The World of Tradition
Traditional civilizations are controlled by people that have access to a higher order and a transcendent, supernatural dimension. These civilizations ignored the strictly intellectual domain for a metaphysical character. Ultimately, the king received the highest metaphysical rank, although later there developed a different kingly and priestly caste. In traditional societies, the law was intimately connected to the metaphysical order. The state had a transcendent meaning and purpose that went beyond the intellect. the rite binded the kings, priestly castes, and the households. It was performed in a precise methodological way and was a cornerstone of the state. Through the rite, supernatural powers would free themselves, react against themselves, and ascend to a higher plane of being. People were absorbed into the priestly and kingly castes through initiation. Often the person will evoke a ritual action that will actualize and renew transcendent influences. In traditional societies there is a normal hierarchical relationship between the royal and priestly castes– normally royalty enjoying primacy over priesthood. However, even in civilizations characterized mainly by the priestly caste, there is as correct relationship between these two castes. Finally, there is a warrior caste that is subordinated to these two.1
Evola, here, is talking about the general structure of religious organizations and is not alluding to an underlying perennial structure behind all religions. Look at the way Evola talks about religion. He is emphasizing diversity without necessarily alluding to unity. For example, Evola mentions in the Hindu and Buddhist tradition the doctrine of samsara, which understands life as a blind yearning, while in Hellenism, nature is seen as an embodiment of deprivation revealing a radical lack of purpose. Evola also mentions that in the Egyptian tradition, the king was equated with the sun and light, just like Ra, and in the Persian tradition, the king is said to be the same stock of the gods and Mithras, lord of peace, and made of gold. In the Indo-Aryan tradition, the king is the radiant force who personifies the divine fire. Another example is the ashavan and the anashvan in the ancient Persian tradition- the ashavan being the pure ones, beings of light, lords of fire, and beings of war, and the anashvan being the impure ones who are without law and oppose the principle of light.2 Thus, it can be maintained that Evola places a greater emphasis on the exoteric domain of religion than Guenon.
The Genesis of the World
The first age was the golden age in which people were most in conformity with the traditional spirit and we find characteristics of the highest form of regality. In this age, people did not die and lived like gods; There was also no disease and there was spiritual stability. This age was characterized by gold- characterizing what is incorruptible, solar, luminous, and bright. The location of this first era was said to be in the north- the island being a real location situated in the arctic. In the next age, a feminine symbol, portrayed by the mother, was introduced; this corresponds to the silver age where there is a mingling of north and south. This corresponds in western expositions to the age of Atlantis, where there is a lunar spirituality; technically, Atlantis corresponds to the west and Lemuria corresponds to the south. This era was characterized by the metaphysical view of the woman as the supreme principle and every other being as being subordinated. A feminine spirituality dominated; men regarded themselves to be free and equal, cast and class distinctions did not apply, and a general pleasure and promiscuity was widespread. The next age was the cycles of decadence and the heroic cycle in which a race of giants roamed. This age was filled with violence and materialism- thus resulting in the catastrophe of the flood. The Titans refer to the spirit of a violent and materialistic race that no longer recognized the authority of spiritual principle. Thus rose the amazons, a group of feminine warriors, who attempted to reinstantiate the feminine, lunar principle. Finally arose the civilization of the heroes.3
Unlike Guenon who places the source of the perennial philosophy in Egypt, Evola places the source in the west and merges the Greek and Indian yuga periods– emphasizing the European variants. Evola will sometimes mention the primordial state. But this is the primordial state as it exists in the previous yuga periods according to Greek mythology. Evola treats the genesis of creation in Greek and Hindu myth as a real entity without necessarily relying on any scientific data. As examples of Evola adopting the Hindu variants into the Greek yuga periods, Evola refers to a lack of advanced technology and a lack of monsters. For example, Evola mentions the mistake of conceiving the existence of other races that because of some geophysical factor have left very few traces of their existence. Indeed man possessed an ancient science, but that science was very different from the one of today. And the ancient myths about a struggle with monstrous entities may represent struggles of the primordial man against animal potentialities.4
Idealism Studies 