We had such a fruitful and exciting discussion in our Live Chat of November 17th! I presented some of my latest research on Dikē (Justice) and Her relationship to the stars, we discussed an exciting new FREE Orphic resource by the scholar Daniel Malamis, and so much more!
In the show notes below you’ll find not only time stamps, but also, a GLORIOUS HEAP of material (sky charts, illustrations, book links) to help you understand the conversation better.
Chronic Illness Caveat: As you’ll see in the video, there are some times when my Long Covid brain fog makes me less quick than usual with names/dates/details, but the images and links below should help clarify. Thank you for being patient with me!
Topics covered, with approximate time stamps
Links to resources discussed in the video are listed below.
Reading (in Greek and English) of the Hymn of Dikē (Justice)
4:35 Edward Knapp makes an interesting observation that in this hymn, Justice is NOT blind.
5:37 “Eye of Dikē” as a reference to a heavenly body. See Figure 1, below in References section.
7:19 Babylonian understandings of the “Scales” asterism (correlates to what we now know as Libra) See Figure 2 and Link 1, below.
10:31 Orphic ideas of two “gates” in the Milky Way where souls enter/exit the “path of the gods” (aka the ecliptic) See Figure 3.
15:08 Hestia as Celestial Hearth. See Figure 4.
17:49 The Orphics as one of the major, earliest sources for the integration of ancient Babylonian and Egyptian astronomical practices and myths into the Greek tradition
20:21 Recommended book (in French) by A.A. Maravelia: Les Astres dans les textes religieux de l’Egypte Antique et dans les Hymnes Orphiques
23:36 The meaning of the Greek word gnomē in this hymn, and gnomic (secret proverbial) sayings in the Orphic tradition
30:06
asks about the numbering of the Hymn of Dikē, and we discuss Pythagorean associations of Justice with the number three30:57 Justice as the middle point of balance between two poles, NOT (as we often think of it) as the polar opposite of injustice
33:11 Libra and the Thema Mundi, and how I use Stellarium software to research and understand ancient astronomy
37:00 Naji (
) talks about other fixed stars associated with Virgo and Libra, and the Orphics as counter-cultural46:05 Raimundo Leong offers that in this hymn, Justice is very “action-oriented.”
49:34 Ancient astronomical measuring systems and how they might relate to Saturn/Kronos’s exaltation in Libra. See Figure 5.
53:29 Imagining the actual practice of ancient astral measurement and worship
55:59 Naji recommends the work of Maria Marakou and Sarah Janes, and talks about the timing of the Eleusinian Mysteries. See Link 2.
1:00 Recommendation for a NEW TRANSLATION and DETAILED POETIC ANALYSIS of the Orphic Hymns by Daniel Malamis. See Link 3 below.
1:08 Malamis’ division of the hymn collection into three main “movements”
1:10 Edward Knapp talks about the Orphic Hymns as daily devotionals
1:16 Poetry and myth as a way to remember the stars and vice-versa. Book recommendation: Barber & Barber, When They Severed Earth from Sky
1:19 My recommended Greek edition, with translation and commentary (in Italian): Gabriella Ricciardelli, Inni Orfici
1:22 Closing Reading of the Hymn of Mnemosyne (Memory)
