Gold tablet written in
ancient Greek found in a womanʹs grave – VI century B.C. – in a large necropolis near
Hipponion (Vibo Valentia) in southern Italy, with a message to the dead:
Here is the passcode of
Memory. When you die
you go to the vast halls of
Hades; a spring is on your right,
and by it stands a shining
cypress tree
where the descending souls
of the dead refresh themselves.
Stay away from that spring!
Further on you’ll find
refreshing water
flowing from the lake of
Memory.
Guardians stand by.
They will ask you sharply,
what you seek in the dank
shadows of Hades.
Say: ʺI am a child of Earth and starry Heaven
and I’m parched perishing
with thirst. Give me now
refreshing water to drink
from the lake of Memory.ʺ
They’ll speak to the king of
the underworld,
then they’ll give you to
drink from the lake of Memory,
and you, having drunk, will
go along the holy road
famous initiates and mystics
travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment