Tao Te Ching

Aeneas
12th C. BCE
Personification of the hero myth

Hero of fallen Troy, first Roman hero, ancestor of legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, described as a progenitor of Julius and Augustus Caesar, claimed as an ancestor of the British Kings including King Arthur, symbol of piety, loyalty and family values; Aeneas has a long story in myth, legend, and possibly history. Immortalized by Homer, Virgil, literature from ancient to modern times, famous operas, film and video games; he is used as an example of individuation and the hero myth in Jungian psychology.

Aesop
620 – 546 BCE
Hero of the oppressed and downtrodden

Known as a strikingly ugly slave who by his cleverness became free and an adviser to kings and city-states, some historians believe Aesop was a black from Ethiopia and became Uncle Remus in the Cherokee, Algonquin and American slave tradition of Br'er Rabbit. In many cultures he symbolizes a hero of the oppressed, disadvantaged and downtrodden who with wisdom and understanding outsmarts and wins over the rich and powerful. Famous throughout the world - from China to Africa, from Europe to Japan, from ancient times until today; Aesop’s fables and sayings remain a profound influence of goodness and insight.

Cassandra
12th C. BCE
Oracle of Crazy Wisdom

Symbol of the wisdom that’s hard to hear or difficult to practice when we do hear it, Cassandra also represents the disastrous consequences of not listening to that wisdom. Like her, many of the lineage holders on this list during their lifetimes were thought crazy, subversive, completely wrong and were only believed and respected much later. She personifies the intuitive, artistic, open approach to life in balance with Apollo’s linear emphasis on clear definitions, order, and superficial understanding of just the words, not the sense. We see both of these principles magnified today in politics and environmental debate, in all our forms of individual and social denial.

Cheng Tang 成湯 (Tang of Shang)
1675 – 1646 BCE
Tang Dynasty founder and example of just leadership

Founder and first king of the Tang Dynasty, Cheng Tang lowered taxes, decreased the military conscription rate, and after a long drought when parents had to sell their children, he distributed special gold coins to poor families so they could buy their children back. Claiming the Mandate of Heaven because of King Jie’s depravity, he overthrew the Xia Dynasty and united over 40 smaller kingdoms which almost doubled Chinese territory.

Duke Wen of Jin 晉文公; (Jìn Wén Gōng, Chong'er)
697 – 628 BCE
Innovative political reformer

A ruler during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China who, after a 19-year period of exile declined the throne and passed it on to his half-brother; Duke Wen’s civil and military reforms created a highly successful, expanding, and stable government that lasted long beyond his life. According to Confucius, he was “crafty but not correct while Duke Huan was correct but not crafty.”

Hammurabi
c. 1810 - 1750 BCE
Father to his people and example of good government to us all

In a primitive time and place of barbaric chaos, Hammurabi not only established order, prosperity, and fairness for his own country but set an example and structure for governments of his time, throughout history and all the way to modern times. He used wisdom and irrigation to make Babylon one of the richest cities history had known and then used his power to become “a real father to his people” giving them justice, infrastructure, a higher culture, and a legal system that prevented abuse of power, oppression of the weak by the strong, marital tyranny, protection of orphans and widows, and laws we still use today like “innocent until proven guilty.”

Hatshepsut (Hatasu)
1507 – 1458 BCE
"The Queen Elizabeth of Egyptian History"

Called by historians "the first great woman in history” and “one of the most powerful women in the history of the world,” Hatshepsut was also one of the most successful and compassionate pharaohs and set the stage for the zenith, the most golden age of Egyptian culture. Credited with the first transplanting of foreign trees, the first use of resin (making a kohl eyeliner), and one of the most prolific builders; she made the tallest surviving ancient obelisk on Earth, buildings not rivaled for a thousand years, and so many statues that almost every major museum in the world includes them.

Hesiod
846 – 777 BCE
“History’s first economist”

Called “history’s first economist,” farm hand, singer, epic poet of the people; Hesiod used his poetry to paint and establish religious customs, Greek mythology, good farming practices, and a foundation for the poor to overturn the injustices and inequality of the kings and aristocracy. He protested against injustice, furthered the understanding of astronomy and time keeping, the economics of sea trade, and gave meaningfulness to creativity and hard work. While Homer extolled the hero, the rich and powerful; Hesiod championed the working classes and the common person (though not women).

Homer
850 BCE - ?
Primogenitor of Western culture

Called by Plato the “first teacher” and "leader of Greek culture,” Homer spread an immense influence over all Western culture. A blind bard prophet, his books the Iliad and Odyssey represent the first European literature as well as one of the main influences that shaped Western culture. The “Greek Bible,” these books taught the best behavior for almost any situation with true and timeless images of human goodness and wisdom. Describing the most enduring legends known to the Western world, these universal themes inspire and enlighten.

Jiang Ziya 姜子牙
11th century BCE
"Master of Strategy"

Taoist adept and "master of strategy;" Jiang Ziya discovered how addicted to alcohol and women the Shang Dynasty emperor had become. He moved to the Zhou Kingdom where—after years waiting with an empty fishing line—he became military advisor to King Wen and his successor, King Wu. Together they established the Zhou Dynasty, the longest-lasting in all of Chinese history. His book, Six Secret Strategic Teachings became one of the Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, the only one of the Seven written with revolution in mind.

King David
1000 – 920 BCE
"The baffled king composing Hallelujah!"

King David דָּוִד (fl. c. 1000 BCE)
Possibly fictional but in any case powerful symbol of an ideal king and political leader, David. a shepherd, began his public life as a musician with a "secret chord" that chased away an evil spirit possessing King Saul. Leonard Cohen described him as “the baffled king composing Hallelujah!’ and Bonoas ‘the first God heckler’ and his shouting of 'Why hast thou forsaken me?’ as ‘the beginning of the blues.’ Israel's greatest poet and warrior, famous for success in his defeat of the giant, Goliath; he also became infamous for his infatuation with Bathsheba and the corrupting influence of forbidden pleasure that led to adultery and murder but also to the birth of Solomon.

Lavinia
12th C. BCE
Prophetess and co-foundrer of the Roman Empire

Probably a legendary figure but “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” and Lavinia’s symbolic meaningfulness rates her place here. Co-foundress of the Roman Empire, prophetess, daughter of a king, wife of Aeneas, made famous by Virgil, Dante and Ursula Le Guin; Lavinia helped continue the Trojan traditions and ruled “behind the throne” for her too-young-to rule son with Aeneas, Ascanius whose progeny Romulus and Remus established Rome. She represents convergence and appreciating diversity rather than allegiance to narrow sectarianism. The symbol of her hair catching on fire foreshadows both the brilliance and violence of the Roman empire.

Maitreyi
c. 7th century BCE
Symbol of enlightened feminine principle

A symbol for Indian intellectual women, "one of the most learned and virtuous women of ancient India,” poet, philosopher, and wife of the great sage, Yājñavalkya; Maitreyi studied, debated, taught metaphysics and wrote 10 hymns in the Rigveda, one of the four Hindu canonical sacred texts. Her dialog with Yājñavalkya in an Upanishad formed the foundation for Advaita, the oldest school of Vedanta that teaches and gives practices to help realize non-duality. In this dialog, her challenge to the male guru shows the equality of women in ancient India and inspires that realization today - a college in New Delhi is named after her.

Makeda, Queen of Sheba (Bilkis, Rainha de Sabá)
10th C. BCE
Embodiment of Divine Wisdom

Viewed as the embodiment of Divine Wisdom in the Kabbalistic and mystical Christian traditions, immortalized in the Hebrew Bible and the Muslim Koran, in Persia considered a daughter of a Chinese king and a fairy spirit, part of the founding myths for the modern states of Israel and Ethiopia; Makeda is the first person referred to as Queen in the Bible and ruled over Upper Egypt, Ethiopia, and parts of Arabia. Extremely wealthy and known as a wise prophetess, she challenged Solomon’s wisdom and later had his son, Menelk who became the first emperor of Ethiopia.

Menelik I (Ebna la-Hakim, "Son of the Wise")
c. 900-820 BCE
First Jewish Emperor of Ethiopia

According to traditional sources and memorialized in the Bible’s the Song of Songs, Menelik was the son of King Solomon of ancient Israel and Makeda, Queen of Sheba. Solomon wanted Menelik to rule Israel after him but instead (with Solomon’s blessings) he secretly brought the Ark of the Covenant (symbol of alliance between the two races, white and black) to Ethiopia where it remains today in Aksum. This made Ethiopia “God's chosen country” and established Menelik as the first Jewish Emperor of Ethiopia and founder of the Solomonic dynasty that ruled Ethiopia for almost 3000 years, includes the Magi said to have visited the manger at Jesus’s birth, and continued until the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 when it transformed into the Rastafari movement, the Lion of Judah as symbol of black pride, and the mythology of Bob Marley.

Odysseus Ὀδυσσεύς (Ulysses)
c. 1100 BCE
Trickster lineage hero and symbol

Cultural hero to the Greeks and respected for his cunning and strategy, Odysseus was reviled by the Romans as deceitful and without honor for not maintaining strict adherence to rules and ‘duty.’ Christians dismissed him and Dante relegated him to the lowest level of hell. He became a legendary Greek king and hero of Homer’s The Odyssey and a powerful symbol in the Trickster lineage. Stories of his successful guile, his brilliant solutions to problems, his courageous willingness to—for a good cause—go beyond conventions, norms, and chauvinistic beliefs for the greater good. Representing cultural themes long before Homer personified the Odysseus archetype, this imagery continues in the modern world in works by Tennyson, Kazantzakis, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Margaret Atwood, Susanne Vega, and the Coen brothers.

O​rpheus /ˈɔːrfiəs
7th century BCE
"Greatest poet and musician of all time"

Accepted by most ancient sources as a real person but also shrouded in myth and legend, Greeks venerated Orpheus as the greatest poet and musician of all time believing his music could charm animals, divert rivers, and even make rocks and trees dance. As prophet, musical archetype, and founder of the Orphic mysteries; his influence on art, poetry, film, opera, music, and painting continues into modern times. As well as influencing Stoic pantheism and the Neo-Platonists’ asceticism; he continued a mystic cult migrated from Egyptian Osiris that included the suffering, death, and resurrection of a divine son; judgments at death of heaven, hell, or purgatory; “original sin,” and a communion sacrament of eating a god’s body and blood; it became a basis for the Christianity flourishing today.

Parshvanatha
872 – 772 BCE
Earliest historical Jain saint

23rd described and earliest historical Jain tirthankaras (savior/saint teachers), Parshvanatha—like the Buddha—was born to a king and queen but renounced the world’s fame and fortune in favor of a life dedicated to spiritual discovery. His realizations and teachings became not only a major influence on the Jain tradition; but also, Indian philosophy in general. The core of his teachings emphasized understanding the cause-and-effect principles of karma and samsara while practicing non-violence and asceticism. His statures usually have a serpent hood over his head or snakes sprouting out of his shoulders. According to Joseph Campbell, snakes in this context are a symbol for life and represent letting go of habitual patterns, beliefs, and prejudice like a snake discards its skin.

Queen Mother of the West 瑤池金母 (Wang Mu, Niang Niang)
1766 – 1666 BCE
Feminine principle embodiment

Symbol of matriarchal preeminence, feminist role model, Taoist goddess of fertility and life, embodiment of Yin femininity, bringer of longevity, prosperity, and bliss; Wang Mu refused to submissively bow down to male superiority and disdained the typical Chinese attitude of always wanting male children, being disappointed with female births. Mythologized throughout Asia, she became an inspiration for women in China, Viet Nam, and Korea who had trouble passively following in the expected patriarchal role models. Although sited in accounts more than 1000 years before Lao Tzu’s time, she became one of the most popular symbols in Taoist tradition and—in at least one account—inspired and ultimately wrote with him the Tao Te Ching. Her influence and popularity continue today in many parts of the world and she is venerated in the Taoist Shangqing School.

Queen Tiye
1398 – 1338 BCE
First proponent of monotheism

Royal Wife of pharaoh Amenhotep III, mother of Akhenaten, and grandmother of Tutankhamun; little known Queen Tiye changed history by proclaiming for the first time a single god and inspiring the monotheism of Moses. A foreign-born, legendary beauty of black descent with a powerful, wise personality; she was worshipped as a goddess and helped rule Egypt for 37 years bringing her country to it’s highest point of international power and prosperity while creating a revolution and peak in Egyptian art.

Solomon (Jedidiah)
990 – 931 BCE
Magician, exorcist, great prophet of Judaism and Islam

Wealthy and wise king of Israel, son of David, builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem; Solomon – known as a great prophet in both Judaism and Islam, a "Righteous Prophet and King" in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and a great hero in Freemasonry – is not without his detractors for following foreign traditions and marrying foreign wives including a Pharaoh's daughter and Naamah, the only foreigner Queens Mother of Israel or Judah. His openness, wisdom and refusal to fixate on dogmatic orthodoxy invites him to this list. His renown as magician and exorcist include famous legends like the One Thousand and One Nights’ genie sealed in a bottle with his Seal.

Solon
638 – 558 BCE
Founder of Athenian democracy

Poet, statesman, lawmaker, one of the Seven Sages of Greece and known for establishing the foundations of Athenian democracy; Solon wrote poetry and helped stop the decline in ancient Athens. At that time, not being able to repay a debt meant slavery - first of your children, then your wife, and finally yourself. As much as 92% of all Athenians were slaves. A skilled compromise negotiator, and respected for his wisdom and fairness, Solon was given power to change this. Establishing publicly funded brothels "democratize" the availability of sexual pleasure, he cancelled debts and contracts, freed slaves, and ended the causal system. This along with his beneficial trade legislation and standards resulted in an economic revival, a new golden age, and the beginning of democracy.

Thales of Miletus
624 – c. 546 BCE
“Father of Philosophy”

One of the “Seven Sages of Greece,” called the founder of Western Science and “Father of Philosophy,” Thales traveled to Egypt and studied with an Egyptian priest. He then returned to become ”the first Greek mathematician,” history’s first to use geometric deductive reasoning, to have a mathematical discovery attributed, and becoming the first to explain nature without myth or superstition, he set the direction for the golden age of Greek philosophy. Wanting to prove the practicality of philosophy and science, he applied it to business creating the first instance of using options and futures and to politics stopping a battle by predicting an eclipse.

Yājñavalkya
fl. c. 7th century BCE
One of the earliest non-dual philosophers

Revered sage, major figure in the Upanishads, and one of the first philosophers in recorded history; no one could rival Yajnavalkya in debate. Called the greatest theologian of his time, and with his dialogues recorded in the Upanishads, he taught the great philosopher-king of Videha (modern day Nepal), Janaka who created an intellectual center for great sages that became the most important cultural and political center of South Asia. He described an “Absolute Self” and furthered a non-dual school of Hinduism that continues today. In later life he retired in a forest to become a wandering ascetic personifying a tradition popular through the centuries of Indian history.

Zarathushtra زرتشت‎‎ (Zoroaster)
628 – 551 BCE

Said to have laughed out loud the day he was born and considered a true prophet by Islam, an important influence on Judaism, the Greek philosophers, and on philosophy in general, Zarathushtra founded Zoroastrianism, the official religion of Persia from 600 BCE until 650 CE when Islam took over. A shaman called inventor of astrology, he based his teachings on what we now call the Golden Rule, founded the Magi tradition and opposed the oppressive caste system of his time. Although against polytheism and emphasizing belief, his religion taught the meaningfulness of each small action increasing goodness or evil. From it we inherit common symbols like magic, heaven and hell, purgatory, Satan, the 3 Wise Men, angels, Christmas, and the Last Judgment.