DeConick A.D

31
THE MATRIX OF ANCIENT SPIRITUALITY
part of the psyche, the nous (mind), whose job it is to control the horses.
The lower part of the psyche is represented by the two horses. The noble
horse is the moral impulse of the psyche; the ignoble horse is the irrational,
appetitive impulse. Primordially, the soul, under the careful direction
of the charioteer, flies around the skies among the gods, and with each
rotation it can glimpse the Good above them all. But eventually the charioteer
loses sight of the Good—and control of his horses. He falls from the
skies. The psyche is embodied in the cycle of birth and death until, once
again, it is able to control its lower aspects and, liberated, can fly with the
gods (Plato, Phaedrus 246a–254e).
As much as this philosophy revolutionized the ancients’ picture of the
human being, it did not alter Greek religion to any great extent. Although
a strong sense of personal religion begins to be cultivated in emergent
Greek mystery religions, through initiation ceremonies, underworld journeys,
and heavenly flights, these religions still focus on a human supplicant
seeking an “in” with the netherworld gods. The initiate’s hope is for recognition
and favoritism, that a bond of devotion to the god will guarantee
his or her preferential treatment in the afterlife and transformation into a
body that will survive and prosper in the underworld environment. Even
if a person enjoyed initiation into the mysteries of great gods like Demeter
or Dionysus, the individual still maintained his family and civic religious
duties. Greek religion continued to be about humans serving the powerful
gods as a civic duty that would maintain the good of the city by holding
at bay the wrath and jealousy of the immortals.
Capricious Dealings in Israel
Servant spirituality was also foundational to the religion of the ancient Israelites.
In fact, Israel as a community was understood to be YHWH’s servant
Jacob. The Israelites’ oldest mythology (ca. 950 BCE), what scholars
call the Yahwist source, is embedded in the Old Testament narratives. This
distinctive cycle of stories refers to God by the name YHWH (probably
pronounced YAH-way).
Although these stories were edited and rewritten many times before
they came into their final biblical form, it is clear that the old stories
about Israel’s God in the Yahwist source portray him as a powerful deity
who related to the Israelite tribes as he would relate to servants. Abraham