COSMOPOETRY PREMIERE AT EPIDAURUS

-text and photos Andrei Dorian Gheorghe
design Florin-Alexandru Stancu-

Asklepios was the son of Apollo
(the god of light),
the best physician in antiquity
and an extraordinary character.
But giving immortality to people
(finding a formula in which he used snake venom)
he involuntarily attacked the gods’ superior condition.

To solve this paradox,
Zeus punished him by killing him,
and posthumously rewarded him by putting him in the sky
as a constellation named Ophiucus
(prolonged with the constellations Serpens),
in which, later, people with telescopes
discovered many interesting astral elements.

People also honored his memory,
building a city and a temple to remind of him.
Then they completed that place in the Peloponez Peninsula
through an amazing amphitheatre,
with 15000 places and the best acoustics in all antiquity.
Since the second part of the 20th century,
this amphitheatre was reinvented,
hosting festivals of Greek antique drama and other shows.

When I visited Epidaurus
I incidentally saw a performance given by amateurs.
The three actors were not men as in antiquity,
but three girls who performed an ancient drama
(probably by Sophocles, Euripides or Aeschylus, or even Aristophanes).
They spoke in a language which I didn’t know,
so I preferred, in my imagination,
to replace their words
with my spontaneous drama below.
So I invite you to see the first astropoetic drama
with deep sky objects
played in the Epidaurus amphitheatre:

OPHIUCUS (THE SERPENT-BEARER)
-astro-photo-poetic comedy-tragedy-satyr play
chaotically following the antique model-

by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe

I. COMEDY

Actor 1:

Ophiucus is a complicated constellation.
How could we evaluate this situation?

Actor 2:

Maybe going to close Barnard’s Star.
Let’s remember that dreamers we are…

Actor 3:

But Kepler’s Supernova smiles to me.
Maybe if we go to it we’ll feel really healthy.

Choral Conclusion:

If the spirit of the Egyptian doctor Imhotep
Is reflected by the Greek healer Asklepios,
Then perhaps the spirit of Asklepios
Is reflected by the nebula called Little Ghost.
This is a variant that
Overwhelms us with frost.

II. TRAGEDY

Actor 1:

Charles Messier discovered
Seven clusters of stars in Ophiucus.
I think he was quite glad.

Actor 2:

But watching the same celestial zone
I think that the meteor lovers
Are rather sad.

Actor 3:

However, in Ophiucus’s sky
There are fine nebulas that say: “Hi!”.
Probably, a pale consolation
For this tragical constellation.

Choral Conclusion:

Ophiucus loses from his power.
The Ophiuchid is a modest meteor shower.

III. SATYR PLAY

Actor 1:

The star Alpha Ophiuchi (Rasalhague) seems so faint
Just because it is not a saint.

Actor 2:

If you go to the Ophiucus Bubble
You risk to run into trouble.

Actor 3:

However, consider my words
As a toot:
Kepler’s Supernova is placed
At Ophiucus’ foot.

Choral Conclusion:

Asklepios-Ophiucus was the son of Apollo,
The god of light.
That’s why
Earth’s precession
Pushes the Sun to apparently pass near his feet
In the sky.
So that now Ophiucus is recognized by astronomers
As part of the ecliptic,
Becoming the 13th zodiacal constellation
Placed between Scorpius
And Sagittarius.
But generally the astrologers
Do not recognize it as a zodiacal sign.
(To change the horoscopes
Would be a crazy shock, not something fine.)
After all,
We love this aggrieved constellation
And fortunately the Sun does not care of the
Zodiacal equation.