The Tragedy of Herakles

Alas! alas! lament, O city; the son of Zeus, thy fairest bloom, is being cut down. Woe is thee, Hellas! that wilt cast from thee thy benefactor, and destroy him as he madly, wildly dances where no pipe is heard.

She is mounted on her car, the queen of sorrow and sighing, and is goading on her steeds, as if for outrage, the Gorgon child of Night, with hundred hissing serpent-heads, Madness of the flashing eyes. Soon hath the god changed his good fortune; soon will his children breathe their last, slain by a father's hand. (Euripides – Herakles)

In Part I of this series on Herakles, we looked at his triumphs, the Twelve Labours that set him down on the papyrus pages of ancient history as the greatest hero. He was a man of great strength, appetites, perseverance, and emotion. He traveled the world achieving feats that would have defeated any other man of his time.

The tales of Herakles’ heroics have inspired for centuries.

But, as with all tales from ancient Greece, triumph and tragedy go arm in arm in the hero’s life.

The Madness of Herakles

The tragedy of Herakles’ life actually began, as mentioned in Part I, before his twelve labours, when he was driven mad by Hera and ended up killing his wife, Megara, and their children.

Ah me! why do I spare my own life when I have taken that of my dear children? Shall I not hasten to leap from some sheer rock, or aim the sword against my heart and avenge my children's blood, or burn my body in the fire and so avert from my life the infamy which now awaits me? (Euripides – Herakles)

The twelve labours were a part of his atonement for this horrifying crime.

One would have thought that with the Labours he had paid the price, but that would be too easy. As we shall see in this brief post, Herakles would be made to suffer and live a life of rage and pain till the end of his days. There would be no sitting on his laurels.

As the following passage shows, even in the fiery realm of Hades, Herakles’ shade is dark and menacing, someone even the dead are afraid of:

Next after him I observed the mighty Herakles – his wraith, that is to say… From the dead around him there arose a clamour like the noise of wild fowl taking off in alarm. He looked like black night, and with his naked bow in hand and an arrow on the string he glanced ferociously this way and that as though about to shoot… (Homer - The Odyssey)

Herakles is often known as ‘Alexikakos’, the ‘averter of evil’, but this proved impossible when it came to himself.

Fight for the Delphic Tripod

He was often helping others, such as when in Hades, he found Theseus, another hero, in his punishment, and raised him up to be free back on Earth.

Did others often help Herakles?

Sometimes. During his labours, he did receive aid from Athena, Atlas, Helios, and from his cousin, Iolaus, but most of the time, he had to go it alone.

After the Twelve Labours, Herakles seems to have become a sort of fallen hero.

When he kills Iphitus, the son of Eurytus who had refused to give the hero the hand of his daughter, Iole, he becomes diseased because of the murder; this is a punishment from the Gods.

Herakles goes to the Oracle at Delphi, but the Oracle refuses to answer him this time. In a rage, Herakles attempts to steel the sacred tripod which Apollo tries to take back.

Herakles and Omphale

Zeus steps in to stop the quarrel between his two sons and the Oracle complies in giving Herakles an answer; he must sell himself into slavery for three years.

He is ‘bought’ by Omphale, a Queen of Lydia. It is during this time of servitude that Herakles joins the Argonauts, one of the most famous crews in history, in their search for the Golden Fleece. Even here, the hero is not allowed to be a part of the Argonauts’ success as he is left behind in Mysia to search for his friend, Hylas, who was abducted by water Nymphs.

Once his service to Omphale was settled, Herakles seems to have set out on a fit of vengeance to settle some old debts.

He raised an army with Telamon and sailed to Troy where he captured the city and killed King Laomedon. He also killed all the Trojan princes except Priam.

Laying siege to Troy

Other acts of revenge included killing King Augeas of Ellis, and his sons, who had refused to pay up for the cleaning of his stables.

Herakles then marched to Pylos to face Neleus who had refused to purify him of the murder of Iphitus who was a guest of Herakles’ in Tyrins at the time. Herakles slew Neleus and all twelve of his sons except Nestor who was away at the time, and who would be a part of the later Trojan War.

On top of all this, Hera did not relent in her persecution of Herakles. She sent storms to pursue the hero, but it is at this point that Zeus finally says enough is enough. The king of the gods suspends Hera from Mt. Olympus with anvils tied to her feet.

Then the Gods themselves need Herakles’ help at Phlegrae, in Thrace. The Battle of the Gods and Giants is one of the most widely depicted events in ancient Greek art. It is here that Herakles played a key role in aiding the Gods to victory.

But, exhaustingly, sadly, that is not the end for Herakles. It is not time to rest. He continues with his acts of vengeance, among them the sacking of Sparta, and the killing of Hippocoon and all his sons.

Our fallen hero has much blood on his hands at this point, but finally, after so much turmoil, he finds a measure of happiness in Calydon where he marries Deianeira, the daughter of King Oeneus. She is also the sister of Meleager, whom Herakles had spoken with in Hades on his twelfth labour.

Herakles fights Nessus
Florence 

While in Calydon, Herakles helps his father-in-law to defeat his enemies. He and Deianeira have several children together. She is beautiful, virtuous, and loves her husband dearly.

But the idyllic time is short-lived. At one point, Herakles accidentally kills King Oeneus’ cup bearer, and so he, Deianeira, and their children are forced to leave Calydon. They settle in Trachis.

On one part of their journey, they must cross the river Evenus. While he is crossing the river, it seems that Herakles entrusts his wife to the centaur, Nessus, who tries to rape her.

Herakles’ rage takes over and he kills Nessus with one of his arrows dipped in the blood of the Hydra.

Iole

As Nessus lays dying, he whispers to Deianeira that his own blood is a powerful love charm, and that she should take some and keep it hidden if ever she needed it.

Deianeira saves some of the centaur’s blood.

While in Trachis, Herakles helps his host King Ceyx, to defeat his enemies. It seems that kings were happy to host Herakles if he helped them to defeat their foes. Herakles then helped Aegiaius to fight and defeat the Lapiths, and in that conflict, he killed Cycnus, the son of Ares, in single combat, as well as wounding Ares himself.

Bent on vengeance once more, Herakles raises an army and marches against Eurytus who had refused him the hand of Iole. Herakles takes the young girl as his concubine and, along with many prisoners, brings her back to Trachis.

The springs of sorrow are unbound,
And such an agony disclose,
As never from the hands of foes
To afflict the life of Heracles was found.
O dark with battle-stains, world-champion spear,
That from Oechalia’s highland leddest then
This bride that followed swiftly in thy train,
How fatally overshadowing was thy fear!
But these wild sorrows all too clearly come
From Love’s dread minister, disguised and dumb.

(Sophocles – The Women of Trachis)

Deianeira in mourning

Deianeira realizes that her husband loves the quiet, beautiful Iole, and decides to use the supposed ‘love-charm’ of the centaur’s blood.

At this time, Herakles was in Euboea sacrificing to Zeus for his many triumphs over his enemies. He sent to Deianeira for his finest robe for the ceremonies. With this act of piety, Herakles seals his doom, for Deianeira smears the blood of Nessus on the robe thinking that it will make Herakles love her again.

The blood begins to eat into Herakles’ flesh like acid, killing him slowly.

When Deianeira hears from their son, Hyllus, what she has done, she kills herself in despair. The nurse to the Chorus:

When all alone she had gone within the gate,
And passing through the court beheld her boy
Spreading the couch that should receive his sire,
Ere he returned to meet him,—out of sight
She hid herself, and fell at the altar’s foot,
And loudly cried that she was left forlorn;
And, taking in her touch each household thing
That formerly she used, poor lady, wept
O’er all; and then went ranging through the rooms,
Where, if there caught her eye the well-loved form
Of any of her household, she would gaze
And weep aloud, accusing her own fate
And her abandoned lot, childless henceforth!
When this was ended, suddenly I see her
Fly to the hero’s room of genial rest.
With unsuspected gaze o’ershadowed near,
I watched, and saw her casting on the bed
The finest sheets of all. When that was done,
She leapt upon the couch where they had lain
And sat there in the midst. And the hot flood
Burst from her eyes before she spake:—‘Farewell,
My bridal bed, for never more shalt thou
Give me the comfort I have known thee give.’
Then with tight fingers she undid her robe,
Where the brooch lay before the breast, and bared
All her left arm and side. I, with what speed
Strength ministered, ran forth to tell her son
The act she was preparing. But meanwhile,
Ere we could come again, the fatal blow
Fell, and we saw the wound. And he, her boy,
Seeing, wept aloud.

(Sophocles – The Women of Trachis)

Back on Euboea, Herakles, in great pain, knows it is his time and has a pyre built for himself on Mount Oeta. He climbs up onto the pyre and asks for help lighting it.

But no one will help the hero.

Poor Herakles…

Finally, a passing shepherd by the name of Poeas, who is looking for his sheep, decides to help Herakles. As a gift, Herakles gives Poeas his great bow and arrows.

Now my end is near, the last cessation of my woe. (Sophocles – The Women of Trachis)

As the pyre burned, thunder raged in the sky, and Herakles is taken to Mt. Olympus to join the ranks of the Immortals.

The Apotheosis of Herakles

After all the pain and hatred, he and Hera are finally reconciled, and he is married to Hebe, the Goddess of Youth.

As an eternal monument to his long-suffering son, Zeus sets Herakles in the stars where he kneels to this day.

Before I had written these posts, I had never looked at the triumph and tragedy of Herakles as a whole. I had grabbed at bits and pieces of his life for inspiration, for short story, for entertainment, like a literary carrion crow.  

But the epic life and journey of Herakles, as a single life lived, leaves me breathless and shaking with emotion.

After his initial madness and the slaying of Megara and his children, death and the burning halls of Hades might have been an easier path than the one he took.

I don’t think immortality was ever Herakles’ goal.

How might Herakles have felt, remembered as he is after his apotheosis?

To have travelled so far, to have lived, and loved, and fought, and conquered, and suffered enough for many lifetimes… is a thing unimaginable to this mere mortal as he types these words.

Herakles’ life is not only the stuff of legend, it is the essence of art, and poetry, of lesson, and of inspiration.

As Theseus, in Euripides’ play, says to Herakles when he finds his friend mourning his dead wife and children:

Yea, even the strong are o'erthrown by misfortunes.

Thank you for reading.

The Herakles Constellation 

If you would like to read more, follow the links below to get free downloads of the following works:

The Women of Traches and Philoctetes by Sophocles

Alcestis and Heracles Euripides

For coherent histories of Herakles’ life you can view the works of both Apollodorus and Diodorus Siculus on theoi.com.

Sailing the Wine Dark Sea - An Interview with Author, Glyn Iliffe

I've got a real treat for everyone this week. 

Over the years, I've read a lot of historical fiction/fantasy novels set in the ancient world. I've enjoyed most of them, but there is one series of books that makes me say 'Yes! That's how it's done!'

I first picked up King of Ithaca while roaming my public library's stacks looking for some new fiction. I thought the take on Odysseus' well-known story sounded intriguing, so I took it home and gave it a try. 

I'm so glad I did! It's one of the best historical fantasy novels I have EVER read (and I don't say that lightly). The male and female characters were so real, the world of Mycenaean Greece so vivid, that I was just drawn into the tale. From there, I went on to devour the other books. 

And now, there is a new book in the series entitled, The Oracles of Troy. 

Today I'm very happy to have author Glyn Iliffe on Writing the Past to talk about history, writing, and the fantastic world of The Adventures of Odysseus. 

WP: What got you interested in historical fiction in the first place? Was it a particular book?

GI: Writing historical fiction is just a marriage of two of my favourite things: writing and history. I’ve wanted to be an author since primary school. Nothing else appealed then or has since. The love of history comes from my dad. He was in the army before I was born, but he had shelves full of books about military history. I read these enthusiastically and it’s probably still my preferred branch of history to this day, even ahead of ancient Greece. In my younger days I was more a fantasy fiction fan (Tolkien and Edgar Rice Burroughs were top of my list), but I still remember the first histfic novel I read was The Happy Return by C S Forester. As far as characters go, Hornblower is a masterpiece.

WP: You really bring a place to life in your writing. Have you travelled to all the places you have written about, and how important do you think travelling is for writing historical fiction/fantasy?

GI: I’ve travelled to most of them - Ithaca, the Peloponnese, Mycenae, Delphi and so on - and I found it a real help to get an understanding of the lay of the land. But it still needs a lot of imagination to describe these places as they might have appeared in the Bronze Age. One difficulty is that the Trojan War occurred a very long time ago and the geography, flora, fauna and weather have changed somewhat in the three thousand or so years since then. The great bay in front of Troy silted up hundreds of years ago, for example. Another issue is that I’m trying to recreate the mythological/historical world described by Homer. If you read his descriptions of Troy you get the impression of a vast city housing many thousands of people. He fills you with a sense of awe. The actual site of Troy, though, is quite small and doesn’t lend much to the imagination. So I tend to exaggerate all the towns and cities I describe to give them the glory and majesty they would have been viewed with at the time. If I didn’t most modern readers would be a little underwhelmed.

WP: There are so many larger-than-life characters in the Iliad and Odyssey. What made you pick Odysseus from among the rest?

GI: Several reasons, all of them good. The original plan was to tell the story of the Trojan War in its entirety, from cause to conclusion. It wasn’t intended to be a series about one character, I just wanted to help people form a wider and deeper understanding of the whole tapestry of myths rather than the best known elements such as Helen of Troy, Achilles and the Trojan Horse. As with most series, though, I needed a character to tell the story through. Odysseus was the best choice for this. He was there when Helen was married, he was one of the key players throughout the ten years of the war and - very importantly - Homer gives him an epic poem all to himself for his journey home. No other character is present for the whole thirty-year span of the Trojan myth cycle. Besides that, he’s more complex than the likes of Agamemnon, Ajax or Achilles: a lowly king who has to work hard to earn his place at the top table; a thinker, schemer, orator and a warrior with more depth than some of his glory-seeking peers; a family man driven reluctantly from his home into a war he doesn’t want to fight; a character of dubious morality and yet somehow more humane than his contemporaries. All in all, with his strengths and weaknesses he is much more “modern” than the other Homeric characters, and that is key to engaging the reader.

WP: Academia often frowns on the popularization of history through movies, books and other media. How do you reconcile your academic background with your writing?

GI: Greek mythology carries a lot of baggage. On the one hand there’s a good deal of snobbery about it. I’ve had feedback from people on Amazon who are disappointed that I don’t take a high-brow approach to these stories. That doesn’t bother me, as I want my books to be accessible to anyone, not just those people who love ancient Greece. The most important thing is the story itself, and that’s where academic criticism falls down. Like all mythology, the original tales were designed to convey essential messages about the real world in a format that was engaging and entertaining. If I aimed my books at the academic level I think I’d be missing the true essence of what these myths are about.

On the other hand, I think Hollywood approaches Greek mythology at an angle that is far too low-brow. Clash of the Titans and the recent film about Hercules, for example, just want to project muscles, explosions and over-the-top monsters on to the screen. The sad thing is their multi-million dollar CG extravaganzas completely overlook the intelligence, emotion and basic humanity of these fantastic tales.

WP: What is your favourite historical fiction/fantasy novel (and why)?

GI: You said favourite, so I’m going to be honest. It has to be The Lord of the Rings. A boring answer, I know, especially for anyone looking for a new book to read. But it’s true. I re-read it every two or three years and I’m just drawn into a complete fantasy world that never disappoints (except for the fact they’re too short - after the Grey Havens I just want to keep reading).

WP: Do you envision yourself writing in Bronze Age Greece only, or are there other periods you would like to explore? Is there a historic person in particular whose story you would like to tell?

GI: I’m tempted by Heracles, but maybe not for a while. The historical period I’d most like to write about at the moment is the Great War. For much too long I’ve turned aside from studying this vital period in history because of the common perception that all the death and suffering was for nothing. There isn’t the same sense of futility with the Second World War. But a couple of years ago I started to explore the Great War a little more and now I’ve become hooked on it. Almost all the stereotypes I knew have been exploded and to be honest I feel I’ve been cheated for too long by modern interpretations. Worse still, I think the men who fought that war have been cheated. What I’d like to do is write a series of novels that attempts to honour the memory of those men and the reasons for their sacrifice. So instead of portraying a single historical person, I’d like to do justice to the soldiers who fought on the Western Front and perhaps dispel some of the purely negative mythology attached to them. The problem is that the market will be saturated with Great War novels for some time, so it might be difficult to find a gap.

WP: Many authors struggle for years to break out or get noticed, and from what you say on your website, you had just such an experience. In hindsight, is there anything you would do differently? Do you have any advice for new historical fiction/fantasy authors?

GI: Yes it took a while. I started writing King of Ithaca in 1999 and it was rejected 38 times before I was offered a contract in 2006. It hasn’t been much easier since, either. If I could go back to 1999 (or earlier) and give myself some advice, I would say “have more faith”. Writers need to believe in themselves to succeed. When sending a synopsis and sample chapters to a publisher or agent, they’re much more likely to pay attention if the writer sounds upbeat about the book and their own talents.

The first bit of advice I would give any historical writer is to remember that plot should be secondary to character. An exciting storyline can only go so far in engaging readers; it’s more important they care about the people you’ve created if they’re to continue to the last page. When a reader invests emotionally in your characters then, as an author, you’ve succeeded.

Another thing is that research is vital and takes time, but don’t feel the need to include everything you’ve learned in your story. You should do enough to feel comfortable with the place and era you’re describing, which will then come through in what you write. But don’t be tempted to bog the reader down with historical facts - leave that to the textbooks. Little details here and there should be enough to draw the reader in without hindering the flow of your story.

WP: Do you ever see your work being made into a movie? Who would play Odysseus and Eperitus?

GI: See my earlier comment about Hollywood. Obviously I’d be mad to turn down a movie offer, but judging by what has been done so far with Greek mythology I dread to think what Hollywood would do to my characters and storyline. I would love the books to be made into a US TV series, though. You just have to look at the quality of The Wire, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead to realize the storytelling power of this medium. As for actors, that’s a tough one. I can’t think of anyone who just fits either role. Damian Lewis is a good actor and a natural redhead so might be an interesting choice for Odysseus. And maybe Norman Reedus (Daryl in The Walking Dead) would be a good Eperitus - quiet, thoughtful and mean.

WP: Do you have any writing rituals that you would like to share? What is a typical ‘writing day’ like for you?

GI: Over the years I’ve learned I have a writing ‘sweet spot’ that occurs in the middle of the afternoon. I average around 2,500 words a day, most of which get written between 2pm and 6pm. Knowing that, I usually start my writing day (which is Friday - I have another job the other four days of the week) with a cooked breakfast at a café in town. It’s a very old fashioned place with high ceilings, sash windows and listed wallpaper from the 1920s, but it’s got a great atmosphere and serves wonderful food. I usually sit there until 11am drinking tea with a couple of friends, then head home to start the day’s writing. It still takes me a while to get settled and one pitfall I have to avoid is the temptation to look at e-mails, the internet or play games. It’s always best to jump straight in - the sooner I force my brain into writing mode the better. My worst writing days are when I haven’t had enough sleep. My best are when I have a clear outline of what I’m going to write, so I can just slip straight into it and let the pistons of my imagination get pumping.

WP: What is your next project?

GI: I’m busy sorting out a paperback version of The Oracles of Troy, the fourth in my Odysseus series. I’m also a third of the way through the fifth book, currently entitled The Voyage of Odysseus. That’ll take me into 2015, with editing and so on, and then it’ll be on to the final episode in Odysseus’s adventures. I’ve also written a teenage novel set in the modern era, which I’m hoping to send out to agents and publishers soon. Then there’s another teenage novel rattling around my head that I’m quite excited about, but, as ever, it’s a matter of finding the time to get it on to paper.


I'd like to thank Glyn for taking the time to answer all my questions and give us some insight into his love of history and his writing life. 

I highly recommend The Adventures of Odysseus! The series will inspire you, make you rage, make you cry, and make you want to get stuck in there with sword, and shield, and spear alongside all the heroes that have haunted story and myth since that long-ago war beneath the walls of Troy. 

Be sure to check out Glyn's website to find out more about the series. You can also connect with him on Twitter. 

His books are available on both Amazon and Kobo. 

As ever, thank you for reading. 

In Insula Avalonia - Glastonbury Abbey

Springtime, as elusive as it is this year in Toronto, always reminds me of Glastonbury.

From my days In Insula Avalonia, I can still recall refreshing walks along the crest of Wearyall Hill, along the dragon’s back of the Tor, and down Paradise Lane through the squelching mud to the giants, Gog and Magog.

Spring is still a time of rejuvenation in this place. After the rains have stopped, the magpies and blackbirds are out, flitting from fence post to hedge row, squawking at passers by.

Everywhere you look, snow drops and bluebells are peaking out of the ground in satisfying clusters, the dew still thick on their tiny flowers if you happen to be out in the morning.

Nestled between Wearyall Hill, Chalice Hill, and the Tor, is another sanctuary – Glastonbury Abbey.

Model in the Abbey Museum

The Abbey grounds, like other sancturaries in town, are a place to get away to. You have to pay to get in, but once you walk through the arch, past another desendent of the Holy Thorn, and onto the green lawns surrounding these magnificent ruins, you are set to experience a whole new aspect of Glastonbury.

The ruins of what was once one of the largest abbeys in England rise up from the soft ground, sentry-still, surrounded by mist. ‘Majestic’ is a word I would use to describe the ruins, and ‘sad’. When you see the model of what the place looked like at its height of power and prominence, you understand.

Glastonbury abbey was not always such a soaring monument of Christianity. The lovely ruins that can be seen today are a medieval creation, the remains of which date from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries. But the place itself is said to be the site of the first Christian church and oldest religious foundation in the British Isles.

According to tradition, Joseph of Arimathea and his followers built a wattle church on the site on land he was given by the local king, Arviragus, around the middle of the first century A.D.

Circa A.D. 160, two Christians named Faganus and Deruvianus are supposed to have added a stone structure on the site of what is the Lady Chapel. It is here that there is an ancient well dedicated to St. Joseph.

The Lady Chapel c.1900

In the early days of Christianity in Britain, this first chapel and the well were the predecessors of the magnificent ruins of the abbey we see today. The Lady Chapel was the site of the first Marian cult in Britain, and in the words of Geoffrey Ashe “there is no rival tradition whatsoever. When all of the fantastic mists have dispersed, ‘Our Lady St. Mary of Glastonbury’ remains a time-hallowed title.”

In one of the Welsh Triads, Glastonbury is given the distinction of having a ‘perpetual choir’.

It was a place that Christians gravitated to. Indeed, several Celtic saints are said to have come here, including St. Bridget, St. David, St. Columba, and even St. Patrick whom some stories name as the first abbot of Glastonbury.

Walking the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey is a contemplative activity, like so many other spots In Insula Avalonia.

Abbey Cloisters

It is supremely peaceful and there are all manner of flora in the gardens to add to the calm. Great trees shiver overhead when a breeze blows into town from across the Somerset levels.

You can stroll the scant remains of the cloisters and up the nave with the abbey’s stone titans looming over you. In a couple spots, you can lift a wooden cover to reveal some of the colourful tiles of the abbey floor.

And then toward the transept you come to an unassuming outline in the grass with a plaque marking it. This is where you meet with one of Glastonbury Abbey’s most mysterious connections.  

Floor Tiles

In 1184 a fire ravaged the abbey and the monks needed to rebuild. Around the time of the fire, a Welsh bard is supposed to have revealed to King Henry II that King Arthur himself was buried within the abbey grounds.

The king passed this information on to the Abbot of Glastonbury who later ordered excavations to be carried out. In 1191, it is said that the monks found the bones of a man and a woman in a hollowed out tree trunk who were none other than Arthur, and his queen, Guinevere.

With the remains was a lead cross with the words ‘Hic Jiacet Sepultus Inclytus Rex Arturius in Insula Avallonia’ which translates as ‘Here lies buried the renowned King Arthur in the Isle of Avalon’.

The Arthur Cross

The Elizabethan antiquarian, William Camden, did a sketch of the Arthur cross in the early 17^th century.

A lot of doubt has been cast on the monks’ discovery with many believing that it was a hoax created by the monks to boost tourism through pilgrimage. The remains were treated as relics and later moved within the abbey during the reign of Edward I in the early 13^th century.

It is important to note that the archaeologist who excavated the abbey in the 1960s, Dr. Ralegh Radford, indicated that the monks’ story might not have been that far-fetched, and that there was indeed a person of great import from the correct period buried in the graveyard just south of the Lady Chapel.

The Abbot's Kitchen

As with all things In Insula Avalonia, belief is always a part of the great equation.

There are other buildings associated with the abbey too, including the Abbot’s Kitchen where the Benedictine brothers would have prepared meals, and the Abbey Barn which is now home to the Somerset Rural Life Museum.

The site is lovely and inspiring. Tradition on the abbey grounds goes back ages to the very roots of Christianity in Britain and beyond.

As I would sit on a bench, listening to the birds and the breeze, gazing upon the ruins, I would imagine St. Joseph arriving with his followers and picking out the spot for that first chapel. Perhaps they had something in common with the druids and priestesses of the goddess who might have already been there? Perhaps a common yearning for peace and truth?

It is sad that Henry VIII robbed us of the physical beauty of Glastonbury Abbey in the great Dissolution. The last abbot was dragged to the top of the Tor and beheaded by the King’s henchman, Cromwell.

For this place to function peacefully and unmolested from its earliest time, through Saxon incursions and Norman invasions, speaks to its agreed importance over the ages.

The majesty of this place may lie in ruins now, but its spirit and mystery certainly remain intact.

Thank you for reading.

To learn more about Glastonbury Abbey, visit the Abbey website HERE.