Acheloios, Thales, and the Origin of Philosophy : A Response to the Neo-Marxians

Through careful analysis of the archaeological record, close reading of ancient sources, and deep investigations into the languages of our past, this study demonstrates the importance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales, fundamentally changing our understanding of the origin of the philosophical experience in 6th century Ionia. Acheloios, Thales, and the Origin of Philosophy: A Response to the Neo-Marxians fundamentally changes our understanding of a pivotal moment in the history of mankind – the origin of the philosophical experience in 6th century Ionia. Through a careful analysis of the archaeological record, a close reading of hundreds of ancient sources, and a deep investigation into the various languages of our past, Nicholas Molinari demonstrates the importance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales; provides a critique of the Neo-Marxian prioritization of coined money and conflation of metaphysical cosmology and philosophy; and, most importantly, reintegrates beauty and love as philosophy’s ultimate source. Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Archaeology and Classical Humanities 5 Contents Page 7 Acknowledgements 14 Abstract 16 Introduction 18 Chapter 1 29 Fig. 1b: Obverse enlargement of the ‘Badge of Thales.’ Image courtesy of Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, background edited by author. Inv. Gulbenkian 720. 26 Marx to Sohn-Rethel: Dialectical Materialist Approaches to the Origin of Philosophy 29 Karl Marx 29 Use-Value, Exchange-Value, and the Critique of Aristotle 29 Dialectical/Historical Materialism 32 George Thomson 34 Alfred Sohn-Rethel 36 Conclusion 38 Chapter 2 40 Richard Seaford’s Contribution 40 Basic Presuppositions 41 The Money-Ἄπειρον comparison 42 The Individual Subject 49 Problems with Seaford’s Account 51 Chapter 3 54 Fig. 2: Electrum stater from Ephesos, Ionia, c. late seventh century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton XXIII, lot 350. 46 Thales’ Principle: A Provisional Assessment 54 The Ἀρχή 55 Aristotle’s Phraseology and Ἀρχή as Constitutive Principle 55 Hippias 59 Twofold Ἀρχή? 61 Gods and Souls 61 Differentiation Between (Divine) Water and Soul 62 Conclusions 64 Chapter 4 66 The Emergence of Acheloios and Major Elements of His Cult 66 Literature 69 Conclusion 74 Local Embodiments 74 Chapter 5 76 Fig. 3: Aryballos in the form of the head of Acheloios, from Locri, early sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the Museo Nazionale, Reggio Calabria. Inv. 6139. 68 The Etymology of Ὕδωρ: Pure, Sacred Water 76 Ὕδωρ in Homer 77 Semitic roots 80 Akkadian 80 Sanskrit correspodances 82 Conclusion 83 Chapter 6 85 The Physical Evidence 85 Thales’ dates 85 Miletos as source of the Stater 88 An Early Milesian Mint 88 Contact Abroad and Its Significance to Acheloios Iconography 88 Acheloios Artifacts 91 Section Conclusion 98 The Stater’s Date 99 Relative Chronology 99 Ionian Revolt 101 Style 101 The Relative Significance of Acheloios on Archaic Milesian Electrum 105 Conclusion 106 Chapter 7 107 Fig. 4: Pottery fragment from Berezan featuring Acheloios, 700 to 675 BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Inv. Б 4619. 91 Fig. 5: Pottery fragment from Berezan featuring Acheloios, 700 to 650 BC. Image courtesy of Archäologisches Museum der Universität Halle. Inv. 421 (Bere 159). 91 Fig. 6: Engraved gem from Falerii featuring Herakles and Acheloios, early sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item from Berlin-Charlottenburg. Inv. FG 136. 92 Fig. 7: Relief from Sakçagözü, eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of the object in situ. 92 Fig. 8: Herald’s Wall, tenth to eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of the object in situ. 93 Fig. 9: Ionian askos of Cypriot style, from Emporion, c. mid sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an object in the Museo Arqueológico Provincial, Gerona. 93 Fig. 10: Bezel with engraved scarab featuring mask of Acheloios, from Marion, Cyprus, c. seventh century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. E-Auction 381, lot 692. Private collection. 94 Fig. 11: Lapis lazuli Acheloios pendant, c. seventh to fifth century BC, probably from Naukratis. Author’s photo. Private collection. 95 Fig. 12: Lapis lazuli Acheloios pendant (view of bottom). Author’s photo. Private collection. 95 Fig. 13: Lapis lazuli bird pendant, Naukratis, seventh to third century BC. Author’s drawing. British Museum Collection. Inv. 1888,0601.58. 96 Fig. 14: Naukratian aryballos in the form of the head of Acheloios, c. 560 BC. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions, Ltd., edited by author. Auction 012019, lot 0014. Private collection. 97 Fig. 15: Electrum hekte from Kyzikos, fifth century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 105, lot 186. Private collection. 98 Fig. 16: Electrum sixth stater, striated type, c. 650 to 600 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 105, lot 339. 100 Fig. 17: Silver stater from Cyprus, c. 520 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Luynes.3006 (43-45-32). 102 Fig. 18: Silver third-stater from Rhegion, c. 510 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Fonds général 1964. 102 Fig. 19: Silver didrachm from Gela, c. 490 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Fonds général 454. 102 Fig. 20: Relief statue from Sakçagözü, example of ‘classic’ oversized eye. Author’s drawing of object in situ. 103 Fig. 21: Amathus Bowl, late eighth to early seventh century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum Collection. Inv. 123053. 104 Fig. 22: Gold ornament from Carchemish, c. eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum Collection. Inv. 116232 (part of). 104 Fig. 24: Electrum trite, winged-daimon type, c. 600 to 550 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 85, lot 435. 105 Fig. 25: Electrum 1/24th stater, Milesian standard, c. 600 to 550 BC. Image courtesy of Pecunem, Auction 9. 105 Philosophy Ex Nihilo? 107 O’Gradys position 108 Overview 108 Conflating Religion and Myth 109 ‘All Things Are Full of Gods’ 110 Hittite and Near Eastern Influence 111 Xenophanes and Heraclitus 113 Anaximander 114 Conclusions 114 Pythagoras 114 Toward Thales the Philomythos 115 Pre-Philosophic Thinkers 115 Thales 117 Chapter 8 119 The Mythological Wellspring 119 Okeanos 119 Apsu and Asallúhi 122 Yahweh 127 Nūn 136 Dodona 138 Poseidon and Aphrodite 138 Chapter 9 140 Fig. 26: Two manifestations of Asallúhi on either side of a woman whom they are about to cleanse, from a cylinder seal. Author’s drawing based on Winter’s original. 125 Fig.27: Compilation of examples of Moses wearing a horned hat from the Aelfric Paraphrase. Image assembled from the British Library’s digital document. Inv. Cotton MS Claudius B IV. 132 Fig. 28a: The Ark of the Covenant, featuring two cherubim in the form of winged man-faced bulls, kneeling in act of propitiation, with heads toward the mercy seat. Author’s drawing. 134 Fig. 28b: Ephod of Yahweh? Sheet-gold ‘ephod,’ the underside including a portion of silver sheet and a ferrous fragment, with ancient repair. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions, Ltd. February 2021, lot 0260. 135 Fig. 28c: Judaean double cornucopia on bronze prutah of Alexander Jannaeus, late second to early first century BC. Author’s photo. Private collection. 136 Thales and Acheloios 140 Acheloios as Predecessor of Delineated Threefold Ἀρχή 140 The First from Which Things Come-to-Be 140 That Which Underlies and Governs All Things 143 That to Which All Things Return 150 The One and the Many 152 Concerning Acheloios as the Primary Source of Thales’ Notion of the One among the Many 152 Concerning Individual Δαίμονες in Thales 153 Concluding remarks 157 Chapter 10 158 Fig. 29: Late fifth-century BC votive relief sculpture featuring the forepart of Acheloios among other deities. Image Courtesy of Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Inv. 709. 146 Fig. 30: Etruscan coffin applique in the form of a mask of Acheloios, c. fifth century BC. Image courtesy of Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung GmbH. Auction 264, lot 98. Private collection. 148 Fig. 31: Etruscan mirror, mid fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Object now in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia. Inv. 12988 (See Gerhard 347). 148 Fig. 32: Etruscan mirror, late fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. From the collection of Hrn. de Meester van Raveste. Current whereabouts unknown (See Gerhard 331b). 148 Fig. 33: Etruscan mirror, fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Now in the Museum zu Berlin but uncertain inventory number (See Gerhard 310). 148 Fig. 34: Etruscan mirror, c. fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. From the collection of Prince Baberini, but current whereabouts unknown (See Gerhard 337). 149 Fig. 35: Etruscan mirror, second half of the fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Now in the Museum zu Berlin, but inventory number uncertain (See Gerhard 340). 150 The Thaletan Tradition from Pythagoras to Empedokles 158 Pythagoras 159 Hippo 165 Empedokles 167 Conclusions 172 Chapter 11 173 Fig. 36a: Mask of Acheloios, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 162 Fig. 36b: Two masks of Acheloios surrounding centaur confronting man, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 162 Fig. 37a: Winged nymph, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 163 Fig. 37b: Psyche carries Eros who drinks water from a pitcher, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 163 Fig. 38: Amber Acheloios pendant, c. late sixth, early fifth century BC, found in Southern Italy. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum. Inv. 1856,1226.1442. 164 Sophokles’ Trachiniae: The Interplay of Gods and Souls 173 Acheloios in the Trachiniae 173 Impiety toward Acheloios 174 Kypris and Eros 176 Dodona 177 Lokris 178 Assimilation 179 Herakles’ Wretched Purification 180 Herakles’ ‘Death’ 182 Numismatic and archaeological evidence 182 The Tarsos Bronzes and Connection to Orphism 182 Conclusion 187 Fig. 39: Arula from Locri featuring Herakles wrestling Acheloios, mid sixth century BC. Author’s drawing. 179 Fig. 40a: Bronze coin from Tarsos featuring Herakles over Acheloios, c. 164 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton VII, lot 329. 183 Fig. 40b: Enlargement of Acheloios as a winged man-faced bull. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton VII, lot 329. 183 Acheloios as the Horizon for an Understanding of Being 188 Overview of the Dialogue 188 Allusions to Acheloios 189 Setting 189 Concerning Abstraction from Acheloios 193 Concerning Assimilation with Acheloios and the Nymphs 195 Aquatic Language, Sirens, and Nymphs 198 Concerning the Banquet of the Gods 200 Allusions to Thales 201 Knowledge of the Self and Knowledge of the Ἀρχή 202 All Things are Full of Gods 204 Motion and the Soul 206 Concerning Writing and Notoriety 207 Acheloios as the Horizon for an Understanding of Being 211 Conclusion 212 Fig. 41: Parthenon reclining river god, 438 to 432 BC. Author’s drawing of a statue in the British Museum. Inv. 1816,0610.99. 191 Fig. 42: Votive relief, found on the banks of the Ilisos, mid third century BC, featuring Acheloios as the throne of Zeus. Image courtesy of Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο (National Archaeological Museum), Athens. 192 Fig. 43a: Roman Provincial Mosaic, from Zeugma, featuring Psyche and Eros, border containing many cornucopias and two heads of Acheloios. Image from Reddit, unknown source, but a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional artwork. 196 Fig. 43b: Early fourth-century BC votive relief from Megara, featuring a mask of Acheloios at the ‘banquet of the gods,’ now in the Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. Inv. SK 679 (same object featured on the back cover). Image courtesy of G 196 Fig. 44: Silver tetradrachm from Gela, Sicily, c. 480 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. E-Auction 389, lot 29. Private collection. 201 The Sacrifice of Acheloios: A Response to the Neo-Marxians 212 The Ultimate Concern 212 The Problem Situation 213 The λόγος, μῦθος, And ἔργον Of Acheloios 214 The λόγος of Acheloios 214 The μῦθος of Acheloios 215 The ἔργον of Acheloios 217 From Dialectical Materialism Back to Being 220 Bibliography 222 Ancient Authors 239 General Index 247 Index Locorum 255 Back cover 264 Archaeology and Classical Humanities,Archaeopress Series,Acheloios,Achelous,Acheloos,Thales,Philosophy,Numismatics,Marxism,Neo-Marxism,Ancient Coins,Historical Materialism,Archaeological Theory,Hermeneutics. Through careful analysis of the archaeological record, close reading of ancient sources, and deep investigations into the languages of our past, this study demonstrates the importance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales, fundamentally changing our understanding of the origin of the philosophical experience in 6th century Ionia. Acheloios, Thales, and the Origin of Philosophy: A Response to the Neo-Marxians fundamentally changes our understanding of a pivotal moment in the history of mankind – the origin of the philosophical experience in 6th century Ionia. Through a careful analysis of the archaeological record, a close reading of hundreds of ancient sources, and a deep investigation into the various languages of our past, Nicholas Molinari demonstrates the importance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales; provides a critique of the Neo-Marxian prioritization of coined money and conflation of metaphysical cosmology and philosophy; and, most importantly, reintegrates beauty and love as philosophy’s ultimate source. Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Archaeology and Classical Humanities 5 Contents Page 7 Acknowledgements 14 Abstract 16 Introduction 18 Chapter 1 29 Fig. 1b: Obverse enlargement of the ‘Badge of Thales.’ Image courtesy of Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, background edited by author. Inv. Gulbenkian 720. 26 Marx to Sohn-Rethel: Dialectical Materialist Approaches to the Origin of Philosophy 29 Karl Marx 29 Use-Value, Exchange-Value, and the Critique of Aristotle 29 Dialectical/Historical Materialism 32 George Thomson 34 Alfred Sohn-Rethel 36 Conclusion 38 Chapter 2 40 Richard Seaford’s Contribution 40 Basic Presuppositions 41 The Money-Ἄπειρον comparison 42 The Individual Subject 49 Problems with Seaford’s Account 51 Chapter 3 54 Fig. 2: Electrum stater from Ephesos, Ionia, c. late seventh century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton XXIII, lot 350. 46 Thales’ Principle: A Provisional Assessment 54 The Ἀρχή 55 Aristotle’s Phraseology and Ἀρχή as Constitutive Principle 55 Hippias 59 Twofold Ἀρχή? 61 Gods and Souls 61 Differentiation Between (Divine) Water and Soul 62 Conclusions 64 Chapter 4 66 The Emergence of Acheloios and Major Elements of His Cult 66 Literature 69 Conclusion 74 Local Embodiments 74 Chapter 5 76 Fig. 3: Aryballos in the form of the head of Acheloios, from Locri, early sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the Museo Nazionale, Reggio Calabria. Inv. 6139. 68 The Etymology of Ὕδωρ: Pure, Sacred Water 76 Ὕδωρ in Homer 77 Semitic roots 80 Akkadian 80 Sanskrit correspodances 82 Conclusion 83 Chapter 6 85 The Physical Evidence 85 Thales’ dates 85 Miletos as source of the Stater 88 An Early Milesian Mint 88 Contact Abroad and Its Significance to Acheloios Iconography 88 Acheloios Artifacts 91 Section Conclusion 98 The Stater’s Date 99 Relative Chronology 99 Ionian Revolt 101 Style 101 The Relative Significance of Acheloios on Archaic Milesian Electrum 105 Conclusion 106 Chapter 7 107 Fig. 4: Pottery fragment from Berezan featuring Acheloios, 700 to 675 BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Inv. Б 4619. 91 Fig. 5: Pottery fragment from Berezan featuring Acheloios, 700 to 650 BC. Image courtesy of Archäologisches Museum der Universität Halle. Inv. 421 (Bere 159). 91 Fig. 6: Engraved gem from Falerii featuring Herakles and Acheloios, early sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item from Berlin-Charlottenburg. Inv. FG 136. 92 Fig. 7: Relief from Sakçagözü, eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of the object in situ. 92 Fig. 8: Herald’s Wall, tenth to eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of the object in situ. 93 Fig. 9: Ionian askos of Cypriot style, from Emporion, c. mid sixth century BC. Author’s drawing of an object in the Museo Arqueológico Provincial, Gerona. 93 Fig. 10: Bezel with engraved scarab featuring mask of Acheloios, from Marion, Cyprus, c. seventh century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. E-Auction 381, lot 692. Private collection. 94 Fig. 11: Lapis lazuli Acheloios pendant, c. seventh to fifth century BC, probably from Naukratis. Author’s photo. Private collection. 95 Fig. 12: Lapis lazuli Acheloios pendant (view of bottom). Author’s photo. Private collection. 95 Fig. 13: Lapis lazuli bird pendant, Naukratis, seventh to third century BC. Author’s drawing. British Museum Collection. Inv. 1888,0601.58. 96 Fig. 14: Naukratian aryballos in the form of the head of Acheloios, c. 560 BC. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions, Ltd., edited by author. Auction 012019, lot 0014. Private collection. 97 Fig. 15: Electrum hekte from Kyzikos, fifth century BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 105, lot 186. Private collection. 98 Fig. 16: Electrum sixth stater, striated type, c. 650 to 600 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 105, lot 339. 100 Fig. 17: Silver stater from Cyprus, c. 520 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Luynes.3006 (43-45-32). 102 Fig. 18: Silver third-stater from Rhegion, c. 510 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Fonds général 1964. 102 Fig. 19: Silver didrachm from Gela, c. 490 BC. Image courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Inv. Fonds général 454. 102 Fig. 20: Relief statue from Sakçagözü, example of ‘classic’ oversized eye. Author’s drawing of object in situ. 103 Fig. 21: Amathus Bowl, late eighth to early seventh century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum Collection. Inv. 123053. 104 Fig. 22: Gold ornament from Carchemish, c. eighth century BC. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum Collection. Inv. 116232 (part of). 104 Fig. 24: Electrum trite, winged-daimon type, c. 600 to 550 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. CNG Auction 85, lot 435. 105 Fig. 25: Electrum 1/24th stater, Milesian standard, c. 600 to 550 BC. Image courtesy of Pecunem, Auction 9. 105 Philosophy Ex Nihilo? 107 O’Gradys position 108 Overview 108 Conflating Religion and Myth 109 ‘All Things Are Full of Gods’ 110 Hittite and Near Eastern Influence 111 Xenophanes and Heraclitus 113 Anaximander 114 Conclusions 114 Pythagoras 114 Toward Thales the Philomythos 115 Pre-Philosophic Thinkers 115 Thales 117 Chapter 8 119 The Mythological Wellspring 119 Okeanos 119 Apsu and Asallúhi 122 Yahweh 127 Nūn 136 Dodona 138 Poseidon and Aphrodite 138 Chapter 9 140 Fig. 26: Two manifestations of Asallúhi on either side of a woman whom they are about to cleanse, from a cylinder seal. Author’s drawing based on Winter’s original. 125 Fig.27: Compilation of examples of Moses wearing a horned hat from the Aelfric Paraphrase. Image assembled from the British Library’s digital document. Inv. Cotton MS Claudius B IV. 132 Fig. 28a: The Ark of the Covenant, featuring two cherubim in the form of winged man-faced bulls, kneeling in act of propitiation, with heads toward the mercy seat. Author’s drawing. 134 Fig. 28b: Ephod of Yahweh? Sheet-gold ‘ephod,’ the underside including a portion of silver sheet and a ferrous fragment, with ancient repair. Image courtesy of TimeLine Auctions, Ltd. February 2021, lot 0260. 135 Fig. 28c: Judaean double cornucopia on bronze prutah of Alexander Jannaeus, late second to early first century BC. Author’s photo. Private collection. 136 Thales and Acheloios 140 Acheloios as Predecessor of Delineated Threefold Ἀρχή 140 The First from Which Things Come-to-Be 140 That Which Underlies and Governs All Things 143 That to Which All Things Return 150 The One and the Many 152 Concerning Acheloios as the Primary Source of Thales’ Notion of the One among the Many 152 Concerning Individual Δαίμονες in Thales 153 Concluding remarks 157 Chapter 10 158 Fig. 29: Late fifth-century BC votive relief sculpture featuring the forepart of Acheloios among other deities. Image Courtesy of Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Inv. 709. 146 Fig. 30: Etruscan coffin applique in the form of a mask of Acheloios, c. fifth century BC. Image courtesy of Gorny & Mosch Giessener Münzhandlung GmbH. Auction 264, lot 98. Private collection. 148 Fig. 31: Etruscan mirror, mid fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Object now in the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia. Inv. 12988 (See Gerhard 347). 148 Fig. 32: Etruscan mirror, late fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. From the collection of Hrn. de Meester van Raveste. Current whereabouts unknown (See Gerhard 331b). 148 Fig. 33: Etruscan mirror, fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Now in the Museum zu Berlin but uncertain inventory number (See Gerhard 310). 148 Fig. 34: Etruscan mirror, c. fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. From the collection of Prince Baberini, but current whereabouts unknown (See Gerhard 337). 149 Fig. 35: Etruscan mirror, second half of the fourth century BC. Line drawing by Cameron Fritts, from the original by F.W.E. Gerhard. Now in the Museum zu Berlin, but inventory number uncertain (See Gerhard 340). 150 The Thaletan Tradition from Pythagoras to Empedokles 158 Pythagoras 159 Hippo 165 Empedokles 167 Conclusions 172 Chapter 11 173 Fig. 36a: Mask of Acheloios, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 162 Fig. 36b: Two masks of Acheloios surrounding centaur confronting man, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 162 Fig. 37a: Winged nymph, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 163 Fig. 37b: Psyche carries Eros who drinks water from a pitcher, from an underground Neopythagorean basilica at Porta Maggiore, first century BC. Author’s drawing of the stucco relief in situ. 163 Fig. 38: Amber Acheloios pendant, c. late sixth, early fifth century BC, found in Southern Italy. Author’s drawing of an item in the British Museum. Inv. 1856,1226.1442. 164 Sophokles’ Trachiniae: The Interplay of Gods and Souls 173 Acheloios in the Trachiniae 173 Impiety toward Acheloios 174 Kypris and Eros 176 Dodona 177 Lokris 178 Assimilation 179 Herakles’ Wretched Purification 180 Herakles’ ‘Death’ 182 Numismatic and archaeological evidence 182 The Tarsos Bronzes and Connection to Orphism 182 Conclusion 187 Fig. 39: Arula from Locri featuring Herakles wrestling Acheloios, mid sixth century BC. Author’s drawing. 179 Fig. 40a: Bronze coin from Tarsos featuring Herakles over Acheloios, c. 164 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton VII, lot 329. 183 Fig. 40b: Enlargement of Acheloios as a winged man-faced bull. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. Triton VII, lot 329. 183 Acheloios as the Horizon for an Understanding of Being 188 Overview of the Dialogue 188 Allusions to Acheloios 189 Setting 189 Concerning Abstraction from Acheloios 193 Concerning Assimilation with Acheloios and the Nymphs 195 Aquatic Language, Sirens, and Nymphs 198 Concerning the Banquet of the Gods 200 Allusions to Thales 201 Knowledge of the Self and Knowledge of the Ἀρχή 202 All Things are Full of Gods 204 Motion and the Soul 206 Concerning Writing and Notoriety 207 Acheloios as the Horizon for an Understanding of Being 211 Conclusion 212 Fig. 41: Parthenon reclining river god, 438 to 432 BC. Author’s drawing of a statue in the British Museum. Inv. 1816,0610.99. 191 Fig. 42: Votive relief, found on the banks of the Ilisos, mid third century BC, featuring Acheloios as the throne of Zeus. Image courtesy of Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο (National Archaeological Museum), Athens. 192 Fig. 43a: Roman Provincial Mosaic, from Zeugma, featuring Psyche and Eros, border containing many cornucopias and two heads of Acheloios. Image from Reddit, unknown source, but a faithful reproduction of a two-dimensional artwork. 196 Fig. 43b: Early fourth-century BC votive relief from Megara, featuring a mask of Acheloios at the ‘banquet of the gods,’ now in the Antikensammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. Inv. SK 679 (same object featured on the back cover). Image courtesy of G 196 Fig. 44: Silver tetradrachm from Gela, Sicily, c. 480 BC. Image courtesy of Classical Numismatic Group, LLC. E-Auction 389, lot 29. Private collection. 201 The Sacrifice of Acheloios: A Response to the Neo-Marxians 212 The Ultimate Concern 212 The Problem Situation 213 The λόγος, μῦθος, And ἔργον Of Acheloios 214 The λόγος of Acheloios 214 The μῦθος of Acheloios 215 The ἔργον of Acheloios 217 From Dialectical Materialism Back to Being 220 Bibliography 222 Ancient Authors 239 General Index 247 Index Locorum 255 Back cover 264 Archaeology and Classical Humanities,Archaeopress Series,Acheloios,Achelous,Acheloos,Thales,Philosophy,Numismatics,Marxism,Neo-Marxism,Ancient Coins,Historical Materialism,Archaeological Theory,Hermeneutics. Acheloios, Thales, and the Origin of Philosophy: A Response tothe Neo-Marxians fundamentally changes our understanding of apivotal moment in the history of mankind - the origin of thephilosophical experience in 6th century Ionia. Through a carefulanalysis of the archaeological record, a close reading of hundredsof ancient sources, and a deep investigation into the variouslanguages of our past, Nicholas Molinari demonstrates theimportance of the influence of the cult of Acheloios on Thales;provides a critique of the Neo-Marxian prioritization of coinedmoney and conflation of metaphysical cosmology and philosophy; and,most importantly, reintegrates beauty and love as philosophy'sultimate source