#Greek mysteries

[sixteenseveredhands]

The Petelia Tablet, Greek, c.300-200 BCE: this totenpass (a "passport for the dead") was meant to be buried in a human grave; it bears an inscription that tells the dead person exactly where to go and what to say after crossing into the Greek Underworld

Made from a sheet of gold foil, this tablet measures just 4.5cm (a little over 1.5 inches) in length, and although it was found inside a pendant case in Petelia, Italy, it's believed to have originated in ancient Greece. It was meant to aid the dead in their journey through the Underworld -- providing them with specific instructions, conferring special privileges, and granting them access to the most coveted realms within the afterlife.

The Petelia tablet, displayed with the pendant case in which it was discovered

The tablet itself dates back to about 300-200 BCE, while the pendant case/chain that accompanies it was likely made about 400 years later, during the Roman era. It's believed that the tablet was originally buried with the dead, and that an unknown individual later removed it from the burial site and stuffed it into the pendant case. Unfortunately, in order to make it fit, they simply rolled it up and then snipped off the tip of the tablet. The final lines of the inscription were destroyed in the process.

The inverse side of the Petelia tablet

These textual amulets/lamellae are often referred to as totenpässe ("passports for the dead"). They were used as roadmaps to help guide the dead through the Underworld, but they also served as indicators of the elite/divine status of certain individuals, ultimately providing them with the means to obtain an elevated position in the afterlife.

The Petelia tablet is incised with an inscription in ancient Greek, and the translated inscription reads:

You will find a spring on your left in Hades’ halls, and by it the cypress with its luminous sheen.

Do not go near this spring or drink its water. You will find another, cold water flowing from Memory’s lake; its guardians stand before it.

Say: "I am a child of Earth and starry Heaven, but descended from Heaven; you yourselves know this. I am parched with thirst and dying: quickly, give me the cool water flowing from Memory’s lake."

And they will give you water from the sacred spring, and then you will join the heroes at their rites.

This is [the ... of memory]: [on the point of death] ... write this ... the darkness folding [you] within it.

The final section was damaged when the tablet was shoved into the pendant case; sadly, that part of the inscription does not appear on any of the other totenpässe that are known to exist, so the meaning of those lines remains a mystery (no pun intended).

Lamellae that are inscribed with this motif are very rare. They're known as "Orphic lamellae" or simply "Orphic tablets." As the name suggests, these inscriptions are traditionally attributed to an Orphic-Bacchic mystery cult.

The inscriptions vary, but they generally contain similar references to a cypress tree, one spring that must be avoided, another spring known as the "Lake of Memory," the sensation of thirst, and a conversation with a guardian (or another entity within the Underworld, such as the goddess Persephone) in which the dead must present themselves as initiates or divine individuals in order to be granted permission to drink from the Lake of Memory. They are thereby able to obtain privileges that are reserved only for the elite.

Though the specifics of this reward are often vague, it may have been viewed as a way to gain access to the Elysian Fields (the ancient Greek version of paradise) or as a way to participate in sacred rites; some totenpässe suggest that it may have allowed the soul to break free from the eternal cycle of reincarnation. Regardless, the overall objective was likely the same: to obtain a special status and acquire privileges that were inaccessible to most of the souls in the Underworld.

Sources & More Info:

Altlas Obscura: The Ancient Greeks Created Golden Passports to Paradise

The Museum of Cycladic Art: The Bacchic-Orphic Underworld

Bryn Mawr College: Festivals in the Afterlife: a new reading of the Petelia tablet

The Getty Museum: Underworld (imagining the afterlife)

The British Museum: Petelia tablet (with pendant case; chain)

#archaeology #history #anthropology #ancient greece #ancient history #greek mythology #Petelia tablet #Greek mysteries #orphic mysteries #orphism #greek underworld #hades #persephone #anthropology of death #religon #afterlife #tw death #classical antiquity #classical archaeology #ticket to paradise #whoever damaged this #probably #got #a #ticket #to tartarus #instead

[thenietzscheanwife]

Mary Magdalene In Ecstasy, Caravaggio (1606)

“If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look at that naked terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.”

Julian, Secret History, Donna Tartt (p.45)

#quotes #dark academia #philosophy #poetic #poetry #books and libraries #dark #literature aesthetics #choices #dark acadamia aesthetic #the secret history #donna tartt #richard papen #religious art #religious ecstasy #bacchanal #bacchanalia #madness #greek mysteries #dionysian #dionysian mysteries

[sag-dab-sar]

Working on researching more obscure non-Attic Ancient Greek religion be like:

Me: Which deity was worshipped most in this region

Google: a Goddess who was not named but used this title, Despoine, in the mystery tradition, later conflated with these other goddesses from these other mysteries

Me: Yeh but who was the original goddess, before the conflations

Google: Bitch I just said it was a mystery didn't I?

#despoine #arkadia #arcadia #ancient greek religion #greek mysteries #arkadian mysteries #she was a sister of persephone at first not equated #also its a epithet of artemis hekate and persephone #demeter was her mom #void post

[pagansheowl]

🌾 🍁Persephone - Kore - Proserpina 🌱🌾

Eterna Regina, Despoina, be kind unto me, I beg you!

Credits to whoever sculpted this and whoever photographed it! I forgot to search

Listen to Wendy Rule's music : you won't regret it 😌

#eleusinian mysteries #eleusis #demeter #persephone #greek mysteries #greek mythology #hekate #helios #roman mythology #greek underworld #hades #otherworld #ghosts #paganblr #brujas of tumblr #witchywoman #greek mystery #homer illiad #hades and persephone #persephone and hades #hellenism #ecletic witch #ecletic pagan #paganism #gothic witch #goth aesthetic #pagan aesthetic #greek aesthetic #pagan music #wendy rule

[flaroh]

Classicstober day 7: Persephone 🌸

#flaroh illustration #tagamemnon #ancient history #ancient greece #greek mythology #persephone #eleusinian mysteries #proserpina #hellenic mythology #hellenic pagan #classicstober23 #classicstober #classical reception

[mulletlich]

finally finished this portrait of dionysus for class!

#2023 #i'm having a lot of trouble printing it though ahhhhhh (i used a csp print filter while drawing and it's kicking my ass now lol) #greek mythology #dionysus #digital art #mythology #the bacchae #greek gods #artists on tumblr #art #clip studio paint #csp #dionysian mysteries #lichdraws

[leannareneehieber]

GOTHIC & DARK ACADEMIA ENTHUSIASTS!

DARLINGS! Just noticed the double-volume revised edition of STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL via @torbooks is on super-eBook-sale right now. 684 pages! For only $3.99! Via Kindle, Kobo & Apple Books! Includes THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER and THE DARKLY LUMINOUS FIGHT FOR PERSEPHONE PARKER + extra scenes & content.

This book of my heart is: GOTHIC. It's Jane-Eyre-Meets-Dark-Academia+Hot-For-Teacher+GHOSTS+Greek-Mythology+Jack-the-Ripper+Found-Family

YES, there is a paperback omnibus edition, available via Bookshop.org (my favorite link to send folks to, it supports local bookstores!), B&N and any physical store can order it in. It's on sale too!

Please share? Thank you!

Kindle - Kobo - Apple Books

#gothic #victorian #ghosts #gaslampfantasy #strangely beautiful #strangelybeautifultaleofmisspercyparker #gothic novel #gothic fiction #dark academia #dark academia books #ghost stories #alternate history #jack the ripper #hot for teacher #new adult #paranormal romance #haunted house #paranormal #spirits #mystery #possession #greek myth retellings #greek mythology #persephone #victorian london #ebook sale

[graedari]

If no one else is going to give Corvo a crow- I will

#graedari doodles #dishonored #dh1 #dishonored fanart #corvo attano #korákito attano #digital art #ipad #apple pen #procreate #incorrect quote: Mystery Science Theater 3000 #korákito my beloved<3333 #his name means little crow from Greek and Spanish (two of the inspirations for the culture of Serkonos/Karnaca) #And I'm sorta using Spanish as a stand-in for Serkonan words #please dont shoot me #but please accept and consider Corvo with Crow <333 #graedari dh #graedari loves queue

[vikaree]

on a scale of "today, of all days, see, how the most dangerous thing is to love" to "oh, will wonders ever cease? blessed be the mystery of love", today i'm feeling like "know that i would gladly be the Icarus to your certainty"

#hozier #sunlight #achilles come down #mystery of love #sufjan stevens #mythology #web weaving #greek mythology

[kebriones]

FREAKING TRIPTOLEMUS and his chariot which my entire family agrees looks like a wheelchair, which. The design potential!!!!

Pics from my eleusis visit from yesterday.

#eleusinian mysteries #triptolemus #ancient greek mythology

[lostpeace]

My take on the Olympians.

Clockwise from the top center: Zeus, Athena, Mithra (Apollo), Hephaestus, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, Ares, Anahita (Artemis), Hermes.

At center: Dionysus and Persephone.

Not pictured: Aphrodite (it's complicated...).

#Greek Mythology #Zoroastrianism #Zeus #Athena #Mithra #Apollo #Hephaestus #Demeter #poseidon #Ares #Anahita #Artemis #Hermes #Dionysus #Persephone #Orphism #Orphic Mysteries #oc

[palpietine-1]

I need non Greek people to understand the ridiculousness of Miles confusing the Agean Sea with the Ionian sea, because the joke may fly over your head if you're not familiar with Greek geography

Anyways, the Agean is in red and the Ionian is in purple.

Also, there's an Extra layer to the joke:

While it's not explicitly stated in the film, I assume the characters were originally in Athens before leaving for the private island. The reason I assume that is that the shootings in Greece took place in Palaio Faliro, which belongs to the southern suburbs of Athens. Also it has the biggest airport of the country, so it makes sense they would find an airplane landing in Athens more easily than, say, an airplane landing in Thessaloniki.

The thing is... No ships from Athens or the general area (Pireaus/Rafina) leave for the Ionian sea. Like, you can't take a ship from Athens and go to Corfu, for example. Or any other island. There's no company that has ships leaving from Athens that go to the Ionian sea. You go to the islands by plane or by taking a boat from the ports on the western mainland of the country (my family and I took a boat from Igoumenitsa to go to Corfu).

Sure they had a private boat. But the trip would take several hours, maybe even a full day. And their actual trip only took two hours.

#in conclusion miles keeps getting more and more stupid #i like to think rian asked the greek crew for a very stupid nistake you could make with greek geography and the crew was more than willing #to help him #glass onion #glass onion knives out #knives out glass onion #glass onion a knives out mystery #rian johnson #miles bron #palpietine's post

[garussy]

Hades and Persephone series but make it more like Beauty and the Beast

Persephone refusing to do ANYTHING until Hades fixes his act and treats her like a living being

Several months of Persephone giving Hades nothing but attitude because he is being disrespectful and literally kidnapped her

And continuing that until he apologizes and gives her space to roam around the underworld

And Persephone likes Cerberus more because that dog is the only one who treated her well and not like she was just Hades’ bride and even after her and Hades get together she still prefers Cerberus because she bonded with him

#deleted the original because a Zionist kept reblogging #no creepy age gaps #or damsel Persephone #no mysterious bad boy hades #also less Persephone and Hades and more Eros and Psyche #Greek mythology #this is Lore Olympus hate #LO salt #anti lore olympus #Lore Olympus salt #Hades #Persephone

[ancientorigins]

Most people are familiar with the story of Atlantis, the legendary sunken city as described by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.

#lost #history #ancient #plato #greek #legend #mystery #kumarikandam

[pastellguts]

Eleusinian fam bein silly

#eleusinian mysteries #my art #art #digital art #lmao #demeter #persephone #despoina #dionysus #greek myths #greek mythology

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"But I shall never be easy in my mind until I know what has become of my poor man with the sticking plaster upon his face."

Little moments from Granada's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes S1Ep9, "The Greek Interpreter" (1984). Dir. Alan Grint. Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, David Burke as Dr. Watson, Alkis Kritikos as Mr. Melas, and Victoria Harwood as Sophia Kratides

#brb salivating over these interior shots #and ofc i had to include the legendary holding hands shot #holmes protecting everybody in the frame >>>>> #the greek interpreter #the adventure of the greek interpreter #granada holmes #granada sherlock holmes #jeremy brett #david burke #sherlock holmes #sir arthur conan doyle #arthur conan doyle #the adventures of sherlock holmes #screen caps #period drama #period piece #murder mystery #victorian aesthetic #classic academia #classic academia aesthetic #edwardian-screen-caps-next-door