Zarathustra, Hebrew Kings & Prophets and Dionysus
This post is part of an evolving series of reviews on Mircea Eliade's A History of Religious Ideas Vol. 1 which carries on from the following background posts:
- Book Report: A History of Religious Ideas Vol. 1 by Mircea Eliade - Ch 10-12
- Book Report: A History of Religious Ideas Vol. 1 by Mircea Eliade - Ch 5-9
- Book Report: A History of Religious Ideas Vol. 1 by Mircea Eliade - Ch 1-4
These final three chapters mark the closing of Eliade's Vol. 1 as well as this particular series of posts. It was a more disparate set of topics than being immersed with that of the Greeks last week. I had practically no prior knowledge of Zarathustra or Iranian religion, yet a stronger familiarity with the history of Israel. In particular, though, I was looking forward to the return to Greece to learn more about the mysterious figure of Dionysus.
Zarathustra and Iran
There isn't as much known about Iranian religion due in part to the fact that much of the source texts and material have been lost or destroyed. Eliade lists several commonalities that Iranian religion shares with that of the Hebrews, including:
- Dualistic systems
- Savior mythology
- Optimism
- Triumph of Good and universal salvation
- Doctrine of resurrection
Zarathustra was probably a poor priest who had grown up in a community of herders and horse breeders. He is a prophet of Ahura Mazda, the deity of Iranian religion, and rebukes his peers for continuing the practice of sacrificing cows. As we have seen, Zarathustra is grappling along with the rest of humanity against this complex emergent idea of sacrifice. He is obsessed with the concept of justice -- the rewarding of the good and the punishment of evil, and he "hopes that he can renew this life", exhibiting a relatable impatience with the changing order of the world. As such, his revelatory message is one on the importance of choice, and Mazdaism believes that man, in making the choice for good over evil, is imitating Ahura Mazda himself in the process of creation. This freedom of choice in an important differentiation as other contemporary religious systems depict imagery of worshipers being slaves or servants of their god.
Underlying the emphasis on justice and choice is a strong polarity, "the two spirits -- the one holy, the other wicked -- differ rather by choice than by nature." This polarity is represented in the cosmology as well:
In short, Good and Evil, the holy one and the destroying demon, proceed from Ahura Mazda; but since Angra Mainyu freely chose his mode of being and his maleficent vocation, the Wise Lord cannot be considered responsible for the appearance of Evil.
The daevas of Indian mythology are interestingly inverted in Mazdaism as the evil gods, who chose deceit, and it is their demands for animal sacrifice that Zarathustra rebels against. As seen with other systems like the Hebrews and later Christians, the strong sense of dualism brings forth an almost militant sense of purpose, which culminates with the "punishment of the wicked and the regeneration of existence." This is to be accomplished via an "ordeal by fire", which echoes biblical prophecy, as well as the initiatory symbolism in ancient metalworking and mystery traditions.
Very interestingly,
The cult is so spiritual that even the term "sacrifice" is equivalent... to the term "thought." When... asked... [by Ahura Mazda] "To whom would you address your worship?" Zarathustra replied, "To thy fire!"... Sacrifice is the occasion, or more precisely the "support," of a theological meditation.
I can't help but draw conclusions that this fire of Zarathustra is also that of Prometheus and of the Stoics - the emergence of the capacity for reason and concomitant consciousness, which brings with it both a possibility and an emphasis on the choice of what we allocate our minds to. In so doing, "the sacrificer contributes to the restoration of the primordial situation to the transfiguration of the world."
Hebrew Kings and Prophets
Later on in the story of Israel is the emergence of the kings. After a certain point, Samuel the prophet anoints Saul, the first king. "Saul received the 'spirit of Yahweh'... he was adopted by Yahweh and became in a sense his son." A powerful foreshadowing of messianic symbolism, indeed. The institution of kingship represents yet another covenant of Yahweh, a renewal of the covenant at Mount Sinai. Eliade emphasizes, "It is in this valorization of a foreign institution as a new act of sacred history that we can appreciate the originality of the Israelite ideology of kingship." However, there seems to be some confusion for the kings as to how much their role involved that of a priest as well. The kings also begin to syncretize further with the neighboring cultures and religions, much to the chagrin of the later prophets. The kingship role took on a number of pagan elements including New Year ceremony of expiation and symbolic death and resurrection. King Solomon was particularly accepting of foreign practices and after his death, the "kingdom" split into two states.
Kingship of the state mirrored the idea of Kingship of Yahweh in the cosmology. Worshiper's relationship to their god was more like a slave or servant and "obedience [was] the perfect righteous act." Completely absent was the idea from other belief systems of a potential for unity with God, but one could approach knowledge of his properties by living "justly".
Job
Perhaps this strict separation between man and God begins to be challenged in the enigmatic Book of Job. The popular story is that of a man whom God grants power over to Satan. Satan tests and challenges Job, making his life miserable and trying to break his faith. Job endures horrific tragedy, but does not renounce God. However, throughout the story, Job, and the reader, are forced to contemplate the obvious question: "WHY?" God's response, or lack thereof, to Job conveys the futility of asking.
... the secret meaning of Yahweh's lesson: the very existence of the universe is a miracle, the Creator's mode of being defies comprehension, the purpose of his acts remains impenetrable.
Eliade interprets futher,
Yahweh's secret lesson... is addressed to all those who are unable to understand the presence -- the triumph -- of evil in the world. In short, for the believer, the Book of Job is an explanation of evil and injustice, of imperfection and terror. Since everything is willed and governed by God, whatever befalls the believer is charged with religious meaning. But it would be vain -- and at the same time impious -- to believe that, without God's help, man is capable of grasping the "mystery of iniquity."
Along with the Greeks and Mazdaism, the Hebrews are emphasizing justice, but perhaps stretching the continually strengthening muscle of human reason by beginning to ask "why?" to the unanswerable questions.
The Prophets to the Fall
The rest of the study is dedicated to the line of prophets that emerge to chastise the nation of Israel as it falls farther away from God and into "depravity", mostly characterized by attraction to neighboring forms of religious worship. I won't elaborate out the whole line, but some interesting points are as follows.
Israel "had been corrupted by the introduction of Canaanite orgiastic elements. A mere outward show of veneration for the holy places is useless... It is integrity and justice that God expects of his worshipers."
Integration with the more liberal, feminine/nature oriented practices were constantly attractive to the people and God jealously abhorred these behaviors as well as the lack of personal integrity. The sexual symbolism was cast upon Israel by Yahweh himself when he compares the community, who is supposed to be his bride, to a prostitute. God displays increasing anger and threatens to bring his own people to justice using its enemies to conquer them by his will.
My own interpretation is that God is depicted as experiencing jealousy and envy, and a deep, longing pain resembling loneliness. Perhaps this is a collective symbol representing the worldwide effect of the strong dualism emerging with masculine-dominated society and the premium placed on the reasoning mind as a value? Taken to its technological extremes today, we might be experiencing similar "fruits" of a masculine crisis of connection despite our highly-networked, technological internet society.
As, per Yahweh and the prophets, society continues to degrade, Yahweh gets angrier, the people are punished further and eventually the state falls, casting the people into exile. The prophets more and more resemble Job with their contemplation of "why"? There are many interesting details to this chapter, but while my lasting impression is God's seeming desire for intimate, exclusive love from his people resulting in envious destruction, Eliade emphasizes the unique fact that the prophets valorized history and historical events as theophany, the experiences of meeting God.
The Mysterious Dionysus
The intriguing Dionysus is not like the other Greek gods. He is the son of Zeus by a human princess, Semele. When jealous Hera, tries to trap pregnant Semele, the woman makes an audacious demand of Zeus,
that he let her see him in his true form of a celestial god. The presumptuous princess is struck by Zeus's thunderbolt and gives birth prematurely. But Zeus sews the infant into his thigh..."
Dionysus is "twice-born" and Eliade emphasizes "a mortal woman, Semele, gave birth to a god." He was not, however, easily accepted into the Pantheon as there are many myths of him being chased, persecuted and he is characterized by his tendency to mysteriously appear and vanish -- even during his celebrations. His meaning is complex and best served by a few quotes directly from Eliade,
His unexpected manifestations and disappearances in a way reflect the appearance and occultation of life -- that is, the alternation of life and death and, in the last analysis, their unity.
Worshiping Dionysus was quite the party. He was the god of wine and celebrations consisted of a parade where women would carry a giant phallus through the streets. There were drinking contests and revelry, and his representation as a fertility god included the celebration of the hierogamy, or sacred marriage, we have seen in other feminine-agricultural traditions. Eliade accentuates that wine represented, "euphoria and intoxication in a way anticipat[ing] life in a beyond that does not resemble the gloomy Homeric otherworld." So to me, the revelry was a way to explore the boundaries of life, flirting with death, yet with less severity, finality and fear. Anyone who has drunken themselves into unconsciousness may relate?
Further, Dionysus was the god of madness, and it follows since too much wine can lead to states resembling such. It went to quite the extreme, however, as the female initiates of his tradition were said to have secret ceremonies where they would indulge in excesses of wine and sexual activity to a point where they were seized by a frenzy, taking an animal and
sacrifice of the victim by tearing it to pieces and the consumption of the raw flesh, communion with the god is realized. For the animals that are torn apart and devoured are epiphanies, or incarnations of Dionysus.
Wild imagery for sure, but it depicts Dionysus as a truly revolutionary god in some respect, flipping convention and taboo on their heads. All sorts of reported miracles
are made possible by enthusiasm, by identification with the god. The Dionysian ecstasy means, above all, surpassing the human conditions, the discovery of total deliverance.
This craziness was understandably met by fear and apprehension from other members of society. However, for the participants, mania, or madness was an experience of possession by divinity. Eliade emphasizes
what distinguishes Dionysus and his cult is not these psychopathic crises but the fact that they were valorized as religious experience.
To me, ending Volume I with Dionysus is fitting because it feels like humanity has come full circle to reengage with a reformed layer of subconscious material represented by the prehistoric hunters. The reverence and identification with chaotic forces, the eating of raw flesh and surrendering to latent animalistic desires echoes the primitives contrasted with the newfound discovery of tight, civilized reasoning. On the other hand, Dionysus suggests these activities are operating on a different plane of meaning as Eliade asks,
Was he nearer to human beings than the other gods? In any case, one could approach him, could even incorporate him; and the ecstasy of mania proved that the human condition could be surpassed.
There are a slew of psychological authors who suggest Dionysus as a pagan precursor to Christ, given the reformed ritual of communion, his death and resurrection and association with wine through his first miracle and John 15:1, "I am the True Vine." In any event, the enigmatic figure of Dionysus continues to close the distance between man and god for his followers in a shared exploration for collective humanity's emergent religious thought at large. The continued exploration for which, will have to wait for Volume II.
Series Conclusion
This concludes my little book report series on Volume I. I'd like to thank @siggy47 for expressing early interest and encouragement in making this a separate thing here on StackerNews. I'd also like to thank everyone that read a portion of it, from those who found it interesting enough to comment or share some sats, to those who tolerated in silent disagreement without expressing discouragement. It's been a refreshing experience to imagine myself giving a book report, or discussing a text as if I was in high school.
While I have my doubts as to how it resonates with the SN or Bitcoin communities at large, I find this stuff incredibly fascinating, and it augments my interest in human psychology in an attempt to better understand myself and other people together. There are some interesting relationships to Bitcoin, though, as we see an almost religious expression of identification with it sometimes, and the shared values around time preference certainly reflect this enigmatic idea of sacrifice.
This writing project required me to think more deeply about the book, organize and compose my thoughts and exercise some creativity. So, I got more out of Eliade's work than if tempted to read it more for entertainment. I fully plan to continue reading Eliade's Vol II and Vol III, but time will tell if I have the energy to carry forward separate writing series on them. Let me know if you have interest in reading more like this. Thanks!