REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic Circle "Honey -

Milk - Water" (The Problem of Symbolic Resources in Tourist

Activities)

Roman Oleksenko*

Yevheni Bortnykov**

Eduard Kryvolapov***

Vlada Bilohur****

Eduard Kliuienko*****

Liudmyla Radchenko******

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the proposed research is to create a metaphysical portrait sketch of Melitopol in the

symbolic circle "honey - milk - water" in the context of attracting symbolic resources problem in

tourism. In an intensive way, and following the strengthening of homo viator phenomenon in the

global world, research in the touristic field and philosophy of tourism are increasingly turning their

attention to the "internal resource", including in this concept, in addition to natural and cultural-

historical, also symbolic resource. The work uses such methods as dialectical and metaphysical, the

principle of comprehensiveness of research, the general logical method, and other methods of

scientific research. Tourist legend as an applied direction can become an effective marketing

mechanism, as a result of which it is possible, using a symbolic resources variety and tools, to create

humanitarian and social development perspectives, agreed and identified through analysis of

mythological structures and conceptual shells for harmonious and effective development of these

territories. In this aspect, tourism as one of the mass culture branches will produce tourist flows

directed to previously elaborated territorial brands.

KEY WORDS: Metaphysical portrait, palimpsest, spatial myth, symbolism, cultural place,

philosophy of tourism, tourism, symbolic tourist resource, tourist legend.

*

Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University, Zaporizhizhya, Ukraine. ORCID ID:

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2171-514X . E-mail: roman.xdsl@ukr.net

*

0

*Zaporizhizhya National University, Zaporizhizhya, Ukraine. ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9602-

019 . E-mail: e.bortnikov@ukr.net

*

**Zaporizhizhya National University, Zaporizhizhya, Ukraine. ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-

1

211-7869 . E-mail: edward27772@gmail.com

*** Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University, Zaporizhizhya, Ukraine. ORCID ID:

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1053-2716 . E-mail: bilovlada@gmail.com

**** Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State Pedagogical University, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9412-2281 . E-mail: eduard.socio@gmail.com

***** National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID:

*

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5459-8448 . E-mail:Radchenko-history@ukr.net

Recibido: 06/02/2023

Aceptado: 10/04/2023

205

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Retrato metafísico de Melitópol en el círculo simbólico "Miel - Leche -

Agua" (el problema de los recursos simbólicos en las actividades

turísticas)

RESUMEN

El propósito del estudio propuesto es crear un boceto de retrato metafísico de Melitópol en

el círculo simbólico "miel - leche - agua" en el contexto del problema de atracción de recursos

simbólicos en el turismo. De manera intensa y siguiendo el fortalecimiento del fenómeno del

homo viator en el mundo global, las investigaciones en el ámbito turístico y la filosofía del

turismo prestan cada vez más atención al "recurso interno", incluyendo en este concepto,

además de lo natural y cultural-histórico, también el recurso simbólico. El trabajo utiliza

métodos tales como dialécticos y metafísicos, el principio de exhaustividad de la

investigación, el método lógico general y otros métodos de investigación científica. La leyenda

turística como dirección aplicada puede convertirse en un eficaz mecanismo de marketing,

gracias al cual es posible, utilizando una variedad de recursos y herramientas simbólicas,

crear perspectivas humanitarias y sociales de desarrollo, coordinadas e identificadas a través

del análisis de estructuras mitológicas y corazas conceptuales para el desarrollo armónico y

efectivo de estos territorios. En este aspecto, el turismo como una de las ramas de la cultura

de masas producirá flujos turísticos dirigidos a marcas territoriales previamente elaboradas.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Retrato metafísico, palimpsesto, mito espacial, simbolismo, lugar

cultural, filosofía del turismo, turismo, recurso turístico simbólico, leyenda turística.

Introduction

Openness to the world, which has already become the norm of Ukrainians, naturally

awakened in them an artificially restrained desire and ability to appear as a homo viator,

gradually forming a " mobility culture." But if we consider identification and orientation as

the "coordinate axis" of human existence in the world, then the reverse process, or the other

"

side of the coin", seems to be natural - deepening the sense of belonging to man, which is also

part of human nature, its "culture of rootedness". And these two concepts are certainly

equivalent and complementary: given the phenomenology of I-Fu Tuan, human life is a

dialectical oscillation between safe haven and adventure, attachment and freedom (Tuan,

1

978). Thus, intensified, following the intensification of the phenomenon of homo viator in

the global world, research in the field of tourism and philosophy of tourism are increasingly

looking at the "internal resource", including this concept, in addition to natural and cultural-

historical, and symbolic resource (Shirinkin, 2016). This brings tourism closer to other

interdisciplinary and applied research, combined with the cultural locality problem

206

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

(

especially local lore - philosophical and local lore, historical and local lore, geographical and

local lore, etc.) and brings the researcher to the phenomenology field. Tourism "open-minded

and morally responsible view and, embodying newly acquired ideas into real projects (first

of all it is a tourist legend, branding, image), to achieve not only creation of a unique" tourist

product", but also preservation and delivery to future “spirit” generations of those places

which are dear to the heart of the researcher.

1

. Research base analysis

The problem of place in general has a long philosophical history, attracting the

attention to Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, skeptics (especially places as part of space,

out of touch with man and culture). The view of place as a natural, geographical phenomenon

that determines the existence of human communities, and its connection with human

existence was established in the studies of S. Montesquieu, I. Herder, K. Ritter, A. Humboldt,

etc., devoted to local civilizations. The topic of the relationship between unique culture and

place was firstly raised by M. Danilevsky, and then developed by O.Spengler, A.J.Toynbee,

P.Sorokin, and others, and especially by anthropologists. XX century (K. Levi-Strauss, E. B.

Taylor, P. Teilhard de Chardin, etc.), who considered the cultural space as a "geographical

exotic" (J. Deleuze). Considerable attention is paid to the place phenomena, particularly, the

city in the works of V. Lee, I. Grevs, M. Antsiferov, V.Glazychev, M. Ganopolsky, P. Weil,

and others. The latest philosophical literature on the phenomenon of localities analyzes them

mainly from the standpoint of individual existence and social philosophy - the works of M.

Heidegger, G. Gachev, E. Husserl and others. Then the problem analysis related to the

peculiarities of an individual territories perception , local territorial images formation, local

identity, etc. turned to representatives of various sciences: geographers (especially

representatives of the humanities (J. K. Wright, K.O. Sauer, D. Loventhal, I-Fu Tuan) and

humanitarian geography (Yu. Vedenin, D. Zamyatin, M. Krylov, O. Lavrenova, I. Mitin, L.

Smirnyagin, etc.), philologists (S. Lurie, D. Raevsky), culturologists and art critics (G.

Bashlyar, K. Lynch, T. Tsyvyan) and others. Local characteristics of cultural space attracted

the attention of F. Brodel, S. Ikonnikova, V. Kuznetsov, H. J. Mackinder, F. Ratzel, N.

Trubetsky, S. Huntington, K. Haushofer, and others.

The basic ideas in the field of research of the "text of the city" are linked with the names

as Y. Lotman and V. Toporov, although the city acts as a cultural text with its own language

207

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

in the early twentieth century. - in the works of M. Antsiferov, who relies on his predecessors

in the "soul of the place"research - I. Ten, V. Lee and O. Herzen. Appealing to V. Lee's

statement: "... places and localities ... act on us as living beings, and we become friends with

them" (Lee, 1914) - M. Antsiferov approaches the problem in dialogue between man and place.

conversation with the soul of the city "(Antsiferov 1991, 30), emphasizing:" The research of

the city as an organic whole gives the experience of understanding the historical and cultural

organism in its variations "( Antsiferov 1991, 46). Emphasizing the complexity of landscapes

of cities culture (cultures of different epochs, races, etc.), M. Antsiferov introduced the

concept of "double landscape" to denote their struggle, thus explaining the binary nature of

the dominants of such a city. which in the process of historical development is transformed

from a "single-layer" material landscape into a set of autonomous strata with a variable

hierarchy, is called, after D. Meinig (Meinig, 1979), palimpsest (Greek παλίμψηστον, from

πάλιν - meaning ovu and ψηστός - scraped (Latin. Codex rescriptus) - parchment on which

the original text was erased and a new one was written on top of it) (Mitin, 2005). The

metaphor of the palimpsest has proved to be extremely successful and is now widely used in

a wide range of urban studies, including recent research by M. Lepsky in the pages of this

journal (Lepsky, 2020).

Each layer of the place (including the city) as a palimpsest is, on the one hand, its

geographical characteristic, and on the other - a spatial myth (Mitin, 2004). So, just as the

appearance of every place and every city on earth is unique, so is its spiritual essence, its

metaphysical "portrait." In addition, it is worth emphasizing that "... cognition is partly self-

knowledge, because the city opens its face only to those who at least briefly visited its citizen,

joined his life, thus becoming part of this complex whole" (Antsiferov, 1991 ) and therefore

we can not ignore the existing attempts at mythosymbolic, phenomenological, socio-

cultural, local history and tourism, etc. "reading" different layers of the palimpsest of cultural

history of the city and its region "citizens" (including the authors of this research). Some

sketches and sketches for the future capacious metaphysical "portrait" of Melitopol

concerned the problem of finding a virtual "honey" city of its place in the cultural space of the

Black Sea (Bortnikova, Budko, 2015), the spatial image of Melitopol through the prism of the

utopian Garden City, 2014 ), cognitive-creative space research of the city in the modern

perspective (Oleksenko, Afanasieva, 2019), intercultural space of Melitopol (Andryukaitene,

208

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Oleksenko, 2014; Afanasieva, Oleksenko, 2014) research of "genotypic" for Melitopol honey

symbolism and .. 2019) etc. However, the spatial and mythological potential of the city is still

far from exhausted, encouraging researchers to new explorations and attempts to decode. No

less important is the search for ways and means to update the "citizens of the city" and

present to its guests the results of such explorations, the most promising of which we

consider tourism in case it involves, in addition to natural and historical, cultural and

symbolic resources.

2

. Purpose

Therefore, the aim of the proposed research is to create a metaphysical portrait sketch

of Melitopol in the symbolic circle "honey - milk - water" in the context of the problem of

attracting symbolic resources in tourism.

3. Presentation of the main material

The main mediators of human behavior, as argued by A. Losev - sign, word, symbol,

myth (Losev, 1992). V. Humboldt and then M. Mamardashvili prescribed the socialization

course - to break into the internal symbol form, the internal form of the word, the internal

form of the myth: if it succeeds, it enriches the personal inner content (Zinchenko, 2001).

Myth combines the rational, without which modern man is unable to organize and

comprehend the world around him, and the irrational - and this is even more important

because it affects the human soul that is beyond human consciousness and rationalism

(

Kosov, 2007). Investigating the specifics of primitive thinking, L. Levy-Bruhl argued that

here the laws of logic are largely replaced by the complicity law, to denote which he

introduced the term "participation" (Levy-Bruhl, 1994). The man of traditional society felt

mystically one with his family, his mythological patron (totem), his land, his home. Now the

notion of complicity is returning to our consciousness - both as a basis for philosophizing

and as a basis for human understanding of himself and his place in the world.

For people who feel their involvement in Melitopol city, among the symbols that form

the basis of the image-mythological vision of the hometown, the determining factor is honey

(

Melitopolis - honey city, from the Greek μέλῐ -ῐτος τό - honey). Rich and extensive

mythological tradition, formed around honey and bees, has repeatedly become the object of

researchers attention. Numerous attempts to "read" the basic meanings of honey symbolism

209

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

were the basis primarily for ontological reflections and moral and ethical philosophizing,

which, in turn, served as an ethnographic research, including e symbolism research "honey"

name Melitopol (Bortnikov et al. 2014). The strongest potential for metaphorization, as

shown in the research, is shown by the bee (ancient fertility symbol, the mother goddess, to

which various religious traditions refer), bee swarm and hive (ideas of home, family, family

values, orderly and fair socially), honey (special gift to the gods, sacrifices to the dead,

cleansing and protective power, truth and righteousness of God's achievements, symbol of

poetic genius, eloquence and wisdom), wax (plastic matter symbol, source of light) and

honeycombs (life prototype). But, as it turned out, the most capacious honey symbolism

manifests itself in combination with water and milk, which symbolism is surprisingly rich,

and in case of combination with honey new generates, more meaningful meanings that need

special attention (Bortnikov et al., 2014: 85) - and this task seems to us a necessary step in

the desire to join the reproduction in the future palimpsest Melitopol.

The most obvious, as you can see, is the connection between honey and water. Water

is the primacy, the original state of all things, the primordial chaos equivalent; androgynous

beginning of life, male or female fertile strength embodiment; human life juices equivalent;

metaphor of death, danger, disappearance, sometimes oblivion; the beginning and end of all

things; immeasurable symbol, impersonal wisdom. First of all, it is the fons et origo (source

and beginning), the center of all potentials of existence, which is not surprising, because, as

V. Vernadsky noted, the water cycle in nature is life (Vernadsky, 1977). Contact with water

always symbolizes rebirth: on the one hand, because dissolution is followed by "new birth";

on the other - because immersion increases fertility, vitality and creativity. In the ritual of

initiation, water gives a "new birth", in the magic ritual heals, in funeral rituals - provides

posthumous rebirth. Embodying all possibilities, water becomes a symbol of Life ("living

water"), (Eliade 1999, 183-184); "Waters are truly healers; they drive away and cure all

diseases!" (Eliade 1999, 184). Water Porphyry removes from the purifying symbolic function,

"

because water has the power to prevent decay, be a cleanser and promote formation, because

moisture generally plays a role in formation" (On the Nymph Cave: 17). Sources and streams

are dedicated to water nymphs and soul nymphs, which the ancients called bees - the givers

of pleasures.

210

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Water and milk are similarly related, as M. Eliade has repeatedly mentioned: Facing

east and at the same time saying the prayer:" O Sing-Bong, I dedicate this pouring of water to

you. Let milk flow from the mother's breast, like this water! " (Eliade 1999, 134); "Water

purifies and revives because it cancels the past, restores - even for a moment - the original

integrity (Eliade 1999: 190). The Iranian Water Goddess Ardvisur Anahita is called "a saint,

one who multiplies flocks ... property ... wealth ... land ... who cleanses the family of every

husband ... and the womb of every wife ... who gives them milk which they need "(Jasna: 65)"

In the cult of Ardvisura Anahita (in the Avesta, a separate hymn is dedicated to her (Yasht

V) - "Ardvisur-Yasht"), pouring milk was practiced: "Oh, who will glorify me, who will pray

to me By pouring out the Sacred and the Pure, From Chaomi with Milk? ” (Yasht 5, Ardvisur-

yasht 8). The Avesta speaks of seventeen kinds of water, one of which is the animals’ and men

milk; "All these (waters) in the growth or formation of the body are mixed into one water,

because (water) for both - the formation of the body and growth - one" (Bundahishn XXI).

For comparison: the mother-goddess Ange-patyay in the myths of erz, narrated by Melnikov-

Pechersky, sends life from her heavenly home to earth together with dew, rain, milk, snow

(

Petrukhin, 2003).

The image of the river in the mythological and folklore tradition has many symbolic

meanings. It is an obstacle, a threat, a flood, an entrance into the underworld, and the

language and power of prophecy. "Rivers are the veins of the Lord" (Srimad-Bhagavatam,

2.1.33), "lived the earth", "the core of the universe", "the world way". In some mythologies, the

cosmic (or world) River acts as the "core" of the universe, the world path, penetrating the

upper, middle and lower worlds. Various mythologies contain the image of the Cosmic

(

world, ancestral) River, which often becomes a symbolically reinterpreted real main river of

the region. Traces of the cosmic, world-creating role of the River are reflected in the creation

of a special layer of names - sacred hydronymy, which determines, on the one hand, the

sacralization of real years, and on the other - the correlation of these real years with their

celestial mythological prototype - cosmic River. All the great Rivers of all nations can be

into

mythological

motifs.

(Toporov,

http://www.mifinarodov.com/r/reka.html).

Sacralization example of the main river in the world, ancestral river is the Molochna

River (ancient name - Molochnye Vody) - the largest (and a century ago flooded) river on the

211

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

arid northern coast of the Azov Sea, on the banks of which is the ancient sanctuary Stone

Tomb. For comparison, the Milky River with sour shores plays a significant role in East Slavic

folklore as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. In myths, milky rivers flow in the realm of the

dead; in the beliefs of the Eastern Slavs, the celestial Milky Way is the road to "that world"

(

Tolstaya, 2002) (in the later Ukrainian name "Milky Way" this symbolism is lost).

According to ancient myths, the Milky Way (Greek: Γαλαξίας) originated when Hera threw

away a large sucking Hercules from her breast - because of this the goddess's milk spilled and

ran across the heaven dome. Thus, the Milky Waters River is an earthly extension of the

heavenly Milky Way.

The connection between water and milk can be traced in the well-known East Slavic

world beekeeping water donation customs: on the Transfiguration night, fresh honey and

wax are thrown into the water, the first swarm or the best hive is drowned in a bag. As a

reward, the water multiplies the bees and protects the apiary - sometimes the apiary is

specially placed near the river so that the water protects the bees. The Orthodox saints

Zosima and Savatiy inherited the role of water beers as patrons of bees: the people believe

that they taught people to keep their apiary correctly - it was during the life of these saints,

in the 15th century, winged workers began to "tame". On Saints' Day (April 17 and September

27), a beekeeper dips honey in water (sometimes near a mill), reading orders to ensure his

success in beekeeping for the coming season. news / svyati-pokrovyteli-bdzholyariv /). The

connection between bees and water is confirmed by the East Slavic belief that bees first

reborn from a horse driven by a water grandfather and thrown into a swamp; fishermen

pulled a swarm of bees out of the swamp, from which bees were bred around the world.

But the most capacious symbolism of honey manifests itself in combination with milk.

The symbolism of milk itself is surprisingly rich and varied, descending in this diversity to

breast milk. As food for newborns, milk is a symbol of motherhood, family blood ties, a

metaphor for kindness, care, compassion, prosperity and fertility. The milk of the Mother

Goddess, respectively, is the food of the gods, the divine food, as well as a symbol of

involvement in the divine. For example, ancient Egyptian frescoes clearly depict howthe king

is breastfed by a goddess (such as Isis), which is equivalent to a symbolic ritual through

which the ruler receives divine power. In other images, the king drinks milk from the udder

of a celestial cow, as shown in temple relief of Hathor in Dender. Two pots of milk were often

212

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

displayed as sacrifices. Due to its white color, milk was a purity symbol, so that milk infusion

could also make sense in the purification ceremony. The dead were given a full mug of milk

with them in the grave - in this regard, one expression of the "Pyramid Texts" says: "Take your

mothers breast Isis" (Texts of the Pyramids, 2007). Later, this well-known idea was adapted

to the Osiris symbolism: with the help of the divine drink the further life of Osiris killed by

Seth is ensured; on the 365 sacrificial tables of the Osiris tomb, the milk was not to run out.

In the ancient Greeks, milk was associated with Orphic rites: the initiate entered the Mother

Earth womb, was reborn and received milk from her breast. (Milk.

Https://newacropolis.org.ua/articles/moloko?l=ru)

In all Slavs, milk is associated with the sky and atmospheric phenomena - rain and

lightning (thunder), which dates back to ancient Indo-European notions, where rain is a

celestial cows-clouds milk (Tolstaya, 2002). In the Vedas, the milk of the sacred cow is the

eternal life elixir, food, ragweed of the gods and is associated with immortality and

knowledge. In the Ramayana, the Titans beat the oil from the Milky Sea of immortal life to

make it a purified oil that gives rise to forms of centralized power: the Apsari (water goddess

nymphs), Lakshmi (goddess of happiness and fortune) and 13 gods, the latter of whom holds

moon, cup with life nectar. In Indian traditions, the fundamental role attributed to milk is

reflected in the Vedic myth of the world where gods and anti-gods shook a huge primordial

ocean bucket to create milk, oil, sun and moon, and finally the elixir of immortality. catfish.

The tree that gives milk grows in a Hindu paradise. In the ancient Indian doctrine of creation,

space as the primordial milky ocean was plowed by the gods with the snake help that

wrapped itself around the world's mountain in solid oil. The sacrificial drink catfish was

compared to milk, and the milk heated during the Vedic sacrifice was understood as a divine

life flow symbol. (Milk.https://newacropolis.org.ua/articles/moloko?l=ru)

The mentioned connection of milk with the sky, rain and lightning (thunder) is

reflected in the widespread belief in the East Slavic world that the fire started by lightning

can be extinguished only with milk (sometimes - sour, whey, black cow, etc.) (What fires in

Russia were extinguished with milk? URL: https://histrf.ru/read/articles/kakiie-pozhary-na-

rusi-tushili-molokom).

For comparison, recall the Romanian idea that the fire caused by the lightning of Elijah

the Prophet can be extinguished only with water mixed with honey, or the honey itself,

213

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

consecrated

Tokarev,www.globalfolio.net/monsalvat/frmanifest/statiibookmanifest/simbol/bee01.htm)

For Christians, milk symbolizes the logos, heavenly milk from the mystical bride-

on

Elijah's

Day

(

church. It also means a simple teaching given to neophytes to initiate and acquire the right

to drink the wine of communion. New converts were given milk and honey as food symbols

for newborns. In Christian iconography, buckets of milk symbolize Christ and the Church

spiritual nourishment. In the Christian art of the Middle Ages, Mary is often depicted

breastfeeding the baby Jesus. The nurses specifically turned to the image of the Mother of

God and bought earth cakes from Bethlehem, where, according to legend, Mary's mother's

milk dripped on the ground. They also honored Catherine of Alexandria, beheaded in 307, in

which, according to legend, the milk of the martyr was shed instead of blood. In the days of

the Minnesingers, the use of pure "milk of pious thought" (as in Schiller's "Don Carlos")

symbolized attention to the principles of refined morality. In addition to the obvious links

with breastfeeding and motherhood (as well as adoption) - that is, as an elixir of life - milk,

like honey, was a symbol of rebirth and immortality. And it is in this function that it, like

honey, was most often used in initiation rites and funeral rites, in particular, in ancient Greek

Orphic rites, in Islam and at the baptism of early Christians (Tolstaya, 2002).

As M. Eliade remarked, "in Heaven we find, if not the original, then at least the

prototype of all the drinks that revive and bestow immortality - white boar, catfish, the divine

honey of the Finns, etc." (Eliade, 1999). Probably that is why honey and milk, as drinks of life

and symbols of rebirth, were widely used in rituals of transition associated with the

permeability of the sacred and profane: these are ceremonies that accompany the transition

from one state to another, from one world (space or public) in another and include three

stages: preliminary, liminar and postliminar. For example, in Orphic rites, the initiate entered

the womb of the Mother Earth, was reborn and received milk from her breast; in the cult of

Attis (beloved of one of the "bee" goddesses - the Mother of the gods Cybele), the initiate is

given to drink only milk for several days, like a newborn (Gennep 1999, 88), in the group of

rites related to pregnancy and childbirth, return to childbirth. of ordinary life is preceded by

the consumption of sacred milk (Gennep 1999: 44-45) and under. In the Christian mysteries

of attraction to the community, formed under the influence of Greek, Egyptian and Asian

cults, neophytes admitted to communion were given a consecrated drink of honey, water and

214

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

milk - A. van Gennep suggests that it was a drink given to newborns before birth. milk in the

mother (Gennep 1999: 90).

As we can see, milk and honey, which are themselves life drinks, in case of their

combination complement each other's deep symbolism and form new, more meaningful

meanings. Honey is combined with milk not only in rituals described by anthropologists -

such a combination is found in sacred texts - from the Vedic hymns to the Bible (Levi-Strauss,

2000). Antiquity is no exception: nostalgia for the Golden Age, it is often called the "age of

milk and honey", often identifying honey with nectar and ragweed. Interesting information

in this area can be obtained from linguistic sources. Particularly, N. Greenbaum, researching

the household vocabulary of ancient Greek early poetry, finds the highest frequency among

the food in wine names (49 times); among the definitions - "sweet as honey" (Theognid), "he

drinks sweet as honey, wine" (Anacreon), "honey" (Alkey, Anacreon)). Then follow: honey

(

12 times) - "I have neither honey nor bees" (Sappho), "loaded with cheese and viscous honey"

Xenophanes); (Bee) takes care of yellow honey "(Simonides)," cookies and light honey

"

(Stesihor)," if God did not create light honey "(Xenophanes)," even honey saturates

(Pindar), figuratively -" honey-irrigating the city "(Pindar)," I send you honey mixed with

white milk "(Pindar); nectar (6 times) - "drink nectar" (Alkman), "pour nectar" (Sappho), "he

offered nectar and ambrosia" (Pindar), "nectar on the lips" (Pindar), figuratively about the

song - "fluid nectar, a gift from the Muses ”(Pindar); milk (7 times) - by Alkman, Simonides,

Solon and Pindar, figuratively about the anthem (Pindar); ambrosia (4 times) - “he mixed the

ambrosia cup ” (Sappho), “nectar and ambrosia” (Pindar) (Greenbaum 2006, 51–52). The

combination of "honey, milk and nectar" is mentioned several times in the analyzed texts

(

Greenbaum 2006, 55). Note that this food of the gods fed Dionysus and Hermes; It is known

that the baby Zeus of Crete, born in a beehive, was raised by the ancestor of bees nymph

Melissa (Greek - bee) - honey and milk of the legendary goat Amalthea (Greek- Amalthea).

We should add that milk, water and honey from the Greeks also served as a drink for muses.

Linguistic studies of the Bible text shows that in almost half cases - more than two

dozen times - honey is mentioned together with milk. And in most cases it is not actually

about food, because the Bible is not an economic-historical almanac, but above all a moral

catechism. For example, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the coming Messiah Jesus Christ: "He

will consume oil and honey until he learns how to reject evil and choose good" (Isa. 7:15) - it

215

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

is about moral maturity; In the Song of Songs, Solomon speaks of the sweetness, purity, and

youthful attractiveness of the bride: "Your lips sprinkle with honey, my bride, honey and milk

under your tongue ..." (Thess. 4.11). But above all, "milk and honey" is a metaphor for the

Promised Land, which is a symbol of the earth's prosperity and wealth. In most cases, this

applies to the description of the ancient Palestine lands, where, according to biblical

mythology, by virtue of his promise, God brought the Jews out of Egyptian captivity: "And

the Lord said to Moses: from this land to the land of good and wide, to the land that flows

with milk and honey ... ”(Exodus 3: 8); cf .: Ex 14.5; 3.17; 13.5; 33.3. The phrase "milk and honey"

used in the text is perceived both as a metaphor and as an epithet to describe the wealth and

natural wealth of the earth. Such a place, according to the Bible, is the lands of the Canaanites,

Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Numbers tell of the valuation of these

lands by the children of Israel themselves: "We have come to the land where you sent us, and

it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit!" (Num. 13:27) - "... and they took out a

branch with one grapes bunch, and the two of them carried it on a pole; they also took from

grenades and figs ”(Num. 13:24); "The land we crossed over to explore it is a very, very good

land! If the Lord pleases us, he will lead us into that land and give it to us, a land that flows

with milk and honey ”(Num. 14: 7-8); cf .: Lev 20.24; Repeat 6.3; 11.9; 26.9; 26.10; 26.15; 27.3

and 31.20; Nav 5.6; Jer 11.5 and 32.22; Ezek 20.6 and 20.15, etc.

The Promised Land is named in the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews: "By faith he

abode in the Promised Land as in a strange land, and dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob,

heirs of the same promise" (Heb. 11: 9). Since then, throughout the Christian world, the term

"

Promised Land" means a blessed, desirable place where it is easy and joyful, where someone

passionately aspires, dreams of receiving, and in general what appears to be happiness. The

metaphorical assessment wealth of the earth with the epithet "milk and honey" is emphasized

in the Bible itself, which explicitly states that there are at least two such places on the earth

-

Egypt land and Israel land: "... you brought us out of the land flowing with milk and with

honey ... Thou hast not brought us into the land flowing with milk and honey, nor hast given

us fields and vineyards of possession ... ”(Num. 16: 13-14). The phrase "milk and honey" is used

allegorically in the Book of Job, in the Sophar words of Naamath about the deprivation of the

grace as a punishment sinner for iniquity: both honey and milk symbols remain the defining

features of the fertile corners of the earth - in the minds of a nation, a human community. Let

216

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

us recall for comparison the ancient Caucasian legend, which tells of the amazing beauty of

the place in Karachay-Cherkessia - "Honey Falls": "And the king said:" Find me paradise on

earth "! And the king's men set out. They overcame plains, rivers, mountains. They had already

lost hope, but suddenly saw a unique place in front of them - a river gorge and a waterfalls

cascade - a paradise on earth. Wild bees swarms lived on the river bank and in the rocks. The

rains washed away the honeycombs, and drops of honey flowed down the rocks. Honey

dripped on the lips of people standing under the rocks. That is why this heavenly place was

called "Honey Falls" "(Khachikov, 2008).

Similarly, the metaphor of the Promised Land is manifested in the Melitopol image, or

rather, it was "built" into the project of the newly created city - "honey" city on the river

Molochni Vody, thus closing the symbolic circle "honey (nectar, ragweed) - milk - water."

This is "... the embodiment of the dream of the Promised Land, the relentless desire for an

earthly paradise, a sign of the primordial reality presence in the local reality, a place where

there is a meeting with the transcendent" (Bortnikova, Budko, 2015). And since "... any

kratofania or hierophany transforms the place where it takes place", "... it, hitherto simple,

empty, insignificant - profane, becomes sacred" (Eliade 1999, 337). In addition, the sacred

space concept implies the idea of repeating a certain primary hierophany (in this case - the

Holy Land), which sanctified the place, separating it from the surrounding profane space and

giving it a special meaning. However, hierophany does not simply turn the profane into the

sacred - “... by its power it maintains this holiness in it. It is here, in this place, that hierophany

is repeated. That is why the place becomes an inexhaustible energy source and holiness,

endowing them with any person who is just here, and maintaining its connection with the

sacred "(ib., P. 339). In the above-cited linguistic and cultural research devoted to the

conceptualization of the land promised in the Melitopol toponyms (Bortnikova, Budko, 77-

8

3), a very important question is formulated for us: was this place before "an unremarkable

profane space"? For in fact man never "chooses" a place, he only "discovers" it (G. van der Leu)

or, conversely, a holy place somehow "reveals itself to man" (M. Eliade) (ib ., pp. 82). Of

-

course, the answer to this question requires "reading" the deeper palimpsest layers of the

regional cultural history, which testifies to the original sacred music sound of this land.

217

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Conclusion

Thus, modern mass culture captures, in globalization contrast impersonality, the

growing interest in myths, antiquity legends and images produced by them, as one of the

main socialization and inculturation components of modern personality. Of course, this

trend is incomparable with the interest of "high" or academic culture - it does not claim to be

highly reliable, accurate details and facts. This is a more indirect and broad interest in the

mythology and imagery of the space perception. However, its significance should not be

underestimated, first of all, given that the difficult path to "high" cultural forms firstly lies in

the plane of mass culture, where the primary interest and incentives for knowledge are

formed. The mythologizing of space can become a platform for the development of this

direction, and attempts to preserve the symbolic potential elements of the territory could

become a kind of crystallization points and harmoniously merge into the mass culture

contents.

This moment can be used in modern concepts and programs of tourism development,

where there is an increasing desire to identify, in addition to natural and historical and

cultural, also a symbolic resource. Tourist legend and myth can become a real tourist resource

territory, which in modern tourism consumer demand conditions will play a significant role.

Tourist legend as an applied direction can become an effective marketing mechanism, as a

result of which it is possible, using a variety of symbolic resources and tools, to create

humanitarian and social development perspectives, agreed and identified through analysis of

mythological structures and conceptual shells for harmonious and effective development of

these territories. In this aspect, tourism as one of the mass culture branches will produce

tourist flows aimed at pre-prepared territorial brands.

Each cultural place has a unique natural, historical, cultural and symbolic potential

that can be used for the development of the territory and the formation of people's identity.

Developed, mastered symbolic space of regions is an unlimited potential for creative growth

of a person endowed with reflective consciousness and desire to realize creative

opportunities, who knows his land and respects the traditions of the peoples of his country;

it is also a basis for national self-esteem and recognition by the world community. The

regional community can define its place in time and space with the help of such concepts as

"

history", "memory", "heritage", by identifying territories of "face" and "soul", researching local

218

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

"myths" and involving them to the historical and cultural heritage sphere, primarily through

tourism.

Prospects for further research are associated, on the one hand, with in-depth research

of the symbolic resource of the region, on the other hand - with applied tourism projects

aimed at attracting symbolic resources in tourism

References

Afanasyeva, L., Oleksenko, R. (2018). Active intercultural practices as an indicator of cultural

groups interaction and communities of a polyethnic city. Lviv University Bulletin. A series of

philosophical and political studies. (18), 40–47.

Afanasyeva, L., Oleksenko, R. (2018). Interculturality as a successful model for the

development of a multicultural urban community. Science and practice: current issues and

perspectives. Kaunas: Lithuanian Sports University, 6–13.

Andryukaitene, R., Oleksenko, R. (2018). Cultural planning of "urban existence" as a self-

knowledge urban communities way and the formation of their image. Strategy formation of

student's personality in ontogenesis intercultural communication: from methodology to methodology: Mat.

international scientific-practical conf. Melitopol: Melitopol State Pedagogical University, 9– 12.

Antsiferov, N. (1991).“The Incomprehensible City…”: The Soul of St. Petersburg. Petersburg of

Dostoevsky. Petersburg Pushkin. SPb.: Lenizdat, 335.

Bortnikova, A. (2014). A place that exists: utopia and reality of the Melitopol garden city.

Strategy for hospitality and tourism industry development: Mat. V international internet conf.

Orel: State University-UNPK, 151–156.

Bortnikova, A., Bortnikov, E., Budko, M. (2019). "Honey" symbols of Melitopol (sketches of

the metaphysics of the city). Versus. № 1–2 (11–12)’18., 79-86.

Bortnikova, A., Budko, M. (2015). In the land where “milk and honey flows”:

conceptualization of the promised land in the toponyms of the Melitopol region. Language.

Consciousness. Concept: Coll. Science. work. Melitopol: . Melitopol State Pedagogical University. B.

Khmelnytsky, Issue. 5, 77–83.

Eliade, M. (1999). Selected works. Essays on Comparative Religion. M.: Ladomir, 488.

Gennep, A. (1999). Rites of passage. Systematic research of rituals. M.: Publishing company

"

Eastern Literature" RAS, 198.Grinbaum, N. (2006). Household vocabulary of ancient Greek

early lyrics. Indo-European linguistics and classical philology - X (readings in memory of I. Tronsky): mat.

intl. conf. St. Petersburg: Nauka, 43–58.

219

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Khachikov, V. (2008). Honey waterfalls. Excursions to the picturesque places of the North Caucasus.

Mineralnye Vody: Caucasian health resort, 47–50.

Kosov, A. (2007). Myth-consciousness: functions and mechanisms. Analytics of cultural studies.

No. 2(8). Available online. In: URL: http://analiculturolog.ru

Lee, W. 1914. Italy: Selected Pages. M.: Ed. Sabashnikov, 361.

Lepsky, M. (2019). Social perception and apperception as a world map of the city.

Culturological Bulletin: Scientific and Theoretical Yearbook of the Lower Dnipro Region. Issue 39.

Volume. 1, 25–31.

Lepsky, M. (2020). The palimpsest phenomenon of the city. Culturological Bulletin: Scientific and

Theoretical Yearbook of the Lower Dnieper Region. Issue. 41. Vol. 1. 12–19.

Lepsky, M., Dudareva, I. (2019). Cultural codes and functional meanings of the city's

polycentrism (on the Prague Expeditionary Raid 2019 example). Culturological Bulletin:

Scientific and Theoretical Yearbook of the Lower Dnipro Region. Issue. 40. Vol. 2. 12–21.

Levi-Strauss, K. (2000). Mythology. Vol. 2: From honey to ashes. St. Petersburg: Universitetskaya

kniga, 448.

Levy-Bruhl, L. (1994). Supernatural in primitive thinking. M.: Pedagogy-Press, 608.

Losev, A. (1992). Myth is an expanded Magic Name. Symbol. No. 28. 217–230.

Meinig, D. (1979). Introduction. The Interpretation of Ordinary Landscapes: Geographical

Essays. New York – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1–7.

Milk. New Acropolis: cultural association. Available online. In: URL:

https://newacropolis.org.ua/articles/moloko?l=ru

Mitin, I. (2004). On the way to the mythogeography of Russia: "Games with space". Bulletin

of Eurasia. No. 3. 140–161.

Mitin, I. (2005). Palimpsest, place as a palimpsest: Materials for the Humanitarian

Geographic Dictionary. Humanitarian geography: Scientific and cultural-educational almanac. Issue.

2. 351–353.

Oleksenko, R., Afanasyeva, L. (2019). Cognitive and creative map of the city as a driver for

the development of a newcultural policy and cultural planning. Dulatov readings. No. 1(1), 160–

1

64.

Petrukhin, V. (2003). Myths of the Finno-Ugric peoples. M .: Astrel Publishing House LLC: AST

Publishing House LLC, 464.

Saints are the beekeepers patrons. Apiary. URL: https://pasika.news/svyati-pokrovyteli-bdzholyariv/

220

REVISTA DE LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA. 3ª época. Año 14, N° 40, 2023

Roman Oleksenko et al/// Metaphysical Portrait of Melitopol in the Symbolic C ircle … 205-221

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46925//rdluz.40.11

Shirinkin, P. (2016). Problems and Prospects of Involving Symbolic Resources in the Sphere

of Tourism (on the Example of the Perm Territory). Modern problems of service and tourism. No.

3. Vol. 10. 99–107.

Texts of the Pyramids. Per. from ancient egypt. 2000 A. L. Kotseyovsky. St. Petersburg Library:

Journal "Neva"; "Summer Garden", 464. Available online. In:

URL:http://www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/index.php?option=com_publications&Itemid=75&pub=365

Tokarev, S. (ed.). The symbolism of the bee. Myths of peoples in the world. Available online. In:

URL:http://www.globalfolio.net/monsalvat/frmanifest/statiibookmanifest/simbol/bee01.htm

Tolstaya, S. (2002). Milk. Slavic mythology: encyclopedic dictionary. Ed. 2nd. M.: Intern.

relations, 512.

Toporov, V., River. Myths of the people in the world: online encyclopedia. Available online. In: URL:

http://www.mifinarodov.com/r/reka.html

Vernadsky, V. (1977). About science. Dubna: Ed. Center Phoenix, 576.

Yi-Fu Tuan. (1978). Literature and Geography: Implications for Geographical Research.

Humanistic Geography: Prospects and Problems. Chicago: P. Maaroufa, 194–206.

Zinchenko, V. (2001). Psychological subject. Climbing the spiritual vertical. Man. No. 5. 5–23.

What fires in Russia were extinguished with milk? Story. RF. Available online. In: URL:

https://histrf.ru/read/articles/kakiie-pozhary-na-rusi-tushili-molokom

221