Parmenides, the ancient Greek poet who is known as the father of logical thought, has been a decisive influence in shaping the whole course of Western philosophy and is a crucial figure in determining how we understand the ancient world. But there are some disturbing details in his own poetry, together with occasional remarks made by other ancient writers, that have always cast a long shadow of doubt over the standard view of him as a purely rational thinker. Then, in the 1950s, a series of inscriptions was unearthed at Parmenides' hometown in southern Italy which has thrown a totally new light on the nature and purpose of his philosophy. This book brings the key evidence together and presents a new picture of him as priest, initiate and healer.
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About the Author
Peter Kingsley is a former Fellow of the Warburg Institute in London and currently honorary professor of Humanities at Simon Fraser University, British Columbia. He lectures widely in America and Europe.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding Book!,
By Walter Cruttenden "Archeoastronomy Theorist" (Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: In the Dark Places of Wisdom (Paperback)
In the Dark Places of Wisdom is one of the most insightful and well-written books I have ever read. It is a story of historical intrigue backed by tangible artifacts told in a fast paced, yet surprisingly soft and mystical light. I couldn't put it down.
Some of the western hypnotized reviewers here obviously don't understand the profound knowledge that enriched the great ancient cultures. Its decline led to the horrendous Dark Ages where almost all learning was lost. But few ask why. Scholar and author, Peter Kingsley, ponders this question and shows us a bigger picture. He knows his history and esotericism like few others. In the spirit of the true Greek philosophers Kingsley poetically explains where rationality went wrong and subtly encourages the reader to consider a deeper meaning of life. It is no wonder hard cold rationalists feel their ego threatened by the revelations in this book. If you are myopic in your view of history, and believe myth and folklore are just silly stories, and that anything that came before us must be more primitive, then don't bother to read this book - you won't get it anyway. But if you are beginning to think with your heart as well as your mind, and dare to imagine a history, indeed a future, more beautiful than brain alone allows, then you will love this book. Like a sacred site, "Dark Places of Wisdom" not only conveys unspoken knowledge, it awakens a higher reality. Kudos to Kingsley!
48 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Entirely Without Merit,
By lucifer-dianus "lucifer-dianus" (Louisville KY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In the Dark Places of Wisdom (Paperback)
This is a fairly short book, and can be read in one or two sittings. It is very easy to read, and sort of enjoyable. On the down side, this author spends too much time trying to vilify Plato and Aristotle, resorting to a very unlikely idea that they conspired to bury Parmenides' ideas, and/or make it look like Plato was his true heir, rather than Zeno. As other reviewers of this book have pointed out, they would have had no motive to do so. Since this book is so short and easy, what the author could have done is spend a lot more time supporting his ideas rather than just stating them as fact without convincing evidence. Or better yet, he could have chosen to just focus on the mystical importance of Parmenides' writings and just avoid the conspiracy theory and trying to rewrite history altogether. This is where I have the most sympathy for the author: I believe he may indeed understand Parmenides' writing from a mystical point of view, and in some ways this is why his writing style is passionate. For this reason I almost gave this book three stars; but I couldn't do this because this isn't the only book about the underworld initiation or "dying before you die"; and yet the author almost acts like it is or like he's discovered something nobody else has. If passionate and mystical, the author's style could also be described as lurid. He almost seems to act as if the discoveries are too amazing to be believed, narrating as if he's telling a children's story by continually using rhetorical questions like "And you know what they found next?". He suggests on one hand that people of european descent who are interested in the east are neglecting their own heritage, and then claims that we are indebted to the east and there is a conspiracy trying to cover that up. Actually, every book I've ever read on Greek Philosophy states that the Greeks took significant portions of their ideas from the east. At one point he mentions a memorial (constructed about 500 years after Parmenides was alive) of Parmenides which gives him a title that fits with his theory, yet when he points out that the face couldn't have been Parmenides' (on a statue of Parmenides) but it was a generic face, he overlooks that. In other words, he uses the evidence when it fits his theory, and excuses it when it doesn't. The people who constructed the memorial could have been mistaken about his title and it's implications since it was centuries after he lived. I think that if he focused on writing a book of mystical importance, rather than getting caught up trying to overthrow the establishment philosophers and rewrite history, he'd create something a lot better. He seems to forget that Plato also, was a mystic, and had received the underworld initiation. Even though universities focus mainly on Plato's secular writings, his mystical and esoteric writings are there. I still feel like I want to read this author's other books, if for no other reason than because they are kinda fun, and to write another critique.
26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A journey to the roots of the Western mystical tradition,
This review is from: In the Dark Places of Wisdom (Paperback)
This book reads like a mystery story, or rather a story aboutmystery. It is based on solid academic scholarship, but is by no meanswritten in an academic style. Rather, it is a highly personal account of the author's discoveries about a famous Greek philosopher, Parmenides, and the philosopher's surprising secret. A philosopher whom thousands of years of academic scholarship and philosophy regarded as a dry logician, turns out to be the representative of an authentic Mediterranean tradition of mystical practice. Kingsley's writing takes on an almost religious intensity in places; he writes like a man with a vision, trying to awaken those who have suppressed or forgotten their own spiritual connections. DARK PLACES OF WISDOM is something that can transcend the seminars and the classrooms, reaching out to spiritual searchers who are sick of the banalities of our society and are questing for a more direct experience of the divine. According to Kingsley, this is how that quest, and that experience, was done back in the Sicilian colonies of ancient Greece, 2500 years ago. And that tradition that Kingsley discovers, has been hidden in the depths of our Western culture and consciousness ever since. If you want an adventure which is both intellectual AND mystical, try this book. END
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