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amygdalE

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In many parts of the world many people or magicians attempted to avert evil by either using amulets or uttering commanding dispelling words. In my native town (founded by Italic Greeks [Throurioi] in 204 B.C., in southern Italy, as I mentioned before) there is a magical spell , which I learned there before moving to New York, but it is in corrupt Latin form, while the local dialect is a bundle of Greek, corrupt Latin, and corrupt Italian words. Its contents make me suppose that it is a late version of a Greek spell:
"uottu e nove, fore mal'uocchiu" literally = "eight and nine, outside/away [be] the evil eye".
Fore = Latin Fore
Mal'uocchiu = male uocchiu < Lat. Malis/Male + Oculus
8 e 9 mean nothing to me, but I have an hypothesis: those words are an invocation to the 8 Chthonic gods and the 9 Celestial or Olympian gods -- not so classified by Hesiod, but probably by Dorians.
The Celestial gods would be , as in the oldest myths, Ouranos and Gaia, plus, from later myths, Selene or Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, Chronos, Helios or the Solar Apollo. The Chthonic [terrestrial and underground] gods would be Hades, Poseidon [of fresh and salty waters], the triple-goddess
Hekate [originally the One Below, Khthonie herself; Hekate Phosphoros in Hades; but also identified with Selene/Artemis], the Chthonic Apollon or [Thessalian] Haplos, and two others: Demeter, the mother of grain vegetation, personified as Kore, and Kore, who after Hades' abduction, was identified with Persephone.
So it seems.
 
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In many parts of the world many people or magicians attempted to avert evil by either using amulets or uttering commanding dispelling words. In my native town (founded by Italic Greeks [Throurioi] in 204 B.C., in southern Italy, as I mentioned before) there is a magical spell , which I learned there before moving to New York, but it is in corrupt Latin form, while the local dialect is a bundle of Greek, corrupt Latin, and corrupt Italian words. Its contents make me suppose that it is a late version of a Greek spell:
"uottu e nove, fore mal'uocchiu" literally = "eight and nine, outside/away [be] the evil eye".
Fore = Latin Fore
Mal'uocchiu = male uocchiu < Lat. Malis/Male + Oculus
8 e 9 mean nothing to me, but I have an hypothesis: those words are an invocation to the 8 Chthonic gods and the 9 Celestial or Olympian gods -- not so classified by Hesiod, but probably by Dorians.
The Celestial gods would be , as in the oldest myths, Ouranos and Gaia, plus, from later myths, Selene or Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, Chronos, Helios or the Solar Apollo. The Chthonic [terrestrial and underground] gods would be Hades, Poseidon [of fresh and salty waters], the triple-goddess
Hekate [originally the One Below, Khthonie herself; Hekate Phosphoros in Hades; but also identified with Selene/Artemis], the Chthonic Apollon or [Thessalian] Haplos, and two others: Demeter, the mother of grain vegetation, personified as Kore, and Kore, who after Hades' abduction, was identified with Persephone.
So it seems.
ANCIENT GREEK MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT, SPELLS AND CURSES
 
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In many parts of the world many people or magicians attempted to avert evil by either using amulets or uttering commanding dispelling words. In my native town (founded by Italic Greeks [Throurioi] in 204 B.C., in southern Italy, as I mentioned before) there is a magical spell , which I learned there before moving to New York, but it is in corrupt Latin form, while the local dialect is a bundle of Greek, corrupt Latin, and corrupt Italian words. Its contents make me suppose that it is a late version of a Greek spell:
"uottu e nove, fore mal'uocchiu" literally = "eight and nine, outside/away [be] the evil eye".
Fore = Latin Fore
Mal'uocchiu = male uocchiu < Lat. Malis/Male + Oculus
8 e 9 mean nothing to me, but I have an hypothesis: those words are an invocation to the 8 Chthonic gods and the 9 Celestial or Olympian gods -- not so classified by Hesiod, but probably by Dorians.
The Celestial gods would be , as in the oldest myths, Ouranos and Gaia, plus, from later myths, Selene or Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, Chronos, Helios or the Solar Apollo. The Chthonic [terrestrial and underground] gods would be Hades, Poseidon [of fresh and salty waters], the triple-goddess
Hekate [originally the One Below, Khthonie herself; Hekate Phosphoros in Hades; but also identified with Selene/Artemis], the Chthonic Apollon or [Thessalian] Haplos, and two others: Demeter, the mother of grain vegetation, personified as Kore, and Kore, who after Hades' abduction, was identified with Persephone.
So it seems.
I haven't found anything about "eight and nine", but some Ancient Greek lexicons refer to Nine [Ennea] as a sacred number, which was used in connection with the Nine Judges [of some unspecified Supreme Court], the Nine Muses, etc. I still think that originally Nine was the count of the aforementioned celestial gods, a sacred number.
 
I haven't found anything about "eight and nine", but some Ancient Greek lexicons refer to Nine [Ennea] as a sacred number, which was used in connection with the Nine Judges [of some unspecified Supreme Court], the Nine Muses, etc. I still think that originally Nine was the count of the aforementioned celestial gods, a sacred number.
I still maintain this, but the sacredness of NINE was undoubtedly known also from other contexts, which are mentioned in various lexicons. In fact, I have figured out that the "nine judges" must be the nine archons instituted in many city-states after the middle of the 7th century B.C. They were magistrates who assumed the functions of former kings: religious, military, and JUDICIAL. // {When Thourioi in South Italy was repopulated by Hellenes sent by Pericles, the sophist Protagoras was put in charge of the political [city-] organization. The New Thourioi, my native town, undoubtedly inherited the gods and the political organization of the ancestral Thourioi... and the linguistic sacred Nine.}
 
I still maintain this, but the sacredness of NINE was undoubtedly known also from other contexts, which are mentioned in various lexicons. In fact, I have figured out that the "nine judges" must be the nine archons instituted in many city-states after the middle of the 7th century B.C. They were magistrates who assumed the functions of former kings: religious, military, and JUDICIAL. // {When Thourioi in South Italy was repopulated by Hellenes sent by Pericles, the sophist Protagoras was put in charge of the political [city-] organization. The New Thourioi, my native town, undoubtedly inherited the gods and the political organization of the ancestral Thourioi... and the linguistic sacred Nine.}
In my online searches, I found out that EIGHT is a sacred or powerful number, in many cultures. For instance, China had the eight Immortals, but not much information about the ancient Greek culture, except for the fact that 8 as a symbol of harmony, prosperity, etc., was associated with Venus/Aphrodite, and the popular saying that "all things are eight". The Gnostic symbol, the 8-pointed star, was also associated with Aphrodite. // It seems that 9 had the value of an amulet, whereas 8 had the value/power of a talisman -- for the practitioners of magic.
 
In many parts of the world many people or magicians attempted to avert evil by either using amulets or uttering commanding dispelling words. In my native town (founded by Italic Greeks [Throurioi] in 204 B.C., in southern Italy, as I mentioned before) there is a magical spell , which I learned there before moving to New York, but it is in corrupt Latin form, while the local dialect is a bundle of Greek, corrupt Latin, and corrupt Italian words. Its contents make me suppose that it is a late version of a Greek spell:
"uottu e nove, fore mal'uocchiu" literally = "eight and nine, outside/away [be] the evil eye".
Fore = Latin Fore
Mal'uocchiu = male uocchiu < Lat. Malis/Male + Oculus
8 e 9 mean nothing to me, but I have an hypothesis: those words are an invocation to the 8 Chthonic gods and the 9 Celestial or Olympian gods -- not so classified by Hesiod, but probably by Dorians.
The Celestial gods would be , as in the oldest myths, Ouranos and Gaia, plus, from later myths, Selene or Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, Chronos, Helios or the Solar Apollo. The Chthonic [terrestrial and underground] gods would be Hades, Poseidon [of fresh and salty waters], the triple-goddess
Hekate [originally the One Below, Khthonie herself; Hekate Phosphoros in Hades; but also identified with Selene/Artemis], the Chthonic Apollon or [Thessalian] Haplos, and two others: Demeter, the mother of grain vegetation, personified as Kore, and Kore, who after Hades' abduction, was identified with Persephone.
So it seems.
On reading the Wikipedia article about Magic, I learned that Agrippa , a German Renaissance man, wrote about many kinds of magicians and of magic, such as those we now call illusionists (doing tricks with playing cards, etc.), astrologers, sorcerers, "philosophers of nature" who make inferences about God from their observations of nature, etc. Interestingly, the magicians pray to, or invoke, gods or spirits for assistance. Thus, there is a discourse about the spirits: The Hebrew spirits (angels and archangels) are not to be confused with the "Olympian Spirits", namely the Greek Gods. The number of these Gods that are invoked in magic may be 12 or 7 or 14. I haven't seen any listing of 9 Olympian gods, who, at any rate, are always a mixture of what I called Celestial Gods and Chthonic Gods. The only "8 and 9" magic act or trick is about an 8-card and a 9-card of the same color, which have nothing to do with Spirits. // All in all, this article suggests that my hypothesis about the invoked gods is historically plausible.
 

Favorite Stories of Greek Mythology

I am studying up on some Greek Mythology. I am making a list of key stories to look into and get to know. Can you think of anything I may have missed:

- Prometheus gives mankind fire
- Anything related to the Minotaur
- I plan to read the Iliad and the Odyssey
- How medusa turned into a monster
- Zeus's various "Exploits"
- Anything related to Hercules
- Information about the Olympian gods and goddesses
- The war with the Titans

Mythological Roots of the Olympic Games

I've recently found myself deeply fascinated with how ancient myths and legends have influenced modern traditions and events, particularly those with a global following. Among these, the Olympic Games stand out as a prime example of ancient traditions influencing contemporary world culture. I'm eager to learn more about the mythological roots of the Olympic Games and thought this would be the perfect community to turn to for insights.

From what I understand, the origins of the Olympics are deeply intertwined with Greek mythology. The games were held in Olympia, a sanctuary site for Greek gods, and featured various competitions and rituals dedicated to Zeus, the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion. However, my knowledge of how these mythological aspects directly influenced the establishment and evolution of the Olympic Games feels quite superficial.

Was the Trojan War real?

I have been wondering, was the Trojan War real? I decided to explore the topic. I still don't know. What do you guys think?

Let's start with the basics. According to ancient Greek mythology, the Trojan War was fought between the Greeks and the Trojans over Helen of Troy. Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. When she was kidnapped by Paris of Troy, her husband called upon the Greek army to help him get her back. The war lasted ten years, according to the myth, and ended with the Greeks claiming victory when they used a wooden horse to get inside the walls of Troy.

It's easy to dismiss this story as nothing more than a legend, but there is some archaeological evidence that suggests that there may be some truth to the tale. In the 1870s, a German businessman named Heinrich Schliemann claimed to have found the site of ancient Troy in modern-day Turkey. He found evidence of a walled city with multiple layers of ruins, which might have been the result of multiple attacks over time. Whether or not this was the site of the Trojan War is still up for debate, but it's clear that Schliemann believed that he had discovered the home of king Priam and the legendary Trojan horse.

That said, not everyone agrees with Schliemann's findings. In fact, some scholars argue that the city he found wasn't actually Troy at all, but another nearby city with a similar name. Others point out that the ruins he found don't quite match up with the descriptions of the city in the Iliad. Additionally, there is evidence that suggests that the Trojan War didn't happen exactly as it was told in the myth. For example, it's possible that the conflict arose over economic disputes rather than the kidnapping of Helen.

Despite the disagreements among scholars, one thing is for sure: The Trojan War has had a lasting impact on culture and has become one of the most well-known stories from Greek mythology. It has been retold in countless books, movies, and TV shows over the years, and the characters from the story continue to inspire us today. The Trojan hero Hector, for example, has become synonymous with bravery, while Odysseus's journey home has been the inspiration for many other epic tales.

Accurate movies about Greek mythology?

I am looking for some "accurate" movies that have Greek mythological topics. I say "accurate" because how can we really even know? Many of the stories were handed down through the generations, and some even may have been lost. I guess I mean accurate according to what has been established from works that have survived.

I found this video - has anyone watched these?

Thesmorphia - Ancient Greek Thanksgiving Festival

I have heard this festival described as an "Ancient Greek Thanksgiving" so I thought I would look it up. Very interesting! I don't see the "Thanksgiving" connection (not the way we in the US think of it) but I thought it was interesting because it goes to show you that gratitude-related festivals are an ancient concept. And it is a harvest festival, just like our US Thanksgiving is...

Some information I have gathered:

The Thesmorphia festival was celebrated on the 11th of Pyanepsion, which corresponds to late October or early November in the modern Gregorian calendar. The festival was a three-day affair, and it was observed mainly by women. During the festival, women were not allowed to sleep with their husbands, and purification rituals were performed at the temples of Demeter and Persephone. On the first day, the first fruits of the harvest were offered to Demeter, and a feast was held in her honor. On the second day, a procession was held, and women walked around the fields carrying torches, symbolizing the power of Demeter. The third day was a joyous celebration, and the remnants of the feast were donated to the poor.

The Thesmorphia festival was significant for many reasons. Firstly, it celebrated the end of the harvesting season, and it was a time to give thanks for a good crop. The festival was also a time for women to come together, and it was an opportunity for them to assert their power and influence in the society. Women played a significant role in the festival, and they were responsible for the preparation of the feast and various other aspects of the festival.

The festival was also significant in terms of its religious and mythological significance. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture, and Persephone was her young daughter, who was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld. The story of Persephone reflects the cycle of life, death, and resurrection. The festival of Thesmorphia was an opportunity to honor these two goddesses and their mythology, which highlighted the importance of the harvest and the cycle of life.

Another reason why the Thesmorphia festival was significant was that it was a time for the community to come together and celebrate. The feast was an opportunity to share food, drink, and stories and build camaraderie amongst members of the community. During the festival, people forgot their differences and came together to celebrate the bounty of the harvest.
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