chapter 10 the monism of darkness and the dualism of limit and ...

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76 CHAPTER 10 Chaos, as absolutely unordered, disorganized Indefiniteness, \AappleÂÈÚ›·. (Reversion of the Hesiodic series Chaos-Night suggests that we are in an Orphic environment). Light (as the brightness of day) is the shining radiance of Phanes = Eros = Protogonus. The first generation of Gods consist of the Titans, the second of the Olympians. To the second belongs the World-Creation with Zeus as Creator, regulator of the final, perfected, harmonious Ordering (in contradistinction to the first elementary creation of Phanes, prefiguring the fully developed cosmic order). The fact that anthropogony is mentioned last in a separate place from the other cosmic processes probably relates to Dionysus’ dismemberment by the Titans, their being in turn struck by Zeus’ thunderbolt, and the fashioning of human species from their blood. The Orphic basis of this Theogony is therefore undoubtable. (The absense of so important a feature of Orphic cosmogony as the Cosmic Egg is most probably to be accounted for from Irenaeus’ selection; in any case, wherever there is Phanes-Protogonus there is also the Egg, presupposed and preexisting). The Orphic Theogonic poetry that is philosophically commented upon in the famous Derveni papyrus 32 contains the common succession Ouranos-Cronos-Zeus with Night on top as Cronos’ mother. Three, in all likelihood successive, verses are as follows: (KÚfiÓÔÓ) n˜ Ì¤Á’ öÚÂÍÂÓ ΧΙV, 5 OéÚ·ÓeÓ EéÊÚÔÓ›‰ËÓ n˜ appleÚÒÙÈÛÙÔ˜ ‚·Û›ÏÂ˘ÛÂÓØ XIV, 6 âÎ ÙÔÜ ‰c KÚfiÓÔ˜ ·sÙÈ˜, öappleÂÈÙ· ‰b ÌËÙ›ÂÙ· ZÂ‡˜. ΧV, 6 There is also Protogonus who was the very first to be manifested in the Aether and was later swallowed, according to the Orphics, by Zeus when he (Zeus) was about to start, according to the preordained decrees, the second and perfect Creation, that is to say the actualized, definite and concrete hypostasis of the things prefigured in the earlier elementary Creation by Protogonus (XIII, 4 sqq. XVI, 3 sqq.). Ouranos was basically born from mother Night alone as a single parent, and that is why he is named after the mother. Sometimes, however, we find in theogonic Cosmogonies the phrase “X (female)
MONISM OF DARKNESS - DUALISM OF LIMIT AND INDETERMINACY 77 begot Y in Z” (where Z is a locative, in which case the formulation assumes or suggests egg-bearing) which correlates as equivalent to “X and Z (male) gave birth to Y” or even “X gave birth to Y” simply. The second version exhibits a dualistic tendency, the first phrase implies a potential differentiation between theogonic and cosmogonic sequences, while the third insists on a purely matrilinear fatherless birth. Thus in Acousilaus there are attested three seemingly incompatible and contradictory views on Eros and his birth (FGrH 2 F6a-b-c = 9 B1-2-3 DK): i. According to Plato (Symp. 178 a-b): ÁÔÓÂÖ˜ òEÚˆÙÔ˜ ÔûÙ’ ÂåÛdÓ ÔûÙÂ Ï¤ÁÔÓÙ·È ñapple’ Ôé‰ÂÓe˜ ÔûÙÂ å‰ÈÒÙÔ˘ ÔûÙÂ appleÔÈËÙÔÜ. Such an emphatic formulation excludes any normal birth through copulation of a male with female parent and ensuing conception. Plato in support of his view refers to Hesiod (Theogony 116-8) and Parmenides (28 B13 DK where the ruling female Daimon of the World, the Parmenidean Aphrodite ÚÒÙÈÛÙÔÓ ÌbÓ òEÚˆÙ· ÌËÙ›Û·ÙÔ apple¿ÓÙˆÓ with no contibution of a male parent. This Great Goddess creates cosmic arrangement by arousing normal sexual attraction and causing intercourse between male and female, B 12 DK: apple¿ÓÙ· ÁaÚ ÛÙ˘ÁÂÚÔÖÔ ÙfiÎÔ˘ Î·d Ì›ÍÈÔ˜ ôÚ¯ÂÈ apple¤ÌappleÔ˘Û’ ôÚÛÂÓÈ ıÉÏ˘ ÌÈÁÉÓ Ùfi Ù’ âÓ·ÓÙ›ÔÓ ·sÙÈ˜ ôÚÛÂÓ ıËÏ˘Ù¤Úˇˆ). To these two examples Plato adds Acousilaus: ^HÛÈfi‰ˇˆ ‰b Î·d \AÎÔ˘Û›ÏÂˆ˜ Û‡ÌÊËÛÈÓ ÌÂÙa Ùe X¿Ô˜ ‰‡Ô ÙÔ‡Ùˆ ÁÂÓ¤Ûı·È, °ÉÓ ÙÂ Î·d òEÚˆÙ·. The meaning is the same in all three cases: proper birth presupposes copulation of male with female and conception in the female. So there is no real parenthood in the procreation of Eros according to Hesiod, Acousilaos and Parmenides, however the exact formulation of this fact may vary. ii. According to Damascius (De primis principiis 124, I, 320 Ruelle) drawing on Eudemus (Fr. 150 Wehrli), Acousilaus started with Chaos which was followed by Erebos and Nyx âÎ ‰b ÙÔ‡ÙˆÓ ÌÈ¯ı¤- ÓÙˆÓ Aåı¤Ú· ÁÂÓ¤Ûı·È Î·d òEÚˆÙ· Î·d MÉÙÈÓ... apple·Ú¿ÁÂÈ ‰b âappled ÙÔ‡- ÙÔÈ˜ âÎ ÙáÓ ·éÙáÓ Î·d ôÏÏˆÓ ıÂáÓ appleÔÏfÓ àÚÈıÌfiÓ.
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