from religion to philosophy

From Religion to PhilosophyAuthor(s): George ThomsonSource: The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 73 (1953), pp. 77-83Published by: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/628238 .

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FROM RELIGION TO PHILOSOPHY

THE starting-point of this article was Cornford's essay, 'A Ritual Basis for Hesiod's Theogony ', recently published in The Unwritten Philosophy.1 He showed it to me soon after he had written it in 1942. It is only a sketch, but it struck me at once as important, because it opens a new approach to the conclusion he had reached many years before in From Religion to Philosophy. I told him this and begged him to pursue the subject, but he smiled and said, ' I leave that to you'. Hence the title of this article, which is a tribute to his memory.

His From Religion to Philosophy appeared in 1913. In the same year Eduard Norden published his Agnostos Theos : Untersuchungen zur Formengeschichte religioiser Rede. In this study, starting from the Sermon on the Areopagus, Norden shows that the Greek and Latin authors employ, in poetry and prose, certain forms of speech, liturgical in origin, which can be traced independently in the Old Testament. The two streams, the Hellenic and the Hebrew, drawn from Babylonia and Egypt, were reunited in Christianity, notably by St. Paul, who, in virtue of his birth and upbringing, was equally well versed in both. Later, in the Byzantine liturgy, they were reinforced by a third stream, the Syrian, of the same ultimate origin.2

These two works, which appeared simultaneously, are complementary. Cornford was concerned with the content of Greek thought, Norden with the form; and both reached the same conclusion. The roots of Greek philosophy lie in the ancient religions of the Near East.

I. THE SEPARATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

The main thesis of Cornford's essay is that the cosmology of Anaximander is a scientific reinterpretation of the myth of the separation of Heaven and Earth as related by Hesiod. This myth is found in various forms all over the ancient East and in the Far East and in Polynesia. In particular, it is the main theme of the Enuma elish, or Epic of Creation-a hymn chanted annually in Babylon at the festival of the coronation, at which, after the world had been symbolically re- created, the king resumed his authority and ' fixed the fates ' for the year.3

A comparative analysis of this myth in all its forms is an important task which has yet to be undertaken. For the present it will be enough to identify the four main variants.

First, the idea of sexual union. In the beginning Heaven (male) and Earth (female) were one.4 They were separated after the birth of a child or children, who forced them apart in order to make room for themselves, thereby creating light. The partners were afterwards reunited periodically in the sacred marriage, which made the earth fruitful. This, the oldest form of the myth, is in origin simply a projection of the division of the primitive horde into two intermarrying moieties- the earliest form of organised human society.5

Secondly, the idea of water as the primary element. In the beginning there was a watery chaos, which divided and so left room for the formation of dry land. This reflects the fundamental importance of irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt, where the dry land was literally created by human labour out of the primeval swamp.6

Thirdly, the idea of the world egg, in which the two preceding ideas are combined and reinter- preted. Heaven and Earth are the upper and lower parts of an egg which has split open.7

Fourthly, the idea of a duel. A god slays a dragon, whose body he hacks into two parts, which form heaven and earth. Such is the duel between Marduk and Tiamat as described in the Enuma

1 F. M. Cornford, The Unwritten Philosophy, 1950: see also his Principium Sapientiae (1952), published after this article went to press. I wish to acknowledge my debt to the late N. Bachtin, with whom I discussed these problems many times, and to Mr. R. T. Rundle Clark, who drew my attention to the Egyptian data cited in notes 4 and 7.

2 E. Norden, Agnostbs Theos, pp. 207, 260-I; R. Cantarella, Poeti Bizantini (Milan, 1948), Vol. II, pp. 28-37.

3 S. H. Hooke, Origins of Early Semitic Ritual, 1938, pp. 18-19; I. Engnell, Studies in the Divine Kingship in the Ancient Near East, I945, PP. 15, 36.

4 In the Egyptian version the sexes are reversed, presumably because in Egypt there is virtually no rain. The Egyptian p.t 'heaven' may be connected with wp.i, 'to separate': K. Sethe, Uebersetzung und Kommentar zu den altai~gyptischen Pyramidentexten, Vol. III, p. II, IV, p. I 17. For the latest general account of the myth see K. Mar6t, 'Die Trennung von Himmel und Erde', Acta Antiqua, Vol. I, pp. 35-63 (Budapest, 1951).

6 See my Studies in Ancient Greek Society, 1949, p. 58, and,

for further data relating to the 'dual organisation ', S. P. Tolstov, ' Sovyetskaya shkola v etnografii', Sovyetskaya Etnologiya, Vol. IV (I947) p. 25. 6 See my note in The Modern Quarterly, 1949, Vol. IV, pp. 267-9-

7 Chindogya Upanishad 3. 19: 'In the beginning it was not; it came into being; it grew; it turned into an egg; the egg lay for a year; the egg broke open; one half was of silver, the other of gold; the silver half became this earth, the golden half the sky . . . And what was born from it was Aditya, the sun'. This corresponds to the Egyptian myth of Geb (earth) and Nut (heaven), forced apart by Shu (light). The cosmic egg figured in Egyptian ritual: G. Lefebvre, 'L'oeuf divin d'Hermopolis', Annales du service des antiquitis, Vol. XXIII, p. 65; Magical Papyrus Harris 6. Io, ed. H. 0. Lange, Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Hist. Fil. Med. 14. 2, 1927, p. 53. See further M. W. Makemson, The Morning Star Rises : an Account of Polynesian Astronomy, 1941, Chap. II.



78 GEORGE THOMSON elish. The primitive form of the myth is here combined with the idea of an initiatory ordeal, symbolising the triumph of summer over winter, which was enacted at the coronation festival.8

All four variants can be traced in Greek. The first is the story of Ouranos and Gaia as told in the Hesiodic and Orphic theogonies, with various modifications of detail, showing that its original significance had become obscured.9 The second underlies the so-called Homeric theogony and the cosmology of Thales.'0 The third was taught by the Orphics." The fourth appears in Hesiod as the duel between Zeus and Typho, after which Zeus becomes king, just as Marduk becomes king after the slaughter of Tiamat.12 Other Greek versions of the duel, also associated with the kingship, are Apollo's fight with Python and the fight between Kadmos and the Theban dragon.13

2. THE CALENDAR

At this point it is necessary to recapitulate some of the conclusions reached in my study of the early Greek calendar.14

The Greek calendar was derived from the East through the Minoan-Mycenean priest-kings, particularly those of Delphi, Thebes, and Orchomenos. The Delphic Apollo, according to tradition, came from Crete; and, as Nilsson has shown, he reached Crete from South-west Anatolia, while one feature of his cult-the sanctity of the number seven-points definitely to Babylonia.15 So with Kadmos, who founded Thebes. Minos of Knossos was his sister's son, and he himself was a native of Phoenicia, which he left in search of his sister, Europa, whom Zeus had carried off to Crete. The myth of Zeus and Europa corresponds to the myth of El and Asherat, which has been recovered from the cuneiform texts of Ugarit.16 Typho was born in Cilicia,17 which included Syria,18 and in one version his slayer is not Zeus but Kadmos.19 In Syria itself, at Antioch, there was a tradition that he had been struck down at the mouth of the Orontes.20 Thus, both figures, Kadmos and Typho, lead us back to Syria. All this is in harmony with recent excavations there, which have shown that Ugarit and the neighbouring cities were in close communication with Crete as far back as the seventeenth century B.c.21 The myth of Kadmos contains a core of historical fact. These Syrian cities were one of the main avenues through which Babylonian culture, including the calendar, was transmitted to the Aegean. This conclusion is important, for three reasons.

In the first place, the officer in charge of the calendar, without which irrigational agriculture would have been impossible, was the king; and he, representing the god, was directly concerned in the annual re-enactment of the creation at the coronation festival. There was thus an inherent connexion between the calendar and the creation. With this in mind, we see the two main themes of the Hesiodic poems-the farmer's almanac of the Works and Days and the creation myth of the Theogony-in a new light. They were drawn from a common source-the hieratic tradition of the priest-kings descended from Kadmos, which after the Dorian invasions was secularised and popularised.22

In the second place, Thales and Anaximander devoted much of their attention to astronomical problems, which had a close bearing on the regulation of the calendar. That being so, there is an intrinsic probability in Cornford's view that their cosmological speculations were inspired by the myth of the creation.

In the third place-and this is a circumstance which has attracted very little interest-there is independent evidence that they were the heirs of the Kadmeioi.

3. THE THELIDAI

Early in the second century B.c. the citizens of Miletos built a new town hall. In it they placed a statue of Anaximandros-evidently the great philosopher of that name. It was an old statue of

8 On Tiamat and the Sumerian Zu see S. Smith, Babylonian Legends of the Creation, I93I, p. I8; S. Langdon, The Babylonian Epic of Creation, 1932, pp. 19-20. Other examples of the duel are the slaying of Leviathan (Psalms 74, Isaiah 51, cf. Job 26. Ii), which is the Lotan of the Ugaritic texts: C. F. A. Schaeffer, Cuneiform Texts of Ras Shamra, 1939, pp. 65-4.

9 In Hesiod the idea that heaven and earth were one has been overlaid by the notion of an original Xdos, corresponding to the Egyptian Nu and the Babylonian Apsu; but it survived in the Orphic tradition: A.R. I. 496-502, cf. E. fr. 484.

10 Roscher, Lexikon, Vol. V, p. 1539. 11 W. K. C. Guthrie, Orpheus and Greek Religion, 1935, pp. 92-5.

12 Hes. Th. 820-85. It is clear that 881-5 should follow directly after the defeat of the Titans. The battle of the Titans and the slaying of Typho are alternative versions of the same theme.

1s Plu. M. 418a, Apld. 3. 4. 1. 14 ' The Greek Calendar ', JHS, LXII (1943), 52-65. 15 M. P. Nilsson, Minoan-Mycenean Religion, 1927, PP. 423-4. 16 Schaeffer, p. 6o. 17 A. Pr. 367, Pi. P. 8. i6.

18 Str. 627. 19 Nonn. D. I. 481-534. The duel was also located in

Boeotia itself: Hsch. Tvqiov, Pi. 0. 4. I1 sch., Hes. Sc. 32. 20 Str. 750. 21 Schaeffer pp. 10o-7, cf. p. 3: 'In order the better to

understand the formation of ancient Minoan, it seems necessary to reduce the influence hitherto accorded to predynastic and protodynastic Egypt and to search rather in the direction of Asia '. This is borne out by the comparative study of Greek mythology,

22 Other elements in the Hesiodic Theogony traceable to Syria are Aphrodite, whose Phoenician connexions are well known (see my Studies, pp. 507-14) and Eros, the Phoenician Pothos (Ph. Bybl. 1-2, Dam. 125). At Thespiai, where there was a cult of Hesiod (IG. Sept. 1735, I760, 1763, cf. Paus. 9. 3I. 4), there was also a cult of Eros (Paus. 9. 27. I). Other ancient cults of this god are recorded at Leuktra in Laconia, founded from the Boeotian Leuktra (Paus. 3. 26. 4, Str. 36o), and at Parion (Paus. 9. 27. 1), founded from Erythrai, one of the original Ionian colonies and named presumably after the Boeotian Erythrai.



FROM RELIGION TO PHILOSOPHY 79 the sixth century, which they had removed from its original site on the Sacred Way running from the city to the temple of Apollo at Branchidai. Several other statues of the same date have been discovered on the Sacred Way. One is a marble lion dedicated to Apollo by Thales, Pasikles, Hegesandros, a fourth whose name is illegible, and Anaxileos, all sons of Archegos son of Python; another is dedicated by the sons of Anaximandros son of Mandromachos; a third, also to Apollo, by Histiaios.23

The Thales and Anaximandros of these inscriptions cannot have been the philosophers, but their names suggest that they belonged to the same clan. Anaximandros the philosopher was a son of Praxiades and a kinsman of his master, Thales.24 Thales, a son of Examyes by Kleobouline, belonged to the clan Thelidai, which was a branch of the Kadmeioi.25 That is what Herodotus means when he says he was ' of Phoenician extraction '.26 We know that Kadmeioi from Thebes had taken part in the colonisation of Ionia,27 and that Priene, across the bay from Miletos, was settled by a contingent from Thebes under Philotas.28 There were certainly Kadmeioi at Priene,29 and Philotas was probably one of them, because we are told that in his honour the city was some- times called Kadme.30 These traditions may have been derived from Kadmos of Miletos, who was remembered as an early historian of the city and whose name speaks for itself.3a At Mykale, across the bay, there was a cult of the Potniai-that is, Demeter and Persephone-which had evidently been brought there from Potniai near Thebes.32 The Theban cult of Demeter had once been a palace cult of the Kadmeioi.33 And finally, in view of their ancestral ties with the Delphic Apollo, the Thelidai may well have held a special place in the worship of the other Apollo at Branchidai.34 That would explain why their statues were erected along the Sacred Way.

Set against this background, Cornford's main thesis, cogent in itself, is confirmed. The cosmogony of Hesiod and the cosmology of Anaximander are offshoots of a Minoan hieratic tradition, which reached Greece from the East.

4. HERAKLEITOS AND GORGIAS

The earliest of the philosophers whose writings have survived in sufficient quantity to give an impression of his prose style is Herakleitos; and he was famous for his style.

Herakleitos belonged to the royal family of Ephesos, descended from the founder, Androklos, whose father, Kodros, had been king of Athens.35 He would himself have held the regal office, had he not resigned it in favour of his brother.36 Among the royal privileges that survived was the priesthood of Demeter Eleusinia.37 This, we may presume, had been acquired by the Kodridai as kings of Athens; for the Athenian officer responsible for the Eleusinian Mysteries was the &pPXov P•ataEiS.S3 His family must also have officiated in the worship of the Ephesian Artemis, which was pre-Hellenic,39 possibly Hittite in origin.40 He deposited a copy of his writings in her temple.41 And so Herakleitos too belonged to a family of priest-kings.

The central doctrine of his philosophy is contained in what he calls the N6yos, which he presents as though it were indeed a mystery, like the Eleusinian XEy6oEva and the Orphic 1Epol A6yot. It may be defined in modern terms as the principle of the interpenetration of opposites; and it provides the key to his style. Just as his thought is dialectical, so his style is antithetical. Words and clauses are abruptly counterposed so as to lay bare the contradictions inherent in the ideas which they convey. The effect, as Plato describes it, is like a series of volleys from a band of archers.42 In a highly inflected language like Greek such a style is necessarily accompanied by constant rhymes and assonances, and to these Herakleitos adds the use of punning-a universal characteristic of primitive speech, designed to invest it with a mystical or magical significance.

(39) T YVXpa OEpETai, OEppO V Y'XETra, uyp6v aciVE-rTa, KcappAEV ov voTi3ETal. (62) &d0va-roi Ovwlrol, ev•yroi &d0CvcrroT, 3GCVTES

T"rv KEiVCOV 0dvaTrov, "Trv 8' KEiVCOV C iov

TEwVE&E)TK. (66) TroU p3io oovola P3ios, Epyov 8i 0&varos. Being so closely wedded to the subject, this style cannot be described as rhetorical; yet it exhibits

all those features which later became so familiar in the schools of rhetoric that technical terms were invented for them: &v-rie~ats, &~Cv8Erov, Trapiam•tsa, rrapo.oioais, rrapovoC•t•ia.43 The founder of Greek rhetoric, in the accepted view, was Gorgias of Leontinoi. In 428 B.c.

2. SIG. 3. For the name Pasikles cf. Hdt. 9. 97. For other names in uav5po see SIG. 3g (Miletos), Supp. Epig. Gr. 4. 461. 4 (Branchidai), Apul. Fl. I8 (Priene), SIG. 960. 5, 1079 (Mag- nesia), Io68. 3 (Patmos), Hdt. 4. 88 (Samos).

24 Suid. s.v., Str. 7, D.L. 2. I. 25 D.L. I. 22 6 GAc s ...h<. K *rC 1 eMA5li5V, oT EIaI OwVIKES,

ECiyevora-rroT "rv &Trr K&BpOU Kal 'Ayilvopos. 26 Hdt. I. 70o. 3 GaAo dvSpb6s MiArl~lov... " dcvKayOev ykvoS

govtros fotlvKO, cf. 5. 57. I o0 8A FEqpupaiotl... i•oav (OIVIKES T"rV

aoiv Kd6&pc &TrKKop•VCOV S yiv "rv

vOv Bolcorillv KaXEoivlbV : see my Studies, pp. 123-4.

27 Hdt. I. 146. 28 Str. 633. 29 Hell. 95. 30 Str. 636. 31 Suid. s.v. 32 Hdt. 9. 97.

33 Paus. 9. I6. 5. There are signs that at the Boeotian Orchomenos, too, and at Andania, the worship of Demeter had been a palace cult: see my Studies, pp. 125, 193.

34 The cult at Branchidai was older than the Ionian colonisation (Paus. 7. 2. 6), yet Branchos was said to be descended from Delphos (Str. 421). This is what we should expect if the Ionian settlers reorganised the cult under Delphic supervision.

35 Str. 632-3. 36 D.L. 9. 6. 37 Str. 633. 38 Arist. AR. 57. I.

39 Paus. 7. 2. 6. 40 W. R. Lethaby in JHS XXXVII, o. 41 D.L. 9. 6. 42 P1. Tht. 80oa. 43 Arist. Rh. 3. 9, Demetr. 192, Cic. Or. 2. 63. 256.



80 GEORGE THOMSON

he visited Athens on a diplomatic mission and created a sensation by his flamboyant oratory. The following is the only surviving passage from one of his funeral orations. It must be quoted in full, because it is important for my argument: -ri ydp &rrijv -roTs dccv8patai -roirois &v SET -rrpoaEivat; -ri 8E

Kal TrpOoiV OV &V 0SETi TOrpOETvat ; EIOpa, O-vvOiOL1V 8' j SEi, A0GcSOV plV rilV 0 EiaV

vIEcrmv, qvy&v C -r6v S v pcbrrivov ~806vov. oirroi y&p EKiK'TrAVTO EvoEov paV rE-rv ) pE-r~1v, a&v0pcrrvov

s -r06 0v-r6v, -rroXX pv 8 -r6 Trpaov ErriaKgS -roe a0aaouvS 81K&lou v rrpoKpiVov-rES, -rroXa& B v6pou

1Kpl EiC ? 6ycov 6p06TT-r-a, -roTOV VOpioV-rEg OVE6r aTO V KCi KOIVTrorrov V6oV, vr6 i Aov 2v -r '8ovt-r Kai EYEIV Kal lyai Kal TrOIEiV Kal i&V, Kai 81ETa& CdTK V &TE Xo-ra &T lC V E1T, yvcprlv Kal pCPrv, -r1v piv poovA-rEOVEs, -riSv 8' •CrrO-rEXOoV'-rEs, 8Ep•rrovrES piv -rTv a8iKCOOS 8uTuXo-ivr'cov, KoXaTo-rai & -rCAv 68iKoS EOTUIXoov-rcov, aa068E rrps T6 o -r6 o•qpov, EJ6pyl-roi Erp6T -r6 Trp0rrov, -r4$ ~ppovi0cp triS yvc gns rac'iov-rE -r6 appov- Tris P cbL, Oppo-rali EiS -rosc Ocppia-r&s, K6crplo Eig T-rOi KOarioUS, &EO•o EiSIg -roS

'p6pouS, SEtvoi Ev -roiS Slvois. pap-ropia 8e roVTrpov Tpo6rra ia-cav-ro rTCv -rroAXEiCV, AIt6 p'v &y6Ap.rTa, Ec•r TCOV 8" &V a Itpra, uOrK -ITEipoI oirTE p-lrJTOV &pEOS O-rE VOpiplOV p2COrTCOV OOTE EVOTrXiov pi8o0 o'-rE

9to(hOKcou EiPT~Uv1SV, CTECpVOi pIV rwp6g roOS 08Eo0 S-r 8AiKaicp, 6o101 BE Trp6 S -roO -TOK a Ti)

, EpTcrrrEi, 8iKaiO1 EV p TOrp S -ro

a trosGrS TrC i EC, EjraEPES 8E -rrpOg -ro8 (•ROUS Tri -rioCriE. -rotyapoov carrv -rovav6v-rcov 6 rr68o0s o'i auvvcTrravEv, &XV2 d&dOvaroS oa0K v docvEroig acbaCI ij o0 3cbvrcov. (Diels B 6.)

This style has been aptly described by Diodoros (12.53) : -rp -ros yp aXpilaro -roTs riis XfECoS

oXrpTcruLo•s TrEp-rro-ripolS Kai T io-rTEXv~i( 6iaqpouaiv, &v-ri-roiS KCai iOKCcjAol Kai -rrcpifaoi KCi 61oo'TorEA-'roTg Kal TinIv •T•pol 0 TOolrTOig, & -F6-E pv 8i1 -r6 T vov Ti KorracTKSEv s drro8o0XiS igJoQro, vov 8• TIrEptEpyiav EXEiv 8OKEi Kal Pa(iVETI KcTrcaytcva T1rEOVi Kaf KaTK roaK6pOS -T0••ieV . The difference between Herakleitos and Gorgias lies in the relation between form and content. In Herakleitos they are in perfect unity; in Gorgias the form has been elaborated for its own sake.

What was the historical relation, in regard to their style, between Herakleitos and Gorgias? Before pursuing this question, a few words must be said about the subsequent history of Greek rhetoric.

The influence of Gorgias on Greek prose has been studied by Norden in his Die antike Kunstprosa (1898). Of his immediate effect we have a striking example in the encomium of Love which Plato puts in the mouth of Agathon in the Symposium. It will be enough to quote the peroration (97d-e) : oirros 8' .iaS& &Mo-rpt6-rl-ros pMv KEVOi, OIKE6-mrlOS A T-rrpoi, r&T -roI&C1E oSVV68ouS .ETF' AiAioCov Trca~s i80Eis ovvwCvai, v op-roiis, iv Xopois, iv Ovaiuaa yIyv6IEvoS fyEcbv* Trp&6TT-ria

pIv Tropiycov, dypt6-rrTa 8' igopicov qith6n6copoS EosEVEias, &Scopos 8uaeEVEiabS REcoe uyao6t, 0Ear6 copoisG, d&yacrrb6s OEoiS, Z9co-r6g &aoipots, K-rTrT6S E0ioipoi&' -rpupfpi &pp6mr-roS XXt'i Xapircov ipipov rr60ou Trarjlp* imLrE??i)s &ya0cov, &AE2 T KKCOV' iv Tr6VC, iV 96 CP, iV Tr680, iV k6yc KU[ EpV1 rTS, 1T[IP3r&T1, -rrapacYtXTr1S TE Kal aCcoTp &plo-roS, a'r4rWv-rcov TE 0ESv Kai &V0pcOrrcov K6aCTOS, fylEICOV KcAXTo-rOS Kai %pic'roS,

X Xpi ETrEoOai Trdv-ra avgpc( tpuivouv-ra K2A2CS, c5i5 ILET•Xovra l1v 8Eit O2Aycov rr&v-rcov 8hCv TE t Kal &VOpTTrroCV V6iiia.

In Thucydides the influence is strong, especially in the speeches, but in Plato's own style, as distinct from his imitations of other authors, like the passage just quoted, it is much less so. The same is true of Xenophon, Isokrates, Demosthenes, and all the Attic orators. They use r& Fopyifla o-Xcijara on occasion, but with restraint.

In the meantime, however, towards the end of the third century B.c., the so-called Asiatic style had been inaugurated by Hegesias of Magnesia-under-Sipylos. It flourished for several centuries, especially in the recently Hellenised cities of the East. It is simpler than that of Gorgias, but essentially similar. Three examples may be given.

The first is from Maximos of Tyre (3.9) : 66ipE-ral Zp~p l TTf rbEVOs, o-rivEl Kap~icrrj -n-rpcocK6- .EvoS, o iC-o3Er Xap8av&rrca2og E~T nrrpOpEvoS, d&yviral IYptvupiSYS &rrEwacvv6TpEvos, 8aKpleIo KpoiaoS

&8sKpUrTOi, &A•U'TroL. The second is from Libanios of Antioch (Laud. Const. I 71 = Foerster 3.294): ~iac p~v •rimtpos, .ia & 86 0ccrra, Kolvai 8 ati vfijol, •VECtyp[VO•1 lliVES, AVaTTOTTaNVai TrnaL. 6?hK &ES 8 &a VTOraXi

Ta

Tav-raX60Ev KOLiOUai o-TEvoXcopo0om TroS 6plous" TrwavyupiS 8E KOiVil 8t1 TrraTS pOKpoO

Ti OCp' fhic -ryarat, TrEv pCv iaO' iaropiav, ~Tiv 8i Kic'r' 1&pcG rTrpOc6aEaT, TIOv lXv TrEAdy1

TrrEpatOV•=ivcov, TCOV

,8 St' itrrEipouv E6vvrcov. The third is from Daphnis and Chloe (Long. 1.14)": vrv 2ycv vo ar piv, Tri 8~ if v6aos dyvoPo

&AyCp, Kai E KOS o o-rK 0T1 io0. U1TrroOpata, Kva O1&V TrCE v

-rrpo 0T-rcov aTr6coAI 0ot"O Kaopal, KcAi iv Il'af( "Tocraa"JT K&0l pMa. Wr6crool Tf3ol ~E r a TroX&Kl ~ ipUvaV, Kai OOK EK~accc Wrrctli IrPrITTar K-VTpa iVflKCaV, &

' ?' o0iK ErKpCyov.

Lastly, the same style, with further modifications but still recognisably the same, reappears in parts of the New Testament and blossoms later into the distinctive idiom of the Byzantine liturgy.44

44 The ensuing quotations from the Greek Orthodox Liturgy are cited from 'H 'lpa& iEvoS Kia\ rdx Msyd~Aa TTdCrl, Athens, 1938 (abbreviated as IS); EIXo?6ytov -r MBya, Rome,

1863 (EM); 'Wpox6yiov -r6 Miya, Venice, 1876 (OM); S. Antoniadis, La place de la liturgie dans la tradition des lettres grecques, Leiden, 1939; R. Cantarella, Poeti Bizantini, Vol. I.



FROM RELIGION TO PHILOSOPHY 8i

From the Second Epistle to the Corinthians (6.9): Cb s adrXvoi, Kai &;xrl0ET" dO s&yvOOCEEvol, Kal

TnylYVOaK6IpEVOI' ag -rIITO8V()KOVTES, Kai -iO8CJ ~CiEV" COS TraIlEU6OEPVO1, Kal P~) OavaropEvol' c ArTro'IpEvot, &Eil i XaipovrES- Co Tr-rcoXoi, orroXXoolS Si rrov3ov-rE- oTE C ppiEv EXOVT-rE, Kai TravrT

KcrriXovTrE. From the

KCTrrXfT1-K6Og A6yOS of John Chrysostom (IS, p. 498): c1 "rpdrrE3a yIEl, TrpuqgaarE Tr&vTrES. 6 P6oXo -rroXGs- pnEig ~&iE 1 TrElVCV. TraVrTES &TO'Ol'IETE -TO0V aTrplOUalOV Ti Tio-rTEwS TraVTES adO &roaIaTE TOo TrXO-TOU - Tri XPoOTr6TlT7roS. IYI&iS Op7vEiTrC TaEViaV-• EVaVy Yap KOlVi Uaa•iEia. From the 'AK&0lcrroS 'YPVOS Ei- TrV 'YTrEpayiaV eEOT6KOV (IS, pp. 127-8): XaIpE, 6T1 OITrCPXEIS P 3ac•iXOS Ka0E5pa- XalPE, 61 PraaCT 3EtS rbv Tpao oOvra 'TdvTa. XaipE, &aTrlp E•AqaivCoV Tr6v 1itov* XacpE, yaatp iv0•ov ctapKboEo. . .. XcipE, 6oT1 r opdvia UuvaydaET•r T" y)'" Xaip~E, 6orT ? -rA -riyEltO cTuYXOPpECE o9pa'voiS. XOaipe, Tr•v 'ATroor6?C oiyrlrov oT-r6TaT6 " XaipE, TCav a0EoC6pov Tr6 &ViKT1rov 0-apoo.45

This is the style to which Norden gave the generic name of Satzparallelismus. It can be traced, as he showed, from the beginnings of Greek prose through classical Greek and Roman rhetoric into the writings of St. Paul and the Christian liturgy, where it was joined by the corresponding Jewish and Syrian traditions, derived independently from a common oriental origin. Being preoccupied with the Christian period, he made no attempt to investigate in detail the earlier history of the Greek tradition; and it is from this point that my argument proceeds. Accepting his general conclusion that, in Greece as in Judaea, this style is in origin liturgical, we look for corroborative evidence on the Greek side in the historical circumstances and in the style itself.

In regard to Herakleitos the case is plain. As one of a family of priest-kings, he wrote, naturally, in a hieratic style. His writings were probably designed in the first instance as discourses for his disciples, the Herakleiteioi, who no doubt were organised, like the Pythagoreans and Orphics, as a religious society.r4

The case of Gorgias is not quite so simple. The possibility of direct influence may be ruled out, since it is very unlikely that the writings of Herakleitos became current in Sicily so soon after his death. Moreover, Gorgias was not the founder of the Sicilian school of rhetoric, having been preceded by Korax and Teisias of Syracuse.47 The alternative is to suppose that they too had drawn on liturgical sources. They did for rhetoric what Stesichoros did for choral lyric.48 They took over the ancient liturgical form, divested it of its ritual setting, and secularised it as an art form; and it was this sensational novelty that Gorgias brought to Athens.

It is fortunate that one of his surviving fragments is from a funeral oration. With this to guide us, the proposition just enunciated is, I think, capable of proof.

5. THE RITUAL BASIS The funeral oration (TrrT-rhioS) was related to the dirge (piojvos), from which it differed in

being spoken, not sung. It was also related to the encomium (iyKCbpov), which was a speech in praise of the living; and the encomium was related to the hymn ( srvoS), from which it differed in being spoken, not sung, and addressed to a man, not a god.49 These conventions rest on a common ritual basis, which can be reconstructed from a study of the numerous examples that survive, in prose and verse. Running through them all we find a few simple ideas which were evidently traditional.

I. The speaker expresses anxiety lest he may fail to find words adequate to the occasion. Gorg. 6 EltoEiv tuvaiTLv & gpo'ahoath, ponoiuav 8' & 8Et. PI. Sym. 18od yth ohv rlpdaoIal -ro0-ro h travop- cnbeaaioat, pe-rov tiv "EpoTara qpdaca av 8ET eTwalVEiV, ETwtETC( atVi al &~TcOn TOn 0EO0. Ib. I94e tyoo s sa poa sowohcpa Tcpa-rov 1Ev LitEy o XPir m'

Ei•tELy, EW•Et' EIWnEirV. Mnx. 236e 8ET 8 TrolOrTOU Trvi 6 pr6you s arts Tro0S 1v

TET-rEUTrln6Tag iKaV•j ETWalIVa-ETaI, TOia & •CilV Ei EVO• T WapCatv~cUErat. Th. 2.

35. 2 X TeTr6V y&p Tr pETrpicO EsTaEiV, e V l , 11t6he Kyfai 86KTlofin Tw r adTuOEiat tE•[3aIOUTasl. D. 60. I ioKOIWoUv 1v J00CjS5 TrWo5 TOo 7WIpOJKOVTOS Wraivou TElUOVTaI, EETa'&V

& Kal UKOOW V &•(COS SlTrliV Trov TE-r•hE•~ K6-rciAv Ev Ti

Tc")v &virov 'V&'Aplaoov av. Isoc. Io. I2-13 ol SE TrEpi TOV . .. 8~1aoEp6v- Trov

' Tr'

&pe-ri, ?MyEtV T~tXEP~plaavrTE woT'tI KaTaET-rr-rapov T-r v OwaPX6vrVTOV &TrwavrES EZplKacIv.

Liban. Laud. Const. 5 EorT yiv o0v i0o0 Tro1S ~TrlXEpoatVV EyKOapllmV T-flV iV a•V G•OV KCTO-aEIE(aCi

8'vcaptv IS worroJ AmroyEvrvV -rTOv Trpaypdrycov. 2. This initial hesitancy often takes the form of a question. D. 6o. 2I5 3TEt~iB Wrp6S a rroIv Ei' i

Troi X6yoi:, TdrOpvo Ti p-r~rTov T'i-ro. P1. Mnx. 236e TiS oi0v &v iiv Toloc8roS A6yos pavEEif; j vTr60Ev av 6p0&S apctaiIEsa &v6paS cyaeois i-ralvo0VTES; Lys. 2. 1-2. A. Ch. 854 ZEi ZEi, Tri ?yco; vr60eV &p~5cpakt, -rc6' EaruXo0ivJ xpV &T08E&OU' , JW6 ' Evo'Kl) TriaS itOV EiTrooE' VIiaocsct ; cf. 314, 417. Ag. 775 &yE 8i~, 3CuiEEO, Tpoia Tr rToiaTrope', 'ATpscoS ywve8hov, Tr-oS

s TrpoosiTrco; Tr aS - E EiCO, iYi'

UrrrFTppPas C i10' U'nTOKaip)aSo Kalpov XdpTros; 1490 ic' P•acOtAE Pct(aaECi, TTrr '

wA s CaKp'ECoK; qIpEVb) EK

45 The Xatpen-raoio of the 'AKeIo-ros recall the use of XaIPE in the ancient mysteries (Call. HCer. 1-2, Orph. fr. 32f); and we may recognise an echo of the same in the cries of XaipE which recur throughout the Oresteia (see my edition, Vol. I, pp. 17-18). There are many more connexions of this kind yet to be discovered. Just as ancient Greek, especially Attic, drew on the language of the mysteries (see my article, ' Mystical

VOL. LXXIII.

Allusions in the Oresteia ', JHS LV, 20-34, 228-30), so modern Greek has borrowed many phrases from the Christian liturgy: see Antoniadis, pp. 240-6.

46 P1. Tht. I8oa, D.L. 9. 6. The author of the Hippocratic rrEpl rtpo pio may have been one of the Herakleiteioi.

47 Quint. 3. I. 8. 48 See my Studies, p. 466. 49 Aristid. Ars Rh. I. i6o = Rhet. Gr. Vol. V, p. 60.

G



82 GEORGE THOMSON

tnhias Tri -woT"' strc; Theoc. 17. 11I Ti TrpcATov KactaE~cAo; ?wrsEi -rrpa ijupia siwrsiv, o011 80oi Tbv aptiTrov ThiPlatav pacai?fiia; Eumath. 10. I I &AA', c T KVOV C'YaliVrl, WcTOS sE Opgrv ico ; rc YW S EEIVcS

KaraKAcaocIital; Anaximenes Ars Rhet. 35. Menandrus wrEpi -7 nTEIKTIKKVI I T~iV 1iiW •o v TOU Opivou vr6osv acpopai; 17 r6sEV pE XPq.

- Trv &PXyv wTroi•iacacOa; Liban. Laud. 3. I 60Ev o'v

aptacaec Kah6v; Andreas Cretensis Miyas Kavycv (Cantarella vol. i, pp. Ioo-I) 5 HcAS &p coipai OpTIvsiv Tas ToO droe ou iouv Piou Trpdtsls; rroiav &wrapX7v i-rrE'T co, Xpto-rr, ir vOv Oprlvco8ia; Cantarella XLI (vol. i, p. 77) - IS p. 125 loio6v ot EyKC40lOV TrpoUaayayc Ear&ioV ; Ti 8B 6VOi 'aco aE; 'ArropCA Kaci Eiorapcia 8i6 cbs

% rpoS~-ETjyv C3o G ao, XatpE, ca KEXap-rTcOpvI. These passages

may be compared with many hymns, which begin with the singer at a loss to find the right name for invoking the god: Norden, Agnostos Theos, pp. 144-7-

3. This hesitation springs from the primitive superstition that praise may provoke envy: P1. Lg. 802a -ro0 yE

iTiv METi ~vVTaG EyKCOpIiOlS TE Kal 1tJVO1S Ti14aV OUK dapaaMS, cf. Hdt. I. 32. 7. Gorg. 6

2aicbv p v -rT v Eiav v~vEaIV, quyCov TV &vOpc'Trrvov 9p6vov. P1. Hp. Ma. 282a sElcoa p~VTO1 ycoyE TroIS TrahatoUS

TE Kai -rrpTrpoS CAv TrpOTSpV TE Kal 6 paOV •yKOa ilV E TOOjS VJV, E'Xapo~-^EVOS TiV 906VoV V AVTCv Tcv, 9POoUOLPEVOS BEi Ijviv TI v T-STS-r EUTrK6TCOV. A. Ag. 894 Toltoia8~ Tl vtiv &~ • rpoaqp6ypaaciv"

O66vos 8' &d-rE'rco. Ba. 3. 67 se JMysIv TrdpsaTnV, 0ortS IT

L96vcO TriaiVETal, 5. 187 XPi5 8'

&2aeE0ias Xptlv aiVEiv, 06vov &T rcoaa'iEVOV, El ~T E Trpcaaot 3poTCv,

12. 199 Ei T -riva EpOIE-rriS 6VOS plaTal, cXiVE-rTO Oq6V ivGpa aOV 5K. Pi. 0. 8. 54 si 8' yc MEArs ia E'

&ywEVEiCV KOS &v•ESpapov PiVCop, pl P3ahTCO IPE ieow TpaXEi 0p6vos. Th. 2. 35. 2 6 TE

y&p uvEtSlBcs Kai S VOv5 &KpOaTrjiS TcX' av V5Ti EvGSOTpc)S 'rrpog & OAES-rTal TE Kci E Tio-aTatI VOdaisElE 5r00oiceai, 6 T' &-rriTpo E or-nv & Kai Trrov&aEaOai, 5i& 906vov. D. 60. 14 8i6 T% v A6yov Tr~te-C T-i T-rAv aKOv6VT0CAV EVVOias TrpooaEiTrc.

4. After these preliminaries the speaker opens his main theme by referring to the ancestry of the persons concerned. Th. 2. 36.1 a&ptojai 8' -Trr 6 TAv -rrpoy6vcOv Trp&Trov. Lys. 2. 3 wp TCrov piv oiv ToS i TrahaloVs KlV8iVOUS TCA)V Trrpoy6vov 8iWp11. Isoc. IO. 16 T-rv Pv o v cPXv -ro0 ?6you rwonTaolai T)v &pX)(v T-r0 yvouS aVTriS, cfi. o. 10. Pl. Mnx. 237a-b T-rv r)yivEav ovv rrpc)Tov c~rJTv

EyKC0i4tICoiJEV .

. T Ti5' VyEVEias T rprTOV TrplPE TOTiBE 1 T)r-V Trpoy6OVcv yEVEMs, Sym. I78b

TrpC~Trov lav yap, do-TrEp Myco, gq aiT8pov a&pidavov EvOevSE Troe0v EMyslV, T-ri yas •OEO siE 6 "Epcos, . . . o0X •lKlOra KerrT

T-r yvsEVEM. Liban. Laud. 3. I Tr6'Ev ovv appaoceai KaXi6v; i 5?Aov CS EK Ti S alTiaS, T Kal TO-TOUov &ya0ooS TrrElpytcrrTo,... Tit &ya0oi 5 )y4EvovTO 81& T6 q0vai E &yaO v, cf. 2. I, 3. 2, 4. I. Aphthon. Progymn. 8 Trpooipltaidj lPv Trpos T7iv ovcav iTr6OeaIv EllTa 70'ElS TO yEVOS.

5. The person concerned is addressed or described in a series of arresting images. P1. Sym. I97d-e KUpEpV7rTrlS, E-ra Trls, rrapatcrrTrSrl Kca l co-rip &plo-ros. A. Ag. 887 2Myotli' &v v8pa 0T6v8s

-rA)v a-ra0Tacv KOVa, aOT-rlpa vas -Trp-rovov, jh•TiS o'T•yrsg 0r'ov -ro8 Ejprl, pOVOyEVES TEKVOV TrcOTpi Kai yijv q•VEsiaav vaUrriLols Trap' ~Ai8a. E. And. 891 C5 vauTrihoito XeplaTros Alp v qavsis, 'AyaPi'- vovos wai. Antoniadis, p. 354 (Liturgie de Saint Basile) 1iv ydp ET, KViPIE, c1 [oi esal Tr)v ~ooIlOi1TCA)V, SCXTris TrAv aTnrcTrlapE'vcv, 6 Tv-r XEpa3OpVCA)v c-ri1p, 6 TCAv wrXhs6v-rv M~ylpiv, 6 TCOv voa0oVTCo)v iarp6s. G. Valetas, 'AveoXoyia -risg rOTinKfS O-rroypaiaS, 1947, vol. i, pp. 88-9 (Lament) XENAt6vt l) yc•Ac~a Tou, ar856vt )i (p)v1l Tou, Traycbvi 1 Poppi Tou, TrEplo0rpdKlT V Tj (KcKiac TOV, a~pdaKi •A•EU'Epia Trov, Xpua-B' &eT6rb S wappr•aia T-ro, xpuoa raVEp& i) Ti T rou. IS p. 37 (Service for the Fourth Hour) Ti E KaME9C.iEV, a KEXaplTco~pivr ; O0pav6v; o6T av?ethiXas Tv "HAtov -riS 51Kcaio-vrS. l-Iap'SBEIOV; oT -rl XaoT-ES T -r v0oS TSi &j5Oapaias.

6. Lastly, the memory of the dead is imperishable; or simply, the dead live. Gorg. 6 Toiyapovv a-r&Av daTwoav6v-rcTv 6 0Tr60 o0 ao-vaTroavEV, XX"' &6avarTOS OcIK Yv &0avcTA-ro15 sac•aa 3 oi0 3•CVTCov. Lys. 2. 79-80 Kal yap Trol i'yTpa-To p~v aT-rJTv a ai j cviai, 3iTXcai 8' 'wr6 TrravTcov avepcbwrcov al T-rilai" oT w v0vovTal iv 5T1a v qoainv

Cos vl-Trol, opvov-rat 8' S dedva-roit 8i Trv a&pe(rlv. Simon. 121 oii08

%Trv&o'l 0av6vrsE. A. Ch. 502 o0TCo yap o0 T~0nVlKaG

Oi c WTEp OavCbv. IS p. 124 (Service for Easter Saturday) Kipw~, GOE iou, ~68iov (Oivov Kal iTnrlTqiOV c5iv oio

colia, T-r 7 a o 3Ti aijqou Coois iot Is TTS6ous 8tiavoiaC(V Kkal 0aVC TOV 0GVaTOV OavaTCiaavTi.

This last is as forceful as Herakleitos himself: &0avarol vlTroi, OvlTroi 0dva-rol. This is enough to show that for the content of his funeral oration Gorgias was drawing on ritual. Let us now turn to its form. If we examine from this point of view the compositions from which

we have been quoting, we shall find that they exhibit in an exceptional degree that Satzparallelismus which is so conspicuous in Herakleitos and Gorgias. The following passages are a few among many that might be added to those already quoted: Th. 2. 40. I q•hOKchOIliEV

TE y&p IMET' EITEr~EilS, Kal tlhooo2 o0U1Ev

p avEu IlaAaKiccas. D. 60. 37 Auw'rrp6v -rraaoiv 6pqxvois ysysviOaI "rraTp65, Kabv 6O yS

Kprlpovolyiv wrarpcas Ei8o(ias. Simon. 5 T-v Ev espIloTrr0Jc\as

oav6vTov EUKhElS lIEV

& TXoC,

Kac6?o 8' 6 -rr6os, pohs 8' 6 T&0oS,

vrpb y6ov 8C v

+a-ris,

6 8' oiKTO5 ErravoS. Ach. Tat. I. 13

T&+o0 uIv cot, T-KVOV, 6 ~OAaIOS, ydCos 5' 6 0&va-ros, 0pivos 8' 6 ~\ivaios, 6 8i K0KUT65b

OITO5 TC ,V Yp0V Sai. Eumath. 7. 9 vags ot ao T-ras, Kai KOla 0Odhai.oS, Kai Trrvs01c-roS XoC 1ryvaloS, Kai

j vi1gpq

wrape~vos ycj. Lucian. de luctu I3 TiKVOV f'Stoarov, oix,

i0oI Kai Trp6 6SpaS d&vrpTrdlo4 s, .I6vov Ap T7v d&O2ov KcTcAlThrrcv, o0 yaftlcTas, o WratloWrolflxCapVOS, oi aO-rpaTraorCEvoS, oi yscopyi? aaS, oO siS yjpas Eh0cbv. Liban. Monod. de Nicom. 1 2 & ai8oc v

&8LKCbTTaE, Ti TOT-ro EGpacaGS; c5 Tr6ECIg

&TrreAoiars, & n'poaflyopia5 EiKfj LEVO~QOS, cO 81& y i Kaci OaCrrrl S d&Xy6vos 5papoio-aS, o 9 lpS



FROM RELIGION TO PHILOSOPHY 83

a ErnVo rl[g v EldKiXS, rdVo'T

& T-)X E~E(ltE TV•v Kapifav. A. Ch. 326 6or03ErTat

8' 6 0evraKov, &vcaqciveral ' 86 PdkrrTrcv. Th. 91 i-r &'pa p0UoETat,

TiS &p' -rrapKE*aE1 0E'V i 0E&V; Per. 702

SiqEal ~iEV Xapiaacat, 8Ei•pa 8' 8avT-ria q'crat, ~A&as 80j"hEKTC q ( iAoaiv. S. Tr. 947 Tr6TEpa

rpT-rEpov irTrlo-rvco, -rr6Trpa T~hkEa TrEpatrpco, 800",KptTr'

Elotye uo-rdvc. El. 197 86/os ilv 6 s pdaaS,

EpoS 6 KTEiVCaS, SEtVaV

E1VA)S TrpoprrTE(COavTES tpopg(pv. E. Ba. I153 I &vaXOPE0CaCIAEv Bd'KXtov, avaPoda-

aC0tEV Iupcpopav. Two further points remain, and the argument will be complete. First, a conspicuous feature of the dirges is that in many of them the antithetical structure is

not merely formal, as in Gorgias, but determined by the content, as in Herakleitos. A. Th. 941 A. TrateOEis TratcaS.--I. o-0 8' E0avES Ka-raKT-ravov.-A. Sopi 8' GKavE.--I. Sopi 8' 0aves..

-A peAe6-

-rrovos.-I. PeAeorraO: s.-A. iTro y6os.--I. 'irC 8&Kpu.-A. I. Trp6KEia: KaTcKTad. S. Aj. 394 icS

OKlTros E•iOV q(po, E'PEPOS ) (paEVV6T6Carov C0S iPOi, Eoeo-E'

E"EO-eE P2' oiKr~TOpa.50 Secondly, in the Christian liturgy, under Semitic influences, this feature renews its vitality.

There are many examples, of which perhaps the finest are in the 'AKd•Olt-ros (IS p. I 12 = Cantarella

pp. 90-1): XaTip, 8EO0 dXopi-rTou Xc'pa? XapipE, c-Ewrrroi pvo-rnpiou Ovpa. XaipE, T-rv dTrio-rcov ap(pipoAov KOUpvoia XaPp TCOv irroaryv &vappipoAov Ka OXQpr . .. Xacdp, T&VVTi:a Eis TariT6 &yayooaacr X~aiPE, l rrcapeviav Ka~i AOXeiafv 3evyvocra. 'Hail, uniter of opposites!' In this magnificent passage the principle of the Heraclitean A6yos is triumphantly reaffirmed.

6. THE MYSTERIES

The suggestion, made earlier in this article, that the A6yos of Herakleitos was akin to the Orphic ipoti A6yot and the Eleusinian AEy6pEva, is well-founded. The principle of the unity of opposites was familiar to the Orphics and Pythagoreans. Indeed, as Norden has shown, it can be traced right through Greek philosophy and reappears in the Gospels.5' The doctrine that life is death and death is life is a reformulation of the primitive concept of the totemic cycle of birth and death.52 It was equally well known to the Orphics and Pythagoreans, and they expressed it in the saying

cpca acapa.53 This is a pun of the same type as the Heraclitean Pios Ptbs. The truth is that all the elements of his dialectics are imbedded in primitive religion. That is too large a subject to be investigated here; but in conclusion, remembering that his family held a hereditary priesthood of the Eleusinian Demeter, let us consider three liturgical formulas that have survived from the Greek Mysteries.

First, vK TU~radVOU Eqpayov, K KuEa3AXoU ETrtOV' EKepvoq6prcr'aa, Orr6 T6v wAoAV -r6v urry8v (Clem. Pr. 2. I4). That was the Eleusinian formula. A similar declaration was made in the Mysteries of Attis (Firm. Mat. Err. 18): iK Tup.ITrvoPVO

' pCpOKa, EK KUtPI&AO TrTKrCOKa-"

yiyova •torrlS "AT-r-rS. These are instances of Satzparallelismus.

Second, Eqpuyov KaK6v, Evpov &•pEvov. This was used in the Mysteries of Attis (D. 18. 259) and

also at Athenian weddings (Plu. Prov. 16). It is another Satzparallelismus, and in content it corresponds to the Eleusinian

&-rraa•cyi -rrvcov and the Christian ' Deliver us from evil '.54

Third, OE, K6v (Procl. in Tim. 293c, Hippol. Ref. Omn. Her. 5-. 7). Another pun. The initiates looked up to the sky and cried,' Rain! ' Then they looked down to the earth and cried,' Teem! ' Aeschylus must have had this little ceremony in mind when he wrote (fr. 44) E' pPv &yv6g o0Cpav6b rpcaatl XO6va, Epcosg S yalav hacppdvet yd'pou -rVXE. 55 It conveys in two words the whole story of the creation-the separation and reunion of Heaven and Earth-and so provides further corroboration of Cornford's thesis that Anaximander and Hesiod were joint heirs to the mythical traditions of the Minoan priest-kings.

7. CONCLUSION

Dr. Cyril Bailey has written: 'The connexion of theology and physical science in the early Greek philosophers is well brought out in Mr. F. M. Cornford's From Religion to Philosophy, though I . . . think that he overrates the importance of the religious element in the philosophers of the " scientific tradition " '.56 There is some truth in this criticism. In seeking to discern what Greek philosophy was ceasing to be it is easy to lose sight of what it was in process of becoming. Let me say, therefore, in conclusion, that, in my opinion, the work of these men--especially Pythagoras, Herakleitos, and Parmenides-marked a revolution in human thought. This--the analysis of what was new--is of course the major task, and a study of origins should be seen as a contribution to that end. As such, it is legitimate and necessary; for we cannot identify the new without first recognising the old.

GEORGE THOMSON

50 This seems to be the origin of the figure of speech known as oxymoron, which is a conspicuous feature in the style of Aeschylus, reflecting his profound sense of dialectics.

5s Agnostos Theos, pp. 240-50. 52 See my Studies, pp. 45-9- 53

P1. Grg. 492-3, Crat. 400c, E.fr. 638, Philol.fr. 4. 54 On the Eleusinian rrwacAayh Tr6dvov see my Oresteia, Vol. I,

pp. 14-16. In the Lord's Prayer the wording is different

(fr0aal f4as &rr6 -roo wovr-poO), but this may have been deliberate (ibid. Vol. II, p. 206), and the original phrase survives in the service of baptism: EM p. 156 Es &arrrXacaylv KC(KoV Tr&vrcov -roiS XpItoPEots wTioTEt.

55 Cf. Paus. 10. 12. 10o ZEVs v, ZEVos gort, ZEJs gae•ra"at

r Eyiy&XE ZEO- F KapnTojS dVisEt, 8t6 KXjETE vq-rEpa Fai•v.

66 C. Bailey, The Greek Atomists and Epicurus, 1928, p. Io.



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