Standing Stones

Joseph Campbell Mythology Group discussion page. Joseph Campbell Mythology Group Home Page. Mythology Calendar Message Thread Archive CHATS Regular Chat Every Saturday. 11:00 PM (US/Eastern Daylight Savings Time Specially Scheduled Chats None at present. This section updated as warranted. Click TimeandDate.com to find time in your area. TimeandDate.com Contents Regular Features New Members Under Discussion Coming Events Insight This Issue Member Snapshot Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? Book Review: The Myth of the Goddess Poetry: Valladolid, Our Ancient Eyes Series: The Mighty Aztec Empire, Part One Featured Images: Image 1	Featured Image Founder's Note Welcome to the fourth edition of Standing Stones, the group's bi-monthly journal and newsletter! The next edition is planned for December this year. 500th member nears. The JCMG currently has over 470 members according to Yahoo. We can expect to reach 500 members in the not too distant future and it's been suggested that we recognize the 500th member in a special way whenever it happens. The 500th member will receive a gift certificate for $20 from Amazon.com. This assumes that the 500th member can be contacted and the certificate delivered. That's not always the case. If for some reason it cannot be delivered, the certificate will go to the 501st member and so on until it can be delivered. Search for new members. If you know of someone who has an interest in what we discuss and who you think is compatible with the tone and nature of the JCMG, please invite them to join. There is an Invite link in the lefthand frame of the club page that allows you to send an invitation to someone by e-mail. New members add to our store of knowledge and the vibrancy of the discussion. It is especially beneficial to stretch our membership into other countries and cultures. And remember... not all members choose to post. Lurking is also valuable. Who knows? The person you invite could be number 500. JCMG Resources. Group resources include our website, which offers links to mythic sites around the web and a useful book list of suggested reading. Submissions: Group members are invited to submit the following to Standing Stones: Myth-related quotes, links, images; poems (20-30 lines), articles/essays (500-600 words); reviews of books, movies, songs; or notice of events such as seminars, lectures, exhibits, and workshops. Please, send submissions to ruhdwulf at heartofthesky@yahoo.com. Enjoy! kupina'i and ruhdwulf, Co-founders New Members New members from September to October 11 include the following Yahoo IDs: abglos, astradaemon, aquamarine0372, aunteller, avatarofgodhead, azstarrynight, bakerrains, bryansblue, celeste, Cool_Splash1, danceswithdragons333, donethan, drmccauley, epispaz2001, free_spirited_butterfly, heathenmedusa, hibou9, jmadsen, joenimble, Kdueball, larce17, lilmist_rose, Mahakayasabi, powerofstory, quix0tica, ru4me, s_noebels, seeker_ny, spatialbean, stlouiswicca, themomteam, tipicamper, triune_perception, zen_kaat, and zzjed1xx. Welcome to all. Under Discussion An alphabetic list of major discussion threads for August 21, 2001 through October 4, 2001. (Message number for start of thread in parentheses.) | A | A great web resource from widowson11 (4998), A Prayer for Peace (5094), About Justice In Mythology (5116), African Mythology Courses (5178), AOL teaching tolerance (5090), Archetypes, Myths & Cultural Differences (5135), Astro Survey & Archetypes (4954), Astrological Survey (5023) | B | | C | Campbell on how to read myth (4985), campbell's mystic number (4958), Campbell's sense of humor (4984), Can We Ever Truly Live Beyond Myth? (5774),Crumbling Buddhas (5063) | D | Definitions of the word God (5005), Doctor Who's THE MYTH MAKERS... (4990) | E | Egypt's Native Faith Comes West! (5180),England calling (5055) | F | Fact Imitating Fiction? (5167), Fereifis (5131), Food for thought - retaliation (5099), | G | Global Prayer (5066), God = Jerry Garcia (5020), Grieving (5083) | H | Happy Lammas Eve (4987), Happy St. Eustace's Day (5123), How many do you recognize? (5172), Human tragedy (5053) | I | Interesting Tree Symbolism (5173), Introducing a site (4966), Islam and interconnectedness (5153), Islam Is Great (5138) | J | James brother of Jesus to King Arthur (4977), Jesus Ancestor French and British Crowns (5000), Jesus to Arthur and Round Table Knights (4976), Justice in mythology (5115) | K | | L | Love Thy Enemies (5106) | M | Mabon Sept. 22 (5125), Me and My Turban (5100), Mythology Courses (5144), Mythos of the moment ( 5154) | N | New Book from Campbell Colleague ( 4982) | O | Our 500th Member (5184), our personal myths (5093), Osiris - A Myth for 2001? (5174) | P | Power of Myth - Seattle (5022), Psychosis as […Spiritual Emergency] (5015), [Psychosis as] ...Spiritual Emergency (5016 | Q | | R | Re: Stem Cells and Sacrifice (5041), Re: Stem Cells and Sacrifice I (5042), Reflection on Tragedy (5075), Reflections (5095) | S | Science and Religion (5169), Sept. 1st chat!!! (4953), Source of Holy Grail (Sang Israal) lines (4999), speculative fiction as modern myth (4994), Stem Cell (5040), Symptoms of mythic & symbolic crisis (5117) | T | Technology, enlightenment, and surprise (5052), The Backlash (5064), The Dali Lama's letter to President Bush (5091), The Old Man and The Sea (5188), The Order and Symmetry of Chance (4971), Tiger Above, Tiger Below (4973), Twelve peace prayers (5124) | U | | V | | W | Wazzup with Yahoo!? (4991), Weekly quote (4981), William Blake (5097) | X, Y, Z | You never know what you'll learn (4972) >>> Message Thread Archive >>> >>> Top of Page >>> Insight "...[I]n one way myths could be called 'collective dreams'. It is this aspect of them which is another of the ways in which they influence us, for if C.G. Jung's theory of Collective Unconscious is true, and if we each carry with us a permanently buried reservoir of material accumulated through the long march of our evolution, then it is the response of the unconscious to its echoes as found in mythology which gives to much of it its haunting quality." Ward Rutherford, Celtic Mythology. "Simply to comprehend a polytheistic viewpoint may be beyond us, and it is also vital to bear in mind that our knowledge is incomplete -- we have what may well be only a small number of the pieces in a large jigsaw, with no concept of the overall design." Henrietta McCall, Mesopotamian Myths. >>> Top of Page >>>
Co-Founders, Joseph Campbell Mythology Group: kupina'i, ruhdwulf Editors: kupian'i, ruhdwulf Contributing Editors: bodhibliss, isis1037 © 2001, Joseph Campbell Mythology Group. All rights for orignial material revert to the authors. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this web publication for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the respective authors. Copyrighted material used herein is for brief purposes of quoting only and is attributed to its source. If you discover copyrighted material used without permission or attribution, please notify the editors so that the error may be corrected or the material removed. Send comments or suggestions to ruhdwulf at heartofthesky@yahoo.com Statement of Purpose: This journal/newsletter is intended to provide the members with a means of staying current with group activities, to share knowledge about our common interest in mythology and, in doing so, encourage a greater sense of community and participation.	Coming Events No events reported for this issue. >>> Top of Page >>> Member Snapshot - widowson11 Real Name: Steve Gender: Male Occupation: ): Journalist and Editor by profession, writer/poet by natural selection, bookseller (at present) by necessity. Age: : 7 x 7 years Location: ): North Devon, England (green rolling hills, sheep, great swimming and surfing beaches). Education Background: ): "At the end of high school I had the choice of either going to university or taking up a journalist cadetship. Journalism won." Favorite mythology: "My favourite mythology has to be that of the modern Western world from the Grail legends through Faust to modern movies, novels and even song lyrics, although I appreciate everything from other historical times and places that have flowed into it." Favorite myth: "Wolfram von Eschenbach's 'Parzival' has always been a favourite, thus my attraction to Campbell through his recognition of its importance for modern humanity. I have said in a post recently how I also see the legend of Osiris as important for us in this day and age." Favorite reference/source book(s): "The foremost is probably my battered copy of Rudolf Steiner's How to Know Higher Worlds, a scientifically based method for attaining that "higher purer vision" to let us see beyond physical appearances. I find I also return to Emerson's essay "Self Reliance" to keep me on track as well as the final part of Campbell's Creative Mythology. Favorite book(s) with a mythic theme: "I read Dickens's A Christmas Carol every year without fail starting on Advent Sunday. Sometimes it takes me weeks, sometimes a single sitting. Those two children that appear from beneath the robes of the Ghost of Christmas Future send a chill through me every time. I am also a fan of William Golding's work, the symbology of which is only gradually being recognised. I especially enjoy Lord of the Flies, Darkness Visible and Pincher Martin." Favorite movie(s) with a mythic theme:"A bad question to ask me as my list is massive. The Star Wars series because they are pure initiation stories (as is The Wizard of Oz). The Matrix because of many things but particularly the idea that we don't see reality, only what we are conditioned to see. (And how about that remarkable monologue by Agent Smith likening humanity to a virus. What a wake up call!) Shawshank for telling us that we either get busy living or get busy dying. The Outlaw Josey Wales for illustrating the modern human condition. Any movie that illustrates how one person with principles can make a difference (Gandhi, Pay It Forward, Mr Holland's Opus, Erin Brockovich, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). What Dreams May Become for showing what could be. It's a Wonderful Life for illustrating karma and destiny. Primal Fear for its picture of insidious evil. .... Movies are the new tribal teaching tales. Favorite myth or symbol web site: "These may not be pure myth and symbol sites (I tend to send good ones on to the club) but there's a great site for works of art at http://fineart.elib.com and links to the plethora of Rosicrucian sites at http://fraktali.849.com/rosen.html." "I ought to mention also a great site for those interested in finding a reliable and accurate clairvoyant/medium, who describes some interesting experiences on her site as well. The site is www.psychicsusanroberts.com and I have to admit a personal connection with the beautiful lady in question for she is, indeed, Mrs Widowson11." How long have you been interested in myth and symbol? "Since my teens when I began reading eastern religions, arguing with my vicar and trying to figure out what Dylan meant in some of his songs. I guess I have now returned full circle - or is that full spiral - to a more rarified and esoteric view of Christ which suits me perfectly. " What first got you interested in myth and symbol? "Reading Grimms Fairy Tales when I was about 9. I felt such a glow within and around me that several years later I re-read the same book in the hope of recapturing the same rapture (with barely any success). Later I came across Steiner's ideas that myths and legends represented the spiritual condition of humanity at various times in earth's history, and when I read of his explanations of, for instance, the symbology of Egyptian myth, European alchemy or - of all things - the same Grimms tales, I knew I had found me a home, metaphorically speaking, where I stayed for over 20 years. Later still I met Campbell's work and now find immense satsifaction in weaving my own tapestry of experience-based truth out of all I have read and undergone." Quote: "Keep on posting and don't be secretly intimidated by others - in this club (of all clubs) we stand equal and, in the end, this fractured world needs fraternity more than anything else. Also remember and hold fast to Jung's statement in the Prologue to his Memories Dreams Reflections, viz. 'Myth is more individual and expresses life more clearly than does science.' " >>> Top of Page >>> Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? by Robyn Kekoa (kupinai@yahoo.com) An age old question: if God is loving, merciful, and compassionate, how can He permit such suffering? I don't pretend to have the definitive answer when far wiser souls have grappled with this very question. However, through the discussions at this club, I have found a working answer -- that serves me, at any rate. A member once argued that, in "The Wizard of Oz" movie, the real villain was Glenda the Good Witch. Dorothy finds herself on the frontlines of someone else's argument, both by accident and by design. Rather than fight the Wicked Witch herself, even though she is far better equipped to do so, Glenda makes Dorothy do it by giving her the coveted Ruby Slippers. And in so doing, she has put Dorothy's life in jeopardy, all to avoid a direct confrontation herself. This was an interesting turnabout but still I favor the traditional interpretation, a coming of age story. It begins with family members always having to drop everything to rescue Dorothy from trouble. She is still operating in a state of childish dependency upon her elders. However, she is becoming a burden to them as she is old enough to do for herself. Dorothy has to grow up and the journey through Oz is calculated to bring that about.
	The Ruby Slippers serve as an excuse to pit the Wicked Witch against Dorothy but, really, any excuse would do. She has no choice now but to defend herself and conquer the Witch if she hopes to obtain her goal. She cannot look to her friends to bail her out for they are even more incompetent than she. And yes, Glenda could swoop in at any time and fix everything, but that would defeat the purpose. How would Dorothy learn anything? It would keep her right where she already is, depending on others to solve her problems. She would remain in childish dependency. It is not for Glenda to do for Dorothy what Dorothy must learn to do for herself. Why does God let bad things happen? It is not for God to do for us what we must learn to do for ourselves if we are to ever mature as a species. ©2001, Robyn Kekoa. Material used with the author's permission. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this article for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the author. About the Author Robyn Kekoa (kupina'i) was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i and raised there and various other places on the mainland. She currently resides in the beautiful Pacific Northwest near Seattle where she has freelanced in the computer and .com industry. Mythology has been a lifelong interest which began from reading fairy tales and has grown to an amateur's pursuit of history, philosophy, and psychology. >>> Top of Page >>> Book Review The Myth of The Goddess: Evolution of an Image Ann Baring & Jules Cashford Penguin Books, 1993 (687 pp.) Archetypal psychologist James Hillman advises those working with dream to “stay with the image;” Joseph Campbell defines myth as “the collective dreams of mankind.” Anne Baring and Jules Cashford hearken to the words of both men, taking one image in all its occurrences as our entry into humanity’s collective dream. They follow the image of the Goddess in art and myth, from Her first appearance in full breasted, wide hipped, faceless stone figurines roughly twenty thousand years ago in Europe, through Her many incarnations in Sumer, Egypt, Greece, Palestine, Gaul, the British Isles and northern Europe, India, China, etc., on down to the Virgin Mary. Baring and Cashford find the goddess image alive yet today, in places where we would not think to look. “Image” is the key word here. Though the authors don’t restrict the definition of image to the visual realm, this book is loaded with pictures (alas, all black and white – but beautiful) scattered across millennia – the enthroned, full figured mistress of the beasts from 8000 years ago at Catal Huyuk, graceful, narrow waisted figures from Crete, 5000 years ago, Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” – the full spectrum is represented. The pictures fit comfortably into the text. The writing is sharp, insightful, rich, complex, and layered, each sentence packed with meaning, presented in a style, refreshing in its clarity, that can’t help but hold the reader’s attention. Baring and Cashford write from a Jungian perspective, flavored with Hillman’s archetypal imagination and Campbell’s mythic eye. As the reader progresses, it becomes clear that the authors are attempting much more than the analysis of one image – along the way, the images they present chronicle the development of human consciousness itself! To provide just a tease, Baring and Cashford relate the anonymous, round bodied goddess figurines from the Paleolithic era to undifferentiated consciousness (shades of Jung and Neumann). As regional cultures develop, the goddess image differentiates into local incarnations – Inanna in Mesopotamia, Isis in Egypt, etc. Around 3000 B.C., the goddess begins to be portrayed as Madonna and Child (e.g., Isis and Horus): the authors suggest the appearance of Mother and Child parallels the differentiation of the infantile ego consciousness out of the undifferentiated unconscious (though they don’t mention Julian Jaynes, their observations match the dates he offers for the development of ego consciousness in The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind). Not as far fetched as it sounds! Baring and Cashford present a wealth of well documented, heavily footnoted information. Their findings immediately strike a chord in readers familiar with the field of depth psychology. This volume is a rich tapestry woven from mythic lore and archaeological images. It’s a riveting read from cover to cover, and serves well as a handy reference volume with a comprehensive index. The Myth of the Goddess belongs in the library of every Joseph Campbell aficionado. stephen gerringer (bodhibliss@yahoo.com) ©2001, Stephen Gerringer. Material used with the author's permission. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this article for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the author. About the Author Stephen Gerringer posts on the Joseph Campbell Mythology Group under the nom de plume, bodhibliss. Twelve years of hardcore political activism during and after college gave way to dozens of Grateful Dead concerts (including one in Oakland, Ca., attended by Joseph Campbell and Jean Erdman, seated on stage) and other hedonistic pursuits. Eventually, Stephen embarked on a personal spiritual quest, spending over a decade "on the road," covering fifty thousand miles by thumb, stopping a month or two every year in Portland/Seattle, Yosemite, and Taos, trading dreamwork and Tarot readings for room and board. Currently, Stephen is in his second year teaching English and Literature in middle school in California. >>> Top of Page >>> Poetry Valladolid Michael Pfeifer 1. The town had another name once, visible only in limestone. 2. When the bus stops children lift offerings of gum and candy. 3. I walk across to the town square, deep green and shadow. Men sit on wrought iron benches and empty themselves of death. Under a dying tree are two love seats of white stone. In the fountain a woman empties water from a bottomless jar yet the town is perpetually thirsty. 4. The church is a fortress of thick bell towers. The bells themselves are visible and quiet as guards. Inside it is black as a cell except for one window, huge and stained with beautiful sins. 5. Across the square a woman gestures at me. She raises a handless stump wrapped in brilliant blue cloth. Through the barber's door I watch a customer bow his head under the scissors and comb as if in prayer. © 2001, Michael Pfeifer. Material used with the author's permission. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this article for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the author. Our Ancient Eyes Simon Seamount I wonder what is real as I walk home at noon over grass hills among silent houses of wood where maybe people live whom I never see watching history of life on television play flicker dreams lost inside our ancient eyes. I have a million years before end of time floating on wings of light over iron walls searching beyond realm of all I know for sure because secrets blossom flowers in my brain that reflects souls born from our ancient eyes. I knock on doors opening empty rooms in maze of vast roof-less hall of lives peeking into eyes of strangers without names who pass me by on endless yellow brick roads winding outward far from our ancient eyes. My face is mask hiding bundles of nerves tingling with emotions born before time that urged my soul to climb from boiling sea womb of mother earth to stand on mountain top where God sparks dreams in our ancient eyes. Nothing is real sings prophet in a tree hanging with a monkey eating strawberry cream so I wish upon a star twinkling in her eye tossing me apples hidden in Serpent Tree slithering back deep inside our ancient eyes. Sunlight gleams on bones of my glass skull filling my flesh with warm milk of desire so I sing in a microphone to record thoughts falling thick as rain in storm of creation flooding oceans that overflow our ancient eyes. Prince and Princess discuss what is real and what is not playing chess in steel castle feasting on bananas while millions starve scratching at dust on shores of Saraswati River which long ago dissipated from our ancient eyes. I kiss my wife and cradle our daughter close to my heart listening to her word-less voice convey her secret dreams so I may understand how best to guide her steps beyond my death dancing alive forever with our ancient eyes. More work by Simon Seamount is available online at Gothinia Chronicle © 2001, Simon Seamount. Material used with the author's permission. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this article for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the author. About the Author Simon Seamount (simonseamount@yahoo.com) was born in Oregon, raised in Texas and Seattle, traveled all across America searching for the secret of the Holy Grail (Sang Israal), and now lives in Michigan designing websites for State of Michigan. He writes tales in verse in the ancient epic traditions. A self-described Jewish-Christian-Muslim-Wiccan Goddess Worshipper, Simon married an Indonesian Muslim woman on Jawa Island. They have a 6-month-old daughter named Saraswati in honor of the ancient Hindu Goddess of Music and Wisdom. His Gothinia Chronicle, at Gothinia.net, contains over 2,150 tales in epic verse. >>> Top of Page >>> The Mightly Aztec Empire By Jane Richards Part One From the mysterious and unknown area in the north called the Seven Caves, and recited by their own ancient history, The Aztec tribe [who called themselves the Mexica], migrated slowly south. According to their history, they were the last of several tribes to leave this area, and from this time forward they considered all mountains and caves sacred. They would put idols into them and burn incense to them. One such was the cave at Izta where the carving of Iztaccihuatl, White Lady, as well as Tlaloc, the god of rain, storms, and caves were housed]. As they made their way south they would stop at intervals, plant crops, and settle temporarily, but their tribal god, Huitzilopochtli [the last son of the Earth Mother], would never allow them to stay in one place for long. The Mexica, [Aztec did not come into use until the 19th C.], had adopted Tlaloc and other ancient deities into their own ancient pantheon as they migrated. They self-consciously were aware that they were 'late-comers' into the history of the Valley of Mexico. They could not have realized how long that story actually was. The Setting: It may stretch back more than thirty thousand years to the Ice Age. Mammoths, camels, and horses foraged on the muddy lake shores and stalwart hunters preyed upon them. Yet, even before many of the large animals became extinct, these astute people were stalking or trapping smaller game, and gathering wild foods. About 5000 BCE a slow change began. Agriculture came into the valley, and people settled into small villages. Hunting and gathering continued, but pumpkins, beans, chili peppers, amaranth, and eventually maize became the staples of an agrarian diet. By 1500 BCE farming was the life pattern in most of Mesoamerica.[this area included what is now central Mexico to a southern border that varied through time; it now includes modern Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador.] New skills were added which improved the life styles. Pottery-making, weaving, and grinding grain. Change then accelerated as one of the first great civilizations rose from the coastal lowlands of western Tabasco and southern Veracruz--the Olmec. Dynastic rulers appeared, apparently combining the roles of chieftain and priest or god, commanding workders in new labors. Beginning about 1200 BCE these mysterious Olmec people built a series of great centers to which people from outlying villages probablly traveled on religious pilgrimages. Earthen mounds surrounded courtyards. Temples with thatched roofs topped large earthen pyramids. One site, San Lorenzo, occupied an immense artificial plateau. Stone conduits filled pools possibly used for ceremonial bathing. At La Venta a huge mound of earth and clay resembled a volcano. Nearby, mosaic pavements formed jaguar masks. Olmec sages may have developed a calendar; builders apparently oriented sites to the movement of celestial bodies. Long before the end of the Olmec era their ideas and influence spread. Far-flung colonies had developed. The walls of caves in Guerrero bear Olmec paintings; at Chalcatzingo a dignitary--or deity-- is sculpted in stone and sits enthroned on a mountainside and gazes across a wide valley toward a mountain. Finely worked jade has been unearthed in El Salvador and Costa Rica which had been valued enough to be carried hundreds of miles. But with all the Olmec splendor, a dark side had been discovered. Human remains show unmistakable signs of cannibalism down the years. About 900 BCE building ceased at San Lorenzo. La Venta carried on for about a century longer, and it, too, fell. Much later peoples must have still been awed at the sites, as they left offerings in the ruins. Before the downfall of the coastal centers of the Olmecs, farmers had settled in the central Mexican plateau around several lakes, one being Lake Texcoco, fed by the many streams coming from the volcanic mountains surrounding the area. A riverside community called Tlatilco developed into a small farming and trading center. [The site is now covered by the brickyards of Mexico City]. It's graves held some relics of Olmec style, and many which are utterly different--notably tiny clay figurines. A few of these figurines depict men, but most portray women with stubby arms and large, rounded thighs. Many wear a short, low-slung flounce of a skirt, or bloomers. Some also wear necklaces. They resemble, very closely, the art of early Mediterranean cultures. They have been thought to have been part of a fertility cult [Earth Mother?]. Other villagers of the valley were producing small figurines, about 400 BCE., when the people of Cuicuilco, on the southwestern shore of Lake Texcoco ['Tez-co-co'], took religion a step further. They built a center dominated by a large temple platform, with double altars at the top. Such buildings meant laborers to construct them, and leaders with power to command. As Cuicuilco and other centers developed, people no longer interred the were-jaguar images of the Olmec. [Perhaps they felt less apprehensive of the jaguar than of the 'Old Fire God', who was believed to control the volcanic mountains nearby. It may be that volcanic events and earthquakes had changed the way they thought.] The nearby volcano, called Xitle, it seems, checked the development of Cuicuilco. One lava flow covered productive fields, while another covered the city, itself. Thirty-five miles northeast, safe from the mountain eruptions, another center developed. It matured into a metropolis and dominated the area for 750 years--the mighty Teotihuanacan. The name seems to mean Place of the Gods, or Place Where Men Become Gods. At least this is what the Aztec called it when they visited the ruined city centuries after its' collapse, enshrined it in their own myths, and explained the structures along its' most imposing avenue as tombs of ancient kings who had become gods. That avenue they called Way of the Dead; they called the enormous structures that loom about it the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. In their religio/mythic traditions the sun and moon were both 'born' there after the sun had been destroyed four times. Two gods had sacrificed themselves by leaping into a fire, to become the sun and moon we see today. Evidently planned as it grew, the city spread in four major quadrants defined by two broad avenues that led to the center. Streets and alleyways divided the quadrants into smaller squares, each seperated into apartment compounds with entrances and patios arranged to give each house-hold privacy. People from faraway Oaxaca, merchants, potter, and stoneworkers settled into distinct neighborhoods. Glassy scraps in profusion make the areas where craftsmen shaped obsidian into tools and weapons for local use and export. Residences stood densely packed in the northwest area of the eight-square-mile city. Farming areas spread across the east, and the southwest, producing food for the masses. By recent estimates as many as 200,000 people may have once lived in and around Teotihuacan at its' peak, about AD 600. The city elite who administered matters of state had elegant palaces, where rooms bright with murals opened onto sunny patios. Temples still bear representations of powerful gods; a goggle-eyed and fanged deity, and plumed serpent suggest Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl, held in awe centuries later by the Aztecs. Religion probably ranked with trade as a major factor in rise of this city center. An astounding discovery made in 1971 has strengthened this theory. Excavation at the Pyramid of the Sun revealed steps to a cave 110 yards long. Its' ceiling had been lowered at intervals so anyone entering would have to crouch or kneel; charcoal in abundance suggested rituals of fire, stone channels implied rituals of water. The passage ended in a cloverleaf of chambers beneath the pyramid, near its' center. Was this "the holiest of places"? Perhaps it was sacred because caves were considered the 'womb of earth', and many myths of origin tell of ancestors emerging from caves. It may have been a place of secret investiture ceremonies for rulers and priests, of sacred rites to earth and water deities, of human sacrifice, of death rites for the elite. Such caves of mystical powers still are used by pilgrims to this day. This great city contains murals of gods, priests and mythical animals painted on temple walls, as well as those carved in stone. In one mural, people frolic among beasts, birds, and butterflies beneath shade trees near a mountain of water--a tropical paradise. [it is interesting to note that the Toltec god-king, Quetzalcoatl, was known as peace-loving and devoted to animals.] But, the art of Teotihuacan, late in the citys' history reveals a change; a new imagery of war. Priests and deities appear wearing helmets, carrying shields and weapons. This is thought to depict evidence of militarism. It may have been difficulties at home, as migrations of peoples became larger, or it could have been in their far-flung interests--even the Maya, far to the southeast--and barbarians were at another border. TO BE CONTINUED [NOTE: See more about the Aztecs at Isis' web site] http://www.alphasector.com/isis/ © 2000, Jane Richards. Material used with the author's permission. Permission is granted for brief quotations from this article for research or review with proper attribution of the author and the source, otherwise this article may not be used in whole or part without the permission of the author. For further reading, visit Isis' Web Site. About the Author Jane Richards (isis1037) was raised in southwest Oregon and now lives in a small community in eastern Oregon. She writes short, historically based, stories for children, is involved in the archeological, and historical community through the internet, clubs, and locally. Her academic studies span ancient history, archaeology, anthropology, and historic geology.