Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An Ontological Exploration

Description

Cosmological narratives like the creation story in the book of Genesis or the modern Big Bang are popularly understood to be descriptions of how the universe was created. However, cosmologies also say a great deal more. Indeed, the majority of cosmologies, ancient and modern, explore not simply how the world was made but how humans relate to their surrounding environment and the often thin line which separates humans from gods and animals. Combining approaches from classical studies, anthropology, and philosophy, this book studies three competing cosmologies of the early Greek world: Hesiod’s Theogony; the Orphic Derveni theogony; and Protagoras’ creation myth in Plato’s eponymous dialogue. Although all three cosmologies are part of a single mythic tradition and feature a number of similar events and characters, Olaf Almqvist argues they offer very different answers to an ongoing debate on what it is to be human. Engaging closely with the ontological turn in anthropology and in particular with the work of Philippe Descola, this book outlines three key sets of ontological assumptions – analogism, pantheism, and naturalism – found in early Greek literature and explores how these competing ontological assumptions result in contrasting attitudes to rituals such as prayer and sacrifice. Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations INTRODUCTION Myth, Philosophy and Ontological Pluralism Between myth and philosophy Ontologies and theogonies Summary overview 1 Cosmos and Chaos in Hesiod’s Theogony Etymologizing Chaos and the search for order Cosmos and chaos in ancient cosmologies The ontology of chaos Rethinking the opening of Hesiod’s Theogony Ouranos and Kronos or how not to rule the cosmos Zeus, Oedipus and the King of Fiji Making a cosmos out of chaos Conclusion 2 Beyond the Golden Age: Sacrifice, Sharing and Affinity in Hesiod’s Mekone Hesiod and human origins Hesiod and ὁμόθεν Affinity, consanguinity and the shared table of gods and men Sacrifice between sharing and separation The shared feast at Mekone Conclusion: Sacrifice and cosmology 3 Orpheus and the Reinvention of the Cosmos Orpheus amid the poets and philosophers Reconstructing the beginning of the Derveni Theogony Protogonos and the early gods in the Derveni Theogony Zeus first, middle and last Recreating the cosmos Conclusion 4 Dionysus Dismembered Early Orphism and circumstantial evidence Making sense of murder Body and soul in early Orphism From soul to sacrifice Appropriate offerings to the gods Conclusion: Sacrifice as the pivot of the world CONCLUSION Protagoras and Greek Naturalism Naturalism and sophistic thought Protagoras’ legacy Living in Protagoras’ world Appendix: Some Key Orphic Texts Notes Bibliography Index Locorum General Index