Αψορροου Ωκεανοιο: A Babylonian Reminiscence?

Kelly, Adrian

doi:10.1017/s0009838807000237

The Class. Q.

2007

DOI: 10.1017/s0009838807000237

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Αψορροου Ωκεανοιο: A Babylonian Reminiscence?

Adrian Kelly¹

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Cited by 4 publications

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“…399;cf. West (1997) 148, Kelly (2007) earth. 12 West (1997) 145 sees this similarity as 'unequivocal'.…”

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confidence: 99%

On the Mythology of Okeanos

Anghelina¹

2009

J Anc Near East Religions

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There is no doubt that the historical Greeks beginning with Homer viewed Okeanos as a river encircling the earth. 1 Okeanos represented this river for the epic tradition as well. This is most obvious in Homeric passages in which the poet talks about the sun or stars 'setting in Okeanos'. 2 Okeanos in these passages cannot be anything other than the river surrounding the earth at the horizon, where the sky meets the earth.Okeanos, however, is not originally a Greek concept. This is possibly shown by both its unknown, non-Indo-European etymology, and the fact the Greeks themselves could not explain logically what a river surrounding the earth meant. 3 The main feature of the mythological aspect of the god Okeanos is its primeval nature. In the Hesiodic tradition, Okeanos is a Titan and the son of Ouranos and Gaia, the latter being born directly from Chaos. In the Orphic tradition, on the other hand, Okeanos came into being even before Ouranos and Gaia. This latter tradition has been connected to the Homeric passages in which Okeanos is viewed as 'the father of gods' or 'the father of all beings'. 4 Regardless of how different genealogies belong to different traditions, the relation between Okeanos and Ouranos seems to be a close one. For this reason, Berger (1904) 2-3 saw Okeanos as an original sky-god. 5 In fact, why would Okeanos represent primeval water, since his descendants are celestial gods? 6 It seems 1 F. Gisinger, RE XVII (including etymology); Reinhardt (1971); Lesky (1947); for etymology, see Fauth (1988) 361-79. 2 Pocock (1960 371 suggests that the use of such phrases is metaphorical only. The correspondences with other Near Eastern mythologies are not perfect: e.g., between Okeanos and Tethys, on one side, and the Babylonian Apsu and Tiamat, on the other. Tiamat was split in two by Marduk, her body becoming parts of the sky; Apsu did not encircle the earth. The biblical t e hōm, on the other hand, does not have a pair; cf. West (1997) 144-8.

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“…399;cf. West (1997) 148, Kelly (2007) earth. 12 West (1997) 145 sees this similarity as 'unequivocal'.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Mythology of Okeanos

Anghelina¹

2009

J Anc Near East Religions

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Ἀρχή and δῖνος: Vortices as Cosmogonic Powers and Cosmic Regulators. Study Case: The Whirling Lightning Bolt of Zeus

Bonnechère¹,

Cursaru²

2020

Archiv Für Religionsgeschichte

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In the cosmogonic and eschatological narratives of the origin and end of the world, both in some early myths and in the Presocratics’ systems, the vortex and other spinning motifs act as necessary agents of both order and disorder. Their rapidity induces a separation of opposites, and they jointly cause the resulting masses to move towards their “appropriate” place in the universe and thus produce a constant pendulum between multiplicity and unity. Furthermore, vortices appear to be the cosmic agents of the divine will, and they constantly regulate divine law and justice. Every time the cosmic order they have established is threatened, the Olympians punish the hubristic wrongdoers and protect the equilibrium of the world, using their attributes – e. g., the trident, the kerykeion, or the thyrsus – which often feature whirling shapes, movements, and patterns. The best example is Zeus’ thunderbolt, which is described as a whirling weapon from Hesiod to Nonnos, evoking the tempestuous force and cosmic energy of its origins. Far from being incidental, the vortex was clearly at the centre of the Greek conception of the entire cosmos, from the rotation of the planets to the whirling winds and the tumultuous or serpentine rivers, to the symposium and everyday life, even to turmoil and other spinning inner emotional states.

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No Princípio Era a Água

Brandão

2016

Rev. Univ. Fed. Minas Gerais

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Este trabalho trata das cosmogonias babilônicas que instituem a água como o princípio de tudo, bem como dastradições grega e hebraica delas dependentes. No poema intitulado Enuma elish, escrito provavelmente no século XII a.C.,Apsû e Tiamat – a água das fontes e a água do mar, respectivamente – são apresentados como os primeiros deuses, a partir dos quais o mundo ganha forma. Ressalta-se como, provindo de povos que vivem no deserto, esses mitos sublinham ocaráter da água como fonte de vida, ao mesmo tempo que elaboram uma imagem do mar como uma força perigosa que épreciso conter em seus limites, tarefa que cabe ao mais jovem dos deuses, responsável pela ordem do mundo.

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Αψορροου Ωκεανοιο: A Babylonian Reminiscence?

Cited by 4 publications

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On the Mythology of Okeanos

On the Mythology of Okeanos

Ἀρχή and δῖνος: Vortices as Cosmogonic Powers and Cosmic Regulators. Study Case: The Whirling Lightning Bolt of Zeus

No Princípio Era a Água

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