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Gods Walking the Earth
Mar. 11th, 2024 02:13 pmIf you find Witches and Magicians old enough, they will have stories for you of times when the Gods were seen on Earth recently, either as part of a magical ceremony, or otherwise. These accounts are common in Native American, Norse, Greek, Welsh, Irish, and Brythonic traditions. It is also present in the Christian tradition, but less talked about, and the people encountered are Saints, not Gods.
Here is an account from just after WWII.
After the Allies declared victory in WWII, one can imagine the relief of Allied troops all over the world. There was still the matter and logistics of getting all of them home, though. One troop of British soldiers had been stationed on the Argolis peninsula of Greece, and their commander directed them to form an encampment in the fields and green spaces near some ancient ruins until their transportation out of Greece could be arranged:
And so they encamped. Many soldiers had restless nights and fitful sleep. A few spoke together and found that they were having the same recurring dream or vision every night. They called a general meeting of the whole troop, and it was discovered that many more of the soldiers were also having the same experience. The troop elected representatives to go to the commander to request that the whole unit be moved because they believed that the area was haunted. The recurring dream or vision involved seeing an old, bearded man dressed in a simple robe walking through the encampment, aided in his walking by a staff that had a serpent wrapped around it.
Unbeknownst to the soldiers and the commander, the ruins by which the unit had encamped had been an ancient temple of Asklepias, the divine power in charge of healing, and a son of Apollo in mythology. These ancient temples of Asklepias, about 300 of them, were located all over the Mediterranean region, and were essentially healing centers and hospitals, for the general populace, but particularly for war veterans. It was in such centers that Greek theater first emerged, with dramatic presentations helping war veterans to overcome what we would today call post-traumatic stress disorder. The three great ancient Greek tragedians – Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus – were all war veterans, and all of them explored in their plays the theme of the evils of war. It was thought that the communal experience of watching such plays (amongst many other healing techniques, such as massage, herbal medicine, and music therapy) served to have a cathartic effect on war veterans, helping to purge them of PTSD. Inspired by ancient models, modern psychologists since WWII have been engaged in research along these lines.
So, did Asklepias walk the Earth at the end of WWII? Amongst a troop of exhausted soldiers, some wounded, at the doorstep of his temple?
You bet he did.
Here is an account from just after WWII.
After the Allies declared victory in WWII, one can imagine the relief of Allied troops all over the world. There was still the matter and logistics of getting all of them home, though. One troop of British soldiers had been stationed on the Argolis peninsula of Greece, and their commander directed them to form an encampment in the fields and green spaces near some ancient ruins until their transportation out of Greece could be arranged:
And so they encamped. Many soldiers had restless nights and fitful sleep. A few spoke together and found that they were having the same recurring dream or vision every night. They called a general meeting of the whole troop, and it was discovered that many more of the soldiers were also having the same experience. The troop elected representatives to go to the commander to request that the whole unit be moved because they believed that the area was haunted. The recurring dream or vision involved seeing an old, bearded man dressed in a simple robe walking through the encampment, aided in his walking by a staff that had a serpent wrapped around it.
Unbeknownst to the soldiers and the commander, the ruins by which the unit had encamped had been an ancient temple of Asklepias, the divine power in charge of healing, and a son of Apollo in mythology. These ancient temples of Asklepias, about 300 of them, were located all over the Mediterranean region, and were essentially healing centers and hospitals, for the general populace, but particularly for war veterans. It was in such centers that Greek theater first emerged, with dramatic presentations helping war veterans to overcome what we would today call post-traumatic stress disorder. The three great ancient Greek tragedians – Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus – were all war veterans, and all of them explored in their plays the theme of the evils of war. It was thought that the communal experience of watching such plays (amongst many other healing techniques, such as massage, herbal medicine, and music therapy) served to have a cathartic effect on war veterans, helping to purge them of PTSD. Inspired by ancient models, modern psychologists since WWII have been engaged in research along these lines.
So, did Asklepias walk the Earth at the end of WWII? Amongst a troop of exhausted soldiers, some wounded, at the doorstep of his temple?
You bet he did.
