THE OLYMPIC GAMES: Their true meaning in ancient Greece

 

Lecture by Claude de Warren, February 2024

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Let us set aside the images and the ideas of the Olympic Games we have about them today, and transport ourselves to ancient Greece in the second millennium BC. This era is much earlier than the construction of the Parthenon in the 5th century BC and long before a stadium was built at Olympia – a site that had served as a ‘spiritual sanctuary’ for ages.

The Olympic Games, along with the three other great Games celebrated in Corinth, Nemea, and Delphi, were not originally intended to celebrate athletes, but rather to honour spiritual seekers at key stages in their progress.

Sporting events were subsequently integrated into what were originally a series of initiation ceremonies. Renowned historians like Moses Finley and H.W. Pleket have noted regarding the Olympic Games: “Thus, games are incorporated into the Olympic programme because of the sanctuary’s reputation and not vice versa: religious rituals precede the sporting games and remain prominent in the games’ schedule”. It is also safe to say that the same principle applied to the other major games as well. In fact, this observation is supported by the finding that, in most of these sites, there was a gap of up to 300 years between the initiation ceremonies and the construction of the stadiums.

As the profound significance of myths and the potential for connecting with the spiritual realms began to fade – which was already the case at the time of the three great Tragic writers Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides in the 5th century BC, over 300 years after Homer – secular sporting events were introduced. These contests most probably did not involve the spiritual seekers themselves but rather athletes who had come to take part in the celebrations.

In fact, the 6th and 5th century BC mark a turning point during which the celebrations in the sanctuaries lost their true raison d’être – the celebration of initiations – and were gradually replaced by secular festivals, essentially sporting.

Hence, the significance of the great games of ancient Greece cannot be understood without considering what took place in the initiation schools. Indeed, it is the myths behind the four great games that explain the relationship between the games and these Mystery Schools.

For, on the one hand, there existed an external religion, while on the other, spiritual centres of initiation, like those in ancient Egypt, were present. There, the spiritual path as encoded in Greek mythology, was revealed, and the profound meaning of myths, practices and rituals were taught. Initiations, giving access to certain powers were also transmitted, akin to Tantrism in India.

The initiate is referred to as “one who knows the mysteries of the gods”.

There were two main initiation centres in Greece. The first, located on the island of Samothrace, was specifically for seekers who wanted to embark on the spiritual path. The second, situated at Eleusis, was reserved for more advanced seekers.

Very little is known about these Mystery Schools and the initiations conducted there, as prospective initiates were strictly forbidden to talk about them. Moreover, divulging any information would result in painful death. The ancient Greeks were very strict in upholding this rule rigorously.

Aeschylus, a playwright from the 5th century BC, narrowly escaped death when accused of revealing things reserved only for initiates in one of his plays. To save his life he had to swear that he was not an initiate.

On the other hand, the deeper meaning of the myths rapidly faded under the influence of the cycles that govern evolution, particularly those of 2,160 and 26,000 years linked to the cycles of the mind.

 

SAMOTHRACE

 

The island of Samothrace lies in the north of the Aegean Sea, around 300km from Athens when measured in a straight line.

Reaching Samothrace by sea was not easy with the ships of the time, as the winds were favourable only during certain months of the year, typically from April to October. Additionally, the threat of unpredictable storms also posed further difficulty. Travelling overland through Thrace was not without its dangers either, no doubt because of the highway robbers.

So, it took a certain amount of courage – an essential quality required of all aspirants to the spiritual path – to undertake the journey from Attica and the Peloponnese. This likely explains the reason why this Mystery school was established on an island so far from Athens and with such challenging access.

The name Samothrace – Samos (Σ+Μ) + Thrace (ΘΡ+Κ) – indicates an opening (Κ) towards a just evolution (Ρ) of the inner being (Θ) through a balanced opening between reason and intuition (Μ) of the intelligence (Σ).

The earliest traces of spiritual activity date back to the 7th century BC. Rituals were addressed to the “Great Gods” (Theoi Megaloi in Greek). The identity and nature of these “Great Gods” remain enigmatic, as it was forbidden to pronounce their names in the secular world, no doubt to accustom postulants to secrecy.

It was only after Herodotus (5th century BC) that they were wrongly equated with the Cabires, deities prayed to in Lemnos and Thebes.

Access to the sanctuary was forbidden to the uninitiated. All applicants were admitted, regardless of origin, sex, age, or social rank – at least from the time when written records are available, i.e. the 5th century BC.

There were two categories of Mysteries: The Lesser Mysteries and the Greater Mysteries. There is every reason to believe that only the Lesser Mysteries – those corresponding to the beginning of the spiritual path – were celebrated in Samothrace.

Initiatory ceremonies took place over an extended period, involving preparations, initiation rituals during which initiates were supposed to acquire sacred knowledge, and festivities.

The only serious symbolic indication that has come down to us is that “initiation into the Mysteries of Samothrace provided protection against storms at sea“. In ancient Greece, progress along the spiritual path was generally described through journeys by sea. The best-known being those of Jason and Ulysses. It was therefore necessary to warn future disciples of the dangers along the way and to give them the means to protect themselves.

Apollonius of Rhodes tells us that Jason and his crew were taught on Electra – the island of Atlantis – “to learn, through astonishing initiations, the secret rites that would enable them to sail safely on the frightening sea“. He makes it clear that he is not allowed to say any more. But this was most likely an explanation of Jason’s symbolic trials at the start of the journey.

The Masters of Wisdom of Samothrace had to judge the preparation of the disciples beforehand, because the dangers, including mortal ones, are real on the path. This is why the Masters had drawn up a list of prerequisites – skills and qualities – represented by Jason’s companions, the Argonauts.

The ‘protections’ provided to candidates for initiation were to be special exercises, mantras, prayers, and everything else that can be found on the subject in spiritual literature – such as The Mother (Mirra Alfassa), Questions and Answers – as well as warnings about the pitfalls on the path.

Candidates for initiation were also informed that, depending on their sincerity, they would receive protection from the “invisible,” particularly in relation to their physical bodies.

 

ELEUSIS

 

Eleusis, renowned as the most famous centre of initiation in ancient Greece, is located not far from Athens. At times power struggles between Eleusis and Athens prevailed over the governance of the site.

With roots stretching back to Mycenaean era (1500-1100 BC), Eleusis was already a religious centre. Some scholars say that the cult of the goddess Demeter was probably established there towards the end of this period. It is certain that the Eleusinian Mysteries were dedicated to Demeter and her daughter Persephone as early as the Archaic period, in the 8th century BC.

The Homeric hymn to Demeter, originating from the end of the 7th century BC, is our main source for understanding the nature of the initiations that took place within Eleusis. This founding myth of the Eleusinian Mysteries concerns the purpose of the path.

The hymn begins by recounting the abduction of Demeter’s daughter Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld, and the disclosure of his name to Demeter by the sun god Helios.

Grief-stricken over the abduction of her daughter, Demeter wandered the world, until she arrived at the home of the royal couple in Eleusis who entrusted their youngest child Demophon, to her care. But each night, without the knowledge of his parents, the goddess, anointed Demophon with ambrosia and placed him in a blazing fire, intending to make him immortal. However, one night, Demeter was caught in the act by Demophon’s mother, who was filled with fear and promptly sent her away.

Despite her disappointment and fury, Demeter declared that she would “establish her Mysteries” in Eleusis. In anger, she also inflicted a terrible and devastating year upon mortals by rendering the earth barren. Also, despite Zeus sending several gods in vain to persuade her to return to Olympus, Demeter remained steadfast, insisting that she would only return once she had found her daughter.

Eventually, a compromise was struck, and Hades relented, agreeing to reunite Persephone with her mother. However, Hades made her secretly eat a pomegranate seed, which forced an agreement: Persephone would be bound to spend a portion of each year with Hades. Thus, they settled upon a division of time, with Persephone allotted one-third of the year in the underworld and the remaining two-thirds with her mother. 

Hades is the god of the subterranean realms, of the bodily unconscious where the union of Spirit and Matter must take place. Demeter is the goddess of domesticated nature, the one who watches over yoga as the path to union, because her name indicates that she is the mother of the union (Δ + meter) obtained by mastering outer nature. The name of her daughter Persephone means “she who destroys death”, or “the death of death”. In the seeker, she represents the force that helps make the link between the conscious and the bodily unconscious.

So, the time had come for the seeker (and for humanity) to tackle death, to work towards immortality, which does not mean the immortality of the body as we know it today, but the end of the Spirit/Matter division and the transformation of matter to make it divine.

This is why a spiritual force wants to purify and illuminate the different parts of the being very quickly (Demeter plunging Demophon into the fire), but the seeker is not ready for such a rapid transformation and is afraid. A progression must be established through successive initiations.

To bring about this transformation, it is not enough for the unconscious to unite with a conscious part that does the work – for Hades to marry Persephone – there must also be a force that links the conscious and the bodily unconscious because, from a certain point onwards, man is called upon to participate in his own evolution. This could be done thanks to the pomegranate seed, symbol of the essence of love.

This myth therefore concerns an initiation intended for the most advanced seekers, the so-called “adventurers of consciousness” who tackle the yoga of the body after having achieved the liberation of the Spirit and no doubt the two transformations that Sri Aurobindo calls psychic transformation and spiritual transformation.

The Eleusis centre was responsible for conducting both preliminary and advanced initiations, structured in stages known as the Little Mysteries and the Great Mysteries. Initially, it appears that only the Great Mysteries were observed at Eleusis, while the Lesser Mysteries were held either in Samothrace or, later, near Athens.

The initiation process consisted of various degrees, with the first degree being ‘myesis’ (μύησις) and the highest degree being ‘epopteia’ (εποπτεία), granted to those who achieved profound contemplation.

Although there are some indications regarding the rituals performed during the eight-day celebrations, there is a dearth of information regarding the teachings, which were believed to span months, if not years, and the actual initiation procedures. The criteria for selecting candidates for initiation also remain unknown.

Decline: By the fifth century BC, the Eleusinian Mysteries became pan-Hellenic and more accessible to a wider population. Around 300 BC, the state took control of the Mysteries; the only condition for membership being not to be a ‘barbarian’ (those unable to speak Greek were considered Barbarians). Men, women and even slaves were granted admission.

We can therefore imagine that by the fifth century BC, or rather by the time of the three great tragic writers Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and the historian Herodotus, the Mystery Schools were no longer able to offer initiations worthy of the name.

Numerous other Mystery celebrations emerged in Ancient Greece over time, such as the Great Dionysia in the fifth century BC, which likely focused on trance-like experiences leading to states of ecstasy, as well as the Mysteries of Artemis in Ephesus in the first century BC, and those of Cybele and Hecate.

The initiations offered at Samothrace and Eleusis correspond to four major stages on the spiritual path. It seems highly likely that close links existed between the Masters of the initiation schools and those in charge of the sites where the seekers of Truth were celebrated and with which the Great Games were later associated, although historical evidence of such links remains elusive.

 

THE GAMES

 

There were four great games forming the cycle of the Sacred Games. They were celebrated in turn in four different places over a span of four years and each symbolising the culmination of a stage in the seeker’s journey. Some accounts suggests that the first two games, the Isthmian and Nemean Games, were held every two years, with an intent to ensure that the waiting period between initiations at the beginning of the path is not too long.

These Games were Pan-Hellenic competitions, i.e. they concerned all Hellenes, the mythological term for those pursuing what we now call ‘enlightenment’. They were introduced between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, and possibly even earlier, in the case of the Olympic Games.

They are to be distinguished from the Panathenaic – the games of “those who devote everything to the inner quest” – which were exclusive to Athenians and took their definitive form in the middle of the sixth century BC during the reign of Pisistratus.

In the earliest accounts of the games found in Homer and other contemporary writers, and reiterated by Apollodorus, mythological heroes are pitted against one another.  This implies that a particular quality or yoga practice, also expressed in the specific sporting event in which the hero generally excelled, would lead more quickly to the desired goal.

For example, if chariot racing symbolised the mastery of power in yoga, then it can be acquired more quickly with the development of ‘equality’ symbolised by the victor, Adrastus. Equality, in Sri Aurobindo’s sense, is achieved when no external event can alter the deep peace within.

Similarly, if running symbolises the best way to make rapid progress in yoga, the seeker will identify with Diomedes, known as “he who is concerned with union in consciousness”. He was the winner of this event when the Greeks organised games in honour of Achilles.

In his Odes, Pindar was the first to celebrate Greek athletes who were famous at the time, both living and deceased.

Through the four great Games, we trace a seeker’s journey from his first steps on the path, wherein he is unable yet to call himself a seeker, to the most advanced stage of spiritual attainment.

 

ISTHMIAN GAMES

 

The Isthmian Games took place in Corinth. Though the exact date as to when it was first held remains unknown, the games were restored in 582 BC.

The stadium was constructed in the fifth century BC, at least a century after the games were reorganised and at a period when the meaning of the myths was almost lost.

Corinth is the city of Sisyphus, who represents “effort”. As he is united with Merope, the third Pleiade, it is an intellectual effort. The seven planes of consciousness, described by Sri Aurobindo, are illustrated by the Pleiades, daughters of Atlas, who is responsible for both the separation and future union of spirit and matter.

The myth of Sisyphus in the kingdom of Hades concerns the yoga of the body, the final stage of the path. We mention it here for information only.

After his death, his punishment in Hades’ kingdom is to roll an enormous stone to the top of a hill, but as soon as he approaches the top, the weight of the stone drags him down and he must start all over again.

This myth highlights that the effort sustained by the will, necessary in the previous stages of yoga, is no longer operative in the yoga of the body, because a complete surrender becomes imperative.

The essential role of the intellect is to classify illusions and destroy them. This struggle against illusions is illustrated by the battle wherein the grandson of Sisyphus, Bellerophon, is pitted against the monster Chimera. The representation of this monster illustrates an aspiration based on the ego: it is therefore a question of the seeker getting rid of spiritual illusions, i.e. aspirations based on the ego and egotistical constructions of his conceptions of the Divine. For, up to a certain point on the path, the seeker constructs an image of a ‘divine’ who must respond to his own conceptions and satisfy his demands and preferences, which are often subconscious, since Bellerophon has Poseidon as his divine father.

Remember that the three gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades have divided the world between them: Zeus reigns over the cloudy sky (supraconscient), Poseidon over the sea (subconscious) and Hades over the subterranean world (material and corporeal unconscious).

Sisyphus introduced the “Isthmian Games”, i.e. the entrance to the narrow path, in honour of Melicertes. The story of the latter is told by the Pseudo-Apollodorus, a mythographer of the first or second century A.D. It is linked to the beginnings of the path illustrated by Athamas’ three marriages.

From his first marriage to Nephele, “light cloud”, Athamas had a son named Phrixos, “quivering”. This stage corresponds to an initial experience during which the seeker experiences, for a few moments, a totally unusual state in which everything is perfect, in its place, joyful, in an immutable peace, whether in rest or in action. A state where, as Satprem says, “It exists”.

Ill-treated by Athamas’ second wife, Ino, Phrixos fled on the back of a golden-fleece ram with wings that carried him to the end of the Black Sea. Phrixos sacrificed the ram to Zeus and its fleece was hung on a tree by the local king. This is where Jason will have to go with his Argonauts to retrieve it.

This marks the beginning of the development of sensitivity (the Golden Fleece), because consciousness is first and foremost sensitivity.

The second wife of Athamas, Ino, marked the seeker’s entry into incarnation and the beginning of his interest in the spiritual quest. She gave birth to two children. Her first son, Learchos, “the established order”, expressed the need to leave the path common to all and take the narrow path. Her second son, Mélicerte, “who opens himself gently to the Spirit”, a very young child at the time, represents a gentle spiritual path,  a seeker following “The Sunlit path” of which The Mother spoke.

Athamas went mad and killed his eldest son, Learchos. He then pursued Ino, who, after immersing her son Mélicerte in a boiling cauldron, a symbol of emotional purification, threw herself into the sea with him. It is from here that Melicertes, renamed Palaimon, meaning “fighter” or “spiritual warrior”, will help sailors in distress. The path of surrender or the “Sunny path” – that is entrusting responsibility for one’s life to the Divine – acting from the subconscious, Palaimon, the “spiritual warrior”, becomes a help in overcoming the difficulties along the journey.

If, in the end, Ino and her two children die, it’s because at some point the process of individuation and anchoring in life is sufficiently advanced for the quest to begin. But you can’t draw a line under an entire phase of evolution without expressing gratitude to the forces that made it possible for it to happen in the best possible conditions. This is why Sisyphus instituted the Isthmian Games – the Games of the Passage – to symbolically honour, under the name of Palaemon, “the wrestler”, the seeker who persevered through the ordeals during this trying preparatory period.

The Isthmian Games thus mark the first victory in the quest, when the seeker sets out on a “narrow path” (isthmus), then leaves behind excessive asceticism and preconceived ideas about how to direct his spiritual journey.

It is worth noting that the initiations took place inside the sanctuary, in the Poseidonion, thus demonstrating the great importance of the action of the subconscious at this stage of the path.

What does “entering the narrow path” mean?

* There has already been an unusual experience of “It exists” (Phrixos, son of Nephele), often in childhood.

*The seeker’s interests no longer lie in worldly pursuits such as material success, power, or wealth. Instead, they are attracted by a strong aspiration, a powerful need for “something else”. This yearning can take the form of a rejection of social structures, a loss of confidence or meaning – often through excess – because the future seeker does not yet know what he or she wants.

* The future seeker has a well-constructed, incarnated personality (the Argonauts).

* He has rid himself of many illusions, such as the need to help others, which is most often an ego movement.

The seeker is now ready to take a leap into the unknown: he decides to leave for Samothrace and embark on this dangerous journey which, after many other experiences, will put his courage to the test.

The “spiritual guides” of Samothrace then assess his experiences. If the candidate is ready for initiation, they send him to Corinth to be admitted among the seekers of Truth, accompanied by a few recommendations for the rest of the way, such as: “Follow your own path, avoid excessive constraint against your nature, and do not be lukewarm”.

In Corinth, the winners were awarded a crown braided from a pine branch, a sign of openness to knowledge.

 

THE NEMEAN GAMES

 

The conclusion of the second stage was marked by the Nemean Games, recorded as far back as 573 BC. However, the stadium dedicated to these games was not built until the 4th century, which is two centuries later.

The nature of the first games is unknown, as no theatre has been found on the site.

They took place in Nemea: Ν+Μ, the evolution of receptivity and self-giving in a balanced nature. Nemea is a town in Argolis, the symbolic province of purification (Argos means luminous, pure).

Let us look at the myth according to the Pseudo-Apollodorus.

It is about the first war of Thebes between the armies of Oedipus’ two sons: Polynices “the one who fights many (yoga) battles” wants to take back the throne of Thebes from his brother Eteocles “real locks” who has usurped it. An expedition is organised, that of “The seven chiefs against Thebes”.

Thebes also has seven gates, corresponding to the seven chakras. Each gate has a defender (a node of the ego) and an attacker (a quality or practice). Thebes means ‘concretisation of the inner life’, through purification/liberation, since this is the Argolis region.

This war took place long before the Trojan War.

The armies of the seven chieftains on their way to Thebes passed through Nemea. The heroes asked the nursemaid of the son of the royal couple of Nemea, Opheltes, to show them a spring. To guide them, she laid the child on the ground. However, an oracle had warned that the child should not be placed on the ground until he could walk. A dragon-snake then came towards Opheltes and suffocated him. A soothsayer revealed the meaning of the omen: the war would be a failure. The heroes then founded games in honour of the child.

What does this myth tell us?

The king of Thebes is called Lycurgus, “he who desires light and knowledge”. The story takes place during the transition from the mental – intellectual and intuitive – quest, to the aspiration to a yoga of purification, which requires first to put everything in its place. Lycurgus had migrated from Thessaly, the province of the mental quest, to Argolis, the province of those who seek purity.

His very young son Opheltès, “the one who wants to help”, was Jason’s grand-nephew, so was born two generations after him. This means that, having pursued his quest following the initiation at Corinth, the seeker, after many wanderings, met his master or his path, and then had his first great spiritual experience, illustrated by Jason’s quest. He developed his sensitivity (the Golden Fleece of Aries), in other words his consciousness.

Following this great experience, the seeker feels the need to be “useful to the world”, to pass on his knowledge, believing he knows enough when he has only taken the first steps on the path. But he has been warned inwardly that he should not seek to embody his experience – to be put down on the ground – before he has more light in his mind, before he is more independent on the path – knowing how to walk. For the nursemaid Hypsipyle, ‘the high door’, indicates a goal and therefore a necessary progression for the seeker in the heights of the mind.

Although he has had a great spiritual experience, the seeker does not yet know his Swadharma, the ‘task’ that his soul has set for this incarnation, even if he has a vague idea of it. In fact, he lacks a more illumined mind. He wants to help when he is not ready. He falls into the trap of the spiritual ego illustrated by the myth of the Minotaur that Theseus will have to face.

Perhaps this failure is the reason why the judges responsible for organising the Nemean games wore mourning clothes.

According to a later tradition, Heracles made the games even more famous with his victory over the Nemean lion. The labour of ‘The Nemean Lion’ is the symbol of the death of the ego. It is the first of the twelve labours of Heracles (or Hercules), which marks a very great realisation but cannot, of course, be accomplished all at once.

In short, the seeker’s first steps lead him into a serious spiritual downfall.

He has already had a first major spiritual experience, lasting about a month or a few months, but around this experience he has built a mental structure that is an illusion. It is the “palace-labyrinth” of the Minotaur.

His ego is still far too large and he believes himself sufficiently advanced to teach others the path. But above all, he is unaware that by wanting to help humanity, he is working for his own ego. It was Theseus who, after several essential purifications, put an end to this error.

However, the failure of this attempt is celebrated as a victory over the ego, encouraging greater humility.

Most probably, after the Minotaur ordeal, the seeker would go to Eleusis. If he was judged worthy, and after a period of teaching and practice, he was  sent to Nemea to receive the ‘official’ initiation.

The winners were crowned with ache, a type of wild celery. Its symbolic meaning is difficult to determine. As celery is a depurative, it is perhaps a sign of a first attempt at purification.

 

THE PYTHIAN GAMES

 

After the Nemean Games, the seeker of Truth continues his path. This journey is followed by a very long period of purification of the chakras, symbolically corresponding to the ten years between the two wars of Thebes. These ten years could just as easily represent ten lifetimes, or even a few hundred. The Masters who guide the seeker have probably placed great emphasis on the purification of the upper chakras to begin with. First, there is the Sahasrara Chakra or Crown Chakra, also known as the ‘Lotus of a Thousand Petals’, which governs the thinking mind and facilitates communication with the realms above it. Then, there is the Ajna Chakra, also known as the ‘third eye’, serving as the centre of will and the dynamism of our mental activity, representing knowledge and awakened consciousness.

The Pythian Games were almost as famous as the Olympic Games. They were held at Delphi in the province of Phocis (Φ+Κ), which marks “an opening of consciousness (Κ) for the descent of light into being (Φ)”. The sanctuary was located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.

The historical period of the Pythian Games began in 582 BC, marked by a reduction in the frequency of celebration from every eight years to every four years. Nonetheless, it appears that they existed long before this date, as evidenced by the “Hymn to Apollo Delian”, which dates to the end of the eighth century.

Some authors claim that the Pythian Games initially centred solely on musical competitions only. The stadium was built in the fourth century BC, at least 200 years later.

The games were celebrated in honour of Apollo and to commemorate the annihilation of the monstrous serpent Python. Let us delve into the myth:

Hera, the wife of Zeus, beseeched her parents, Gaia and Ouranos, for a son who would be on a par with Zeus, but without having to unite with him.

From this emerged the cruel and horrible Typhon, whom she entrusted to a female dragon, bringing great evil and even death upon humanity.

Apollo killed this female dragon and the indefatigable Helios, the sun, made it rot. This led to the naming of the place as Pythô, and Apollo earned the epithet Pythian.

Following these events, Apollo thought in his mind as to which men he would initiate into his mysteries, so that they would serve as his ministers in the rocky Pythô.

What does this myth tell us?

Hera, the limiting power that opposes the principle of expansion of consciousness or knowledge – the power that ensures that nothing evolves until everything is ready, so that nothing is left behind – gave birth to Typhon “ignorance”, which is of course the essential obstacle to the acquisition of knowledge. This ignorance was protected by an immobilising force, the female Dragon.

In the oldest account, the serpent-dragon is not named and is female. It is identified as male from Euripides (5th century BC) and named Python according to Diodorus Siculus (4th century BC).

The male snake or dragon is the symbol of evolutionary force. Its feminine opposite, the female dragon, is a power that immobilises. This means that Python, like the Sphinx of Thebes, is a “guardian of the threshold”.

The disappearance of this guardian occurred shortly after the birth of Apollo. This god watches over the development of what Sri Aurobindo calls “the Mind of Light”, probably associated with a certain psychic transformation. This is why Apollo is the god of Light, Truth and the Arts.

This mind of Light can develop from the ‘illumined mind’, the fifth plane of mental consciousness according to Sri Aurobindo’s classification.

This myth clearly marks the crossing of a new threshold – that of the higher mind towards the illumined mind – which allows the irruption of knowledge through inspiration, revelation, and intuitive discernment. It is no longer a mind of thought but a mind of Light which, once the threshold has been crossed, gradually takes hold. It is a real leap, which explains why the Games of Delphi and Olympia had the same reputation. The seeker must have achieved, if not complete mental silence, a certain capacity for silence.

The name Python can be related to the verb “to rot”, but above all it indicates that which stands in the way of inner growth. As the letter Π (Pi) has a double meaning, the name Pythian Apollo can also be taken to indicate “the force that makes the link with the inner being”.

Python is also called the “Delphyné dragon” (Δρακαινα Δελφυνη), which can be understood in two ways. Either in the sense of the evolution of the dolphin: δελφίς+N, or in the sense of a matrix (δελφύς) in which the Light grows. By killing Python, Apollo enables the manifestation of inspiration and revelation, which were previously the domain of Themis, the “divine law”, but also of the dolphin, symbol of openness and receptivity in the vital world. They become man’s tools on the road to the liberation of the Spirit.

Often, at the time of the first great experience (during Jason’s quest), the seeker is informed of a task to be accomplished, without knowing exactly what it is. For example, Sri Aurobindo was told during his stay in prison that he would have four major tasks to carry out in the political, artistic, literary, and spiritual fields.

After the passage of the Nemean Games, the seeker gradually discovered the nature of this task. With this new transition, he is no longer pursuing through the mind alone the task that has been gradually revealed to him since the Nemean Games; he has access to a wider knowledge through intuition, more frequent flashes of revelation and inspiration.

But he has not yet achieved the ‘liberation of the Spirit’ as described by Sri Aurobindo, because this presupposes the death of Typhon, which will be brought about by Zeus after a terrible battle. The death of Typhon – the end of ignorance – is described in Savitri, Book 1, Canto 3, The Yoga of the King.

The winners of these Games were crowned with a laurel wreath, probably a symbol of immortality and Knowledge. Immortality should not be understood as the immortality of the body, but as an experience that gives the seeker the certainty that his essence, his innermost being, is immortal.

 

THE OLYMPIC GAMES

 

Finally, we arrive at the Olympic Games.

Long after the Pythian Games, the seekers embark on a path of increasing consecration, embracing surrender as central to their journey. Abiding by the initial two injunctions of the Bhagavad Gita, they detach themselves from the work and the fruits of the work. Moreover, having accepted that they are no longer the sole authors of their actions, they strive towards the annihilation of the ego. In this pursuit, they attain the first of the two liberations: that of the Spirit.

These Games were celebrated every four years at the sanctuary of Olympia in Elis.

Curiously enough, the site is not a mountain top, as one might expect, but a plain. Since one of the topics discussed was the death of the ego, the choice of this site was no doubt a reminder of the need for total humility.

The sophist Hippias was commissioned by the city of Elis in 400 BC to write the history of the first Olympic Games. He arbitrarily set the date of the first games as 776 BC, aligning with 75 Olympiads (each spanning four years) if traced back to 476 BC, the year of the first games following the Greek victory at Salamis against the Persians.

However, the details provided by Hippias regarding the first and second centuries of the games are probably invented, as no written records were maintained during that era.

The site of Olympia appears to have been a spiritual sanctuary since the middle of the second millennium BC, and the cult of Zeus developed there as early as 1000 BC. Archaeological findings at Olympia date back to between 900 and 700 BC and show that heroic worship took place at the tomb of Pelops. Around 700 BC, the festival in honour of Olympian Zeus gained in renown, leading to the creation of a stadium which, as we know, was (re)built around 540 BC.

The two oldest and most reliable versions of the founding of the games are both by the fifth-century BC lyric poet Pindar.

In Pindar’s First Olympian Ode, the founding of the games is attributed to Pelops. Let us look at the myth:

Tantalus was an intimate of the gods and dined at their table. He was punished in Hades for serving his mortal guests the nectar and ambrosia that had made him immortal. His son Pelops was born with a shoulder of ivory, but the gods cast him back into the short life of men, like a mortal.

Oenomaus only wanted to give his daughter Hippodamia to the man who could beat him in a chariot race. If he could catch up with the suitors, he would kill them. However, Pelops, with the help of Poseidon who gave him his golden chariot and his steeds with their tireless wings, not only won the race but also killed Oenomaus and married Hippodamia. She bore him six sons, all of whom became kings. One of them, Atreus, was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the heroes of the Trojan War. Pelops, in commemoration of his triumph, initiated races at Olympia. 

The story takes place in Elis, a province that symbolises access to freedom (Λ, lambda). We are here in the tradition of the ‘aspiration’ represented by Tantalus.

Tantalus represents a seeker who has reached the overmind, the highest level of the mind, since he takes his meals at the table of the gods, and has thus contacted his part of immortality. He has achieved the liberation of the Spirit.

Later, his punishment in Hades had to do with the yoga in the body, to reach the realisations that we see close at hand but that are always far away: he was standing next to a tree whose fruit slipped away every time he tried to pluck it.

The name of his son Pelops means “the vision of the shadow”. In esoteric tradition, the shoulders or clavicles represent ‘the gateway to the gods’, the gateway that gives access to the world of the gods and therefore to the overmind. Pelops has only one ivory shoulder, which means that purification/liberation is only half done, through the Liberation of the Spirit alone. What remains to be done is what Sri Aurobindo calls the “Liberation of Nature”.

The seeker must therefore continue his yoga in the world of duality to complete his purification.

To do this, he must unite with Hippodamia, “that which tames the force” – more specifically, the vital force. She is a daughter of Oenomaus, a symbol of the intoxication that comes from giving oneself to the Divine.

The founding of the games by Pelops thus corresponds to what would later lead to a great reversal of yoga illustrated by the Trojan War, whose heroes are Agamemnon and Menelaus, descendants of Pelops. Through their respective unions with Clytemnestra and Helen, they indicate a yoga that applies itself to stabilising the intuitive mind, whereas the Trojan royal lineage stabilised the illumined mind.

Pindar’s first story tells us that the winner at Olympia was the one who achieved the “Liberation of the Spirit”, in other words, freed the spirit from the constraints imposed by the lower mental, vital, and bodily nature. To achieve this, he has silenced his mind and pacified his vital energy, and stopped all bodily movement.

But the adventurer of consciousness has also realised that this liberation is insufficient. He does not want liberation for himself alone, but for the whole of humanity. The first task will therefore be the transformation and universalisation of the vital represented by Hippodamia.

This liberation of the Spirit is called “the second birth” in spirituality. It is a radical and definitive change in our being that precedes the reversal of yoga. It is not an experience that fades with time. From this moment onwards, “the Liberation of Nature” can begin. This is why the gods rejected Pelops among the mortals. What had only been mastered by a will imposed from above must be completely illuminated and transformed, successively in the mind, the vital and the body.

Sri Aurobindo asserted that his yoga, the integral yoga, could only begin following this realisation. The essential characteristic of this realisation is the seeker’s understanding that he no longer needs his ego (see Question & Answers, the Mother, 4 June, and 26 November 1958). This is the culmination of the work of eliminating the ego with the Lion of Nemea killed by Heracles.

The other version appears in Pindar’s 10th Olympian Ode. It develops the second aspect of this achievement, the death of the ego. Let us look at the story:

In the fifth labour, Heracles had to clean out the dung-filled stables of Augias. The job seemed impossible to complete in the time allotted. To achieve this, Heracles diverted the river Alpheus towards the stables, cleaning them in no time. But Augias refused to pay the agreed price. Heracles returned to take his revenge after the labours had been completed. First, he had to face the Molions, two powerful giants, each with two heads, four arms and as many legs, but only one body. He killed them, then killed Augias and founded a festival with the first Olympiad and the Games. 

Once again, the story takes root in Elis, the province of the liberation of the Spirit.

It takes place after the labours, that is, after many achievements, including victory over the ego – the Lion of Nemea – and over desires – the Hydra of Lerna.

The seeker has achieved personal liberation, the liberation of the Spirit. He is a ‘saint’ and a ‘sage’, but he has achieved these realisations through a yoga that separates Spirit from Matter.

The dung that had accumulated in the stables of Augias – a name that means “splinters of light” – represents the dross caused by the ego’s “luminous past experiences”.

These can be of all kinds: illuminations, visions, nirvanas, etc. The dung symbolises everything that comes with it: all sorts of vanities, such as believing oneself to be more advanced than others, the exaggerated importance attached to experiences, etc. The first purification took place during the quest. That is why this labour comes fifth in the list of the labours.

But here, it is no longer a question of the dross caused by the experiences, but of the attachment to these experiences of light themselves. It is the fight against the Molions that takes centre stage. The names of the two Molions, Ctéatus and Eurytus, indicate experiences of broadening consciousness both in the heights of the Spirit and in the universalisation of consciousness.

The adventurer of consciousness who has not only “cleaned the stables” but also symbolically killed the Molions and Augias, is freed from all attachment to past experiences of illumination. In the Agenda, Mother, immersed in the yoga of the body, says that “experiences from above” now seem to her like child’s play.

The two versions therefore relate, on the one hand, to the liberation of the Spirit and the preparation of the vital transformation with the aim of achieving the universalisation of the vital giving access to the force of Life, and, on the other, to a radical purification of all attachment to experiences from above and the death of the ego.

The adventurer is ready for the great reversal and the descent into the body. He can begin Sri Aurobindo’s integral yoga.

The winners of these Games were crowned with an olive wreath.

Pindar states that Heracles brought olive leaves from the Hyperboreans. The Hyperboreans symbolise a yoga that is beyond all asceticism and practices, led solely by the Divine in a complete surrender of the outer mental and vital being. Thrace, where Boreas, the north wind, blows, is the symbol of a highly consecrated yoga. The olive tree is therefore the symbol of total surrender in thought, feeling and action, the realisation of the sage, the saint and the man of action perfectly detached from everything, free from all attachment to the action and its fruits, free from attachment to the work itself, having become a perfect instrument of the Divine.

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Geographical sites of the games:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_greek_sanctuaries-fr.svg