Instructions for the Netherworld: The Orphic Gold Tablets (Religions in the Graeco-Roman World)

Cover......Page 1
Series......Page 3
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 8
Preface to the English Edition......Page 12
0.1. The gold tablets......Page 14
0.2. External aspects of the tablets......Page 15
0.3. The texts: a brief approximation of their contents......Page 17
0.4. Sketch of a typology of the tablets. Our grouping......Page 19
Translation of Tablets L 1–6......Page 22
1.1. A textual problem......Page 25
1.2. Mnemosyne......Page 28
1.3. Crossing over to the other world......Page 32
1.4. The cypress of the underworld......Page 38
1.5. The thirst of the dead and the two fountains......Page 42
1.6. The soul faced by the guardians......Page 48
1.7. Continuing journey......Page 61
1.8. The sacred way......Page 63
1.9. Mystai and bacchoi......Page 65
1.10. The Orphic model and the Platonic model......Page 66
1.11. Instructions for use?......Page 68
1.12. Short versions: the Cretan tablets......Page 69
1.13. The relation between the long and the shorter tablets......Page 71
1.14. Gender hesitations......Page 72
Translation of tablets L 7ab from Pelinna......Page 74
2.1. Structure of the text......Page 75
2.2. A death that is life......Page 77
2.3. The soul liberated by Dionysus......Page 79
2.4. The formulas of the animal fallen in the milk......Page 89
2.5. Wine......Page 97
2.6. The rites completed......Page 103
Translation of tablet 8 from Thurii......Page 108
3.2. The formula of salutation......Page 109
3.3. The great experience......Page 110
Translation of tablets 9 and 10ab from Thurii......Page 112
4.1. The introductory formula......Page 113
4.2. The reference to punishment......Page 118
4.3. Fate and the lightning of Zeus......Page 122
4.4. Two variants at the end: a) the supplication to Persephone......Page 128
4.5. b) The second variant: the cycle, the crown, and the lap of the goddess......Page 130
5.1. Change of person in the sacred formula......Page 146
5.2. The deceased woman called by name......Page 148
Translation of tablet 12 from Thurii......Page 150
6.1. A disconcerting discovery......Page 151
6.2. A proposal for a new reading......Page 152
6.3. Sacred formulas among meaningless letters. Some parallels......Page 154
6.4. Reconstruction of the religious background......Page 162
Translation of the tablets from Pherai (L 13 and 13a)......Page 164
7.1. The passwords......Page 165
7.2. The names used as passwords......Page 167
7.3. The effects of the passwords......Page 170
7.4. A prayer: ’όργια and τέλη......Page 171
7.5. The goddesses......Page 172
Translation of tablets L 14–16......Page 174
8.1. Greetings to Pluto and Persephone: tablets from Milopotamus (L 15), Rethymno (L 14), and Heraclea (L 15a)......Page 176
8.2. Identifications of the mystai; tablets from Pella and other places......Page 177
8.3. The tablet from Manisa and other documents that cannot be attributed to the Orphics......Page 179
9.1. Recapitulation. Mentions of the soul’s destiny......Page 182
9.2. Previous conditions......Page 184
9.3. The scenario of the happy life......Page 187
9.4. Characteristics of the afterlife......Page 190
10.1. Discussions of the religious atmosphere of the tablets......Page 192
10.2. Argument from authorship......Page 194
10.3. The Geography of the tablets......Page 196
10.4.1. References to initiation......Page 198
10.4.2. The importance of doctrinal knowledge......Page 199
10.4.3. Reconstruction of a hieros logos......Page 202
10.5. Purity and justice......Page 203
10.6.3. Persephone......Page 205
10.6.4. Dionysus......Page 207
10.7. Iconography......Page 208
10.7.2. A uniform Hades vs. a dual Hades......Page 209
10.7.3. Divinities presiding over the Beyond......Page 211
10.7.5. Orpheus and the texts......Page 212
10.7.6. Nikê and Dikê......Page 213
10.7.7. The reservations of Margot Schmidt......Page 214
10.7.8. Recapitulation of Apulian iconography......Page 215
10.8. Colophon......Page 217
11.2. The Egyptian “Book of the Dead”......Page 220
11.3. A Hittite parallel: the “Great voyage of the soul”......Page 222
11.4. Indian Parallels......Page 230
11.5. Parallels in the Iranian world......Page 234
11.6. “Tablets” in the Italian environment......Page 237
11.8. The ‘Punic’ tablets......Page 238
11.9. Echoes in modern times......Page 239
12.1. Problems of a literary nature......Page 240
12.2. Functional texts......Page 243
12.3. The possible model of the tablets......Page 244
12.4. The tablets’ relation to ritual......Page 246
12.5.1. Instructions for the Beyond......Page 249
12.5.3. Anticipations of final destiny......Page 250
12.5.5. Use or reuse as amulets......Page 251
12.6. The relation between use and appearance or thematic motifs......Page 252
Appendix I: Edition of the Tablets......Page 254
Appendix II: Iconographical Notes on the OrphicTablets.......Page 286
Bibliography......Page 340
Index Locorum......Page 360
General Index......Page 373