the bee by andrew gough

8/14/2019 The BEE by Andrew Gough

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THE BEE

By

Andrew Gough


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Part 1: Bedazzled

History is rife with lost knowledge and traditions whose meaning has blurred with the passage oftime. I believe the Bee is one such tradition, and that its symbolism was important to civilizationsof all ages. Inexplicably, the Bee is dying and nobody is quite sure why. Legend asserts that whenthe Bee dies out, man will shortly follow. We will review the implications of the Bees apparent

demise in due course, however in this - our first instalment, we will examine the genesis of theBees symbolism in the mist of prehistory.

The Bee in Prehistory

Anatomy of a female Honey Bee

Thanks to fossilisation, Bees over 100 million years old have been discovered inamber, frozen in time, as if immortalised in their own honey. The Greeks calledamberElectron, and associated it with the Sun GodElector, who was known as theawakener. Honey, which resembles amber, was also known as an awakener, aregenerative substance that was revered across the ancient world. The resemblance ofhoney with amber led to the Bees exalted status amongst ancient man and secured itsfavor over other fossilized insects. Marcus Valerius Martialis, the first century Latin

poet renowned for his twelve books ofEpigrams, commemorates the symbolism:

"The bee inclos'd, and through the amber shewn,

Seems buried in the juice, which was his own.


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So honour'd was a life in labor spent:Such might he wish to have his monument."

A Bee fossilized in amber over 100 hundred million years old - from Southeast Asia

Bees accompanied Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and during the mythicalGolden Age, honey dripped from trees like rain water. In Egypt, Bees symbolized a

stable and obedient society, mantras that would later be adopted by Freemasonry and the United States of America. The Bees ability to pollinate was not lost onprehistoric man and contributed to its reputation as a regenerative, transformative andmystical creature. Indeed, paintings from prehistory confirm that the Bee has beenrevered for tens of thousands of years.

In the Cave of the Spidernear Valencia Spain, a 15,000 year old painting depicts adetermined looking figure risking his life to extract honey from a precarious cliff-sideBeehive.Honey huntingrepresents one of mans earliest domestic pursuits and hintsat the genesis of the Bees adoration in prehistory.


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Honey Hunting in Spain approximately 13,000 BC

Veneration of the Bee continued in Neolithic Spain, as the highly stylised rendering ofa dancing Bee below illustrates. The image underscores the quandary with Beesymbolism; that is, most of us would be hard pressed to identify the image and otherslike it, as a Bee. The tradition of the Bee worship in Spain has been preserved to thisday, albeit under the rather macabre guise of Bull fighting. The modern day sport isactually an extension of Mithraism, the ancient mystery school whose rites includedthe ritualistic slaughter of bulls. But we are getting ahead of ourselves, for tounderstand how bulls are related to Bees we must examine the Bee in prehistory stillfurther.

Bee Goddess, 5000 BC Neolithic Spain

www.mothergoddess.com
http://www.mothergoddess.com/prehistoric.htmhttp://www.mothergoddess.com/prehistoric.htm


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The Bee is the only insect that communicates through dance, yet this largely forgottentrait is one of the reasons why Bee imagery from antiquity is often lost on theuntrained eye. In her authoritative and oft quoted book, The Goddesses and Gods ofOld Europe, Marija Gimbutas examines imagery on artefacts from Old Europe, circa8000 BC, and concludes that they portray the Bee as a manifestation of the MotherGoddess, as depicted below.

Mother Goddess, thought to have been carved between 24,00022,000 BC

The Mother Goddess is arguably the oldest deity in the archaeological record and hermanifestations are numerous, including likenesses of butterflies, toads, hedgehogs -and dancing Bees. In the ancient world, dancing Bees appear to have been special -the Queen Bee in particular, for she was the Mother Goddess - leader and ruler of thehive, and was often portrayed in the presence of adorning Bee Goddesses and BeePriestesses.


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Dancing Bee Goddesses, from The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe Marija Gimbutas

Dancing Bee Goddess, from The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe Marija Gimbutas

In addition to dancing Bee symbolism, Gimbutas identified images of Bees as stickmen, or schematized figures, with their arms arched over their head like theDancingGoddess motif so common in Sumerian and Egyptian reliefs.


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Bees as stick men, or schematized figures Marija Gimbutas

Clearly, the Bee was depicted in manners unidentifiable to the casual observer. And tobe fair, this is no wonder, for the Bee was often portrayed in a highly stylized fashionanyway, and occasionally its features were distorted due to the unrefined skill of theartist in antiquity, as well as fact that the artist may have been in a shamanic, druginduced trance at the time the image was created. Furthermore, the image of the Beewas often prejudiced by the surface it was created on, i.e. rock wall, statue or mud

brick, etc, and the perspective that this afforded.

So lets look at several more examples, starting with a well known image that fewwould associate with Bee symbolism; a 10,000 year old Anatolian Mother Goddesswearing a Beehive styled tiara. The Beehive inspired motif was popular in earliest

society and confirmed the Goddesses exalted status as a Queen Bee who streams withhoney, a substance of considerable importance, and status, in ancient times.

Goddess wearing a beehive tiara from Turkey, circa 8000 BC www.thebeegoddess.com


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Also in Anatolia, this time at the Neolithic settlement of Catal Huyuk, rudimentaryimages of Bees dating to 6540 BC are painted above the head of a Goddess in theform of a halo. Nearby, paintings of Beehive comb cells adorn rock strewn templewalls, recalling the day when such symbolism was widely understood andimportant. In Anatolia, Bee veneration continued for thousands of years, asdemonstrated by the 18th century BC Hittites, who relied on honey as an importantelement of their religious rites.

Catal Huyuk; a wall depicting a Beehive comb 6600 BC James Mellaart

Catal Huyuk was first discovered in 1958 and is widely regarded to be the mostimportant site of its kind in the world. The complex was excavated by James Mellaart

between 1961 and 1965 and found to feature two prominent images: the MotherGoddess, and the bull. Together with the Bee, these images comprise the essence ofour research, as we shall see. However, images of Bees from antiquity are not limitedto Old Europe, for in far away lands such as Australia, Aboriginal cave paintings ofBeehives have been dated to 10,000 BC.


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Beehive painting near Prince Regent River, Western Australia. Eva Crane

In addition to cave paintings, Aboriginals also carved images on the inside ofeucalyptus tree bark, including drawings of men with bags of honey over theirshoulders.

Tree bark carvings of men with bags of honey over their shoulders Eva Crane | An old print showing Aboriginal men carrying sacks of

honey over their shoulder

Similarly, the following images illustrate how the Bee can be misinterpreted asrepresenting other, more esoteric or otherworldly creatures. For instance, spiralingcircles appear frequently in rock art, and on occasion have been interpreted to

represent planetary alignments or symbols of advanced civilisations. In fact, theimage below represents rock art from the sacred store house of Australia Honey Antshamans, who hunted Honey Ants as the only source of honey in an otherwise dry andarid desert landscape (Spencer and Gillen, 1899). The rocks are located in a valley


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where shamans performed rituals designed to increase their supply of honey, for thesacred nectar provided a variety of medicinal and nutritional uses. Ironically, theconical images hints at the origins of the ancient Labyrinth design, a structure that

played an important role in Egyptian, Greek and of course, Atlantian mythology;cultures that venerated the Bee.

Rock drawings from sacred store house of a group of Honey Ant Totem. Eva Crane

Images from the ancient world are frequently interpreted through modern eyes asrepresenting supernatural or even extraterrestrial events, due to the extraordinaryimages they portray. This is especially true of images whose symbolism includesfigures in flight. Most notably, Zecharia Sitchin, linguist and writer of the

controversialEarth Chronicles series, has devoted a lifetime to interpreting Sumerianreliefs and believes they represent extraterrestrial contact on earth.

For example, the Sumerian stele below is one of many believed by alternative historywriters to depict figures of alien origin. However, more measured interpretations

believe that this scene, and others like it, depict the worship of the Mother Goddess,manifest as a Queen Bee or Bee Goddess; a figure who is frequently adorned by herfollowers - the Bee Priestesses. Again, this should not be viewed as unusual, forhoney was regarded by Sumerian physicians as a unique and vital medicinal drug. Infact, it has been suggested that the Sumerians inventedApitherapy, or the medical useof Honey Bee products such as honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis and bee venom.And least we forget, it was the Bee that led ancient man to the plants whosehallucinogens transported consciousness into the spirit world of the gods.Furthermore, objects cast in Beeswax were discovered in the earliest of Sumeriansocieties. Why then, should the source of these important byproducts - the Bee, nothave been worshipped?


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Sumerian stele extraterrestrial Gods or Bee Goddess worship?

The Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer is believed to have flourished between 5300- 3500 BC. In addition to producing dozens of cultural firsts or inventions,Sumerians appear to have been the first to depict winged figures in art, includinghumans with wings. Might this symbolism be attributable to worship of the BeeGoddess? Could the Bee have been the inspiration for winged figures of all kinds?Was the Bee the archetype for biblical angels? Although alluring, such assertions arerather speculative at this juncture, and so we will reserve judgement until we haveexamined the Bee and its evocative symbolism in further detail.

Gigantic statues from the Assyrian city of Nimrud - now modern Iraq, and Persepolis- now modern Iran, appear to have continued the Sumerian winged tradition bydepicting bulls with wings. This is intriguing, for ancient cultures the world over havemaintained that Bees are born of bulls, and here we have statues depicting bulls withwings.

A Bull statue with wings from Persepolis, another from Nimrod


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The ancient custom of placing a Beehive in the head of a bull was at first a domesticexercise, and enabled the bulls head to be purified of all matter before being used for

practical purposes. Only later did the tradition morph into a highly symbolic ritualwhere Bees found on the carcasses of dead bulls represented the regeneration of souls.As we shall see, the belief that Bees were born of sacred bulls was especially

prevalent in Egypt and Mediterranean cultures such as the Greeks and Minoans. Likethe Sumerian reliefs that depicted humans with wings, the representation of bulls withwings will be duly noted and no conclusions drawn - just yet.

The Bee featured prominently in another ancient culture the Dogon, a tribe from theWest African region of Mali whose Nommo ancestors and Sirian mythology weremade famous by Robert Temple in his book, The Sirius Mystery. The Dogon beliefsystem is ancient, and until approximately 140 AD, its zodiac featured the Bee as thesymbol of the constellation presently occupied by Libra. The Bees position in theDogon Zodiac is significant to esoteric thought leaders such as Cabalists, whorecognize the Bees role in establishing balance and harmony in the zodiac - and inlife. Curiously, two of the most common Dogon symbols resemble schematizedfigures identified by Marija Gimbutas as Bees; one is associated with vital foodsupplies and the other with reincarnation. Together, the Dogon images reflect theessence of the Bees perceived value in ancient times.

Common Dogon Symbols http://www.artheos.org/eng/contents.html

The Bee in Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians shared many similarities with the Sumerians and Dogons,including the veneration of Bees. Sophisticated Apiculture, or the organized craft ofBeekeeping, was practiced in Egypt for thousands of years. According to Bee expertEva Crane, whose authoritative book, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey

Huntingremains the primary reference work in the genre; beekeeping was veryimportant before 3000 BC, especially in the Delta. In other words, the agricultural,nutritional, medicinal and ritualistic value of the Bee and its honey was important inEgypt from pre-dynastic times onwards, as demonstrated by the fact that King Menes,founder of the First Egyptian Dynasty, was called "the Beekeeper; a title ascribed to

all subsequent Pharaohs. Additionally, the Kings administration had a special officecalled the Sealer of the Honey, and Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt bore the title"he who belongs to the sedge and the bee. An image of the Bee was even positionednext to the Kings cartouche.


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The Bee, next to the signature of Hatshepsut, the 5th Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty

EgyptologistWallis Budge translated theBook of Opening the Mouth, and in doing soprovided insight that confirmed the Bees importance in Egyptian mythology. Onephrase simply read, The Bee, giving him protection, they make him to exist, whileanother adds: Going about as a bee, thou seest all the goings about of thy father.The later may in fact refer to theKa, or an individuals soul - or double, who isnurtured after death.

Egyptian mythology contains countless references to the Bee, including the belief that

Bees were formed through the tears of the god RA. To put this into perspective, weare informed that the most important god in the Egyptian pantheon had Bees for tears.The ancient writings of Am-Tuat (the Otherworld) explains:

"This god cries out to their souls after he hath entered the city of thegods who are on their sand, and there are heard the voices of those

who are shut in this circle which are like the hum of many bees ofhoney when their souls cry out to Ra."

And similarly, the Salt Magical Papyrus states:

When RA weeps again and the water which flows from his eyes uponthe ground turns into working bees. They work in flowers and trees ofevery kind and wax and honey come into being.

The Egyptian God RA, who cried Bees for tears


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The Bees association with the tears of RA is interesting, for the ideogram of the Beehas been interpreted by Egyptologists to represent honey, and its eyes the verb, tosee. Many have studied its meaning, such as the Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner, whofeatured the Bee in his bookEgyptian Grammar. So did the German EgyptologistKurt Sethe, who believed the Egyptians hadforgotten the original word for Bee.Similarly, the Egyptologist Hermann Grapow felt that the Bees title was completely"unreadable". The point being, Egyptologists agree that they have yet to ascertain the

symbols true meaning.

A description of the Bee ideograph fromThe Rosetta Stone: The Discoveries of Dr. Thomas Young:

The Classification of the Egyptian Alphabetby Champollion

Intriguingly, Northern Egypt - the land stretching form the Delta to Memphis wasknown as Ta-Bitty, or the land of the bee. Similarly in the bible, the Lord

promises to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into a landflowing with milk andhoney. Poetically, later civilizations referred to the land of milk and honey as a sort ofmythical utopia; a bountiful, abundant and fertile region, reminiscent of the Mother

Goddess herself.Bees are portrayed on the walls of Egyptian tombs and offerings of honey wereroutinely presented to the most important Egyptian deities. Indeed, honey was thenectar of the gods, and like the Sumerians before them, Egyptian physicians valuedits medicinal value in many important procedures. In other words, they too practicedApitherapy. Egyptian medicine men were often indistinguishable from sorcerers, andBeeswax was an essential ingredient in the creation of effigies used in rituals. In her1937 book, The Sacred Bee, Hilda Ransome recounts several examples, stating thatOne of the earliest instances of the magical use of wax is in the Westcar Papyrus . Inher example, Ransome recounts how a Beeswax effigy of a crocodile comes alive and

eats the lover of mans wife as revenge for violating his marriage agreement.

Honey was frequently mentioned in papyri and was even a vital ingredient inEgyptian beer. This linked the Bee to commerce, for beer was often used as a form of


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wages. In fact, the versatile nectar was so cherished that promises of honey fromhusband to wife were included in marriage contracts, and even the Pharaoh RamsesIII offered up 15 tons of honey to the Nile God Hapi, in the 12th Century BC. The

Health Benefits of Honey web site sheds further light on honeys unique role inEgyptian society:

The oldest hieroglyphic carvings in temples, on sarcophagi and

obelisks sufficiently prove that bees and honey had a vital significancein the daily life of the population of EgyptHoneycombs, honey cakes,

sealed jars of honey and lotus blooms were placed next to thesarcophagi as food for the souls of the dead. In the tomb of Pa-Ba-Sa,

in Thebes, the entire wall is decorated by rows of bees. A man is

shown pouring honey into a pail, another is kneeling and prayingbefore a pyramid of honeycombs. On the wall of the tomb of Rekh-Mi-

Re all phases of the honey industry are depicted; how the combs wereremoved from the hives with the aid of smoke, the baking of honey

cakes, the filling and sealing of jars, etc.

Bee hieroglyph Luxor Kenneth J Stein

The Bee is featured prominently in many Egyptian temples, including the pillars ofKarnak, the Luxor obelisk now erected on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, the 20thDynasty sarcophagus of Rameses III, a granite statue of Rameses II, the sarcophagusof a 26th Dynasty priest and on the Pyramid of Unas, to name but a few. Additionally,at the temple of Dendera an inscription recounts how Osiris emulated the Bee and

provided instructions forknowingthe hsp, or the sacred garden of the Bee in theother world - a domain believed to contain the tree of the golden apples ofimmortality. And in the Egyptian Delta, in the ancient Temple of Tanis which issaid to have once housed the Ark of the Covenant, the Bee was its first and mostimportant ideogram. In fact, the Bee is even featured on the Rosetta Stone.


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Part 2: Beewildered

The remarkable service that Bees provide as pollinators of plants and trees andproducers of life-affirming nectar has largely been taken for granted. Only when Beesstarted to disappear and actually die in alarming numbers did popular culture takenotice, and only then out of a morbid sort of curiosity. But it has not always been thisway. In fact, Bees were venerated in prehistory and revered in ancient cultures far andwide, especially Egypt. So how did the veneration of the Bee evolve from there? InThe Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, Anne Baring and Jules Cashfordreflect on the importance of the Bee in one region in particular - the Mediterranean;Bees have an ancient reputation as the bringers of order, and their hives served asmodels for organizing temples in many Mediterranean cultures. As we shall see,these same cultures also worshiped bulls, and in doing so extended an ancient andsacred tradition into a new age.

A Minoan bull statue

The ancient Mediterranean is renowned for its sophisticated and artistically richcultures, and the Minoans a Bronze Age mercantile society with an extraordinaryreach in overseas trade were arguably its first emissary. Few symbols were as prolific


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in Minoan life as the bull. The sacred creature graced Minoan frescos in palaces andtemples, and the ritual of bull-leaping was an especially popular phenomena.According to scholars, the ritual consisted of an initiate leaping over a bull whilegrabbing its horns in order to antagonize the animal into catapulting them upwards,and while in the air, they would perform a variety of aerobic stunts before collapsingon the bull. The explanation lacks realism, promoting some to speculate that the bull-leaper may symbolically have represented Theseus, the mythical hero-king of Athens,

leaping over the constellation of Taurus, the bull. Could this scenario represent theregeneration of the kings reign and potency as a ruler a sort of MinoanHeb-Sed

Festival? Regardless of the rituals true meaning, one thing for certain is that theMinoans fascination with the bull was real, tangible and freely expressed in their art.

Bull Leaper, an ivory carving from the palace of Knossos, Crete

The British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans was the first to coin the name "Minoan",naming it after King Minos; a mystical figure who commissioned Daedalus thecunning worker to design the legendary labyrinth. Evans believed the labyrinth wasreal, not mythical, and that it existed in the Cretan capital of Knossos; the ceremonialand political centre of Minoan civilization. Descriptions of the labyrinth recall animage of a Beehive with winding passages guiding souls on a journey through theafterlife. And lest we forget that shamanic Bee inspired drawings in AboriginalAustralia portray what appears to be the precursor to the now familiar labyrinthdesign. Additionally, the north house in Knossos has been identified by

archaeologists as a site where rituals of human sacrifice were preformed, includingofferings of young children to the gods. Might the Minoans have also offered bulls tothe gods, and if so may this have been the true function of the labyrinth? Might the


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labyrinth have been an ancient bull necropolis for the regeneration of souls, like theSaqqara Serapeum?

Coin from Knossos depicting the Minotaur Labyrinth

In Knossos, jars calledpithoi were used to store honey in preparation for the midsummer New Years celebration. Like many societies before them, the Minoansconsidered honey to be the nectar of the gods and an important intoxicant in ritualsthat honoured the deities on their feast days. Once again, Marija Gimbutas, author ofthe respected work, The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe, comments on thetradition;

Two lion-headed ginii clad in Bee skins hold jugs over horns from

which new life springs in the shape of a plant. What do these jugs

contain? probably food of the Gods produced by the bee.


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Honey Jars Knossos

Honey was also regarded as an elixir in Mediterranean societies; a magic potion thatensured a long and healthy life. The Roman Emperor Augustus once asked acentenarian how he managed to live to the ripe old age of 100, only to have the manreply, "Oil without and honey within."The legendary Greek mathematicianPythagoras, whose life spanned the greater part of the 6th century BC, attributed hislongevity to a steady diet of honey. In addition to being an elixir, honey was a healingsubstance with a variety of medicinal uses. Legend states that the Greek sea godGlaucus, the son of Minos and Pasiphae, was restored to life when buried in a jar of

honey. The story reminds us of Alexandra the Great, who requested that he bewrapped in honey as part of his burial preparation for the same reason. Each examplereinforces the belief that honey preserves the remains of the deceased, and in facthoney discovered in ancient tombs has remained edible thousands of years after it wasfirst processed.

The importance of Beekeeping in Minoan society was expressed in many differentways, as Gimbutas recounts; The Apiculture of the Minoans is documented by

Hieroglyphs, representing actual beehives, engraved images and myths. Further,Bee authority Hilda Ransome suggests that the Minoan hieroglyphs forPalace and

Bee; are grouped together in such a way that they probably denote a royal title.

Each quote recalls the role of the Bee in ancient societies and confirms that the oldtraditions were preserved into a new age.


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Minoan Gold Bee pendant from Crete, circa 2000 BC

The Minoans were expert Beekeepers who taught the craft of apiculture to the Greeks.Once again, we turn to Gimbutas for insight; Many gold rings of Minoanworkmanship from Crete and Greece portray the bee-headed goddess or the same

goddess holding bulls horns above her head. Below, an onyx gem from Knossosdating to approximately 1500 BC illustrates a Bee goddess with bull horns above herhead, just as Gimbutas describes. In this instance, the figure is surrounded by dogswith wings, most likely representing Hecate and Artemis - gods of the underworld,similar to the Egyptian gods Akeu and Anubis. The image recalls illustrations ofdancing Bee goddesses from thousands of years before.

Onyx Gem from Knossos, Crete 1500 BC


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Like the Minoans, the Greeks held the Bee sacred and featured it prominently in theirmythology. Not only did the Greeks believe that honey was the food of the gods andthat Bees were born of bulls, they believed that Bees were intricately entwined in theeveryday lives of their gods. Take for example Zeus, the Greek King of the Godswho was born in a cave and raised by Bees, earning him the title Melissaios, or Bee-

man. Similarly Dionysus, the Greek god of ritual madness, ecstasy, and wine wascalled theBull Godand was fed honey as a baby by the nymph Makris, daughter ofAristaeus, the protector of flocks - and Bees.

Additionally, Dionysus was said to have assumed the form of a bull before being tornto pieces and reborn as a Bee. Intriguingly, the cult of Dionysus consisted of a groupof frenzied female worshippers called Maenadss (Greek) or Bacchantes (Roman),who were renowned for their dancing and who were believed to have had wings.Might these bull worshiping maidens have been Bee priestesses?

Bacchante leading the Dionysian bull to the altar, from a Bas-relief in the Vatican

The title Melissaios - or Bee-man, has a feminine counterpart in Mediterraneancultures called Melissa, of which Hilda Ransome informs us; The title Melissa, the

Bee, is a very ancient one; it constantly occurs in Greek Myths, meaning sometimes apriestess, sometimes a nymph. This is an important observation, for the tradition ofdancing Bee goddesses appears to have been preserved in a form of Bee maidensknown as Melissas or nymphs, and Greek deities such as Rhea and Demeter werewidely known to have held the title. Additionally, the Greeks frequently referred toBee-Souls and bestowed the title of Melissa on unborn souls. The 3rd centuryGreek philosopher and mathematician Porphyry of Tyre believed that souls arrived onearth in the form of Bees, having descended from the moon goddess Artemis, and thatthey were lured to terrestrial life by the promise of earthly delights, such as honey.Ironically, honey was also a symbol of death and was frequently used as an offering tothe gods. The dualistic quality of honey is no coincidence, as the nectar and its maker

the Bee, appear to represent the very cycle of existence. One could say that as the


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Bee returns to its hive, so the Melissa returns to its god in the afterlife; the beginningis the end and the end is the beginning.

The definition of Melissa the Honeybee

Bees, Melissas and caves go hand in hand in Mediterranean mythology as we saw

with Zeus, however the tradition may have commenced with the Bronze AgeMycenaean culture (1500 - 1100 BC) on the island of Ithaca in the Ionian Sea. Theisland, which was featured in Homers epic poems, theIliad the first Greek work tofeature Bees - and the Odyssey, is renowned for a sacred cave with a curious doubleentrance; one passage orientated to Boreas the god of the northern wind, and theother to Notus the god of the southern wind. The cave was home to Bee goddessnymphs or Melissas calledNagaden. Here Bees deposited honey in stonecontainers and traveled through the Boreas entrance in order to appease the god of thesouthern winds, who was known for destroying crops and giving rise to the planetSirius in late summer. The portal was believed to be a divine Path of the Gods thatno mortal was permitted to cross, and even today the cave remains elusive to the

casual traveler, residing in near anonymity in the vicinity of an ancient Olive treebelieved to be at least 1500 years old.


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The ancient Olive Tree near the entrance to the sacred Bee cave on Ithaca

In many ways the Greeks were students of the Minoans, and one example of this isBeekeeping. The Minoans taught the Greeks the importance of Beekeeping withrespect to their agricultural, medicinal and ritualistic well being, and the Greeks

rapidly developed their own mythology around the practice. In the process ofassimilating the insect and its valuable by-products into their culture, the Greekswould have been aware that the Minoan word for Bee was Sphex, and as we know,the Greeks renamed the rather indistinct looking statue on Giza plateau Sphinx.Coincidently, or perhaps out of respect for their Minoan elders the Greeks proceededto feature sphinxs in their own art, and not only was their design highly feminine, butit added an element not previously found in earlier designs; they added wings.


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Two classical Greek sphinxes each feminine and with wings

While the implication that Greek sphinxs were inspired by Bee goddesses is bothalluring and romantic, further etymological analysis is required before the notion hasany real validity. However, it is safe to say that the sphinx appears to most to be thehead of a lioness of some description. And curiously, the tradition of lion guardians

presiding over a sacred complex ala Akeru, the two Egyptian gods who presidedover the Giza complex, is also found in second millennium BC Greece. Here, one ofthe most famous images from antiquity the Lion Gate, hovers stoically over theancient centre of early Greek civilization; a military and cultural stronghold located90 km south-west of Athens that was known by the name ofMycenae.


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The Lion Gate - Mycenae

Like the Bee and the bull, Bee and lion symbolism go hand in had in Greek

mythology, as Hilda Ransome so eloquently describes:In a grave in north-west Peloponnese were found two pin heads,dated fifth century BC. From the volutes spring fourlions, their paws

resting on the cone, and between the forepaws of each rises a spiral

ornament; in the spaces between the spirals are fourbees, modelledwith absolute realism, even to the veining of the wings. Between them

are three lions, and on the bud itself there are three bees, each suckingfrom a small bud, and between the bees are three tinysphinxes.

Further, Ransome adds; Another link between the lion and the bee is found on an

Etruscan gem. Like the bull and the Bee, did the symbolism of Bees, lions andsphinxs once have a special meaning, now lost?

Mycenae also featured a Beehive shaped tomb style called thalamus. The choice ofthe Bees hive as the model for their most important tombs reinforces the significancethat Mycenaean culture placed on the Bee in the afterlife, and suggests that itsreputation as a symbol of resurrection may have been inherited from the Egyptiansand Sumerians before them.


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Mycenaean tomb of Tholos 1500 BC

Archaeologists have also uncovered statues of female goddesses draped in honeyladen tiaras, buried amongst other Mycenaean tomb artifacts. The finds are nearlyidentical to 10,000 year old statues discovered in Turkey that represent the mothergoddess streaming with honey. The discovery of such a find in Mycenaean tombs isconsistent with the goddess culture of the day and a society that was highlymatriarchal. The statue also resembles the dancing goddess motif that appears to haveoriginated in Sumerian culture before spreading to Egypt.


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Minoan Bee Goddess laden with honey - Mycenae

At Delphi, site of the most important oracle in the ancient world, legend asserts thatthe second temple was constructed entirely by Bees. In fact, the Oracle itself theOmphalos Stone, resembles a Beehive and is designed with crisscrossing rows of Bee-like symbols, reminiscent of the Net dress worn by Nut, the Egyptian goddess of thesky and keeper of the title She Who Holds a Thousand Souls.


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The apparently Bee inspired Omphalos Stone - Delphi

Another instance where the Bee is linked with sacred stones is the story of thegoddess Rhea, whose titles included Mother of the Gods, Queen of Heaven andGoddess of Fertility and Generation. Rhea was the wife of the Titan Kronos, whofeared a prophecy that stipulated that he would soon be killed by one of his offspring.Fearing for his life, Kronos proceeded to eat his children - one at a time - before they,could kill him. The Titans strategy worked, except for Zeus, who Rhea hid in theCave of the Bee. By now, Rhea was wise to her husbands strategy and needed to be

especially clever should she hope to outwit him. Thus, in a final attempt to save heronly surviving son, Rhea wrapped a large stone in cloth, creating the appearance thatit was in fact a child, and presented it to Kronos as his last remaining offspring, whichhe promptly devoured believing it was Zeus. To this day, Greeks hold their Easterritual in Cretes Cave of the Bee, the same cave where Rhea gave birth to Zeus, whoin turn fathered Artemis, arguably the most famous Bee goddess in all of Greekmythology as we shall see.


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The cave where Rhea gave birth to Zeus Maicar Forlag

Yet another link between the Bee and a sacred stone is Cybele, the ancient Mothergoddess of Neolithic Anatolia who was revered by the Greeks as a Goddess of Beesand Caves. Curiously, Cybele was often worshipped in the form of a meteoritic stone,or a stone from heaven. Cybele was also known as Sybil - an oracle of the ancientnear east who was known to the Greeks as Sibyls. The name inspired Sybil, the title of

seer priestesses for hundreds of years to come, as illustrated below in a series ofpaintings by the German artist Herman tom Ring (1521-1597).


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Pythia the Delphic Bee sitting on the Delphic Tripod Cauldron

Apollo was one of the most important gods in the Greek Pantheon and was known asthe God of Truth and Prophecy. Remarkably, he is said to have provided a gift ofBees to Hermes; the god of otherworldly boundaries and transformation of souls. Thelegend is recounted in the 8th century HomericHymn to Hermes, for here Apolloalludes to his gift including three female Bee-Maidens who practiced divination;

There are some Fates sisters born,

maidens three of them, adorned withswift wings.Their heads are sprinkled over with white barley meal,

wind they make their homes under the cliffs of Parnassus.They taught divination far off from me, the art I used to practice

round my cattle while still a boy.


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Hermes steals Apollos cattle Photo by R. Schoder

The legendary Greek god Poseidon carried the title God of the Sea and hailed fromRhodes; site of many fine Bee artefacts from antiquity. In fact, one of Poseidons sonswas a Beekeeper named Eiyrieus. Another was Theseus, who as a young man becamerenowned for killing the half-man | half-bull Minotaur that had become trapped insidethe labyrinth. This is the same Theseus who some believe is portrayed jumping overthe constellation of Taurus - the bull, in frescos that depict the Minoan bull-leapingritual. Might Theseuss killing of the Minotaur be an example of a ritualistic bullsacrifice and if so might this suggest that the labyrinth was in fact a place whereMithraism was practiced and that the bull-leaping ritual was the Minoan equivalent ofthe EgyptianHeb-Sed Festival? The notion is intriguing.

As an aside, the half man | half bull symbolism is peculiar but not entirely unique inMediterranean mythology, for example Poseidon was worshiped as a bull on thecitadel of Boeotian in Thebes. These details, combined with Apollos link with theMinotaur suggests an affiliation with Atlantis, as the legendary civilization is said to

have featured a labyrinth and appears to be associated with the island of Crete; aculture that worshiped bulls, bees and lions.


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Bust of the half-man, half-bull Minotaur: National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Another example of the Bee as an important element of Greek mythology is Pan, thegod of all things wild and sexual, and the GreekGod of Beekeeping. Icarus is anotherexample. The Greek god was the son of Daedalus the master craftsman who builtthe labyrinth for King Minos, and who is infamous for having flown too close to thesun before falling to earth after his Beeswax constructed feathers started to melt. Andthen we have Cyrene, a Beekeeper and one of 50 nymphs who road dolphins in theMediterranean. As we have seen, Nymphs are synonymous with Bee goddesses, but

could the number 50, which is associated with the planet Sirius, also be related to theBee?


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The Beeswax wings of Icarus begin to melt as he flies too close to the sun

Still another example of Bee veneration in Greek mythology is Aphrodite, the nymph-goddess of midsummer who is renowned for murdering the king and tearing out hisorgans just as the Queen Bee does to the drone. Aphrodites priestesses, who areknown as Melissas, are said to have displayed a golden honeycomb at her shrine onMount Eryx. The mythologist Robert Graves spoke of Butes - a priest to Athene wholived on Mount Eryx and was allegedly the most famous Beekeeper of antiquity.Butes represented the love-god Phanes, who is often depicted as Eircepaius - a loud

buzzing Bee. Graves also states in his authoritative work, The Greek Myths thatPlato identified Athene with the Egyptian goddess Neith, who as we have seen, isassociated with the Bee in a multitude of ways.

Melissa, the Bee goddess of Mount Eryx


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Further, evidence suggests that Artemis was in fact the most renowned patron of theBee in all of Greece. As the daughter of Zeus and twin sister to Apollo, Artemis wasthe goddess of nature, particularly forests, hills, rocky outcroppings and rivers; allnatural habitats of Bees. Artemiss Roman equivalent was the goddess Diana, andstatues of Artemis | Diana from the Anatolian city of Ephesus portray her covered in

eggs, which some have identified as Bee eggs given that a typical Queen Bee will laytens of thousands of eggs in her short lifetime. Alternatively, others believe that theabundance of small spherical objects represent bull testicles. In either case, theconnection between Ephesus and the Bee is irrefutable, for "Ephesos" is thought toderive from the word "Apasas", which was the name of the city in the Bronze Ageand a pre-Greek word meaningBee. Bees are often depicted on statues of Artemis |Diana and her headdress frequently hints at a Beehive style design.

Statues of Artemis | Diana from Ephesus(the Bee) showing Bee eggs or bulltesticles, Bees and a Beehive styled

headdress

The influence of Greek culture spread far and wide and images of winged sphinxes,bulls and Bees soon reached many a distant shore. For instance, the ancient Romansrelied heavily on Bees for warfare and deployed Beehives as catapult projectiles in

battle, although the success of the technique ultimately depleted the supply of Bees incentral Italy. However, the roots of Bee symbolism in Roman mythology run fardeeper than warfare. In fact, they date back to Mithraism, a mystery religion practiced


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in Rome between the 1st and 4th centuries, as well as in other provinces, such asBritain.

Very little is known about Mithraism, besides the fact that it involved the ritualisticslaughter of bulls and that it is linked with the concept of regeneration. Like othermystery schools, its principal rituals were maintained orally and never written down.Some believe that Mithras is connected with the constellation of Orion, due to its

proximity to Taurus. If true, this further binds Mithraism with Osiris and theregenerative aspect of the Apis Bull, which hearkens back to the Saqqara Serapeum; anecropolis that may have served as a ritualistic centre for the regeneration of souls inthe form of Bees.

Mithras and the Bull: Italian fresco from the mithraeum at Marino, Italy

So clearly we can see a pattern here; societies that worshiped the bull also seem tohave venerated the Bee. And in Roman mythology there are many examples of Beeveneration. For example, the Roman Bee goddess was named Mellonia and MarcusAurelius, the Roman emperor, philosopher and some would argue the world's firstSocialist, coined the phrase; "What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee."Likewise Lycurgus, founder of Sparta, built his model for the perfect Spartangovernment on the social strata observed in the Beehive. Bees were depicted on coins

throughout the ancient world, such as Sicily, where a Bee is featured on a 7th centuryBC coin. And in Rhodes the ancient home of Poseidon, an 8th century gold plaguedepicts a decidedly Egyptian looking sphinx with a Bee headdress and sternum.


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Gold Plaque form Rhodes and a Bee Coin from Sicily www.thebeegoddess.com

The dissemination of Bee symbolism was propagated by the work of many famousartists of the day, including writers such as Plato, who as we discussed in our firstinstallment, wrote of Solons enlightenment at the temple of Neith in Egypt. Plato andother writers such as Virgil and Sophocles were called birds of the muses due to the

belief that as infants, their lips were touched by Bees. Their initiation by Bees wasthought to have transformed their lives and set their destiny as great orators, poets and

philosophers. Sophocles in particular confirms his patronage to the Bee with ahaunting turn of a phrase; the swarm of the dead hums. However, Homer was thefirst Greek writer to reference Bees in his work, the Iliad;

Even as when the tribes of thronging Bees issue from some hollowrock, ever in fresh procession, and fly clustering among the flowers in

spring, and some on this side, and some on that side fly thick.

Additionally, writers such as Virgil, and a Byzantine by the name of Florentinus -author of the Geoponica, recorded the ancient and undeniably gruesome death ritual

performed on bulls. Florentinus tells us that the ritual was ideally preformed while thesun was in Taurus and involved beating the bull to death in a dark and confined space.The dead animal was left for three weeks before being inspected and re-sealed foranother 10 days. After the next visit, the bulls flesh would have mostly evaporated,leaving only clusters of Bees where the flesh once hugged the bone. Interestingly,

images evoked from Florentinuss lucid description feel suspiciously like amithraeum a dark and windowless cave or building where Mithraism was

preformed.
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A Roman Mithraeum


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Part 3: Beegotten

My research into the Bee has revealed that this omnipresent creature has been heldsacred since the year dot. Along the way Ive chronicled how the diminutive insecthas been incorporated into religion, government, art and literature, as well as how itssymbolism still prevalent in modern times - has largely been forgotten ormisinterpreted as something else altogether. In this, the final part of the trilogy, I willreview the events that have led to the Bees present condition, and contemplate its fatein the light of its most formidable adversary yet; 21st century man.

Hieroglyphic of the Bee from ancient Egypt

Forefathers of the American Revolution incorporated the symbolism of the Bee intothe very fabric of their government. This should not be regarded as unusual, however,for early American statesmen shared a bond with other more time-honoured nationsthat enabled Bee symbolism to be transmitted across the globe and into a new era.And that conduit was Freemasonry. The Bee remains an important symbol inFreemasonry and was especially pervasive in Masonic drawings and documents of the18th and 19th centuries. At the heart of the Masonic tradition are the concepts ofindustry andstability, virtues that were important to the Egyptians - as well as otherancient civilisations - before being adopted by the United States of America. Therecurring theme stems from the stable, regular and orderly society exhibited in aBeehive. In Freemasonry, the Beehive represents all that is proper in society andcould arguably be the organisation's most enduring symbol.


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The Beehive one of Freemasonrys most important symbols

Bee symbolism is a vital component of Masonic ideals, although its application withinthe craft is not without paradox. For instance, the Encyclopaedia of Freemasonryinforms us that the Bee is important to Freemasonry for the same reason it wasimportant to the Egyptians, because of all insects; only the Bee has a King. Thequote is peculiar for reasons already discussed; namely because the Bees society ismatriarchal. Are Masons refereeing to the King Bee as in the Egyptian pharaoh who

bore the title of Beekeeper, or do they know something we dont? Could the maleonly tradition of Freemasonry be an extension of the movement that appears to havesuppressed or at least tempered goddess worship back in pre-dynastic Egypt? Thenotion is speculative, but intriguing nonetheless.

The Encyclopaedia of Freemasonryprovides many references to the Bee, includingthe fact that honey is used to illustrate moral teachings. In this regard, the Masonicinitiate is instructed to;

Go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and what a noble work

she produces; whose labour kings and private men use for their health.

She is desired and honoured by all, and, though weak in strength, yetsince she values wisdom she prevails.

Similarly, we are told that;

"The bee hive is an emblem of industry, and recommends the practiceof that virtue of all created beingsThus was man formed for social


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and active life, the noblest part of the work of God; and he that will sodemean himself, as not to be endeavouring to add to the common stock

of knowledge and understanding, may be deemed a drone in the hive

of nature, a useless member of society, and unworthy of our protectionas masons.

The Masonic Trophonius of Ledadia, which commemorates two famous architects

Clearly, Freemasonry is an important reminder of the virtues that early society valuedmost. And this accounts for the fact that many early American Presidents wereFreemasons, such as George Washington, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, James K.Polk and James Buchanan to name a few. In fact, most Masonic presidents wereGrand Masters of their lodges at one time or another, and as such, would have beeninstalled into the symbolic chair of King Solomon, the historically evasive king whois said to have secured the love of the Queen of Sheba after consulting with a Bee.The Masonic regalia of early American presidents reflects the craft's admiration of theBee and include a Masonic apron with a prominently positioned Beehive thatsignified the wisdom and industry of man. The Beehive is positioned directly above

an image of a coffin, a vital element of the Masonic 3rd degree ritual, and appears toallude to the Bee's association with resurrection.


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George Washingtons Masonic Apron, with a Beehive located top centre

So, the forefathers of American government were stimulated by the ideals ofFreemasonry, an institution that incorporated Bee symbolism into its philosophy andmaintained an invisible hand in the politics of most nations. Historians inform us thatFrench Freemasonry was particularly influential in guiding the ideals of earlyAmerican statesmen, such as the political philosopher Thomas Jefferson, who shareda peculiar bond with Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer with strongMasonic affiliations and who served in both the American and French Revolutions.

Masonic ideals permeated the genesis of American society, as they did the FrenchRevolution, and in each instance the symbolism of the Bee was chosen to illustrate theethos and vision of the nation. In fact, just five years after the death of GeorgeWashington, France would crown a new leader who would restore the long andillustrious legacy of the Bee in his country. I speak of Napoleon Bonaparte, who in1804 was crowned Emperor of France in a coronation robe decorated with 300 goldBees.


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Napoleons at his Coronation, wearing a robe adorned with Bees

The Bee was a hugely important icon of Napoleons reign, and his obsession with itssymbolism led to his inevitable nickname; The Bee. Napoleon would have grown upwith the symbolism of the Bee ingrained in his psyche, for his homeland of Corsicawas required to pay the Romans an annual tax equivalent of 200,000 in Beeswax.The young emperor ensured that the Bee was widely adopted in his court as well as onclothing, draperies, carpets and furniture all across France. By choosing the Bee as theemblem of his reign, Napoleon was paying homage to Childeric (436 - 481), one ofthe long haired Merovingian Kings of the region known as Gaul. When Childerics

tomb was uncovered in 1653, it was found to contain 300 golden jewels, styled in theimage of a Bee. And of course, these are the same Bees that Napoleon had affixed tohis coronation robe. Sadly, of the 300 Bees only two have survived.


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Bees from the Tomb of Childeric I

Fortuitously, the tomb of Childeric contained other artefacts that help put the goldenamulets into a broader ritualistic context. In addition to Bees, it contained items ofdivination such as a crystal ball and a bull's head made of gold, amongst other unusual

objects, such as a severed horse's head. Childerics hoard was entrusted to LeopoldWilhelm von Habsburg, a military governor of the Austrian Netherlands who was

believed to have been a descendent of the Merovingian dynasty. Six years after hiscoronation, Napoleon married Marie-Louise, the daughter of Francis II, the lastHabsburg to sit on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire.

Napoleons choice of the Bee as the national emblem of his imperial rule speaksvolumes about his desire to be associated with the Carolingians and Merovingians;the early French kings whose funeral furniture featured Bee and cicada symbolism asa metaphor for resurrection and immortality. And as we reviewed in Part 2, the Beeand cicada represent dualism, with the Bee producing the sound of day and the cicadathe sound of the night. The Bee was also a vital symbol of French industry and one ofthe most prominent emblems of the French Revolution (17891799).

The Bee / Beehive a popular emblem of the French Revolution

From a civic perspective the Bee was a popular emblem of Napoleons rule, and morethan 60 cities throughout France and Europe selected an officially approved heraldicshield that included three Bees as part of its template.


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Two examples of French heraldry Bee shields: Mazamet and La Meilleraye deBretagne www.ngw.nl

Of his many impressive feats, Napoleon is probably best remembered for a campaignhe led prior to his coronation; his 1798 invasion of Egypt, a country that was a

province of the Ottoman Empire at the time. One can only muse at the irony of theman they called The Bee riding horsebackin the land of the Bee, staring at an imagethat may have been named after the Minoans word for Bee; Sphex.

Napoleon and the Sphinx, by Jean Gerome, 1862

Astonishingly, it is thought that the Bee was the precursor to the Fleur-de-lys; thenational emblem of France to this day. The theory is supported by many, including theFrench physician, antiquary and archaeologist Jean-Jacques Chifflet. In fact LouisXII, the 35th King of France, was known as the father of the pope and featured a
http://www.ngw.nl/http://www.ngw.nl/http://www.ngw.nl/


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Beehive in his Coat of Arms. Disappointingly, his efforts to have the Bee adopted asthe Republics official emblem were rejected by the National Convention due to their

belief that Bees have Queens.Nevertheless, the Bee remained a prominent elementof French culture throughout the First and Second Empire (1804 to 1814, and 1852-1870) due to the enthusiastic patronage it had previously received.

The Bee as precursor to the Fleur-de-lys

As an aside, the researcher Robert Lawlor studied the design of the Bee and Fleur-de-lys in his book; Sacred Geometryand concluded that the 1: proportion of the Fleur-de-lys is also found in the design of the Islamic Mosque. Intriguingly, the mysticaldimension of Islam known as Sufism maintained a secret brotherhood calledSarmoung, or Sarman, meaningBee. Members of the organization viewed their roleas collecting the precious 'honey' of wisdom and preserving it for future generations.

Logo of the secret Sufi society with a Bee near the flame of a candle

The Fleur-de-lys is not unique to France and has in fact appeared in Egypt, Rome andIsrael, amongst other places. However in France, the Bee and the Fleur-de-lys wereiconic and embodied the essence of the Merovingian dynasty. And not only are the


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Merovingians purported to be decendants of Jesus Christ, they also linked with apopular modern day mystery involving treasure and heretical secrets in the South ofFrance. I speak of the mystery of Rennes-Le-Chteau, a curious story that has inspiredhundreds of books, including Dan Browns The Da Vinci Code. The legend ofRennes-Le-Chteau is largely beyond the scope of our discussion, but for a fewexceptions and needless to say they are peculiar.

The Tour Magdela in Rennes-Le-Chteau; an icon of the mystery

Rennes-Le-Chteau is an unassuming yet sombre hilltop hamlet in the shadow of theFrench Pyrenees. Here, at the turn of the 20th century, a group of priests mostfamously Berenger Saunire - aroused suspicion with their curious behaviour andapparent wealth, leading many to speculate that they had discovered a great hereticalsecret possibly involving Mary Magdalene, the treasure of Solomon, hoards of theVisigoths, or a cache hidden during the French Revolution.

Although the legend of Rennes-Le-Chteau has struck a chord with modernaudiences, its roots stem from the Merovingian kings so revered by Napoleon. Andthe origins of the legend go something like this: Childeric I fathered Clovis I, whosucceeded his father in 481 as king of the region that now borders Belgium andFrance, and in the process became the first ruler to unite the previously hostile andindependent Frankish tribes. A line of descendants leads to Dagobert I, king of theFranks from 629634, who fathered Sigelbert III, who in turn fathered Dagobert II,who married Giselle de Razes, the daughter of the Count of Razes and the niece of theking of the Visigoths. The two were said to have married at Rhedae, a strongholdwidely believed to be Rennes-Le-Chteau, although the association remainsunconfirmed. Years later, in 754 AD, Childeric III died childless, marking the end of

a dynasty that had been in decline since Dagobert II was assassinated near Stenay-sur-Meuse on December 23rd, 679 AD.


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The long haired Merovingian Kings: Childeric I and III

The belief that the Merovingians were special, and that they represented a royalbloodline, led Napoleon to commission an extensive analysis of their lineage.Fascination with the mysterious line of kings continued into the 20th century when aFrenchman by the name of Louis Vazart founded an organization based in Stenay-sur-Meuse called Cercle Saint Dagobert II, that specialized in the study of theMerovingians and Dagobert II in particular. For its logo, Vazart chose an image of a

Bee inside of a 6-sided cone, or Hexagon the shape of a Beehive cell, surrounded bya circle. The design recalls the Mayan deity Hu-Nab-Ku, whose name means magicalbody and whose symbol was a square / pyramid shape within a circle.

Logo ofCercle Saint Dagobert II; A Bee in a Hexagon

Vazarts selection of the Bee is entirely consistent with the subject matter hisorganisation was studying, for France is known as l'Hexagone, due to its natural 6-

sided shape. Coincidently, the centre line oflHexagone closely mirrors the old ParisMeridian, passing near Paris in the north and Rennes-Le-Chteau in the south. TheParis Meridian - an imaginary arc that measures the hours of the day was laterreplaced by Londons Greenwich Meridian as the international standard for time


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keeping. However, in recent years the Paris Meridian has been romanticized andsomewhat merged with the notion of the Rose-Line, a mythical sort of ley-line thatallegedly connects esoterically significant sites from Roslyn Chapel in Scotland toSaint Sulpice in Paris, and on to Rennes-Le-Chteau in the South of France. Despiteits spurious invention, it is worth mentioning that the two sites that top and tail theRose-Line; Roslyn Chapel and Rennes-Le-Chteau, each feature Bee symbolism inrather bizarre ways. And while we have only begun to unravel Rennes-Le-Chteaus

connection with Bees, it would be a shame if we did not pause long enough to firstdiscuss its Rose-Line counterpart in the north.

France believed to be in the shape of a natural Hexagon www.sacrednumber.co.uk

Roslyn Chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, in the 15thcentury and is renowned for what many believe to be an elaborate display of Masonicsymbolism. In fact, some believe that the chapel contains treasures of the KnightsTemplar or even the Holy Grail itself. Hyperbole aside, Roslyn Chapel does in factcontain a splendidly carved column known as the Apprentice Pillar, or thePrinces

Pillaras it was called in more ancient accounts. The pillar, which stands to the rightof the church altar, is adorned with what is generally regarded as Tree of Lifesymbolism; two dragons of Yggdrasil the World Tree according to NorseMythology - reside at its base while a masonry vine spirals vertically around thecolumn, drawing our attention to the ceiling. The Tree of Life symbolism has its roots

no pun intended in the Jewish Cabala, a discipline that has much to say about theBee, as we shall soon see.
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The Princes Pillar Roslyn Chapel, Scotland

Recent theories put forth by Alan Butler and John Ritchie in their book; RosslynRevealed: A Library in Stone, suggest that the ceiling above the Princes Pillarrepresents paradise on earth. And serendipitously or allegedly by design - on theroof of chapel we find a curious stone Beehive with a lone flower petal entrance thatwas home to Bees for as long as anyone can remember as least until they wereremoved in the 1990s. However, the existence of the Beehive in the proximity of thevine recalls a biblical account of a staff that grows into a great tree, with; a vine

twisted around it and honey coming from above." As is often the case, hundreds ofyears on the original intent of such symbolism is often forgotten. And in this instance,one is forgiven for speculating that the design of the roof, ceiling and Princes Pillarwere intended to reflect the role of Bees and honey in the greater context of Paradiseand the World Tree of Life.


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Roslyn Chapel and the entrance to the stone Beehive. Filip Coppens

Curiously, the association of the Tee of Life with hexagonal Beehive symbolism isnot unique. In fact, it is featured on the new Euro coin, reinforcing the importance ofthe ancient symbolism to this day.

The new Euro Coin: Tree of Life Symbolism within a hexagon www.sacrednumber.co.uk
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From Roslyn Chapel in the north, the mythical Rose-Line reunites with Rennes-Le-Chteau in the south, the village with alleged Merovingian origins. History informs usthat the Merovingian dynasty died out with Dagobert II. However, this has not

prevented others from claiming descent, such as Pierre Plantard, a Frenchman who inthe later half of 20th century promoted his association with the Merovingians - as wellas with Rennes-Le-Chteau, and was regarded by some as the last direct descendantof Jesus Christ. Plantard also claimed to have been a Grand Master of the Priory of

Sion, a controversial society with considerable interests in the Merovingian lineagescommissioned by Napoleon. Curiously, Plantards family crest featured both theFleur-de-lys and the Bee - eleven Bees in fact an important number in Rennes-Le-Chteau mythology.

Plantard Family Crest

The Plantard family crest is strangely reminiscent of images of Jesus Christ crucifiedon a 6-sided Fleur-de-lys cross, complete with 11 stars similar to Plantards 11Bees. The artistry recalls the hexagonal symbolism of the Beehive as well as the Beeitself, the very image that the Fleur-de-lys is thought to conceal in the first place.Does Plantards family crest hint at a bloodline leading back to Jesus Christ, assymbolised by the Bee and the Fleur-de-lys - a hidden bloodline that the man himself

promoted throughout his lifetime? To this day, as many believe this to be true as donot.


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Christ crucified on a Fleur-de-lys shaped cross

One of the more interesting links between the Bee and Rennes-Le-Chteau involvesHenry Lincoln, co-author of the 1982 book Holy Blood and the Holy Grail theinternational bestseller that put Rennes-Le-Chteau on the map with English speakingaudiences around the world. Back in the early days of the mystery, Lincoln had beenin contact with the French author Gerard de Sde, whose 1967 book The Accursed

Treasure of Rennes-Le-Chteau, had catapulted the story to national prominence.The story goes that Lincoln purchased de Sdes book while on holiday in France andsucceeded in deciphering one of its peculiar parchments, giving spark to the flame ofthe mystery that still burns today; that is, just what - if anything - do the coded

parchments conceal? Lincoln later came across a Book Club version with a strangephotograph of Bees that was not referenced anywhere in the text. Curiously, the titlebeneath the photo simply stated Rennes-les-Bains Thermes Romains, and no otherreference to the photograph was made.


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The anomaly is recounted in Lincolns book, TheKey to the Sacred Pattern.Essentially, the photo depicts a wooden panel on a dining room door with four Bees,one in each corner, and in the middle, a winged female standing on a globe holding awreath above her head like an Egyptian dancing goddess a motif we now associatewith Bee goddesses, as identified by scholars. Later, de Sde provided Lincoln withmaterial for his BBC television special about Rennes-Le-Chteau, including photostaken by Plantard that de Sdes had used in his book.

In his book, Lincoln recounts how the back of the photos were simply stamped with aseal saying PLANTARD, along with notation that revealed that the woman in thecentre of the photograph was namedEuropa the legendary priestess who was

seduced by Zeus while in the form of a bull, and that the images of Bees representedapiculture. However, it is said that the notation on the back of the photographs alsoincluded the phrase; We are the Beekeepers - a detail not revealed by Lincoln in his

book. The expression recalls the Beekeeper title held by Egyptian Pharaohs andbegs the question, was Pierre Plantard inferring the he was a Beekeeper and if so, ofwhat?


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Pierre Plantard. A Beekeeper but of what the Priory of Sion?

Before departing the enigma of Pierre Plantard, it is worth mentioning Philippe deCherisey, a friend of Plantards who many believe created the documents thatPlantard used to claim descent from Dagobert II. In any event, de Cherisey founded amagazine called Circuit, whose distribution was said to include the membership of thePriory of Sion. The magazine is of interest, not just for its alluring readership, but forthe fact that it featured a hexagon imprinted over an image of France with a sword

symbolically piercing its centre, echoing the old Paris Meridian.


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The cover of Philippe De Cheriseys Circut

So the founders of the Rennes-Le-Chteau mystery real or imagined - believed thatBees and hexagonal Beehive symbolism were quite important. They may have evenconsidered themselvesBeekeepers but of what exactly remains to be determined.The notion is serendipitous, however, for the keeper of Childrics Bees after theywere unearthed from his tomb was a Habsburg; a ruling dynasty that governed Europefor centuries and which is tied to the mystery of the Rennes-Le-Chteau. It is said thatSaunire was repeatedly visited by a Habsburg, who ultimately informed the priest

where he would find his treasure. In other words, it was no accident that the priestfound what he did. The theory purports that he was simply reclaiming a previouslyhidden artefact, aided by a family of great nobility the Habsburgs.

In The Key to the Sacred Pattern, Lincoln also draws attention to a series of Beehiveinspired stone huts called Capitelles, not dissimilar to the Clochn stone huts inIreland, as discussed in Part 2. The Beehive structures are found near a village calledCoustaussa site of a macabre assassination of a priest, and friend of Saunires, whoappears to have become fatally entwined in the cover up of his friends discovery. TheBeehive huts, which are largely unexcavated, are part of what is known locally as theGreat Camp. The curious structures are one of the few artefacts that lend credence

to the belief that Rennes-Le-Chteau may in fact have been the ancient andformidable Visigoth settlement of Rhedae. Additionally, the Beehive inspired hutsoverlook Perch Cardu, a sacred mountain that has long been the playground ofzealous treasure hunters, and which only recently has spawned claims that the tombs


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of Jesus Christ and / or Mary Magdalene have been discovered there and that theTemple of Solomon resides nearby.

Beehive styled huts near Rennes-Le-Chteau Perch Cardu in the distance

Henry Lincoln is not the only writer to feature Bees in his books on Rennes-Le-Chteau. Christopher Dawes, author of the superb Rennes-Le-Chteau adventure yarnRat Scabies and the Holy Grail, inexplicably encountered dead Bees throughout hisresearch for the book. There are many instances of Rennes-Le-Chteau being linkedwith Bees, one notable example being the infamous Latin expression that hangs overthe door of the village church of Saint Mary Magdalene; TERRIBILIS EST LOCUSISTE, meaning This Place Is Terrible. The biblical phrase refers to the words thatJacob spoke when he awoke from his dream about a ladder that reached to heaven. Tothis end, Genesis 35:1 provides the reference;

And God said untoJacob, Arise, go up toBethel, and dwell there:

and make there an altar unto God.

So Jacob recounted that the place was called Bethel and he had a stone erectedcommemorating the spot where he had fallen asleep. The biblical story relates to theBee in that Bethel, orBytalin Hebrew, means House of God, and the letter Y andthe letter I are interchangeable, rendering the translation Bit-al, and Bit in ancientEgyptian means Bee. The translation also suggests thatHouse of Godmay represent arepository of knowledge as in the Beehive. Additionally, and somewhat bizarrely,Bethel carries the same numeric value as the word meteorite, which harkens back tothe notion that Bees are related to sacred stones, and stones from heaven in particular,which we will discuss more fully, shortly.


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This Place is Terrible above the church in Rennes-Le-Chteau

Finally, our last association with Rennes-Le-Chteau and the Bee is even more obtusethan the others, for it involves the Holy Grail, an object of desire long associated withthe South of France. The well worn legend of Rennes-Le-Chteau purports thatSaunire discovered a heretical secret and / or treasure of considerable importancewhile renovating his church. As previously noted, he may have been told where tolook by a Habsburg; a dynasty linked with Bees. With his new found riches

apparently as a result of his discovery - the priest renovated his village and church ina manner that seems gaudy and sensational to our 21st century eyes. The renovationsincluded the encoding of the number 11 - as in the number of Bees found onPlantards family crest, and thenumber 22 the feast day of Mary Magdalene, and animportant number in the Cabala. As part of his renovation, the priest repositioned thestatues of Saints in his church in such a way that when connected in an unbroken line,or M shape, the first letter of each saints name spells GRAAL or Grail in French,i.e. St Germaine, St Roch, St Antoine de Padoue, St Antoine, St Luc.
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The Grail - commemorated in the Church in Rennes-Le-Chteau

The region around Rennes-Le-Chteau is ripe with Grail legends. In fact historysmost renowned Grail hunter, the German Otto Rahn, explored the provinceextensively during the early part of the 20th century. Rahn was inspired by hisunderstanding that Grail Romances such as Wolfram von EschenbachsParzivalwerewritten by authors who specialized in history not fiction, and that they portrayedreal historical events, places and people. To this end, Rahn believed that the Catharfortress of Montsgur was Eschenbachs historical Grail castle, the Mountain ofSalvation visited by Parzival as part of his initiation into the mysteries of the Grail.While todays scholars agree that the region is indeed steeped in Grail legend, mostsupport an alternative site to Rahns Mountain of Salvation, and that is Montreal deSos. The archeologically rich cave is nestled in the side of a rocky outcrop in what is

known as the Royal Mountain, in the nearby region of Vicdessos.


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Montreal de Sos A Grail initiation cave in the Royal Mountain

Much has been written about the evocative drawings on the walls of Montreal de Sos,for they mirror many of objects described in the Grail procession of Chrtien deTroyes provocative but unfinished work; Perceval, the Story of the Grail the firstever Grail Romance (1190).

Recreation of the Grail etchings on the wall at Montreal de Sos |A Photograph close up of the Lance in the actual cave

A little known fact is that de Troyes was unable to start until he travelled to Spain andstudied with a Cabalist, leading scholars to conclude that the Cabala uniquely enablesthe understanding of esoteric subjects such as the Grail. Some years later, Wolframvon Eschenbach wrote the Grail Romance Parzival, and in his account we are told


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that the Grail is a stone from heaven. This is interesting, given that the wordmeteorite carries the same numeric value (443) as Bethel which translates as Beein Egyptian.

Montreal de Sos is a double entrance cave in the tradition of the Bee goddess cave onthe Greek island of Ithaca, and its location is intriguing, for it faces a peculiar lookingstone in the distance known as theDolmen of Sem, meaning the Palace of Samson.

In Part 2, we discussed how the reference to Samson recalls the legend of Beescoming forth from the body of a lion. Might Bees be associated with the Palace ofSamson, too? The stone is curious in several respects. Firstly, it only vaguelyresembles a dolmen, and secondly it is positioned in such a way as to point directly attwo intriguing landmarks - each in opposite directions. To the Northwest, the Palaceof Samson points at a tiny village named Orus. And to the Southeast, it points at anearby mountain range whose summit is called theForest of the Grail, and whosevalley is known as thePass of the Grail.

The Palace of Samson marker stone or dolmen?Montreal de Sos is in the low lying hill in the centre in the distance |

Orus, or Horus is to the right | thePass of the Grailis to the left

The researcher Andr Douzet wrote about the curious stone in his book TheWanderings of the Grail, and observed that Orus transcribed asHorus the name ofthe falcon headed Egyptian god, when spoken in French, and lest we forget, EgyptianPharaohs were considered the living Horus and carried the title of Beekeeper.When I explored the mountain a couple of years ago, I discovered that at the centre ofthePass of the Grail, in the middle of theForest of the Grail, at the top of themountain in a totally secluded path at the precise point where one would be aligned

with thePalace of Samson and the village of Orus in the distance, an apiary - a groupof Beehives - obstructed the path.


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Beehives in the centre of thePass of the Grail

Although the presence of Bees in the middle of a mountain top path is in itself notsignificant - as apiaries are frequently positioned in out of the way places such as this- it is serendipitous, for it calls attention to the notion that Bees are not only linkedwith sacred stones, they are frequently associated with lines; Bee-lines. And as Iretreated down the mountain, defeated by my fear of being stung should I attempt to

manoeuvre past the hives, I reflected on the symbolism of the Bee for the very firsttime.

Entering theForest of the Grail| A view ofThe Pass of the Grail

the bee by andrew gough

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