Temple of Zeus — The Assembly of the Gods

Is Decline/Fall (almost always) inevitable?

Acolyte Of Pan 666

Acolyte Of Pan 666
#1

I was thinking about something, and not sure how to answer it, I am reading about Iamblichus' writings on Egyptian theology, and it's clear they seemed to have had the whole of reality mapped out, yet they fell anyway. It made me wonder if everything is eventually destined to fall in the material realm, that nothing can last forever. Ancient Egypt was truly something remarkable, it lasted longer than any other kind of society or civilisation that came before or after. I don't think the West will last another 3 centuries in my honest opinion. Rome lasted about 1500 years, Hellenistic civilisation even less. Islamic civilisation quickly eroded, and so on. Ancient Egypt truly lasted the longest, about 3000-4000 years if not longer, making all others that came after it pale in comparison. Yet, it too, despite all its knowledge, fell as well.

Is it just inevitable that Izfet almost always wins in the end? It doesn't mean we shouldn't resist it, but perhaps currently it can only be defeated at an individual level but not a civilisational one. Perhaps the existence of advanced alien civilisations is proof that an eternal civilisation is possible, but after countless falls of past ones, who knows how many civilisations in those species fell before one eventually emerged that did defeat the powers of decay and conquered the stars.

I think that's still far away from us as a species, I hope the Temple, Gods willing, survives this but I don't see our "civilisation", if we can even call it that at this point, surviving another couple centuries with the road it's going in. If Egypt with all its occult power couldn't do it, I'm not very confident in the current powers that be keeping it all going, if they even want that.

Discussion

#2

This is the nature of matter, and it cannot be changed. Matter tends toward decay. Everything begins, everything ends.

This does not mean that chaos must continually prevail, reducing human beings to the level of arthropods. But even in highly developed and advanced civilizations, change will be a necessary and recurring process for progress itself.

During these phases, managing chaos (isfet), which cannot be permanently eliminated, is important, because it will determine what kind of change will occur.

Nothing is predetermined; the outcome is always open.

#3

Hello. Yes entropy is inevitable unless humans choose to fight against it:

[...]everything in existence is subject to the laws of entropy. Yet the Gods have created human beings with the ability to defy these laws and prevail against them, provided they put concentrated effort into doing so.

Your question reminds me of the ending paragraph of NP Karnonnos' writing on God Janus in the Gods Section as well:

Certain portents of Janus were eerily interwoven into Roman history and should serve as a warning about the Gods’ eternal rulership of civilization. The first king of Rome and the last ruler of Western Rome were named Romulus. The first Christian ruler of Eastern Rome who made Christianity the state religion and the last Christian ruler in 1453, who fell in battle to the Turks, were both named Constantine. An empire is much like a year.

( https://ancient-forums.com/threads/gods-section-april-8th-hathor.302684?page=2&go=post%3A1177828 )

It appears to me that people, countries, empires etc, they are alike so far as they come with a destined fate that must be overcome through the practices that align us with Ma'at.

#4

It certainly does feel like maybe we have another 50 years, but who knows what everything will even look like by then. I used to be a libertarian & I still wonder about currency collapse. Some Pink Floyd played at my job, & I was just struck by how different life was before I was born compared to now. For now, the small wins I can see I try to appreciate. AAA video game studios are not doing well, Flock cameras are being resisted, Windows is (barely) losing hold as Linux becomes more capable, & data centers are being resisted.

Hidden Warrior [SG]
#5

It wins if people let it win.

Think about the eternal cycle that Lord Ra goes through with his Solar barque. Every night goes through the Duat and defeats the Serpent Apophis, a manifestation of Izfet. If he doesn't defeat him, the chaos would reign.

The same applies in real life. Izfet must be fought in every moment. The more you ignore it and let it grow, the more chaos will arise, and degradation will spread endlessly.

It's our collective effort that prevents civilizations from collapsing. Ma'at must be followed. There is no other choice.