20 The Third Device (Fire and Sacrifice): 97-141

The Third Device

Location: Pylos

[Let us set the scene]

He arrived at his destination

just as his partner-in-crime

had left her place in the heavens:

Nyx —

the sinister incarnation of Night

[mother of monsters upon the earth.]

Or, rather,

he arrived as Night was still departing

not long before dawn

— the hour for honest work.

His other lookout and accomplice

had started her exit as well,

Pale Selene —

the light of the divine Moon

daughter of the wan Titan Pallas

Spear-Shaker-who-challenged-Zeus ,

who was heir to Megamedes,

the-pillar-who-holds-the-sky.   100

It was on the threshold of a new day

[But, for the moment, the gray light of pale Selene still shone.]

Suddenly,

Across the famous Alpheius river,

came the echoes of mighty stomping steps.

It was that strongest son of Zeus!

[out on a great labour]

…

[No, not Herakles….

The other strongest son.

Fine. I’ll give you a hint –]

Phoebus…

Apollo…

…’s cattle with their sharp horns

were being driven by this strongest son:

Hermes!

In perfect coordination,

with steps in unison

–though neither cattle or driver had any training–

the cattle stepped

towards his cave and hideout —

Transformed.

now more aptly called by the traditional title:

a “solidly-roofed-stable.”

up to

its stone water troughs and

lush meadows.

Hermes let the mooing cows graze on the fodder there  105

before driving them into the enclosure,

–gathered tightly together–

watching until they had all crossed the

threshold.

They

–-unsuspecting–

continued snacking

on clover-lotus and cypress,

still wet with morning dew

While he

gathered branches together into a tight pile and

reached deep into his mind

for his third device.

Fire and Cattle Sacrifice

The Invention of the Fire Stick

First…

He lifted a branch

of Apollo’s laurel,

stripping it of bark.

Laying it flat

on the ground,

he took into his hand

his ominous grey iron

and

he whittled it

until the branch was smooth between his tiny palms.

Palms which rubbed together,

spinning the branch,

drilling down against the wood until

–a breath

of hot smoke–

sprang out.  110

So you see,

Hermes was the first of all

–(despite what anyone else says)–

to give humankind easy access to fire

through the invention of fire-sticks.

But even an invention of such greatness

was only the first part of the plan.

The Preparation

He placed the spark into

the deep, dark, ditch

filled up with many

stacked, stripped, sticks.

Suddenly:

a blossom of light

fanning out far

from a fierce flame of fire

as it flashed into full force.

[This, in the same way that

we now build sacrificial pits

for the gods below and above

and the spirits of heroes.]

But when his fire,

–for which Hephaestus somehow gets the credit–

blazed at full strength[1] 115

it was time.

By his power alone

(without the usual festival crew of

sacrificial attendants, butchers, and cattle drivers)

Hermes himself

had to heave the

horned cattle out of their

hidden hole.

Once he had chosen two cows

for the sacrifice.

Behold his power and strength

though he was just a baby in form:

[Despite their weight and resistance]

he wrestled both cows — massive in comparison to him.

Easily

throwing them

onto the ground.

— backs hitting hard earth–

— one final gasp of breath –

— heads roughly pulled back

— necks exposed

He pierced them dead

straight through to their core.

[All the way to the spine.]

[In a single blow]

[And thus, he accomplished the second and third labour:

“stealing the herd of a fierce lord and

herding and slaying the monstrous horned cattle”]

The Sacrifice

But Hermes’ plan was not yet done

and he proved to be an industrious labourer

“Resting from his labour by labouring”

as the saying goes.  120

[Which would one day earn him the title

industrious-labourer (appropriately!)]

Without stopping for a break,

he started hacking away hunks of juicy steak

—dripping-with-fat-–

He then speared and roasted the butchered meat in the fire

using leftover branches as wooden spits

–another improvisation;

iron spits were unavailable–

But curiously he chose to barbeque

every portion,

not just the steak and flank-cuts

–as is customary.

No. Even the black blood

was stuffed into blood-sausages and cooked

–though tradition demands

the blood be spilled into the pit.

When everything was cooked,

he spread the portions out,

to be divided for the sacrificial feast.

The first division (skins):

The skins

–which have many functions:

tokens of honour in the sacrifice,

[payments to the priest], and

trophies of a young man’s successful cattle raid–

he claimed these for himself

–priest, bold cattle-raider, and god all in one–

Stretching them out on a nearby wide boulder

he displayed them proudly, openly:

marks of his accomplishment and ambition.

I have seen them there —

for they remain even now

though so many years have passed since  125

that no one could possibly count their number.

The second division (sacred portion):

Hermes,

with-a-cryptic-smile-on-his-face,

the full meaning of his plan difficult to fathom

then took into his hand

some of the fatty rewards of his deeds.

This was the sacred portion. For the gods

But to what god would he dedicate this sacrifice?

On the spot,

he invented a new ritual:

The “banquet of the gods”,

a special sacrifice to all the highest gods

where they were invited to eat alongside humans.

[Though it is traditional to us,

it was invented by him].

The banquet of the gods:

Using a flat stone as an improvised ritual dining table,

he divided the large slab of meat

into twelve portions,

for twelve invited guests

–the twelve great gods–

(including himself in their number)

he distributed the servings randomly,

to each position at the table, by lot.

This demonstrated that the status of

each seat and

each guest

was equal.

[No one merited a preferential share.]

Then, he topped each portion with a selection

of the choicest, sacred cuts — the divine share —

the cuts which lacked any flaws.

This demonstrated that the dinner

was meant to be attended

only by the twelve highest of the high gods

(including himself in their number)

[sitting at the head of the human participants.]

The third division (the portion of humankind):

But the largest share of the meat still remained–

[this was the portion which had been given

by divine law

when Prometheus tricked Zeus

to humans]

But Hermes also desired this portion.  130

Even though he was immortal,

the smell

as it cooked

tormented him.

In the end,

he couldn’t help himself

it was delicious…

to smell.

But only to smell.

The spirit of great ambition in his heart

ultimately restrained him,

stopping him.

Though he greatly wanted

to break the taboo:

place meat in his mouth,

and

taste flesh.

[Having resisted the temptation though,

his plan changed… and quickly]

Since he had already taken both

fat and meat

into his high-roofed mansion,

(aka. his cave-hideout)

He had to gather it all back up

and carry it outside.

His sudden realization:                                                 135

If he was not going to eat this,

it could be used in a trial

as evidence of his recent theft

[and, since he had originally intended to consume it

it would be used as a sign of his impiety

and question his status.]

So, he placed more kindling in the pit and

he condemned everything

—from hoof to head-–

tossing it all into

the fire’s heat and

total destruction.

[Cleverly destroying the evidence

and making a dire holocaust sacrifice,

–to the gods above and below–

simultaneously!]

Once he had finished with this

— though this is ritual for us,

he had invented it all on the spot —

The little-divinity,

not yet of the highest gods

negotiator-of-the-spaces-between-god-and-mortal,[2]

ditched his sandals,

throwing them into the deep waters of the Alpheus river.

Poured water on the incriminating embers

of his sacrificial fire, and then

scattered the black ash in the wind.       140

All of this…

All of these deeds,

from birth to theft to sacrifice

he finished in a single day

accomplishing it all before the end of night.

And all the while,

the pale light of Selene still shined

on the threshold of a new day.