Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-28T03:05:38.130Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4 - Orpheus’ Cosmic Names

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2023

Jacobo Myerston
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
Get access

Summary

This chapter examines the Derveni papyrus and compares its hermeneutics to exegetic techniques found in cuneiform texts. The analysis shows that the anonymous author of the papyrus operates with semantic and theological models that align with ideas expressed in Akkadian texts, particularly those ideas relating to theonyms and the evolution of the cosmos. As in some Assyrian and Babylonian texts, the author makes use of hermeneutic techniques that heavily rely on morphological analysis aiming to prove that divine names have a unified referent. This referent is a polyonymous cosmic god, Nous (Mind), which has the same characteristics of the Babylonian gods Ninurta and Marduk when represented as universalizing divinities of multiple names.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Orpheus’ Cosmic Names
  • Jacobo Myerston, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
  • Online publication: 16 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009289962.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Orpheus’ Cosmic Names
  • Jacobo Myerston, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
  • Online publication: 16 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009289962.005
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Orpheus’ Cosmic Names
  • Jacobo Myerston, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia
  • Online publication: 16 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009289962.005
Available formats
×