Philosophy and Salvation in Greek Religion (Religionsgeschichtliche Und Versuche Vorarbeiten) (Religionsgeschichtliche Versuche Und Vorarbeiten)

Philosophy, Salvation, and the Mortal Condition / Vishwa Adluri -- Salvation for the Wanderer: Odysseus, the Gold Leaves, and Empedocles / Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui -- Self-Determination and Freedom: The Relationship of God and Man in Homer. Translated by Joydeep Bagchee / Arbogast Schmitt -- Parmenides' Proem and Pythagoras' Descent. Translated by Joydeep Bagchee / Walter Burkert -- O Platōn parōidei ta Orpheus = Plato's Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery / Alberto Bernabé -- The Eleusinian Mysteries in Pre-Platonic Thought: Metaphor, Practice and Imagery for Plato's Symposium / Barbara Sattler -- Plato's Soteriology? / Stephen Menn -- From Politics to Salvation through Philosophy: Herodotus' Histories and Plato's Republic / Vishwa Adluri & John Lenz -- Rebirth Eschatology in Plato and Plotinus / John Bussanich -- Memory and the Soul's Destiny in Plotinus. Translated by Michael Chase / Luc Brisson -- Between the Two Realms: Plotinus' Pure Soul / Svetla Slaveva-Griffin -- Iamblichus, Theurgy, and the Soul's Ascent / John Finamore;Ever since Vlastos' "Theology and Philosophy in Early Greek Thought," scholars have known that a consideration of ancient philosophy without attention to its theological, cosmological and soteriological dimensions remains onesided. Yet, philosophers continue to discuss thinkers such as Parmenides and Plato without knowledge of their debt to the archaic religious traditions. Perhaps our own religious prejudices allow us to see only a "polis religion" in Greek religion, while our modern philosophical openness and emphasis on reason induce us to rehabilitate ancient philosophy by what we consider the highest standard of knowledge: proper argumentation. Yet, it is possible to see ancient philosophy as operating according to a different system of meaning, a different "logic." Such a different sense of logic operates in myth and other narratives, where the argument is neither completely illogical nor rational in the positivist sense. The articles in this volume undertake a critical engagement with this unspoken legacy of Greek religion. The aim of the volume as a whole is to show how, beyond the formalities and fallacies of arguments, something more profound is at stake in ancient philosophy: the salvation of the philosopher-initiate."--Publisher's website

Ever since Vlastos’ “Theology and Philosophy in Early Greek Thought,” scholars have known that a consideration of ancient philosophy without attention to its theological, cosmological and soteriological dimensions remains onesided. Yet, philosophers continue to discuss thinkers such as Parmenides and Plato without knowledge of their debt to the archaic religious traditions. Perhaps our own religious prejudices allow us to see only a “polis religion” in Greek religion, while our modern philosophical openness and emphasis on reason induce us to rehabilitate ancient philosophy by what we consider the highest standard of knowledge: proper argumentation. Yet, it is possible to see ancient philosophy as operating according to a different system of meaning, a different “logic.” Such a different sense of logic operates in myth and other narratives, where the argument is neither completely illogical nor rational in the positivist sense. The articles in this volume undertake a critical engagement with this unspoken legacy of Greek religion. The aim of the volume as a whole is to show how, beyond the formalities and fallacies of arguments, something more profound is at stake in ancient philosophy: the salvation of the philosopher-initiate.

Philosophy, Salvation, and the Mortal Condition 13 Salvation for the Wanderer: Odysseus, the Gold Leaves, and Empedocles 41 Self-Determination and Freedom: The Relationship of God and Man in Homer. Translated by Joydeep Bagchee 71 Parmenides’ Proem and Pythagoras’ Descent. Translated by Joydeep Bagchee 97 Ὁ Πλάτων παρωιδεῖ τὰ Ὀρφέως Plato’s Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery 129 The Eleusinian Mysteries in Pre-Platonic Thought: Metaphor, Practice and Imagery for Plato’s Symposium 163 Plato’s Soteriology? 203 From Politics to Salvation through Philosophy: Herodotus’ Histories and Plato’s Republic 229 Rebirth Eschatology in Plato and Plotinus 255 Memory and the Soul’s Destiny in Plotinus. Translated by Michael Chase 301 Between the Two Realms: Plotinus’ Pure Soul 325 Iamblichus, Theurgy, and the Soul’s Ascent 355 About the Contributors 369 Bibliography 373 Index of terms 399 Main description: Although Greek authors treat philosophy and theology in the closest contiguity, most scholarship still reflects the 19th century prejudice according to which philosophy is a rational enterprise, while theology is a dogmatic discipline. Yet, as this volume demonstrates, Greek philosophy emerges from and remains closely linked to the archaic religious experience. Spanning Greek thought from Homer to Neo-Platonism, this anthology is essential reading for those interested in ancient Greek philosophy in the context of its theological, soteriological and cosmological concerns