Epstein's Temple

Source: "Why did Jeffrey Epstein build a temple on his private island?"

      Although Epstein owned a house in Manhattan and a ranch in New Mexico, and probably numerous other properties, few have received attention equal to his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Little St. James Island. And, of the structures on that island, one in particular stands out: a blue and white structure that is generally referred to as Epstein's temple. That particular structure was built after he was released from jail in 2009 after serving his 13 month sentence.

     I am sure that the structure was full of symbolism to Epstein. The problem is that we don't know if this symbolism was personal to Epstein, or was drawn from one or more belief systems or mythology.

The Hammam Yalbugha in Aleppo, Syria, which was built in 1491 (Source: "Jeffrey Epstein: The True Ugly Face of the Occult Elite"--The Vigilant Citizen)

     The structure bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hammam Yalbugha in Aleppo, Syria, pictured above, with similar design motifs and a similar dome. Despite the passing resemblance, Epstein's structure was not a hammam, though. In "The Public Hammam – An Ancient Syrian Tradition," the author describes the hammam (public baths), including some of the more famous or historically significant ones. She explains that the hamman's were a continuation of Roman tradition:

        A bath consisted of several parts: the changing room, the cold bathing area, the warm bathing area and the hot bathing area. Examples of Roman baths can be found in Palmyra, Bosra, Sirjilla and Shahba. The tradition was then continued by the Muslims, who built hammams in all cities with their own architectural and artistic styles. These baths also had a very special social function. There were two types: the public ones, which were run independently, and the ones that were integrated into the palaces and bimaristans (hospitals).

       The Islamic hammam usually consists of four areas, all of which are covered by domes:

        In the so-called ‘outer area’ (al-barrani) people changed their clothes. The hall, which was provided with a central well, was also a place for get-togethers, entertainment and exchange, even business transactions. For ladies it was also a popular place for festive occasions such as marriage and birth. Through this area one reached the next, the middle area (al-wastani). In this area the temperature is mild. The third area is called the ‘interior area’ (al-juwwani). It is the hottest room of the bath. The floor is covered with coloured marble slabs, the small domes that cover the room are interspersed with glass stones. Adjacent to the interior is the place of water heating (al-qamim), from where the water is fed directly into the juwwani. The last room of the hammam is a room for the heater (al-qamimi), who is responsible for constantly supplying the stove with combustible.

 As to the Hammam Yalbugha, the author states:

Among the Mamluk hammams, the hammam Yalbugha an-Nasiri, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful Islamic hammams of Aleppo, should be mentioned above all. It has an impressive façade with an alternation of yellow and black stones. The high entrance, decorated with Mamluk blasons, is framed on both sides by windows. Like many other Aleppine ‘architectural treasures’, this hammam was largely destroyed during the last war. The Hammam Bahram Basha shows a development of the hammam building of the Ottoman period in Aleppo. Its northern façade opens outwards, also characterized by the typical alternation of yellow and black stones (ablaq).

(Note: Mamluk blasons, or blazons, were a form of heraldic symbols).

Another view of the The Hammam Yalbugha (source: "The Public Hammam – An Ancient Syrian Tradition").

     Thus, while the general motif of the Hammam Yalbugha is followed, there are some significant differences, including the use of different colors, and a seemingly different purpose. Epstein's temple is clearly is not a hammam. Workers believed that the building was supposed to be a music room. But it has been noted that the thick wooden door is designed to be barred from the outside, as if to keep someone from leaving the structure, rather than to keep someone from entering. Besides, more recent photographs showed what appeared to be mattresses stacked up in the building.

     One theory I've seen regarding the copying of the Hammam Yulbugha is that it pertains to specifically to it being from the Mameluke period, where the word Mameluke literally translates as slave. However, in the relevant period when the structure was built, the Turkish Mamelukes had effective control of the Caliphate, and could even remove or replace a Caliph. So, perhaps the symbolism is that there is control from behind the throne. Or it could be the reputation that Turkish baths have in Europe and the United States.

     While the Hammam Yalbugha used yellow and black stone to create its pattern, Epstein's temple used blue and white, with a gold dome. Since Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are both Jewish, I wondered if there was some Jewish significance to the colors chosen.

     Blue and white show up in the Israeli flag, as Hanukkah colors, and on the tallitot, a traditional Jewish prayer shawl worn at synagogue, bar or bat mitzvahs, and Jewish weddings.

       According to the Bible, the Israelites were told to dye a thread on their tassels with tekhelet, a blue ink from a sea snail, "so that they may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them."

      In 1864, the Jewish poet Ludwig August Frankl named blue and white "the colours of Judah" in a poem not so surprisingly called "Judah's Colours." An excerpt: "When sublime feelings his heart fill, he is mantled in the colors of his country ... Blue and white are the colours of Judah; white is the radiance of the priesthood, and blue, the splendors of the firmament."

     Blue and white come with universal associations, too. White suggests purity, peace, and light. Blue is associated with the sky, faith, wisdom, and truth. 

Wikipedia notes that "[b]lue in Judaism is used to symbolise divinity, because blue is the color of the sky and sea. It can also represent equilibrium, since its hue suggests a shade midway between white and black, day and evening," and also notes that while white symbolizes purity and peace, it is also associated with death. And "[g]old was the symbol of the divine or celestial light, the glory of God."

An aerial view of the Temple (Source).

     Another feature worth commenting on is the red and pink designs outside the temple. Again, returning to Wikipedia, scarlet and crimson "symbolized blood, and thus frequently typified life, although this color often designated sin, as well as joy and happiness."

    With this in mind, it seems to me that Epstein saw this building as a place where heaven and earth met or united.

     Finally, there is the statuary. There was, at one time, two statues of owls on the roof of the building, while before the building there was a statute of a man holding a trident (presumably Poseidon or Neptune). (See this article for more detailed photos and video).

     Assuming that the statue on the ground is of Poseidon or Neptune, its choice would make sense. Obviously, given the structure's location on an island and Poseidon's role as the god of seas, a statute of Poseidon would be right at home. However, given what else we know about Epstein, there are other symbolism that could be read into the choice. "Poseidon was said to have had many lovers of both sexes," and frequently resorted to rape. According to another source:

Poseidon’s trident was the symbolic triple phallus, signifying his function to mate with the triple Goddess. It is also a statement about his sexuality and fertility. The carrier of the trident was expected to be a man who is the husband of the Maiden, Mother and Crone, who coexist in these ways: As her mate for life, he is husband to the maiden he married, then to the mother of his children, and in old age to the wise woman that she becomes.

        Another aspect of Poseidon mythology that impressed me was the following (quoting the Wikipedia article cited above):

A mortal woman named Cleito once lived on an isolated island; Poseidon fell in love with the human mortal and created a dwelling sanctuary at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her. She gave birth to five sets of twin boys; the firstborn, Atlas, became the first ruler of Atlantis.

Each of the ten sons ruled over a kingdom within the Empire of Atlantis, according to the myths. This was interesting to me because of a New York Times article that "Jeffrey Epstein Hoped to Seed Human Race With His DNA." The article relates:

      Mr. Epstein’s vision reflected his longstanding fascination with what has become known as transhumanism: the science of improving the human population through technologies like genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. Critics have likened transhumanism to a modern-day version of eugenics, the discredited field of improving the human race through controlled breeding.

      Mr. Epstein, who was charged in July with the sexual trafficking of girls as young as 14, was a serial illusionist: He lied about the identities of his clients, his wealth, his financial prowess, his personal achievements. But he managed to use connections and charisma to cultivate valuable relationships with business and political leaders.

      Interviews with more than a dozen of his acquaintances, as well as public documents, show that he used the same tactics to insinuate himself into an elite scientific community, thus allowing him to pursue his interests in eugenics and other fringe fields like cryonics.

I doubt it will do any good to freeze Epstein's head, but it is possible that he believed himself to be part of a breeding program.

       The iconography of the owl is less clear. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with Athena (Roman: Minerva), a goddess associated with wisdom, handicraft, and warfare.

In her aspect of Athena Polias, Athena was venerated as the goddess of the city and the protectress of the citadel. In Athens, the Plynteria, or "Feast of the Bath", was observed every year at the end of the month of Thargelion. The festival lasted for five days. During this period, the priestesses of Athena, or plyntrídes, performed a cleansing ritual within the Erechtheion, a sanctuary devoted to Athena and Poseidon. Here Athena's statue was undressed, her clothes washed, and body purified. Athena was worshipped at festivals such as Chalceia as Athena Ergane, the patroness of various crafts, especially weaving. She was also the patron of metalworkers and was believed to aid in the forging of armor and weapons. During the late fifth century BC, the role of goddess of philosophy became a major aspect of Athena's cult.

But it is possible that the owl statues have nothing to do with Greek or Roman mythology. Casting our search farther, there is another possibility which I find intriguing, which is the association of the owl with Lilith. This mostly is due to the Burney Relief, which is generally believed to portray the Babylonian demoness Lilith, who herself is winged, and with two owls on either side of her. The sole biblical reference to Lilith is often translated as screech owl or a night creature.

Burney Relief (Source)

      The Lilith myths date back to the ancient Middle East. As one author writes:

       For 4,000 years Lilith has wandered the earth, figuring in the mythic imaginations of writers, artists and poets. Her dark origins lie in Babylonian demonology, where amulets and incantations were used to counter the sinister powers of this winged spirit who preyed on pregnant women and infants. Lilith next migrated to the world of the ancient Hittites, Egyptians, Israelites and Greeks. She makes a solitary appearance in the Bible, as a wilderness demon shunned by the prophet Isaiah. In the Middle Ages she reappears in Jewish sources as the dreadful first wife of Adam.

       In the Renaissance, Michelangelo portrayed Lilith as a half-woman, half-serpent, coiled around the Tree of Knowledge. Later, her beauty would captivate the English poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. “Her enchanted hair,” he wrote, “was the first gold.” Irish novelist James Joyce cast her as the “patron of abortions.”

      Modern feminists celebrate her bold struggle for independence from Adam. Her name appears as the title of a Jewish women’s magazine and a national literacy program. An annual music festival that donates its profits to battered women’s shelters and breast cancer research institutes is called the Lilith Fair.

      In most manifestations of her myth, Lilith represents chaos, seduction and ungodliness. 

From Wikipedia:

Lilith is often envisioned as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness. Lilith may be linked in part to a historically earlier class of female demons (lilītu) in ancient Mesopotamian religion, found in cuneiform texts of Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, Assyria, and Babylonia.

In Jewish mythology, Lilith was the first wife of Adam, but rebelled against having to submit to Adam and, thus, became a demon (she is now a favorite icon of feminists). Interestingly, several artists in the Middle Ages and Renaissance portrayed the serpent that tempted Eva as a woman, possibly in reference to Lilith. "The only occurrence is in the Book of Isaiah 34:14, describing the desolation of Edom, where the Hebrew word lilit (or lilith) appears in a list of eight unclean animals, some of which may have demonic associations." In the KJV, lilit is translated as "screech owl." However, other English versions have variously used "Lamia," "night hag", "night wraith", or "vampires." She was associated with killing new born children and lust (i.e., in particular seducing men).

     As noted, Lilith still has modern relevance. Again, from the article cited above:

Gerald Gardner asserted that there was continuous historical worship of Lilith to present day, and that her name is sometimes given to the goddess being personified in the coven by the priestess. This idea was further attested by Doreen Valiente, who cited her as a presiding goddess of the Craft: "the personification of erotic dreams, the suppressed desire for delights". In some contemporary concepts, Lilith is viewed as the embodiment of the Goddess, a designation that is thought to be shared with what these faiths believe to be her counterparts: Inanna, Ishtar, Asherah, Anath and Isis. According to one view, Lilith was originally a Sumerian, Babylonian, or Hebrew mother goddess of childbirth, children, women, and sexuality who later became demonized due to the rise of patriarchy.

Also:

The western mystery tradition associates Lilith with the Qliphoth of kabbalah. Samael Aun Weor in The Pistis Sophia Unveiled writes that homosexuals are the "henchmen of Lilith". Likewise, women who undergo willful abortion, and those who support this practice are "seen in the sphere of Lilith". Dion Fortune writes, "The Virgin Mary is reflected in Lilith", and that Lilith is the source of "lustful dreams".

What more appropriate symbol could there be on Epstein's island.

     As a final note, as mentioned earlier, the "temple" was not constructed until after 2009. It was apparently damaged in 2017 by hurricanes Irma and Maria, as the dome was gone  and, it appears, the statues were also missing or removed, and no effort was made to replace or repair the structure. Was this because it's purpose, whatever it was, had been fulfilled?