159-168

• Florinsky, Igor V.

Local legends may contain information about real geological events of the past. Earthquake lights (EQL) can occur in the atmosphere over earthquake epicenter areas and adjacent faults before and during quakes. They may look like diffuse airglow, flashes, fiery pillars, and luminous balls. EQL may cause a mystical experience probably due to the influence of their electromagnetic fields on the brain. Subjective perception and interpretation of EQL depend on religious and cultural traditions. We study a stereotype of EQL interpretation in the legends of the Greek Orthodoxy exemplified by the legends about the foundation of two shrines: St. George Monastery near the Cape Fiolent, Crimea and the Panagia Tripiti Church in Aigion, Peloponnese. It is argued that the similar interpretation of EQL observation in the Crimean and Peloponnesian legends were caused by similar natural and economic living conditions of the Greek population in the both regions in the Middle Ages. We also consider some examples of EQL observation took place in other regions and their interpretation in other denominations. Differences and relations between EQL of mechanoelectrical and degassing origin are discussed. Finally, we consider the role of active faults in the production of a mystical experience and sacralization of an affected landscape

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία

Earthquake, Fault, Legend, Mystical experience, Neurophysiology, Religion, Seismicity

Περιέχει 8 εικόνες

1. Ambraseys, N.N., Jackson, J.A., Seismicity and strain in the Gulf of Corinth (Greece) since 1694 (1997) Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 1, pp. 433-474; Badawy, A., Horváth, F., Seismicity of the Sinai subplate region: Kinematic implications (1999) Journal of Geodynamics, 27, pp. 451-468; Bentor, Y.K., Geological events in the Bible (1989) Terra Nova, 1, pp. 326-338; Booth, J.N., Koren, S.A., Persinger, M.A., Increased proportions of sensed presences and occipital spikes with 1-and 10-msec. point duration of continuous 7-Hz transcerebral magnetic fields (2003) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97, pp. 951-952; Borisenko, L.S., Geological criteria of seismic activity in Crimea (1986) Seismological Researches, (9), pp. 38-48., (in Russian, with English abstract); Borisenko, L.S., Novik, N.N., Tikhonenkov, E.P., Chebanenko, I.I., Tectonic features of the southwestern part of the Crimean Mountains in the context of the problem of seismic hazard forecast (1982) Tectonica i Stratigrafia, (23), pp. 11-16., (in Russian); Castro, B.M., Liritzis, I., Nyquist, A., Oracular functioning and architecture of five ancient Apollo Temples through archaeoastronomy: Novel approach and interpretation (2015) Nexus Network Journal; Cook, C.M., Persinger, M.A., Experimental induction of the "sensed presence" in normal subjects and an exceptional subject (1997) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 85, pp. 683-693; De Boer, J.Z., Hale, J.R., The geological origins of the oracle at Delphi, Greece (2000) The Archaeology of Geological Catastrophes. Geological Society London Special Publications, 171, pp. 399-412., McGuire, W.J., Griffiths, D.R., Hancock, P.L. and Stewart, I.S. (Eds.); De Boer, J.Z., Chanton, J., Zeitlhöfler, M., Homer's Chimaera fires (SW of Antalya/Turkey); burning abiogenic methane gases; are they generated by a serpentinization process related to alkalic magmatism? (2007) Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften, 158, pp. 997-1003; Derr, J.S., Earthquake lights: A review of observations and present theories (1973) Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 63, pp. 2177-2187; Derr, J.S., Persinger, M.A., Luminous phenomena and earthquakes in Southern Washington (1986) Expe-rientia, 42, pp. 991-999; Derr, J.S., Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: LIV. Zeitoun (Egypt) apparitions of the Virgin Mary as tectonic strain-induced luminosities (1989) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 68, pp. 123-128; Derr, J.S., Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: LXIII. Quasi-experimental evidence of the tectonic strain theory of luminous phenomena: The Derby, Colorado earthquakes (1990) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, pp. 707-714; English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha (2009) Oxford, Oxford University Press; Etiope, G., Papatheodorou, G., Christodoulou, D., Geraga, M., Favali, P., The geological links of the ancient Delphic Oracle (Greece): A reappraisal of natural gas occurrence and origin (2006) Geology, 34, pp. 821-824; Etiope, G., Schoell, M., Hosgörmez, H., Abiotic methane flux from the Chimaera seep and Tekirova ophiolites (Turkey): Understanding gas exhalation from low temperature serpentinization and implications for Mars (2011) Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 310, pp. 96-104; Florinsky, I.V., Sacred places and geophysical activity (2010) Man and the Geosphere, pp. 215-255., Florinsky, I.V. (Ed.), New York, Nova Science; Freund, F.T., Takeuchi, A., Lau, B.W.S., Electric currents streaming out of stressed igneous rocks-a step towards understanding pre-earthquake low frequency EM emissions (2006) Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 31, pp. 389-396; Freund, F., Salgueiro da Silva, M.A., Lau, B.W.S., Takeuchi, A., Jones, H.H., Electric currents along earthquake faults and the magnetization of pseudotachylite veins (2007) Tectonophysics, 431, pp. 131-141; Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority, (1981) Geologic Map of Egypt, scale 1: 2,000,000. Cairo: Egyptian Geological Survey and Mining Authority; Gorodnitsky, A.M., Maljauvkin, A.M., Ushakov, C.A., Shreider, A.A., The method and some results of the hydromagnetic survey of the north-eastern part of the Black Sea (1967) Moscow University Bulletin, Series Geology, (6), pp. 57-59., (in Russian); Holy Metropolis of Kalavryta and Aigialeia, (2000) The Sacred Shrine Panagia Tripiti. http://users.otenet.gr/~imka/mains/shr-trypiti_en.html; Hosgormez, H., Etiope, G., Yalçin, M.N., New evidence for a mixed inorganic and organic origin of the Olympic Chimaera fire (Turkey): A large onshore seepage of abiogenic gas (2008) Geofluids, 8, pp. 263-273; James, W., (1902) The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. New York, Longmans; Johnson, C.P., Persinger, M.A., The sensed presence may be facilitated by interhemispheric intercalation: Relative efficacy of the Mind's Eye, Hemi-Sync Tape, and bilateral temporal magnetic field stimulation (1994) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, pp. 351-354; Koukouvelas, I.K., Doutsos, T.T., Implications of structural segmentation during earthquakes: The 1995 Egion earthquake, Gulf of Corinth, Greece (1996) Journal of Structural Geology, 18, pp. 1381-1388; Levin, J., Steele, L., The transcendent experience: Conceptual, theoretical, and epidemiologic perspectives (2005) Explore, 1, pp. 89-101; Liritzis, I., Castro, B., Delphi and cosmovision: Apollo's absence at the land of the Hyperboreans and the time for consulting the oracle (2013) Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 16, pp. 184-206; Marino, A.A., Becker, R.O., Biological effects of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields: A review (1977) Physiological Chemistry and Physics, 9, pp. 131-147; Maslow, A.H., (1964) Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences. Columbus, Ohio State University Press; Nikon, A., (1862) The First Class Balaclavian St. George Monastery. Chernigov, St. Elias Monastery (in Russian); Nikonov, A.A., The 1927 Crimean earthquakes: Unknown phenomena in the sea (2002) Priroda, (9), pp. 13-20., (in Russian); Palmer, S.J., Rycroft, M.J., Cermack, M., Solar and geomagnetic activity, extremely low frequency magnetic and electric fields and human health at the Earth's surface (2006) Surveys in Geophysics, 27, pp. 557-595; Papadopoulus, G.A., Luminous and fiery phenomena associated with earthquakes in the East Mediterranean (1999) Atmospheric and Ionospheric Electromagnetic Phenomena Associated with Earthquakes, pp. 559-575., Hayakawa, M. (Ed.), Tokyo, Terra; Pechersky, D.M., Didenko, A.N., Safonov, V.A., Tikhonov, L.V., Tselmovich, V.A., Petromagnetic and palaeomagnetic characteristics of the Middle Jurassic volcanism in the Mountain Crimea (1991) Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Geologic Series, (3), pp. 85-104., (in Russian); Persinger, M.A., Transient geophysical bases for ostensible UFO-related phenomena and associated verbal behavior? (1976) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 43, pp. 215-221; Persinger, M.A., Earthquake activity and antecedent UFO report numbers (1980) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 50, pp. 791-797; Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: IX. Expected clinical consequences of close proximity to UFO-related luminosities (1983) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 56, pp. 259-265; Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: XVIII. Expected perceptual characteristics and local distributions of close UFO reports (1984) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 58, pp. 951-959; Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: LIII. Epidemiological considerations for incidence of cancer and depression in areas of frequent UFO reports (1988) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 67, pp. 799-803; Persinger, M.A., Derr, J.S., Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIII. Relations between UFO reports within the Uinta Basin and local seismicity (1985) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 60, pp. 143-152; Persinger, M.A., Derr, J.S., Geophysical variables and behavior: LXI. UFO reports in Carman, Manitoba and the 1975 Minnesota quake: Evidence of triggering by increased volume of the Red River (1990) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, pp. 531-536; Persinger, M.A., Derr, J.S., Geophysical variables and behavior: LXII. Temporal coupling of UFO reports and seismic energy release within the Rio Grande Rift System: Discriminative validity of the tectonic strain theory (1990) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, pp. 567-572; Persinger, M.A., Healey, F., Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence: Possible intercalation between the hemispheres induced by complex magnetic fields (2002) Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 190, pp. 533-541; Piccardi, L., Active faulting at Delphi, Greece: Seismotectonic remarks and a hypothesis for the geologic environment of a myth (2000) Geology, 28, pp. 651-654; Piccardi, L., Fault-related sanctuaries (2001) American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001. abstract #U52B-03; Piccardi, L., Paleoseismic evidence of legendary earthquakes: The apparition of Archangel Michael at Monte Sant'Angelo (Italy) (2005) Tectonophysics, 408, pp. 113-128; Piccardi, L., Preface (2007) Myth and Geology. Geological Society London Special Publications, 273, pp. vii-viii., Piccardi, L. and Masse, W.B. (Eds.); Piccardi, L., The AD 60 Denizli Basin earthquake and the apparition of Archangel Michael at Colos-sae (Aegean Turkey) (2007) Myth and Geology. Geological Society London Special Publications, 273, pp. 95-105., Piccardi, L. and Masse, W.B. (Eds.); Piccardi, L., Masse, W.B., (2007) Myth and Geology. Geological Society London Special Publications, 273; Solovyev, I.V., Bajocian volcanic structure of the Cape Fiolent (south-western Crimea) (1988) Kiev University Bulletin, Series Geology, (7), pp. 42-49., (in Russian); Soter, S., Macroscopic seismic anomalies and submarine pockmarks in the Corinth-Patras rift, Greece (1999) Tectonophysics, 308, pp. 275-290; St-Laurent, F., Derr, J.S., Freund, F.T., Earthquake lights and the stress-activation of positive hole charge carriers in rocks (2006) Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 31, pp. 305-312; St.-Pierre, L.S., Persinger, M.A., Experimental facilitation of the sensed presence is predicted by the specific patterns of the applied magnetic fields, not by suggestibility: Re-analyses of 19 experiments (2006) International Journal of Neuroscience, 116, pp. 1079-1096; Suess, L.A., Persinger, M.A., Geophysical variables and behavior: XCVI. "Experiences" attributed to Christ and Mary at Marmora, Ontario, Canada may have been consequences of environmental electromagnetic stimulation: Implications for religious movements (2001) Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, pp. 435-450; Swann, I., (1996) The Great Apparitions of Mary: An Examination of Twenty-Two Supranormal Appearances. New York, Crossroad; Thériault, R., St-Laurent, F., Freund, F.T., Derr, J.S., Prevalence of earthquake lights associated with rift environments (2014) Seismological Research Letters, 85, pp. 159-178; Tortchinov, E.A., (1998) Religion of the World: Experience of the Transcendence (Transpersonal States and Psychotechnique). St. Petersburg, Peterburgskoe Vostokovedenie (in Russian, with English summary); Trifonov, V.G., Soboleva, O.V., Trifonov, R.V., Vostrikov, G.A., (2002) Recent Geodynamics of the Alpine-Himalayan Collision Belt, , Moscow, Geos (in Russian, with English summary); Tur, V.G., (2006) Orthodox Monasteries in Crimea in 19th-early 20th Centuries. 2nd rev. enl. ed. Kiev, Stilos (in Russian); Unkel, I., (2002) Europäische Erdbebenzone Golf von Korinth: Geologisch-hydrogeologische Untersuchungen in der Region Aigion, im Umfeld der kontinentalen Tiefbohrung AIG 10 (NW-Peloponnes, Griechenland). Diploma thesis. Karlsruhe, University of Karlsruhe; Vaitl, D., Birbaumer, N., Gruzelier, J., Jamieson, G.A., Kotchoubey, B., Kübler, A., Lehmann, D., Weiss, T., Psychobiology of altered states of consciousness (2005) Psychological Bulletin, 131, pp. 98-127; Vitaliano, D.B., (1973) Legends of the Earth: Their Geologic Origins. Bloomigton, Indiana University Press; Yakovleva, M.I., (1973) Physiological Mechanisms of the Action of Electromagnetic Fields. Leningrad, Medicina (in Russian, with English abstract)