Breaking the Chains
Page 11
From the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, when Crete ruled the waves of the eastern Mediterranean, merchants from Assyria were attracted to Anatolia. They built a chain of trading stations stretching from Ashur to the Konya Plain. Assyrian merchants established settlements in the suburbs of Anatolian cities, paid taxes to the native rulers, and intermarried with the Anatolians. The main Assyrian trading settlement in Anatolia between about 1920 and 1850 BC was at Kultepe. It was destroyed by fire on two occasions: 1850 BC and 1740 BC. A number of central Anatolian cities met a violent end at about the same time as the second fire at Kultepe (ancient Nesa). The destruction of Nesa marked the end of Assyrian trade in a number of Anatolian cities. The name Anatolia comes from the Greek word for east. Anatolia forms the greater part of Turkey between the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
In ancient times there was a city in western Turkey known as Acroenus. Today that city is known as Afyonkarahisar or Afyon. It is accessible from every major town in Turkey. Products from the agricultural district around the city include wheat, barley, and livestock. However, the main product from the district is reflected in the name Afyon. It means opium. The opium poppy, which grows to between three and sixteen feet tall, is an annual plant native to Turkey. Those who harvest opium do so through several small slits which they make in the immature fruit. Assyrian medical texts and herb lists mention opium. It was a product of interest to Assyrian traders in Anatolia. Because of its shape and content the fruit of the opium poppy can be compared to an apple or a pomegranate. Opium could have been used to induce the type of symptoms suffered by Re. The Archaeological Museum in Iraklion has in its possession a statuette of a snake goddess wearing a hat bearing opium apples complete with the slits necessary to harvesting. The statuette was found in the temple depository of Knossos. Opium appears not to have been known in either ancient India or ancient China.
Scholars accept there is evidence pointing to the use of opium in religious ceremony on the islands of the eastern Mediterranean area, Greece, and Mesopotamia from at least 3000 BC. Opium is an addictive drug. Addiction comes about as a result of the body adapting to the presence within itself of the drug being used. When the drug is withheld symptoms of withdrawal occur. These symptoms include: irritability, tremor, depression, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Withdrawal symptoms vanish if the drug is taken again. Isis could have used opium to secretly addict Re. Then Isis would only have needed to withhold the drug to induce ‘sickness’ in Re. The reintroduction of the drug into Re’s diet would have brought about a ‘cure’.
Anatolian people played an important role in the spread of early farming. It is possible farmers from Anatolia had a knowledge of opium when they settled Crete during the 7th millennium BC. Crop cultivation entered Egypt (from the Mediterranean end) after 5000 BC. The most important deity in that part of Egypt was the cobra goddess Buto. An opium using snake goddess could have been generated in Egypt or on Crete. Opium could have reached Egypt from Crete. Buto could have reached Crete from Egypt. Both countries developed shipping. Snake goddess worship could have spread far and wide in those ships. More than one sun-god or goddess may have been tricked into sharing power with the dragon.
Much remains unknown about Harappan civilisation. However, no evidence has been produced to demonstrate that a snake goddess played any part in Harappan civilisation. Nevertheless, the serpent is an important religious motif in modern India. Yogic tradition contains material that may connect with the serpent: union is achieved when the serpent power arrives at the chakra at the top of the head, and the use of the name Patanjali reflects a perceived relationship between Yoga and the great naga Shesa. The Indian snake goddess Manasa may be related to nagas. Hindu mythology refers to a time when nagas were more numerous, and the tradition that Brahma took action against nagas after they become too populous must have originated somewhere. It is possible that snake goddess worship reached the Indus Valley by ship. It is possible that snake goddess worship was significant to Harappan civilisation. It is possible that all knowledge of nagas reached India with Aryan invaders. Hindu mythology suggests Brahma’s followers came into conflict with nagas. That conflict could have taken place anywhere Brahma and his followers had been, including India, and could have involved Harappan religious beliefs.