Myths of the Underworld Journey: Plato, Aristophanes, and the 'Orphic' Gold Tablets

290 Pages·2004·1.39 MB·English

by  Radcliffe G. Edmonds III

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MYTHSOFTHEUNDERWORLDJOURNEY
Plato, Aristophanes, and the creators of the ‘Orphic’ gold tablets employ
thetraditionaltaleofajourneytotherealmofthedeadtoredefine,within
themythicnarrative,theboundariesoftheirsocieties.Ratherthanbeingthe
relicsofafadedritualtraditionortheproductsofOrphicinfluence,these
mythscanonlyrevealtheirmeaningsthroughacloseanalysisofthespecific
ways in which each author makes use of the tradition. For these authors,
mythisanagonisticdiscourse;itisneitherakindofsacreddogmanoramere
literarydiversion,butratheraflexibletoolthatservesawidevarietyofuses.
ThetraditionaltaleofthejourneytotheunderworldinGreekmythologyis
neithersimplenorsingle,buteachtellingrevealsaperspectiveonthecosmos,
areflectionoftheorderofthisworldthroughtheimageoftheother.
RadcliffeG.EdmondsIIIisassistantprofessorofGreek,Latin,andClassical
StudiesatBrynMawrCollege.AmemberoftheeditorialboardoftheBryn
Mawr Classical Review, he has contributed to Classical Antiquity, TAPA, and
AncientWorld.
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Myths of the Underworld Journey
Plato, Aristophanes, and the
‘Orphic’ Gold Tablets
RADCLIFFE G. EDMONDS III
BrynMawrCollege
iii
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© Radcliffe G. Edmonds III 2004
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Firstpublishedinprintformat 2004
ISBN-13 978-0-511-26559-4 eBook (NetLibrary)
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ISBN-13 978-0-521-83434-6 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-83434-1 hardback
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SothejourneyisnotasAeschylus’ Telephusdescribesit:
hesaysitisasimplepaththatleadstoHades,
buttomeitseemstobeneithersimplenorsingle.
(PlatoPhaedo107e4–108a2)
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Contents
1 Introduction:TheStartoftheJourney page1
DefinitionofMyth 4
TheTaleoftheJourneytotheUnderworld 13
DistinctandDifferentWays 20
TheRouteoftheTexts 25
TheEndsoftheRoad 27
2 RoadmapsofD´eviance:The‘Orphic’ GoldTablets 29
Introduction 29
PlacingtheGoldTablets 30
TheApproach:Obstacle–Solution–Result 34
OrphicControversies 37
Replacing‘Orphism’ 40
FindingthePathintheUnderworld 46
Obstacle:FindingtheWaytotheRightSpring 49
Solution:TheSecondSpring,fromtheLakeof
Mnemosyne 50
Result:Memory 52
Conclusion 55
ConfrontationwiththePowersoftheUnderworld 55
Obstacle:ConfrontationwiththePowersofthe
Underworld 55
AudiencewithPersephoneintheAandPTablets 56
TheThirstySoulandtheGuardiansoftheSpringin
theBTablets 61
Conclusion 63
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viii Contents
Solution:StatementofIdentity 64
GenderIssues 65
RitualPurity 69
ThePaymentofthePenalty 70
StruckbyLightning 73
DivineLineage 75
StatementsofIdentityasSolution 80
Result:EschatologicalHopes 82
TheSymposiumoftheBlest 84
Rebirth 88
Apotheosis 91
Conclusion 99
Conclusions 102
‘Orphic’ Sources 102
TheRitualApproach 104
Conclusion 108
Appendix:GoldTabletSigla 110
3 DescenttotheDepthsofComedy:TheFrogs
ofAristophanes 111
Introduction 111
TheInitiationofDionysos:TheAbuseofaPattern 113
AristophanesandtheMysteries 117
ACarnivalesqueReflection 120
Dionysos’sComicKatabasis 121
EnteringtheRealmofHades 125
Obstacle:CrossingtheAcherusianLake 125
Solution:DionysosRowsCharon’sSkiff 126
Result:RendezvousatWitheringHeights 135
FindingthePathintheUnderworld 136
Obstacle:LostintheMuck 136
Solution:JointheFestivalsoftheMystai 138
Result:GuidancetotheHouseofHades 146
ConfrontationwiththePowersoftheUnderworld 147
Obstacle:TheDoorkeeperattheGate 147
Solution:DeclarationofIdentity–Herakles,Slave,or
Dionysos? 149
Result:PutinOne’sPlace 154
Conclusion 156