Orpheus and Greek Religion

Orpheus and Greek Religion PDF Author: William Keith Guthrie
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691024995
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
The tales told of Orpheus are legion. He is said to have been an Argonaut--and to have saved Jason's life. Rivers are reported to have stopped their flow to listen to the sounds of his lyre and his voice. Plato cites his poetry and Herodotus refers to "practices that are called Orphic." Did Orpheus, in fact, exist? His influence on Greek thought is undeniable, but his disciples left little of substance behind them. Indeed, their Orphic precepts have been lost to time. W.K.C. Guthrie attempts to uncover and define Orphism by following its circuitous path through ancient history. He tackles this daunting task with the determination of a detective and the analytical rigor of a classical scholar. He ferries his readers with him on a singular voyage of discovery.

Orpheus and Greek Religion

Orpheus and Greek Religion PDF Author: William Keith Guthrie
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691024995
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Get Book Here

Book Description
The tales told of Orpheus are legion. He is said to have been an Argonaut--and to have saved Jason's life. Rivers are reported to have stopped their flow to listen to the sounds of his lyre and his voice. Plato cites his poetry and Herodotus refers to "practices that are called Orphic." Did Orpheus, in fact, exist? His influence on Greek thought is undeniable, but his disciples left little of substance behind them. Indeed, their Orphic precepts have been lost to time. W.K.C. Guthrie attempts to uncover and define Orphism by following its circuitous path through ancient history. He tackles this daunting task with the determination of a detective and the analytical rigor of a classical scholar. He ferries his readers with him on a singular voyage of discovery.

Redefining Ancient Orphism

Redefining Ancient Orphism PDF Author: Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107038219
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 465

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Book Description
In a paradigm shift, this book redefines Orphism as a polemical label for extra-ordinary religion, good or bad.

Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion

Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion PDF Author: Jane Ellen Harrison
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Cults
Languages : en
Pages : 716

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Book Description


The 'Orphic' Gold Tablets and Greek Religion

The 'Orphic' Gold Tablets and Greek Religion PDF Author: Radcliffe G. Edmonds
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521518318
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
Examines new methodologies used in the study of these tablets. Includes an updated edition and translation of the tablet texts.

Greek Religion

Greek Religion PDF Author: Walter Burkert
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118724976
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 519

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Book Description
"Greek Religion . . . already has the standing of a classic, and the publication of an English version, which incorporates new material and is in effect a second edition, demands a toast . . . Anyone who pretends to survey Greek religion must be phenomenally learned. Burkert is. His book is a marvel of professional scholarship." London Review of Books "This book has established itself as a masterpiece, packed with learning but also rich in ideas and connections of every sort. Its appearance in a good English translation is an event not only for Hellenists but for all those interested in the study of religion . . . nobody else could have produced an account of the subject of comparable range and power. This will be the best history of Greek religion for this generation." New York Review of Books Cover illustration: detail from an Attic vase, 450 B.C., showing a victory sacrifice (The Mansell Collection).

A History of Pythagoreanism

A History of Pythagoreanism PDF Author: Carl A. Huffman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139915983
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 659

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Book Description
This is a comprehensive, authoritative and innovative account of Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism, one of the most enigmatic and influential philosophies in the West. In twenty-one chapters covering a timespan from the sixth century BC to the seventeenth century AD, leading scholars construct a number of different images of Pythagoras and his community, assessing current scholarship and offering new answers to central problems. Chapters are devoted to the early Pythagoreans, and the full breadth of Pythagorean thought is explored including politics, religion, music theory, science, mathematics and magic. Separate chapters consider Pythagoreanism in Plato, Aristotle, the Peripatetics and the later Academic tradition, while others describe Pythagoreanism in the historical tradition, in Rome and in the pseudo-Pythagorean writings. The three great lives of Pythagoras by Diogenes Laertius, Porphyry and Iamblichus are also discussed in detail, as is the significance of Pythagoras for the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Ritual Texts for the Afterlife

Ritual Texts for the Afterlife PDF Author: Fritz Graf
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134119674
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Fascinating texts written on small gold tablets that were deposited in graves provide a unique source of information about what some Greeks and Romans believed regarding the fate that awaited them after death, and how they could influence it. These texts, dating from the late fifth century BCE to the second century CE, have been part of the scholarly debate on ancient afterlife beliefs since the end of the nineteenth century. Recent finds and analysis of the texts have reshaped our understanding of their purpose and of the perceived afterlife. The tablets belonged to those who had been initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus Bacchius and relied heavily upon myths narrated in poems ascribed to the mythical singer Orpheus. After providing the Greek text and a translation of all the available tablets, the authors analyze their role in the mysteries of Dionysus, and present an outline of the myths concerning the origins of humanity and of the sacred texts that the Greeks ascribed to Orpheus. Related ancient texts are also appended in English translations. Providing the first book-length edition and discussion of these enigmatic texts in English, and their first English translation, this book is essential to the study of ancient Greek religion.

Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity

Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity PDF Author: Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110216604
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 457

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Book Description
Many recent discoveries have confirmed the importance of Orphism for ancient Greek religion, philosophy and literature. Its nature and role are still, however, among the most debated problems of Classical scholarship. A cornerstone of the question is its relationship to Christianity, which modern authors have too often discussed from apologetic perspectives or projections of the Christian model into its supposed precedent. Besides, modern approaches are strongly based on ancient ones, since Orpheus and the poems and mysteries attributed to him were fundamental in the religious controversies of Late Antiquity. Both Pagan and Christian authors often present Orphism as a precedent, alternative or imitation of Chistianity. This free and thorough study of the ancient sources sheds light on these controversial questions. The presence of the Orphic tradition in Imperial Age, documented by literary and epigraphical evidence, is confronted with the informations transmitted by Christian apologists on Orphic poems and cults. The manifold Christian treatments of Pagan sources, and their particular value to understand Greek religion, are illuminated by this specific case, which exemplifies the complex encounter between Classical culture and Jewish-Christian tradition.

Greeks and Their Gods

Greeks and Their Gods PDF Author: William Guthrie
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 9780807057933
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
Designed to serve as a religious companion to the Greek classics.

Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism

Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism PDF Author: Algis Uždavinys
Publisher: The Matheson Trust
ISBN: 1908092076
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Book Description
A book on the religious, mystic origins and substance of philosophy. This is a critical survey of ancient and modern sources and of scholarly works dealing with Orpheus and everything related to this major figure of ancient Greek myth, religion and philosophy. Here poetic madness meets religious initiation and Platonic philosophy. This book contains fascinating insights into the usually downplaid relations between Egyptian initiation, Greek mysteries and Plato's philosophy and followers, right into Hellenistic Neoplatonic and Hermetic developments.