Psyche: Apotheosis of a Soul Goddess Part IIPsyche knew her efforts were futile. Eros, being divine, was capable of traversing any distance within an instant. Psyche actually assumed, of course, that her aggrieved husband had ascended to Olympus to seek solace with his mother. She, being mortal, was condemned to remain forever Earthbound. Yet, she had no other choice but to seek him out in every corner of the world. Now that the palace had been closed to her, Psyche was homeless. She did not want to summon Zephyrus to convey her back to her parents' home. (He likely wouldn't have answered the summons.) She was also determined to demonstrate that her love for Eros was genuine and would not abandon the pursuit until they reconciled. Psyche walked the rest of the night, moving in the direction where she watched Eros vanish into the darkness. As she wandered aimlessly forward, Psyche reflected miserably on her abrupt change in fortune. The day before she was wealthy and well loved. Suddenly, she was destitute and deprived of her husband's affections. With gnawing bitterness Psyche recognized that her own folly precipitated these profound changes. Despite growing hunger and thirst, Psyche continued walking even after the Sun rose. The onset of daylight did nothing to mitigate her misery for she looked upon a land she had never before seen and about which she knew nothing. She beheld a barren terrain set far below seemingly inaccessible summits. In desperation, she pleaded with the gods to aid her, but elicited no response. All the Olynpians, even Zeus, were reluctant to intervene and incur Aphrodite's wrath, which had come to full spate considering that Psyche had literally damaged her beloved son. The following day, Psyche attempted to ascend one of the high slopes she encountered only to collapse from hunger and exertion. As she was about to lapse into sleep, she murmured an earnest prayer to Aphrodite, herself. "I implore you to let me make amends, for my love for Eros is beyond measure." Psyche then soon found herself facing Aphrodite. The goddess regarded her with such fierceness that Psyche diverted her eyes and nodded, a gesture she hoped would be regarded as deferential. Aphrodite's voice resounded like echoing thunder against the mountains. "You grievously wounded my son! What do you wish of me?" Psyche trembled, but spoke coherently. "To show you and him that I truly love him. Would you bring me to him?" Aphrodite laughed scornfully. "He refuses to see you. Besides, your exertions of late have greatly diminished your beauty and Eros would be repulsed to look upon you now." Psyche steadied herself and with great effort prostrated herself before Aphrodite. "I shall do anything to regain his love and to earn yours." Psyche expected to hear derisive laughter again, but for a few tense moments heard only the whistle of high mountain winds. "Anything?" Aphrodite asked coldly. Psyche looked up hopefully. "Anything." In an instant Psyche and Aphrodite materialized in the middle of a vast meadow next to a heap of seeds as high as Psyche was tall. "Within this mound you will find all types of seeds," Aprhodite told her. "By dusk you shall separate them by type into individual piles." As Psyche looked with dismay onto the heap, Aphrodite smirked and vanished. Psyche drew out a handful of seeds and counted at least thirty different types. She threw the seeds back onto the heap and sat down in misery. It was impossible. . Nobody could separate these seeds in a month, let alone one day. Psyche was then distressed to see the once clear sky quickly covered in thick white clouds. She assumed that the vindictive Aphrodite intended to render the task all the more difficult with a torrent of rain. The distraught woman wrapped her arms around herself and whispered toward the ground, "Please help me." She expected no answer to this plea as she knew nobody could hear it. Yet, within moments Psyche noticed the meadow grasses moving all around her. Like a wave, the motion extended out to all parts of the meadow within her sight. Out of the grasses streamed a colony of ants. Each ant marched toward the heap and took a single seed from it. The ants then arranged the seeds by type into smaller heaps all around the meadow. Psyche watched ants completely cover the heap making it look like a pulsing black mass. In perfect coordination, the ants formed a series of convection shells moving toward, then away and then back again toward the ever shrinking mound. Though astonished and delighted at the sight of her miniscule allies performing the work, Psyche often looked uneasily at the overcast sky above. How, she wondered, would ants cope with rain? Fortunately, not a single drop of rain ever fell that day. By dusk, the ants had completed the task and, strangely, the clouds parted, leaving a crystal clear sky. Aphrodite arrived and was chagrined to see dozens of mounds, each of which contained a different seed. Not a single seed was out of place. "The task is completed," Psyche said, bowing reverentially. "You did the work yourself?!" Aphrodite thundered. "Nobody helped me," Psyche replied innocently. "Well, let us proceed to the next task." Psyche then found herself next to a river and it was morning again. Hedges ran along its banks and on the other side Psyche saw a flock of golden rams running in all directions. They were different from usual rams in that they didn't appear at all docile, but were, instead, highly aggressive. They bit at each other and chased smaller animals. Once caught, they tore the poor little creatures into shreds. "You must now gather enough an entire armful of golden fleece,* I shall expect you to give me that fleece when I return at nightfall." As soon as Aphrodite disappeared, Psyche walked down to the riverbank. She looked over at the ferocious rams. Ants couldn't help her that time. She knew that she wouldn't survive among the rams and decided at once to drown herself. Psyche believed that Eros was gone forever and that she would just be made to perform one task after another for his mother's depraved amusement. As she prepared to dive into the water, Psyche heard another voice. It issued from the river reeds waving back and forth in the wind. "Do not kill yourself," the voice urged her. "I know the goddess wants the fleece by tonight. You need not venture across the river. Just wait. The rams in their frenzy will brush often against the hedges and their fleece will become entangled in them. Wait until the Sun is low and then creep around the hedges to draw away the fleece. You will find sufficient." Psyche thanked the reeds for their advice and tried to converse with them, but they spoke no more. As Psyche waited she noticed that the rams often did rub against the hedges which quickly became covered by the fleece. Just before sunset, Psyche swam across the river and gathered as much fleece as she could carry. She then swam across the river and laid the material on the ground to dry. It was dried and in a stack when Aphrodite returned. When Psyche handed her the fleece, Aphrodite said nothing, They instantly left the riverbank and reappeared in front of the highest waterfall Psyche had ever seen. It was also the strangest. The water was as black as pitch and instead of falling into a riverbed, the water fell into a narrow chasm at the falls' bottom. "Very few mortals have looked upon these falls, my dear," Aphrodite told her. "This is the source of the River Styx across which, at this very moment, the souls of dead mortals are being conveyed into Asphodel. If you happened to press your face close to the chasm you might be able to hear the despairing moans." Aphrodite then laughed softly as she watched Psyche shutter. "You shall take this flask and fill it with that water. Now, instead of the entire day, for you will notice that it is morning once more, you have one hour to collect the water. I know you were helped in your previous tasks. This time I am sure you shall be unaided." Even before Aphrodite vanished, Psyche approached the walls with flask in hand. She soon found that this task was the most difficult of the three. The rocks on which she had intended to walk were slime-coated and thus very slippery. Psyche could find no means by which to even draw close to the water, let alone gather any in her flask. No insects could assist her. No reeds could advise her. She was truly alone, or so she thought. A few moments later an eagle descended from on high and took the flask. It then flew over to the falls and filled it. The eagle returned it to Psyche and flew away just as Aphrodite appeared. The sight of the filled flask so infuriated the goddess that she could barely contain herself. "Now then, my dear," Aphrodite said sternly, "I have the most important task of them all. The strain of caring for the son you so dearly wounded has left me bereft of my beauty....my unrivalled beauty....You shall go to Persephone, queen of the Underworld. In this box you will bring back the sorcery that will restore my loveliness. Inform Persephone that Aphrodite is in dire need of it and she will not refuse you." Aphrodite then gave Psyche instructions on how to access the underworld. Though exhausted beyond measure, Psyche began the arduous trek down below the world. During this descent, she encountered an old decrepit crone hobbling along the road. Despite her advanced age, the crone spoke in a strong voice. "Seeking out Queen Persephone are ye? Well, you will need these: a jar of sweet wine for the ferryman and three seed cakes for the three-headed hound. Only with these offerings will they let you pass." Psyche took the wine and cakes and as she turned to thank the old woman, she realized that she had vanished. Perhaps it had been a wandering shade, Psyche thought, since such apparitions were likely to be common in regions so close to the Underworld. In any event, Psyche arrived at the bank of the River Styx and bribed the ferryman Charon with the wine. "Oh, how I've longed to taste such vintage," he said with as much joy as he could possibly experience. "Yes, I shall draw you across." When Psyche reached the gate's entrance, she was met by Cereberus, the fierce, three headed hound. Though terrified, she tossed the three seed cakes toward the dog. Each head devoured a cake and the dog then fell into a deep sleep. Psyche entered the Underworld, unsure as to how she would find Persphone. She needn't have worried. Persephone was there to greet her. The Queen was appalled to look upon Psyche who looked more haggard and miserable than any of the countless shades who daily passed through the entrance. Psyche explained the situation as best she could without emphasizing Aphrodite's unrelenting persecution. She did not want to curry Persephone's disfavour by disparaging a fellow goddess. Yet again, Psyche needn't have worried. Persephone listened to her tale sympathetically and when it was over, she filled the box with the requested magic. "This is what Aphrodite wants," she said while closing the box and handing it to Psyche. The voyage back to the upper world was notably easier than the trip down into it. She passed the napping dog and the slightly inebriated Charon was all too glad to convey her back to the shore. While climbing on some rocks in the upper world, Psyche came to a small pond. She looked down at her reflection and wept: her beauty was truly gone, dissipated by the endless exertions, unsatiated hunger and, most importantly, her shattered heart. Psyche sat on the rocks and looked at the small box. "Perhaps I, too, should use some of the sorcery to restore my own loveliness," she said. Worried at Aphrodite would arrive at any moment to claim the box, Psyche opened it and looked inside. She was shocked and distressed to discover what appeared to be nothing but an empty box. In a moment, however, she was overcome with exhaustion. The box contained the sleep essence and soon Psyche lapsed into a deep slumber. She awakened to find herself on a mountain slope with Eros, himself, looking down on her. His beautiful countenance was shadowed by concern. He drew his hand along her face as she opened her eyes. "Eros," she whispered, clasping his hand. "It is I, my love," he replied. She moved to stand up, but he restrained her. "No, be still. You have been sleeping on this slope for a long time. You are weak and need sustenance. We shall soon travel to the palace and I shall tend to you." Psyche gently touched his chest. "Your wound?!" Eros smiled. "My wounds are healed." Psyche cried silently. "I tried to find you after you left. I wasn't going to stop loo..." Eros gently pressed his index finger to her lips. "I know and saw everything. I know what you attempted to do. Do not speak now, but rest. I will carry you back now to the palace." For many days and nights Eros attended to his wife as she slowly recovered from her hunger, thirst and exhaustion. Once Psyche had regained her health, Eros took her in his arms and together they ascended to Olympus. Once there, she was brought into the presence of Zeus, Hera, and many of the other Olympians, including Aphrodite. They are all radiant and in a strange way fearsome. Yet, Psyche was not afraid. The strain of her ordeals had imparted a fortitude into Psyche that enabled her to withstand such divne company. Aphrodite stepped forward and anointed Psyche's eyes with an elixir of violets "This is for beauty undiminished." Hermes applied ointment to her feet. "This is for unimpeded speed." Athena coated Psyche's shoulders with oils. "And this is for unflagging strength." Finally, Zeus presented Psyche with ambrosia. "Swallow this and you shall know life everlasting." As soon as Psyche ingested the ambrosia, she experienced an elation that no mortal could have ever imagined. Eros embraced Psyche and in so doing drew wings from her back. "Soul," he said simply to her as she grew equal in radiance to the others. "You are now welcome to remain among us," Zeus told her. Eros looked at Psyche for a response. She replied softly, "Let's go home...at least for now." So Eros and Psyche descended together back to the remote palace that no mortal would ever be able to access. They slept that night in a tight embrace, secure in the knowledge that not even death could part them. From that night on, love and soul would forever remain conjoined.
*This is not the same golden fleece that Jason and the Argonauts would later have to retrieve.
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2020-2021: XXXVIII
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Remote Planetarium 116: "Weighing" Galaxies I
How can an astronomer possibly "weigh" a galaxy? We might remind you that galaxies contain incomprehensibly large amounts of material. Current estimates suggest that our home galaxy is 1.5 trillion times more massive than the Sun. Remember that the Sun is 333,000 times more massive than Earth which, itself is trillions upon trillions of times more massive than you! So, how can such a puny being as a human being know a galaxy's mass? They can make that determination through analysis of stellar motions.
The Milky Way Galaxy is 1.5 trillion times more massive than the Sun. Astronomers are able to determine the galaxy's mass by studying the motions of stars within the galaxy.
Every star within the Milky Way Galaxy moves quite rapidly through space. The amount of material within the galaxy determines these velocities. We have seen in our own solar system the relation between matter and planetary speed. If we could increase the Sun's mass while keeping Earth at the same distance from it, our planet's orbital speed would increase. The length of our year would literally shorten as a consequence of the Sun's matter augmentation. Conversely, were we to reduce the Sun's mass, the planets' orbital speeds would decrease. Astronomers used this relation to determine the Sun's mass simply by knowing Earth's distance and orbital period.
Although the galaxy presents us with a more complicated system by virtue of its size (100,000 light year diameter) and stellar population (300 billion stars), the principle remains the same. The more matter within the galaxy, the faster the motions of the stars within it. Also, the motion of other non-stellar material yields information related to the galaxy's mass.
As we learned earlier in this course, astronomers were able to detect the presence of dark matter by studying the motions of stars and nebulae inside the galaxy. If visible matter were the only material present, the velocities of stars would decrease with increasing distance from the galaxy's nucleus. Instead, these velocities actually increase. These observations led scientists to the determination that much more matter exists in the galaxy than we can directly observe. About ninety percent of the Milky Way consists of this dark matter.
The combination of this unseen and visible matter equals about 1.5 trillion solar masses. This includes the 4 million solar mass black hole within the galactic nucleus. This black hole's mass was likewise ascertained by analysis of stellar velocities within the hole's proximity.
Tomorrow, we'll return to the regions far beyond the Milky Way to learn how astronomers can measure the masses of remote galaxies.
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