Saturn Speaks!: Placating the Dead
“… prayers and sacrifices appease the souls, and the enchanting song of the magician is able to remove the daimones when they impede. Impeding daimones are revenging souls. This is why the magicians perform the sacrifice as if they were paying a penalty. On the offerings they pour water and milk, from which they make the libations, too. They sacrifice innumerable and many-knobbed cakes, because the souls, too, are innumerable.”
- The Derveni Papyrus.i
About a week ago, I was tagged in an interesting post written by an individual living over a funeral home who felt that they might have finally encountered a malevolent spirit (despite getting along with the other ghosts).
It made me think… why not write about the potential problems one might encounter with the dead, and how to deal with those problems if and when they arise. Of course, this guide to ‘placating the dead’ cannot possibly cover everything; most notably, these techniques might not placate all ghosts. In some cases, the sorcerer, magician, necromancer (or what-have-you) will be forced to use exorcisms, a discussion on which falls outside the scope of this post. In other cases, perhaps the most effective technique would be to enter the land of the dead whilst in a state of ecstasy and then show the ghost where to go. This, again, falls outside the scope of this entry, however relevant it might be.
Angered and Ignored Heroes, Ancestors, and Ghosts
Perhaps the most problematic part of working with the dead is the ease with which they were thought to become angered, disagreeable, and a general pain. Walter Burkert observes:
“The evil forces against which purification is supposed to assist are conceived of as malevolent, carnivorous demons. Next to the various fantastical names which are invoked in this connection, the spirit o f the dead, etemmu, plays an unpleasant role, too. Spirits o f the dead are regarded with fear even in Greece, as Erwin Rohde in particular has brought to attention. In Homer this kind of dread is suppressed rather than not yet known.”ii
Here the thin line between the dead, and the conception of malevolent demons, is stressed. And contrary to popular opinion, even spirits which are typically thought of as being less inclined toward malevolent actions have the potential to become angered and act in a wrathful and malevolent manner.
Whilst traditionally considered benevolent spirits, even the Heroes of antiquity stand out as being particularly capable of acting in a malevolent manner. Discussing the potential malevolence of heroic ghosts, Daniel Ogden writes:
“[…] The ever-irritable Ajax shouted and rattles his arms in his tomb when abusively accused by the local shepherds of blighting their flocks, frightening them away; and he shooed draughtsplayers away from his shrine for reminding of Palamedes. But Hector went so far as to drown a boy who had abused him.”iii
Meanwhile, we find comments along the same lines from the aforementioned Burkert:
“Those dead who show themselves capable of affecting the living are called heroes in Greek. A fragment of Aristophanes shows in a particularly lively and entertaining way just how these heroes have the power to bring down all manner of illnesses on the living if they are not appeased.”iv
This is particularly striking, since one of the things these very spirits can guard against is disease, plague, and even protection of the living. For example, Philostratus, through the voice of his vinedresser, comments on the nature of the Thracian Hero-King Rhêsos (whose name literally may be an Indo-European word for “King,” along the same lines as the Latin 'Rex’) that:
“You should also know something about the Thracian Rhêsos. Rhêsos, whom Diomedes killed at Troy, is said to inhabit Rhodopê, where they celebrate many of his wonders in song. They say that he breeds horses, serves as a soldier, and hunts wild beasts. A sign that the hero is hunting is that the wild boars, deer, and all the wild beasts on the mountain come to the altar of Rhêsos by twos or threes to be sacrificed unbound and to offer themselves to the sacrificial knife. This same hero is also said to keep the mountains free of pestilence. Rhodopê is extremely populous, and many villages surround the sanctuary. For this reason I think even Diomedes will cry out in defense of his fellow soldiers. If we believe this Thracian still exists (whom Diomedes killed as one who had done nothing famous at Troy nor displayed there anything worthy of mention other than his white horses) and we make sacrifices to him while traveling through Rhodopê and Thrace, then we would dishonor those who have performed divine and brilliant works, believing the fame surrounding them fabulous tales and idle boasting.”v
And through Rhesos we catch a glance at continuum between the ancestral dead, and the heroic dead. Even the ancestors, it seems, could be thought of as becoming angered, befouled, corrupted, and in need of placating rites and offerings. In a discussion in Restless Dead on sections of the Selinuntine texts dealing with polluted ancestors. Amongst them are the Tritopatores:
“The Tritopatores were ancestral spirits worshipped in Athens and parts of the Greek world that were influenced by Athens: Delos; Troizen, Selinus, Cyrene. Inscriptions indicate that their worship was primarily carried out on the level of the small group (genos, phratry, or family) rather than that of the city. We should probably see them as somewhat more distant from their worshippers than members of the dead with whom the worshipper had been personally acquainted, such as parents and grandparents, and yet less distant than the city’s ancestral, founding heroes, who are often worshipped in conjunction with, yet as distinct from, the Tritopatores. Their name, which seems to mean “thrice-fathers” or “great-grandfathers,” would support this; few Greeks would have lived long enough to meet their great-grandchildren, and to those great-grandchildren, they would thus be almost semi-mythical figures. The “trito-” part of their name, moreover, need not be understood precisely to mean “thrice” in the sense of three generations removed, but may rather be understood to function in this word as it does in others, as an emphatic — thus, for example in “Trismegistos,” an epithet of Hermes’. In that case, the Tritopatores might also include ancestors somewhat more distant than great-grandfathers. The individual identities of the Tritopatores (if they were ever thought of in those terms) probably were ever-changing, as the generations passed and formerly familiar ancestors who had once been given cult at their individual graves slid into this vaguer, yet still important, collective. The members of a genos or similar group naturally would have worshipped Tritopatores together, as they would have believed themselves to have many ancestors in common.
We might guess that as “great-grandfathers,” the Tritopatores would be concerned with the welfare of the group worshipping them and particularly with the group’s reproductive viability — for if it died out, from whom would they receive worship? This is borne out by ancient statements. In Athens, the Tritopatores were asked to bless marriages and promote the conception of children. In Marathon, they were worshipped in conjunction with Kourotrophos, the goddess concerned with the nurture of children, as well as with some more obscure figures who were probably local heroes and thus ancestors of a sort, as well. Hesychius calls the Tritopatores the “first causes” (archegoi) of generation.”vi
It would appear that either acts committed to cause one’s ancestors to become displeased with them, and ancestral pollution in general was a major concern amongst the Orphic sects of the ancient world. Plato notes that:
“Begging priests and prophets frequent the doors of the rich and persuade them that they possess a god-given power founded on sacrifices and incantations. If the rich person or any of his ancestors has committed an injustice, they can fix it with pleasant things and feasts.”vii
Meanwhile a commentary on the Phaedo seems to very much agree with this assessment:
“Dionysos is the cause of release, whence the god is also called Lusios. And Orpheus says:
“Men performing rituals will send hekatombs in every season throughout the year and celebrate festivals, seeking release from lawless ancestors. You, having power over them, whomever you wish you will release from harsh toil and the unending goad.”viii
Nor were the Greeks alone in these worries; for the belief in the powers of the dead, particularly the malevolent dead, can be found in quite a few places in the world. If that is the case, then, one might ask: how do we placate them?
Divine Meals and Cool Water
Of course, there are many, many, many reasons that ghosts can become angered, but one of the most common is to become – like a ghost called upon in a curse tablet found in Olbiaix - “unknown and without rites” or “without proper rites.”
The above applies both to a ghost whose body is unburied, has had inappropriate funerary rites, or has been neglected as an ancestor and forgotten. The latter can only be handled in specific circumstances, but the process of beginning to make offerings again is easily enough solved. Note that if you establish an ancestor altar and you plan to make offerings to the Restless Dead, you should probably keep those rites and items completely separate. You don’t want “Joe, the half-forgotten rapist who was stabbed to death 20 years ago” hanging out with your ancestors.
Nonetheless, the offerings to be made to heroes, ancestors, and restless spectres are all remarkably similar in the wonderful world of (largely Graeco-Roman in this case) necromancy:
“Ritual appeasement o f the dead is achieved in very similar ways by Mesopotamians and by Greeks, preferably through various kinds o f libation : “water, beer, roasted corn, milk, honey, cream, oil” in Mesopotamia; “milk , honey, water, wine, and oil” in Aeschylus. Even more peculiar is the importance of pure water as an offering to the dead: “cool water,” “pure water.” The insertion of pipes into a grave for precisely this purpose is unusual in Greece, but there is direct literary evidence o f the practice in Mesopotamia.”x
The operations taken for the polluted Tritopatores discussed by Johnston are as follows:
“The rituals begin with the sacrifice of a full-grown sheep to Zeus Eumenes and the Eumenides and another to Zeus Meilichios in the precinct of a hero called Myskos. Then follows the most interesting part of the text. “Those to whom it is permitted” are to make sacrifice to the “polluted” (miaroi) Tritopatores “in the manner that one sacrifices to the heroes.” Specifically, wine is to be poured through the roof of their shrine (which may have been a small, almost completely buried structure like one found in Paestum) and a ninth part of the sacrifice previously made to Zeus Meilichios is to be burnt in their honor. Following this, the participants are to perform an aspersion and anoint something — perhaps an altar to the Tritopatores or perhaps representations of them. They sacrifice a sheep to the “pure” (katharoi) Tritopatores, pour a libation of honey mixture and prepare a theoxenia: a table and couch are set out, with crowns of olive branches, more honey mixture in new cups, cakes, and meat. Some or all of this is burnt, and further anointing is done. The rite finishes with the sacrifice of a ram to Zeus Meilichios in the precinct of the hero Euthydamus. Statues are mentioned in a later line of the text that is too fragmentary to read; perhaps these were of some or all of the deities mentioned.”xi
We might compare this with the general deipnon (supper) offered to the dead:
“Offerings were made at the grave at the time of the funeral. These always included choai, libations made of honey, milk, water, wine, or oil mixed in varying amounts. There was also a “supper” (deipnon or dais) of various foods; the dead who partook of these sometimes were described as eudeipnoi, which we best can translate, perhaps, as “those who are content with their meal.” The word, a euphemism, seems to reflect the hope that, once nourished, the dead would realize that they had nothing to complain about. There is some evidence that water was also given to the dead person so that he could wash, just a host would give a living guest water in which to wash before a meal. Offerings to the dead might also include jewelry, flowers, and small objects used in everyday life such as swords, strigils, toys, and mirrors (although gifts, like lamentation, were sometimes restricted by funerary laws). It is hard to avoid the conclusion that these gifts were expected to be useful in the afterlife, particularly when ghost stories tell of the dead demanding objects that were forgotten or omitted at the time of burial.”xii
This gives us our basic setup for both fully ritualized offerings (the Theoxania), and for quick offerings.
In all cases, remember to purify yourself. The easiest is to make 'lustral water’ (khernips): a burning bay leaf, or incense, is dipped in water and then used to clean your hands and perhaps sprinkle over your head. Some individuals recommend you say or shout “xerniptosai” (“be purified” or “be cleansed”) as you dip the burning item into the water. I think it sounds dumb, quite honestly. I’d sooner shout “ABLANATHANALBA” because it is a legitimate magical word from antiquity, which was legitimately used for protection. It is not, however, traditional to use when making Khernips.
Prototypically, libations of water, oil, and wine (use cool water and oil before considering wine; alcohol can 'heat up’ the dead’s activities, insofar as it can also cause them to just be pleased with you) are offered in specific bowls for the dead being dealt with (that is, separate items for each ‘type’ of spirit alongside different altars, etc). Alcohol offerings are typically burned, best done outside for obvious reasons, as are meat and other substances that can degrade, in a ritually dug pit. (If this falls outside your ability to do, just throw the food away in the trash after sprinkling it, and the altar, again with lustral water).
Feel free to ask about anything I might have left out, forgotten, etc., whilst being a stoner with a PC.
i. Derveni Papyrus col. 6.1-11. Italix mine.
ii. Burkert, Walter. The Orientalizing Revolution - Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age. 1997. P. 65.
iii. Ogden, Daniel. Greek and Roman Necromancy. P. 14.
iv. Ibid. P. 65.
v. Philostratus, Flavius. On Heroes. #17.1 – 17.6 http://chs.harvard.edu/CHS/article/display/3565 Accessed 10/17/15.
vi. Johnston, Sarah. Restless Dead. P. 50 – 52.
vii. Plato, The Republic. #2.364a–365b https://smokywords.wordpress.com/orphikoi/ Accessed 10/17/15.
viii. Damascius, Commentary on the Phaedo 1.11 https://smokywords.wordpress.com/bakcheia/ Accessed 10/17/15.
ix. David Jordan, An Address to a Ghost at Olbia. (Mnemosyne, Fourth Series, Vol. 50, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 1997), pp. 212-219.
x. Burkert, Walter. Ibid.
xi. Johnston, Sarah. Restless Dead. P. 50 – 51.
xii. Johnston, Sarah. Ibid. P. 42.
