Theogonia, kosmogonia aud anthropogonia

Abstract

Problems of origins of ancient Greek philosophy can not be sufficiently solv ed only by following the lineal development from mythos to logos.
In mythos gods and nature were originally united and then they became separated from each other by the invasion of humanized logos, according as social conditions changed.
Mythos and logos were gradually exchanging their meaning and position; Hesiod and other theologoi stood at the transitory stage. Their theogoniai and kosmogoniai, being rationalized, became genealogical, aitiological and allegorical, and yet rested under the will of Zeus.
The first philosophers also endeavoured to take off the anthropomorphic disguise of Olympian gods, bringing them back to physis or natural archai, but, on the other hand, they prepared the way to natural theology which was based upon the idea of harmony and circular motion of nature.
Orpheus and orphikoi were always active behind Hellenic society, from primitive to civilized. They took no small part in the fomation of theogonia and kosmogonia. But they are keenly interested in the destiny of human soul. Their religious aud philosophical merits may be found in their anthropogonia, as hieros logos. The birth of anthropos through the death of Titanes, so-called ancestors of human race, and the resurrection of Dionysus will suggest the contradictory or dialectical character of Orphic anthropogonia.