Return: 2010 Lacedaemon—A Bitter/Sweet Journey

Lacedaemon—Home of the Warrior Philosophers A Bitter/Sweet Journey

The moment was frozen in time as my hand obeyed the prayers in my mind. I tossed three coins in the air so they could catch the glint of Apollo’s sun before they descended into the watery realm of Poseidon.

Yards out, I could see black heads bobbing in the waves. In another time they would have been Apollo’s dolphins answering my ceremonial gifting. Minutes passed as I prepared to submerge myself in the sparkling crystal-clear sea.  As I stood unclothed, an honoring to the Olympians of my human vulnerability, power and strength, I wondered what my actions must have seemed like to the swimming Greeks.

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

Today, the Greek Orthodox Church has a strangle hold on Greece and my actions would speak of pagan worship of the old Olympic gods and goddesses. In the realm of materialism, statues of the Olympians are okay to sell to the tourists, but such things as offerings, prayers, invoking Apollo (god of the shamans), and three coins to the Olympians would smack of idol worship and unchristian behavior. Heaven forbid: what next?

Would this lead to philosophical discourse on street corners questioning current dogmatic beliefs?  Or worse, to divination, a well-known practice of ancient Lacedaemon, better known as Sparta? My honoring and prayers were not playful actions, but part of a philosophical/spiritual/religious practice that I have conducted for more than thirty years whenever I far traveled to foreign countries seeking the mysteries of heaven and Earth and indigenous spiritual knowledge. This ritualistic ceremony is a blessing for the journey. It is asking permission to do spiritual work. My actions, words and thoughts were addressed to energetic forces that I know are still alive and conscious and will respond to heartfelt intent.

I do not have faith, I do not believe. I have a knowing of this truth. The three coins symbolized me and the two martial and spiritual students who were traveling with me. We had spent the first night in Corinth and were now headed to Sparti (Sparta) with a stopover at Nemea, the location of Herakles first Labor.

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

In 2006, I needed to be in Thermopylae not Sparta. Now in the fall of 2010, I needed to journey to Sparta. My two students, who had been with me in 2006, asked if we were going back to Thermopylae. An emphatic “No” was my response. I completed what I needed to do in 2006 and I will never return to the Hot Gates.

Sparti

Arriving in Sparti is visually unexciting. There are no signs acknowledging this land, this city, as the homeland of the great warrior philosophers except for an awesome statue of King Leonidas by the stadium. With this being said, the most important aspect that is missing is any sense of the warrior spirit that was and still is Sparta’s historical birthright. Not that I would want to see workers of the Municipality of Sparta walking around dressed as ancient Spartan knights, but I would love to see a shift in the consciousness. This would be a shift from the purely mundane and materialistic to a sense of spirit, honor and pride in their warrior-philosopher ancestral heritage and to the restoration of equality, given that the ancient Spartans referred to themselves as “Equals.” And we must not forget one of the most important ingredients, the equality of men and women.

If you’ve ever been to Sparti, you may question this statement about spirit, honor and pride. When historical ruins are left to linger as an afterthought, or an absence of thought, of the glory days gone by, this act alone paints a vivid picture of an absolute rejection of one’s ancestral heritage. This is the case here.

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

We arrived in Sparti late in the afternoon and checked into the Menelaion Hotel, named after the site of the Sanctuary of Menelaus and Helen, the deified heroes of Sparta. The next day, a Sunday, was to be a martial and spiritual training day. I wanted to first meditate and train at the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia. We would then finish the day with a session at the hilltop site of the step-pyramid structure and hero shrine of the Menelaion in honor of Menelaus, Helen (of Troy) and the Dioscuri—the twin heroic brothers of Helen—Castor and Polydeuces. Castor, the mortal one of the twins, was a martial artist and a teacher of swordsmanship to Herakles. Both were Spartan heroes, Polydeuces being an unbeatable boxer, while Castor was the fearless warrior. How appropriate for us to train on the sacred ground of the Dioscuri and to honor them and Herakles with prayers, meditation and martial activity.

This myth of the Dioscuri led the ancient Spartans to have two kings. The Dioscuri were Spartan’s patrons and protectors. Additionally, the Spartan kings were the priests of the Dioscuri. After breakfast we headed to the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia (the Upright). I chose this as our first training and meditation site as it was the most sacred place and religious gathering site within ancient Sparta. Now, I have an excellent sense of direction but attempting to discover the location of this sanctuary was, to say the least, difficult. Finally, we saw a small sign pointing down a side road. What we discovered brought both anger and sadness. Artemis’s sacred ground, the religious navel of Sparta, appeared extremely unkempt, desecrated by lack of attention. A locked gate and fence circled the site and prevented us from entering. I was extremely upset at this turn of events but hoped the sacred site of the Dioscuri would be different.

We headed out of town in search of the mythical, but real, ridge-top site of the Dioscuri, who symbolized the spiritual and physical in humans. We found the turnoff and proceeded up a narrow road that seemingly ended at a small chapel. But there was an even narrower road, better described as a path, that continued up the mountainside. It appeared as if it had not been used often as the foliage encroached on the road in certain places. Not to be deterred and in the spirit of Artemis, whose domain is the dangerous and exciting moments of life, we continued up the mountain in our four-door BMW, which we’d dubbed the “black chariot.”

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

After a slightly harrowing ride up the curvy mountain trail, we finally arrived at the sacred site of the Dioscuri. And what a beautiful scene awaited our arrival: the Valley of Lacedaemon, the name Homer attached to it. We could see the River Eurotas running through the entire fertile and lush valley. The beauty of the valley was magnificently and magically framed by Mt. Taygetus, the mythical haunt of Artemis. The day was crystal clear and the azure sky held within it a radiant sun ruled by none other than Hades. It was boiling hot. Taking a deep breath of the energetic splendor, I could almost hear Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Hades and the other Olympians shouting their approval. Finally, humans were going to bless and honor this sacred ground of the Age of Heroes and the Dioscuri, sacred stones and soil that for so long had been neglected.

My desire was to honor this holy ground, not only spiritually, but martially, in tribute and reverence to the Age of Heroes and the spirit of the Spartan warriors. Perchance this simple and heartfelt act would be the beginning of another Age of Heroes.

As I exited our chariot, a surreal sight met my eyes. An abandoned vehicle sat by the corner of the ruins farthest from where we were parked. The passenger’s side door was open, and its car seat was missing. As I walked closer, I realized we were not alone. It seemed that a local had taken this opportunity on a Sunday to drive up here and work on his car. Our new friend, and soon-to-be spectator, looked up from his work and smiled. I returned the smile while thinking, “What a story he’s going to be able to tell his friends over ouzo.”

Talk about the ironies of life. There was only one Greek here on this sacred site on a Sunday. And he was working on his car no less. This was hallowed ground. This was the sacred site and birthplace of one of the most recognizable Western myths and legends, —that of the beautiful Helen and the fall of Troy, which the ancient Greeks considered one of the greatest and most important events in the Age of Heroes and, in fact, marked its end. It seems to me that the modern citizens of Sparti don’t cherish their Spartan heritage. An even larger irony is that the ancient Spartans were the most spiritual, religious and philosophical of all the Greeks at that time in history. One only needs to visit the museum in town to verify this truth (more about this later).

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

Once my students and I had changed into our black, and let me not forget to mention heavy, training uniforms, we proceeded to climb to the highest and hottest part of the ruins—barefoot.

As we made our way across the broken stones and dirt of the once glorious, but now all but forgotten, temple and shrine, I could sense the latent power beneath my feet. With Apollo’s darts beaming into my back, I stepped through the fabric of time and felt the joy and sorrow of this place. In the next moment, I was kneeling and offering prayers to the land and the ancestors.

After further prayers and meditation, we began our physical training in various areas of the ruins. The sharp stones and uneven ground provided an excellent stage for the realization of hand-to-hand martial training. The sun, energizing but not debilitating, and the awakened Earth flowed together within me and brought a heightened spirit and memory to every cell of my body and mind. My body was happy. My mind was happy. And my spirit was happy.

Next, I taught my students the strategic use of terrain through positioning, distancing, timing and most importantly feeling (intuition). This was an exercise in mind power, or what I call a strong mind, as a misstep could cause a loss of footing and stability that could propel one down on the edge of a jagged and unforgiving rock. Moreover, this exercise allowed my students to learn a lot about themselves under these non-dojo conditions, in other words, outside the training hall.

Physical training is important in the martial arts, but what is mostly overlooked, and what is even more important, is to know ourselves and to train our mind. The importance of strategy and knowing ourselves has its roots here in Lacedaemon. “Know thyself” is essential for all people’s evolution of heart, mind, and spirit. This central Delphic maxim was attributed to Chilon, a Spartan Philosopher and one of the seven ancient sages of Greece. During our training, it was more than appropriate to honor not only the Lacedaemonian Chilon but furthermore, Athena, the goddess of the heroic, martial ideal, who personified excellence in close combat and strategy.

I completed our training session with a meditative journey of martial power and then we ended with further meditation and prayers and bid farewell to our new Sparti friend. However, our day was not yet complete as we were headed for the ruins of ancient Sparta – the Acropolis.

Once again, the lack of attention and care was maddening. Ironically, this uncaring attitude of the Sparti government and citizens was beneficial for our training. There is always a gifting in a wounding. And our gift was the freedom to explore and train with nothing restricting our ability to be one with the sacredness of the ancient site. There were no crowds, no guards or roped off areas like most other sacred sites around the world. We were not going to train there today, but I needed to get a feel for the Acropolis of Sparta and the Sanctuary of Athena Poliouchos (Athena Guardian of the City) before our training session the next morning.

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

We spent a short time walking among the ruins of the Acropolis, but there was no indication of the location of the Sanctuary of Athena (representing intelligent courage). Historically, it was located on the slope above the Acropolis. Even though the sanctuary was one of the most important cult locations in ancient Sparta, there were no ruins left or even a sign honoring and explaining the importance of Athena’s cult.

As we returned to the car, I spied an awesome gifting from the Spartan ancestors. To my dismay, one of my students had seen it first on the walk into the Acropolis. Thus, it was a gifting for him and not for me. This made it even more powerful for him as my “owl eyes” didn’t see it on the way in and I usually miss nothing. The gifting was a pristine luculent luminous, or translucent serpent’s skin, that was ascending a rock face. It was the most perfect serpent’s skin that I had ever seen. It was perfectly positioned on the stone and mirrored the ascending serpents on the insignia of the Dioscuri. This was a magical gift and an acknowledgement of our purpose and the training that we had just completed and would conduct the following morning.

Back at the hotel, I lectured on divination and the “god in chains.” There is a commonly accepted truth that in Sparta there was a statue of Ares, the Greek War God. Ares represented violence, war-like frenzy and slaughter. This statue was wrapped in chains and supposedly symbolized that the spirit of Ares (blind violence) was never to leave the environs of the Spartan lands. This meaning was the conclusion the second century C.E. Greek travel writer, Pausanias. People take as truth Pausanias’ assumption and conclusion that “in Lakonia they think the god of war will never desert them if they keep him in chains.”[i] However, as a spiritual/religious philosopher and martial artist, this explanation and symbolism doesn’t make sense to me. One of Ares’ principle attributes was bloodlust, but this was not a feature of the Spartans. In fact, bloodlust was the antithesis of the Spartan mind and heart. So, what is the truth?

The Spartans recognized the totality of human emotion, always striving to achieve harmony within themselves and within the Spartan community. They intimately followed the maxim, “know thyself.” The importance to the Spartan mind of understanding fear, of detachment and the “pressing down”[ii] of fear, is revealed by the chained statue of Ares. The chains did not symbolize that the spirit of war should never exit the city of Sparta. They symbolized the detachment and pressing down of fear and the resultant bloodlust, which was not acceptable in their philosophical culture of perfected minds and hearts. Surely, the Athenians, and others would want you to think otherwise.

The Museum in Sparti

I know the ancient Spartans were first and foremost warrior philosophers. To many people they were just the opposite; unintelligent warriors bent on war. This has been a viewpoint put forth by historians and scholars who base their theories, premises and assumptions on second-hand information or knowledge. They may also base their theories on their life experiences as an observer and not as a participant in martial/spiritual studies.

Another glaring problem with discovering the truth of the past: it is written by the victors not the vanquished. Thus, the majority of the written history of the Spartans has been viewed through the prejudicial prism of the Athenians, the Spartans’ archenemies. What then is the truth? Are we going to believe historians and a travel writer? Or is there some type of proof that would contradict them?

Undoubtedly, the Spartans were the most religiously pious of all the Greeks. In addition, there is my esoteric theory on the chained statue of Ares. The statue of Ares was not the only chain-wrapped statue in Sparta. A statue of Aphrodite, the wife of Ares, was similarly fettered. Why, we may ask.

In Greek mythology, there is a concept called “harmonia,” which is usually translated as “harmony,” but means any union in which the parts form a seamless whole while retaining their distinct identities. Harmonia is the daughter of sea-born Aphrodite and fiery Ares, whom Empedocles[iii] identified with Love and Strife, the two primary cosmic forces, which bring about all change in the universe. Pythagoras[iv] likewise said that cosmic Harmonia is born of the union of Love and Strife. She reconciles all oppositions.”[v]

In other words, the chains on both statues symbolized the concept of control or pressing down the energy of both the blind violence and bloodlust of Ares and the desire of Aphrodite. This is the desire, the worldly lust (voluptas mundi), which may lead to illicit love, the type of love that causes dysfunctional behavior and actions. It is interesting to note that the Spartans didn’t cover up their women or make them second-class citizens as cultures and societies since the time of the Spartans have done to control the worldly lust of their people.

Is there still more proof outside of my theory on the reason for the chains? What else is there to verify that the Spartans were warrior philosophers? Is there a clue within the mythology of Greece? Is there truth to be found within the mythology of the serpent?

Both the Spartans and the Athenians considered themselves of serpent origin. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi, where Chilon’s maxim “know thyself” was inscribed, may have been located on the site of an ancient serpent temple. One of Athena’s symbols was the serpent. The Greek god of healing, Asklepios was also represented by an ascending serpent coiling around his staff.

Photo: Sir Ian Owens

There is the insignia of the Dioscuri with two ascending serpents. And we had been gifted with the ascending serpent skin by the Temple of Athena overlooking the Acropolis. The majority of spiritual and religious traditions of the past have recognized the wisdom and power of the serpent as well as its various allegories. The serpent represents immortal energy and consciousness, which is connected with the ageless myths of death, rebirth and resurrection. The serpent’s movements are serpentine, symbolic of the rhythm of life. And with its lidless eyes, it reminds us to be ever vigilant, aware and awake, a necessary quality of a warrior.

Additionally, the serpent was recognized as a symbol of prophecy as its venom was used for altered states of consciousness and mystical trances. I have spent my life seeking the mysteries of heaven and Earth. I have a very close relationship with the serpent; even my heliacal rising star at birth was Alphard—the heart of the Hydra—as is Sher’s. This means that our life has been connected to the great serpent.

Accordingly, when I entered the museum in Sparti the next morning, I was awestruck by the abundance of ascending serpent imagery. Percentage wise, there were more than I had ever seen in any other museum around the world. I happily realized that along with the cult of the Dioscuri, this was the proof that I needed to support my theory that the Spartans were a culture of enlightened warrior philosophers. The imagery was not only of ascending serpents, but the serpents were drinking out of a cup.

Ascending serpents symbolize the awakening of the serpent energy within us. Philosophically, awakening our serpent power allows the energy of the Earth, the angels of the earth mother, to ascend and marry the energy of the stars, angels of the heavenly father, to join in a union of opposites. Philosophy aside, this occurs physiologically within our bodies. Once awakened, our serpent energy begins ascending our spinal column activating each chakra or energy center until union is completed at the pineal gland (enlightenment) within the skull, which is sometimes symbolized as a cup. At this point our serpent is no longer just of the Earth, but is now of the Earth and the heavens.

Photo: Sir Ian Owen

This inner fire of spiritual awakening occurs within our body and mind (heart). This divine solar force arouses the serpent energy in our first energy center or chakra.[vi] This is the water serpent that is aroused by the fire of our spirit – a supreme interpenetration of heavenly and earthly elements: fire and water. This is a union of opposites, a baptism of fire and water that leads to healing and enlightenment and the resurrection of the androgynous lifeforce. This was the knowledge and the wisdom utilized by the ancient Spartans, an enlightened culture of warrior philosophers.

I’m amazed, but then again, I’m not surprised that no one ever connected the serpent knowledge utilized by the Spartan culture and society as a foundation of truth to their enlightened culture. Instead, people have accepted the word of a travel writer projecting his own preconceived notions about the Spartans as gospel. I understand that this may be partially because the primary focus has been on Thermopylae and not on Sparta.

Please understand that the Hot Gates are closer to my heart than anyone could ever know, but Thermopylae was just one moment in time that exemplified struggle, sacrifice, honor, courage, perseverance, loyalty, tears and freedom – the desire to be free people and to live in peace. It was a victory in defeat that presented a noble but sober image of life and death. However, the divine and human qualities embodied at Thermopylae were not birthed there; they were birthed someplace else. Quite simply, they were born out of the soil and the vibrant mountains of Lacedaemon, all framed by the wide-open skies.

But primarily, they were birthed within the heart and the mind of a people: the brothers and sisters of Sparta. The next day after training at the Acropolis, we bid farewell to Sparti and headed to Olympia, and then on to our final destination – Delphi. It had been four years since I had last seen my friend, Konstantinos, and I looked forward to spending time with him again.

As we left town, I mused on our time there. The memories, experiences and training had been awesome. We had met and talked to some of the locals and made some friends, enjoyed good food and drink. Still, even with all that we’d discovered and experienced, my time in Sparti was bittersweet. But then again; isn’t that life?

Commentary

One thing about Sparti struck me as very odd. All the tables in the main plaza across from our hotel were always filled with men, just men. No woman at all. If they were trying to propagate the so-called homosexuality of the ancient Spartans, they were doing a great job of it. Even though I believe in gay rights, gay marriage, choice and equality, it was still very strange to see a crowd with no females. There was something different, an attitude; something beneath the surface.

The day we were leaving Sparti, I wandered into one of the few gift shops in town. As usual, I stuck up a light conversation with the owner and her daughter and saw an opportunity to ask a question of them.

“Ancient Spartan culture,” I began, “was based on the equality of men and women. But I’ve noticed that the plaza is always filled with just men with no women in sight. What happened to the equality of men and women? I would have expected to see couples not just men.”

The owner and her daughter looked at each other while vibrating a sadness of spirit. The owner turned to me and said one word, “Turks.” She continued with a venomous tone, “The Turks invaded Greece and with the Turks came Islamic rule and faith – Sharia Law. And women became subservient to men. This is still the way it is even in today’s world.”

I could feel their pain and sadness as I replied, “I’m sorry to hear this… maybe I need to return and run for mayor!”

Without hesitation, they both said, “we’ll vote for you….!”

Postscript

Please join us in Greece for our Gates of Fire II, May 20 – 29, 2020, to mark the 2,500th anniversary of Thermopylae

 

[i] W.H.S. Jones (trans.), Pausanias: Description of Greece (Harvard University Press/Heinemann, 1933) Book III, 15:6.

[ii] It refers to the process of the acknowledgment of fear, which is then “pressed down” only to be purged later on after battle. This is not the suppression or denial of fear where fear stays hidden but is still active within a person’s behaviors, patterns of being and actions.

[iii] Greek pre-Socratic philosopher

[iv] Greek philosopher and mathematician

[v] Opsopaus, Guide to the Pythagorean Tarot, 88.

[vi] The first chakra is the Root Chakra. It is located at the base of the spine and deals with issues of security, basic needs, basic human survival, profane sex and inappropriate sexual activity, and one’s connection to the ancestors and the Earth (an un-awakened first chakra views Earth/nature as hostile). This is the chakra of dualism.

 

Rev. Dr. JC Husfelt