Chapter 5: Mythical Evolution
With the anchor point confirmed, Lin Yun began to actively "filter" the surging, ceaseless images.
Chronos's chains of time were no longer cold rules, but "narrative units" that could be disassembled.
Just as he had analyzed in his papers, the evolution of myths in different periods bore different cultural symbols of their eras.
For example, Zeus's thunder was no longer an irresistible Divine Powerof thunder, but a "symbol System" representing power.
Orpheus's broken lyre strings, a tragedy from a human perspective, were "art transcending life and death" from an eternal perspective.
Both interpretations could coexist, like two sides of a coin.
The stinging sensation gradually receded like an ebbing tide.
The chaotic images also settled down.
They rearranged themselves in order on the "primordial time line."
Lin Yun "sighed" in relief.
If gods needed such a thing as breathing.
He looked at Ananke, and for the first time, truly understood her existence.
"Inevitable destiny... Did you know about the pain of this Fusion long ago?"
"Those who inherit the Original Godhead must undergo 'cognitive tempering.'"
Ananke's light and shadow flickered.
Her previously blurry outline became clearer.
One could vaguely discern the figure of a woman wearing a long robe, embroidered with flowing star charts.
"Some deities choose to abandon mortal memories and become pure Incarnations of rules."
"For example, Chronos, whom you saw, eventually became numb in eternity, forgetting how many Universes he had even created."
"Others are swallowed by mortal memories, their Godheads disintegrating into fragments of Chaos."
"Such as, a certain 'God of Forgetting' who only exists in legend; it is said his Followers later all turned into goldfish."
She paused, a rare hint of amusement in her tone.
"You chose 'both,' which is a variable in itself."
"And variables are precisely the most interesting part of 'inevitability.'"
Lin Yun was pensive, his gaze returning to the primordial time line.
At this moment, looking at the floating fragments again, his perspective was already different.
If before he was an "observer," now he was more like an "organizer."
He could clearly distinguish which belonged to the same System.
Which had regional differences, and which had been philosophically reconstructed... He stretched out his hand of consciousness and gently touched the fragments.
Instantly, countless pieces of information flooded his mind!
The fragments began to automatically sort into three categories.
The first category was core orthodox types.
Most prominent among them was the Olympus System, formed by Homer's epics and Hesiod's Theogony.
Golden light shimmered on that fragment.
Zeus's thunder boomed in the clouds, Hera's peacocks fanned their tails on rainbows, and Poseidon's trident stirred deep blue waves.
When Lin Yun "touched" this fragment, he could feel a strong "sense of order."
It wasn't rigid rules, but a dynamic balance filled with power struggles and Family grievances.
Like an endless drama.
The edges of the fragment were still clinging to some tiny "sub-fragments," which were later poets' continuations of the myths.
For example, the deconstructed Divine Power in Euripides' works, and the confrontation between heroes and fate in Sophocles' plays.
These sub-fragments intertwined with the main fragment like vines, making the entire System appear more three-dimensional.
Adjacent to the Olympus System was the core System of Orphism.
It emanated a deep blue halo, further divided into two branches.
One branch took Chronos as the creative Origin, with the cosmic eggand Phanes as core symbols; on the fragment, one could see the hermaphroditic god Phanes being born from the egg.
He held a torch and a scepter, surrounded by stars and seeds of life.
The other branch emphasized the primordial nature of Nyx.
This fragment was covered with starry skies and shadows, with Nyx's figure faintly visible in the darkness.
Her breath transformed into threads of fate, entwining the ankles of all existence.
There was a subtle crack between the two branches of fragments, indicating doctrinal conflict, but the crack was also filled with glowing, mycelium-like connections, hinting at some hidden link.
"These two branches have always been a point of contention within Orphism."
Lin Yun murmured.
He had specifically analyzed this divergence in his papers.
"Academia generally believes that the Chronos Origin is closer to primitive creationism, while the Nyx Origin might have been influenced by Eastern night goddess worship..."
"I just didn't expect that on the primordial time line, they truly are two parallel Veins, secretly 'intertwining.'"
He noticed the glowing mycelium slowly moving, seemingly trying to bridge the crack... The second category was regional variants.
These fragments varied in size and emanated different auras.
Like scattered pearls, they connected different corners of the ancient Greece world.
On the Athens fragment, the image of Athena was exceptionally tall.
She wore a war helmet, held a spear and shield, and stood atop the Acropolis, her gaze sweeping over the markets and temples below.
Olive branches and pottery patterns surrounded the fragment, and one could vaguely hear the debates in the assembly of citizens.
This was the mirror image of a "city-state of wisdom" shaped by Athenians through myth.
They closely linked Athena's birth to the city-state's Origin, even adding the plot of "contesting the city with Poseidon" in legends to prove that "wisdom is superior to strength."
Lin Yun also found some tiny legal provisions carved at the bottom of the fragment.
This was how Athenians attributed their legislation to divine oracles.
On the Sparta fragment, there was an aura filled with iron and blood.
Ares's shield and Heracles's lion skin occupied the central position.
The background was filled with the sounds of battle and warriors' shouts.
The myths here emphasized "valor" and "discipline" more.
Heracles was portrayed as a hero enduring humiliation, rather than the arrogant demigod in other versions.
Because this aligned more with the Spartan warriors' values of "honor above all else."
There were several arrow-pierced holes on the edge of the fragment, embedded with lead bullets.
This clearly indicated that later warriors had "participated" in this mythical reconstruction in their own way.
The Crete fragment, on the other hand, carried the salty taste of the ocean.
King Minos's crown and Poseidon's dolphins intertwined.
The pattern of the labyrinth faintly appeared on the fragment's surface.
The myths here retained more traces of the pre-Olympus period.
The image of the bull appeared repeatedly.
This was both an Incarnation of Poseidon and a totem of the Minoan civilization, hinting at the ancient belief of "coexistence of humans and gods."
Lin Yun even "saw" a figure wearing a modern diving suit deep within the labyrinth.
He held a camera and was taking photos of the murals.
This must be some archaeologist's obsession, seeping into the myth.
The Ionia fragment was softer.
Dionysus's grapevines and Apollo's lyre intertwined, full of natural vitality.
The people here preferred to sing praises to nature deities.
They transformed the changing seasons and the ebb and flow of tides into the playful antics of deities.
This made the myths less majestic than the Olympus System and more idyllically romantic.
This fragment also had a few dewdrops clinging to it, reflecting the profile of the 19th-century British poet Keats.
It seems pastoral literature also "colored" the myths here.
"Every city-state uses myths to write its own spiritual genes."
Lin Yun sighed with emotion.
Archaeological discoveries and documented records from Earth's memory now held new meaning.
The unearthed statues, altars, and inscriptions were all projections of these cosmic fragments in the human world, personalized interpretations of "divinity" by different civilizations.
Just like the statue of Athena on the Acropolis of Athens, its nose was deliberately smashed off and later repaired.
Every crack and patch was another creation of myth.
The third category was marginal and niche.
These fragments were more scattered and their light dimmer, yet they also contained unique power.
Like meteors in the night sky, brief but dazzling.
There were the legends of the Argonauts.
The story of Jason and the Golden Fleece was adapted to be full of romantic color.
Medea's image was no longer merely a vengeful sorceress, but gained a touch of dedication and struggle for love.
This was clearly influenced by tragic poets, combining myth with human complexity.
The fragment also had a few yellowed script pages clinging to it, remnants of Euripides' Medea manuscript, with stage directions marked by actors.
There were also popular legends of Dionysian revelry.
This was a wilder, more primitive god than recorded in orthodox accounts.
Dionysus was no longer the gentle deity on Mount Olympus.
But a leader who led his Followers in all-night revelries in the mountains and forests.
Grapevines entwined mad dancers, wine and blood mixed, exuding the unrestrained vitality and destructive urge of primal instinct.
This perhaps was closer to the Origin of Dionysian worship, a brief escape from the shackles of human reason.
Lin Yun "smelled" fermented grapes at the edge of the fragment.
Within it, there was even a hint of electronic music from a modern music festival.
It seems the core of such revelry has never changed with time.
There were also a few fragments emanating rational light.
Those were reconstructions of myths by philosophers like Plato.
In these fragments, deities were endowed with attributes of "ultimate good" and "ultimate beauty," stripped of too many mortal desires.
Zeus was no longer a lecherous tyrant, but became the "Origin of Good."
Athena's wisdom also transcended worldly schemes, becoming the Incarnation of "reason."
This was philosophers using myths to serve their doctrines, attempting to find an ethical basis for "divinity."
The fragment was covered with dense annotations.
Like a textbook that had been repeatedly studied, even a few lines of Aristotle's notes could be found.