THE STONE OF THE HYMN
PSALMS AND PRAISES OF MESSINI
You actually exist. < Χά λά εί >
The inscribed stone of the Hymn was found in the Sacred Altar, in the southern part of the Church of Asklipios, embedded on the wall of a Sanctuary in Ancient Messini, Peloponnese, Greece.
It dates back to 100 B.C..
These are the letters on the inscribed stone of the Sanctuary of Messini.
This is the text which is inscribed on the stone, as it has been identified and clearly written.
Λ(Α) — — Λ — — Μ — — Ο — — Χ — — Α — — Γ— — Π — — Κ
Λ(Α) — — ΥΛ — — Μ — — Ο — — Ν — — Χ — — Λ(Α) — — Ι — — Ρ
In the text we can find Hymns to God Apollo, to whom the sacred altar was probably mystically devoted.
The text is a document of the faith in the Gods of that time.
We studied the phonetic values in the actual text. We understood it, we read and rendered it into Modern Greek, but we also approached it philosophically.
Figuration of the phonetic values of the text.
In our own view, the phonetic values are formed as follows:
ΛΑΥΛΛΩΙ ΜΑ ΟΘ ΧΑ Α ΓΕ ΠΑ ΚΥ.
ΛΑΥΛΛΩΙ ΜΑ ΟΘ ΝΑΙ ΧΑ ΛΑΕΙ ΡΑ.
The language of the text is Greek, Archaic, typical of any Doric text. The grammatical structure of the text is mixed.
One can identify Pontic words, as well as Classical Greek Language.
The utterance of the words and of the verbal types, follows the grammatical rules of the Pontic Dialect, as well as those of the Classical Greek Language.
Rendition of the text:
ΛΑΥΛΛΩΙ ΜΑ ΟΘ ΧΑ Α ΓΕ ΠΑ ΚΥ.
ΛΑΥΛΛΩΙ ΜΑ ΟΘ ΝΑΙ ΧΑ ΛΑΕΙ ΡΑ.
The Τext in Modern Greek:
You are absolutely original and admirable (my Lord).
(Εξαιρέτως λέγω, ναι ότι γνήσιος θαυμαστά γέγονε παντίω τρόπω ο Κύριος.
Εξαιρέτως λέγω, ναι ότι αληθώς γνήσιος θαυμαστός είσαι βεβαίως (Κύριε).)
A Monogram Code
The Code of the Clergy for the secret prayer to the God Apollo.
The clergy wanted to hide wishes and praises for mystical reasons, so they used to write monograms, in order to prevent those not initiated from understanding them.
The clergy use two ways of hiding the codes in this writing system. The first one is a one-letter text, like the present one. The second one is consonantal writing, while the only instances of the use of vowels, emerge when the existing consonants form more than one words.
A Philosophical Approach:
The limestone stele found in the Sacred Altar of Ancient Messini, revealed a text of a secret prayer of two lines.
It includes letters of the Doric Alphabet written in the Proto-Greek writing style
(Clergical Mystified Monogram Writing) and it includes hymns to the honoured God.
The fact that the stele has been found in the Sacred Altar, proves that it is a part of worship.
After the praises * (αινιτινόν/ainitinon), the sacrifices, during the worship dances, in the symposium, the musicians play musical instruments and the priestess chants (βαγεί/vagei) hymns to the God.
* αινιτινόν/ainitinon (praises): A ritual with hymns and incense burning on the altar, before the libations or the pouring of sacred liquids (choes/χοές).
A psalm honouring God is recorded.
Τhose who take part in the sacrifices of the sanctuary, sing and dance at the same time, having as lead singers either the priestess or the Religious leader.
They invoke the honoured God saying:
Our Lord exists in an admirable way.
This means that the God demonstrates his presence through wonders and any type of help to the faithful, that is the reason we make sacrifices in his name.
They complete the psalm saying:
My Lord, you are really original and admirable.
This means that they accept the authenticity of God’s existence, who is real and who offers support of any type.
The invocation, the praises, and respect to God , are a part of worship across time.
Τhe person who prays praises and asks with a clear heart.
This ritual with a background music has been kept by the tradition through the ages .
The musical rhythm meets the old verse through the text.
This worship rhythm is called ”ΧΑ ΛΑ ΕΙ” (“CHA LA EI”), even nowadays, according to the three words included in the Ancient invocation of God.
A lot of people know that as Pontic and Cappadocian ”ΧΑ ΛΑ ΕΙ” (“CHA LA EI”).
A mystified sound, of an emotional uplift.
In the conservatory, as well as in the theatre of Ancient Messini, both of them recently being restored, the ancestral hymn to a God of another period of time can be heard, with a background of Ancient dance and songs, during cultural festivals.