reply to post by CaptNemo2012
I'm always astounded that "ancient alien theorists" ignore the
fact that the stellar cult is not the only one which existed in the ancient
world. Astrotheology, as well as Terrestrial Theology (the Mystery School) both existed side-by-side, not because of some Atlantean civilization, but
because the ancient cultures of the world recognized the cycle of birth-life-death and reincarnation as an everlasting one. Anywhere that they noticed
something which was born, grew in strength, decayed, then disappeared only to begin again, they idolized it, creating a deity.
The most prominent of these cyclical idols were the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the five celestial spheres, and the crops. Which is why nearly every
religion on the face of the planet has: a sun-deity, a moon-deity, a Morning Star, celestial figures, an Earth-mother, and a dying-and-rising
resurrection deity.
Ancient man saw the sun rise in the East, travel to the center of the sky, then weaken as it descended below the horizon in the West. In other words,
as sun-mythologies across the globe will support: the sun was born in the East, grew to peak strength (high noon), began to decay, and died. This
happened every single day according to ancient man. Myths from Sumer, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, the Celts, all support this. Basically, the sun
emerged from the Underworld (located beneath the horizon/end of the world) to rule over the Earth, and then died, returning to the Underworld every
night.
Similarly, ancient man saw the Full Moon, watched it wane, disappear, wax, and become full again. Just as the sun demonstrated birth, growth, decay,
and death, so did the moon. Since the sun provided light and protection, just as men did, it was only natural that the moon, which provided only
visibility, and not protection, must be feminine. This is why the lunar cycle also became associated with pregnancy, the Feminine, and the year,
because the Moon was the Sun's Bride and the Earth's daughter/mother.
Even the earth demonstrated this same process, only seasonally. Showing signs of birth in the Spring; growing and peaking in the Summer, decaying
during Autumn, and dying in the Winter. Since the Earth produced the crops and animals, it was seen as a mother, usually of both the Sun, and Moon,
and occasionally of everything else as well.
The child of the Earth, who was the Dying-and-Rising god (Dumuzi, Osiris, Persephone, Attis, Adonis) all represented the similar cycle of the crops.
The first harvest of Spring (birth), the bounty of the Summer (growth), the final harvest of Autumn (decay), and the period of loss during Winter
(death) before being reborn (resurrected) come the new Spring.
And the reason that stellar cults were so prominent is because no where else was the appearance of movement, and motion, so common as among the stars.
Constellations rotate along the equatorial band, if you're northerly enough then an Aurora Borealis causes ephemeral spectral phenomena, the planets
move in pre-ordained patterns through the night sky, and things like eclipses happen with regular enough frequency that all of these aforementioned
elements were deified. Why? Because only living, breathing, sentient things showed signs of mobility and motion.
It had nothing to do with aliens, star seeds, abductees, or any of that junk. Mythology is based on humanity's limited understanding of why the crops
grew, why the sun and moon moved and had cycles, why the Earth experienced seasons, and why stars and constellations seemed to be intelligent enough
to move about among the "heavens," or skies.
Sorry to burst your bubble. If you want aliens, you won't find them in ancient mythology. You'll find them in modern science-fiction, and slowly
showing up as bacteria and microbes in modern astronomy and astrochemistry. They are not, and were not mistaken for, deities among ancient
cultures.
~ Wandering Scribe
edit on 14/4/13 by Wandering Scribe because: expanded on some of the points