Circles, etc.

Written by thehouseofvines

I’m not sure if any scholars have made this connection before, but this inscription:

ISmyrna 726
According to the decree of the initiates of the Goddess Kore’s sacred enclosure and those who stepped in (i.e. were initiated, or stepped into the sacred enclosure) who are in Smyrna together with the . . .

Seems to add some important context to one of the gold leaves from Thurii:

A: I come from the pure, o Pure Queen of the earthly ones, Eukles, Eubouleus, and You other Immortal Gods! I too claim to be of your blessed race, but Fate and other Immortal Gods conquered me, the star-smiting thunder. And I flew out from the hard and deeply-grievous circle, and stepped onto the crown with my swift feet, and slipped into the bosom of the Mistress (Kore), the Queen of the Underworld. And I stepped out from the crown with my swift feet.
B: Happy and blessed one! You shall be a god instead of a mortal.
A: I have fallen as a kid into milk.

3 thoughts on “Circles, etc.”

  1. The crown (and therefore the sacred enclosure) clearly the labyrinth (Theseus used Ariadne’s crown to light his way in the labyrinth because it’s essentially a microcosm of the labyrinth just like the threads of the ball of yarn)

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    1. And the initiate has developed the ability to step into and step out of the crown/circle/labyrinth/telesterion (initiation hall) at will, precisely what confers/confirms their status as mystes. If you do not know the myth behind the myths because you’ve lived/experienced the story -then you aren’t one, simple as that.

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      1. The symbolism of a crown also for me, at least, indicates the initiate carries (wears, bears) the mysteries within his or her head, that they have been crowned with the power of their Gods.

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