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From: ted@imsvax.UUCP (Ted Holden)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: The Carnesian View of Mythology
Message-ID: <444@imsvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 26-Oct-85 08:39:10 EST
Article-I.D.: imsvax.444
Posted: Sat Oct 26 08:39:10 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 31-Oct-85 05:02:03 EST
Organization: IMS Inc, Rockville MD
Lines: 30


   The following two quotes, out of context, of course, are from two of
Richard Carnes' articles:


>Anyway, since I am studying ancient Greek
>history, I am looking forward to Ted's explanation of why I need to
>revise radically my ideas about this historical period.

>What is the evidence that the ancient myths about the reign of Kronos
>are referring to the *planet* Saturn?

Surely you jest?!  Did you think that when planets were discovered, say,
sometime in the middle ages, that people simply gave them names from
Greek and Roman mythology??  When you say you are studying "Greek", do
you mean exotic sexual practices?

The names of the planets, at least the visible ones, come to us from the dawn of
time; I'm just an ordinary businessman and even I know that.  Have you
never read Plato's dialogues, which clearly describe the planetary gods
as well as the "creator god"?  Have you never wondered how the ancients,
who had much close at hand to be afraid of, chose two tiny points of
light, Jupiter and Saturn, as the two most feared things in the
universe, and the two captains of their two sets of dieties, Titans and
Olympians?  I mean, if you were told to pick a chieftan of the gods from
the visible planets, with no knowledge of telescopes, based on the sky
which WE observe, would you not choose Venus?  It is much larger and
brighter looking than Jupiter and Saturn, at least in 1985.  Think about
a few of these things, before you write your next article on recognizing
"cranks".