Perillos: the navel of another world? Part 1: Transforming the land

 

In the beginning…

Previously, we advanced the hypothesis that the ancient lands of Perillos witnessed a “sacralisation”. Such events were quite commonplace in pre-Christian times and were there to express an intimate relationship between the landscape and the “higher world”, those of the gods and the ancestors. Often, key, enigmatic features of the landscapes were stressed and sanctified… often to become the location of churches once Christianity became victorious over the pagan religions. One of the most flagrant examples of this is the implantation of the three chapels on the territories of Perillos. The orientation of these structures does not conform to the Christian tradition, which is a key indicator that they preserved the orientation of a previous structure that was located there. Again, Perillos is not unique in this – but we should neither exclude it from the list. It was only after the annexation of the Roussillon to France that the castle chapel of St Michael of Perillos became the church of the parish and was re-orientated, to fall in line with the Catholic tradition.
Evidence of the ancient, prehistoric religion is still in evidence near the chapel of St Barbara, where the foundations of ancient megaliths were found. Furthermore, there were legends in existence about this structure, which were told by the local people until at least the beginning of the 20th century. Like elsewhere, these traditions have since largely disappeared and those who know them, often are unable to remember them completely. Again, Perillos follows the rule, rather than the exception. But we are specifically interested in Perillos and not the other such sites elsewhere in France.

Haut Poul

Officially, the plateau of Opoul never belonged to the lords of Perillos… or Opoul, at least not at the time when the castle was still in use. Nevertheless, we note that this plateau marked the borders of both territories and is primarily linked with the village of Opoul. But we should immediately note that this border did not yet exist in Antiquity – only at the beginning of the Middle Ages do we see these lines being drawn. In fact, we can argue that this plateau did practically belong to the lords of Perillos, for the sole reason that Opoul never have any lords of any renown… and at no point did it possess the location or the castle, which was occupied by a royal garrison, and not by the troops of the lords of Opoul.
The plateau of Opoul. The name of the village itself is derived from the plateau and the village that was once located on top of the plateau: “le haut polis”, the high town, became Opoul; same pronunciation, different spelling. In Greek, “the high town” is often, though incorrectly, rendered as “acropolis”, which takes us to the centre of Athens, in the presence of the “Acropolis”, even though several other ancient towns in Greece had an acropolis, often serving as a last place of refuge during the times of war.
Acropolis does not mean “high town”, but for those who have visited the Acropolis in Athens and have seen the plateau of Opoul, they will note a remarkable resemblance. For those who visit Athens and the Acropolis, that plateau has become synonymous with the Parthenon, which is the temple of Athena, matron goddess of the town, and which is one of the most famous monuments of Antiquity. Imagine the site without the presence of this temple, and you will see that the acropolis really has remarkable parallels to the plateau of Opoul. The comparison is highly visual – and the sacralisation of the landscape was largely dependent on such visual correspondences.

The acropolis of Athens is 80 metres high. Like Opoul, the plateau is largely oval in shape, with in the case of Athens dimensions of 150 by 350 metres. We know that the plateau was a ceremonial site since Neolithic times. Even though the image of a remarkable citadel is often what is promoted the most about this site, the acropolis was always primarily a religious centre.
Access to the plateau of Athens is done via a “processional” road, on the western side, through the Propulaea. This ritual road continues towards the bronze statue of Athena… the ancient temple of Athena, i.e. the Parthenon. The southern flank of the plateau was reserved for public spectacles, some of which were performed in the theatre of Dionysos.
These Greek structures are not very ancient, but it is known that as early as Neolithic times, the plateau and the caves along its slopes were seen as religious sites – only later did Mankind begin to construct massive temples on its plateau. For those who have difficulty in imagining what a “natural” acropolis would look like, they should merely visit the plateau of Opoul. Like in Athens, there are caves along its sides, as well as fortifications, which obviously do not date from the Greek era, but instead from the 12th century.

The Acropolis of Opoul

A comparison between the “primitive” Acropolis and the plateau of Opoul reveals certain analogies about the geological formations: on the south of that of Opoul, there is a large “platform”, turned into a parking, from where the path up the hill starts, on the eastern side, rather than one the western side, as is the case in Athens. Both plateaus have quite steep drops on three of its sides. Both plateaus are limestone, so typical for the Mediterranean basin… which is equally predisposed to caves and springs. In both cases, there are indeed caves, along the steep slopes, which no doubt were used in Neolithic times – various other caves in the Perillos region were used as such, and in the case of Tautavel, much, much older. Unfortunately, the castle’s construction in the 12th century brought the caves on its slopes into use and thus made it difficult to archaeologically establish any prehistoric traces.
The caves of the Acropolis are situated on the eastern and northern slopes. The northern slope has three caves; two of these were dedicated to Apollo and the third to Pan. The caves were accessible, via stairs, from the top of the plateau.

The name “Acropolis” is so well-known that we think it applies purely to Athens. But there are several “acropolises” in Greece. As such, the real name of the acropolis in Athens is “Cecropia”. The name is derived from Cecrops, the mythical founder and first king of Athens… who has been described as a “half man half serpent”. He taught Mankind marriage, reading, writing and the burial of the dead. In short, he was a civilising hero.

Salvaterra

Throughout history, the acropolis was considered to be sacred and it was actually forbidden to build on it. The place was seen as an abode of the gods and should hence not be touched or worked upon by human hands. It was “only” in about 1100 BC that a first temple of Athena Polias was constructed on the site and it marked the start of other building works – though only religious buildings were allowed to be erected. As such, we note that when we look towards the plateau of Opoul, we can see a similar use. The archaeological discoveries that have been made on the plateau make it clear that our ancient forefathers considered this location to be the domain of the gods too. We note that the site has all the required ingredients to be seen as sacred. And thus, we would expect that the plateau in Antiquity would only have had religious buildings built on it.
Is there any evidence of the sacred nature of this plateau? There is: its ancient name: Salveterra, or “Land of the Saviour”, though also sometimes seen as “Land of Waste”… The Wasteland? The name was also linked with a chapel that sits in the middle of the plateau and may have been placed under the patronage of “the Saviour” himself. Why? Because in the village of Opoul there is a fountain which carries water from this plateau and which has the same name.

Roc Redon

On first sight, Roc Redon would not seem to have much importance in a sacred landscape. Nevertheless, as we have outlined elsewhere, such bizarre formations – which are furthermore rare – have a primary importance in a sacred landscape. In England, we have identified similar sites, which were linked with various rituals and customs. The Celts included them in their sacred landscape, and often placed them as border markers – though in Yorkshire, they are on top of hills, rather than in the bottom of a valley, as is the case in Perillos.
We underline again that the Roc Redon is a geological formation that is unique in the region, in fact in the entire Roussillon. It therefore must have been identified as having a certain importance, specifically religious importance.

The acropolis of Athens was seen as a “central point” of the universe, a navel of the world. A rock like the Roc Redon, which resembles the navel of an infant, as well as that of a pregnant woman… is thus linked with the notion that the Earth was female: Mother Earth. This is also present in other navel – or omphalic – stones, such as at Delphi.

La Caune

Speaking of Mother Earth: we note that caves – and there are more than a dozen on the territory of Perillos – were seen as the vulva, through which one was able to penetrate into the interior of the Earth. In this comparison with the feminine body, the caves were seen as centres of initiation – centres of re-birth – and those who left these caves – the initiates – were seen as reborn, born from the vulva of Mother Earth… in clear analogy with our “first birth”.
We know, from the nature of the objects that were recovered on site, that the Caune was a sacred location. But it is also clear that several of the other caves on the territory equally had a religious connotation, like the cave known as Oursu. Unfortunately, the location of that cave remains unknown… despite numerous attempts to locate it, and several caves believed to possibly be the site, turned out not to be once further research was carried out. But let us remain focused on La Caune.
In Greece, one of the most famous caves is that of the Korykian, on Mount Parnassus, above Delphi. The cave was not archaeologically explored until 1969, by French archaeologists. During these digs, amongst other things, a statue of a man was found, dating from the Neolithic Age, as well as several other statues and objects that were less ancient. The type of artefacts recovered from this cave and from La Caune share many parallels.
The Korykian Cave has exceptional dimensions: sixty metres long, 26 metres wide and twelve metres high. The cave is dedicated to Pan and the name of the cave is derived from the nymph Corycia. It is known that certain rituals, performed by the Pythia, were held within this cave. The Pythia, the prime female prophetess of the temple of Apollo in nearby Delphi, performed these rituals during the wintertime, when she led a procession up the hill, a trek that lasted several hours. It is believed that rites of a sexual nature were practiced inside.
We note that in these caves, the stalactites and stalagmites were considered to be symbols of the male phalluses. We observe that La Caune has numerous of such wonderful displays on offer too, even though some of the more beautiful ones have become, in recent decades, the victim of destruction that is so typical of our modern times. But we also note that the cave “Oursu” was the final destination of a pilgrimage, undertaken by the people of Perillos, which started from the church of Perillos and passed by St Barbara before, we believe, making its way further up the hill. In this case, the procession was not led by the Pythia, but by the village priest… which on a symbolic level nevertheless fulfilled the same role!

We underline that “La Caune” is really a non-identifiable name for this cave, as it means “the cave”. It suggests that the site was so important and well-known to the local people that they merely referred to it as “the cave”… and everyone knew what they were talking about.
As to the other caves, known to the locals, we note that they are often referred to as “la caune de fer” (the cave of iron), “la caune de l’esprit” (the cave of the spirit), etc. Only “La Caune” was referred to as “the” cave. It is of course possible that the original name of the cave was forgotten and that “the cave” became its name for any further determinative was now gone amiss. But is it likely that the most famous cave of them all could lose its name, whereas less known caves retained their name?
Many caves are found to be on the sides of mountains, a phenomenon that is well-known in Crete, one of the most important Neolithic civilisations in the Mediterranean basin. In Crete, these caves all have a direct link with Zeus. Mythology identifies one cave as the site where Zeus was born, another where he was hidden and yet another where he was buried. The Psychro Cave (Crete) was used as a religious site since 2800 BC and received and continued to receive numerous offerings. Finally, let us note that not merely the caves, but the mountains on which the caves were located, were held sacred.

The Mount of Olives

La Caune is situated at the foot of the “Montailhou de Perilhou”. This mountain is the highest of the sector and marks the border of the Roussillon. Should we consider this mountain to be a sacred mountain? A “Mount Olympos”, the residence of the gods? Nevertheless, this “Montailhou” would be only a “relay station” for the true “Mount Olympos” of the Pyrenees: the Canigou.

Let us note that this point of culmination, the location where Earth and Heaven are closest, is also known under a different name: “The Mountain of Olives”. We already know that the site never had any such tree – let alone trees – on its slopes or tops. Instead, the site is noted for a subterranean network that is considered to be of extreme interest by speleologists. One cave is said to have an almost vertical drop of more than sixty metres, before the network continues. One of the entrances to this network was – no doubt accidentally – closed off when the meteorological radar station was installed on its summit. If this cave was the famous Oursu, then it seems that archaeology – and the rest of us – will never know what the Oursu cave contained.
As to the olive tree, we note that this tree and its fruits were deemed to be very sacred. We note that the olive tree was sacred to Athena… a deity which planted such a tree on top of… the Acropolis of Athena.

These elements of Perillos’ landscape have clear correspondences with other sacred landscapes. We have seen in other material on this site that these elements were incorporated in some type of sacred landscape, i.e. alignments between the various sites. This study has tried to interpret the individual sites within a mythical context. The next question which we will need to answer is what specific myth(s) was sacralised in Perillos’ landscape.

continued>>

Filip Coppens