A book on the religious, mystic origins and substance of philosophy. This is a critical survey of ancient and modern sources and of scholarly works dealing with Orpheus and everything related to this major figure of ancient Greek myth, religion and philosophy. Here poetic madness meets religious initiation and Platonic philosophy. This book contains fascinating insights into the usually downplaid relations between Egyptian initiation, Greek mysteries and Plato's philosophy and followers, right into Hellenistic Neoplatonic and Hermetic developments.

In this groundbreaking work of comparative religion, Algis Uzdavinys takes us deeply into the "closed and blessed gardens of myth," showing us the capital importance of the many varieties of "ascent to heaven." From the Pyramid Texts down to Second Temple Judaism and apocalyptic Christian literature; and, in parallel, down the theurgic path of Platonic and Hermetic literature to the sanctum of the Islamic revelation in Mecca, we are vividly presented with the sacramental impact of anagoge: elevation to the domain of the supernal archetypes and heavenly principles. As with other books by the author, the face of antiquity is revealed anew, full of intriguing, challenging and enraptured insights.

The ancient philosophy, in its original Orphico-Pythagorean and Platonic form, is not simply a way of life in accordance with the divine or human intellect (nous), but also the way of alchemical transformation and mystical illumination achieved through initiatic 'death' and subsequent restoration at the level of divine light. To use another mythical image, philosophy restores the soul's wings and leads the purified lover of wisdom to Heaven. As a means of spiritual reintegration and unification, ancient philosophy is inseparable from the hieratic rites. Therefore those scholars who themselves follow the anagogic path of Platonic tradition are more or less firmly convinced that their philosophy ultimately derives from the Egyptian and Mesopotamian temple liturgies and rituals, reinterpreted and revived by the Neoplatonists under the name of 'theurgy' in late antiquity. The theurgic 'animation' of statues appears to be among the main keys for understanding how various royal and priestly practices, related to the daily ritual service and encounter with the divine presence in the temples, developed into the Neoplatonic mysticism of late antiquity. The traditional theory of symbolism still stands on the Neoplatonic foundation established by Iamblichus, Proclus, and Damascius. "This book clearly establishes three things: that traditional myth (as the Neoplatonists maintained) is the symbolic expression of metaphysics, as metaphysics is the exegesis of myth; that Greek philosophy was not an isolated 'miracle' but a reinterpretation of perennial themes common to the ancient Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Indian, and especially Egyptian religions; and that Platonic philosophical discourse was but one-half of a whole which included an invocatory/contemplative practice known as 'theurgy'. It was not merely the ancestor of western speculative philosophy, but an askesis, a yoga-a way of realization (though no longer a living tradition) worthy to be included among the great spiritual methods of all places and times." Charles Uupton, author of Knowings "In this most stimulating and wide-ranging work, Algis Uzdavinys, drawing on the resources of his enormous learning, leads Neoplatonic theurgy back to its roots in Ancient Egypt, thereby setting Platonic philosophy in a new and wider context. Students of Neoplatonism will find themselves much indebted to him for this, and all readers will find their outlook on life significantly changed.- Prof. John M. Dillon, Trinity College, Dublin, author of Middle Platonists

Drawing parallels with other traditions, Uzdavinys emphasizes that Plotinus' philosophy was not a purely mental or rational exercise, but a complete way of life incorporating the spiritual virtues. Plotinus is widely regarded as the founder of the school of Neo-Platonism and this book provides an introduction to his teachings and an informative commentary on the Enneads. Also included is a commentary by Plotinus' leading disciple, Porphyry (c. 233-305 A.D.), on an enigmatic passage from Homer's epic, the Odyssey. Plotinus was born at Lycopolis, in Upper Egypt in 204 CE, and died at Campania in 270 CE. In the twenty-eighth year of his life he applied himself to philosophy, and attended the lectures of the most celebrated men of that time in Alexandria. In 244 he went to Rome and won numerous adherents to his teaching, among them the Emperor Gallienus and his wife Salonina. He taught in Rome until about 268, retiring then to the country estate of a disciple in Campania. Plotinus did not reduce his doctrine to writing until toward the close of his life, and then did not publish it. His pupil Porphyry, arranged the fifty-four treatises of Plotinus in six Enneades, placing them in logical order from the simplest to the most abstruse, as well as chronological sequence.