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* / THUNDERBOLTS/* PICTURE OF THE DAY
Exploring the electric universe
From ancient mythology to cosmic plasma discharge

Apr 12, 2005
Lightening-Scarred Gods and Monsters

Why would we present these two images side by side? We do so because in
the sciences the inertia of prior beliefs has excluded questions that
now demand open-minded consideration. Scientific inquiry flourished on a
ground of skepticism about ancient “magic and superstition”. It seemed
obvious that primitive mythology and religion could only obstruct the
quest for knowledge. But now a new possibility has emerged—the
possibility that even the most “irrational” myths hold a key to
planetary history.

According to David Talbott and Wallace Thornhill, the mythic
“thunderbolts of the gods” provide a bridge between historical
investigation and plasma science. The two authors contend that the
heaven-altering “thunderbolt”, so prominent in the myths of gods and
heroes, has preserved a human memory of planetary upheaval. But these
myths will not be comprehended by referring them to events in our sky
today. Rather, such myths take us back to a time when planets moved in
close congregation through a rich medium of /electrified plasma/. Our
ancestors, they tell us, lived beneath an alien sky, in the mythic “age
of gods and wonders”.

Many cultures recall a great hero, warrior, or giant struck down by a
“lightning” weapon (sword, spear, etc.) and scarred by the deep gash or
wound it left on his forehead, cheek, or thigh. In his investigation of
this worldwide theme, Talbott called this “the Scarface motif”.

When referred to the behavior of celestial bodies today, the theme can
only appear preposterous. But there is another way of seeing such
traditions. The authors identify the earliest astronomical /archetype
/of the warrior-hero, in both his glorious and his terrible aspects, as
the planet Mars. They say that the planet appeared in the ancient sky as
a towering and frightful form. Therefore, the stark Mariner image of the
scarred planet and the carved image of the scarred god may reveal two
aspects of the same secret. In the course of transmission and cultural
assimilation, most ancient gods lost all connection to the “planets” of
the later, stable, and predictable solar system. But the earlier
astronomical traditions offer the investigator a window to original
meanings.

“Scarface” was the name of a legendary Blackfoot Indian warrior, also
called “Star Boy”. A close counterpart was the Pawnee warrior Morning
Star—identified as the planet Mars (not Venus, as some have supposed).
On the other side of the world, Greek mythology described various heroes
and rogues (one and the same archetype) struck down by a
lightning-weapon. When Ares, the planet Mars, was wounded in battle, he
roared with the shout of a thousand warriors and rushed to Zeus to
display the deep gash. So too, the hero Heracles, also identified with
Mars, was remembered for the deep wound on his “hip-joint”. The monster
Typhon, vanquished by Zeus, was the “lightning scarred” god, as was the
giant Enceladus. Hindu myths speak of the deep scar on the head of the
warrior Indra, god of the cosmic thunderbolt, and a thunderbolt was said
to have scarred the monstrous giant Ravena.

Without the benefit of a much broader, cross cultural investigation, any
suggestion that the hemispheric scar on Mars was left by an
interplanetary lightning bolt, or that it was this event that provoked
the “Scarface“ theme, will only invite incredulity. But as the roots of
the myths are brought out and the underlying integrity revealed, the
improbable becomes the more likely. Rigorous cross-cultural
investigation can only underscore our challenge to prior scientific
beliefs. For the connection suggested here becomes meaningful only if
the events occurred /within human memory/. Then the scientific prejudice
in favor of an uneventful solar system can no longer be maintained.

By freeing ourselves from the inertia of belief, we invite investigation
of questions that Martian exploration has left unanswered. What event
carved the Valles Marineris? Why does this chasm compare so favorably to
electrical discharge scarring <050411marspits.htm>? And how does other
electrical activity on Mars (noted in prior Pictures of the Day) affect
our perception of the Red Planet in the ancient myths?

*
EXECUTIVE EDITORS: * David Talbott, Wallace Thornhill*         
MANAGING EDITOR:* Amy Acheson
*  CONTRIBUTING EDITORS:* Mel Acheson, Michael Armstrong, Dwardu
Cardona, Ev Cochrane,
Walter Radtke, C.J. Ransom, Don Scott, Rens van der Sluijs, Ian Tresman
*  WEBMASTER:* Michael Armstrong

Copyright 2004: thunderbolts.info