Shedding Light on Some Orphic Gods Stefanie Goodart, S.R.C. eyond the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, so well known today, is Ba much more complex theology of emanated deities and a detailed cosmology, which Orphism reinterpreted for the Greek world. “Everything comes to be out of One and is resolved into One.” (Musaeus, student of Orpheus1) The subject of the Orphic Mysteries has consumed the majority of my research in recent years, and I have already written Bas-relief of Phanes (2nd Century CE), several articles on the subject. For this partic- Modena Museum, Italy. ular article I have decided against writing a general overview of the Orphic beliefs and Phanes practices and instead intend to focus on The Myth of Phanes:3 In the beginning, two intriguing deities who are mentioned in the Orphic myths, namely Phanes and all was dark, and nothing existed but two winged serpents.4 They mated and produced Zagreus. These two figures are unique in 5 that they are not typically mentioned in a brilliant egg. One serpent wrapped him- popular Greek mythology.2 I also chose self around the egg and squeezed it until it these two deities because they both belong broke open. Emerging from within was the to the line of succession that ends with winged hermaphroditic deity Phanes. Light Dionysos. Some scholars interpret them as radiated from his body that was so bright no previous generations in Dionysos’s family one could see him. He had four eyes, horns, tree, while others, more familiar with meta- and the heads of a bull, ram, a lion, and a physical thinking, view them all as different serpent. From the top half of the shell he incarnations of the same deity. created the heavens and from the bottom portion he created the earth. He mated with In this particular article I intend to first himself and gave birth to the goddess Nyx. give readers a basic outline of the section of He also mated with Nyx and she gave birth the Orphic theogony that involves Phanes. to Gaia and Ouranos. Phanes then began to From there, his attributes and functions create the physical world by assigning a place will be discussed, using numerous ancient for the sun, moon, and stars. authors as source material. We shall then move our attention to Zagreus in much The basic myth is believed to date from the same manner: first there will be a brief at least the end of the archaic period. Aristo- retelling of the appropriate section of the phanes makes reference to it in his comedy 6 myth. Following this, commentary from The Birds, first performed in 414 BCE. ancient as well as modern sources will be Although in the play the myth is altered provided. In the final section of the arti- slightly, the figure of Phanes is still clearly cle I will synthesize the information given identifiable by his glittering golden wings 7 Rosicrucian thus far, and offer an interpretation that and the fact that he is born from an egg. Digest No. 1 brings in ideas of spirituality, philosophy, The name Phanes comes from the Greek 2008 and universality. phainein “to bring light” and phainesthai “to Page 24 shine.” In ancient times, some Orphics Zagreus thought his name should be translated in The Myth of Zagreus:21 Zeus had the active voice as “the bringer of light,” decided to pass his kingdom onto his son, while others believed it should be taken in Zagreus, even though he was just a young 8 the middle voice as “the Glittering One.” child. This inspired jealousy in some of the The Rhapsodies describes him thus: “And other gods, and the Titans plotted revenge all the others marveled when they saw the against the boy. They disguised themselves unlooked-for light in the aither; so richly by whitening their faces and brought several 9 gleamed the body of immortal Phanes.” gifts to Zagreus: a mirror, apples, a ball, Phanes can be described physically as knucklebones, a pinecone, a bull-roarer, Light and metaphysically as Intellect.10 wool, puppets, and a narthex.22 They used Generally, the Platonists view Phanes as rep- these gifts to lure Zagreus far away from resenting the Sun of the Intelligible world.11 the other gods, and once out of sight, they Proclus says Phanes is “the first intelligible attacked him. First they dismembered him, intellect,” and “unfold[s] himself into the cutting him up into seven pieces. The pieces light.”12 Hermeas calls him the “bound- were boiled, then roasted.23 Then they ary of the intelligible,” who “illuminates the feasted. However, Athena came upon them intellectual Gods with intelligible light.”13 and was able to save one piece, the heart, Phanes brings light into the darkness and which was still beating. She quickly brought order out of chaos.14 His birth is the first it to Zeus, who was furious at the Titans. step taken by the Divine who is unformed In his anger, Zeus hurled his thunderbolts and without qualities. at the Titans, which immediately destroyed them. Zeus then took the heart of Zagreus Phanes as a hermaphroditic being rep- and used it to restore him to life. From the resents his role as the definitive creator soot left from the Titans, Zeus fashioned god.15 He has within him “the seed of all human beings, animals, and birds. the gods.”16 His wings and numerous heads can be simply explained as representing an The name Zagreus, often translated as extremely powerful and mind-boggling deity. “great hunter,” seems to be a contraction It is likely that the imagery is influenced, even of za– “very” and –agreus “hunter.” Zagre, borrowed, from mythological figures from an Ioian word, means “a pit for capturing 24 other ancient Mediterranean cultures.17 animals.” Perhaps the name refers to some myth of this god that has unfortunately Phanes has many heads and eyes, been lost to us. It is rather ironic that here but does not have a body. This symbol- Zagreus seems to be the hunted and not izes that the lower physical world has not the hunter! yet been made manifest.18 Hermeas sug- As for his physical appearance, Zagreus gests that his four eyes represent that he 25 unites the original monad with the issuing has horns. This serves to further connect 19 Zagreus with Phanes, who you will recall is triad. Pythagoras believed the monad 26 was the source of all other numbers. Three also said to have horns. represented completeness because it had a The Titans cut Zagreus up into seven beginning, middle, and end. The number pieces. Each of the seven pieces represent four symbolized perfection, and its corre- the seven heavenly bodies, and the heart, sponding shape was the square.20 Regardless which we think of as the seat of the soul of the particular interpretation, Phanes of the individual, represents the intellect certainly is the anthro pomorphic represen- of the World-Soul.27 This World-Soul, tation of the solution to the One-Many of course, cannot be divided. Zagreus, problem that so troubled the early Orphics who may be thought of as another incar- and pre-Socratic philosophers. nation of the earlier Phanes, is also an Page 25 The figure of Zagreus does not so much represent a unification of opposites as Phanes does, but his myth results in the synthesis of opposites. The mirror in the myth rep- resents a false counterpart to our reality; quite literally a mirror image is the opposite of what is reflected in the mirror. Zagreus is distracted by his image,32 which here symbolizes the physical world as a reflec- tion of the spiritual realm. Olympiodorus explained that the essence of Zagreus was assumed into all of creation by virtue of looking into the mirror and pursuing his image.33 As Mead wrote, the myth “is a dramatic history of the wanderings of the ‘Pilgrim-Soul’.”34 He must pass through “the trial of separation and fragmentation through the process of differentiation.”35 Titanic Underworld, Victoria Franck-Wetsch, S.R.C. This is another common theme in world mythology, and is similar to many of the anthropomorphic representation of the later Alchemical texts. It is only through One-Many problem. He begins as one being seemingly destroyed that we come full being who is then separated into many circle to be whole. Thus we have the cycle of pieces, boiled, roasted, and ingested. How- thesis, antithesis, and synthesis in an evolv- ever, from the heart, the one piece that is ing form in the Zagreus myth. saved, Zeus is able to restore the body of Phanes is the source of light and intelli- Zagreus, thus completing the cycle from gence for the cosmos, and Zagreus provides one to many back to one again. Because of the soul by which to spiritualize all of this teaching, Harrison writes that Zagreus creation.36 Phanes begins the cycle of is “especially an Orphic name. Zagreus is creation, and Zagreus puts it into eternal the god of the mysteries, and his full con- motion. The myth emphasizes that One tent can only be understood in relation to becomes many and becomes One again Orphic rites.”28 by virtue of the divine link between the Discussion Universe, the Divine, and human beings Within the egg, Phanes represents the through this eternal cycle. union (perfection) of opposites.29 When the egg splits, the upper portion becomes the heavens, and the lower the earth. Some ancient writers commented that the The Titans cut Zagreus heavenly portion was made from gold, up into seven pieces.