-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
1/75
1
GREEK RELIGION
PHILOSOPHY AND SALVATION
EDITEDBY
VISHWA ADLURI
RELIGIONSGESCHICHTLICHE VERSUCHE UND VORARBEITEN
WALTER DE GRUYTER
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
2/75
2
CONTENTS
Salvation for the Wanderer: 4Odysseus, the Gold Leaves, and
Empedocles 4
Miguel Herrero de Juregui 4Self-Determination and Freedom: 37The
Relationship of God and Man in Homer 37
Arbogast Schmitt 37Parmenides Proem and Pythagoras Descent
65
Walter Burkert 65!"#$%&'()*&+,-.%/0*12&3 101Platos
Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery* 101
Alberto Bernab 101Platos Soteriology? 138
Stephen Menn 138The Eleusinian Mysteries in pre-Platonic
Thought: 167Metaphor, PractiCe and Imagery for Platos Symposium
167
Barbara Sattler 167
From Politics to Salvation Through Philosophy: 210Herodotus
Historiesand Platos RepublicX 210
Vishwa Adluri & John Lenz 210Memory and the Souls Destiny in
Plotinus 237
Luc Brisson 237Iamblichus, Theurgy, and the Souls Ascent 263
John Finamore 263Rebirth Eschatology in Plato and Plotinus
279
John Bussanich 279Between the Two Realms: 330Plotinus Pure Soul
330
Svetla Slaveva-Griffin 330
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
3/75
3
Plotinus and the Orient: 363Aoristos Dyas 363Vishwa Adluri
363
Bibliography 397About the Contributors 430
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
4/75
101
CHAPTER FOUR
#$%&' ()*& +, - . %/ 0*12&3 P L A T O S T R A N S P
O S I T I O N O F O R P H I C
N E T H E R W O R L D I M A G E R Y
Alberto Bernab
I . FOREWORDThe aim of this paper is to examine the descriptions
of what
happens in Hades to the souls of the deceased as presented by
Plato insome of his dialogues, specifically the descriptions found
in Phaedo,Gorgias and the Republic. In all of these, references are
made to the factthat souls of human beings face in Hades, after
death, some form ofreckoning, either rewards or punishments
depending on what havethey done during their lifetimes in this
world.253In the pseudo-Platonic
dialogue Axiochus we find a similar description, which I shall
discuss indue course. The cycle of journeys in the Netherworld as
described in
*This paper is one of the results of a Consolider C Research
Project, financed bythe Spanish Ministry of Education and Science
(HUM2006-09403). I am verygrateful to Susana Torres for the
translation of this paper into English and toSarah Burges Watson
for your interesting suggestions.253Cf. P. Frutiger, Les mythes de
Platon (Paris: Librairie Felix Alcan, 1930), 61ff., 209ff.;Hans
Werner Thomas, 4"454678,Untersuchungen ber das berlieferungsgut
inden Jenseitsmythen Platons, Diss. Wrzburg, 1938; J.A: Stewart,
The Myths of Plato(London: Macmillan, 1962), 103-162; Karin Alt,
Dieseits und Jenseits in PlatonsMythen von der Seele, Hermes 110
(1982): 278-299 and 111 (1983): 15-33; Emilia
Ruiz Yamuza, El mito como estructura formal en Platn (Sevilla:
Servicio dePublicaciones de la Universidad de Sevilla, 1986); Luc
Brisson, Las palabras y losmitos. Cmo y por qu Platn dio nombre al
mito? (Madrid: Abada, 2005a) (withbibliography in pp. 221-238).
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
5/75
Chapter 4
102
Phaedrus, however, presents a very different pattern, which I
will notdeal with here.254Plato attributes his knowledge of what
happens in theNetherworld to various sources, but in commentaries
or references tothese passages, the influence of Orphism is often
adduced. The reasonsfor asserting Orphic influence, however, are
rarely stated. I will try toexplain them more precisely, by means
of comparing Platos statementsto what we know of Orphic literature
from other sources. As a result ofthe present analysis it will be
seen that, whereas certain elements ofthese eschatologies present
remarkable coincidences with Orphiceschatology, others not only do
not coincide, but are even contrary to
it. On the other hand, it is clear that Plato did not create a
coherenteschatology and that, despite some recurring elements in
the versionsof Phaedo, Gorgiasand the Republic, we could not
establish a compositepicture from the philosophers various
descriptions of the Beyond.255Inthe following analysis, I shall try
to corroborate the idea that Platosimages of the Underworld, as
presented in each of the dialogues, followdiverse literary and
philosophical strategies, depending on the topicsand aims of the
work in which they appear.
In my view, the description of the facts as proposed by
Casadess256is a good starting point:
These eschatological myths are, without a doubt, a literary
creation ofPlato and an excellent example of his extraordinary
capacities as anarrator. Various levels are masterfully combined:
firstly, the generalframework, in which the image of Hades, the
traditional Homeric one, asit was known by all Greeks, is evoked;
and secondly, the details withinthis general framework, which are a
combination of his own additionswith brushes and nuances from other
descriptions of Hades, mainly theOrphic one, which was lesser-known
and more of a novelty than that of
254 Neither will I deal with Laws 903b-905d, which bears no
distinctive Orphicfeatures.255 The differences have been
particularly highlighted by Julia Annas, Platos
myths of judgement, Phronesis27 (1982): 119-143.256Francesc
Casadess, Orfeo y orfismo en Platn, in Orfeo y la tradicin rfica:
unreencuentro, ed. Alberto Bernab and Francesc Casadess (Madrid:
Akal, 2008),1239-1279.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
6/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
103
Homer. Plato uses freely all these features in order to create
his ownconception the destiny of the souls.
Casadess also underlines the fact that the Orphic
elementsintroduced by Plato contributed to a compound image that
seemed toshow more Orphic influence than was really the
case.257
I will review in the following sections the descriptions of
theNetherworld offered by Plato, as well as that found in the
pseudo-Platonic Axiochus. I shall point out, in each case, the
context of the taleand its purposes, the source to which Plato
attributes it, the elementsthat are analogous to the tenets of the
Orphics as regards geography
and setting, the characters, the places for rewards and
punishments,and the reasons why the soul goes to one place or
another, as well asthe differences both in conception and details,
between the Platonicversion and that known from Orphic literature,
insofar as it can bereconstructed.
II. NETHERWORLD IMAGERY IN GORGI SSocrates makes two references
to the Netherworld in the Gorgias.
The first (492e-493c) occurs in the context of an argument
betweenSocrates and Callicles, who has been defending the position
that humanbehaviour should not conform to any moral restraint, but
rather aim at
the fulfilment of desires. Socrates himself states his purpose
inpresenting this eschatological framework (493c):
257Radcliffe G. Edmonds, Myths of the Underworld Journey: Plato,
Aristophanes, and theOrphic Gold Tablets (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004), 20-24 and 27offers a more radical
solution; according to him, Platos model in terms of what wecall
Orphic features shares a common traditional mythic pattern of
action, butthe philosopher seeks to co-opt the traditionally
authoritative mythic discoursein service of his own philosophic
projects. Although I support the secondstatement, I think it
extremely unlikely that the imagery of a Netherworld withrewards
and punishments follows a traditional mythic pattern, when it
clearly
opposes the really traditional one, that found in Homer, in the
lyric poets and inthe vast majority of texts, even in Lucian,
according to which the inane soulsinhabit a gloomy Hades in which
they are all equal. Cf. review by Alberto Bernab,Review of Edmonds
2004,Aestimatio3 (2006): 1-13.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
7/75
Chapter 4
104
All this, indeed, is bordering pretty well on the absurd; but
still it setsforth what I wish to impress upon you, if I somehow
can, in order toinduce you to make a change, and instead of a life
of insatiatelicentiousness to choose an orderly one.258
Socrates hopes that the reference to punishments in
theNetherworld may eventually dissuade Callicles from his
amoralattitude. This is, indeed, the simplest presentation that
Plato offers,omitting, as it does, the scientific elements
characteristic of others.259The cue for introducing this tale is a
quote by Euripides about thepossibility that life is death and
death, life260and it is clear that Socrates
is trying to be modern in presenting the interpretation that
ananonymous Sicilian or Italian offers of what the sages used to
say,instead of the Orphic tale in its own terms.261 Some of
thecharacteristics in this description seem to derive from Orphic
images:the idea that certain souls can be punished in Hades and
that suchpunishment would consist of taking water in a sieve to a
leaky jar((9:;3).262
258Pl. Grg. 493c, transl. by W. R. M. Lamb.259Cf. Eric Robertson
Dodds, Plato. Gorgias (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959), 372
adloc.260Pl.Gorg. 492e; Eur. Polyid. fr. 638 Kannicht. Cf. Alberto
Bernab, La muerte es
vida. Sentido de una paradoja rfica, in !"#$%&'(). Studia
philologiae in honoremRosae Aguilar ab amicis et sodalibus dicata,
ed. Alberto Bernab and Ignacio RodrguezAlfageme (Madrid, 2007b),
175-181; Sara Macas Orfeo y el orfismo en la tragediagriega, in
Orfeo y la tradicin rfica: un reencuentro, ed. Alberto Bernab
andFrancesc Casadess (Madrid: Akal, 2008), 1185-1215, where it is
pointed out theinversion of appraisals on life and death as a
characteristic feature of the Orphics.261I have analysed the
passage in Alberto Bernab, Platone e lorfismo, in Destinoe
salvezza: tra culti pagani e gnosi cristiana. Itinerari
storico-religiosi sulle orme di UgoBianchi, ed. Giulia Sfameni
Gasparro (Cosenza: L. Giordano, 1998), 37-97, pointingout the
different levels of the mentioned text: ancient poetic tale,
attributed toOrpheus, interpretation of the tale, and oral
transmission by an expert. Cf. alsoFrancesc Casadess,
Gorgias493a-c: la explicacin etimolgica, un rasgo esencialde la
doctrina rfica, Actas del IX Congreso Espaol de Estudios Clsicos II
(Madrid
1997): 61-65.262The reference to the sieve is also present in
Rep.363d, in the context of the ideasof Musaeus and his son, which
would further support its characterization asOrphic in origin.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
8/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
105
Having failed in his attempt at convincing Callicles, Socrates
offersa final infernal image of the Underworld (523a-527a), at the
climax ofthe dialogue, its purposes being identical with the first
one, thoughundoubtedly more elaborated and harsh. He presents it as
a logosand,furthermore, a truelogos, although he also suggests that
Callicles couldtake it as a mythos(523a). It is clear that the word
logoshas an analoguein the Orphic hieroi logoi, in this case, it is
a tale and not an argument.On the other hand, mythoiwould rather
have the meaning of advice,something told without the slightest
endorsement of truth.263
Socrates begins his own, and more detailed, tale with an
allusion
to Homer, in which he reminds us of the distribution of
powersbetween Zeus, Hades and Poseidon.264Subsequently, however,
(withoutindicating that he is not quoting Homer any more), he
refers to a normfrom the time of Cronus, than the author of the
Iliaddoes not mentionanywhere:
That every man who has passed a just and holy life departs after
hisdecease to the Isles of the Blest, and dwells in all happiness
apart from ill;but whoever has lived unjustly and impiously goes to
the dungeon ofrequital and penance which, you know, they call
Tartarus.265
In Homer, all souls, with the exception a privileged few,
obtainexactly the same destiny in the Netherworld. Therefore, this
outlook in
which each soul has a different destiny, according to the degree
towhich it has lead a just life, is not Homeric. It is, however,
attributed tothe Orphics in various sources.266 Nevertheless, the
two specific
263Cf. the interesting considerations in Annas 1982, 120f., as
well as Brisson 2005a,147. On the myth in Gorgias, cf. Lucien
Bescond, La doctrine eschatologique dansle mythe du Gorgias, in
Politique dans lAntiquit, ed. Jean-Paul Dumont and LucienBescond
(Lille: Un. Lille, 1986), 67-87.264Il. 15.187-192.265Pl. Grg.
523ab, transl. by W. R. M. Lamb.266 Cf., for example, in OF (from
now onwards denomination of Alberto Bernab,
Poetae Epici Graecitestimonia et fragmentaII, fasc. 1-2
(Monachii et Lipsiae: Teubner),fasc. 3 (Berolini-Novi Eboraci: De
Gruyter, 2004-2007), 340 those who live purelybeneath the rays of
the sun, /as soon as they die have a smoother path /in a fairmeadow
beside deep-flowing Acheron, (. . .) but those who have done evil
beneath
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
9/75
Chapter 4
106
destinies for the souls indicated by Plato do not exactly
coincide withthose which appear in Orphic imagery, since the Isles
of the Blest arenot mentioned in any Orphic source known to us; the
place to whichthe initiated arrive, according to the gold tablets,
is clearly placed inHades.267 The Isles of the Blest appear in
Hesiod (Op. 171) as the placewhere the lineage the demigods went in
illo tempore, when theydisappeared from the Earth. In a passage
which has very probably beeninterpolated, it is stated that Cronus
is the king of that realm, whichprobably does not mean anything but
the fact that their dethronedcelestial king lives in the same place
as the race contemporaneous with
his kingdom.268
Pindar also mentions an Isle of the Blest,269
describing itas a place to which certain privileged human beings
go, although nolonger the race of the demigods from Hesiod. The
divinity with whomthey are now connected is Rhadamanthys.270 The
Boeotian poet seemsto have mingled Homeric and Hesiodic concepts,
such as Elysium, withOrphic ideas. Plato assimilates this synthetic
vision offered by Pindar,but adds another tale that seems to be his
own; he points out that in thetime of Cronus and the early days of
Zeus reign, legal disputes were not
judged correctly because in old days man were judged while they
yetlived, and by living judges. Zeus then decreed that henceforth
soulsshould be judged after death and naked, stripped from
everything that
the rays of the sun, /the insolent, are brought down below
Kokytos /to the chillyhorrors of Tartarus, transl. by W. K. C.
Guthrie.267 Alberto Bernab and Ana Isabel Jimnez San Cristbal, ed,
Instructions for theNetherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets(Leiden:
Brill, 2008).268Martin L. West, Hesiod.Works and Days (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1978),commentary on 173a.269Pind. Ol.
2.70. Cf. Marco A. Santamara lvarez, !*+),+-.&%+,-$/&(+.
Pndaro ylos misterios: edicin y comentario de la Olmpica Segunda
(Tesis Doctoral,Salamanca, 2004); Marco A. Santamara lvarez, Pndaro
y el orfismo, in Orfeo y latradicin rfica: un reencuentro, ed.
Alberto Bernab and Francesc Casadess(Madrid: Akal, 2008),
1168ff.270
About the Isle of the Blest, cf. M.Martnez Hernndez, Del mito a
la realidad: elconcepto makaron nesoi en Platn, Aristteles y
Plutarco, in Plutarco, Platn yAristteles. Actas del V Congreso
Internacional de la I. P. S., ed. A. Prez Jimnez, JosGarca Lpez
andRosa Aguilar (Madrid: Ediciones Clsicas,1999), 95-110.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
10/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
107
disguised the category of their souls during their lifetimes. In
order todo so, he assigned the task to three of his children:
Now I, knowing all this before you, have appointed sons of my
own to bejudges; two from Asia, Minos and Rhadamanthus, and one
from Europe,Aeacus. These, when their life is ended, shall give
judgement in themeadow at the dividing of the road, whence are the
two ways leading, oneto the Isles of the Blest, and the other to
Tartarus. 271
The character of the judges is a recurrent theme in Plato.
Theyappear in the other descriptions of the Netherworld referred to
in thepresent paper (even in the Axiochus) and, aside from these,
in other
noteworthy passages.In the Apology,272Socrates mentions a series
of characters that he
considers it would be a privilege to see in Hades. The list
starts withMinos, Rhadamanthys, Aeacus, and Triptolemus;273 he
subsequentlyrefers to each and every demigod that was fair in life,
and then hementions the poets, beginning with Orpheus. It is likely
thatTriptolemus had been added by Plato to the list of those
mentioned inGorgias to give an Eleusinian, and therefore Attic,
nuance to it. Thereason for mentioning the judges is obvious:
Socrates opposes thesereal judges to the false ones who have just
condemned him. In the lightof this precise context, the reference
in Gorgiasbecomes clearer, since it
insisted on the fallibility of the judges on this earth, who
could bedeceived by the external look of human beings and, unlike
the childrenof Zeus when they administer justice in Hades, were
incapable ofdiscerning the truth in bare souls.
The trial of the souls is referred to again, both in the Seventh
Letter,where it is attributed to ancient and sacred doctrine, and
in a passageof Laws in which, discussing the norms on burials,
there is a reminder
271Pl. Gorg.523e-524a, transl. by W. R. M. Lamb.272Pl.Apol. 41a
(OF1076 I)273
In any case, as Santamara lvarez has suggested to me, orally, we
do not haveto project necessarily on the Apology the eschatology
present in Gorgias; Socratescould have been thinking that Minos,
Rhadamanthys, and the others exercise theadministration of justice
among the dead that is allocated to Minos in Od. 11.568
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
11/75
Chapter 4
108
that souls have to appear before the gods to be judged for
theirbehaviour in this world.274
Therefore, the presence of the judges is an idea dear to Plato,
butone that has no precedent, that we know of, in Orphic texts. The
themeof the scales for weighing souls is characteristic of Egyptian
religionand is not widespread in the Greek world, but resurfaces in
Christianitythroughout the Middle Ages. We do find the theme of
scales in theGreek world in ancient times as early as Homer, there,
however, it isused not in the context of weighing the actions of
the soul upon death,but rather the fates (kere) of one hero against
another, i.e., in order to
determine which of the contenders is going to die.275
Minos, too,appears in Homer, but in order to settle disputes
between the dead (Od.11.568). Later, we find a reference in Pindar
to the trial of souls in theNetherworld.276
Only one testimony considered to be Orphic presents a trial
ofsouls. It is in the remains of a codex from the second or third
centuryCE, contained within the collection of papyri in Bologna, in
which therewere parts of a hexametric poem (OF 717). We do not know
the time ofthe work nor its author. According to its style, it
seems to be a poemfrom Roman times,277 whose author some
specialists place around thesecond or third century CE,278whereas
others prefer to place him in the
Judaic environment of Alexandrian Hellenism.279It is, without a
doubt, a
274Pl. Epist. 7.335a (OF433 I); Leg. 959b.275Cf. Il.22.208-213.
A similar scene was probably narrated in a lost epic poem, the
Aithiopis, if, as it seems, this was the source for Aeschylus
tragedy ;?%)?9)TheWeighing of Souls, cf. Stefan Radt, Tragicorum
Graecorum Fragmenta, vol. 3 Aeschylus(Gttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1985), 347ff.276Pind. Ol.2.59-60.277Lloyd-Jones Parsons ,
Hugh Lloyd-Jones and P. J. Parsons, Iterum de CatabasiOrphica,
inKyklosGriechisches und Byzantinisches. Rudolf Keydell zum 90.
Geburtstag,ed. Hans.-G. Beck, Athanasios Kambylis and Paul Moraux
(Berlin: De Gruyter,1978), 88-108.278A.Vogliano, Il papiro
bolognese Nr. 3,Acme5 (1952): 394.279
Aldo Setaioli, Nuove osservazioni sulla descrizione
delloltretomba nel papirodi Bologna, SIFC 42 (1970): 179- 224; Aldo
Setaioli, Limagine delle bilance e ilgiudizio dei morti, SIFC 44
(1972): 38-54 and Aldo Setaioli, Ancora a proposito delpapiro
bolognese n. 4, SIFC 45 (1973): 124-133.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
12/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
109
katabasis from which mythological names are absent; as such, is
closerto a theological poem, and probably Orphic.280Even though
this matterhas not been finally resolved,281the arguments in favour
of its being anOrphic poem are quite solid.282It contains a
description of the rewardsand punishments in the Netherworld, which
bears very interestingsimilarities with Book VI of Virgils Aeneid.
In a section, which,unfortunately, is in a poor state of
preservation, we find the followingverse-ends:
] they gave in to fatal necessity283] and those without shame,
but from their former Vanity
] and forget their courage 75] and taking up its flight it
stopped] to others284that go in the opposite direction] from Earth
others arrived] a tranquil path, but neither this one] was better
than the other 80] raising the scales with his hand] attributing
the correct sentence] she obeyed the voice of the divinity] upon
hearing words of the God.] Carrying?285 85
The sequence of events in the passage can be easily
reconstructed.Seemingly, some souls have already been judged and
condemned (v.74). It is probable that the reference to oblivion in
v. 75 is due to thefact that they have drunk the water of Lethe,
which makes them forgetthe ancient courage they used to have in
life.
280 Reinhold Merkelbach, Eine orphische Unterweltsbeschreibung
auf Papyrus,MusHelv 8 (1951): 1-11.281Vogliano 1952, 385;
393.282Cf. Giovanni Casadio, Adversaria Orphica et Orientalia, SMSR
52 (1986): 294f.283 It refers to the necessity that forces the soul
to reincarnate under certainconditions. The idea is already present
in Emped. fr. 107 Wright (= B 115 D.-K., OF
449).284Probably souls.285 P. Bonon. (OF 717) 73-85, cf. Alberto
Bernab, Hieros logos. Poesa rfica sobre losdioses, el alma y el ms
all(Madrid: Akal, 2003), 281ff.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
13/75
Chapter 4
110
In verses 77 and 79 two paths are mentioned, one goingdownwards,
the path of the deceased, and another upwards, of those tobe
reincarnated. There is a reference further on (v. 78) to the
arrival ofother souls, most likely those who have just died, and
from v. 81onwards there is a description of the trial of souls, in
which a divinityuses the scales and pronounces the sentence, which
the soul listens toand obeys (83-84).
Since there is an absence of judges in those texts which are
firmlydated to the fifth to the third centuries BCE, we cannot help
but thinkthat the presence of the judges in the Netherworld in the
poem of the
Bologna Papyrus is a late addition to Orphic tradition, most
likely fromthe tradition followed first by Pindar and later by
Plato. The closestresemblance to a judge in the gold tablets is
Persephone herself, who,according to one from Thurii (4thcentury
BCE), decides whether or nota soul arriving before her as a
suppliant will go to the dwellings of thepure286.
While the judges do not appear in ancient Orphic sources,
themeadow and the crossroads, however, are present in the Orphic
tablets;I will return to this point when analysing the
eschatological myth of theRepublic.
The most interesting question arising in reference to
theeschatology of Gorgiasis whether or not the myth, as is it is
narrated byPlato, presupposes the reincarnation of the soul. Dodds
considers that,despite not being explicitly mentioned, this belief
is implicit in thereferences to mistrust and oblivion in 493c, as
well as to thecontemplation of the sufferings of great sinners in
525c, which couldonly be a lesson to souls if they were to return
to our world.287Annas,on the contrary, maintains that the Platonic
tale contradicts that idea288and believes, following Irwin,289that
the passage is meaningful withouthaving to assume that the lessons
learnt by the deceased are intendedbe useful in this world.
According to her, the myth in Gorgias is more
286
OF489-490.6-7, cf. Bernab and Jimnez San Cristbal 2008,
115f.287Dodds 1959, 303, 375, 381.288Annas 1982, 124f.289Terence H.
Irwin, Plato. Gorgias(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), 248.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
14/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
111
meaningful if there is a definitive trial, which would be a
betterdeterrent for wicked behaviour.
I think a compromise solution, or at least a less radical one,
can beachieved in the debate. It is a fact that the dialogue only
refers to whathappens after the trial of a lifetime, without any
references to furtherreincarnations, but it is also true (pace
Annas) that nothing in theGorgias contradicts the possibility that,
after suffering punishments inTartarus, the soul is given a second
chance to undo its mistakes, afterone or several reincarnations. It
is very likely that Socrates primaryaim was to dissuade Callicles,
and therefore he underlines both the
primary scheme injustice-punishment, as well as the use of
theeschatological tale as an incentive to be fair, rather than
underliningreincarnation, which is irrelevant for the purpose of
this myth andwhich could even weaken his argument, since it would
leave room forCallicles to postpone to later lives the possibility
of improving his moralcondition.
III . THE BEYOND IN PH EDOPlato presents a different
eschatological vision in Phaedo.290
Although the myth itself starts in 107c ff., Socrates explains
its raisondetrea while earlier:
I am of good hope thet there is a future for those that have
died, and, asindeed we have long been told, a far better future for
the good than forthe evil.291
290 Cf. John S. Morrison The Shape of the Earth in Platos
Phaedo, Phronesis 4(1959): 101-119; William M. Calder The Spherical
Earth in Platos Phaedo,Phronesis13 (1968): 121-125; M. S. Funghi Il
mito escatologico del Fedone e la forzavitale dell)@A*), PP35
(1980): 176-201; Peter Kingsley,Ancient Philosophy, Mystery,and
Magic. Empedocles and Pythagorean Tradition (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1995),79ff.; Jean-Franois Pradeau, Le monde terrestre: le
modle cosmologique dumythe final du Phdon, RPhil 186 (1996):
75-195; Stefania Mancini, Uninsegnamento segreto (Plat. Phaed.
62b), QUCC 90 (1999): 153-168; Edmonds 2004;
Bernab 2006; Gbor Betegh, Eschatology and Cosmology: Models and
Problems,in La costruzione del discorso filosofico nelet dei
Presocratici, ed.Maria Michela Sassi(Pisa: Edizioni della Normale,
2006), 27-50.291Pl. Phaed. 63c, transl. by R. Hackforth.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
15/75
Chapter 4
112
The context justifying the myth is, therefore, Socrates wish
toexplain to his disciples why he is not afraid of death and why
they, too,should not be afraid for him. The ambiguous expression as
indeed wehave long been told (B?(-*C- D)E (F#)+ #GC-%)+) does not
clearlyexpress the source of this supposition, but it suggests,
once again, anancient doctrine (()#)+H3#IC;3).
The preparation for this final eschatology continues
throughoutthe whole dialogue, though a bit further on it again
becomes the focusof the argumentation:
JWell then, my friend, said Socrates, Jif that is true, I may
well hope that
when I have reached the place whither I am bound I shall attain
in fullmeasure, there at last, that for which I have spent the
effort of a lifetime;wherefore it is with good hope that I set upon
the journey now appointedfor me, as may any man who deems that his
mind is made ready andpurified.292
Socrates is using mystical language, albeit reinterpreted
inphilosophical terms. Orphic mystai, upon arriving in Hades,
proclaimedtheir purity, as a result of which they gained access to
a privilegeddwelling in the Netherworld, as we know from a gold
tablet from Thuriidating to the 4thcentury BCE.
I come from among the pure, pure, queen of the subterranean
beings. 293
Similarly, Socrates thinks that his purity guarantees him a
similarprivilege to that promised to the Orphic believers, although
the state ofpurity for him is achieved otherwise: not by means of a
ritual, but bypractising philosophy. Instead of soul (K=>L) he
speaks of mind(,+$';+)), because the cognitive conception of the
soul predominates inthis part of the dialogue.294
The philosopher even admits the possibility that the Orphics
wereright in their eschatological ideas, provided that they are
understood ina particular manner:
292
Pl. Phaed. 67b, transl. by R. Hackforth.293OF 489-490.1.294 R.
Hackforth, Platos Phaedo, translated with an introduction and
commentary(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1955), 52 n.
1.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
16/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
113
And it may well be that those persons to whom we owe the
institution ofmystery-rites are not to be despised, inasmuch as
they have in fact longago hinted at the truth by declaring that all
such as arrive in Hadesuninitiated into the rites shall lie in mud,
while he that comes therepurified and initiated shall dwell with
the gods. For truly, as theirauthorities tell us, there areMany
carry the wand, but Bacchants few are amongst them;where by
JBacchants I understand them to mean simply those who havepursued
philosophy aright.295
And a bit further on he refers again to Orphic ideas, this time
totransmigration:
And we may put our question like this: do the souls of men that
havedeparted this life exist in Hades or do they not? Now there is
an ancientdoctrine that comes into my mind, that souls which have
come from thisworld exist in the other, and conversely souls come
and are born into thisworld from the world of the dead.296
Thus, Socrates has been preparing throughout the dialogue for
thefinal eschatology, that will rest upon these two pillars: the
relationexisting between initiationunderstood as philosophy , the
rewards inthe Netherworld, and the theory of transmigration of the
souls.
In the eschatological tale itself, Socrates, after arguing that,
sincethe soul is immortal, it is not freed from its wickedness at
death (107c),
starts describing its path to the Netherworld, introducing the
tale withit is said, hiding thus the sources once more. There is a
certainagreement in considering the myth as a construction upon
variousmaterials, among which the Orphic ones are not dominant, and
I am notgoing to enter into discussions about what is the sense of
this myth inPlato.297 I would rather focus on describing its
general lines and onpinpointing the elements that could be Orphic,
according to theavailable sources on this religious movement.
Plato refers to certain guides:
295Pl. Phaed.69c (OF 434 III, 576 I), transl. by R.
Hackforth.296
Pl. Phaed. 70c (OF428), transl. by R. Hackforth.297See the
recent survey, with profuse bibliography, of the state of the
question inEnrique ngel Ramos Jurado, Platn.Apologa de Scrates.
Fedn, edicin revisada,traduccin, introduccin y notas (Madrid:
Civitas ediciones, 2002), 196-198.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
17/75
Chapter 4
114
Now this is the story: when a man has breathed his last, the
spirit(,)9M&') to whom each was alloted in life proceeds to
conduct him to acertain place, and all they that are gathered must
abide their judgement,and thereafter journey to Hades in company
with that guide whose officeit is to bring them from this world
unto that other.298
There is no mentioning of guides in the gold tablets.299
Untilrecently, the only thing related to these daimoneswas a
passage in theDerveni Papyrus, col. III 4, in which something was
read along the lines ofeach of us having a daimon as a sort of
guarding angel avant la lettre.However, it was found out that the
disposition of the fragments of the
first three columns contained mistakes and now the column is
readotherwise.300 Nonetheless, three columns later, in the same
papyrus,some sort of daimones that hinder the soul in its path to
theNetherworld are also mentioned, as the object of rituals carried
out bysome professionals called magoi:
For prayers and sacrifices placate souls. An incantation by
magoican dislodge daimonesthat have become a hindrance;
daimonesthat area hindrance are vengeful souls.301
We can attest, therefore, that at least according to some
Orphicinterpretations, there seemed to have been a belief in the
interventionof certain intermediaries, so-called daimones, that
hindered souls intheir path to the Netherworld, though they could
be placated, and
eventually turn favourable. Unfortunately, the details of these
beliefsare very poorly known.
The fact is that numerous non-Orphic texts mention
daimones,often personal ones, which could have a function similar
to thatdescribed by Plato. It is, therefore, a tradition that
precedes Plato andthat continues much longer afterwards. Heraclitus
seems to know thisidea already and contradicts it by considering
that this daimon is
298Pl. Phaed. 107d, transl. by R. Hackforth.299Although William
Keith C Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion, 2nd ed.
(London:Methuen,1952), 176 thinks that we can find them in the
person who pronounces
some of the words in the tablets, which is unlikely.300 P.Derv.
col. III, cf. Richard Janko, Reconstructing (again) the Opening of
theDerveni Papyrus, ZPE166 (2008): 3751.301P.Derv. col. VI 1-4,
transl. by R. Janko.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
18/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
115
nothing but each persons character.302 Menander mentions a
daimonthat accompanies each person from the moment of birth303 and
evenMarcus Aurelius often speaks about a certain
,)9M&'N#-&3, private andintimate.304
What it is particular about this eschatological version in
Phaedo isthat the trial is somehow dimmed and there is no reference
to the
judges, by contrast to other versions in which each soul faces
its trialalone. There is, on the contrary, a sort of corporation of
souls thataccepts or rejects those arriving, whereupon it is borne
by constraintto the dwelling-place meet for it.305This corporation
bears a strong
resemblance to the thiasoi of the mystai (M=?%O':+$?;=3)
mentionedin the gold tablet from Pherai, recently published306. The
philosopherdepersonalises the process, referring to a trial,
without mentioning the
judges, and states that the souls go where they are appointed
to,without precisely saying who appoints them, aside from
abstractreferences to constraint or destiny.
Next, we find another novelty: a long and exhaustive description
ofthe world, in which the Netherworld is integrated. According to
thephilosopher, we inhabit cavities of an immense land, thinking we
are onthe surface. There are many similarities between this
description andthe double plane described in the myth of the cavern
307, where we also
302 Heraclit. fr. 94 Marc. (22 B 119 D.-K.) P:;3 Q':*A(&+
,)9M&'. Cf. KyriakosTsantsanoglou, The First Columns of the
Derveni Papyrus and their ReligiousSignificance, in Studies on the
Derveni papyrus, ed. Andr Laks and Glenn W. Most(Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1997), 105 and Kouremenos in
TheokritosKouremenos, George M. Parssoglou and Kyriakos
Tsantsanoglou, The DerveniPapyrus(Firenze: Casa Editrice Leo S.
Olschki, 2006), 146.303Menand. fr. 50 K.-A.304Marc. Aur. 3.16,
8.45, 12.3. Also Porph. Vit. Plotin. 10 refers to a
;@D-9;=,)9M;';3D)#;=M2';=.305Pl. Phaed.108c, transl. by R.
Hackforth.306 R. Parker and M. Stamatopoulou, A new funerary gold
leaf from Pherai, AE(2004): 1-32, Franco Ferrari and Lucia
Prauscello, Demeter Chthonia and the
Mountain Mater in New Gold Tablet from Magoula Mati, ZPE162
(2008): 193-202,Alberto Bernab, Some Thoughts about the New Gold
Tablet from Pherai, ZPE166 (2008): 53-58.307Pl. Rep.514a ff.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
19/75
Chapter 4
116
believe that we are in the real world, although, in reality, we
are underit, in a different one. In the myth of Phaedo,
communication betweencavities is made through holes through which
rivers also flow betweenthem.308
One of the parts of the earth corresponds to what the poets
callTartarus, and Plato quotes Homer309to this respect. However,
Aristotlescommentary on this passage seems to imply that the
inspiration of thisdetail of infernal geography comes rather from
an Orphic poem310. Thispoint seems to be endorsed by the long
passage on the infernal rivers,the Acheron, that flows into the
Acherusiad lake, the Pyriphlegethon
and the Kokytos.311
The source for this fantastic and detaileddescription cannot be
Homer, less in its bare minimum, since the poetonly makes a brief
reference to the rivers upon mentioning the doors ofHades
(Od.10.513f.):
There into Acheron flow Puriphlegethonand Kokytos, which is a
branch of the water of the Styx.
The brevity of the Homeric reference may suggest that Plato
couldhave also found inspiration in Orphic sources although,
needless to say,the vast majority of literary ornamentation in the
description is clearlyhis.
Indeed, Orphics were interested in the description of
infernal
dwellings, according to a remark in Damascius commentary to
thePlatonic passage, which is itself based on a previous one by
Proclus,
308 Pl. Phaed. 111d. The reference of this happening in a crater
has lead somescholars (Martin L. West, The Orphic Poems (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1983),10-13; Kingsley 1995, 133-147) to
purport an Orphic influence. Possible as it mightbe, it is based on
a circular argument: we hardly know anything about the OrphicCrater
and, in order to reconstruct it, we use the evidence in Platos
texts, forwhich it would be necessary to claim that the
philosophers texts derive from theformer. Neither instance can be
proved.309Il.8.14.310 Pl. Phaed. 111e-12a (OF 27 I), Aristot.
Meteor. 355b 34 (OF 27 II). Cf. Kingsleys
subtle argumentation in Kingsley 1995, 126f in order to defend
the Orphic origin ofthis reference. Already Guthrie 21952, 168f.,
noticed the Orphic vocabulary of thePlatonic passage, but did not
take into consideration Aristotles words.311Pl.
Phaed.112e-113c.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
20/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
117
where it was firmly asserted that Plato had found inspiration in
Orphicpoems:
The four rivers here described correspond, according to
thetradition by Orpheus, to the four subterranean elements and the
fourcardinal points in two sets of opposites: the Pyriphlegethon to
fire andthe east, the Kokytos to earth and the west, the Acheron to
air and thesouth. These are arranged in this way by Orpheus, it is
thecommentator (i.e. Proclus) who associates the Oceanus with water
andthe north.312
In another passage, Damascius even quotes to this respect an
Orphic poem (which must be the Rhapsodies):The four rivers are
the four elements in Tartarus: the Oceanus, acordingto commentator
(i. e. Proclus), is water, the Kokytos or Stygius earth,
thePyriphlegethon fire, the Acheron air. Opposite to Pyriphlegethon
is theStygius (hot against cold), opposite the Oceanus is the
Acheron (wateragainst air); hence Orpheus [OF342] calls Lake
Acheron Lake Aeria.313
From the perspective of this discussion, the most
interestingaspect of Damascius comment is his remark that Proclus
used for hisinterpretation of infernal geography a poem attributed
to Orpheus, inwhich there was apparently a reference to the four
rivers inconjunction with the description of the destiny of souls
in Netherworld.
Since the poet calls the lake of AcheronAeria, nebula, it is
only logicalthat Proclus related the Acheron to aer (nebulose air).
The namePyriphlegethon made its identification with fire obvious.
And thus theNeoplatonic philosopher ends up identifying the other
two rivers withthe other two elements.
Plato tells us that the souls of most of the deceased arrive to
theAcherusian Lake and that, once they have spent time there, which
isapportioned more or less depending on each case, they
arereincarnated again.314 I find it particularly interesting that
thephilosopher relates this part of the description of infernal
geography to
312
Damasc. in Pl. Phaed. 1.541 (277 Westerink) (OF341 II), transl.
by L. G. Westerink.313 Damasc. in Pl. Phaed. 2.145 (363 Westerink)
(OF 341 6V y 342), transl. by L. G.Westerink.314Pl. Phaed.113a.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
21/75
Chapter 4
118
the theory of the metempsychosis, describing a sort of
Purgatoryavant la lettre. We do not know whether this specific
point was alreadypresent in the Orphic tradition or whether it is
an innovation exclusiveto Plato; the latter seems more plausible to
me, since there is no Orphicevidence to suggest otherwise.
The two following fragments referring to the Styx are also
fromOrphic infernal descriptions, though filtered through
Neoplatonicinterpretation:
The theologians give evidence that Oceanus is the source of
allmovement, stating that it makes ten currents burst, nine out of
which
flow to the sea315
.
And here Numenius (fr. 36 Des Places) and the interpreters of
the hiddensense of Pythagoras understand as semen the river Ameles
in Plato (Rep.621a) and Styx in Hesiod (Th. 361) and in the
Orphics.316
Both passages clearly show the interpretation of Orphic texts
inthe hands of those who pretend they have a hidden sense, rather
thantheir real content, about which we are very poorly informed.
Thesecond interpretation, in particular, seems to refer back to the
pointthat, after arriving to the Styx, the soul can be reincarnated
again,which leads Numenius to identify allegorically the role of
the lake asseed for the growth of a new life with that of
semen.
Finally, Plato states (Phaed. 113d) that the dead, arriving
towherever their daimon takes them, are put on trial, without
indicatingbefore whom, and that some are purified in the Lake of
Acheron, whileothers, hopeless, are thrown into Tartarus, from
which they wouldnever escape. After a certain amount of
information, the philosopherrefers as expected to those who have
led holy lives. They are freed fromthose places inside Earth as
from jail, and they dwell on the surface ofthe earth, the
philosophers being those who live without bodies and
315Procl.in Pl. Tim.III 180.8 Diehl (OF343). The tenth is Styx,
cf. Hes. Th. 789-791: A
tenth part (of Oceanus) is immediately set aside, but nine
around Earth and thewide side of the sea, making them twist in a
silver swirl, are flown into the sea.The plural the theologians
comprises, apparently, Orpheus and Hesiod.316Porphyr. ad
Gaurum2.2.9 (34.26 Kalbfleisch, OF344).
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
22/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
119
attain to habitation even fairer than those others. There are
noparallels to this elaboration and we should therefore consider
itPlatonic. For Socrates, the conclusion is that this is the reason
why oneshould partake of virtue and wisdom throughout life, for the
prize isglorious, and great is our hope thereof.317
Thus, the eschatological point of view in Phaedois conditioned
bothby the nearness of Socrates death and the reasons for his
personaltranquillity before this difficult moment.
Most likely, one of the reasons for the inclusion in the
dialogue of acomplex cosmology is Platos inclination to create
powerful imagery.
His main purpose, however, seems to be situating the places
where thesoul receives rewards and punishments somewhere in the
general mapof the universe.318 In order to configure it, the
philosopher has partlytaken inspiration from images already
existing in the poetic tradition,though he has also taken advantage
of new scientific ideas about theshape of the world.
The presence of a daimonaccompanying the soul is also a
noveltywith respect to other eschatologies. This novelty is within
a tradition Ihave already made references to which, on the other
hand, is not faraway from something divine and demonic (:-RS' %+
D)E ,)+MS'+;')that seems to refer to Socrates conscience.319 We can
see, once more,that the whole presentation of the Netherworld is
made with thedestiny of the philosopher in mind.
On the other hand, Plato clearly underlines in this eschatology
thetransmigration of souls, while the trial, as such, appears
undefined,with no mention even of judges. Both circumstances seem
strange toAnnas,320 who considers that the philosopher has not
successfullycombined reincarnation and the final judgement myth,
although theauthor herself points out that Plato is thus expressing
important truthson the relation between body and soul. I think that
these twocharacteristics, an emphasis on the transmigration and the
minimum
317
Pl. Phaed. 114c, transl. by R. Hackforth.318Cf. Annas 1982,
126.319Pl.Apol. 31cd, cf. Plut. De gen. Socr.10 p. 580C, 16 p.
585F.320Annas 1982, 127ff.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
23/75
Chapter 4
120
relevance of the trial, fulfil the purpose of the eschatology in
thedialogue: justifying Socrates hopes before death. The trial
appearsimprecise because it is obvious that his life does not
deserve anythingother than the best of destinies; the certainty
that he is not going to bepunished permeates the whole dialogue. By
contrast, the idea oftransmigration is pertinent in order to
underline the concept that thebest fortune available to the soul is
to abandon the body.321 Not onlythat, but the disciples who lament
the prison and death of Socrates arenot conscious of the paradox
that he is going to be immediately reallyfree, while they,
seemingly free men, will remain prisoners of their
bodies and the miseries of life.322
Therefore, the clear addition of theidea of reincarnation
provides a more optimistic message than that ofGorgias323, since
even someone who is wicked and suffers punishmentwill have an
opportunity for improvement further on. The outlook isdiscouraging
for reprobates as well, but it brings hope in the long term.
How Orphic is this eschatology? Firstly, we should consider
theinsertion of cosmological elements in the description of
theUnderworld. The details of this cosmology coincide with those
given inOrphic poems dedicated to the same topic, though Plato
seems to haveclearly transcended a rather simplistic schema and has
elaborated amuch more spectacular scenario; characters such as
Adrasteia324 couldalso derive from Orphic sources. Secondly, the
explicit relation betweentransmigration and rewards or punishments.
The fact of receivingpunishment in the Netherworld does not
substitute, but rathercomplements, the punishment of reincarnation,
which implies furtheropportunities for reprobate souls. Thirdly,
the references to daimonesthat act as guides in the Beyond.
Platonic transposition is evident, not only in the
impressiveconstruction of Netherworld imagery, but also in the
substitution of
321Annas 1982, 127.322Casadess 2008, 1268.323
In contrast to Annas 1982, 129, who believes that the
introduction ofreincarnation ... blurs this message.324Adrasteia
does not appear in Hesiod, but she does appear in Orphic sources:
OF77, 208-211.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
24/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
121
initiation and ritualistic perspective for a moral concept
andphilosophical initiation, as conditions to access eternal
beatitude.
IV. ESCHATOLOGY IN THE REPUBLICPlato presents two sets of
eschatological images in the Republic, in a
rather different manner. The first set is alien to him, since it
isattributed to others and even criticised by the philosopher, who
onlymentions it a couple of times: he attributes to Musaeus and his
son aset up of rewards and punishments in the Beyond, the
formerconsisting in a perpetual banquet and state of drunkenness
for the
pious, and the latter, for the impious, in carrying water in a
sieve andlying in mud.325 A second reference is made to teaching of
a kind ofprofessionals who base their liberating rites on books by
Musaeus andOrpheus.326 In neither reference does Plato add a
description of theplace. He simply points out the difference in
postmortem fortunebetween those who are initiated by these
characters and those who arenot. It is clear that Plato does not
share these doctrines that, as he seesit, have the serious fault of
promising expiation of guilt by means of asimple ritual and of
religious purity, something that for a philosopherof deep moral
convictions such as himself, who is moreover trying todefine a
model of city, becomes completely unacceptable.
At the end of dialogue, Plato explains his own eschatology in
themyth of Er.327 This eschatology is presented, conversely, with
greaterdetail and is, furthermore, the corollary to the work and
the base thatsustains the political system proposed in it. Since
for the Greeks a
325Pl. Rep. 363cd (OF431 I, 434 I).326 Pl. Rep. 364be (OF 573
I). Cf. also the reference to those people who, uponbecoming old,
start fearing that that some myths told about the punishments tothe
unfair in Hades, about which they used to laugh, were really true.
Pl. Rep. 330d(OF433 III).327Pl. Rep. 614b-621b. Cf. Hilda
Richardson, The Myth of Er (Plato, Republic616b),CQ 20 (1926):
115-131; Jean-Pierre Vernant, Le fleuve Amles et la Mlt
thanatou, in Mythe et pense chez les grecs(Paris: F.
Maspero,1965), 79-94; GretchenSchils, Platos myth of Er: the light
and the spindle, AC 62 (1993): 101-114;Angelica Fago, Il mito di
Er: il mondo come caverna e lAde come regnoluminoso di Ananke,
SMSR51 (1994): 183-218.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
25/75
Chapter 4
122
completely new set of images would have been strange and
scarcelyconvincing, Plato, albeit with modifications, models his
vision uponpre-existing elements, some of which are Orphic.
The stated aim of the story (614a) is that each one picks up
fromthis discourse what he wants to listen to, a sentence that,
within thepolitical context of the Republic, indicates that the
eschatology clearlyfollows political and moral purposes, in order
to support everything hehas been so far arguing for in his
masterpiece about the ideal city andits perfect citizens.
The main character of Platos tale is a Pamphylian called Er,
who,
after being killed in action, had the privilege of being allowed
to returnfrom the Netherworld twelve days after his own death, in
order to tellwhat he had seen. It would seem that the philosopher
wants to give histale a veneer of truth by making his character
emulate Orpheus himselfin his visit to the Beyond and his return to
describe what happensthere; the necessity of Ers return is given
even greater authority, bythe fact that the gods themselves have
commissioned him to do it. Histale is presented, therefore, as a
direct message from the gods, aimed atcorrecting the false one
given by Orpheus328. Er describes a wonderfulplace in which there
are apertures and certain judges who send thepious up to the right
and the impious down to the left. The place whereErs soul arrives
is defined as a meadow a little bit further on 329, whenEr
describes a continuous transit of souls coming and going,
greetingeach other and chatting vivaciously. Of these, the ones
coming fromunderground, that is, from the place of condemnation,
mention(without specifics) terrible sufferings, while the ones
coming fromheaven tell of visions of indescribable beauty. Er
specifies that soulsexpiate their crimes and misdemeanours ten
times for each one andeach time for a hundred years and that those
who are good receivecompensation in the same proportion. After
narrating the particularlyviolent punishments that await tyrants,
personified in Ardieus, Platoprovides a wonderful vision of the
whole universe, turning on thespindle of Necessity (Ananke)
exhaustively described, filled with
328Pl. Rep.614b (OF 461).329Pl. Rep.614e.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
26/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
123
traditional figures, such as the Sirens and the Moirai, who
aretransposed to a completely new setting. All of this bears
littleresemblance to the Orphic universe.330
Lachesis announces to the souls that in their mortal condition
theywill begin a new temporary journey, for which each of them can
choosetheir destiny, and lots are drawn for taking turns to choose.
The firstsoul chooses the life of a tyrant, which it immediately
regrets. It cannotbut be meaningful that Orpheus appears in Ers
tale precisely at thispoint, in a gallery of famous characters from
literature and mythology.Plato humorously presents him as choosing
the life of a swan due to his
hatred of women.331
It is at this point that alien eschatological
imageryreappears:
And then without a backward look it passed beneath the throne
ofNecessity (T'$CDU3). And after it had passed through that, when
theothers also had passed, they all journeyed to the Plain of
Oblivion(VL:U3), through a terrible and stifling heat, for it was
bare of trees andall plants, and there they camped at eventide by
the River of Fortetfulness(TM2#U%)) whose waters no vessel can
contain. They were all required todrink a measure of the water, and
those who were not saved by their goodsense drank more than the
measure, and each one as he drank forgot allthings.332
Once they have drunk the water, the souls go to rest in
preparation
for their new life on earth to which they return at midnight.
Er, who isexempt, is told not to drink the water and finds himself
resuscitatedin his own body. The dialogue concludes with an
exhortation from
330 Ananke appears in some Orphic fragments (OF 77, 210, 250),
but without anyrelation, that we know of, with the cycle of souls.
On the other hand, WalterBurkert, Le laminette auree: da Orfeo a
Lampone, in Orfismo in Magna Grecia. Attidel XIV Convegno di Studi
sulla Magna Grecia, Taranto 6-10 ott. 1974 (Naples:ISAMG, 1975),
98, relates the fact that those who are going to be reborn go
underthe throne of the goddess to the expression found in a golden
tablet in Thurii (4th
c. BCE): OF 488.7 I went under the lap of the underground queen,
which alsobears clear connotations of a rite of rebirth.331Pl. Rep.
620a (OF1077 I), cf. 1.5.332Pl. Rep 620e-621a (OF 462), transl. by
P. Shorey.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
27/75
Chapter 4
124
Socrates to practice justice in order to be compensated in
theNetherworld.
In order to evaluate the possibility that Plato was using an
Orphicmodel, I present herewith the most important document for
ourknowledge of Orphic eschatology of the time, the gold tablet
found inHipponium (Vibo Valentia) dated around 400 BCE:
This is the work of Mnemosyne. When he is on the point of
dyingtoward the well-built abode of Hades, on the right there is a
fountainand near it, erect, a white cypress tree.There the souls,
when they go down, refresh themselves.
Dont come anywhere near this fountain!But further on you will
find, from the lake of Mnemosynewater freshly flowing. On its banks
there are guardians.They will ask you, with sagacious
discernmentwhy you are investigating the darkness of gloomy
Hades.Say: I am the son of Earth and starry Heaven;I am dry with
thirst and dying. Give me, then, right away,fresh water to drink
from the lake of Mnemosyne.And to be sure, they will consult with
the subterranean queen,and they will give you water to drink from
the lake of Mnemosyne,So that, once you have drunk, you too will go
along the sacred wayby which the other mystai and bacchoi advance,
glorious.333
Guthrie, who has outlined the similarities to be found between
the
infernal setting described by Plato and the one presented in the
Orphicgold tablets, thinks that both religious schemes can be
equated334and,thus, he attributes to the Orphics the idea that,
once the body dies, thesouls go to Hades, where they are brought
before infernal judges, whowould determine their later destiny
taking into account their conductduring their life on Earth, so the
wicked ones are punished while thegood ones attain happiness. The
souls that have to be reincarnated
333 OF 474, cf. Bernab and Jimnez San Cristbal 2008, 9ff., where
other similargolden tablets, slightly later, are to be found
alongside a detailed commentary.334 Guthrie 21952, 177f., following
Jane Ellen Harrison, Prolegomena to the study of
Greek Religion(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
3
1922), 599. Neither authorcould have access to the golden tablet
from Hipponium, published much later, butthey did know the one from
Petelia (4th c. BCE), very similar to the former ( OF476), cf.
Bernab and Jimnez San Cristbal 2008, 10f.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
28/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
125
must drink the water of oblivion in order to forget their
previousexistence, they are thus returned to body and born
again.
It seems clear that Guthries reconstruction of Orphic version
ofthe souls journey is a mere transposition of the Platonic
description,which takes it for granted that the Attic philosopher
faithfully followedthe Orphic model.
Guthries assessment notwithstanding, everything in fact
suggeststhat the parallels between the Platonic description and the
referencesin the tablets are only superficial. The geography
coincides, but onlyin part: shared elements are the fountain of
Lethe, the paths on both
sides, the plain in which the soul experiences great thirst, and
themeadow, mentioned in some Orphic tablets as the place in which
theblessed dwell. We may also compare a tablet from Thurii and
anotherfrom Pherai (Thessaly), both dated to the 4th century
BC:
Hail, hail; take the path to the righttowards the sacred meadows
and groves of Persephone.335Enter into the sacred meadow, since the
initiate is free frompunishment.336
Yet there are profound differences. Plato tells us nothing of
thedeceptive cypress tree. The disposition of the paths in his
account isdifferent and has a different function, while his meadow
is a mere point
of transit, as contrasted with the place to which privileged
souls arrivein the gold tablets. Moreover, there is no reference in
the latter to anyjudges, but rather to guardians who wait for the
soul to give them apassword before allowing them to enter. Further
on, moreover,Persephone herself is the one who decides whether to
allow the newlyarrived soul to access the blissful place or
not.
Above all, however, there are two distinct eschatological
schemes.In Plato, we hear of a judgment, after which the soul,
completelypassive, is judged, rewarded or condemned, and is taken
to its allottedplace. Its fate is decided, for the sins or good
deeds of its past life will beits only credentials. The person who
is judged and approved goes toElysium for his merits. If the
deceased is condemned to reincarnation,
335OF487.5-6.336OF493.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
29/75
Chapter 4
126
he is given water from Lethe to drink. By contrast, in the
schemedescribed in the tablets, the soul, which is active, finds
itself faced by atest which it must overcome. In the moment of its
transition to theother world the souls crucial goal must be to take
the right path.Everything depends on this, and on its remembering
what it must do:this is why the tablets are the work of
Mnemosyne337, because she willhelp it to remember the teachings it
has received. If it does what itshould do, it will be successful.
If it makes a mistake, it will bereincarnated. In the Platonic
text, a higher authority evaluates thesouls moral behavior during
its terrestrial sojourn, while in the tablets
a ritual declaration on the past of the deceased seems to
suffice.338
Furthermore, Plato conceives a heavenly place for the
rewarded,in complete contrast to the space for the condemned, which
is theUnderworld. Orphic eschatology, on the other hand, places
bothrewards and punishments in Hades.
It is clear, then, that Plato freely re-elaborated on Orphic
motifs inthe service of his own philosophical and literary
interests, as, in fact, ishis normal procedure in dealing with
inherited material. And it is alsoevident that the eschatology in
the Republic, conceived as surpassingthe Orphic partly based on it,
but adapted to embody clearphilosophical interests is by far the
most masterfully achieved of all ofPlatos creations, as well as the
culmination of his descriptions of theNetherworld.339
V. ESCHATOLOGY IN XIOCHUS
337 Cf. f. e. OF 474.1, and Orphic Hymns 77.9-10 MW?%)+3 M'LM'
X(2C-+*- /-Y+2*;=%-#-%Z3. About Mnemosyne in the tablets, cf.
Bernab and Jimnez San Cristbal2008, 15-19.338Only in the great
tablet from Thurii (OF492, 4th century BC) can we find any
reference to behavior and retribution (Q'%)M;+[L) in accordance
with it, but thereare many obscurities in the text.339Even the
evidence from the Bologna Papyrus( 2) seems to indicate that Plato,
ina sort of return twist, influenced the Orphics themselves.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
30/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
127
The pseudo-Platonic Axiochus provides a brief but
intensedescription of the Netherworld.340 It occurs in the context
of thearguments that Socrates that Axiochus, father of Clinias,
should notfear death. Firstly, he demonstrates the evils that are
left behind thanksto death, a reasoning that does not seem to
impress the old man. Hethen discusses the survival of the soul and
the happiness that awaits thegood in the Netherworld. Although the
dialogue is not Platonic341, thispart is clearly inspired by other
descriptions of the Beyond by theAthenian philosopher, and it is
thus worthwhile to include it here. Thetale in the Axiochus is,
significantly, put in the mouth of a certain
Gobrias, an Iranian magos who, quoting as his source some
bronzetablets from the land of the Hyperboreans, tells that, after
freeing itselffrom the body, the soul goes to Plutos realm. The
author thereforesupports the tenet of the immortality of the soul
and the idea thatdeath represents liberation from it. He adds a few
cosmological andgeographical references. According to him, the
earth occupies thecentral part of the universe and is surrounded by
a sphere, whose upperhemisphere is the dwelling of the heavenly
gods, and its lower one thedwelling of the infernal gods, and that
behind doors with iron locks aretwo of the Netherworld rivers, the
Acheron and the Kokytos. Oncethese rivers are crossed, there lies
the plain of truth, where Minosand Rhadamanthys are to be found. It
would seem that the author of
Axiochushas used elements from other eschatological
descriptions, butreducing them to the minimum (two hemispheres, two
rivers, two
judges).The trial of the souls also takes place there:
340 [Pl.] Axioch. 371a (OF 434 IX, 713 III). Cf. Jacques
Chevalier, tude critique dudialogue pseudo-platonicien, lAxiochos
sur la mort et sur limmortalit de lme(Lyon: A.
Rey, 1914); Maria Lucia Violante, Un confronto tra PBon. 4 e
lAssioco. Lavalutazione delle anime nella tradizione orfica e
platonica, CCC 5 (1981): 313-327.341 Cf. the extremely informative
state of the question in Pilar Gmez Card,Axoco, in Platn.
DilogosVII (Madrid: Gredos, 1992), 389-425.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
31/75
Chapter 4
128
There are some judges sitting there, asking each one of the
newly arrivedwhat sort of life they lead and what their habits were
when theyinhabited their bodies. Lying is impossible.342
The expression inhabit their bodies, is interesting, in that
itconceives the body as a sort of dwelling for the soul, without
thenegative connotations of the Orphic grave or the Platonic
prison.343We should also note the relevance of the moral schema
according towhich the souls receive Netherworld treatment
commensurate withtheir behaviour in this world. By contrast to his
restraint in thedescription of infernal cosmology, the author
describes in great detail
the two places to which the souls may go, one paradisiacal and
theother horrifying.344Unlike Platonic eschatologies, in which we
find very little
description of paradise, the author of the Axiochus gives a
profusedescription of this locale; a locus amoenus in which, in
addition to thestereotypical meadows, the symposium of the blessed
and the ever-flowing spring, the quintessential cultural practices
of the Greeks, arealso added: poetry, music and philosophy.
Conversely, negative imagesare based on topoi about the damned:
Danaids, Tantalus, Tityus andSisyphus, to which the author adds the
torches of the Furies. AlthoughEleusis is mentioned, the images are
in fact typical of Southern Italy.We find them in the decoration of
Apulian ceramics of the fourthcentury BCE with motifs of the
Netherworld,345 and they have certainprecedents in Pindars
descriptions in some Threnoi and in the secondOlympian.346
342[Pl.]Axioch.371c.343Pl. Crat. 400c (OF430 I).344[Pl.]Axioch.
371c-372a (OF434 IX, 713 III).345 Cf. Marina Pensa,
Rappresentazioni delloltretomba nella ceramica apula
(Rome:Bretschneider, 1977); Christian Aellen, la recherche de
lordre cosmique (Zrich:AKANTHUS, 1994); Bernab and Jimnez San
Cristbal 2008, 195-203.346 On religion in Pindar, in general, cf.
Emilio Surez de la Torre, Pndaro y la
religin griega, CFC(Gr) 3 (1993): 67-97; on its relation to
Orphism, Hugh Lloyd-Jones, Pindar and the Afterlife, in Pindar,
Fondation Hardt. Entretiens surlantiquit classique 17
(Vandoeuvres-Genve: Fondation Hardt, 1985), 245-283;Maria Cannat
Fera, Pindarus. Threnorum fragmenta (Roma: Athenaeum, 1990),
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
32/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
129
The Boeotian poet, in describing the locus amoenusof the blessed
inthe Netherworld, adds athletics to the delights of paradise,
inaccordance with the expectations of his clientele for the
Epinikia.347 Insheer contrast, he also presents a horrifying
description of the place ofthe damned,348and he also provides, in
another passage, a brief outlineof the happy destiny of certain
individuals in the Netherworld. 349
The first two Pindaric passages quoted are in threnoi, within
theframework of a consolatioto the families of the deceased, which
meansthat we do not know whether the reason for the presence of
theseideas, as opposed to those developed by the poet in other
works, which
are closer to traditional Olympian religion, are due to the
literary genreto which the fragment belongs to or, more likely,
were part of thereligious beliefs of the odes commissioner, whom
the poet is trying toplease. This second possibility seems to be
corroborated by thepresence of the very same ideas in an Epinikion,
Olympian II, most likelybecause Theron of Acragas, the tyrant who
commissioned the work,was sympathetic to the ideas of this
religious circle.350Pindar refers tosomeone who administers justice
underground, passing his judgementwith ineluctable hostility and
points to the fact that some live anexistence without tears, whilst
others undergo sufferings unbearable towitness.
Apart from the paradisiacal place, we also find here a reference
tothe trial of souls and a passing reference to the
punishments.
Finally, returning once more to the description in Axiochus,
itseems that the initiated continue to practice in the Netherworld
themysteries that have enabled them to reach the seat of the
blessed. Inthis regard, Chevalier compared a fragment of Plutarch
in which the
164ff., and Santamara lvarez 2004; 2008. Cf. also Gnther Zuntz,
Persephone, ThreeEssays on Religion and Thought in Magna
Graecia(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971), 83ff.and Alberto Bernab,
Una cita de Pndaro en Platn Men.81b (Fr.133 Sn.-M.), inDesde los
poemas homricos hasta la prosa griega del siglo IV d. C. Veintisis
estudios
filolgicos, ed.Juan Antonio Lpez Frez (Madrid: Ediciones
Clsicas, 1999), 239-259.347
Pind. fr.129 Maehl. = 58 Cannat Fera (OF439).348Pind. fr.130
Maehl. = 58b Cannat Fera (OF440).349Pind. fr. 143 Maehl. (OF
446).350Pind. Ol. 2.56 (OF445).
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
33/75
Chapter 4
130
%-#-%)9 are identified with death, based upon an etymology
thatidentifies %-#-%L with %-#-=%L death, in which we also
findinteresting parallels with the outlook presented
inAxiochus.351
In theAxiochus, the place for punishment is Tartarus, but the
placefor rewards is not determined by a geographic space, but
rather bythose who inhabit it. It is thus the region of the pious.
This expressioncoincides with those characteristic of the Orphic
gold tablets, whichrefer to a path in which the other mystai and
bacchoi gloriouslyadvance (OF 474.15-16), to a place over which the
souls will reignalongside the rest of the heroes (OF 476.11), to a
space underground
where the blessed souls go as a result of having celebrated the
teletai(having fulfilled the same rites as the other fortunate
people [OF485.7]), to the thiasus of the mystai (OF 493a), to the
thiasus of theright (OF487.2)352, to the dwellings of the pure (OF
489.7) or to thesacred meadow, where the mystes is free from
punishment (OF493).These places are always defined by the company
of the other initiatedand by their happiness, not as clearly
defined geographic spaces.
VI. RECAPITULATION AND COMPARISONS
351
Plu. fr. 178 Sandbach (OF 594). Cf. Chevalier 1914. See also
Burkert 1975, 96;Francisco Dez de Velasco, Un problema de
delimitacin conceptual en Historiade las Religiones: la mstica
griega, in Imgenes de la Polis, ed. Domingo Plcido,Jaime Alvar,
Juan M. Casillas and Csar Fornis (Madrid: Ediciones Clsicas,
1997),407-422; Christoph Riedweg, Initiation-Tod-Unterwelt:
Beobachtungen zurKomunikationssituation und narrativen Technik der
orphisch-bakchischenGoldblttchen, in Ansichten griechischer
Rituale. Geburtstags-Symposium fr W.Burkert, ed. Fritz Graf
(Stuttgart and Leipzig: Teubner, 1998), 367 n. 33; AlbertoBernab,
La experiencia inicitica en Plutarco, in Misticismo y religiones
mistricasen la obra de Plutarco, Actas del VII Simposio Espaol
sobre Plutarco, ed. AurelioPrez Jimnez and Francesc Casadess
(Madrid-Mlaga: Ediciones Clsicas, 2001),10ff.; Alberto Bernab, Los
terrores del ms all en el mundo griego. La respuestarfica, in Miedo
y religin, ed. Francisco Dez de Velasco (Madrid: Ediciones del
Orto, 2002), 326.352 It is a new reading provided by Marco
Antonio Santamara, included, like OF493a, in the addenda et
corrigenda to OF II 3 and in Bernab and Jimnez SanCristbal 2008,
95-98 and 151-160.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
34/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
131
It is time to recapitulate and briefly compare the Platonic
visions ofthe Netherworld with one other, and with what we know of
Orphicimages of the afterlife. In order to do so, I will unravel
the differentelements in which they consist. To avoid excessive
repetition in thequotes, I will refer to Gorg. 492e-493c as Gorg.1;
to Gorg. 523a-527a asGorg.2; to the Orphic references to the
destiny of the souls in theNetherworld in Phaed. 69c and 70c as
Phaed.1; to the vision of theBeyond specified in Phaed. 107c ff. as
Phaed.2; to the vision referred toin Rep.363c as Rep.1; to that
offered in Rep.614a ff as Rep.2 and, finally,to the one referred to
in Axioch.371a as Ax., on the understanding that
Gorg.1, Phaed.1 and Rep.1 are not Platonic, but rather
reflections ofOrphic doctrines.All the images share, as a common
denominator a belief in the
immortality of the soul, understood as the capacity to perceive
andunderstand also in the Underworld. The occurrence, in some
cases, ofphysical punishment (splashing about in the mud, carrying
water in asieve, being burnt by torches), the conversations held by
the souls, theenjoyment of meadows, rivers or food, give evidence
of the extremedifficulty of imagining the soul as incorporeal;
instead, it still has theappearance of the body that used to carry
it, or at least, a corporalappearance. Plato coincides in this
point with Orphic sources, and it is,moreover, a constant
throughout history, from mediaeval images tofilms such as Ghost. It
seems difficult for the human being to envisionanything else.
The idea of reincarnation is present in Phaed.1, Phaed.2 and
Rep.2;it seems clear that it is absent from Ax., and is not
expressly mentionedin the other sources, but in Gorg.1 and Rep.1 it
seems to be implied,inasmuch as they reflect an Orphic point of
view. Nor is it incompatiblewith Gorg.2. I have already explained
this circumstance as a question ofemphases of certain aspects over
others, according to the purposes ofeach dialogue.
In the case of the Orphic versions, the authorship of the tale
isattributed to one of the sages in Gorg.1; to those who
established the
teletai and to an ancient tale in Phaed.1 and to Musaeus and his
sonin Rep.1. Plato avoids mentioning the name of Orpheus, but his
shadowlingers over these versions; over the unmentioned source in
Phaed.2
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
35/75
Chapter 4
132
(the expression it is being told refers to a former and
ancienttradition) and over Gorg.2, that starts with Homer and is
then followedby a tale of uncertain origin, deriving from an oral
source (QDUD;A3in524a). The prestige of Orpheus is also evident
from a passage in the
Apology, where the poets Orpheus and Musaeus are
mentionedalongside the infernal judges. And even Er seems to be
competing withOrpheus, who in his tale inhabits the Netherworld. By
contrast, theauthor of Ax. chooses another exotic source, Gobrias
the magos.
Platos Underworld myths coincide with Orphic eschatology in
theidea that in the Netherworld souls can either go to a pleasant
or an
unpleasant place, in contrast to the Homeric tradition, widely
acceptedin classical Greece, of an equally sombre Hades for all the
deceased.There is a great deal of variation, however, in the
specific location ofthe places where good and bad souls go. In
Gorg.1, Phaed.1 and Rep.1they are both in Hades. This corresponds
to the idea expressed in theOrphic texts, which refer to
unspecified spaces in Hades, characterisedas good or evil only by
the type of souls that inhabit them. Gorg.2makes a distinction
between the Isles of the Blest and Tartarus. Thisoccurs at the end
of an adaptation of an idea previously found in Hesiodand developed
by Pindar (Ol. 2.70-82). Rep. 2 mentions heaven andbelow. The
latter could refer to Hades or Tartarus, but the referenceto heaven
is not compatible with any Orphic sources. Ax. mentionsTartarus as
a place of punishment, while its version of paradise
ischaracterised, as in the Orphic sources, by the people who dwell
in it(the region of the pious), and not by geographical
features.
There are also variations in the geography of Netherworld,
whichis not described at all in those versions derived directly
from Orphicsources (Gorg.1, Phaed.1 and Rep.1). Such geography,
however, isdescribed in greater or lesser detail in the others,
from the simplecrossroads and the meadow where the judges stand in
Gorg.2, whichpreserves a basically Orphic imagery, through the
stylized account inthe Ax., in which we find two infernal rivers
and two spheres, celestialand infernal, and, finally, the more
elaborate descriptions in Phaed.2,
with bifurcations and infernal rivers, or the complex one in
Rep.2, withthe spindle of Necessity. Therefore, although the more
elaborate
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
36/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
133
eschatologies have some elements of Orphic origin, these are
diluted inthe grandiose Platonic creations.
The trial is present neither in Gorg.1, nor in Phaed.1 nor in
Rep.1,which would support the opinion presented here that it is in
fact aliento the oldest Orphic sources. Indeed, the most important
point in theOrphic gold tablets is the remembering of certain
passwords such as Iam the son of Earth and of the starry Sky
(OF474.10, etc), I come fromamong the pure, pure myself (OF488.1,
etc) or the mystes is free frompunishment (OF488). The first is an
indication that the newly arrivedknows a tale about the origin of
man that characterises him as initiated,
the second refers to his ritual purity, achieved by means of the
teletai,whilst in the third he claims the right to enjoy a
privileged situation,that of avoiding punishment simply on the
grounds that he is a mystes.
By contrast, the idea of trial is an essential element of
Platoscharacterisations of the Netherworld. For this, his sources
are notOrphic. Minos is portrayed in Homer as administering justice
amongthe dead (Od.11.568), whilst the idea of the trial of souls is
to be foundin Pindar (Ol. 2.59-60). There are differences among the
Platonicversions concerning the number and identity of the judges:
four arementioned by name in the Apology,353 three in Gorg.2, two
in Ax., andunnamed judges in Rep.2; the trial is undefined in
Phaed.2. The onlyreference to a trial within an Orphic context is
to be found in theBologna Papyrus, and it is very likely that this
reflects Platonic influenceover the late Orphic tradition.
Platos references to postmortem rewards are meagre. As
regardsOrphic eschatologies, there are no references to them in
Gorg.1 (itsmain purpose being to use the punishments to scare
Callicles) andAdeimantus sneers at Orphic images of drunkards in
perpetual banquetin Rep.1, which has a close analogue in the phrase
you have wine, as
your blessed honour found in the tablet of Pelina (OF485.6). In
Phaed.1the philosopher states that the initiated and the purified
will dwell with
353
Pl.Apol. 41a (OF1076 I), although their numbers grow with other
demigods, allthose who were fair in life and, moreover, it is
uncertain whether these judgesdecided the reward or punishment of
the soul, or they simply have the Homericfunction of administering
justice among the deceased, cf. n. 21.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
37/75
Chapter 4
134
the gods. The difference between considering the Orphic blessed
as abunch of drunkards or as cohabitants with the gods seems to
runparallel with the philosophers main focus of interest in each
case. InPhaed.1 he presents a positive eschatology, and since he is
going toconclude that those initiated are the true philosophers,
amongst whomis Socrates himself, he can easily accept the Orphic
idea that they willdwell with the gods, but in a version a little
toned down, in the sensethat the souls do not turn into gods
themselves. In Rep.1, however, hetries to discredit those who argue
that it is possible to avoidpunishment exclusively by ritual means,
on the grounds that such a
comfortable scheme would not contribute to the creation of
goodcitizens. Consequently, it seems more appropriate to ridicule
theirproposed destiny as perpetual drunkards.
Regarding the eschatologies created by Plato himself, there is
areference in Gorg.2 to a happiness free of evil, and in Rep.2 to
the factthat they will get what they deserve. Phaed.2 contains the
mostimportant innovation, the idea that the souls of the
philosophers livefree from their bodies, which avoids the imagery
that tends toconceive the souls as some other form of bodies. Ax.
adds to the locusamoenus an array of cultivated entertainments
(almost aristocratic),including dance, music and philosophical
discussions; in this respect itis closer to the scenario presented
by Pindar than to Orphic accounts.
In terms of punishments, Gorg.1 and Rep.1 make use of the
Orphicmotif of carrying water in a sieve, and both Phaed.1 and
Rep.1 of lyingin mud. It is clear that, according to Orphic
beliefs, the condemnation ofsouls is not restricted to
transmigration but may also entail a series ofpunishments in the
Underworld at the end of each incarnate life.354Plato also refers
to punishments in his visions of the Beyond: in Gorg.2he describes
Hades as a sort of jail in which souls are tormented, inPhaed.2 his
emphasis shifts to the sorrowful wandering of the soulwhich fails
to reach the realm of happiness, and in Rep.2 he mentionscertain
sufferings without specifying them. The most vividdescription of
postmortem suffering is to be found in the Ax., where the
354Cf. Procl. in Pl. Remp. II 173.12 Kroll (OF346), who mentions
underground placesand prisons over there.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
38/75
Platos Transposition of Orphic Netherworld Imagery
135
mythical topoi concerning infamous sinners are, nevertheless,
alsoincluded, with the addition of the Furies with torches and the
attack of
some beasts.Somewhat at odds with the main scheme is the
presence, in
Phaed.2 and Ax., of daimoneswho inspire or guide the souls, an
idea thatseems to coincide with one of the tenets of the Derveni
commentator.We also find references both in Phaed.2 and Rep. 2 to
meeting placeswhere the souls hold conversations.
Aside from this, it seems worthwhile to remark upon
therequirements which determine whether the soul is assiged to
the
dwelling place of the good or the wicked. According to the
Orphics, themeans to achieve a better destiny are to be found in
the way of life,355which not only imposes taboos concerning food,
such as a vegetariandiet, or clothing, such as the prohibition of
wearing any woollen cloths,but also entails ritual obligations,
such as celebration of the teletai, andbehaviour which is based
upon of vague idea of justice. Hence, in Gorg.1and Phaed.1, the
precondition for obtaining a good place in theNetherworld is
initiation. Plato, once more, transposes356 this ritualprecondition
to an initiation based on moral character, and, as such, inPhaed.1
he arrives at the conclusion that the initiated is thephilosopher.
In Rep.1, despite alluding to the Orphics, he mentions thegood in
opposition to the impious and unjust; in Meno 81b, heproclaims the
need to live life in the holiest possible manner, as
theindispensable corollary of the theory of the metempsychosis, and
in hispresentations of infernal eschatology, he always refers to
goodness and
justice as prerequisites for the souls attaining
blessedness.Finally, Plato differs from the Orphics on the subject
of why to
acquire knowledge about the destiny of the soul. The only aim
ofOrphics is salvation. As such, knowledge of the souls destiny is
only themeans of getting information on the necessary procedures to
achieve
355Mentioned in Pl. Leg.782c (OF625) as \]*1+D;E[9;+.356 The
term transposition is coined by Auguste Dis, Autour de Platon, II
(Paris:
Gabriel Beauchesne, 1927), 432ff., followed by Frutiger 1930;
cf. also the remarks byAlberto Bernab, Lme aprs la mort : modles
orphiques et transpositionplatonicienne, In tudes platoniciennes
IV, Les puissances de lme selon Platon, ed. J.Francois Pradeau
(Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 2007a), 41-44.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
39/75
Chapter 4
136
this aim. For this reason, the stress is put on the passwords,
rights,taboos and experiences, and not on knowledge. By contrast,
Platosmotivations for dealing with the destiny of the soul are
various. The adhoc nature of the Platonic myths allows for
variation in his mythiceschatology, according to the purposes for
which the myth is used:Phaed.2 is, above all, a consolatio to the
disciples, in which Socratesconsiders the question of why souls,
according to their degree ofperfection, end up living incarcerated
in a mortal body; in Rep.2, it hasfirst and foremost a political
aim; namely, to create good citizens and tochallenge the belief
that souls can enjoy privileges in the Netherworld
exclusively on the basis of ritual, independently of their
behaviour; inGorg. 2, Plato uses the myth to denounce the dangers
of Sophisticphilosophy for social morals, and in the Meno the
Orphic tale supportsthe theory of reminiscence. In sum, Plato,
unlike the Orphics, putsreligious beliefs into the service of
deeper philosophical purposes.Despite the different interests that
the eschatological landscapes servein each of the works, there is
no doubt that they do coincide and, eventhough they do not
configure a coherent system, they certainly presentnumerous points
in common within the general framework of thephilosophers
theory.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
40/75
397
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adam, James, ed. The Republic of Plato,1stedition 1902.
Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1963.
Adamson, Peter. Plotinus on Astrology. OSAP352008:
265-91.Adkins, Arthur W.H. Merit and Reponsibility: a Study in
Greek Values.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960.--. From the Many to the One.
London: Constable, 1970.Adluri, Vishwa. Initiation into the
Mysteries: The Experience of the
Irrational in Plato. MouseionIII.6 (2006): 407-423.
--. Frame Narratives and Forked Beginnings: Or, How to Read
the0diparvan.Journal of Vaishnava Studies 19,2 (Spring):
143-210.--. Hermeneutics and Narrative Architecture in the
0diparvan. In Ways
and Reasons for Thinking about the Mah1bh1rata as a Whole,
edited byVishwa Adluri. Pune: Bhandarkar Oriental Research
Institute,forthcoming.
Adluri, Vishwa, and Joydeep Bagchee. The Nay Science: A History
ofGerman Indology. Manuscript under consideration at
OxfordUniversity Press.
Aellen, Christian. la recherche de lordre cosmique. Zrich:
AKANTHUS,1994.
Albinus, Lars. The Katabasisof Er. Platos Use of Myths,
exemplified bythe Myth of Er. In Essays on PlatosRepublic, edited
by Erik NisOstenfeld, 91-105. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press,
1998.
--. The House of Hades. Studies in Greek Eschatology. Oxford:
AarhusUniversity Press, 2000.
Albright, W. F. The Anatolian Goddess Kubaba, Arch. f.
Orientforschung5 (1928/9): 229-231.
Alt, Karin. Dieseits und Jenseits in Platons Mythen von der
Seele.Hermes110 (1982): 278-299.
--. Dieseits und Jenseits in Platons Mythen von der Seele.
Hermes111(1983): 15-33.
Anderson, Greg. The Athenian Experiment Building an imagined
political
community in ancient Attica 508-490B.C. Ann Arbor: University
ofMichigan Press, 2003.
-
5/28/2018 Greek Religion de Gruyter.bernabe
41/75
398
Annas, Julia.An Introduction to PlatosRepublic. Oxford:
OxfordUniversity Press, 1981.
--. Platos Myths of Judgment. Phronesis27 (1982): 119-43.Arend,
Walter. Die typische Scenen bei Homer. Berlin: Weidmann,
1933.Armstrong, Arthur H. Plotinus and India. Classical
Quarterly30.1
(1936): 2228.--. Platonic Mysticism. The Dublin Review216
(1945), 130-143.--. Plotinus: Enneads, revised edition, vol. 17.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 19691988.Armstrong, Arthur H., and R.R.
Ravindra. Buddhiin the Bhagavadg2t1
and the Psychin Plotinus. In Neoplatonism and Indian
Thought,edited by R.Baine Harris, 6386. Norfolk, VA: State
University ofNew York Press, 1982.
Astour, Michael C. Hellenosemetica. Leiden: Brill, 1965.Aubry,
Gwenalle. Un moi sans identit ? Le hmeisplotinien. In Le moi
et lintriorit, edited by Gwenalle Aubry and Frdrique
Ildefonse,107-12. Paris: Vrin, 2008.
Beck, Roger. The Religion of the Mithras Cult in the Roman
Empire. Mysteriesof the Unconquered Sun.Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2007.
Brard, Claude. Anodoi