The Logos: The Meletic Testament (Chapter 7 The First Temple)
Lorient Montaner
📜 Chapter 7: The First Temple
1. It began not with mere stone that revealed its design or pillars, but with curious silence that witnessed its foundation.
2. A silence that had settled over Athens like trickling dust—thick, unspoken and waiting.
3. Asterion had returned months earlier from his exile, and the city had begun to stir anew.
4. Not loudly, but deeply with the talk of his philosophy. The thought of a Meletic temple had occupied our mind.
5. Thought was waking again in the minds of the inquisitive Athenians who were intrigued by Asterion.
6. We sat beneath the olive tree, the same one that had shaded his exile during his absence.
7. A student named Naubolos who had joined us asked—If Meletic thought is important, should it not have a temple?
8. Asterion smiled, not with pride, but with a studious look in his face as he listened to the question.
9. A temple must never become a tomb for thought—he said then paused before continuing.
10. He told us that it must breathe, question, and remain unfinished. It is not merely a building to erect.
11. I asked him afterwards with curiosity of my own—What would such a place look like if it was built?
12. He replied—It would not look like anything like the Pagan temples—it would be different. It would have a presence like no other.
13. I was not certain what he meant by a presence like no other—Are you referring to To Ena, the One?
14. ‘Yes. What good is a temple, if we do not respect it with the source that gave it its inspiration?—He responded.
15. That was the foundation to which the temple would be erected and remembered.
16. We walked the city together, searching not for grandeur, but for the ideas we had conceived.
17. A certain rise beyond the academy caught his eye—open, wind-swept and forgotten.
18. This place listens. It has a unique presence that I have not found elsewhere, except the grove—he said with a sudden joy in his expression.
19. It had once held a shrine to Mnemosyne, the ancient goddess of memory and mythology.
20. Asterion placed his hand on the soil—Let memory be our foundation, and questioning our altar.
21. The magistrate approved the site without ceremony. He approved and welcomed the Meletic temple.
22. He had come to trust Ariston’s silence and humbleness more than most men’s speeches that he was accustomed to listening.
23. The builders arrived afterwards—philosophers and carpenters with chisels, sceptics and students with hammers in their hands.
24. They argued over every curve, every stone, every inscription, as if it was of their own creation.
25. Asterion encouraged the exchange of ideas—Let the building itself provoke thought in all of you.
26. The structure grew slowly and deliberately then. It was a testimony of Asterion's determination and desire for us to be its guardians.
27. The walls were uneven, the columns asymmetrical, but the temple was our own to respect, not to own.
28. It did not impress the naysayers—it invited those individuals who sought its purpose with their intent.
29. The entrance bore no elegant doors, only open arches that protruded over the doors that were shaped as the doors that open to philosophy.
30. Above them, carved in stone: ‘Enter not to believe, but to enquire. And then below it were the words, 'This is not a place of faith, but of fate'.
31. Inside, no altars, no idols that were built as tokens of worship to the Pagan gods or the Christian god.
32. Only concentric circles of stone benches, facing inwards. In front at the centre was a circle of light that had two other circles surrounding it that were the Logos and the Nous. The circle of light represented the oneness of To Ena, not the appearance of To Ena.
33. Let us face each other like men and women of Meleticism who have gathered together—Asterion said.
34. The ceiling was left wide open to the sky above as was our intention, when it did not rain.
35. He told us to let the stars be our fresco today and tomorrow. Why should we ignore the beauty of the cosmos?
36. I asked him —Shall this be a temple only? Or is it something more than that in its essence?
37. He replied—It is a pause in the noise—a place where thought can hear itself, shaped in the form of a temple. A place where we can connect with To Ena.
38. I asked him—Will people even come without us asking them? I am curious to know that answer.
39. He looked at me then said—Only if they are brave enough to be defy the gods that they fear.
40. That became then the motto of the place. At first, few had come to the temple, but then more did. Even the brave slaves who defied their masters.
41. We proceeded to inscribe questions into the walls—not answers that did not challenge the mind.
42. What is the truth without any doubt to be expressed?
43. Can silence be wise without the need for action?
44. Is exile a vast place, or only a mere condition of being?
45. Visitors traced them with their fingers, as if trying to feel the shape of thought expressed through the inscriptions.
46. Asterion refused to let his name be carved anywhere. As was the case with him, he did not seek nor ask for praise.
47. He believe that no voice should be louder than the question that birthed it. Who was he to silence the importance of enquiry?
48. But beneath the central bench, I carved his words, as a sign of the wisdom passed down onto us.
49. 'Let thought be natural, but never untouchable. If we allow our minds to believe in the supernatural, then we are forsaking our minds'.
50. That inscription remains, weathered but clear to be seen. It was a powerful admission by Asterion.
51. The temple was completed at dusk, at last. We all then rejoiced, as we stared at the temple.
52. There was no ceremony, no procession that was performed. Only, the appreciation of our effort.
53. The gathering of voices, seated in a circle beneath the open sky reminded us of our unity with To Ena.
54. Asterion stood in the centre, not above us, but amongst us to speak to us. Not as a master would of his slaves, but of a teacher would of his students.
55. He asked—What is the actual purpose of a temple that does not pray or worship?
56. A young woman replied—To remind us that thought itself belongs to us, not to a god.
57. He nodded with a smile on his face, and the temple breathed its first truth revealed not by scripture nor scroll, but by revelation.
58. The wind then passed through the arches like a whisper, as if it too rejoiced with us.
59. And Athens, for the first time in years, listened without fear of consequences or actions.
60. The temple had begun—not as a building, but as a question that would linger in the minds of its guardians.
61. In the days that followed, the temple did not stand still—it breathed the souls of people.
62. People would continue not to come in massive crowds, but in pairs, in threes, in quiet curiosity.
63. They did not kneel like the Christians would before their god. They sat and then meditated, as they listened to their thoughts.
64. They did not chant like the Christians. Instead, they connected with To Ena, the One.
65. And in that unique connecting, the temple found its inner voice and inner peace as well.
66. A merchant asked me the question that I did not expect—Can profit be truly ethical?
67. A child asked me then—Why do grown-ups lie?
68. A widow asked me with serious look in her eyes—Is grief a kind of exile?
69. Asterion listened to each of them, never answering with pride, only responding with wisdom.
70. Let the question be your teacher. For questions are what teach us to search for answers—he said to them.
71. The magistrate returned alone to asked questions to Asterion, knowing that he confided in his knowledge.
72. He sat at the edge of the circle contemplative and waiting, his robes folded, his eyes open.
73. He asked the magistrate the following question—Is justice merely a structure or a truth to be sought?
74. Asterion replied—It is a structure built that reveals the truth. It is when we forget that truth that it becomes injustice.
75. And the magistrate nodded, not as ruler, but as student willing to hear the wisdom of a philosopher.
76. The temple became a rhythm in the city’s breath, and it was the conversation that many people were discussing.
77. Merchants debated ethics before opening their stalls. Their conversations were philosophical.
78. Poets recited verses that were once lyrical, but had become philosophical in their nature.
79. Children played philosopher, mimicking Asterion’s cadence and his manner of expression.
80. The temple was no longer only a place to gather—it was a genuine place for a practice that had developed into Meleticism.
81. I watched as the questions carved into the walls began to change people's minds and character.
82. They did not answer those questions—instead, they carried them in their minds to answer later.
83. The questions were—Verily, can silence ever be wise?
84. —Is exile a place, or merely a condition we impost unto others?
85. These questions echoed profoundly in the temple, in homes, in the academy itself.
86. Asterion refused all honours bestowed upon him by the people, who had seen his humbleness. After all, he was a man who had given everything of commodities in life, to embrace his journey towards To Ena.
87. Let my words live in the minds of people, not in the marble that men construct—he said.
88. He thought only of the continuation of the temple, not knowing how long it would endure physically.
89. This was a concern of his, since he knew there were zealots amongst the people of Athens.
90. He instructed me afterwards to not antagonise the Pagans or Christians in public as much.
91. One morning, a curious sculptor named Lampos came to the Meletic temple. He told Asterion the reason what he had come.
92. He had heard of Asterion’s refusal to be honoured and wanted to understand his reasoning.
93. —Why do you reject the honours given in your behalf? I have met no man in my life, who would reject such gratitude?
94. Ariston stared into his eyes then replied—It is not become I am not grateful for the honour. It is because stone forgets. Thought remembers.
95. The sculptor stayed to listen to him speak, and he never carved again for only mere profit.
96. The temple’s ceiling remained open for the most part; opened to the breath of nature.
97. Rain sometimes fell through it, but no one complained. The people gathered inside the temple understood.
98. Let the sky interrupt us, with a little fall of rain. Who are we to tell nature what to do?—Asterion said to the people.
99. Let the stars that shine above us, remind us how small our fears and concerns are truly—he ended.
100. And so we sat together, beneath the weather and the wonder that was nature itself.
101. A group of students began meeting there at dawn. The temple was a safe place for them to gather.
102. They called themselves the Circle of the Unfinished. They were the future generations of Meletics.
103. Their only rule was to never leave with the same opinion they arrived with in the first place.
104. Asterion visited them often, not to lead them, but to listen to their questions and attempt to resolve their dilemmas.
105. You are present before me, are the temple, not the stone that stands—he told them.
106. I then began recording the fascinating dialogues held by them there in the temple.
107. Not to preserve them only, but to reflect upon them, as a measure of their relevance.
108. They were not teachings to be imposed—they were invitations to all who came and left inspired.
109. Invitations to wrestle, to wonder and to remain committed to the path of enlightenment.
110. And in that, they were philosophical and welcoming to newcomers and even sceptics who came.
111. A lone traveller from Antioch arrived, curious and sceptical. He came to speak to Asterion.
112. He asked the question—Is this a temple or a theatre of spectacle? I wonder which of the two it is.
113. Asterion replied afterwards—It is a stage for the soul, if the soul dares to speak. The temple does not require performers, it requires humbleness.
114. The traveller stayed for a week, and left with fewer answers than he came with before.
115. He called it the most honest place he had ever known. Telling others of his experience with Asterion.
116. The academy began sending students to the temple, as the temple began to find its grounding in Athens.
117. Not for mere instruction to be passed on to others for learning, but for contemplation.
118. Let your minds contemplate life. After all, it is life that must be contemplated—Ariston told them.
119. And they returned changed each one of them—not corrected, but wise in their knowledge.
120. That was the temple’s quiet power and influence over people who believed not in faith, but in fate.
121. The temple did not grow in size like the great temples built for the ancient gods, but it did in gravity.
122. It would pull minds towards it, like the moon pulls tides during a moonlight shiver.
123. Not by any divine decree given by a god, but by the desire and need to be present.
124. Not by any law of man ordered, but by the longing that grew with the intellect of people.
125. Artists began painting questions instead of scenes that revealed the essence of Meleticism.
126. A mural appeared near the agora that depicted a unique form that represented Meleticism.
127. A man staring into a mirror that reflected a stranger personified the reality of our mortality.
128. Beneath it all was the one question: 'Who are you when no one is watching us?'
129. A playwright abandoned his latest tragedy to write about philosophy, as if it was deserving of attention.
130. He said to Asterion—I cannot write endings anymore; for I have found a new inspiration.
131. Asterion smiled and told him—Then you are only beginning your path towards To Ena.
132. The play was performed with a reverential awareness, without the loud theatrics that were common.
133. The audience began to weep, not for the story itself, but for the remembrance it touched in their hearts.
134. Politicians came to the temple, some in secret, not revealing their true identities.
135. They asked questions they could not ask before the assembly. Questions that lingered in their minds.
136. —Is power a kind of living fear that one must suppress or seek to avoid?
137. —Can a law of man be just if it is unjust in its action or deed?
138. Asterion never judged anyone because they asked a question. He only asked—What would you do if no one watched?
139. One senator resigned, because he understood his mistakes in life and had regretted them.
140. He said—I have built already too many walls in my mind to walk with the guilt they carry.
141. He became a dedicated gardener of the temple, and served as another guardian.
142. His beautiful garden grew beside the temple. It was a garden that sheltered nature.
143. He called it 'The Place of Learning'. This name was given because of his acceptance of Meleticism.
144. The temple had no actual priests, no rituals to perform like the Pagans or Christians.
145. Yet it became a place to not only connect with To Ena, but to connect with others of the same belief and practice.
146. Not because it answered the prayers that many others sought, as the Christians or Pagans.
147. But because it taught people to find inner peace through meditation and the process of enquiry.
148. A lone woman named Selene came every morning to sit in silence and awaken her body, mind and soul.
149. She never spoke one word or uttered a hymn, never asked one question to Asterion.
150. One day, Asterion sat beside her attentively. He wondered what had brought the woman to the temple.
151. 'I must ask, what brings you here? It is the search for wisdom?—He asked politely.
152. She whispered to him—I come to remember who I am before the world tells me.
153. The temple’s influence was not loud and bustling like the agora, but that was the reason many people came.
154. It was like the wind through olive trees—felt, not seen. A wind that was present.
155. It did not demand any change or submission. It did not care whether one was a slave or a master.
156. It invited all those people who sought to be enlightened and changed in their experience with To Ena.
157. A sculptor named Maron returned, years after his first visit with a wisdom that he had gained from his first visit.
158. He brought no tools of his own to display, only a question that lingered in his mind.
159. —Can beauty exist without physical form? This has troubled me since my last sculpture.
160. Asterion replied with a smile on his face, as he did not hesitate in saying— Only in the Ousia, our true essence.
161. The temple’s walls began to wear with time, but this did not dissuade our gathering there.
162. The rain etched lines deeply into the stone, despite the roof being covered then.
163. The moss grew into the cracks that formed from the rain, as a vestige of its colour.
164. The temple would be repaired several times, but there were still areas that had noticeable cracks.
165. Let it age. Let it become what time makes of it—Asterion would tell the people who entered.
166. A philosopher from Delphi named Narkissos challenged Asteroion with a fiery debate that he sought to win.
167. —You teach people without any known doctrine. You lead without any foundation.
168. Asterion replied—I do not lead. I walk beside. It is you who speak of doctrine. And know that the foundation for which you stand upon now, is a witness to message.
169. The philosopher stayed for a season, amazed by the wisdom of Asterion and how he resonated with the common people. He did not discriminate; always humble in his actions.
170. The philosopher left with fewer books to take back, but more questions to ponder at length.
171. The children began carving their own questions into the stones that they had devised.
172. —Why do grown-ups forget so easily how to wonder about life?
173. —Is laughter a kind of truth that only children can ever understand?
174. Asterion was amazed by their intelligence, but he read them all with the intent to answer those questions.
175. These are the future’s philosophers that will guide the city when it is lost in its search—he said.
176. The temple became a visible mirror for the city of Athens and for the people who dwelt in it.
177. Not because of its absolute power the men coveted, but of its reflecting soul that it called upon.
178. It showed Athens not what it had built, as a towering monument of its glory attested.
179. Instead, what it had forgotten with the passing of empires and rulers who sought only the act of greed.
180. I watched as the academy changed as well in its appearance, and with its students who attended.
181. There was less certainty displayed, and more humility in the students that were present.
182. There were less answers to be explored, and more listening in the students that questioned.
183. Asterion never dared to enter its halls for the reward of mere praise or satisfaction.
184. Yet his presence was everywhere and felt by everyone there who knew him or was touched by him.
185. One evening, a raging storm came that was stirring in the horizon, as it had announced itself.
186. Lightning struck the temple’s edge with a brute force that had frightened some of the people inside.
187. A column cracked, as the lightning split it in half. People had expected the worse, but it did happen.
188. No one inside the temple mourned the occurrence; for they knew it was nature's tears.
189. Let it break naturally. Let it remind us that even the temple is vulnerable—Asterion said.
190. The Meletics did not claim Asterion was a divine prophet like the Christians did with others of their faith.
191. They remembered him with a fond reverence, but treated him with respect and honour.
192. Not as a prophet to praise as one of their own, but as a simple man with wisdom.
193. Not as a master to parade with pride, but as a mirror that reflected their truth also.
194. The temple stood visibly, weathered and worn in its structure, but it did not crumble.
195. And in its unique silence, it spoke with a resounding voice that all could hear clearly in their minds.
196. Not of the gods of the days of yore, but of pure thought that reminded people of their mortality.
197. Not of supreme power that belonged to a god or a king, but of immediate presence.
198. Not of impossible answers that could never be answered, but of the courage to ask.
199. And so as Athens changed with the presence of the temple, so did the minds of many people, who were once sceptics but then were Meletics.
200. Not by the order of a dogma or a god. Not by the rituals performed. Not by the allurement of faith. The Meletic Temple was a symbol of liberation.
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