Lepenski Vir, the crate of civilization

10.000 Years Old Story

The story was written down in the early XIX century, and since then it stayed in its unedited form. Before that, it survived for who knows how long. Its origins could be probably traced back to at least 10.000 years ago, to the Mesolithic culture of Lepenski vir, that thrived on the shores of Danube River and used natural currents to effortlessly travel upstream and downstream. It’s incredible to think about the power of the story and its capability to survive for about 500 consecutive generations and to be passed to dozens of tribes and nations who lived in that particular geographic area. For some strange reason, natives kept telling it to newcomers and newcomers would keep it in the same basic form. It was a useful and unforgettable story. I’ll tell you the most important part of it:

A whirlpool in a creek offered the adventurer to spin him around and land him to the opposite shore if he provides the explanation why there was no life in it. After performing the quests and gaining the wisdom, our hero faced the whirlpool once again on his way back home. Whirlpool was anxious to find out the answer and asked him, but the hero sensed the danger and required the ride first. So, the whirlpool gave him a ride once again and the man answered: there are no fish living in the deepness of yours because you have never drowned a man and took his life. In that very moment the water started raging, chasing the hero who started running away from hauling waves. He narrowly managed to escape, but now the whirlpool knew the secret. It was equipped with the knowledge and it waited for the victim, probably not for too long.

From Unlearning Communism

Figures from Lepenski Vir

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