Know A Good Omen When It Comes

Omens and signs are talked about extensively in various religions around the world, and notably in that of ancient Greece. They've been proven true to immense glory, and also misinterpreted to perilous disaster. However, those were usually ones of great questions and inquiries. Many of us don't realize that good and bad omens can be sent to us in our general lives each day. They are so beneficial and yet so simple that we may not think about it. One of the unique things about the ancient Greek Gods is that they were always willing to counsel humans, but it was up to the human to take the advice or leave it. The Gods didn't impose it. So we must, to an extent, train ourselves to recognize that advice.

On the first page of Book II of The Odyssey, a man named Aegyptius speaks generally at the Assembly of Ithaka. The dialogue is nothing profound, simply of goodwill toward the person who had called the meeting, which was Telemachus himself. It says that Telemachus, despite his grave situation, immediately saw this speech as a good omen, and burst forth with his own passionate words to the men present. And of course, this helped set the course for the future.

But why would something so simple be interpreted as a favorable sign from the Gods, or from what Spirits or Heroes, it may be? Perhaps to philosophize on this answer, we should go to the later words of the philosopher Democritus. "Now, as of old, the Gods give men all good things, excepting only those that are baneful, injurious and useless. These, now as of old, are not gifts from the Gods."

I would say that it's simply the ability to recognize good, especially when you are in the midst of a turbulent time like Telemachus. I'll describe two sets of omens that I have experienced in my own life, one spectacular and one common. After my son had been delivered in the hospital NICU at 24 weeks, severely premature and his mother with life-threatening complications, the number 4 was his birthdate, 4 was his incubator number, and 4444 was my wife's discharge room number. This is the number of good fortune and prosperity. Sure enough, both my wife and son left the hospital in good health. A more immediate example in my life, I would say, would have been my release from my longtime depression and anxiety medications, which I talked about in the previous blog post. It seemed like a bad situation at the time, because no matter how much I tried, I could not get my doctor to refill it; not even a single word from them. But I think it was a sign that it was time for me to stop, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. 

You recognize good signs and omens by understanding that, whatever the Gods give, it is beneficial.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Put The Iliad Under Your Pillow

For as long as I can remember back to childhood, I have had problems with nightmares and generally bad dreams when I sleep at night. Often these dreams make absolutely no sense, but are still terrifying nonetheless. However, there have interestingly been rare occasions when I realized I was dreaming and invoked Gods like Athena to destroy the dream or the evil therein, which She did. Many, many years ago, I dreamed I was being attacked by a vicious and giant snake. Snakes themselves are not evil, but there are snakes that can harm you, and probably malevolent spirits that can take the form of one. It's also possible that it could have been a manifestation of negative things in my life at the time. The giant serpent, whatever it was, attacked me like a monster defending its lair. Why I was there, or why the snake had come to me, I had no idea. It was so real I could actually somewhat feel its fangs the first time it bit me. But I closed my eyes and earnestly asked Athena to come fight for me. She did. The creature was destroyed and the dream ended.

Now during childhood, I was Christian (Southern Baptist), probably because my late grandmother Faye was my only teacher in the ways of religion and spirituality. She instructed me to put a bible under my pillow at night. "You'll have dreams," she explained, "but they won't be bad ones." It was probably a local southern belief system, but I tried it any way. Being that it happened during my time as a child, I honestly cannot be sure of its exact effectiveness. But today, as a Hellenist, I interpret her advice to mean a religious book or text, something that possesses Gods, Heroes and their powers and goodness. So for the last two nights, after having numerous nightmares up to that point, I tried putting The Iliad under my pillow.

I'm happy to say that it works. My dreams have been drastically decreasing in their scariness. Last night, I had none at all, only dreams that were good or neutral. In terms of Hellenism, I would venture to say that this practice could include anything that talks about Gods and Heroes, like The Odyssey, the various mythologies and stories, and the writings of the philosophers that talk about the Divinities, such as Plato and Democritus. I suppose it would depend on the book or text that you prefer or feel a connection to. The copy of The Iliad I use is a very old translation that was published in 1944 (now out of print). One of my favorite parts in the text is, "Whoever departs from the Gods, I find to be in wanting." I agree. My life would not be complete without the Gods. Thus, I keep the Gods with me at night by sleeping with the book that has them in it. It has noticeably helped me get better rest. If you're having sleeping problems, this general practice might be worth trying. 

I would also think it would have to be an official book or text from Hellenic religion, and not simply a modern writing that happens to have the Gods in it. Below I will list some examples.

Official

The Iliad

The Odyssey

Hesiod Works and Days, Theogony, Shield of Herakles

Any book of the Greek Myths

The Homeric Hymns

The Orphic Hymns

Plato Complete Works

Not Official would be anything that is not from ancient Greece. For instance, a history book written by a modern author, such as Greek Religion by Walter Burkert or The Hemlock Cup by Bettany Hughes. These are not religious or spiritual writings. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Massachusetts School Bans Odyssey Because Of "Sexism and Hate," Proving How Little They Actually Know About It

The declining intellect of some members of the human race never surprises me in this day and age. A Massachusetts school has actually banned The Odyssey because it teaches "sexism, racism, ableism, antisemitism, and violence." Good Gods, I don't even know where to start, but I'll try, because I'm a Hellenist of 10 years who has actually read the works of Homer and studies ancient Greek religion and civilization. The first thing these historically illiterate people need to understand is that Homer was not merely a Poet to the ancients, He was history. To them, He was simply reciting things that had happened long ago, not advocating a political or social position. It would be like accusing someone who writes a US history book of being sexist, racist, or whatever it may be. 

Claim 1: The Odyssey is sexist. 

False. The Odyssey holds Goddesses and mortal women to some of the highest levels of honor, power, virtue, wisdom and nobility. Without Athena, Odysseus and His son would not have been safe from the suitors. In the beginning, Athena even makes a plea for Odysseus to Zeus, showing how valuable it was to have the favor of female Divinity. If it hadn't been for Penelope's persistence and dedication, Ithaca might have been lost. Without Nausicca, Odysseus may have died before even reaching home. Or perhaps you might think the story is somehow sexist because men at times encounter female opponents or villains. But this is a huge fallacy, especially considering that there are many female Heroes, and male villains as well such as the Cyclops and the suitors who are depicted with great disgrace. At this point, you're finding sexism only because you desire to.

Claim 2: The Odyssey is racist.

Have you ever even read the first book? At the beginning of the story, Poseidon is away delighting with the Ethiopians, a race different than that of the Greeks. So let's put this into perspective. One of the greatest Gods of the caucasian Greeks leaves Greece to go feast and celebrate with the black Ethiopians, and this is supposed to signal racism. In what reality? Odysseus travels to many foreign lands of people different than the Greeks, where He often receives their aid and protection. Sometimes, people in The Odyssey even sacrifice to foreign Gods when they are in foreign lands to gain divine favor outside of their own culture.

Claim 3: The Odyssey supports ableism. 

What shall we say of the idea that abled people are more favored than disabled people in The Odyssey? I would imagine it thinks disabled people can be very capable, since at the end, Odysseus, in the form of an elderly wobbling man, outdid and defeated the younger, stronger suitors in the bow contest, and then killed them all. So the allegation that The Odyssey "doesn't like disabled people," is an invention at worst, and out of context at best.

Claim 4: The Odyssey is Antisemitic. 

The largest culture closest to the Jewish people in The Odyssey would be the Phoenicians, who were a semitic speaking people. While they resided in Israeli territory, they in fact had trade and influence all over the Mediterranean. Hardly something you would expect from people who were allegedly hated by the Mediterranean at the time, but there is something vastly important to consider. They were not enemies of Odysseus. They were friendly, helpful and essential to Odysseus completing His journey. In fact, in Book 8, Odysseus blesses them by saying, "The Gods shower down their grace upon these people, so that no evil dwell among them forever."  Odysseus bears no ill will toward the Phoenicians, but in fact is grateful for their presence. Some might even argue that the Phoenicians would not qualify as Jewish people, since their king Alcinous prayed to a Greek God after the blessing of Odysseus was given and encouraged his people to do the same: "Herald, stir the mixing bowl and carry drink to the entire hall, that our dispatching the stranger to his land may be with prayer to Zeus the Father."

The antisemitism that's allegedly in the story was, in fact, pulled out of someone's butt in the year 2020 and placed there. If anyone can locate a section in The Odyssey that is blatantly antisemitic, please post it in the comment section and we will examine it. 

Claim 5: The Odyssey is violent.

Violence is part of the nature of the universe, and part of human nature when necessary. Get over it. Sometimes violence is needed to create, build and preserve. You think the Earth came into being peacefully? You think there were no violent events? What of the United States that gives you the freedom to speak against literature you dislike? You think we maintained our way of life through campfire songs? Get real. Teaching children that there's no such thing as violence is to make them ill-prepared for the real world. It may be unfortunate, but sometimes violence is necessary. On a side note, you know other books and stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, that are violent? Harry Potter, but even with the immense violence and the clear transphobic attitude of JK Rowling, I bet they are still on the shelves of every public school library. 

In conclusion, yes, it is true that in parts of ancient Greece (not all), women were not equal to men. Although they were highly revered and privileged in Sparta, a kingdom which also appears in The Odyssey. But it's also true that women were not equal to men for most of American history as well. So are you going to ban US history books? And what of the violence? You'll have to ban US history for that as well. 

Disabled people in ancient Greece, unlike in other parts of the known world, could become valuable members of society, such as Seers. Some cultures, notably the Abrahamics, wouldn't even let disabled or deformed people sacrifice in their temples or at their altars because of their disabilites or deformities. The Greeks weren't that ignorant. And as said before, the Greeks routinely interacted with the many races and cultures around them. They traded with them, learned from them, and made friendships and alliances. This is not the conduct of racism or antisemitism. 

There is not, nor ever will be, such a thing as a perfect history, culture or people. You're going to end up banning every book known to humankind. The point of history is to learn, but this is the blatant erasing of it.

Update - Apparently the book hasn't actually been banned, there has simply been discussion of it, but nonetheless, it was strong enough to create news headlines, and accusations that should be addressed. 1/5/2021.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Work Cited: The Odyssey, translated by Laurence of Arabia aka T.E. Shaw.