Values are a tricky
thing. What are they? There are I think at least two main branches:
ethics and civilizational hallmarks. By ethics I mean the codes of
conduct that people are expected to employ in interacting with each
other. Others have written very eloquently about classical ethics.
But for now I wish to focus on civilizational hallmarks. By
that I mean
the really grand notions that have come to define a culture and its
gifts to the world. I'm a Big Picture type you see; I like to take in
the structure of the whole painting before I work my way down to the
details. I think that with all the petty squabbles
between different pagan groups and personalities, The Big Picture
sometimes gets lost. I want to give you The Big Picture, as I
see it, when it comes to classical polytheism.
Democracy and Republicanism are
Classical Polytheist Values
You'll meet Jews and Christians who think government of the people is
best conducted within a Judeo-Christian framework. Where they got this
ridiculous notion I have no idea. Democracy is a Greek word, developed
by Athenian pagans, meaning rule of the people. Whether it is the
tempered democracy of Solon or the radical democracy of Cleisthenes, we
essentially mean a system where power is invested in an assembly of
people and its officers. Republicanism meanwhile comes from the Latin
res publica, the
commonwealth, the Roman scheme of having various
social assemblies elect colleges of magistrates in place of a king.
Democracy and republicanism can't be understated. We still
live in a
world where many people in Asia, Africa and the Middle East suffer
under dictatorships or theocracy. Democracy is sometimes imperfect at
best in Russia or Latin America. Even in the good old USA there are
people who are committed to theocracy - and strangely these are often
the same people who say democracy is a gift of the Judeo-Christian
process.
Even in greater paganism, democracy sometimes take a back
seat. I've
met more than my share of groups run by cult leaders and their cronies.
I don't need a high priest/ess, a sacral king/queen, a High and Mighty
Prophet or an Egghead Elitist to tell me what do to do with myself. Now
if someone goes out and conquers most of the known world like Alexander
the Great, I might be willing to offer them monarchial
devotions. But when most self-confessed pagans seem no more
qualified than I or anyone else to run the show, count me a
democrat.
Civic Responsibility is a
Classical Polytheist Value
Neopaganism as a group tends to be very political, or at least what it
tends to regard as political. I don't know how many times I get
lectured on various issues that are of Supreme Importance to Neopagan
activists. On the other side of the coin are Christians activists who
seem to think Jesus went on to found the United States and the
Republican Party after his alleged resurrection.
I don't need a lecture from either group. My
cultural ancestors more or less invented the Western political
climate. The very word "politics" comes from polis,
the Greek word for city-state. Whether we are talking about classical
Greece or republican Rome, people lived and died for the city-state.
Life and religion were extremely communal, and everything revolved
around the public life known to a city-state. Dignity and Honor meant
having a good reputation among one's peers, which meant channeling
one's energies positively into the political, military and cultural
life of the city-state. The social elites gained honor by spilling
their blood and money to further the glory of the city-state.
I'm a law abiding, tax-paying citizen who pays keen attention
to my
government. I vote and otherwise participate in the political process,
and I donate money and time to causes I find worthy. I majored in
political science out of my love for politics. I'm
happy so many pagans are politically active, but I do think there is a
difference between politics proper on one hand, and ranting and raving
about hot button wedge issues on the other.
Family and Home are Classical
Polytheist Values
Greek and especially Roman religion started with the family and
household rituals. Certain gods or familial spirits were thought to
watch over the security and prosperity of the home, and ancestor
worship was a duty. There were rites to accompany an individual from
birth to death. Extending outward, the familial religion embraced
clans, or groups of related families. Every Roman had, as part of their
formal name, a designator of which clan claimed them - the "Julius" in
Julius Caesar means he belonged to the Julian clan.
Some monotheists seem to think their faith has a monopoly on what they
deem "family values" which is obviously false. Many neopagans are
indifferent or hostile to "family values," as many came from abusive or
negligent homes where they saw little evidence of these values.
As for me, I like family, or at least my idea of what family should be.
I don't know where I'd be if my parents and grandparents had not
contributed to my upbringing. Family holidays are filled with food,
drinking and laughter. My home is my refuge, a sacred space
where I can compose my thoughts and worship my gods. My
family is my strength, and I look forward to starting my own family
some day.
Cosmopolitanism is a Classical
Polytheist Value
But the classical world was not completely insular, focusing always
inward on family and clan. In time, Rome and Alexandria became the
first world cities, drawing all surrounding cultures and religions into
their orbit. "Cosmopolitan" is of course from Greek origin, meaning
world city.
It's fair to say that early Greeks and Romans were like most other
peoples in holding others outside their culture in contempt. But this
didn't hold true forever. Alexander's conquests brought Hellenism to
the Orient, and in time foreigners who went through the institution of
the Gymnasium, learning its values and its language, could be
considered culturally Greek. The appeal of Hellenism was strong to
many; the Jewish Bible was translated into Greek at Alexandria, and
some Jews became very Hellenized. Educated Romans became Hellenized too.
Rome had a habit of gradually granting citizenship to foreign persons
and peoples. These people learned to speak Latin and live as Romans.
Eventually, almost every freeborn inhabitants of the empire was granted
citizenship.
The combined Helleno-Roman culture exerted a unifying effect on many
different peoples, binding three continents under its sway. This lead
to the birth of universal religious cults like Bacchus and Isis, who
were not attached to any particular city-states. These cults were
practiced everywhere in the empire, and many people who otherwise felt
displaced and lost in a vast universal empire considered these cults
their true homes.
Science and Engineering are
Classical Polytheist Values
Much is made of the modern dichotomy between faith and science. It
wasn't always so. In fact, the only dichotomy is among those who take
their religious myths too literally and seek to quell scientific truths
that don't support their narrow interpretations.
Working off earlier discoveries made by Egyptians and Babylonians,
Greeks took knowledge to a new level. A chain of philosophers
culminating in Aristotle were able to separate Logos from Mythos,
universal reality from religious piety, thus founding what would be
called the scientific method. In the Greco-Egyptian city of Alexandria,
this would reach a climax. There royally funded scholars made
scientific discoveries that would not be rivaled until the Age of
Enlightenment.
The Romans were not ones for pure science, but their
engineering
achievements speak for themselves. Their roads and temples and
monuments glittered throughout the Mediterranean like so many jewels,
and even today one unconsciously assumes a picture of Roman ruins when
speaking of classical grandeur. The Egyptians too were no slouches when
building monuments or temples; I am told their pyramids are still
standing some several millenia after their construction.
Insight into the workings of the universe, and practical
applications
of science for construction, do not threaten any person of true faith.
The fact that Greeks, Romans and Egyptians all felt wisdom proceeded
from a particular deity confirms this. Western science begins with the
Greeks.
Art and Poetry are Classical
Polytheist Values
At first this may seem trite. Doesn't every culture produce art? I
suppose. Even cultures whose chief religions forbid images manage to
produce something in the way of art. But I am talking about art. The
kind of world-shattering, soul-stirring creations that become immortal
and all but define an epoch.
The Greek artists and poets owed something to Egyptians and
Babylonians
who came before them. But they took Eastern concepts and went far
beyond them. The Greeks were the first people to invent realistic
depictions of human beings, and for some Greek artists man was the
measure of all things. The Greeks also invented theater. And while they
didn't invent epic poetry or architecture, they certainly added their
contributions to them.
Greek religion or Greek culture without Greek art is almost
unthinkable. The stunning Parthenon was not only the chief monument to
Athena from her favorite town, but it was a conscious statement of
grandeur from an imperial and democratic Athens. Greek drama originated
from rites to Dionysus, but evolved into a secular mirror of democratic
Athenian values.
The Roman contribution was to internalize Greek art; we know
of Greek
art today largely through surviving Roman copies. The Romans rarely
improved upon Greek art, but they did add some of their own touches.
Ovid and Virgil were Roman literati who inspired later Europeans and
whose works still delight today. But nonetheless, as with Western
government and Western science, Western art begins with the Greeks.
Art is the one area where Christianity can compete with
paganism.
Western art without Gothic and Renaissance paintings is unthinkable.
Renaissance and Byzantine churches were sometimes designed to outdo
pagan temples, and in some cases did. But it must be remembered that
Byzantine and Renaissance artists were working off earlier artistic
concepts from the Greco-Roman world; indeed all Western art owed
something to the Greeks until the 20th century.
In the long run I don't think paganism can survive without art. We need
poets, writers, painters and sculptures of great talent. When the time
comes, we'll need architects for our temples. This means that the great
mass of pagandom, obsessed with trivial pursuits such as fanfic and
slash, need not take itself so seriously until it produces something of
actual worth.
Epilogue
These are the hallmarks of classical civilization as I see
it. These are its gifts to the world. Any classical
polytheism of my understanding has to be imbued with these tenants, or
I wouldn't care to practice it. In analyzing the various
details of paganism, let's not lose sight of The Big Picture.
