ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 159

OTTO KERN

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For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.


SUMMARY: This testimony is from the age of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos; it seems to be a weak attempt to understand Orphic theology, but ultimately calls it “Chaldean nonsense.”

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 159

Epistolograph from the age of Αλέξιος Α΄ Κομνηνός (Byzantine Emperor from 1081-1118) cod. Barocc. 131 in Crameri Anecdot. Oxon. III 183, 24:

καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς ἀπορρέουσι τῶν πηγῶν ὀχετοὶ ἀνάπαλιν· τὰ μὲν διαιρετικὰ γένη πλεονάζει, τὰ δὲ ἑνωτικὰ τάξιν ὑφειμένην ἔλαχεν· εἰ δὲ οἱ ὑπεζωκότες Τιτᾶνες παρ’ αὐτοῖς λέγονται· μήποτε ἢ ἐκ τούτων συνιστῶσιν Ἕλληνες τὴν Ὀρφικὴν θεολογίαν αὐτῶν; ἢ ἐξ Ὀρφέως οἱ βάρβαροι μυθοπλαστοῦσι τὴν κατ’ αὐτοὺς τερατολογίαν; πολλὰ ἦν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν Χαλδαϊκῶν ληρημάτων εἰπεῖν· ἀλλ’ εἰς τέλος ἐπελθεῖν τοῖς διεξοῦσιν ἀμήχανον.

“Just as among the flowing of waters, some streams flow in the opposite direction, the divisible classes are more numerous, while the order of unitives was assigned to be lower (in number); and if the undergirdings are called Titans by them, perhaps either the Greeks organize their Orphic theology from them, or the barbarians invent their marvelous tales from Orpheus in conformity with them. Many other things were said of their Chaldean nonsense, but it is difficult to come upon a conclusion for those who wish to carefully go through them.”

(trans. by the author)

Wilhelm Kroll De oraculis Chaldaicis 5.


The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Theogony.

We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.

Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

Introduction to the Thæí (the Gods): The Nature of the Gods.

How do we know there are Gods? Experiencing Gods.

This logo is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia, Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kozmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara, κιθάρα), the the lyre of Apóllôn (Apollo, Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus, Ὀρφεύς).

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We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.

Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

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