I beg you, Lady--with pains and torments Crush down…Continue
DIOGENES
Started by David Brazier Apr 2, 2018. 0 Replies 0 Likes
If there anyone I envy,it’s old Diogenes, dog that he was and I more a cat.But… Oh to be in a world where such naturalnesswas possible!I hope we have a few sparks in common.Like that honest man, I am a citizenof nowhere in particular.Which polis?…Continue
WITH FIRE IN THEIR HAIR
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by Mat Osmond Apr 9, 2017. 2 Replies 1 Like
I've been reading The Bacchae by Euripedes. It is the only extant play based on the rituals of Dionysus in which women went in groups into the hills and engaged in orgiastic activities under the influence of wine. The theme of the play is the…Continue
SECRETLY PUT DOWN A DEEP ROOT
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by David Brazier Feb 11, 2017. 12 Replies 5 Likes
In the practice of spirituality, there is always an interesting tension between form and spontaneity. Too much form can easily become empty hypocrisy whereas too much spontaneity can easily become self-indulgence and dilettantism. The sage Kuya once…Continue
THOUGHTS GENERATED BY READING THOMAS SMITH ON ARISTOTLE
Started by David Brazier Jul 19, 2016. 0 Replies 1 Like
I have started rereading the book Revaluing Ethics: Aristotle’s Dialectical Pedagogy”. I shall not give an account of the book, merely of some of the stimulating ideas that he advances or that occur to myself as I read it.1. Since Plato never speaks…Continue
ANSHIN: PART THREE ~ Symbolism of My Island Home
Started by David Brazier Jun 20, 2016. 0 Replies 3 Likes
In the teaching yesterday we looked at the emoticon image for peace, being a dove with an olive sprig in its beak. In ancient Greek mythology, the dove and the olive branch were attributes of Eirene the goddess of peace. The olive was also…Continue
A FIRE FOR ARTEMIS
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by David Brazier May 31, 2016. 4 Replies 0 Likes
This evening I lit a fire for Artemis. She is the goddess of wild things. On our land she has dedicated to her the most wild part, the forest area including 'the Enchanted Wood'. There is something unreachable about Artemis - especially if you are a…Continue
LESSONS FROM POOH
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by David Brazier Apr 17, 2016. 8 Replies 3 Likes
I have recently been reading Winnie the Pooh and, among other things, it is a wonderful account of everyday small mindedness. Pooh is the personification of greed. If the chance of getting "a little something" comes along he immediately becomes…Continue
HAVING FAITH IN FAITH
Started by David Brazier. Last reply by David Brazier Apr 15, 2016. 4 Replies 6 Likes
Faith is Part of What We Are Spirituality requires us to have faith in faith. This faith-in-faith is well-founded because without faith we…Continue
FAITH AS A RATHER HUMAN FRIEND
Started by David Brazier Apr 7, 2016. 0 Replies 1 Like
The conclusion I have reached and that serves me best is that the basic default setting of life is faith. The snail proceeding across the garden lives in faith that she will reach the cabbage. It may be that all manner of misfortune may prevent her…Continue
Comment Wall
Add a Comment
-
Comment by Annie Parry on April 2, 2016 at 2:04
-
I'm interested to know more about the black and white image used as the emblem for this group? Thanks in advance ....
-
Comment by David Brazier on February 14, 2016 at 13:05
-
Happy is the one whom the Muses love. Sweet flows the speech from that mouth. For though we have sorrow and grief in freshly-troubled spirits, and though we live in dread because our hearts are distressed, yet, when a singer, the servant of the Muses, chants the glorious deeds of men of old and the blessed gods who inhabit Olympus, at once we forget all of our heaviness and sorrows. The gifts of the goddesses soon turn us away from these cares. Hesiod: Theogony 90-103
Events
ITZI Conference 2019
Groups
Blog Posts
WEEP FOR OUR WORLD
Posted by David Brazier on August 20, 2019 at 21:38 0 Comments 0 Likes
At the moment I am feeling very sad for the state of the planet. As I write the great forests are being consumed by fire, both the tropical forest in Brazil and the tundra forest in Russia. The great forests are the lungs of the earth. I myself have lung problems. When there are parts of the lungs that don’t work anymore one can run out of energy. It can strike suddenly. We will probably not do anything serious about climate change or wildlife extinction…
MY MEDICAL CONDITION
Posted by David Brazier on June 26, 2019 at 18:04 10 Comments 2 Likes
My medical condition continues to be a mystery. It is clear that I do not have any of the big nasty things - brain tumour, cracked skull, stroke, etc - as these have been ruled out by MRI investigation. Nonetheless I continue to have persistent, continuous head pain that varies in intensity and I become exhausted by the least effort so that I am functioning like an invalid incapable of doing very much. There is always a possibility that the whole syndrome is a…
Continue
Grace.
Posted by Dayamay Dunsby on June 2, 2019 at 1:02 4 Comments 2 Likes
Sit
Posted by Geeta Chari on April 26, 2019 at 22:13 3 Comments 1 Like
This is a short video of a Buddhist monk and his family.
It raised questions on parenting and Buddhism - does detachment (or perhaps quietism), as practiced here, lead to demotivation and disengagement with the world around one?
His children find the detachment practised by the monk disquieting. They appreciate the irony of detachment, which is supposed to…
Continue
© 2019 Created by David Brazier.
Powered by
You need to be a member of HELLENICA & ANCIENT WISDOM to add comments!