Dragons and Snakes and Myths… Oh My!!...

All it sometimes takes to trigger the somewhat nonsensical content to be put on these posts, is a book read or a program watched. Granted, most comments which come from these sources are speculations, but interesting nonetheless…

 There is an intriguing aspect of our past, at least to me. From everything we seem to know about it, there are definite knowledge voids regarding specific advancements, such as the still famous “missing link” from “apeness” (well, you know what I mean by this) to “humanness”, as well as some explanations regarding advances made by some civilizations along the way, with no real explanation of these, on a traditional step by step way, that we can attest to.

Ancient Chinese hero shooting down "red stars"

 Then, there are the stories we were all told and read as children about the Persian flying carpets, the mythical heroes of ancient Roman, Greek, Norse, Indian as well as Mesopotamian cultures and those of the native civilizations which populated the western world… aptly known as their “mythology”… all the major and minor Gods throughout all these cultures, with supernatural powers… including the ability to “fly” and to “miraculously” appear elsewhere… coupled with their recorded ability to create the “fear of the lord” upon their human subjects through their being able to send “rays of fire” down to strike them… we could say they were probably the precursors of our own Superman and friends. You know, every age needs a hero or two.  But… were they then just imagined possibilities of what would not be available to man for several thousands of years yet?

If human like gods are not your thing, you can take the time to look at all the creatures these demigods fought for a living. Three headed dogs, snake haired ladies (some lady!!), huge flying dragons and lion headed, snake tailed, fire breathing goat backed little friend called “chimera”. So strange a creature was this last one, that its name is now in our vocabulary as meaning “figment of the imagination”… after all, could such an abomination have been true?  Who were these demigods, and what were these beasts, also blessed with their own version of supernatural powers, and definitely shaped as no other creature of this world as we know it today?

Many Ancient Creatures
populate mythical history

 What about the ancient cave cities in Turkey and some of the deeper caves in the southwest U.S.?  Did you know that the earlier legends of our own Southwest Native Americans, transmitted through generations upon generations have them, rather than crossing Alaska into the vast plains after the ice age, coming up from underground dwellings where they had survived a cataclysmic something or other, guided by the “ant people” and the “snake people”, whose liking can be seen in hieroglyphs found in some of these caves.

You know by now, if you have been reading a few of these short stories and histories that my own perception of everyday life is based on two questions: Why?  Closely followed by… Why not? This stems from the core belief that just because we cannot explain something based on our own “scientific” understanding of what should be, does not make it impossible. I strongly believe that being open minded is essential to enjoying life as a continuing source of wonderment; past, present and future.

One of my passions is learning about the earlier Mesoamerican cultures; I say learning, because to imply “the study of” would demand a much more committed effort and time than I can give, unfortunately. It has been so for many years and this curiosity in turn has grown and, due to my travels, expanded to other civilizations and cultures around the world. There has always been a question in my mind (yes, there is that question!) and it seems echoed in several of the articles read over time about the incredible similarity in social and physical structures, traditions and historical cultural legends handed down over generations of peoples and cultures which were, at the time of their primary existence, separated by vast distances in a world and times where intercontinental transport and mass communication, simply, did not exist. Here was no way to exchange ideas…

A Mystical Hammer with Ray like
capabilities

 “Hey Tut… Quetzalcoatl here…” …”Yeah, I know, these connections are horrible… we can put a moving serpent on a pyramid but can’t seem to get these right!!”… “Hey, speaking of pyramids… I just wanted to have you fax me a basic schematic for those doorways you guys designed… seem to be better than ours… you know… pointy and all… thanks! We’ll send you a certified copy of our basic cenote plans … oh, that’s right… you don’t really have a lot of water, do you?... well, how ‘bout "FedExing" a shipment of maize, that’ll be good for your people”

In reality no one believes these conversations actually did take place (you don’t, do you?), in any possible form. So, how is it that archaeological studies, findings and pictures taken of structure remains around the world show a remarkable consistency in their design? This is something which has always been a source of wonder for me. Pyramids in Egypt and Today’s Mexico and Guatemala, heart of the Mayan empire (an empire it was) as well as ancient religious temples in parts of the Asian world. The renderings of these concepts are not very different; in reality, those differences are not so much structural as they could be considered cultural.

Home... sweet Godly home?

There are many questions to be asked and each, in turn, would conceivably lead to other questions. The fact remains that not all can be explained by science, as we have it today. If you remember a recent posting, a favorite saying of one of our most distinguished scientists, was “imagination is more important than knowledge” and this imagination unleashed is what will lead us to ask the questions that will challenge what has become sort of a ‘status-quo” for beliefs, science, and our own history. Just remember that at one time, not that long ago, the most dedicated scientists of the times declared the world to be “square or flat” with abysmal falls at the edges… Also that the earth was the center of the universe and all else spun around it… it took a creative mind to say “it isn't so” and a strong will to then survive the barrage of attacks which were not only intellectual, but physical as well.

What is real and what is not? We know what our physical end will be, but what is (was) our beginning? Religion(s) aside, this is fascinating stuff … worthy of our looking at with a true open minded approach.

Be Well… Be Back!!