The Orphic Poems (Oxford University Press Academic Monograph Reprints) [Hardcover]

M. L. West (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Greek

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 8, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198148542
• ISBN-13: 978-0198148548
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,212,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant study not to be missed, October 26, 2002

By 

Mark H. Gaffney (Chiloquin, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Orphic Poems (Oxford University Press Academic Monograph Reprints) (Hardcover)

M.L. West really knows his stuff, and there are many reasons why I strongly recommend this volume. I have been working on my own book on Gnostic Christianity, in search of answers concerning the puzzling relationship between Orphism and early Christianity. We know, for example, that there were Orphic images painted on the walls of the Roman catacombs, one of which became a much copied image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In the fifth century this changed when the image on the Shroud of Turin became more widely known in Christendom.

Another puzzle is the remarkable artifact from the 3-4th centuries, usually referred to as the Ophite bowl. It was analyzed by Hans Leisegang as early as the 1930s (see The Mysteries, edited by Joseph Campbell, Bollingen). A picture of this amazing cult bowl is reproduced in The Mysteries, and also in The Grail Legend by Maries-Louis von Franz and Emma Jung. I recall how stunned I was after reading Leisegang's incisive analysis -- which proved that the bowl was Orphic in origin. Why was I stunned? Because the bowl is a virtual replica of the famous bowl-like Rose of Dante's Paradisio, which is a thoroughly Christian image. Yet obviously the Ophite bowl was much older. How to account for the common ground here? Which begat what? Well, West's amazing book provided some answers for this problem -- and helped me better understand not just Orphism but the role of the Krater in ancient Greece. Apparently the Krater was used at Delphi somehow with the oracles and in divination. (Possibly Tolkien offered the answer in his Trilogy in the viewing bowl of Galadriel! If true -- amazing.) Thus the Krater had a wholly separate provenance -- and no relation to the Christian bowl, which is integral to the teachings of Jesus (the opening of the heart center) and became better known later in the form of the Grail. Obviously the Orphics being very progressive within the Greek traditions picked up on Christianity right away -- they were among the first to understand its superiority over the old pagan ways. The point is that the Ophite bowl, tho cast in Orphic dress, had Christian origins -- tho certainly of a Gnostic bent.

West offers numerous other insights in the bargain, such as showing the links between Greek, Phoenician, Babylonian, Egyptian and Indian gods. You won't find this material covered in the standard books on Greek mythology. The Orphic Poems will become a much used addition to your library on the ancient world. The cost is pretty steep -- but I'm getting around it with an old fashioned copy machine.