Table of Contents
<html>
<a href=“http://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki/doku.php?id=submission_page”><img src=“http://lucianofsamosata.info/images/contact.png” /></a>
</html>
Orphic Tablets
<html><p xmlns:dct=“http://purl.org/dc/terms/”><a rel=“license” href=“http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/”><img src=“http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png” style=“border-style: none;” alt=“Public Domain Mark” /></a><br />This work (by <a href=“https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki” rel=“dct:creator”>https://lucianofsamosata.info/wiki</a>), identified by <a href=“http://meninpublishing.org” rel=“dct:publisher”><span property=“dct:title”>Frank Redmond</span></a>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</p></html>
Authored by Frank Redmond, 2005
The four Orphic tablets from the regions Hipponion, Pharsalos, Crete, and Petelia, areas spread throughout the Hellenic World, depict a very similar, and at times equal, description of the beyond. The tablets all serve a similar purpose as well. They serve as a guidebook for what one should expect and what one should do when they arrive in the realm of Hades. In this way, this is analogous to the Egyptian Papyri we have been studying, specifically the Papyrus of Ani. These tablets and the Papyrus of Ani both focus on the steps the deceased should ideally take when they arrive in the beyond since a step in the wrong direction will lead to certain destruction. The tablets1 begin by saying that the deceased will find himself in the realm of Hades, and once the deceased is there he2 will encounter a spring on the right3 that has a “glowing white cypress tree” adjacent to it. This is important, for it shows that the authors of these tablets had the same topography in mind when they were thinking about Hades. This, in itself, betrays the idea that these four tablets had a common source or tradition, one which the authors obviously shared. Then the deceased who has just entered Hades is given a prohibition, one that is found verbatim in three of the tablets: “Do not approach this spring at all” (tautas tas kranas mede skhedon). This is the first set of instructions given from the author to the deceased. In effect, the author is saying that this is not the spring you are looking for; it is rather another; avoid this spring since it will lead you astray. The author continues saying verbatim in three of the tablets that “further on you will find, from the lake of Memory, refreshing water flowing forth” (heureseis tes Mnemosunes apo limnes psukhron hudor proreon). This, topographically speaking, is where the deceased is to venture, and where they will find refreshment. But an obstacle is in place: guardians are nearby overseeing the lake. It would be fair to presume that the guards are standing in front of a gate which blocks the way to the lake, for we have seen this over and over again throughout our course, most explicitly in the Epic of Gilgamesh with the Scorpion-Men and the Odyssey with Circe. In two of the accounts4, the guardians ask what the deceased seeks in the realm of Hades, and, according to the authors, the deceased should tell the truth in order to proceed safely. The first objective is for the deceased to identify himself. He does this by saying, “I am the child of Earth and starry Heaven”. What is the importance of this? This is similar to how in the Papyrus of Ani, Ani must identify “who is who” in order to continue on his journey, even if these identifications are paradoxical in nature. This is also seen in Gilgamesh with the Scorpion-Men, since once Gilgamesh identifies himself, they grant him clearance through their mountain gate. Once this is established, the deceased implores the guardians to let him drink from the lake of Memory, and the guardians willingly give the deceased drink. This act allows the deceased to pass by the guardians and allows him to, at least in two tablets5 , travel along the same road that heroes, other famed initiates, and bacchics have traveled before. Thus, the deceased has surmounted a major obstacle and has found, at the end of his journey, cause for celebration since, presumably, the deceased has found paradise. except for the one from Crete.
It is not surprising, given what we have been learning, that these tablets and the topography which they describe have their respective antecedents. They not only have written antecedants, as we have seen with the Papyrus of Ani, Gilgamesh, and the Odyssey, but also visual or pictographical antecedants. The three visual representations that have been provided to us depict a similar topography like that found in the Orphic Tablets. First, in two of the representations, there is a tree or a grove of trees located adjacent to where the deceased is gathering water. This is (perhaps?) directly related to the “glowing white cypress tree” found in the Orphic Tablets. Second, in two of the representations there is a pool or lake of water located next to the deceased. In one of the pictures, the deceased is drinking from the pool of water, just like how the deceased drinks from the pool of Memory in the Orphic Tablets.