by Jean-Jacques COURTEY, Doctor in Economic Geography, Ph. D
___________________________
The XXIst century seems to be in a deep rupture with the previous ones, on surface.
Anyhow, it doesn't mean it will be so different : in two thousand years, love and peace were rarely present on Earth in spite of good words. And it will be most likely the same now, especially if a Military War was over suddenly bursting out in the Mediterranean area (because a dispute between Greece and Turkey concerning a huge gas offshore deposit, France being with its warships on the side of Greece), or in Asia (between China and India for instance, about Ladakh).
Yet, amazingly old cults are finding back their way, such as the Greek-Roman religion, with its pantheon of Gods and Goddesses.
Near Cuma (Naples area), in Baia, the old river Styx has been found back.
It is circulating underground, near the ancient temple of the scarlet-robed Sibyl (c. 720 BC).
The latter hasn't to defend herself anymore from Etruscans...or long afterwards Christians.
It must be recalled there was a long ritual to be followed before being admitted in presence of the wealthy Sibyl : rich offerings, refined dishes and beverages, as well as valuable gifts were compulsory, and consultants had to wait for three days before being introduced to the Seer, and finally be able to ask her their haunting question.
So then, her answer was considered as a jewel, and had the value of Gold !
The institutional and determining role of the Sibyl of Cuma was clearly established, from Etruscan to Roman time. It was similar to the one of the Pythie of Delphes in Greece, in the temple of Apollo.
The "Sibylline Books" at the number of nine, which are said to have notably predicted the rise of Rome, and then the one of Christianism... and the sudden rebirth of the Ancestral Olympian Religion with the Doomsday prophecy and the Disillusion of human beings, are still hidden about them.
For a lot of previous pupils, the Styx is the name of a very famous river in the Greek-Roman mythology.
Till nowadays, it was just taken as a symbolic river, and then not a real one.
For many people, it was simply the expression of outmoded beliefs coming from the once allmighty Olympian Religion !
Our time, yet so chaotic, incoherent, and often unfair, is considering itself too highly, when glancing at the so-called "backward past"...except when everything seems suddenly lost or uncontrollable !
Then, our modern reality so often unscientific, when analysed objectively at the time of the world confining/deconfining, and now the local reconfinings (as well as the compulsory mask almost everywhere), is nearer to Hell than Paradise !
It has to be added that the Greeks of Great Greece and the Romans were considering the river Styx as real as the Tibre for instance, and not as a simple invention.
And the Styx is precisely the underground river leading either to the Elyseum Fields ("Paradise"), or more frequently to the Kingdom of Hades (Pluto) - just called "Hell" in a simplified way.
It's not simply the river of a forgotten past, but on the contrary the river of an uneasy present and unknown future, often so worrisome. Hades (Pluto) was the elder brother of Zeus (Jupiter), the King of Olympian Gods and Goddesses.
And the fact the river Styx has finally been found back and localized geographically, is not insignificant at all !
Now, Progress seems clearly to be in the human beings' back, to be realistic.
We are living at a time of "Green Wave", and one is constantly pointing the finger on it.
Soon, you might have to pay for the right of simply breathing with this new version of Capitalism.
Since the beginning of Christian era, the constant point has been Guilt accompanied with Fear.
And the new "priests" of the seemingly poor Earth, will start to show they can be more inflexible and harsher than ever, if nobody tries to moderate them.
Nobody is holding absolute truth about the future of our planet, which has always been functioning in connection with an underestimated Cosmos. And the actual superpower of Mother-Earth (called "Gaia" under her Olympian name) is stronger than her "self-proclaimed defenders" are thinking, whatever they are genuine or simply opportunist !
Half-jokingly, the Cave Age could be the next horizon, with a more shared bludgeon or stick this time between men and women. For the ones who have known the old school system of the Sixties, mind your fingers !
And our new unwished era, is marked by an apparent collapse of human civilizations, with a fast desintegration of full societies, and a complete loss of their values.
At the same time, the solidity of Earth can easily be doubted, both figuratively and literaly.
But by chance, the rediscovering of the river Styx and its underground meanders in Baia, is creating a kind of "Temporal gate" opening on a forgotten Age : the Age of Olympian Gods and Goddesses.
Very recently, you could even see "a surprising protesting Athena" in Portland (Oregon, USA) !
Strangely the revivification of the Ancient World, could help us to reshape our time in a more positive and hopeful mode, but only if we can adapt.
In that way, among the Olympians who are back and other key-actors too, those who are able to create and invent smart and passionating ways of living would be now welcome !
The relaunching of the Styx river, circulating underground in the South of Italy (Campania, Naples area, around 190 km of Rome), can be taken as a Call from... a not so mythic Underworld.
If this antic site wasn't definitively lost, it means that nothing can really be lost !
Since 2002, year of its rather successful exploration in full, this ancient world has certainly something to teach us. The rediscovery of the remains of the subterranean Kingdom of Hades and his wife Persephone, wasn't disappointing at all.
This astonishing event in a dark period, can be taken as a sign something unexpected might happen on our Earth !
Our present time is synonym of chaos and destabilizing confusion, but Christians are not specifically more lost than others. They knew it would come, because of "the Apocalypse of Saint John".
And the beliefs in Paradise and Hell coming from the Greek-Roman religion have been integrated from a long time now. So then, the point of our article is just a question of geographical location after all !
As a matter of fact, a lot of "pagan" traditions have been silently integrated in the liturgy without people realizing it.
If you consider Christianism as a vast unsaid synthesis, what it is in fact since two thousand years, through the mithraic and the Greek-Roman contributions notably, it might appear rather ambivalent.
Anyhow, the time flies and a new era seems to profile itself, obliging people to dive into the unknown...or more precisely the forgotten !
Human beings have abandoned Nature, but Nature has never forgotten its despaired children, whatever they are genuine or naughty. Other surprises connected to the amazing survival of the Ancient World and its immediate rediscovery, might occur on Earth.
Only the "Great Judge" Saint John was warning solemnly about, is not wondering if we are heading towards a Golden Age, or at the opposite a Lead Age ?
Yet in this time of worldwide "pestilence" with the pandemic of COVID-19, the future will answer clearly that question by playing apparently "yoyo" with figures, whatever they are repeated 6 (with their present unidentified variant "Omega 616") or not .
And the messages of Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal, 1917), confirmed by the impressive and moving warnings of Our Lady of Akita (Japan, 1973-1981...and 2019 too), are quite clear about it !
