UNCLE ENKIDU
SECOND AND LAST PART
Babylon,
Leah Enkidu
In the first part we found out how Uncle was born, *ahem* civilized
and met his true friend Gilgamesh after a day long fight. Now the story
continues...
The two friends had many fantastic adventures, and
on their way home from one (I believe they were going out to slay some
minor forest god or some other such sundry monster), the goddess Inanna
(the Sumerian goddess of fertility) proposed to Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh
reminded her of the horrible fates of all her previous husbands and flatly
refused her offer (mistake number one: never annoy the gods, even if you're
two-thirds god yourself.)
In a rage, the goddess sent the bull of
heaven down to Uruk to destroy the city. The bull stamped down its
hoof and a crack opened up in the ground and 100 men of Uruk fell into
the chasm. The bull stamped down again and 100 more men of Uruk fell
down into the chasm. Finally Enkidu seized the bull by the horns (to
coin the phrase) and then held it by its tail while Gilgamesh killed it.
The gods were suddenly outraged that the bull had been slain and demanded
the death of both the two heroes. Then the goddess En-Lil stepped forward
and insisted that only one of the two should die, and that one should be
Enkidu. (I think it should have been Gilgamesh!)
At this point Enkidu
slowly began to succumb to a horrible and untreatable disease. As he lay
dying in his bed, he accused his best friend Gilgamesh of abandoning him.
He cursed the trapper and the Temple maid who had brought him to this end.
Then the goddess En-Lil appeared before him and told him if it wasn't
for the Temple maid, he would never have met Gilgamesh, his greatest friend,
who loved him like a brother, and then he never would have found true
happiness. (True happiness with...Gilgamesh??) Enkidu promptly reversed
his position and blessed the girl.
Enkidu spent the last few days of
his life stuck in bed and deteriorating away. All the time dreaming
horrible nightmares of the next world and the fate that awaited him
because he had offended the gods and how now he wouldn't be able to
die an honorable death in battle.
When Enkidu finally died,
Gilgamesh hung around the body for about a week. He refused to admit
that his friend was dead until he saw a maggot fall out of Enkidu's nose....
ewww (then he apparently realized just what that odd smell in the
room really was), and he ordered the body to be buried. Gilgamesh then
wandered the Earth unshaven wearing nothing but animal skins for the
next ten years, while he searched for immortality.
So that is
the happy/sad tale of my Uncle. I hope I can get that picture out of
my head about the maggot falling out of his nose!!
The End
ROOTS OF CHIVALRY
THE FENIAN CODE OF HONOR
Celtia, Fenian Niafer
The Ossianic or Fenian Cycle is probably the most popular of the Four Irish Cycles. It is a collection of prose and poetry set in the third century reign of King Cormac mac Airt, which was one of the richest and most productive eras in Irish history. The stories were supposedly based on tales told by Ossian, son of Fionn mac Cumhaill. From ancient oral traditions, these tales of heroes and deeds of the legendary elite war band, the Fianna, were finally put into writing during the 8th century.
Some interesting parallels can be drawn between King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table and the Irish Fianna. There is a striking similarity between the vows of chivalry taken by the knights and the code of conduct as put forth by Fionn himself in this excerpt from the tales of Ossian.
"If you have a mind to be a good champion, be quiet in a great man's house; be surly in the narrow pass.
Do not beat your hound without a cause; do not bring a charge
against your wife without having knowledge of her guilt; do not hurt a
fool in fighting, for he is without his wits.
Do not find fault with high-up persons; do not stand up to take part
in a quarrel; have no dealings with a bad man or a foolish man. Let
two-thirds of your gentleness be showed to women and to little children
that are creeping on the floor, and to men of learning that make the
poems, and do not be rough with the common people.
Do not give your reverence to all; do not be ready to have one bed
with your companions.
Do not threaten or speak big words, for it is a shameful thing to
speak stiffly unless you can carry it out afterwards. Do not forsake your
lord so long as you live; do not give up any man that puts himself under
your protection for all the treasures of the world.
Do not speak against others to their lord, that is not work for a
good man.
Do not be a bearer of lying stories, or a tale-bearer that is always
chattering.
Do not be talking too much; do not find fault hastily; however brave
you may be, do not raise factions against you.
Do not be going to drinking-houses, or finding fault with old men;
do not meddle with low people; this is right conduct I am telling
you.
Do not refuse to share your meat; do not have a niggard for your
friend; do not force yourself on a great man or give him occasion to speak
against you. Hold fast to your arms till the hard fight is well
ended.
Do not give up your opportunity, but with that follow after
gentleness."
A hard and fast definition of the Code of Chivalry as followed by King Arthur's knights is more elusive, since chivalry was constantly evolving and changing through its history. We can at least acknowledge the following "virtues" as consistent of that code of conduct. I derived these from two sources, an anonymous 12th-13th century French poem "The Ordination of Knighthood" and Raymon Lulle's 13th century "Book of the Order of Chivalry" which are standard references in researching this topic. Notice how this list of virtues sums up the essence of Fionn's requirements for a "good champion."
Prowess, Justice, Courage, Defense, Honesty, Humility, Nobility, Loyalty, Largesse (Generosity), Faith, Courtesy, and Franchise.
Another pillar of the Fianna's code of conduct is the "Teagasc an Riogh" (Instructions for a King), attributed to King Cormac himself. Although what we have of the "Teagasc an Riogh" today was no doubt filtered through the pens of the Christian scribes who first put the older oral traditions into writing, the strong ethics that existed in Pre-Christian Ireland still shine through it.
The Teagasc an Riogh is one of three works attributed
to Cormac during his retirement. King Cormac resigned as Ard Righ in the
later years of his life to retire to Cleite Acaill beside his beloved
River Boyne, but he remained devoted to intellectual pursuits and
philanthropic works until he died. According to legend, he left the throne
because he lost an eye.
His son Cellach was killed in Cormac's own hall by a Deisi chieftain avenging Cellach's insult to a Deisi woman. After slaying Cellach in front of his father, the chieftain, Aengus, then put out Cormac's eye. Cormac could have simply put Aengus to death on the spot, but in keeping with his characteristically strong sense of justice, the king had him tried before a court. The legal decision was that Aengus was allowed to live, but the Deisi were exiled from Meath, their ancestral home.
The Teagasc an Riogh was written as a conversation between King Cormac and his son Cairbre. Here are some excerpts I've taken from it, removing most of the repetition and focusing mainly on the warriors' code of conduct.
"O grandson of Conn, O Cormac," said Cairbre, "What is best for a king?"
"Not hard to tell," said Cormac. "Best for him - firmness without anger, patience without strife, affability without haughtiness, guarding of ancient lore, giving justice, truth, peace, giving many alms, honoring poets, worshipping the great God...Let him attend to the sick, benefit the strong, possess truth, chide falsehood, love righteousness, curb fear, crush criminals, judge truly, foster science, improve his soul, utter every truth...Through these habits will the young become old and kingly warriors."
"O Cormac grandson of Conn, what is good for me?" asked Cairbre.
"Not hard." said Cormac. "Do not deride the aged when you have youth...the poor when you have wealth...the lame when you are swift...the blind though you have sight...the ill when you have strength...the dull when you are clever...the foolish though you are with wisdom."
"O Cormac, what is the worst thing that you have seen?" said Cairbre.
"Not hard" said Cormac."The faces of foes in the rout of battle"
"O Cormac, what is the sweetest thing that you have heard?" asked Cairbre.
"Not hard" said Cormac."The shout of triumph after victory, praise after wages, the invitation to the pillow of a lady."
Centuries before King Arthur emerged with his chivalrous knights, the Fenian code foreshadowed what is widely recognized as the classical attributes of an honorable champion. The tales of the Fianna live on at Ancient Worlds! Visit Celtia's Fianna and explore the mythology,
archaeology, history and martial arts of the famous knights of the Red
Branch.
THE EARLY EGYPTIAN TOMBS
Egypt, Onions Hatshepsut
The first true pyramid was build by the architect Imhotep (a man who wore many hats, including that of physician) under the patronage of King Djoser, the first ruler of the Third Dynasty of Egypt. This is the famous Step Pyramid, so called because of the step-like appearance of the sides. Later pyramids would be given smoother sides. The Step Pyramid was built ca. 2650 BCE at Saqqara.
His immediate predecessor, Khasekhemwy of the Second Dynasty, had a tomb built for him in Abydos. Djoser's tomb in many ways was a refinement of Khasekhemwy's structure: Mastabas, or flat mounds would be placed over the Second Dynasty tombs.
The underground burial complex of Djoser's was similar to that of Khasekhemwy's. Both supported great weight above, both had niched enclosure walls. However, Khasekhemwy's enclosure wall was further from the tomb than was Djoser's. It is speculated by many archaeologists that Djoser's originally started as a mastaba, with a flat mound. However, more flat mounds, each smaller than the one below, were added to the structure. The archaeologist Guenter Dreyer adds evidence relating to the enclosure walls to this theory -- he speculates that the closeness of the enclosure wall hid the mastaba mound from view, and so to announce Djoser's tomb more prominently, a series of flat mounds were built atop the original mastaba, elevating the final structure to a pyramid.
Casting our gaze back further into time, we note that the earliest tombs of the ancient Egyptians largely did not survive the elements and the millennia between them and us. Evidence leads us to believe that up to the end of the fourth millennium BCE tombs were merely pits, perhaps lined with wood or some other perishable matting. Any structures that may have been built atop such pits is the province of pure speculation.
Around 3200 BCE, the archaeological record presents brick-lined underground chambers with perhaps one or two side chambers. These graves had wood beam roofing. These would be the final resting places of the important figures of that time. Wood coffins, and grave goods, have been found in these. These grave goods often were small models which depicted houses, and might be made of ivory or of wood, both rare and valuable materials.
At Abydos, beginning about 3100 BCE, the tombs of rulers of Dynasty 0 and Dynasty 1 have been found. These are broad brick-lined pits with rectangular chambers. Wooden beams and large stone blocks were also used in their construction. Steps led down into the tombs. Stelae with hieroglyphs would be placed facing the direction of the rising sun. Cultic centers (the niched enclosure walls) would be constructed relatively nearby. At the south east corner of these enclosures, there would be a gate. Most of the cultic buildings have disintegrated over the ages.
Graves were also constructed at Saqqara during a portion of the Abydos stage: at first the Saqqara interments were those of the nobility of nearby Memphis, although by the Third Dynasty, the pharaohs began entombing themselves there as well.
Source material:
German Archaeologist Throws Light on Pyramid Origin, by Jonathan Wright.
Dietrich
Wildung, Egypt from Prehistory to the Romans, 2001, Taschen. ISBN
3-8228-1221-8.
CORNELIA
MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI
Rome, Cornellia Cornelius
Certainly one of the most remarkable women of any period in Roman history was Cornelia, mother of Tiberius and Gaius. She was born in the late Republic, a time when the Roman matrona had evolved from the politically powerful Hellenistic princesses, expanding cultural opportunities for women. As a daughter of a hero, wife of an aristocrat, mother of the champions of the Roman people, Cornelia was admired for her virtue, fidelity, and especially for her intelligence. She moved in circles that were open only to the most respected women in Rome. It is clear, however, that, while her family connections were strong, her own abilities won the admiration and confidence of important Romans. She was sought out for advice and conversation long after the death of her husband and sons and later writers portrayed her as the ideal Roman matron.
Cornelia was born the younger daughter of Publius Scipio Africanus, renowned for defeating Hannibal, and his wife Aemilia in the late 190s BCE. She married the consul Tiberius Sempornius Gracchus in the time period between 175 - 165 BCE. Plutarch, a Greek historian of the first century CE, stated that the marriage was one of mutual love derived from the union of two of the most virtuous individuals in Rome. However, Polybius, a Greek historian of the second century BCE, states the betrothal of Cornelia to the much older Tiberius Gracchus occurred after her father's death and was arranged by close relatives.
With him she bore twelve children, yet only three lived to adulthood, Sempronia, Tiberius, and Gaius. Tiberius was most likely born in 163 BCE, with Gaius following nine years later. Sempronia was probably older than both of her brothers as she was already the wife of Scipio Aemilianus when the seventeen year old Tiberius was serving under her husband's command in Africa. Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus died in 154-153 BCE, leaving Cornelia to raise her daughter and two sons on her own, with Tiberius being around the age of nine and Gaius being an infant. She supervised their education and filled them with the culture and refinement that she herself had absorbed in her parent's home.
Soon after the death of her husband, the Egyptian monarch Ptolemy VIII Physcon proposed to her and she outright refused him to remain faithful to the memory of her husband. She was praised for her devotion to her household and the education of her children. Cicero details how carefully she sought out the finest Greek tutors, such as the famous rhetorician Diophanes of Mytilene and the Stoic Blossius of Cumae. He further states that her children were nourished more by her conversation than her breast. At a time when other women of her age were displaying their various ornamentation, Cornelia declared that her sons were her most precious jewels.
It would be difficult to separate Tiberius' short and dramatic political career entirely from his mother's influence. From childhood, she had groomed him for success, and it is doubtful Tiberius considered her any less a political ally and advisor. Her reputation was able to survive rumors that she assisted her daughter in the murder of Scipio Aemilianus because he opposed the legislation of Tiberius. Following the assassination that cut short Tiberius' promising career, Cornelia did not let her son's memory fade away. She was a major factor in fashioning his subsequent image as a martyr for the popular cause, which was gaining momentum in Rome, largely because of Tiberius' land reform program.
Her influence on her younger son Gaius, who, as tribune in 123 BCE, lionized his brother's efforts and became leader of the popular movement, must have been just as strong. In one of her letters she begs Gaius not to employ the same methods of radical reform as did his brother. When he too died violently in 121 BCE, Cornelia gloried in the memory of her two sons and continued to be admired for her political acumen and intelligence. She was as much a politician as any woman could be in a society that did not allow the formal participation of women in politics.
Plutarch gives the fullest account of Cornelia's life. He describes how Cornelia carried on her life after the death of her two sons, Tiberius and Gaius:
.........Cornelia is reported to have borne all her misfortunes in a noble and magnanimous spirit, and to have said of the sacred places where her sons had been slain that they were tombs worthy of the dead which occupied them. She resided on the promontory called Misenum and made no change in her customary way of living.
She had many friends, and kept a good table that she might show
hospitality, for she always had Greeks and other literary men about her,
and all the reigning kings interchanged gifts with her. She was indeed
very agreeable to her visitors and associates when she discoursed to them
about the life and habits of her father [Scipio} Africanus, but most
admirable when she spoke of her sons without grief or tears, and narrated
their achievements and their fate to all inquirers as if she were speaking
of men of the early days of Rome.
Some were therefore led to think that old age or the greatness of
her sorrows had impaired her mind and made her insensible to her
misfortunes, whereas, really, such person themselves were insensible how
much help in banishment of grief mankind derives from a noble nature and
from honorable birth and rearing......... (
Gaius Gracchus, 19.1-3)
Seneca, a Stoic philosopher of the first century CE, writes that she is an example of a woman who deserves to be ranked among the greatest of men and a statue was dedicated to her, bringing her closer to official status than any other woman. Unlike many other famous Roman women of antiquity, Cornelia was a major figure in her own right. She remains a paragon of virtue for the Roman people and a model of wife and mother of her time.
Baumon, Richard A. Women and Politics in Ancient Rome. Cornwall: T.J. Press, 1992
Cicero. On Government. London: Penguin Books, 1993
Kebric, Robert B.. Roman People, Second Edition. London: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997
Lefkowitiz, Mary R. and Fan, Maureen B. Women's Life in Greece and Rome. Baltimore. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992
Stockton, David L. The Gracchi. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1979
