Orpheus and philosophy

Abstract

Throughout Antiquity there was attributed to Orpheus’ authorship a vast amount of literary and philosophical work; furthermore, he was also considered to be the founder of a multitude of cults among which were the τελεται, initiation rites which could grant one a privileged destination in the afterlife. This paper aims to present the more significant pieces of evidence from those Greek authors who asserted, explicitly or implicitly, that Orpheus was a philosopher, as well as those who dealt with him in philosophical contexts, in order to try to grasp the reasons for these authors’ choice of that type of reading of Orpheus.