The Oracle of Delphi Entranced, collage with Manos Gerakanis Omen©

An ancient story tells us that, one day, wanting to find the center of the Earth, Zeus released two eagles: one from the east, and the other from the west. The eagles met above a rock” the omphalos” or “the navel of the world” – and in order to honor and celebrate the place, a sacred temple was built on that spot, in the name of Gaea, the Earth goddess.  Legends speak of how Apollo slew the serpent Python, the one who guarded the ancient temple, and how the god laid the foundation of his own oracle there, in the Axis Mundi.

“Know thyself”, “Nothing to excess” and “Surety brings ruin” – are the most famous Delphic words of wisdom, inscribed on a column, at the entrance of the temple of the Delphic Oracle. People from all over Europe travelled to see Pythia, the priestess who put Apollo’s divine will into words, revealing the future, in cryptic messages, to those who asked her guidance – be they leaders of empires or common people.

 

Veduta Of Delphi, With A Sacrificial Procession by Claude Lorrain, (1645)

The oracle only functioned during the warmest times of the year, as during the winter months Apollo deserted the temple, leaving room for his half-brother Dionysus. Once spring arrived, on the seventh day of the month, the Pythia would begin her preparation, bathing naked in the Castalian Spring, a river that was linked to the legend of Daphne, the nymph who turned into a laurel bay to wander freely the watery groves of her home. The temple floor was sprinkled with holy water and the priests brought in heaps of laurel branches, while the guests, traveling from all over the world, would leave the most lavish and precious gifts and sacred offerings one can imagine, besides the mandatory gold pay.

In the first notes of the perfume, we have the adrenaline-filled buzz of those preparatory moments, like scenes from a movie, rolling in quick successions: there are the laurel bay leaves, gathered in branches, alternating their deep green purifying calmness with the trademark peppery zing. Pythia felt her nostrils rounding up, inhaling the sweet aroma of the first fruits of the harvest, carefully picked, polished with soft fabrics until the rays of the sun bounced back from them as if they were made of multicolored jewels. Approaching the baskets filled with rare spices, more precious than gold, she pauses and dips her hand in the sacks, small particles of saffron gripping to her delicate fingers, leaving their strong, leathery imprint on her skin.

Top Notes: Saffron, Apple, Bay Leaf

 

Apollo and Daphne, painting by John William Waterhouse

Chapter two: the invocation

Pythia removed her purple veil, remaining in her plain white dress that matched the curtain of flowers that guarded the entrance to the altar, with the aroma of heady florals mixed in with the sharp, fresh-cut wood smell.  “The tree was young”, she thought, seeing the juicy needles of the branches, as she bent down to pick another piece to throw into the growing fire. Just as young as the kid goat that was brought in for the ritual. When sprinkled with water, if it trembled, it was said to be a good omen, and the proceeding could continue. If not, the gods will not speak today. But today was a good day.  The small soul was sacrificed and then fed into the growing flames, as an offering. The rising smoke signaled that the question was to be answered by the gods. The oracle was now officially open.

Middle notes: Jasmine, Bucchu, Fir Balsam

John Collier Priestess of Delphi

Chapter three: the omens

The Pythia entered the Temple of adyton, closed the curtain, and sat on her tripod chair, hands on her lap, listening to the priests’ voices, echoing on the stone walls. She repeated the question again, and again, whispering it softly, rolling the words around, entwined with her breath, feeling them gathering presence and weight, as if they were smooth rocks picked from a river – they almost felt cumbersome, as she passed them over the god.

“Pray to the wind” – the voice said, and the silence grew, as the lights around her gradually faded. The vision began, with the fuzzy movement of green scales, rotating in circles, a glimpse of a deeper kind of darkness, glistening and wrapping around her, like a slithering cocoon. She was standing on the omphalos rock, amidst the storm. “As above, so below” the voice spoke again. The droplets of seawater, carried by the devouring winds, whipped her skin, pushing up the salty breath of the underbelly of the world. A high wave broke on the rock, loud as a soundwave, cracking the stone in two. She fell into the darkness of the blue waters, as the sea opened up. A new vision formed before her eyes: the foam of the waves crashing morphed into thousands of horses galloping into the dim, red, sunset light. It was minutes after the raid passed as she fell down, on the forest floor, digging her fingers in the soft ground, damp leaves stirred with roots, bringing out the dark green soul of the forest to the surface. She felt her presence, like a sharp arrow, projecting towards the shadows that were moving towards the mountains, to King Xerxes’ army. Her hands, now covered in the hard leather of the ceremonial war gloves, pull backward on the reins of the horse. She dismounted, feeling the strangeness of her new borrowed body – lean, young, tensed and strong, and looked inside, and shuddered.

“The strength of bulls or lions cannot stop thy foe” *

Base notes: Leather, Amber, Oud, Ambergris, Tonka Bean, Musk

*In 480 BC, when Xerxes the son of Darius of Persia, returned to finish the job of conquering the Greeks in which his father had previously failed, the quote above was the response the Athenians received, when consulting the oracle.

“The Oracle” by Camillo Miola

Manos Gerkakinis Omen is a fruity-spicy-ambery perfume inspired by an olfactory journey to Delphi, built on one of the mottos of the temple: “Know Thyself”. It’s an epic experience, mixing in darkness and light, being woven with the passion, contrast, and depth that perfumer Miguel Matos knows so well how to balance just in the right proportions. It’s hard to pin-point the fragrance olfactive pillars, and to force it into one category would just do it terrible injustice, as Manos Gerakinis Omen feels just like Phyton, the legendary snake, evermoving and constantly shifting and uncovering new facets on each wear. Sometimes circling around your skin, heady and sweet, dreamlike and deeply sensual with the sweetness of delicious fruits and smoke; at other times filled with adrenaline, with roots dug deep into leathery ambers and branches reaching out to fresh, green sap; and other times deep as the ocean, opening up on your skin sunken treasures of ambergris, and foreign yet comforting as a lullaby, spoken in the forgotten tongue of the desert.

Editor’s note: According to Plutarch, a priest at the Temple of Apollo, Pythia’s prophetic powers were linked to vapors, raising from a chasm in the ground. Recent geological studies reveal that two faults intersect directly below the temple and other studies found direct evidence of hallucinogenic gases rising from a nearby spring and preserved within the temple sedimented rock. Periodically, earthquake rattles the faults, which are then heated by adjacent rocks, and the hydrocarbon deposits stored in them are vaporized. These gases mix with groundwater and emerge around springs. A chemical analysis of these hydrocarbon gases is ethylene, which has a sweet smell and produces a narcotic effect described as a floating or disembodied euphoria. (Source)

Notes in Manos Gerakinis Omen

Top Notes: Saffron, Apple, Bay Leaf

Heart Notes: Jasmine, Bucchu, Fir Balsam

Base Notes: Leather, Amber, Oud, Ambergris, Tonka Bean, Musk

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure:  Travel size of  Manos Gerakinis Omen provided by the brand, opinions are my own

Mano Gerkanis Omen, photo by Nicoleta©

Thanks to the generosity of Manos Gerakinis we have a 10 ml bottle of Omen (50 Euros) for one registered reader in the  EU , UK or USA  You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review of Manos Gerakinis Omen and where you live. Draw closes 3/8/2022

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