THE ILLUSTRIOUS PILGRIM BRONZE (REVISITED)
Where I tell the story of my fictional character, Pilgrim Bronze.
Preface:
By way of a short preface to the current work before you, I was recently introduced to the work of Adrienne Mayor (Research Scholar, Department of Classics, Stanford School of Humanities and Science), who is “a historian of ancient science and warfare, and a classical folklorist who investigates natural knowledge contained in pre-scientific myths and oral traditions.”. From her book “Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology” (2018), I learned of a character from Greek mythology called Talos, who was “a giant automaton made of bronze”. Long story short, this giant creature “made of bronze” immediately reminded me of a fictional character and novel of the same name called Pilgrim Bronze, which I was working on back in the year 2009.
Pilgrim Bronze, the main character in the novel, was also made of bronze, and as his name suggests, he was also a pilgrim of a special sort. While I never finished the novel in question, this character has stayed with me ever since the day I first “discovered” him, if you will, since his creation as fictional personage wasn’t so much something that came out of my imagination as something, an event, which I experienced phenomenologically, as a kind of revelation, appearing before me fully formed, plotlines and everything, in one fell swoop.
The experience is hard to describe and was an important breakthrough for me as an author. It wasn’t “mystical” in a religious sense, but it was what I would call a “mystical vision”, vision as taken in an artistic sense (“a mystical vision of the New Adam.”). It just dawned on me that I could write a story of a strange kind of pilgrim who was essentially immortal and would show up in all walks of life, throughout human history, as a kind of dark Socratic figure, from as far back as the “Age of Bronze” where he was born, to the present and well into the far-away future.
Pilgrim Bronze was THE character par excellence. An archetype of sorts, though meant to be portrayed as though he were an actual, living, historical figure somehow magically present at every major event across all of human civilization as we know it. I imagine him always with a horse and though I won’t be touching upon his horse in this essay, I could easily write an entire tome on the figure of the horse in human history, from when they were first domesticated to current times. Pilgrim Bronze, though, is the subject I want to reflect upon, because of my aforementioned, recent introduction to the Greek myth of Talos, once again, that “giant automaton made of bronze”.
“An antiquarian writing in a deliberately archaic style, at one point Apollonius casts Talos as a survivor or relict from the “Age of Bronze Men.” This was an ornate allusion to a conceit in a figurative passage about the deep past taken from the poet Hesiod’s Works and Days (750–650 BC)*. In the Argonautica and other versions of the myth, however, Talos was described as a technological production, envisioned as a bronze automaton constructed by Hephaestus and placed on Crete to do a job. Talos’s abilities were powered by an internal system of divine ichor, the “blood” of the immortal gods. This raises questions: Was Talos immortal? Was he a soulless machine or a sentient being? These uncertainties would prove crucial to the Argonauts, although the answers remain ambiguous.” — p.8, “Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology”, Adrienne Mayor (2018), Princeton University Press.
* Note: Hesiod Works and Days 143–60. In Hesiod’s poem, the “Age of Bronze” was a symbolic chronology of the warlike Bronze Age generations that receded present-day Iron Age humans; Apollonius’s poetic license makes the men of that age literally of bronze. Gantz 1993, 1:153. There was also a legendary Athenian inventor named Talos; see chapter 5. Various genealogies of Talos: Buxton 2013, 77–79.
I
Pilgrim Bronze, the enigmatic wanderer forged from black flames, embodies a paradoxical existence that transcends the boundaries of time and form. As the ideal pilgrim, he is in perpetual motion, an eternal sojourner traversing the landscapes of both physical and metaphysical realms.
In his essence, Pilgrim Bronze is not merely a man; he is the embodiment of Extreme Philosophy, a Philosopher of Extremes. Always on the Way to Damascus, he epitomizes the relentless pursuit of truth, the unwavering commitment to a transformative journey. His footsteps echo with the resonance of a great Crusader, not in battles of flesh, but in the crusade of ideas and enlightenment.
Yet, in the midst of his philosophical odyssey, Pilgrim Bronze assumes the visage of Roman Bronze Statuary, the very Bust of Marcus Aurelius Antonius. As the true epic hero of the Roman historical saga, he becomes a living artifact, a tangible link between the glory of ancient Rome and the unfolding tapestry of the ages.
This living relic is more than a historical figure; Pilgrim Bronze is a mystical vision of the New Adam, a representation of humanity emerging from the primordial humus, both earthly and divine. In the ideal persona of the Bronze Age, he encapsulates the virtues and complexities of an era long past, resonating through time as an archetypal figure.
As the Information Age unfolds, Pilgrim Bronze stands as the characterological gold standard, a symbolic representation of wisdom and inquiry in an era dominated by data and technology. In the late 1970s, he takes the form of a printed electronic circuit board, an embodiment of the convergence of ancient materiality and modern digital complexity.
The tale of Pilgrim Bronze transcends visual art; it becomes THE penultimate History-Painting, a narrative woven into the fabric of human experience. His deeds and reflections earn him the Nobel Prize for Literature and Economics, a recognition of his contributions to both the artistic and analytical realms.
In a surprising turn, Pilgrim Bronze also assumes the role of commander-in-chief of the Signals Corps, leading the charge in the realm of communication and connectivity. His black flames become signals of understanding, forging connections across the vast landscapes of knowledge.
Pilgrim Bronze, with his multifaceted identity, becomes a living testament to the evolution of thought, an eternal pilgrim navigating the vast expanse of existence, embodying the ideals of ages past and present.
II
In an ancient land, where the whispers of history meld with the crisp air of the wilderness, there emerged a being unlike any other — Pilgrim Bronze. Born of the echoes of the Age of Bronze, Pilgrim Bronze was no mere statue but a living, breathing entity cast from the same alloy as the mythic Talos. However, unlike his larger-than-life counterpart, Pilgrim Bronze stood at a normal human size, a peculiar fusion of ancient myth and contemporary reality.
His story began in epochs long past, his bronze form stepping forth into a world of primordial landscapes. As the Age of Bronze unfolded, Pilgrim Bronze wandered through the annals of time, witnessing the rise and fall of civilizations, the ebb and flow of cultures. His bronze frame became a living testament to the endurance of humanity, a walking relic from a bygone era.
Through the corridors of history, Pilgrim Bronze walked, his footsteps echoing across the ages. In ancient Greece, he strolled through the streets of Athens, a silent observer of philosophy’s birth and the clash of Titans. In the Renaissance, he marveled at the brushstrokes of Da Vinci and the chisels of Michelangelo, his bronze eyes absorbing the beauty of art blossoming through the cracks of history.
The Industrial Revolution saw Pilgrim Bronze amidst the clatter of machines and the forging of a new era. He witnessed the birth of ideologies, the roar of revolutions, and the thunder of progress. Yet, as the world evolved, he remained unchanged, a constant presence in a sea of flux.
In the modern age, Pilgrim Bronze wandered through the bustling streets of cities, a stranger in a familiar land. His silent contemplation bore witness to the cacophony of progress, the hum of technology, and the ever-accelerating pace of life. His bronze exterior, weathered by time, reflected the weariness of a perpetual pilgrim.
Yet, for all his stoicism, Pilgrim Bronze harbored a gentle humor. In the quaint villages and bustling metropolises he traversed, he shared light-hearted moments, a refreshing respite from the weight of centuries. His laughter echoed through time, a reminder that even in the solemnity of existence, joy could be found.
Loneliness, however, lingered in the crevices of Pilgrim Bronze’s heart. The last of his kind, he moved through the epochs, a solitary figure in a vast tapestry of humanity. Amidst the crowds, he felt the weight of his bronze solitude, an existential ache that no amount of laughter could dispel.
And so, the novel “Pilgrim Bronze” unfolds — a tale of a timeless wanderer, a living relic navigating the currents of history. In each chapter, Pilgrim Bronze walks through the epochs, a figure of paradox, a blend of antiquity and contemporaneity, humor and solemnity. Through the ages, he remains, a symbol of endurance, a silent companion to the ever-changing human narrative.
(To be continued…)
A.G. © 2009–2023. All Rights Reserved.
