Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism

Orpheus and the Roots of Platonism
Author: Algis Uždavinys
Publisher: The Matheson Trust
Total Pages: 117
Release: 2011
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1908092076

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.


Orpheus

Orpheus
Author: George Robert Stow Mead
Publisher:
Total Pages: 336
Release: 1896
Genre: Cults
ISBN:


Orpheus and Greek Religion

Orpheus and Greek Religion
Author: William Keith Guthrie
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 354
Release: 1993-10-10
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780691024998

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.


Plotinus: Road to Reality

Plotinus: Road to Reality
Author: John M. Rist
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1967
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521060851

This 1967 study begins with a brief biography of Plotinus, and goes on to discuss Plotinus' concept of the one, the logos and free will.


Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity

Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity
Author: Algis Uždavinys
Publisher: Sophia Perennis
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2010
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781597310864

The ancient philosophy, in its original Orphico-Pythagorean and Platonic form, is not simply a way of life in accordance with the divine or human intellect (nous), but also the way of alchemical transformation and mystical illumination achieved through initiatic 'death' and subsequent restoration at the level of divine light. To use another mythical image, philosophy restores the soul's wings and leads the purified lover of wisdom to Heaven. As a means of spiritual reintegration and unification, ancient philosophy is inseparable from the hieratic rites. Therefore those scholars who themselves follow the anagogic path of Platonic tradition are more or less firmly convinced that their philosophy ultimately derives from the Egyptian and Mesopotamian temple liturgies and rituals, reinterpreted and revived by the Neoplatonists under the name of 'theurgy' in late antiquity. The theurgic 'animation' of statues appears to be among the main keys for understanding how various royal and priestly practices, related to the daily ritual service and encounter with the divine presence in the temples, developed into the Neoplatonic mysticism of late antiquity. The traditional theory of symbolism still stands on the Neoplatonic foundation established by Iamblichus, Proclus, and Damascius. "This book clearly establishes three things: that traditional myth (as the Neoplatonists maintained) is the symbolic expression of metaphysics, as metaphysics is the exegesis of myth; that Greek philosophy was not an isolated 'miracle' but a reinterpretation of perennial themes common to the ancient Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Indian, and especially Egyptian religions; and that Platonic philosophical discourse was but one-half of a whole which included an invocatory/contemplative practice known as 'theurgy'. It was not merely the ancestor of western speculative philosophy, but an askesis, a yoga-a way of realization (though no longer a living tradition) worthy to be included among the great spiritual methods of all places and times." Charles Uupton, author of Knowings "In this most stimulating and wide-ranging work, Algis Uzdavinys, drawing on the resources of his enormous learning, leads Neoplatonic theurgy back to its roots in Ancient Egypt, thereby setting Platonic philosophy in a new and wider context. Students of Neoplatonism will find themselves much indebted to him for this, and all readers will find their outlook on life significantly changed.- Prof. John M. Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin, author of Middle Platonists


Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism

Ascent to Heaven in Islamic and Jewish Mysticism
Author: Algis Uždavinys
Publisher: The Matheson Trust
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2011-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1908092025

In this groundbreaking work of comparative religion, Algis Uzdavinys takes us deeply into the "closed and blessed gardens of myth", showing us the capital importance of the many varieties of "ascent to heaven". From the Pyramid Texts down to Second Temple Judaism and apocalyptic Christian literature; and, in parallel, down the theurgic path of Platonic and Hermetic literature to the sanctum of the Islamic revelation in Mecca, we are vividly presented with the sacramental impact of anagoge: elevation to the domain of the supernal archetypes and heavenly principles. As with other books by the author, the face of antiquity is revealed anew, full of intriguing, challenging and enraptured insights.


Ritual Texts for the Afterlife

Ritual Texts for the Afterlife
Author: Fritz Graf
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2007-06-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134119674

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.


Redefining Ancient Orphism

Redefining Ancient Orphism
Author: Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2013-11-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107038219

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