DOCSLIB.ORG

Divine Mania Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Divine Mania Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece Divine Mania Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece Yulia Ustinova ij Routledge Taylor & Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK Contents Preface VUl Acknowledgements Xlll Abbreviations xv Introduction 1 Socrates on divine mania 1 Mania: words and images 2 Mania as mental disorder: its definition and characteristics 5 Madness in context: the importance of historicism 13 Alterations of consciousness between unity and diversity: aspects of methodology and terminology I7 The scope of this book and its sources 29 1 i Prophetic mania 55 Inspired prophecy: definitions, ancient and modern 55 Inspired divination in Greece 58 Prophetic priests 58 Laymen who received oracular messages in sanctuaries 67 Unaffiliated seers 71 Inspired prophets as instruments of the gods 7 5 Inspired prophecy in Greece as compared to other cultures 78 Prophecy in Mesopotamia in comparison with Greece 79 Prophecy in ancient Israel in comparison with Greece 81 Conclusions 85 2 Telestic mania and near-death experiences 113 Mastery initiations 115 The nature of the initiate's experience I: mania for mania's sake or for its treatment 117 The Corybantic rites 118 Bacchic and Sabaziac initiations 122 vi Contents The nature of the initiate's experience II: paradosis and epopteia 126 The core experience in the 'great mysteries,' mania, and alteration of consciousness 129 Techniques of 'getting ready' for the core experience of mystery initiations and mania 132 Mystery rites and near-death experiences 136 Conclusions 143 3 Bakcheia 169 Dionysus and individual madmen in myths 170 Dionysus and destructive collective mania in myth 172 Bakchai and bakchoi in myth, poetry, and art 174 Bakcheia and gender 179 The historicity of the savage rites 181 The dynamics of the thiasos 187 Bakcheia from a comparative viewpoint 192 Aspects of physiology and psychology of bakcheia 194 Conclusions 197 4 Mania on the battlefield and on the march 217 Combat fury: Ly ssa 217 Psychological injuries and combat stress: Phobos 224 Panic 227 Battlefield epiphanies 231 Conclusions 233 5 Nympholepsy 245 Nympholepsy, panolepsy, and vatic abilities 245 Nympholepts and their caves 248 Conclusions 255 6 Poetic mania 265 The Muses, memory, and inspiration 265 Music and alteration of consciousness 266 The nature of poetic inspiration: Plato 268 The nature of poetic inspiration: Aristotle 270 Modem poets and musicians and their inspiration 272 Enthusiastic audiences 276 Conclusions 279 Contents vii 7 Erotic mania 294 Plato on the erotic mania 294 Greeks on eros as mania 298 Blessings of the erotic mania? 302 Conclusions 305 8 The philosopher's mania and his path to truth 313 Socrates' mania 315 Plato's mystical experiences 322 Mania and Archaic sages: Epimenides, Aethalides, and Hermotimus 328 Mania and Presocratic philosophers: Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Empedocles 330 Shamans and mystics? 337 Coda: Democritus the mad philosopher 341 Conclusions 342 Epilogue: perspectives on the divine mania 370 Index 381 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Magical Practice in the Latin West Religions in the Graeco-Roman World
    Magical Practice in the Latin West Religions in the Graeco-Roman World Editors H.S. Versnel D. Frankfurter J. Hahn VOLUME 168 Magical Practice in the Latin West Papers from the International Conference held at the University of Zaragoza 30 Sept.–1 Oct. 2005 Edited by Richard L. Gordon and Francisco Marco Simón LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 Th is book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Magical practice in the Latin West : papers from the international conference held at the University of Zaragoza, 30 Sept.–1 Oct. 2005 / edited by Richard L. Gordon and Francisco Marco Simon. p. cm. — (Religions in the Graeco-Roman world, ISSN 0927-7633 ; v. 168) Includes indexes. ISBN 978-90-04-17904-2 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Magic—Europe—History— Congresses. I. Gordon, R. L. (Richard Lindsay) II. Marco Simón, Francisco. III. Title. IV. Series. BF1591.M3444 2010 133.4’3094—dc22 2009041611 ISSN 0927-7633 ISBN 978 90 04 17904 2 Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, Th e Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Th e Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae Bonnie Maclachlan (Updated April, 2019)
    Curriculum Vitae Bonnie MacLachlan (Updated April, 2019) Bonnie MacLachlan retired from the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Western Ontario in 2012. While no longer teaching in the department she continues with her research, giving conference presentations and publishing in the area of Greek poetry and religion, comic theatre in the Greek West and gender studies. In the fall of 2014 she gave graduate seminars at the Department of Classics and Anthropology at the University of Siena, on questions in Greek epistemology arising from both texts and material culture. She served as Vice-President, President and Past-President of the Classical Association of Canada from 2012-2018. In November 2018 she presented a keynote address for a conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, entitled “Non-elite Couples in Greco-Roman Antiquity.” She has submitted a written version of her talk as a chapter for a book to be published by Routledge and continues to work on aspects of this subject. The focus of another work-in- progress is the development of the concept and measurement of ‘value’ in ancient Greece. The earliest objects with quantifiable value possessed functional potential, such as cattle, tripods or obeloi. Gradually representational value shifted to objects with symbolic worth such as ingots of metal, before taking its final form with coins beginning in 6th century BCE. Lydia. On this subject she is working with a consortium of earth scientists (local and international) and anthropologists who do deep analysis of the metal content
    [Show full text]
  • Radcliffe Edmonds CV 2021
    Radcliffe Edmonds CV - updated June 24, 2021 RADCLIFFE G. EDMONDS III Paul Shorey Professor of Greek Department of Greek, Latin, & Classical Studies, Bryn Mawr College [email protected] https://www.brynmawr.edu/people/radcliffe-edmonds Education: University of Chicago: Classical Languages and Literatures M.A. 12/94, Ph.D. 6/99. Yale University: Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude with distinction, 6/92. Dissertation: (Advisors: Christopher Faraone, Bruce Lincoln, Martha Nussbaum ) A Path Neither Simple Nor Single: The Use of Myth in Plato, Aristophanes, and the 'Orphic' Gold Tablets Academic Honors: Center for Hellenic Studies Fellowship, 2007-2008 Loeb Classical Library Foundation Fellowship, 2004-2005 Dissertation Fellowship, Chicago Humanities Institute, 1998-9 (now the Franke Institute for the Humanities) Junior Fellowship, Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion, 1997-8 (now the Martin Marty Center) National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, Isthmia Excavation Project, 1995 University of Chicago Century Fellowship, 1993-1997 Phi Beta Kappa, Yale University, 1991 Professional Associations: Society for Classical Studies (formerly the American Philological Association) International Plato Society Society for Biblical Literature Society for Ancient Mediterranean Religions Research and Teaching Interests: Greek mythology, religions of the ancient Greek and Roman world, ‘Orphism’ and Orphica, especially the ‘Orphic’ gold tablets, magic in the Greco-Roman world, eros in Greek culture, Greek social and intellectual history, death
    [Show full text]
  • Theriomorphic Forms: Analyzing Terrestrial Animal- Human Hybrids in Ancient Greek Culture and Religion
    Theriomorphic Forms: Analyzing Terrestrial Animal- Human Hybrids in Ancient Greek Culture and Religion Item Type text; Electronic Thesis Authors Carter, Caroline LynnLee Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 21:29:46 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/633185 THERIOMORPHIC FORMS: ANALYZING TERRESTRIAL ANIMAL-HUMAN HYBRIDS IN ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE AND RELIGION by Caroline Carter ____________________________ Copyright © Caroline Carter 2019 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES AND CLASSICS In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2019 THE UNIYERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Master's Committee, we certi$ that we have read the thesis prepared by Caroline Carter titled Theriomorphic Forms: Analyzing Terrestrial Animal-Humøn Hybrids in Ancíent Greek Culture and Religion and reç¡¡ü¡sr6 that it be accepted as firlfilling the disse¡tation requirement for the Master's Degree. G Date: + 26 Z¿f T MaryV o 1.011 ,AtÌ.r.ln Date: \l 41 , Dr. David Gilman Romano - 4*--l -r Date; { zé l2 Dr. David Soren r) øate:4'2 6 - l\ Dr. Kyle Mahoney Final approval and acceptance of this thesis is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copies of the thesis to the Graduate College.
    [Show full text]
  • A Temple Wild Podcast Episode 7: the Nymphs of Ancient Greece Transcript You're Listening
    A Temple Wild Podcast Episode 7: The Nymphs of Ancient Greece https://atemplewild.com/podcast/nymphs Transcript You're listening to A Temple Wild: Episode 7: The Nymphs of Ancient Greece Hello and welcome to A Temple Wild, where we rediscover the myths of the ancient Greeks through the plants and landscapes that shaped them. My name is Ekstasy and in today's episode we're going to be discussing the nymphs of ancient Greece. In mainstream Greek mythology, meaning the stories that most people know about the ancients, I think the nymphs often take a backseat to the Olympian gods. They are beautiful maidens, usually seen accompanying the gods or playing minor roles in the famous myths. But for those of us who are seeking a deeper connection with Nature, and with the Mediterranean landscape specifically, I think the nymphs are actually in fact the most important beings of ancient Greek myth and plant lore. So what are they, really? Simply stated, they are nature spirits. They are responsible for growing, nurturing, and guarding the natural habitats, plants and animals within their realm. They are often associated with a specific mountain or a forest, a meadow or marsh, a freshwater source or the sea, or other natural region that occurs in the landscape. And they are also often tied with specific trees, plants, or even insects. There are unique names for the different types of nymphs: naiads are freshwater nymphs, nereids are spirits of the sea, oreiads are conifer nymphs, melissae, as you'll remember from an earlier podcast episode, are bee nymphs, there are dozens of names for different types of nymph...but despite their many names, all nymphs do seem to share a few characteristics, the most important one being that they are local entities, their essence and function is intimately tied to the very specific place that they inhabit.
    [Show full text]
  • Amarynthus, the Nympholept
    Glass. Book—* 43* AMARYNTHUS, THE NYMPHOLEPT. OTHER POEMS. Printed by A. and R. Spottiswoode, Printers- Street, London. ; AMARYNTHUS, THE NYMPHOLEPT: A PASTORAL DRAMA, IN THREE ACTS. OTHER POEMS. £J Et vos agrest&m praesentia numina Fauni, Ferte simul Faunique pedem, Dryadesque puellae Munera vestra cano. Virg. Georg.i. 10, LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, & BROWN, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1821. PREFACE. 1 he NvjX(poA>]7rToi of the Greeks, and the Lym- phati or Lymph atici of the Romans, were men supposed to be possessed by the Nymphs, and driven to phrensy, either from having seen one of those mysterious beings, or from the mad- dening effect of the oracular caves in which they resided. Plutarch particularly mentions that the Nymphs Sphragitides haunted a cave on Mount Cithaeron, in Bceotia, in which there had formerly been an oraele, and where, from the inspiration they diffused, Nympholepsy be- came an endemic complaint. According to Festus, it was formerly thought that all those VI PREFACE, who had merely seen the figure of a nymph in a fountain were seized with madness during the remainder of their lives. Ovid himself dreaded this event, as appears by the lines in the fourth book of his Fasti. " Nee Dryadas, nee nos videamus labra Dianae, ;" Nee Faunum medio cum premit aura die and Propertius also alludes to the same belief, when, in describing the happiness of the early ages, he exclaims, " Nee fuerat nudas poena videre deas." It was the popular opinion throughout the whole of Greece, that the nymphs occasionally appeared to mortals, and that the consequences of beholding them were generally to be depre- cated: the result among such a superstitious ; PREFACE.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Devotional Images: Iconography and Interpretation in the Religious Arts
    Greek Devotional Images: Iconography and Interpretation in the Religious Arts DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Katherine A. Rask Graduate Program in History of Art The Ohio State University 2012 Dissertation Committee: Mark D. Fullerton, Adviser Timothy J. McNiven Sarah Iles Johnston Hugh B. Urban Copyright by Katherine A. Rask 2012 Abstract This dissertation concerns the uses of iconography, visual culture, and material culture in the study of Greek religion. I draw on methods and theoretical frameworks from outside the discipline in order contextualize the study of images and symbols in larger discourses and to introduce the most recent developments in scholarship. To better understand the religious aspects of Greek experience, this dissertation presents a mixture of intellectual history, historiography, and methodological critique. I provide an interdisciplinary overview of symbol theory and approaches to signs, the deep-seated interweaving of theological and artistic concerns in occultist traditions and 19th century scholarship, and iconographic methodologies employed by Classical studies and archaeology. Several themes repeatedly appear throughout the discussion, including the theoretical relationships between material culture and religion and the perceived dichotomy between phenomenological responses and interpretation. By exploring these topics, it becomes clear that approaches to religion in ancient Greece need to be adapted to better account for visual and material culture. Despite most emphasis on public, ritual-centered aspects, images and objects attest to private encounters with divinities. Based on comparative analysis, I argue that the religious experience of ancient Greeks exhibits many elements of devotionalism, a religious phenomenon developed by Robert Orsi.
    [Show full text]
  • Million-Dollar WORDS More Than 1,000 Words to Make You Sound Like a Million Bucks
    Million-Dollar WORDS More Than 1,000 Words to Make You Sound Like A Million Bucks Seth Godin and Margery Mandell RUNNING PRESS BOOK PUBLISHERS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Copyright © 1993 by Seth Godin and Margery Mandell. All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher. Canadian representatives: General Publishing Co., Ltd., 30 Lesmill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 2T6. International representatives: Worldwide Media Services, Inc., 30 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302. ISBN 1-56138-244-2 Library of Congress Cataloging-In-Publication Number 92-50795 Cover design by Toby Schmidt Interior design by Nancy Loggins Cover illustration by Frank Renlie Typography: Goudy Oldstyle by Richard Conklin Printed in the United States This book may be ordered by mail from the publisher. Please add $2.50 for postage and handling. But try your bookstore first! Running Press Book Publishers 125 South Twenty-second Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 A abdabs So nervous, you jitter and quake. One hopes that diamond cutters, professional golfers and brain surgeons don't suffer from the abdabs. Pronounce it AB- DABS. abject Extremely humiliated or debased; the bottom of the barrel. The word is most often used in conjunction with either "failure" or "poverty." The migrant farmers in Woody Guthrie songs lived in abject poverty. A ritual cleansing. This can literally be a bath, or, more ablution commonly, a spiritual purification.
    [Show full text]
  • A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages Volume Iii
    A HISTORY OF THE INQUISITION OF THE MIDDLE AGES VOLUME III BY HENRY CHARLES LEA A HISTORY OF THE INQUISITION OF THE MIDDLE AGES BOOK III. SPECIAL FIELDS OF INQUISITORIAL ACTIVITY. CHAPTER I. THE SPIRITUAL FRANCISCANS. IN a former chapter we considered the Mendicants as an active agency in the suppression of heresy. One of the Orders, however, by no means restricted itself to this function, and we have now to examine the career of the Franciscans as the subjects of the spirit of persecuting uniformity which they did so much to render dominant. While the mission of both Orders was to redeem the Church from the depth of degradation into which it had sunk, the Dominicans were more especially trained to take part in the active business of life. They therefore attracted the more restless and aggressive spirits; they accommodated themselves to the world, like the Jesuits of later days, and the worldliness which necessarily came with success awakened little antagonism within the organization. Power and luxury were welcomed and enjoyed. Even Thomas Aquinas, who, as we have seen, eloquently defended, against William of Saint-Amour, the superlative holiness of absolute poverty, subsequently admitted that poverty should be proportioned to the object which an Order was fitted to attain. It was otherwise with the Franciscans. Though, as we have seen, the founders determined not to render the Order a simply contemplative one, the salvation of the individual through retreat from the world and its temptations bore a much larger part in their motives than in those of Dominic and his followers.
    [Show full text]
  • READER! This Edition Gives You a Raw Version of Byron's Correspondence. As Far As Can Be Done in Linear Print, It Conveys What
    1 BYRON’S CORRESPONDENCE AND JOURNALS 10: FROM VENICE, JANUARY 1818-JUNE 1819 Edited by Peter Cochran Work in progress, with frequent updates [indicated]. Letters not in the seventeen main files may be found in those containing the correspondences Byron / Annabella, Byron / Murray, Byron / Hobhouse, Byron / Moore, Byron / Scott, Byron / Kinnaird, Byron / The Shelleys , or Byron / Hoppner . UPDATED June 2012. My thanks to Paul Curtis for his contribution. Abbreviations B.: Byron; Mo: Moore; H.: Hobhouse; K.: Kinnaird; Mu.: Murray; Sh.: Shelley 1922: Lord Byron’s Correspondence Chiefly with Lady Melbourne, Mr Hobhouse, The Hon. Douglas Kinnaird, and P.B.Shelley (2 vols., John Murray 1922). BB: Byron’s Bulldog: The Letters of John Cam Hobhouse to Lord Byron, ed. Peter W.Graham (Columbus Ohio 1984) BLJ: Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Byron’s Letters and Journals . Ed. Leslie A. Marchand, 13 vols. London: John Murray 1973–94. Burnett: T.A.J. Burnett, The Rise and Fall of a Regency Dandy , John Murray, 1981. CSS: The Life and Correspondence of the Late Robert Southey , ed. C.C.Southey, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 6 vols 1849-1850. J.W.W.: Selections from the letters of Robert Southey , Ed. John Wood Warter, 4 vols, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1856. LJ: The Works of Lord Byron, Letters and Journals . Ed. R. E. Prothero, 6 vols. London: John Murray, 1899-1904. LJM: The Letters of John Murray to Lord Byron . Ed. Andrew Nicholson, Liverpool University Press, 2007. NLS: National Library of Scotland. Q: Byron: A Self-Portrait; Letters and Diaries 1798 to 1824 . Ed.
    [Show full text]
  • FROM VENICE, NOVEMBER 1816-JUNE 1819 Edited by Peter Cochran
    1 BYRON’S CORRESPONDENCE AND JOURNALS 06: FROM VENICE, NOVEMBER 1816-JUNE 1819 Edited by Peter Cochran Abbreviations B.: Byron; Mo: Moore; H.: Hobhouse; K.: Kinnaird; Mu.: Murray; Sh.: Shelley 1922: Lord Byron’s Correspondence Chiefly with Lady Melbourne, Mr Hobhouse, The Hon. Douglas Kinnaird, and P.B.Shelley (2 vols., John Murray 1922). BB: Byron’s Bulldog: The Letters of John Cam Hobhouse to Lord Byron, ed. Peter W.Graham (Columbus Ohio 1984) BLJ: Byron, George Gordon, Lord. Byron’s Letters and Journals . Ed. Leslie A. Marchand, 13 vols. London: John Murray 1973–94. Burnett: T.A.J. Burnett, The Rise and Fall of a Regency Dandy , John Murray, 1981. CSS: The Life and Correspondence of the Late Robert Southey , ed. C.C.Southey, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 6 vols 1849-1850. J.W.W.: Selections from the letters of Robert Southey , Ed. John Wood Warter, 4 vols, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1856. LJ: The Works of Lord Byron, Letters and Journals . Ed. R. E. Prothero, 6 vols. London: John Murray, 1899-1904. LJM: The Letters of John Murray to Lord Byron . Ed. Andrew Nicholson, Liverpool University Press, 2007. Q: Byron: A Self-Portrait; Letters and Diaries 1798 to 1824 . Ed. Peter Quennell, 2 vols, John Murray, 1950. Ramos: The letters of Robert Southey to John May, 1797 to 1838. Ed. and Int. Charles Ramos. Austin, 1976. Smiles: Samuel Smiles. A Publisher and his Friends: Memoir and Correspondence of the late John Murray with an Account of the Origin and Progress of the House, 1768-1843 . 2 vols.
    [Show full text]
  • A Reconsideration of the Pythia's Role at Delphi
    The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies http://www.jstor.org/stable/631644 . Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of Hellenic Studies. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 134.181.131.36 on Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:17:12 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Journal of Hellenic Studies cxv (1995) pp 69-86 ANTHROPOLOGYAND SPIRIT POSSESSION: A RECONSIDERATIONOF THE PYTHIA'S ROLE AT DELPHI DURINGa consultation at Delphi, one of Apollo's servants imagihrined, heard, intuited, or feigned Apollo's presence and then utteredApollo's divine response to the human client who made inquiry of the god. Such inspired mimicry appears incomprehensible to the non-believing distant observer to whom Apollo no longer speaks. Scholars hear nothing at Delphi and, steadfast in their faith in positivism, claim Apollo said nothing. In a similar fashion, scholars have pronounced that the Pythia, like Apollo, did not speak at Delphi, or that her attendant prophets reformulated her utterances and converted them into comprehensible prose or verse.
    [Show full text]