JOURNEY TO THE NORTH. SCOTLAND

The Greek philosopher Empedocles, in his work “On Nature”, talks to us about two personified forces. “Philotita” and “Neikos”. Love and hatred. Peace and war. The “opposites” of Heraclitus, another Greek Philosopher. “Philotis” brings the elements together as any kind of natural attractive force and as any kind of force of reconciliation with the self and the others. “Neikos” separates them as any kind of force of natural repulsion and of conflict with the self and the others. In “On the Soul”, Empedocles mentions that people are exiled from their blessed dwelling place because of “Neikous”. They wander from place to place until they act fairly and then they will find themselves back in the place where they come from. In Plato’s work “Politeia or On Justice” it is stated that Fair is recovered through VIRTUE and the “Logistikon” is the blessed place, that is part of the soul which is also our true nature.

Within this perpetual cycle of movement of the two forces, we, humans as part of the creation, are also aligned and we act either with “Neikos” or with “Philotita”. “Neikos” separates us first from our nature and then from all the creation. “Philotis” unites us first with our nature and then with all the creation.

We choose VIRTUE that aligns us with “Philotita” and we travel! We travel and we look for that we are missing and which “Neikos” has separated us from! The countries, the landscapes with their scents and their sounds, the nations, the traditions, the cultures, and the musics interact with the psychic burden of the human. The Greek philosopher Democritus tells us that the sensation and the cognition are functions of the soul which is the source of our bliss. There in the very depths of existence the fermentations take place, and the human, on his return from every journey, has traveled into the depths of his existence. Where the final destination is.

We traveled to Scotland, we reached the Highlands and the Orkney Islands!

The history, the myth, the legend, the fantasy, the images from the small and big screen, created attraction and questions about this place. Route by train from Edinburgh to Inverness and from there at the edge of Scotland, where the land ends and the countless islands spread out like a painting in the North Atlantic Ocean!!!

The beauty of the Highlands, unique and unprecedented. Forests of small-large trees, hills pink and purple  from the blooming heather, rivers, lakes, swamps covered with green thyssans, the sea with steep cliffs which were coloured sometimes, and deserted beaches with piles of seaweed. Endless meadows where herds of oxen, buffaloes, sheep and goats were grazing carelessly and undisturbed. Now and then, deer would appear to fill in the living presence in places where people were nowhere to be seen. The places are so sparsely populated. Scattered lonely houses and castles, small settlements gave the sensation that nature and people are in harmony and undisturbed serenity!

On top of a hill in the town of Stirling, a monument stands which is dedicated to the patriot Wallace, a symbol of the Scottish people’s fights for Freedom! A huge sword half-nailed in the ground of the park of the same city, waiting for centuries for the knight to take it out. Guinevere, Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table emerge from the myth where the legendary King Arthur is glorified. Perhaps behind the myth lies the universal human agony and potentiality for a world more rightful than the one we live in.

Boating on the Loch Ness lake. The scenery was magical and of course we didn’t see the monster Nessie. We cogitated, if it really existed beneath those calm waters and if it appeared on the surface, it would destroy everything. This image is like the peaceful man you admire for that, and suddenly he turns into another, wild, aggressive one. Could it be that there is a monster hiding inside the souls of people, as Greek mythology mentions, and it emerges in some challenges?

When we arrived at the Orkney islands or Orcades Islands we were enchanted! An isolated place, mysterious!!!! We stayed in Mainland, the largest island of the Orcades in a beautiful pension in Kirkwall. UNESCO has designated the Mainland Island as a World Heritage Site. The Ring of Brodgar consists of large ortholiths in a circular arrangement. These mysterious giants have stood for centuries in an isthmus between two lakes, defying the ravages of time, waiting for their story to be revealed!

With awe and joy we took the boat back. Infinite sensations, as well as questions. We focused on the one that dominated our minds and hearts. Why we are so enchanted by this place. It was the landscape, the friendly attitude of the Scottish, the monuments that prove the existence of life since 6,000 BC, the music from the bagpipe… the narratives of the Greek philosopher Hecataeus of Abdera “…that the British are also called hyperboreans…”, the Greek geographer Pausanias “…for the hyperboreans who established the Oracle of Delphi…” or the also Greek geographer and explorer Pytheas the Massaliote “…that Celtus was the son of Hercules…” .

In Edinburgh, on a hill in the city, stands the “National Monument”, an unfinished temple with 12 columns, which was intended to be a faithful copy of the Parthenon. Our journey was completed in the town’s small square, where the statue of Alexander the Great with the Bucephalus stands. Work of a Scottish sculptor for 180 years now!!! The answers to the questions have come and they will come as we cogitate and we align ourselves with “Philotita”. According to the dictionary of the ancient Greek language LIDDELL&SCOTT, “philotis” = love.

Note. This article touches infinitesimally on major fields of knowledge. Aim for skepticism.

WITH VIRTUE,
MARIA TERZAKI