Blue Hue,
I only consider ancient Mesopotamian religions in passing. So, Nibiru etc. that fascinate so
many people hold no great attraction for me. Sadly, you sort of lost me there in your dis-
cussion.
Beside the fact that I am an Astrologer, I also consider myself deeply involved in Graeco-
Roman Mythology - just like we are taught in Italian schools. As they are not of any use
to me in my Craft, I am only slightly acquainted with other Myths. You could say I don't
know too much about them.
H E R M E S
Hermes in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.
The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one
"of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a
thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."
As a translator, Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this with Iris. An interpreter who bridges the boundaries with strangers is a 'hermeneus'. Hermes gives us our word "hermeneutics" for the art of interpreting hidden meaning. In Greek a lucky find was a 'hermaion'.
Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears a hat with wings on it and uses that to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world.
Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the Titan, Prometheus.
In addition to the syrinx and the lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and the sport of wrestling, and therefore was a patron of athletes.
According to prominent folklorist Meletinskii, Hermes is a deified trickster.
Hermes also served as a psychopomp, or an escort for the dead to help them find their way to the afterlife (the Underworld in the Greek myths). In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides Hades and Persephone who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.
Along with escorting the dead, Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.
In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiade Maia, a daughter of the Titan Atlas. Hermes' symbols were the rooster and the tortoise, and he can be recognized by his purse or pouch, winged sandals, winged cap, and the herald's staff, the 'kerykeion'. Hermes was the god of thieves because he was very cunning and shrewd and was a thief himself from the night he was born, when he slipped away from Maia and ran away to steal his elder brother Apollo's cattle.
In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion, Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury, who, though inherited from the Etruscans, developed many similar characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.
M E R C U R Y
In Roman mythology, Mercury (pronounced /ˈmɝkjəri/, Latin: 'Mercurius')) was a messenger, and a god of trade,
profit and commerce, the SON of MAIA MAIESTAS and JUPITER.
His name is related to the Latin word merx ("merchandise"; compare merchant, commerce, etc.). In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek deity Hermes.
Mercury has influenced the name of a number of things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, the element mercury, and the plant mercury. The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place.
Mercury did not appear among the numinous 'di indigetes' of early Roman religion. Rather, he subsumed the earlier Dei Lucrii as Roman religion was syncretized with Greek religion during the time of the Roman Republic, starting around the 4th century BC.
From the beginning, Mercury had essentially the same aspects as Hermes, wearing winged shoes 'talaria' and a winged 'petasos', and carrying the 'caduceus', a herald's staff with two entwined snakes that was Apollo's gift to Hermes.
He was often accompanied by a cockerel, herald of the new day, a ram or goat, symbolizing fertility, and a tortoise, referring to Mercury's legendary invention of the lyre from a tortoise shell.
Like Hermes, he was also a messenger of the gods and a god of trade, particularly of the grain trade. Mercury was also considered a god of abundance and commercial success, particularly in Gaul. He was also, like Hermes, the Romans' psychopomp, leading newly-deceased souls to the afterlife.
Additionally, Ovid wrote that Mercury carried Morpheus' dreams from the valley of Somnus to sleeping humans.
Mercury's temple in the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills, was built in 495 BC. This was a fitting place to worship a swift god of trade and travel, since it was a major center of commerce as well as a racetrack. Since it stood between the plebeian stronghold on the Aventine and the patrician center on the
Palatine, it also emphasized the role of Mercury as a mediator.
Because Mercury was not one of the early deities surviving from the Roman Kingdom, he was not assigned a flamen ("priest"), but he did have a major festival on May 15, the Mercuralia.
During the Mercuralia, merchants sprinkled water from his sacred well near the Porta Capena on their heads.
ROME:
REMNANTS OF THE WALL AT PORTA CAPENA
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QUOTE from Blue Hue:
"The STORY goes( by Plutarch.) that at one time, the Planet Mars was wanting to start a liasion with planet Venus/ MINerva !"
That's hard to believe, Blue, because Plutarch would know that Venus/Minerva were NOT the same goddess.
VENUS (Latin) = APHRODITE (Greek)
MINERVA (Latin) = ATHENA (Greek)
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As for Nostradamus, well, I'll keep my opinions to myself. He is not what I consider a subject I wish to
argue about. As you probably know, his admirers can be a bit 'intense'. Let's say, his predictions
do not matter to me.
But as an Astrologer, I would like to point out that there are some pretty ominous configurations of
the Planets coming in the next few years.
That is TRUE!!
Well, Blue, after all this time that YOU have told ME where you are coming from, now you know where
I am coming from......
It is very difficult for me to follow your train of thought of other Mythologies. Talking to me about them
is really a bit of a waste of time.
BTW, what does the sky show where you are? Can you see Comet Holmes and the same Meteor
Showers that we do, at the same time?
Bianca
'CHI VA PIANO, VA SANO E VA LONTANO"
P.S.
".......The priest, the soldier and the prostitute are thought to be the members of the three oldest professions in the world. However popular this myth may be, it is incorrect.
There is a fourth 'oldest' profession, one that is in fact older than the ancient institutions of church, army and brothel.
This fourth profession is that of the Astrologer.
Believe it or not, believe in it or not, Astrology has been around since the beginning of the 'civilized' world and probably originated long before human beings began to live together in cities (the meaning of the word 'civilization')......."
See my Astrology work (3 pages) here:
http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/board,199.0.html