Official website
of
HAN MARIE STIEKEMA
Summer
Retreat
2016, Corfu, Greece
Info/Subscribe
Sommer
Retreat
2016, Korfu, Griechenland
Info/Anmelden
English spoken
Wir sprechen Deutsch
Gorgon Medusa
(Corfu)
Island of Truth/Insel der
Wahrheit
 Medusa with "tongue", similar to the Goddess Kali (India). |
The Big Surprise |
 Medusa,
Greece. The "tongue" meaning two things simultaneously: 1. Lust for life (sex)
2. Devouring life (death) |
| One of my biggest surprises is the "discovery" of Gorgon Medusa on Corfu. In 600 BC the oldest Doric temple was built there, dedicated to the ancient Mother-Goddess Artemis. The link with pre-classical Greek culture was emphasized by a huge image of Gorgon Medusa in the pediment of the temple. It underlines that Gorgon Medusa is a (rather late) manifestation of the very archaic Primordial Great Mother. |
Medusa in "trinacria" position, symbolizing the wheel of life (similar to the swastika). The snakes embody "death and rebirth", the two panthers left and right confirm she is the "Lady and the (Her) Beasts", a very archaic image, emphasizing she is dominant over the male world. She is giving birth to two Sons, who in former times fulfilled the role of vegetation-Gods. (Archaeological Museum Corfu) |
It is a "law" that Great Deities of previous era's are denounced in the next. Greek sources say, that "in the beginning" Medusa was a VERY beautiful woman. It symbolizes the era in which the Great Mother was venerated. The (masculine!) Goddess Athena was "jealous" - meaning that patriarchy was challenging the Mother civilization - through which Medusa was degraded to a demon, monster and/or guard. This process is universal. The pictures in the sideline (right) prove it. |
 The mask is symbolizing Nothingness as Ultimate Reality. According to ancient texts: Medusa is turning everybody who dares to look at Her into a piece of stone. |
The frightening fact for the male rulers is that Medusa includes "death and rebirth". In patriarchal society linear thinking had replaced cyclical notions of time. Instead of rebirth, the end of linear lifespan is death. Fear is therefore accompaning the male ego. Medusa confronts (wo)man with the ultimate facts of life. And that is frightening. |  Picture of the Artemis Temple |
 Site of the Artemis Temple near Corfu city |
||
In short: What I frequently had seen in Asia has its counterpart in Europe. The Primordial Great Mother has as Her direct descendant the Gorgon Medusa. Images are all over Greece (and Turkey). Her main site, however is on Corfu. |
||
| Here Her main characteristics are most prominent. Her unblinking eyes that reflect Her Bottomless Abyss. It means that the Corfu sanctuary (like the Black Madonnas in the West) confronts us with our ego and its identifications e.g. addictions. Dare to look into Her face, She is not frightening at all. Imagine that She is seeing through you, dissolving your illusions. Her mouth is devouring your ego. The result: A deep relief, a deep sigh. A deep gratefulness arises, for we have been struggling with our ego for such a long time. Now we understand why the Mother Goddess ("Demons") of the East are so beneficial. They liberate you from your ego! |
Corfu-Kapodistrias |
It is a turning point, for we don't go along with patriarchal fears anymore. We will definitely not become "dragon-slayers". Instead, with Medusa we have received a great gift. Her main sanctuary is in Europe, on Corfu, Greece. It gives the island a totally new flavor: The Island of Truth. |
| "The profoundest instinct in man
is to war against the truth; that is, against the Real. He shuns facts from his infancy.
His life is a perpetual evasion. Miracle, chimera and to-morrow keep him alive. He lives
on fiction and myth. It is the Lie that makes him free. Animals alone are given the
privilege of lifting the veil of Isis; men dare not. The animal, awake, has no fictional
escape from the Real because he has no imagination. Man, awake, is compelled to seek a
perpetual escape into Hope, Belief, Fable, Art, God, Socialism, Immortality, Alcohol,
Love. From Medusa-Truth he makes an appeal to Maya-Lie." Jack London, The Mutiny of the Elsinore (Wiki) |
Mother-Goddes Kali
Dazu Temple, late Tang, China. Mother "Demon" giving birth + devouring the Wheel of Life
Bön-Tibetan Monastery, Lugu Lake, China
Candi Kalasan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Borobudur, Java, Indonesia
Bali, Ubud, Indonesia
Banteay Srei, Cambodia
Sri Mariamman (Hindu) Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1997-2015
© Copyright Han Marie Stiekema. All rights reserved.
Everyone may use this website as a source of inspiration. However, since it
is freely given, no-one can claim, copy or derive any text, rights,
position or status from this website.
Last revising: 07/30/15