The feminine in early Greek philosophy (Part one: Homer, Homeric tradition, Hesiod, Derveni Papyrus)

Abstract

The Feminine in Early Greek Philosophy (Part One: Homer, Homeric Tradition, Hesiod, Derveni Papyrus) (Summary)

This paper forms the first part of broader research dealing with the possibilities for a feminine ἀρχή, i.e., the starting point or source for a change, in early Greek thinking. Thus, it involves comparative analyses of the material provided by Homer, The Homeric hymn to Apollo, Hesiod’s Theogony and the Derveni Papyrus, the latter text being “the only one that can, without the shadow of a doubt, be described as ‘Orphic’” (Brisson, 2019). The work on the sources resulted in endorsing the following interpretative hypothesis: In the analysed cosmogonies, the concept of ἀρχή is linked and – as I would argue – dependant upon the phenomenon of parthenogenesis, i.e., reproduction without fertilisation, implying a kind of a biological “self-sufficiency”. Consequently, the employed research strategy throughout the paper consisted of the two following tasks: 1) to assess the feminine emergence as the ἀρχή in light of par- thenogenesis; 2) employing the same criterion, to assess the relationship between the feminine and the masculine. The main results thus obtained show that: 1) apart from the fact that none of the analysed cosmogonies posited the feminine and the masculine in the relationship of equality, 2) the role of the feminine otherwise resists putting into “patterns”, including its position in the so-called paternalistic Homeric tradition. Whether these results will change with the further inclusion of sources or remain as nuanced as they now are, remains to be seen in future research.

Rad istražuje mogućnost ženskog kao ἀρχή u kosmogonijama Homera i homerske tradicije, Hesioda i orfizma Derveni papirusa. Preduslov da bi se tako nešto uradilo jeste da se ἀρχή ne shvata kao hiletička realnost koja je u osnovi sveta, nego naprosto kao početak promene, a otuda i kao kosmogonijski početak. Istraživanje primarnih izvora pokazalo je da je pitanje ἀρχή kao kosmogonijskog početka u većini slučajeva povezano sa problemom partenogeneze (bespolnog razmnožavanja). Otuda je partenogeneza uzeta za kriterijum da bi se ustanovila ἀρχή u kosmogonijskim pro- cesima. Pozicija ženskog u ranom grčkom mišljenju onda je posmatrana posredstvom partenogeneze, a na isti način sagledavan je i odnos muškog i ženskog. Rad na ma- terijalu, rađen za sada na malom uzorku (Ilijada, Treća homerska himna, Teogonija, Eumenide, Derveni papirus), pokazao je neočekivane rezultate. Naime, ispostavilo se da se položaj ženskog u grčkim kosmogonijama ne može šematizovati, već da se radi o više različitih paradigmi – počev od onih koje sasvim istiskuju žensko kao ἀρχή do onih koje kosmos začinju polazeći od ženskog. Jedina paradigma koja do sada nije uočena, jeste ona koja bi muško i žensko postavljala u odnos ravnopravnosti i/ili ravnoteže. Da li će se to pokazati u nekim od budućih istraživanja, ostaje da se vidi.