“Everything is Full of Gods”; Theologia - Muthologia and the Beginning of the Ancient Greek Political Thought

Fayyaz, Mahdi; Eslami, Rouhollah; Athari, Hossein; Taghavi, Mohammad Ali

doi:10.22034/jpiut.2024.59262.3638

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Ph.D. Candidate of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

² Assistant Professor of Political Science Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

³ Assistant Professor of Political Science Department, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

⁴ Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Allameh Tabatabai University, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/jpiut.2024.59262.3638

Abstract

The primary objective of this article is to elucidate that a comprehensive understanding of Greek political thought necessitates an examination of its origins in Ancient Greece. Traditional scholarship in Greek political thought has typically assumed that it originated concurrently with philosophy and the establishment of the polis. In this research, drawing upon the visions of Eric Voegelin and Leo Strauss, we endeavor to establish a refined definition of political thought while challenging the aforementioned conventional assumption. It is argued that political reflection remains intimately intertwined with the theological-mythological beginning of thought in Greece. This theological-mythological mode of thinking initially found expression in the works of Homer and Hesiod, with these poets serving as the foremost intellectual authorities and initial educators of the Greeks. The Greeks, in their self-perception, viewed themselves through a lens of religion and in the mirror of gods and divine forces. Consequently, any exploration into Greek political thought must acknowledge the works of these poets as the seminal intellectual foundations of Greek thought. It is imperative to recognize that political thought in Ancient Greece did not commence with philosophy or the emergence of the polis, but rather with poetry and a distinct form of religious-mythical experience, namely theologia-muthologia.

Keywords

Main Subjects

philosophy

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations

“Everything is Full of Gods”; Theologia - Muthologia and the Beginning of the Ancient Greek Political Thought

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Volume 17, Issue 45 - Serial Number 45
articles
Vol. 17, Issue 45 (Winter 2023)
December 2023
Pages 128-146

“Everything is Full of Gods”; Theologia - Muthologia and the Beginning of the Ancient Greek Political Thought

References

References

Send comment about this article

Volume 17, Issue 45 - Serial Number 45 articlesVol. 17, Issue 45 (Winter 2023)December 2023Pages 128-146

Volume 17, Issue 45 - Serial Number 45
articles
Vol. 17, Issue 45 (Winter 2023)
December 2023
Pages 128-146