'''William Shakespeare''' ( b. April 26, 1564 - d, April 23, 1616) was a English playwright, poet, and dramatist.

==Biography==

==Influence on H. P. Blavatsky==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] held Shakespeare in highest regard. The Introductory of [[The Secret Doctrine (book)| ''The Secret Doctrine'']] begins with his words from ''Henry V'', "Gently to hear, kindly to judge."<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine Vol. I (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1978), xvii</ref></blockquote> She further states that "Shakespeare, was and will ever remain the intellectual "Sphinx" of the ages"<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. ''The Secret Doctrine Vol. II'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 419.</ref></blockquote>

Blavatsky also makes numerous references to verses from Shakespeare's work in the Theosophical Magazine, [[Lucifer (periodical)|''Lucifer'']].

<blockquote>Perchance, in their unsophisticated wisdom, the philosophers of old were nearer truth than are our modern wiseacres, when they endowed man with a tutelar deity, a Spirit whom they called genius. The substance of this entity, to say nothing of its essence—observe the distinction, reader,—and the presence of both manifests itself according to the organism of the person it informs. As Shakespeare says of the genius of great men—what we perceive of his substance “is not here”—“For what you see is but the smallest part And least proportion of humanity: I tell you, madam, were the whole frame here, It is of such a spacious lofty pitch, Your roof were not sufficient to contain it.”* This is precisely what the Esoteric philosophy teaches.<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. ''Collected Writings Vol. XII'' (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 14.</ref></blockquote>

==Shakespeare in Theosophy==

As Shakespeare is also mentioned within the [[Mahatma letters]]. In [[ML129#Page 1|one of his letters]], [[Mahatma]] [[Koot Hoomi|K. H.]] wrote, "My good friend — Shakespeare said truly that “our doubts are traitors.” Why should you doubt or create in your mind ever growing monsters?A little more knowledge in occult laws would have set your mind at rest long ago, avoided many a tear to your gentle lady and pang to yourself."<ref>Chin, Vicente Hao, Jr. The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett in Chronological Sequence (Quezon City, Philippines: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 116.</ref>

<blockquote>But there is a different vision possible and every cultured man and woman knows
something of it, for it is given to us by the great poets. For what makes a poet
is a larger vision and especially is the larger vision of man a characteristic
of the great poets. The great poet stands apart from mankind; you find that
Shakespeare, who looks at all men as if from a Mount Olympus, notes their
foibles and foolishnesses, and yet smiles on them all. There is the spirit of
the divine vision when he makes one of his characters say about another, " God
made him, and therefore let him pass for a man." You will note that, wherever
Shakespeare deals with a villain, he has no kind of antipathy to him, whether it
is to Cassio or Iago; he makes his villain live his life and expound himself,
for Shakespeare has no resentment of the evil in the villain. Even in the case
of Falstaff, full of coarseness and trickery, Shakespeare sees the man as he is,
and there is no condemnatory judgement. A poet observes men as they are;
therefore we find in the poets a larger vision than that of which the ordinary
man is capable.<ref>Jinarājadāsa, Curuppumullage. ''Divine Vision'' (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1973), 4-5.</ref></blockquote>

==Division of Seven==

It is not Shakespeare only who divided the ages of man into a series of seven, but Nature herself.<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. ''The Secret Doctrine Vol. II'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), 117.</ref>

<blockquote>By what prophetic instinct Shakespeare pitched upon seven as the number which
suited his fantastic classification of the ages of man, is a question with which
we need not be much concerned; but certain it is that he could not have made a
more felicitous choice. In periods of sevens the evolution of the races of man
may be traced, and the actual number of the objective worlds which constitute
our system, and of which the earth is one, is seven also.<ref>Sinnett, Alfred Percy. ''Esoteric Buddhism'' (London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), 43.</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>The life of man he divided into seven ages (Shakespeare, ''As You Like It'', Act II, Scene 7, l. 143), for "As the moon changes her phases every seven days, this number influences all
sublunary beings," and even the Earth, as we know. With the child, it is the teeth that appear in the seventh month and he sheds them at seven years; at twice seven puberty begins, at three times seven all our mental and vital powers are developed, at four times seven he is in his full strength, at five times seven his passions are most developed.<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. ''The Secret Doctrine Vol. II'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1979), fn. 312</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==

<references/>

[[Category: Poets |Shakespeare, William]]
[[Category: Playwrights |Shakespeare, William]]
[[Category: Nationality English |Shakespeare, William]]

Shakespeare

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'''Greek Mythology''' is the polytheistic myths and legends beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Ancient Greeks often relied on myths and legends to explain their natural world, such as the change of seasons. Largely inspiring Etruscan and Roman mythology, Greek legends and symbolism remain popular in culture today.

==Primary Gods and Legends==

In Greek mythology, there are many other demi-gods and heros, but the most well known gods are the immortals who sit upon the thrones of Mt. Olympus. The Olympian gods represent a specific natural element or energy force. They are the following:

* '''[[Zeus]]''': The god of the heavens, or as later mythology would determine, the God of the Gods (Roman Name is Jupiter)

* '''Posiedon''': The god of the seas, who would challenge Athena for the title of patron of Athens (Roman Name is Neptune)

* '''[[Hades]]''': The god of the underworld, whom oversaw the sould of the mortally deceased (Roman Name is Pluto)

* '''Hera''': The goddess of marriage, who served as Zeus' primary and exceedingly jelous wife (Roman Name is Juno)

* '''Demeter''': The goddess of the harvest, whose daughter was the delicate Persephone (Roman Name is Ceres)

* '''Hestia''': The goddess of the hearth, who tends Mt. Olympus' sacred fire (Roman Name is Vesta)

* '''Hephaestus''': The god of blacksmiths and craftsmen, who forged lightning bolts for Zeus (Roman Name is Vulcan)

* '''[[Athena]]''': The goddess of wisdom, who became the patroness of Athens (Roman Name is [[Minerva]])

* '''Artemis''': The goddess of hunting and wilderness, who was the twin sister of Apollo (Roman Name is Diana)

* '''Apollo''': The god of music and light, who was the twin brother of Artemis (Roman Name is Apollo)

* '''Ares''': The god of war, who was quite reckless in his sides and choices in battle (Roman Name is Mars)

* '''Aphrodite''': The goddess of love, who rose from the botton of the sea (Roman Name is Venus)

* '''Hermes''': The god of theives and trickery, who also served as a messenger of the Gods (Roman Name is Mercury)

* '''Dionysus''': The god of winemaking and festival, who also has been metaphorically compared to Jesus Christ (Roman Name is Bacchus)

* '''Persephone''': The goddess-daughter of Demeter, who also served as the queen of the underworld (Roman Name is Proserpina)

There are various other deities, which include the Titans (Cronus, [[Prometheus]], and Epimetheus) and demi-gods (Pan, Orion, and Minos). The heros of Greek myth and legend are also quite known, with Heracles, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, and Achilles.

==H. P. Blavatsky and Greek Myths==

[[H. P. Blavatsky]] uses Greek myths and legends often throughout '' The Collected Writings'' and ''Isis Unveiled''. Blavatsky comments on the deeper meaning of the ancient Greek myths, and their greater archetypal meanings for humanity. In regards to the story of [[Prometheus]], Blavatsky extends the condition of Prometheus to the whole experience of humanity. She wrote:

<blockquote>The Titan is more than a thief of the celestial fire. He is a representation of humanity-active, industrious, intelligent, but at the same time ambitious, which aims at equalling divine powers.<ref>Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna. The Secret Doctrine Vol. II (Adyar, Madras: THeosophical Publishing House, 1979), 525.</ref></blockquote>

==Anthropomorphism==

In traditional Greek mythology, the gods inhabit bodies that display the vices and virtues that are seen in the lower states of man. Many [[Theosophists]] believe the reason for the anthropomorphism of the gods is to give them the full spectrum of the human experience, including the sensual desires. As [[Alvin Boyd Kuhn]] remarks:

<blockquote>"The dark night of the soul," no less than the Götterdämmerung, was, in the
ancient mind, just the condition of the soul's embodiment in physical forms.
Taylor reasons that Minerva (the rational faculty, as Goddess of Wisdom) was by
her attachment to body given wholly "to the dangerous employment and abandons
the proper characteristics of her nature for the destructive revels of desire."
All this is the dialectic statement of the main theme of ancient theology - the
incarnation of the godlike intellect and divine soul in the darksome conditions
of animal bodies.<ref>Kuhn, Alvin Boyd. ''The Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures'' (Rahway, NJ: Quinn & Boden Company, 1940), 146.</ref></blockquote>

Though many Theosophists describe the human condition of the gods as degrading, [[Annie Besant]] describes the anthropomorphism as an inspiration towards man. She accounts that the fall and triumph of the Greek Olympians serve as a metaphor to man's ability to rise above the errors of his way. She notes:

<blockquote>That one who falls thus may quickly rise again is encouraging. That old Greek allegory in which every time that the hero falls to earth, worsted in the conflict, he gains new strength from it, applies to man.<ref> Besant, Annie. ''Talks on the Path of Occultism: Vol. II The Voice of The Silence'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1965), 154.</ref></blockquote>

==Importance of Mythology==

In ancient Greece, mythology was revered by the Greeks as a form of art itself. They believed each god should be held sacred for the human ideal that each god represensts. To demonstrate the qualities the gods represent, the Greeks created pieces of art to serve as a physical embodiment of these attributes. Theosophists recognize this tradition, as [[Curuppumullage Jinarājadāsa]] comments:

<blockquote>Similarly it is that during those periods of spiritual dryness we can, if we
have so trained ourselves, commune with God through various forms of Art, for
Art fundamentally is a revelation of the Divine Nature, it reveals what Plato
called the Idea or the Archetype. The ancient Greeks were particularly sensitive
to this aspect of Art. If they looked at a statue of Apollo, the sun-god, it was
not merely to them a statue of some handsome youth, but there radiated from the
statue a mysterious influence, so that they came to feel the influence of God.
Similarly with the goddess Minerva; they felt, when there was an adequately
beautiful image in a temple, that somehow as they offered their adoration to it,
the image was like a wonderful window through which they looked into the Divine
Nature.<ref>Jinarājadāsa, Curuppumullage. ''Discourses on the Bhagavad Gita'' (Adyar, Madras: Theosophical Publishing House, 1953), 99.</ref></blockquote>

==Notes==

<references/>