The Logos: The Meletic Testament (Chapter 8 Destruction Of The Temple)

📜 Chapter 8: The Destruction Of The Temple

1. In the age when the cicadas sang of wisdom, the Meletic Temple rose like thought made into stone.
2. It stood not for the ancient gods, nor for man's pursuit of wealth, but for the quiet pursuit of the truth.
3. Asterion, my teacher, would say—Let the mind be your altar, and reason your offering.
4. The columns reached skywards, as if they were in natural dialogue with the stars that shone above.
5. Beneath its dome, the air was always thick with contemplation and presence of people.
6. We did not kneel like the Christians would do—we questioned as we stood the pursuit of the truth.
7. The Meletic flame burnt in every scroll, every syllable uttered in the pursuit of clarity too.
8. Seekers came from Delos, from Rhodes, from distant shores—not to worship, but to wonder.
9. At last, a temple of thought, where silence speaks louder than prayer ever would—they called it.
10. I, Heromenes a student of Asterion, walked its marble paths with bare feet and an open mind.
11. Asterion taught beneath the fig tree, his familiar voice calm as the Aegean at dawn.
12. To not seek answers, seek better questions instead to inspire your minds daily in thought.
13. The Temple was the polis of our souls and the exchange of wisdom that was expressed daily.
14. No incense clouded the air—only the breath of discourse amongst people who believed in Asterion's philosophy.
15. We debated the nature of time, the illusion of permanence, the ethics of virtues, the meaning of existence, and the Logos, the Nous and To Ena.
16. The walls bore no idols that were carved into stone, only the inscriptions of paradox.
17. 'All is flux, yet the flux itself is constant in its presence and flow', read one.
18. Asterion smiled at that contradiction—it was, to him, the birthplace of human insight.
19. The temple’s foundation was laid not only by the masons of the city, but by wise minds who devise it.
20. Each stone was chosen for its resonance with thought and meaning that was attached to Meleticism.
21. The central chamber echoed with the knowledge of philosophers who many were not born philosophers.
22. We did not fear ignorance—we invited it in, offered it wine, and asked it to speak on its behalf.
23. The temple was a great refuge for those people who sought its important influence.
24. Asterion’s robe was simple in its garment, his wisdom vast and incomparable in its essence. He was a modest man, who some people would interpret as poor.
25. The cosmos is not a riddle to be solved like a labyrinth, but a poem to be read aloud—he said.
26. I remember the familiar scent of parchment and olive oil that pervaded over the entrance to the temple.
27. The scribes moved like rhythm, transcribing the thoughts of the day of his philosophy.
28. The temple’s library was a place of insight and knowledge that many persons sought to study.
29. No book of Meleticism was sacred in the temple—only the act of reading prevailed.
30. We honoured the dead not with built tombs, but with remembrance and dialogue. This is how we honour their memory.
31. People gathered not for religious sermons at the temple, but for the beginning of discourse, and then meditation.
32. Asterion believed that our awareness was indeed, the highest form of acuteness known to humans.
33. Speak only when your words improve the stillness that your awareness reveals, he taught.
34. The temple was not immune to time, but it defied haste and the scorn of the zealots.
35. The Children played in its courtyards, asking questions that baffled sages, but not Asterion.
36. Why does the sky not fall?—One asked. Asterion replied—Because it listens instead.
37. The temple taught us to listen closely—to the wind blow, to each other, to ourselves as well.
38. Its stones held the lasting memory of every footstep taken in its path to enlightenment.
39. The Meletic way was not merely a path—it was also a direction towards To Ena.
40. We did not wander to the temple—we arrived. Some of us with curiosity, whilst others with intention to learn.
41. The temple’s beauty lay not in symmetry, but in the wisdom it reflected with its followers.
42. Asterion’s final lecture before the destruction of the temple was on the theme of impermanence.
43. Even this temple he told us, would one day be dust, but the thought it housed will echo forever.
44. I did not understand then his poetic words expressed so eloquently, but I do now, as I remember the temple.
45. The temple was more than a place—it was a possibility of human growth for all who came.
46. And in its halls, we glimpsed what it meant to be truly human in life and brethren to each other.
47. Not in worship of a god, but in the wonder of humanity that had brought people together in the temple.
48. Not in the certainty of a divinity that people chase, but in the seeking of wisdom men obtain.
49. Not in the silence of prayers that people grasp for, but in the shared silence of contemplation.
50. Thus, stood the temple as a lasting testimony of Meleticism—until the day it abruptly fell.
51. It began not with the roar of great thunder displayed, but with the shouting of the zealots that came.
52. The hill trembled—not from an earthquake, but from the sheer anger they had brought with them.
53. The zealots came, cloaked in senseless wrath or armed with the fire of their scriptures to guide them. They were led by Philiskos the Pagan, and Stephanos the Christian.
54. Pagans and Christians alike—united not by one belief, but by the fear of Meleticism.
55. They called us all heretics, even though we worshipped nothing that was a god in spirit or in flesh.
56. You dare to mock the gods with this temple. You deny Christ—they clamoured afterwards.
57. Asterion would confront them with wisdom not with anger—We do not go to your sacred places to question your gods or Christ. Why do you come to us, when we have not come to you?
58. And for that, they brought enraged ruin upon the pillars of the temple that represented is foundation.
59. Thus, the first torch struck the eastern colonnade that stood as the first one built.
60. The marble cracked then, like the bones on human flesh when pressed upon them.
61. The Meletic scrolls were torn apart with anger and fear, not read or understood by the zealots.
62. The library burnt with the fury of ignorance and the sense of threat they had imagined.
63. I saw the scrolls that others had written—consumed in a huge ball of flames that burnt quickly.
64. They shattered the sundial, as if to halt time itself as a witness to the destruction they had caused.
65. Asterion’s teachings were then trampled beneath the sandals of rage and ignorance.
66. There is no truth but ours—they shouted with errant vehemence expressed towards us.
67. But the truth, Asterion taught us, is not owned by anyone—it is approached with wisdom.
68. The fig tree where he once lectured was hacked to tiny splinters, left behind as a vestige of their zealotry.
69. Its roots bled into the mourning soil, like the precious memory of an ancient forefather.
70. I stood present amidst the chaos angry, unarmed but unyielding in my conviction.
71. Why do you destroy what does not threaten you?—I asked the mob of zealots that arrived.
72. Because it questions our faith or beliefs—they replied with faith or traditions that had blinded them all.
73. The temple’s bell rang once more—not for the discourse between us, but for the despair shown.
74. They shouted with a loud voice—Who is your god that you think is better than ours?
75. Asterion would confront them by saying directly—We worship no gods here. Know that.
76. They mistook his confession to be a blatant threat and denial. Thus, they acted against what he represented.
77. They mistook his wisdom for the defiance against their gods. Thus, they mocked our philosophy.
78. They mistook thought for rebellion against their beliefs. Thus, they screamed profanities.
79. The Meletic flame was extinguished—not by the wind, but by the mob of zealotry.
80. I saw a scribe clutching a half-burnt scroll, weeping not for the parchment, but for the question it held.
81. He asked the mob—Verily, what is justice to you, burning down a temple? This is what you define as justice?
82. The answer was lost in the smoke, and only the cheer of watching the temple burnt was expressed by them.
83. The courtyard, once filled with laughter and sounds of nature, echoed only with screams and weeping.
84. The zealots sang their hymns of glory, as they destroyed the temple in their act of violence.
85. Their voices rose like a victorious mob, but their minds would fall to the defeat of ignorance.
86. They called their justification an act purging the area from Meleticism, and they blamed Asterion for the encroachment upon their beliefs.
87. We called it injustice that could not be denied, but they called it justice to be done.
88. The temple’s stones were pulled down, one by one out of zeal and religious fervour.
89. Each collapse was a syllable of silence and a testimony of To Ena that they had sought to destroy.
90. The central chamber, where Asterion once spoke of impermanence, then crumbled.
91. I say to you all that even this temple that stands will one day be dust—he told us that before.
92. As he had predicted, the temple was left to the ruins of the memory it once created and retained.
93. But not by the passing of time as one would imagine its ruin—by the reign of terror that was afflicted upon the Meletics.
94. The zealots left no scroll unburnt as they left, no question unpunished, no pillar to stand on its own.
95. They feared what they could not answer with the truth that they were ignorant to see themselves.
96. They feared the mirror Meleticism that questioned their soul and their faith or belief.
97. I fled not in cowardice, but in preservation. I did not give them the satisfaction of seeing me weep.
98. For thought must survive the test of time, even if any stone does not eventually in its foundation.
99. I carried with me a single fragment of Asterion’s teachings, as a reminder of the refuge of the temple.
100. The fragment read the following, 'Let no man destroy what he does not understand’.
101. Thus, the temple was gone, but its echo remained in the hearts and minds its people.
102. It was in the minds of those people who had listened and gathered that the temple was honoured.
103. In the wise questions that could not be burnt so easily, by the wrath of the zealots.
104. In the silence that followed the shouting that was abrupt and a sign of their ignorance.
105. I wandered the streets of Athens afterwards, a philosopher without a temple of my own to enter.
106. The city had turned inwards, afraid of its own reflection. The zealots had begun to stir the division, amongst the Meletics and the Pagans and Cristians.
107. The agora was filled with fiery sermons, not dialogues that united people, instead of dividing them.
108. The air was thick with false proclamations that were thin and empty of enquiry and wisdom.
109. One day, I spoke to a young man about the topic of ethics—he asked if I believed in gods.
110. I believe only in To Ena, the One, which is not a god. It is the source of all existence that we know to be true—I replied.
111. He walked away afterwards, confused because he had never heard of To Ena, the One.
112. Confusion, Asterion taught me, is the beginning of enquiry. It is when the mind meets the soul.
113. I spoke to other Meletics—survivors of the temple’s fall who were uncertain of what would happen next to them.
114. We met in quiet corners in privacy, whispering thoughts to each other. We were cautious with our meetings.
115. We rebuilt our bond and unity at first—not with stone, but with speech and knowledge.
116. A new Meleticism, which was born of ruin would rise from the depth of the ashes of the destroyed temple.
117. It was not the temple, no altar, no its flame, but the spread of a message that Asterion had begun decades ago.
118. Through minds, meetings and the understanding of Meleticism, we continue to gather.
119. The zealots had won the ground, or so they thought. To us, their victory was hollow.
120. But we held the truth in end, and the wisdom of Meleticism was still alive in us.
121. They ruled the polis, but they could not rule our will and thoughts that could not be suppressed.
122. But we pondered the meaning of the destruction of the temple, and what it truly meant in the future.
123. Asterion’s words became our guidance and purpose to continue the philosophy.
124. To not resent the destruction of the temple—understand it. Let it serve as an inspiration for our path.
125. We studied the ruins then, not to mourn, but to learn from them. It was something that had to be done.
126. Each visible crack that remained of a stone told a story that was unique but revealing.
127. Each scorch mark that was left was an important lesson to learn and to not regret.
128. The temple had taught us to see true meaning in impermanence and what our priorities should be in life as mortals.
129. And now, impermanence was our teacher for the days to come to teach us the lesson of not the fragility of the temple, but that we too as bodies were fragile.
130. I wrote upon the walls of my dwelling the following message: ‘Thought cannot be erased so easily'.
131. A woman saw it and then asked me—What is thought of yours that I may know?
132. I smiled and said to her—Let us find out together; for it can be explored and understood.
133. The Meletic way lived on—not in marble, but in the minds of those people who practised and followed its path.
134. The zealots could not burn our wisdom and our knowledge. This we knew at heart.
135. They could not silence wonder and voices of philosophy that stood in contrast with their own.
136. They could not erase the resounding echo of Asterion's words and his wisdom professed.
137. I returned to the hill where the temple once stood proudly and noticeably. Thinking of how beautiful it once was.
138. Only the rubble remained in the midst of the clouds that hovered above watchfully.
139. But the wind still whispered the ancient knowledge of Meleticism. It did not forsake the temple.
140. And I listened then with the intention of remembering what the temple represented many people who had gathered.
141. What do you hear?—Asked a passer-by that was near. At first, I was hesitant to answer, but then I did.
142. The sound of my thoughts conveyed—I replied with a smile on my face, knowing what the temple meant for me.
143. But there is nothing here to be seen—he told me with disbelief in his expressions.
144. I said no. That was where that person was wrong. There was indeed something there still. And that was Meleticism'.
145. For Meleticism teaches us all that meaning is not found—it is forged by its believers.
146. Although the temple was gone, it would soon be rebuilt again, outside of Athens.
147. Its actual meaning remained intact, not stained by the impurity of the zealot's actions.
148. In every question asked that could be answered with wisdom.
149. In every silence shared that could be understood with awareness.
150. In every mind that dared to wonder about Meleticism with thought.
151. I sat upon the broken steps, where once Ariston had walked and spoken with such elegance in his words.
152. The dust clung to my robe, as memory clings to the soul, when it searches for the soul.
153. I did not weep like some of the others—for Meleticism teaches no regret, only understanding.
154. Loss is not the end, but the beginning of a deeper enquiry that we must discover—Asterion told me.
155. The temple had fallen, but the questions remained to be answered at a later time.
156. I asked myself the questions that lingered in my mind:—Verily, what is permanence? What is ruin?
157. The answers did not come afterwards as I thought they would—but the silence did.
158. And in that silence that was present, I heard echoed the wisdom of Asterion reflected.
159. He taught me to not seek to preserve, seek to perceive what has been lost but not forgotten.
160. The zealots had sought to erase the memory of the temple, and they had thought they had succeeded.
161. But erasure is never complete, when there is determination and belief in people who professed Meleticism.
162. Anger leaves residue behind always, but it does not erase a belief as it intended to.
163. In the minds of those people who dared to think, the temple still stood towering in its presence.
164. Not in mere stone, but in the structure that it was founded upon, which was Meleticism.
165. Not in the walls that fell then, but in the wisdom that continues to flourish naturally.
166. I gathered the surviving Meletics together, and discussed the destruction of the temple, not with mourning, but with resolve.
167. We met beneath the stars one night, where no fire could reach us of the zealots.
168. Let the sky be our ceiling for now—I said to them who were present and listening.
169. Let the earth be our floor, until we seek elsewhere—I declared before them with dignity.
170. We spoke not of sheer revenge for the destruction of the temple, but of lasting resilience.
171. Asterion had warned us each—The greatest threat to man's thought is vengeance.
172. And vengeance had no place in our philosophy. Therefore, we should not seek it as others do.
173. I knew and could sense that thought endures even after destruction, and it would suffice for us.
174. I taught the students to question the destruction, but never to harbour spite towards the zealots.
175. Not to defy them with gallantry—but to define their ignorance with wisdom expressed.
176. Why did they do this to the temple?—One student enquired, as he asked out of disbelief.
177. I replied—Because, they fear and despise what they do not understand about Meleticism.
178. The ruins became our classroom then, and it was the place to gather all of us who were brethren.
179. Each stone an important lesson and a lasting piece of memory that was of the temple.
180. Each crack a question and a thought that eventually would prevail over ignorance.
181. I wrote upon the wall the following: ‘The temple is gone, but the thought remains’.
182. A passer-by scoffed—What good is thought without shelter to keep that thought alive?
183. I answered the man—Thought is its own shelter. We shall rebuilt the temple anew.
184. Asterion's teaching came to me in a dream one night, like a vision that would guide me then.
185. He was standing beneath the fig tree that we would gather, smiling but contemplating.
186. ‘Heromenes, do not mourn the temple. Mourn the silence of those persons who never entered it—he said to me.
187. I awoke with sudden clarity, and with the understanding of his words that meant that my mission was still ongoing.
188. The temple was never sacred like the Pagans in the first place. It was a place of gathering.
189. It was never divine, nor meant to be divine in its structure or its refuge as well.
190. It was meant to be a place where the minds met and people gathered to respect each other.
191. And that meeting could not be destroyed by the wrath of zealots or anyone else who sought the temple's destruction'.
192. I now teach beneath the open sky willingly, not in defiance, but in the conviction of my belief.
193. No walls were surrounding me then. No flame to burn the wisdom of my words.
194. Only thought to evoke the meaning of Meleticism; for this was enough for me to continue my path.
195. There was only dialogue to discuss its philosophy amongst people. This was a good sign for us.
196. Meleticism lived on for the time being, in the minds of those people who experience and practise the philosophy.
197. Once more, the Meletic temple is gone, or so the zealots may believe it be the case.
198. But I remain as do others who walk the path towards To Ena, with the knowledge that carries me forth.
199. And as long as I continue to ask, it lives with purpose and intent in my words and wisdom.
200. For the temple was never just marble—it was the mind of a great man named Asterion. It was never mean to be completely destroyed.

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