15th Day of 42 out at Sea
the Jypsy-APL Philippines, first engineer- merchant marine...
Measuring of time in creative degrees  |
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"This association between the human being and the architectural
column indicates that the Greeks identified the human being with the characteristics
of the column: strong, orderly, proud, erect, beautiful. The column symbolized
the human being, while the human being symbolized life, the intellect and
the human spirit.
Thus, we think of the Greeks dedicating
their many-columned temples not only to the Gods, but also to the idea
of the human being. The human being was indeed the measure of all things,
even of his Gods. And just as each column contributed to the support of
the whole structure so each human contributed his support to the whole
community.
Greek
theories of virtue are based on the term arete, which means
"goodness," "excellence,"
and "virtue."
The goodness or virtue of a thing is that by which it performs its function
well. Thus, the function of a knife is to cut; a good, or "virtuous,"
knife cuts well.
Plato argues in The
Republic that when reason rules the soul, as is its function, the soul is
virtuous; as such, it possesses wisdom, bravery, temperance, and justice.
For Aristotle,
the ethically virtuous soul habitually chooses its path of action according to
a rational mean between two vices. Thus, when faced with a fearful situation,
it chooses the mean, which is courage, rather than wallow in an excess of fear,
which is a vice called cowardice, or proceed heedlessly and fearlessly, which
is rashness. "
The Hero (center) led to the Temple of Virtue (top)
by Athena (left) and Hermes (right),
the three Graces are near (bottom left),
Rubens
(1625).
The amazing Greek
philosophy and theology is the mixture of the two. The human being is the measure of how the
gods have exceeded in their creation. To
honor the human being, with its reason, physical performance, soul, potentials
to create, invent and have compassion is to honor the gods. If you pursue Arete- the virtue, excellence and
goodness that is innately within you then you are an embodiment of the highest
possible conclusion. The Greek’s
understanding of life with their fate and or tragic view makes death a quality
known from the beginning. They know that
the human has a limited path and must stay within the virtue of their
qualities. Thus when faced with hardship,
monsters and the such one must be like Odysseus- brave, yet cunning, give
thanks to the gods and especially Athena your goddess of wisdom. This can be a personification of male and
female qualities united in one human being.
Odysseus listens to his wisdom, but acts bravely with strength and
skill. Human beings can be everything as
Homer and the Greeks show us. We are
divine, yet limited. We can create great
works of art, yet we should know that our inspiration comes from a higher
source. It is a balance of attributes
that requires that we do not deny any part of the human being. If we start to mark ourselves as evil, or
born from a wicked union, we are paralyzed by this tainted view of life. We will live in fear, and are unable to shed
this deep feeling of inferiority. We
shall never rise to our potential of creativity, peace, balance living within
the mean between the gods and the vices of our limitations. It is ultimately a quest for the middle
path-a temperate way creating harmony towards our fate. Our fate is death, yet we have such amazing
potential. The question is how do we
travel with the knowledge of both of these ideas, and take action. How do we use our reason and allow the muses
to inspire us. It requires our full
human beingness…that is our natural inclination to believe in a higher power, but
also our natural tendency to be curious and use our intellect.
Is it Ironic that I am
teaching the Odyssey, with the epic hero Odysseus seducing my every
thought? And my friend the Jypsy
traversing the massive N. Pacific in an exaggerated commercial ship. The Hubris exists of such a ship, thus it is
out of balance. A Greek would be enamored
by the creation, yet appalled at the nonharmony and excessive resources it
uses. Now on the other hand they would
wonder at the Engineer who must keep the beast going on a second- by- second
basis. They would think it tragic and a
comedy.
Does Jypsy, the first engineer, act with arête,
virtue, goodness and excellence? I am
not sure. I think Jypsy might be a lost
Greek, unable to fit into this modern world with its crazy excessive-consuming
nature. Yet his pursuit of excellence is
one part that he takes seriously. If a
Greek was well schooled in intellectual knowledge, had skill as an athletic being,
and pursued art as in music and other endeavors, then Jypsy might be part
Greek. His awareness on the ship is wide-
eyed and nervous. As in his virtue, that
motivation to do the right thing according to Engine room is obvious. Does Jypsy have too much hubris, pride? It does not appear this way so far. The research is still ongoing. He does not show gratitude to the gods or
Athena for his grace in the engine room.
This is our modern position. We
do measure ourselves by exclusively human ideals, yet with this position we are
left empty in some parts. We feel a bit
lost on the whole. It is a battle
ongoing to find the medium between scientific life and the nature of
inspiration and some mystery that continues to astound us. We feel something, but we are afraid to cross
the threshold to embody our whole potential.
The purpose of the gods is lift man to this height. If the Greeks teach us anything, it is about
the creation of art, architecture that reflects the highest potential of man,
but he could not do it without the gods, they show us the way higher. It could be an illusionary circle, but it is
required to move to a higher state of being.
Let us as it were celebrate the first God,
not as establishing the earth and the heavens, nor as giving subsistence to
souls, and the generation of all animals; for he produced these indeed, but
among the last of things; but prior to these, let us celebrate him as unfolding
into light the whole intelligible and intellectual genus of Gods, together with
all the supermundane and mundane divinities - as the God of all Gods, the unity
of all unities, and beyond the first adyta [the highest order of
intelligibles], - as more ineffable than all silence, and more unknown than all
essence, - as holy among the holies, and concealed in the intelligible Gods.
-From Thomas Taylor's Introduction
to The Theology of Plato by Proclus
