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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @OgFOMK 24 Feb \ parent \ on: Book Report: A History of Religious Ideas Vol. 1 by Mircea Eliade - Ch 10-12 BooksAndArticles

To my understanding, under many interpretations of the Demeter-Persephone myth, Persephone actually embraces her position at the end. Yes, she comes up to visit her mother with the seasons, but she also is willingly Queen of Hades and Bride of Pluto.

Maybe the brutality is part of the mnemonic to fix the myth and the significance of the agricultural / navigational seasons?

Consider this quote near the end of the book, which is so intense I didn't choose to include it:

So we can recognize in the "crime of the Titans" an ancient initiatory scenario whose original meaning had been forgotten. For the Titans behave like Masters of Initiation, that is to say, they "kill" the novice in order to cause him to be "reborn" to a higher mode of existence (in our example, we could say that they confer divinity and immortality on the infant Dionysus). But in a religion that proclaimed the absolute supremacy of Zeus, the Titans could play only a demonic role..."

I think again this is an initiation and esoteric. Exoteric it is brutal but inside it might be a motivation.

I think your point here is the next iteration in the exploration of the Mystery of Sacrifice with Christ. What is higher than making the biggest sacrifice for the benefit of myself? Making it for others...

Here is another can of worms. Gnostic verses Exoteric. Esoteric verses what is being sold as religion. We can quote the story but where does the real story begin or end. Does it matter? Are we not sacrificing by being kind and also protecting our own happiness by not allowing others to steal which will harm them in the long run!