Stoic philosophy and the exegesis of myth

Abstract

This study concerns the philosophical foundations of the Stoic stance towards the Greco-Roman religious and mythical tradition. It aims at a systematic analysis of the ways in which the Stoics dealt with this tradition – represented by Homer and other mythographic poets as well as the visual arts – on the basis of their philosophy. The first part of the dissertation presents a reconstruction of two aspects of Stoic philosophy that are seldom discussed in combination: the epistemological theory of so-called ‘preconceptions’ (prol갳eis) and the Stoic stance on the origin and history of misconception, in particular what can be gathered about the Stoic theory of the origin of civilisation. The Stoics held that in undisturbed natural conditions basic notions, preconceptions, develop naturally and correctly in every human being. Thus, they could argue that many of their own philosophical ideas had been present in nuce in the notions, language, and myths of earlier thinkers, especially in those of the untainted but primitive earliest people. The Stoic exegetical procedure is aimed at isolating primeval insights from later accretions and distortions that occurred in the course of their transmission, to which also poets such as Homer had contributed. By showing the deeper meaning of these notions, the Stoics could incorporate them into their system of knowledge. Thus, they maintained an engaged, but critical stance towards the religious and mythical tradition. The second part of this dissertation consists of a series of case-studies of this Stoic project of re-interpretation of traditional myths. Explorations into this dual undertaking shed new light on the still intensely debated question of the nature of Stoic interpretations of myth in view of the long history of allegorical interpretation. The Stoics appear to have made a clear distinction between poetry or sculpture and the mythical insights contained in it. Furthermore, this study offers a fresh perspective on some Stoic writings that are relatively neglected in present-day scholarly discussions on this subject, such as fragments from Chrysippus' On Fate, Cornutus' Handbook of the Tradition of Greek Theology, and Dio Chrysostom's Olympian Oration. Finally, one of the results is that there appears to be a large degree of continuity in the Stoic school from its beginnings onwards with respect to these issues, despite the school’s inner disagreements and developments