Titans And Sons Of Noah Both Syncretizing Gods Of Classical World?

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yakovzutolmai
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Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 6:03 am

Titans And Sons Of Noah Both Syncretizing Gods Of Classical World?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

On the heels of looking into parallels between Egyptian, Canannite and Greek mythology, I've noticed strange and strong parallels between the family of Titans and the different religious systems of the ancient world. I'd like to present them, then ask if there's some way to sort this out.

If there's a hypothesis, it's that the ancients were aware of each other's religious systems, and in general these systems consciously accommodated each other. The Greeks had the Titanomachy, the Jews had their generations of the Earth.

Here is a list of Titans (male aspect):
Iapetus
Hyperion
Crius
Oceanus
Coeus
Cronus

Crius is a ram-god, little else can be said of him. Yet, his children are the winds. In Upper Egypt, the Amun is symbolized by the ram, and is god of the air and winds. I would have to associate the two. His name is also Ammon or Hammon. This leader of the Ogdoad was also popular in Libya, and thus the Carthaginian consort of Tanit Ba'al Hammon, may be inspired by him.

Iapetus is the piercer. Father of Prometheus and Atlas and linked to mortal men. The spear association, and the fact that this Titan is frequently and explicitly associated with Japheth, leads to notions of him being important to the Indo-Europeans of Europe, reminding of Odin or Wotan. Wotan himself was crucified to the world tree. Atlas's sacred tree was encircled by the beast Lodan. We have Loki being chained and tormented like Prometheus, fathering Jormungandr the world serpent, and as Lothurr, Loki is credited with creating mortal man. I would be comfortable associating the mythology of the Germanics with the family of Iapetus as it was known to the Greeks.

Hyperion seems to be the light itself, in the sense of "let there be light" as the first act of creation. This fits his name, and his children are Helios and the light associated with different stages of the Sun - Shamash to the Semites. Apparently, Saturn has also been associated with Shamash, as the sun of the night sky. If Shamash is treated as a principle deity of the Semites, then his appropriation of the role of Cronus can be observed.

So, there is Hammon who is king of the gods of Africa/Libya. Iapetus who is as Wotan, and king of the gods of the Indo-Europeans. Then Shamash, king of the gods of the Semites. Otherwise known as Ham, Japheth and Shem.

As for the remaining Titans:

Coeus who is associate with Polus, thus the Axis Mundi. Apparently Logos. Phoebe his consort reminds of Sophia. Their child Leto has a name which means the hidden one, and I can't help but think of the forbidden fruit of Eden. We see this in Atlas's tree: the golden apples guarded by the serpent. Leto is the mother of Apollo/Artemis, who associate prophetic knowledge with the sun and moon. Coeus is no one's king of the gods, but as Axis Mundi and Logos, he comes very close to being a version of Philo's Son of God. If I had to invent a civilization which upheld such a being as king of the gods, I would call them the "People of Thoth". Maybe we can speculate that the cult of Ptah at Memphis and the associated Atum is our Adam Kadmon, and Coeus.

Oceanus is, apparently, the waters inside the firmament. There is some sense, therefore, with the ocean river surrounding the Earth (and the place outside the firmament being water, of him playing a role as the foundation of the whole system. There is even speculation of Homer being aware of a tradition that had Oceanus as father of the Olympians. This is interesting, because Plato in Timaeus speaks of Atlas as if he was a son of Poseidon. We do, in the flood myth, have a notion of the king of the Gods having power over the gates of the firmament, and over the waters. The waters being of a higher order of power than the Earth or Air. The best I can do is say that perhaps this Oceanus is the Atlantean Poseidon. Since Japheth, Shem and Ham parallel different takes on who is "king of the gods", Atlantean Poseidon must be another take. I don't believe in the existence of Atlantis, but I do suspect there was a tradition of Atlantis which I would assume belongs to some proto-Phoenician culture that intersected with Minoan civilization and was maybe responsible for it. These could have overlapped with later Phoenician culture in Morocco and Iberia (Atlas mountains etc.)

Cronus comes last, and is interestingly perhaps the most important of the Titans within the classical system which recorded them. His association with time (Chronos) isn't incorrect, but it's not a one-to-one association. Saturn apparently derives from saturated, and suggests a fullness. This reminds of Atum and the "complete creation", but it probably has to do with his eating of his children. This again reminds of time and Chronos. Rhea, flow or change, is obviously invoking the same principle. Otherwise Cronus isn't known for anything other than castrating his father. This has to be put into context. The Phoenician "Cronus" (El) usurps his father, but this deity is more in the mold of Shamash or even Hadad. If anything, the way the myths discuss him, he's a euhemerized king of ancient Byblos. The planet Saturn's cosmic role associates it squarely with Shamash in the Canaanite and Egyptian reckoning. However, Cronus is father of the Olympians. In this light, he's king of the gods for the Greeks. The castration is also associated with Aphrodite, who is linked in Syria more explicitly with the Ocean itself, and in the form of Astarte or Ishtar, of fundamental importance to Babylon. The castrated testicles also repeat, though I can't recall or find it at the moment, in the legends of either Zoroaster or Gilgamesh.

So, roughly, I can associate the six pairs of Titans with six cultures of the very ancient world:
  • Iapetus/Japheth as Odin and king of Germanic gods.
  • Ham/Crius as Amun and king of African gods.
  • Shem/Hyperion as Shamash and king of Syrian/Assyrian (inland) gods.
  • Oceanus as Atlantean Poseidon and king of Atlantean gods (let's say, Mauritanian/Iberian).
  • Coeus as Logos, maybe Atum/Adam and king of Lower Egyptian gods (the culture who worships Thoth).
  • Cronus as El and king of the Canaanite gods (coastal).
There's also a curious Libyan myth about Ammon (Amun). (from wiki)
In a Libyan account related by Diodorus Siculus (Book 3), Uranus and Titaea were the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans. Ammon, a king of Libya, married Rhea (3.18.1). However, Rhea abandoned Ammon and married her younger brother Cronus. With Rhea's incitement, Cronus and the other Titans made war upon Ammon, who fled to Crete (3.71.1–2). Cronus ruled harshly and Cronus in turn was defeated by Ammon's son Dionysus (3.71.3–3.73) who appointed Cronus' and Rhea's son, Zeus, as king of Egypt (3.73.4). Dionysus and Zeus then joined their forces to defeat the remaining Titans in Crete, and on the death of Dionysus, Zeus inherited all the kingdoms, becoming lord of the world (3.73.7–8).
Dionysus is a missing link in the big picture, and is associated with the Indo-Europeans. His status as a wine-god is probably subordinate to his status as a drinker and mythological conqueror. He probably began as a Vedic mead-god. I have wondered if the Mitanni had brought him to Asia. Yet, other ancients repeatedly identified him as a son of Ammon (who must be Crius). The existence of a Libyan account of a war between Ammon and Cronus is fascinating. It portrays Rhea as a Helen, and the Helen type becomes important in Eastern estoerica (see: Simonians, Magdalene, etc. relating to the Arabian/Semitic moon goddess; that is, the changing phases of the moon, which in a feminine context certainly relates to the etymology of Rhea).

In any event, I assume the Dionysus as the son of Ammon is just a Libyan contrivance, as Dionysus seems more likely to be related to Iapetus/Wotan as his son. "Not Zeus" may be what they meant by Dionysus. I have speculated that the Arameans are the Ishmaelites of history, and the Hyksos are Assyrians/Canaanites who are the Israelites of history. The Arameans being colonists from Egypt/Libya. Thus, the Ammonites of the Bible are related to this same Libyan Ammon.

It's fascinating to hear the Libyan account of the war against the Titans. It smack of history, and hints that the evolution of these religious systems could have included very ancient historical catalysts. The motifs are theological, but the geographic locations are attempting to portray history as a reflection of the theology, hinting at the history. It's almost the history of the Bronze Age collapse. Shekelesh worshippers of Oceanus with Libyans and Indo-Europeans overthrow the hegemony of the Hurrian/Ugaritic/Egyptian system (in which their gods were well syncretized to the old Byblos faith; Atum-Ra probably merges our "Coeus"/Thoth with Shamash).

The six pairs of Titans also recalls the seven-headed serpent. This is also expressed in Hinduism and the avatars of Vishnu, as well as the Yazidi peacock king with his seven archangels. If there are six pairs of Titans, then perhaps the seventh is our "hidden Imam" or "secret Adam". The coming final god of all the world. Maybe Zeus, Dionysus and Apollo (Hercules, Melqart) are all attempts at this. The hermetic mysteries all about the seventh god.

In any event, in the myths of the Titans you have much confusion. Ouranos is said to be father of them all, but there are hints of different parentage. We even hear of Oceanus as father of the Olympians, which does fit the Cretan origins of Zeus somewhat better. I would identify Zeus Kasios as the son of El of Byblos, and Jebel Aqra as Olympus. Implying that the Greek Zeus maybe was from a Cretan origin.

The confusion over genealogy is a sign to me of the precedence of the idea of a septarchy of ruling spirits over a notion of any family of the gods. The Greek attempt to create a family tree, and the Hebrew attempt to create the generations of Noah are both examples of starting with the original group and trying to fit it into a new system.

Again, going back to the seven-headed serpent or the peacock angel, the seven archangels etc. I think this must have been an original type. You can almost build a cosmogony out of it.

Assume a firmament and an Earth (Ouranos and Gaia), within primordial waters, within primordial darkness, within primordial air (Aether).
It's seven elements are:
  • Hyperion, or the light
  • Oceanus or the surrounding, cradling waters
  • Ammon the air
  • Iapetus the father of man
  • Atum/Logos the father of knowledge
  • Cronus the father of gods (angels)
  • The secret Adam
Note that the gods live upon the celestial sphere, and men live on the earth. As above, so below. Cronus as time governs the movement of the stars, man is free to disobey, stealing knowledge from Leto, stealing fire via Prometheus (son of Iapetus). Poseidon as Oceanus is the father of Atlas. Elsewhere, it is Iapetus as the father of Atlas (and Odin is hung from his tree). Coeus is associated with Polus, the Axis Mundi.

Each of these principles has, in theory, a parallel version of the same story. There's also a sense that the "father" is the whole made up of the seven, and victory over the father is victory over the brothers.

In any event, I don't know how to take this line of thinking further. It has been useful to me in interpreting the evolution of ancient religions via their "mysteries" into monotheistic cults. Particularly in explaining eschatological and esoteric beliefs as expressions of this cosmogony.
Last edited by yakovzutolmai on Fri Aug 27, 2021 6:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
yakovzutolmai
Posts: 296
Joined: Mon May 17, 2021 6:03 am

Re: The Titanomachy As The Sons of Noah?

Post by yakovzutolmai »

This septarchy can be associated with geography. So, let's assume it did begin as one system, and was slowly attributed to regions of the Earth as they became known.

Of course the Mauritanians and Iberian coasts beyond the Pillars of Hercules would be associate with the world river. Thus, these belong to Oceanus and it's the land closest to him. Atlantis becomes the heaven or Holy Mountain of Oceanus, an Olympus of the deep sea and not real.

The Eastern desert and home of the sunrise is obviously given to Shamash. Arabs still call Syria al-Shams.

The home of the Pyramids, Memphis, becomes the land of Polus/Coeus. Maybe this is a form of Apollo/Nimrod, represented by Osiris. This is Adam/Atum. One cannot say if the Pyramids or these myths came first. To the ancients, the Pyramids are more ancient and are associated with Thoth (who may be our Coeus).

If Libyans are associating Dionysus with Ammon, it's because of his war-like characteristics. The air and the winds do relate to the wastelands of the middle, and the conquering nomads there.

If we want a better god for Dionysus, we have Odin, whose role as the father of writing, poetry and bacchanalia tie them together. We also have Odin's death on the world tree as a Mithraic type which conforms to Dionysian mysteries. Odin's wild hunt is a frenzied horde, and there's a connection between drunkenness and berserker frenzy. This role will be filled by Iapetus, whose children all pertain to the follies and torments of man. This is the god of the Caucasus and Caucasians. A type for barbarians. The wild men of the forests of the Earth belonging to this god. The Germanic first man being made from a tree (rather than clay), with an association with the discovery of fire.

Lastly, there is Phoenicia/Coastal Canaan. The lands of the Elohim. The best interpretation is that El has conquered and ruled over all the other gods. This land is the crossroads. Philistines, Hatti and Idumeans being maybe Indo-European. Ammonites and Arameans being maybe of Ammon. Egyptian rule imposing Atum. Traders and Sicali bringing Oceanus. Nomads from Amurru and Assur bringing Shamash. But El is the god of Canaan. He also was overthrown, or died. Implying that Byblos and Baalbek may have been the center of the formerly unified religious system.

Then, there's the "secret Adam" who will once again rule over all the gods.
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