By Philip Runia
*atop Mount Parnassus on a field assignment in Greece
The stories of the past present themselves to us through excavation, the uncovering of secrets once lost. We retell, mis-tell and immortalize these stories through preservation of the artifacts we find and replicate. The great myths of Ancient Greece are kept in this way, as a tangible storytelling. They are preserved and passed as a national heirloom, on display for the world to see, but not to touch — it is impossibly valuable. We communicate with the past this way, through story and stone. We find answers to the past, and hope, past bewilderment, for the future, as the oracle at Delphi did with the gods.
Here at the center, the navel of the earth, Zeus has thrown the chronological contradiction, this placebo usurper of Cronus’ kingdom. Omphalos, his saving grace from the aggression and paranoia of his father. It looks worn; time has taken its toll, demanding glory and power from its divine veneer. Thrown from Cronus’ stomach, and hurled from the heavens by Zeus, this stone appears at rest, situated within its world and history. As a result of this stone, a truly immortal Zeus defied the once-brutal feast to regurgitate and reinstate his family. This feat we memorialize within this fantastic story of the determination of Rhea, the mother of the gods.
We retell in its glorification of Zeus, we delight in our families, for Omphalos, here at Delphi, is the center of our world and the next. Here at the navel of the world, all things of value intersect. At Delphi there is sacrifice, treasure, faith, and family. Located by the cord or the call of eagles, echoes of lives past remain at this spot.
Towering marble once shimmering as drachma, or Omphalos, stone is a foundational currency. Life supporting, and valuable. A spiritual currency. Stone held a deceptive bartering power. Time eats at it, at legacy, posterity, in order to save itself, but to no avail. A great trade was once made, Rhea’s lie for a life, so that Zeus might live as his father swallowed stone to mix with the matter that makes a god. Eventually, mustard and wine followed to unsettle, unseat Cronus, proving that time himself must come to pass, though we may still be able to connect with those he has claimed.
Philip Runia 