The Seven Myths of the Soul

by Tim Addey

For more than one thousand years, the Pythagorean and Platonic philosophers of antiquity visited and revisited their primeval mythological heritage which was the living heart of their pagan religion, art and science. In earliest antiquity the inner truths of myth were held to be suitable only for those who had undergone the initiations and training of mystery cults and academies of philosophy, and were communicated in secret and guarded language; in later antiquity, circumstances forced their interpreters to become more open and commit their insights to writing. It is these writings upon which Tim Addey draws in order to present to the non-specialist reader a philosophic interpretation of the beautiful and powerful myths of the Greeks

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Seven Myths of the Soul is a useful Platonic exegesis of the myths of seven deities related to a quotation from Damascius:

The soul descends into generation, after the manner of Kore;
she is scattered by generation, after the manner of Dionysus;
like Prometheus and the Titans, she is bound to body.
She frees herself by exercising the strength of Heracles;
gathers herself together through the help of Apollo
and the savior Athene by truly purifying philosophy;
and she elevates herself to the causes of her being with Demeter.

This is synthesized with Campbell's Hero's Journey to produce an analysis frame. I have never read Campbell, which made the charts (yes, there are charts) a bit difficult to read at first because I was seeing this material for the first time, but I got the hang of it. Reminded me of those Campbell books on my mom's shelves when I was growing up that I never read.

In a time when most mythical analysis is not based on traditional philosophical schools, it is a refreshing take, hence giving it five stars. This book was published in 2000, though, so for the potential reader's benefit, I will mention that the human species is not referred to in a gender-neutral way most of the time; this does not detract from the overall experience of the material, as it's balanced out by referring to the soul as "she" in homage to the Greek noun class to which the word psūkhe belongs.

Myths surrounding each of the Gods presented above (and Herakles, who is a hero who was deified) are discussed in brief detail, sometimes in a rushed way because a true exegesis of each of the Gods' myths would likely take up entire monographs in their own right. The version of the myth of Dionysos has the parenting order in a different sequence to the one I learned, which was a bit jarring at first, but I don't think this makes more than a superficial difference unless one wants to integrate Persephone, the cave, and the tapestry (which, as far as I remember, T. Addey doesn't). The greatest chunk of time is spent on Herakles, who I am less familiar with mythologically than the Gods because studying heroes has interested me much less than the Gods. (Probably why I never browsed my mom's Campbell books. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) I see what Addey means by Herakles representing the turning point. There's something deeply calming about the archetype (said in a strict sense, as Gods are not archetypes) of the soul in generation being like Herakles — while most of us live less explosive and violent lives, we all hurt other people around us and are hurt by them and labor through elaborate sensemaking processes to try to order our exterior and interior worlds.

The book is supplemented by several additional chapters that tie the analysis together, expand on Platonism, and advocate for the worship of the Gods in the Platonic path. Addey links each speech in the Symposium to each part of the Damascius quotation, which I found delightful and novel. The chapter on worshipping the Gods was generally good. Addey discusses how certain prevailing circumstances have harmed the world spiritually, being neither balanced in the spiritual or mundane worlds because they deny the level of the Gods. Even given the ineffable unity of all things in the One (regardless of how one conceives of the top level), polemically and functionally, it's still polytheism; he softens that identification a bit overmuch, in my opinion, but I bet it does help some readers accept his insistence about honoring the Gods.

Additionally, it was lovely how the chapter on Demeter and the end of the book itself both encouraged the reader in a prayerful way.

[Maan Kawas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book!!!!

[Celea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this book felt like jumping from one conclusion to the next for the sake of shoe-horning in an argument. if, and I mean IF there is historical basis in any of the claims made in here, then this book is vital in understanding the true meaning of the myths contained therein. But that's a huge if. Frankly, some of the claims seem to be a laffy taffy's stretch in Hell. Heracles is called "woman-hating" because he's far from the celestial wisdom void? Come on, what's more likely, that; or that he was Greek and misogynistic, coming from a society that was equally Greek and misogynistic? In similarly Greek fashion, the writing style of this book felt overly complicated and flowery in a dry way where simple sentences could have made the author's points much better. You can't hide a poor argument behind a puffed out chest.

With all that being said, this book if at absolutely nothing else was a fascinating perspective on the myths and I value how it has expanded my understanding of the myths as literature and the Gods. I anticipate I will return to this work.