104 - purification rituals

before athens got its name, it was called cecropia, after its king cecrops, who was said to be half human, half snake.

he was a great king, but the city was still unprotected by a god, until one day, athena and her uncle, poseidon, both decided to claim it.

things got heated as you might imagine between two all-powerful gods, a god of the seas and a goddess who was born a full grown woman holding her shield and spear, so zeus decided to intervene before things got ugly.

he challenged each god to offer something to the city, and he and cecrops would decide whose offer was best.

they met on the sacred hill of the acropolis. zeus, the olympian gods, and the people of cecropia gathered to witness the spectacle.

poseidon went first. he struck his trident into the earth, and from it came a salt-water spring. an impressive move in its own right, but not exactly practical for the people of cecropia. they had plenty of rivers, and they were right by the sea.

then came athena’s turn. she planted her spear into the ground, and it grew into an olive tree. the people were in awe. quality timbre? food? oil? yes please.

cecrops was amazed, and immediately declared athena’s gift superior. and thus the city was named after the goddess of wisdom.

today athena was baptized by an orthodox priest in a maronite church that was once a shrine to the goddess ashtarout.

after the baptism, we all went to a venue for lunch and drinks and celebrations, and as a souvenir, we gave everyone an olive sapling to plant at home.

if an olive branch is a symbol of peace, an olive tree is lasting peace, one of the goddess of wisdom’s gifts to the city. we chose sophia for her christian name.

athena violette sophia is officially a member of god’s kingdom, cleansed of mommy and daddy’s sin of begetting her.

after nigredo comes albedo. a purification ritual is the perfect albedic symbol.

until tomorrow <3