Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies

An Ontological Exploration

Dr Olaf Almqvist, David Taylor

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
24 August 2023

Classical history & classical civilisation; Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500; Ancient religions & mythologies

Series: Classical Literature and Society

Cosmological narratives like the creation story in the book of Genesis or the modern Big Bang are popularly understood to be descriptions of how the universe was created. However, cosmologies also say a great deal more. Indeed, the majority of cosmologies, ancient and modern, explore not simply how the world was made but how humans relate to their surrounding environment and the often thin line which separates humans from gods and animals.

Combining approaches from classical studies, anthropology, and philosophy, this book studies three competing cosmologies of the early Greek world: Hesiod’s Theogony; the Orphic Derveni Theogony; and Protagoras’ creation myth in Plato’s eponymous dialogue. Although all three cosmologies are part of a single mythic tradition and feature a number of similar events and characters, Olaf Almqvist argues they offer very different answers to an ongoing debate on what it is to be human. Engaging closely with the ontological turn in anthropology and in particular with the work of Philippe Descola, this book outlines three key sets of ontological assumptions – analogism, pantheism, and naturalism – found in early Greek literature and explores how these competing ontological assumptions result in contrasting attitudes to rituals such as prayer and sacrifice.

By: Dr Olaf Almqvist
Edited by: David Taylor
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781350221949
ISBN 10: 1350221945
Series: Classical Literature and Society
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 24 August 2023
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Olaf Almqvist is a Lecturer in Greek and Classical Studies at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews for Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An Ontological Exploration

This book offers a fresh look at early creation myths in Greece (Hesiod's Theogony, the Orphic poem of the Derveni Papyrus and Plato's Protagoras) challenging the traditional interpretations and opening new paths to the understanding of the Greeks' views on the origins of gods, humans and cosmos. --Marco Antonio Santamaria, Associate Professor of Greek, University of Salamanca, Spain Almqvist offers a striking and thought-provoking new insight on the Greek cosmological myths, imposing anthropological lenses on founding texts. It is not only Descola among the Greeks this book investigates the Greeks' own exploration on ontological differences through poetry, and proposes a contribution to the ontological turn, via a fifth ontology, the pantheism. --Manon Brouillet, Associate Professor, Universite de Picardie Jules-Verne, France