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The
Goddess Eos, Aurora in Latin, is said to be Goddess
of the Dawn, described by ancient poets in the colours of
the sky at dawn: rosy-fingered and saffron robed.
Eos is
thought to be daughter of the Titan God Hyperion and
Goddess Theia. She features in several mythical tales: the
most famous tells of her relationship with Tithonos, whose
beauty inspired Eos to fall in love with him. She begged
Zeus to make him immortal, Zeus did; but, so the story
goes, Eos forgot to include a clause making him also
ageless.
Unfortunately Tithonos grew ever older
until he shriveled up so badly he had to be locked away in
a chamber, where only his lovely voice was heard.
Another
legend tells of Eos' love for Orion whom she carried off;
until Artemis (Diana) slew him with an arrow. Eos'
constant search for love was said to be caused by
Aphrodite's jealousy over her being Ares' mistress. In
spite she caused Eos always to be in love with someone.
However, in
truth Gods or Goddesses do not fall in love with mortals,
nor are they victims of each others' fears and jealousy.
As the Goddess Artemis once said: "Those who read of
the Olympian Gods and Goddesses may think we are barbaric;
but that is not true. Stories have been exaggerated and
fashioned to bring excitement to those who may hear
them."
So, Eos does not constantly crave love
from passing mortals who catch her attention.
On first
encounter with her, the room absolutely filled with the
colour of bluebells. There appeared a swirling mist and
then she spoke: "Thank you for honouring me. I
am Eos, the great Goddess you welcome.
Absorb the power vibrating around you.
You need much of this as each time a mortal leaves the
physical body a little power is taken from it, yet you are
strong and dedicated. So using power will do no harm. You
hear and see well."
The
following is the team-member's description of what
happened next:
'I felt vibrations in the light all
around me, going up my legs and down my arms and next
thing I was somewhere else. I saw a village and guessed it
was the Mediterranean. The village street was busy with
people all carrying things. Two men carried a table
between them, others carried crockery and plates of
food. They climbed up a hill to an isolated white
building.
I stood
watching as a thin woman with grey hair came up to me:
'Don't stand there looking. Do some work! Take something
up there,' and she thrust a glass or something, a strange
blue bowl filled with grapes and tangerines and some kind
of plum. Next she gave me a flagon. I noticed a man had
been filling flagons from a barrel, it was a golden brown
liquid. I joined the
crowd carrying things up the hill and felt quite happy.
Outside the building was a big open
space of short grass with tables covered in food and
flagons. Children sat around making flower chains which
were then placed around the plates of food. I saw the old
woman again and asked what it was all for. 'We are
making ready to celebrate the day and night of the great
Goddess Eos.'
Next thing
I knew, time had passed. It was night and I was in the
doorway of the building. All the people were eating and
drinking and dancing and laughing all around. I went into
the doorway alone and peeked inside. The interior was
painted in all shades of blue from pale to dark; some of
the blues seemed to run into each other making a hazy
effect. The walls and ceiling were like this, the floor
was a blue and white mosaic. I saw no furniture but lots
of large cushions, either blue or white; in fact the whole
ensemble seemed a patchwork of blue and white. Outside I
could hear people shouting her name.
"Welcome
to the celebrations of my day and night."
Temple
Diaries Eos
Festival
of Eos - May 11th |