Queen Medea: The Bacchic Empire

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Transcript

A century before the first year of Our Lord a man named Diodorus (Διόδωρος) from Sicily recorded for posterity the beginnings of the greatest Empire in human history. He started with the royal family who lived on the shores of the Black Sea, and called themselves the descendants of Helios. Diodorus tells us of the royal family whose magic created an Empire of the Mind.

He tells us of the first queen to be the Christ. Indeed he tells us of the oldest Gospel, the oldest mystery, and she who developed it. He tells us of her power stretching from East to West. He tells us of the buildings and the monuments marked by her name. He tells us of the engineering feats she accomplished. He tells us of the medicine she created and the hospitals that were built. He tells us of the people who worshiped her. He tells us of her Divine mouth, from which came the future.

He tells us of Medea (Μήδεια).

Everything starts with an expedition of Greeks from Thessaly. Diodorus tells us this Expedition left Thrace after equipping itself with supplies and sailed into the pontus, the Black Sea. There it came to the Taurian Kersenes, the peninsula we now call Crimea. Diodorus tells us those Greeks were unaware of the extreme behavior of locals. The Barbarians that live in that land have a law. They sacrifice to Artemis Tauropolos anyone who happens to wash ashore. This is the place Iphigenia (Ἰφιγένεια) was later taken in order to be the Priestess of this goddess to sacrifice to her those who were captured. Tauropolos was the goddess's cult title. She was cult leader of the Taurians. Diodorus tells us Helios had two sons Aeëtes and Perces he said Aeëtes was the ruler of Colchis and Perces the ruler of the Taurians. Both of them were known for their cruelty.

Children of Helios were marked by specific features including hair, the color of the sun's burning rays. Skin that glowed and eyes that bore the shining mark of Helios. Their culture was driven by drugs and the drug trade. Their arrows were their defense, tipped with poisons that gave the Taurians and the Colchians (Colchis/Κολχίς) a distinct military advantage. Descendants of horse cultures, these people ultimately dominated the Black Sea as pirates.

One need only to sail by the great tower of Medea when one entered into the Black Sea to know that the region was theirs. The region belonged to the daughters of Helios. Diodorus tells us that Perseus had a daughter named Hecate. She excelled her father in courage, and a disdain for custom. She was a Huntress who worked with black hounds, and when she was not hunting wild beasts she hunted men instead. She was a lover of the skill of crafting death bringing drugs. She discovered aconite, and she tested out its powers upon people, captured people, who were administered the drug.

Hecate eventually used these drugs to kill her own father and to assume power over the kingdom. When she rose to power she established this practice of killing strangers who happened to be washed ashore, and for this she garnered a great reputation of cruelty.

Some time later, Hecete cohabitated with Aeetes and produced two daughters: Circe (Κίρκη) and Medea. They also had a son. Circe had an innate propensity for pharmacological experimentation, and she discovered the powers of many drugs. Unbelievable Powers. She learned a lot from her mother Hecate, but what's more she learned even more through her own skill. Diodorus tells us that Circe was given to marriage to a King of the Sauromatians (Σαυρομάται). Some people, he says, call these people Scythians. We know that Medea had her own bodyguard, 12 of these scythian women skilled in drug knowledge. But Circe (Κίρκη) killed off the king of the Sauromatians with drugs, assumed control of the kingdom, and did many bad and cruel things for which she was exiled from the kingdom. According to the mythographers, she fled to the ocean to a deserted island and took with her to that place all the women who followed her. Some people say she came to Italy to the very place we call today Kirkayan (Circeii / Κιρκήιοι - which is Monte Circeo today).

It was there on that island that she met Odysseus. She poisoned him and his men. He was given an antidote against her drugs by the God Hermes disguised as a young boy. Diodorus tells us that Medea learned the art of drugs from both her mother Hecete and her sister Circe, but he adds that Medea did not have the same intent as they did. She was not cruel. Instead she tried to rescue strangers who'd been taken captive.

Sometimes she asked her father directly to be merciful to the ones who were about to be put to death, to give them salvation. Sometimes she arranged to have them released herself. It may be that her father Aeetes was the source of cruelty. But it also may be that her mother was the one who would establish the right to kill strangers and therefore influenced Aeetes. Regardless of what the mythographers or historians argue, it's well known that Medea went on to be the healer of the family. To be the one to spread the healing rights that she herself would develop based upon the pharmacological cures that she had studied with her mother and sister. Medea used the wisdom that had been stored in the activities of the family of the Sun for Generations. She used that wisdom in order to create a mystery rite that would rule the world.

This princess who would become queen of a people in history. This princess was the origin of the bacchic rite. The very maddening mystery that would sweep from East to West in the Bronze Age. The very mystery whose decline would bring darkness to the world.

Medea discovered the rite, and an entire group of people once called Aryans would change their name to match the power of hers. They called themselves the Medes. Diodorus the Sicilian preserved for us that very rite. In the first recorded mystery, Medea is the Christ and Diodorus brings us to that place where we can see the performance. It was this late Bronze Age rite that would be corrupted as early as its first generation by a man named Heracles. Many others would develop corrupted forms of this Medic rite such as Moses and Jesus. But this right began with a woman. This right began in a place that was administered by a woman. This rite became the basis of all of civilization’s religious inclinations. She is the first Christ.

And this is Diodorus's description of her initiation: This rite begins with the creation of an image. It is true idolatry. And about this queen who invented fumigation, Diadora says, Medea made an empty image of the goddess Artemis. She then filled it with drugs of all capacities. Next she christed herself, making her hair gray and her skin wrinkled. Her appearance was such that anyone who saw her would think that she was an old woman and then: picking up this mystery initiation image, and she carried it into the city where the people were put into Divine fear from it.

Just as Medea was in a state of enthusiastic Mania, so did the people come under the control of the idol. And as they did, as they entered ecstasy, Medea spoke the news of the arrival of a goddess who should be embraced. She said this goddess had come to bring the people to a place of Fortune. To protect their King. All in a state of mania worshiped the goddess with sacrifice. All of the city was ecstatic along with Medea.

And from these Origins sprang the bacchic mystery, it would sweep both east and west from the Black Sea. From the Taurian and Colchian (Colchis/Κολχίς) kingdoms, a royal line produced the first Sōtēra (Σωτῆρα), the first Savior (Deliverer). And she, as Divine physician, was Christ.

sōtēra (Σωτῆρα) - savior / deliverer
christos (Χριστός) - the one who christs. A title given to magus who annoints their followers with drugs. Means “the anointed one”. derives from χρίω, a title for a person who annoints with pharmaka, often in mystery cults.

Summary

Lineage and Origins

Medea (Μήδεια) was a princess of Colchis, daughter of Aeëtes (king of Colchis) and Hecate (daughter of Perseus).
Sister to Circe and a son (unnamed).
Descendant of Helios (the Sun), marked by radiant features and divine lineage.
Born into a powerful Black Sea dynasty involved in pharmacology, magic, and warfare.

Training and Abilities

Trained in drugcraft and pharmaka by her mother Hecate and sister Circe.
Excelled in medicine, healing, and ritual pharmacology.
In contrast to her family, Medea was not cruel—she rescued captives and advocated mercy.
Became the healer of her family, transforming knowledge of poisons into cures.

Cultural and Religious Influence

Creator of the first mystery rite, which became the Bacchic mystery that spread across the ancient world.
Founded a religious tradition based on ecstatic mania, idolatry, and ritual drug use.
Invented fumigation rituals and complex initiatory ceremonies.
Constructed an idol of Artemis, filled it with drugs, disguised herself as an old woman, and introduced it to the city, inciting collective ecstasy and religious mania.

Role in Myth and Mystery

Considered the first Christ (Χριστός) and first Sōtēra (Σωτῆρα)—a savior/deliverer and divine physician.
Her mystery rite was seen as the origin of civilization's religious inclinations.
Associated with the rise of the Medes, who may have named themselves in her honor.
The original gospel—a rite of initiation and transformation—was attributed to her by Diodorus of Sicily.

Historical Legacy

Remembered as a foundress of a global rite that predated and was later imitated (and corrupted) by figures like Heracles, Moses, and Jesus.
Left a monumental legacy in architecture, healing, pharmacology, and religious institutions across East and West.
Associated with sacred towers, hospitals, and monuments bearing her name in the Black Sea region.
Her bodyguard included 12 Scythian women, experts in drug knowledge.

Sources

Medea, as a figure, is often associated with the Late Bronze Age (circa 1200 BCE), which aligns with the broader timeline of the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece. This era corresponds to the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization and the broader Bronze Age Collapse, leading into the so-called "Greek Dark Ages."

Hesiod's Theogony (8th-7th century BCE)
- Hesiod presents Media within the genealogy of gods and heroes, connecting her to divine ancestry (as the granddaughter of Helios, the sun god).
  - Medea is briefly mentioned as the wife of Jason and the mother of Medeios, a figure associated with the foundation of the Medes.
- Hesiod’s Theogony is the earliest extant reference to Medea.
- This early reference establishes her as a significant figure, though it does not elaborate on her story.
Neophron (5th century BCE): Argonautic Fragment, Early Tragedy on Medea
- Although only fragments survive, Neophron's lost play on Medea might have influenced Euripides' tragedy
- Neophron of Sicyon is credited with writing a play about Medea before Euripides' Medea. Although only fragments survive, his work might have been an earlier theatrical portrayal of Medea's betrayal by Jason and her revenge. Some scholars speculate that Euripides borrowed elements from Neophron's work, suggesting that Neophron played a key role in developing the tragic dimension of her myth.
Euripides' Medea (5th century BCE, 431 BCE): The Definitive Tragedy
- Euripides' tragedy is the most famous portrayal of Medea. It depicts her as a betrayed wife who takes vengeance on her unfaithful husband, Jason, by killing their children and his new bride.
- This play focuses on themes of love, revenge, and exile, providing the most dramatic and enduring image of Medea in Western literature.
- Euripides' Medea is the most famous and enduring treatment of the myth. It is more complete and complex than what we know of Neophron's version, but the earlier works like Neophron’s may have paved the way for Euripides' innovation.
Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica (3rd century BCE)
- This epic poem recounts Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece and Medea's pivotal role in aiding him through her magical knowledge.
- It explores her internal conflict, as she is torn between love for Jason and loyalty to her family.
Pindar's Odes (5th century BCE)
- Pindar references Medea in Pythian 4, celebrating her prophetic and magical powers, which she uses to aid Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.
Ovid's Metamorphoses and Heroides (1st century BCE - 1st century CE)
- In Metamorphoses, Ovid retells many parts of Medea's myth, focusing on her magical abilities, vengeance, and transformation.
- In Heroides, Ovid gives a fictional letter from Medea to Jason, exploring her emotions and betrayal.
Diodorus Siculus' Library of History (1st century BCE)
- Diodorus includes a historical and rationalized account of Medea, treating her as a figure in the mythical history of the Black Sea and Greece.
Seneca's Medea (1st century CE)
- This Roman tragedy draws heavily on Euripides but amplifies Medea's vengeful and destructive character.
Pausanias' Description of Greece (2nd century CE)
- Pausanias mentions local traditions and places connected to Medea, such as her role in Corinthian myths about her children.
Hyginus' Fabulae (2nd century CE)
- Hyginus retells several myths involving Medea, summarizing her actions and role in Greek mythological history.
Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca (1st-2nd century CE)
- The Bibliotheca provides a comprehensive summary of Greek mythology, including Medea's lineage, her role in aiding Jason, and her subsequent life.

Statue of Medea - Batumi, Georgia