The Soul and the Orphic Egg

Home Glossary Resource Art Λόγος Contact

The modern conception of mind, brain, and soul

In the 21st century, it would seem that the common conception of educated people is that the mind is simply a function of the brain, and that the mind, and by extension the soul, if there even can be a soul, is simply a product of material and chemical reactions in the brain and the body. Furthermore, the modern philosophical opinion is that the existence of the soul has been decisively refuted, largely based on the Christian-Platonic idea of the soul being immaterial, but there are other reasons. This stands in contrast to the idea that the mind or the soul, could be independent somehow of the body and survive death. Is the mind the soul? Is the soul the personality of a person? Are these three things the same and is it possible that any of them could survive after death? In the classical period, the soul was often defined as the vivifying force or, possibly entity, which identifies the mortal body as "alive" when it is present. Ideas such as the mind or the personality are, perhaps, problematic as a continuing entity since they seem to be more connected with the brain, and the mind and personality can be altered by the use of drugs or even physical accidents and operations such as lobotomies. Is there a soul and, if so, is the soul independent of the mind and the personality?

Ancient Greek words for the soul

Psykhí (psyche; Gr. ψυχή) is the ancient word for "soul." Like many Greek words, psykhí has various meanings, the most common being that psykhí is simply, "life." The word can also be used to mean a moth or a butterfly, creatures which seem to transform themselves into something new. But psykhí can be confused with another Greek word, pnévma (pneuma; Gr. πνεῦμα), which has a different but perhaps related meaning. Pnévma is associated with breath or wind. To the ancients, when someone died and breathed his or her last breath, it was believed that the soul left the body; so, there was some association of the soul with breath or wind. For somewhat different reasons, the Christians define pnévma as "spirit," something which is not material. They associate pnévma with the Holy Spirit and its supernatural work in the life of a Christian; they also use the word to designate the pnévma, or spirit, of the individual, as though it were the "true" soul. We avoid the term pnévma in the context of the soul, although it must be pointed out that sometimes the pagan writers also use the terms psykhí and pnévma interchangeably; to avoid confusion, we will try to be consistent in using only psykhí to designate soul.

Mystic Materialism: The soul must consist of something

The Orphic perspective is that something which does not consist of material substances, does not exist. Therefore, if the soul exists, it must consist of material substance. For a thing to exist, it must consist of something. The Christians say that the soul is spirit, but if there truly is a spirit, it must consist of something, and that something is substance (Gr. οὐσία), and substance is material, regardless of how aithirial the material may be.

Concerning psykhí or soul, there are various opinions from, mostly, the philósophi (philosophers; Gr. φιλόσοφοι). We hold or promote the view of Orphéfs, a view similar to that of Plátohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων) and Pythagóras (Gr. Πυθαγόρας). Nonetheless, the pre-Platonic Orphism seems to differ from that which came later, which, strangely enough, is similar to the Christian position: the Platonic view of the soul is that the soul is not material.

The concept of soul and its independence from the body was articulated by Orphéfs (Orpheus; Gr. Ὀρφεύς), a major personage of Ællinismόs (Hellenismos; Gr. Ἑλληνισμός), the ancient Greek religion, and the teacher who has most influenced the viewpoints expressed on this website, at least these ideas are "Orphic," regardless of who is their source. The purpose of this page is to attempt an explanation of the Orphic view of the soul. This exploration requires a different mind-set if the reader is to get a glimpse of the Orphic meanings. The Orphic theology utilizes the classical elements...Earth, Water, Fire, and Aithír (Aether or Ether; Gr. Αἰθήρ); one should expect that this requires an antique understanding which may seem alien to a modern scientist, but when properly understood, maybe not quite so. Orphéfs is called the Thæólogos (Theologos; Gr. Θεόλογὁς), the Great Theologian of Ællinismόs, because he taught us the Thæogonía (Theogony; Gr. Θεογονία), which recounts the origin of the Thæí (Theoi; Gr. Θεοί), the mighty Gods; and Orphéfs explained the Kozmogonía (Cosmogony; Gr. Κοσμογονία), which is a description of the origin of the Kόzmos (Cosmos; Gr. Κόσμος), these two being inseparable. Orphéfs demonstrates that the Universe is natural and consists of material substances, and that this kozmogonic matter (ousía; Gr. οὐσία) is of two fundamental kinds, one divisible, the Mæristí Ousía (Gr. Μεριστή Οὐσία), which he calls Earth (Yi or Ge; Gr. Γῆ), and the other is continuous, the Synækhís Ousía (Gr. Συνεχής Οὐσία), which he calls Water (Ýdohr or Hydor; Gr.Ὕδωρ).^[1] So we have Earth and Water. When these two kozmogonic substances attain harmony, they merge together; the Water enters the divisible substance, Earth. The unification of Earth and Water forms the most elemental cell, what Orphéfs likens to an egg, known as the Orphic Egg, which is the universe, a subject for a different, though related discussion; but it is the same process by which psykhí, the evolving soul, is created.^[2] The soul, therefore, is created from the union of the two kozmogonic substances, substances which Orphéfs says are material and entirely natural; this process is referred to as psykhogonía (Psychogonia; Gr. Ψυχογονία), the generation of the soul.

The Orphic Egg: The Three Parts of the Soul

At the center of the soul, like the yolk of an egg, is the will (voulí; Gr. βουλή), under the dominion of Ploutohn (Pluto; Gr. Πλούτων). Analogous to the outside shell of the egg is nous (Gr. νους), the mind, under the dominion of Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς). Both the "yolk" and the "shell" of the egg consist of a combination of the two kozmogonic substances, but the space between them, corresponding to the white of an egg, consists solely of Aithír (Aether; Gr. Αἰθήρ), under the dominion of Poseidόhn (Poseidon; Gr. Ποσειδῶν), where reside the emotions (páthos; Gr. πάθος). There is an interchange between the nucleus (the will) and the outside shell of the egg (nous or mind), and when these two are in harmony, when they are in agreement, an attraction or Ǽrohs (Eros; Gr. Ἔρως) develops in the Aithír between them.

The human soul is a microcosm of our own planetary system. Like the yolk or nucleus of the soul, the terrestrial earth is ruled by Ploutohn; the "white" of the egg can be likened to the Sea and the Middle Sky between the earth and the moon which is ruled by Poseidόhn. The "shell" of the soul is correlated to the greater sky above the moon, which is ruled by Zefs. These three deities, Ploutohn, Poseidόhn, and Zefs, are known collectively as The Three Zefs. In a similar manner, our own planetary system is a microcosm of the entire Kόzmos. In other words, the Universe itself can be likened to a Kozmic Egg from which everything emerged, as described in the Orphic Rhapsodic Theogony, the great origin-myth of the Gods:

"(All things were in confusion) Throughout the misty darkness. Then great Chronos fashioned in the divine Aither a silvery Egg. And it moved without slackening in a vast circle. And it began to move in a wondrous circle. And at the birth of Phanes the misty gulf below and the windless Aither were rent. First-born, Phaethon, son of lofty (beauteous) Aither."^[3]

The Seven Centers of the Soul

The soul is the force which animates the mortal body and it is located within it until the body has outlived its usefulness or has somehow been destroyed by illness or violence. The soul has seven energy centers (which seem to be identical to the Hindu Chakras) which are interconnected with the aithirial body as well as the mortal body which is destroyed at death. In iconography, they are represented by the seven strings of the kithára (cithara; Gr. κιθάρα), the lyre of Apόllohn (Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων). Apόllohn strums the strings of the kithára causing them to vibrate or spin. The seven centers of the soul are under the dominion of the seven pairs of Titánæs (Titans; Gr. Τιτᾶνες) from the mythology of Zagréfs (Zagreus; Gr. Ζαγρεύς), one pair for each center.

The Garments of the Soul

Porphýrios (Porphyry; Gr. Πορφύριος) says in his essay On the Cave of the Nymphs:

"...the body is a garment with which the soul is invested, a thing wonderful to the sight, whether this refers to the composition of the soul, or contributes to the colligation (ed. a binding together) of the soul [to the whole of a visible essence]. Thus, also, Proserpine (ed. Pærsæphόni, who is the inspective guardian of everything produced from seed, is represented by Orpheus (ed. Orphéfs) as weaving a web; and the heavens are called by the ancients a veil, in consequence of being, as it were, the vestment of the celestial Gods.^[4]

Thus, the soul is said to be enveloped by veils or garments.

The Soul is both Male and Female

And the soul is both female and male; in some lives, the soul manifests as a woman or a female being, in others, the soul manifests as a man or a male being.

The Immortality of the Soul

Returning now but briefly to the questions posed at the beginning of this essay, the Orphic understanding, at least as understood by this author, is that the brain, the mind, and the body are tools of the soul. While the mortal body is alive, they all interact. When the body dies, they fade, but the soul bears responsibility for the actions of the other components of the individual while it had been living; the memory is archived in the Aithír and the soul rests for, some say, forty years, after which it re-emerges in a new body. The soul is immortal, making this possible.

The soul is immortal and because it is so, it survives the death of the physical body. The concept of the immortality of the soul is usually attributed to Plátohn, an idea which is found repeatedly in the dialogues and an idea he most certainly promulgated. There is nothing in the Jewish Torah, the books of the Old Testament, or those of the Christian New Testament which teaches the immortality of the soul. The idea of the immortality of the soul entered the various forms of Judaic religion as the result of the Hellenization of the Graeco-Roman world after the conquests of Alǽxandros (Alexander the Great; Gr. Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας). Undoubtedly, this idea was introduced into non-Greek cultures through the reading of Plátohn, the Platonic, and other of the ancient philosophers, but the ideas, however, pre-date Plátohn.

The Transmigration of the Soul and the Sorrowful Wheel of Existence

Ultimately, these teachings come from Orphismós (Orphism; Gr. Ορφισμός), the teachings associated with Orphéfs, who not only taught the immortality of the soul, but also palingænæsía (palingenesía; Gr. παλιγγενεσία), that after our death, the soul is said to float in the sky as a daimohn for forty years^[5], after which it returns to our world and takes on a new body. In reality, this period between lives does not seem to be known, for we know of differing opinions; for instance, in the Mǽnohn (Meno; Gr. Μένων) of Plátohn^[6], Sohkrátis (Socrates; Gr. Σωκράτης) says that Pærsæphóni (Persephone; Gr. Περσεφόνη) restores the souls after nine years. In any case, this process of reincarnation does not happen just once, but spins endlessly, like a "sorrowful wheel," the wheel of birth (κύκλος γενέσεως), until the soul is free. The souls of all mortal creatures will be re-born in this way after they die, until they are deified by the Olympian Gods. Therefore, death is not related to the soul, but rather, death is something that happens to the temporary carriage of the soul, which for mortal creatures is subject to demise. The soul experiences the death of the body, but the soul survives this experience. So, even though the soul is eternal, because it is chained to the births and deaths of bodies, we call such a being mortal. Because the blessed Gods do not have mortal bodies which pass away, they are called Athánatos (Gr. Ἀθάνατος), i.e., Deathless or Immortal, and they are free from the involuntary cycle of births and deaths.

Deification: The Progress of the Soul and Freedom from the Sorrowful Wheel

The soul originates as a simple form and progresses into more complex forms, not in the sense of Darwinian evolution, but a real progress as the soul transmigrates over many lives. Each major transformation is a mighty accomplishment, and the soul progresses, eventually attaining the human form, and once this type of birth is achieved, the soul generally reincarnates repeatedly into the human form for thousands of years.

At some point, if this soul desires it...because all such progress is based on complete freedom...she^[7] begins a great struggle. The result of this struggle is the gradual attainment of arætí (arete; Gr. ἀρετή), genuine virtue, and sophía (Gr. Σοφíα), wisdom. With such preparation, the soul is given the opportunity to glimpse divinity. Such a glimpse creates an enormous impression and the soul is stunned by its majesty. She becomes enamored of the possibility of such enormous beauty. Eventually, the soul develops a connection to one of the Olympian deities because of a natural affinity to particular qualities of this deity which resonate with her. The soul begins to yearn and long for the beauty it has perceived in flashes. This attraction is a mighty force; it is called Ǽrohs (Eros; Gr. Ἔρως) and is tremendously powerful; it is, in truth, of itself divine. The Ǽrohs of this soul is perceived by the Olympian deity and his or her Divine Consort, the God and Goddess with whom this soul has qualities which are in harmony with her nature. They see the beauty of this soul and if she continues to progress and becomes great, a enormous exchange of Ǽrohs occurs between this pair of Olympians and the soul. The Olympian Goddess prepares the ground, and when the time is ripe, this soul, who has become beloved by these Gods, is engulfed by the male Olympian and experiences Ækthǽohsis (Ektheosis; Gr. Ἐκθέωσις); she comes forth as a God, and is deified. The wandering of the soul through the circle of lives has come to an end, kýklou líxai (Gr. κύκλου λήξαι), the end of the circle. Another way of describing this, mythologically, is that the deified soul is Psykhí (Psyche; Gr. Ψυχή) after she has united with Ǽrohs, as is described in Apuleius' beautiful story Cupid and Psyche. After deification, the only aithirial garment that remains is the Æmpýrios Khitόhn (Empyrios Chiton; Gr. Ἐμπύριος Χιτών), the beautified garment consisting of Fire-Aithír. The deification of the soul is possible because our basic make-up consists of the two kozmogonic substances; in the same manner, the souls of the Gods consist of the two kozmogonic substances; therefore, we are of the substance of Gods.

Afterthoughts

These ideas are very much in line with the thinking of Plátohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων), who is in the lineage of Orphéfs, but not quite so closely in line with the way of thinking of his pupil Aristotǽlis (Aristotle; Gr. Ἀριστοτέλης), who did not think of the soul as independent from the body. Aristotǽlis seemed to have a very different view of the soul. He saw the soul as the force which animates the body, more of an energy or activity than a consciousness or an independent entity. Like Aristotǽlis, Orphéfs says that the soul is related to the body, consisting of the same basic kozmogonic substances as the body, and that it also animates the body. But unlike Aristotǽlis, Orphéfs says that the soul can exist independent of the body. Orphéfs describes the soul as an entity which has consciousness and has an independence such that after the deterioration of the body, the soul returns in a new body, until, as described above, the soul has been freed from the cycle of births and deaths and becomes a God.

Unlike many religious systems, ours states that the soul, like the body, consists of material substances, yet it is independent from the body and survives its deterioration at death. This materialistic view is in contrast to those religions which say that the soul is "spiritual" and not material. The Orphic view is that a being which does not consist of something cannot exist, and if it consists of something, this something must be some kind of material. Therefore, we do not talk about supernatural things in Orphismós (Orphism; Gr. Ορφισμός), the teachings of Orphéfs. There is nothing possible beyond what is natural.

If the reader considers the ideas presented above, in particular those concerning the material nature of the Kόzmos (Cosmos; Gr. Κόσμος), one can see that the Orphic teachings are the root of all Hellenic philosophía (philosophy; Gr. φιλοσοφία) and that they are the source from which Science arose.

PYTHAGÓRAS AND THE THREE PARTS OF THE SOUL

According to Dioyǽnis Laǽrtios (Diogenes Laërtius; Gr. Διογένης Λαέρτιος), the biographer of the ancient philosophers, Pythagóras (Gr. Πυθαγόρας) had a theory concerning three parts of the soul:

"The soul of man, he says, is divided into three parts, intelligence, reason, and passion. Intelligence and passion are possessed by other animals as well, but reason by man alone. The seat of the soul extends from the heart to the brain; the part of it which is in the heart is passion, while the parts located in the brain are reason and intelligence. The senses are distillations from these. Reason is immortal, all else mortal. The soul draws nourishment from the blood; the faculties of the soul are winds, for they as well as the soul are invisible, just as the Aether is invisible. The veins, arteries, and sinews are the bonds of the soul. But when it is strong and settled down into itself, reasonings and deeds become its bonds. When cast out upon the earth, it wanders in the air like the body. Hermes is the steward of souls, and for that reason is called Hermes the Escorter, Hermes the Keeper of the Gate, and Hermes of the Underworld, since it is he who brings in the souls from their bodies both by land and sea; and the pure are taken into the uppermost region, but the impure are not permitted to approach the pure or each other, but are bound by the Furies in bonds unbreakable."^[8]

Pythagóras represents the soul with the number four (Gr. τέσσαρες):

"Farther he (ed. Pythagóras) avers (ed. asserts) the virtue of ten consists in the quaternion (ed. group of four); the reason whereof is this,— if any person reckon from one, and by addition place his numbers so as to take in the quaternary, he shall complete the number ten; if he exceed the four, he shall go beyond the ten; for one, two, three, and four being cast up together make up ten. The nature of numbers, therefore, if we regard the units, resteth in the ten; but if we regard its power, in the four. Therefore the Pythagoreans say that their most sacred oath is by that God who delivered to them the quaternary.

By th' founder of the sacred number four,
Eternal Nature's font and root, they swore.
Of this number (ed. 4) the soul of man is composed; for mind, knowledge, opinion, and sense are the four that complete the soul, from which all sciences, all arts, all rational faculties derive themselves."^[9]

SOHKRÁTIS-PLÁTOHN AND THE THREE PARTS OF THE SOUL

Sohkrátis (Socrates; Gr. Σωκράτης) also had a theory concerning three parts of the soul which Plátohn (Plato; Gr. Πλάτων) explained in book IV of Politeia (The Republic; Gr. Πολιτεία)^[10]. Plátohn calls the three parts:

1. Loyistikóhn (Logisticon; Gr. Λογιστικών), the thinking part or reason (gold).

2. Thymós (Gr. Θυμός), the spirited part or emotional part or spirit (silver)

3. Æpithymitís (Epithymitis; Gr. Ἐπιθυμητής), the appetitive part or desire (bronze).

When these three parts are in harmony, each "doing its own business" as is said in the dialogue, the soul is just. Plátohn says that a republic has three parts analogous to the three parts of the soul.

In the dialogue Phaidros (Phaedrus; Gr. Φαῖδρος), Plátohn says that the Soul is immortal.^[11] He says the same in Mǽnohn (Meno; Gr. Μένων)^[12] and elsewhere, although in some of the dialogues he can be illusive on the subject. In the Phaidohn (Phaedo; Gr. Φαίδων)^[13] Plátohn talks extensively of the immortality of the soul and offers an elaborate proof to defend his belief on the subject.

Plátohn solidifies the idea of the immortality of the soul when he discusses palingænæsía (palingenesia = reincarnation; Gr. παλιγγενεσία) in Mǽnohn^[14], Politeia^[15], and in other dialogues.

Miscellaneous Quotations

"Sohkrátis (Socrates; Gr. Σωκράτης): And if any one has fallen in love with the person (ed. the body) of Alcibiades, he loves not Alcibiades, but the belongings of Alcibiades?
Alkiviádis (Alcibiades; Gr. Ἀλκιβιάδης): True.
Soh: But he who loves your soul is the true lover?
Al: That is the necessary inference.
Soh: The lover of the body goes away when the flower of youth fades?
Al: True.
Soh: But he who loves the soul goes not away, as long as the soul follows after virtue?
Al: Yes.
Soh: And I am the lover who goes not away, but remains with you, when you are no longer young and the rest are gone?
Al: Yes, Socrates; and therein you do well, and I hope that you will remain."^[16]

"Let us believe with Pindar, that---
'All human bodies yield to Death's decree,
The soul survives to all eternity.' 
For that alone is derived from the Gods, thence comes, and thither returns; not with the body, but when most disengaged and separated from it, and when most entirely pure and clean and free from the flesh: for the most perfect soul, says Heraclitus (ed. Irákleitos; Gr. Ἡράκλειτος), is a dry light, which flies out of the body as lightning breaks from a cloud; but that which is clogged and surfeited with body is like gross and humid incense, slow to kindle and ascend. We must not, therefore, contrary to nature, send the bodies, too, of good men to heaven; but we must really believe that, according to their divine nature and law, their virtue and their souls are translated out of men into heroes, out of heroes into Demi-Gods, out of Demi-Gods, after passing, as in the rite of initiation, through a final cleansing and sanctification, and so freeing themselves from all that pertains to mortality and sense, are thus, not by human decree, but really and according to right reason, elevated into Gods admitted thus to the greatest and most blessed perfection."^[17]

GLOSSARY OF THE SOUL

NOTE: A list of abbreviations can be found on this page: GLOSSARY HOME.

Ækthǽohsis (Ektheosis; Gr. Ἐκθέωσις, ΕΚΘΕΩΣΙΣ) Ækthǽohsis is the deification of the soul.

Aftopsykhí - (autopsyche; Gr. αὐτοψυχή, ΑΥΤΟΨΥΧΗ) Lexicon entry: αὐτοψῡχή, ἡ, absolute soul, αὐ. καθαρά Herm.in Phdr.p.75 A., cf. Plot.5.9.13, Jul.Ep.89b (pl.). (L&S p. 284, right column)

Elements, The Classical - The elements (Gr. στοιχεῖα, plural) enumerated by the theologian Orphéfs (Orpheus; Gr. Ὀρφεύς) are Yi or Yaia (Ge or Earth; Gr. Γῆ or Γαῖα) and Ýdohr (Hydor or Water; Gr. Ὕδωρ); these are the primary material substance of which everything which exists consists. It is the interaction of Earth and Water which creates the soul, both of the Kózmos (Cosmos; Gr. Κόσμος) as well as the soul of every being. Earth is a divisible substance (Gr. Μεριστή Οὐσία) while Water is a continuous substance (Gr. Συνεχής Οὐσία). Because Pyr (Fire; Gr. Πῦρ) and Aithír (Aether; Gr. Αἰθήρ) are also continuous substance, they are grouped together with Water. This gives us four elements organized as follows: Earth and Water-Fire-Aithír. To this list, may be added Air (Aer; Gr. Ἀήρ), comprising the five classical elements of antiquity, an understanding which was viewed as scientific through the medieval era and beyond. While these ideas must be approached as antique, they retain a validity, for they are the foundation of modern physics, a view of the universe as consisting of material substances rather than unknowable "spiritual" elements.

Kardía - (Gr. καρδία, ΚΑΡΔΙΑ) Kardía is the ancient Greek word for the heart but it can also be used metaphorically to mean the soul.

Lexicon entry: καρδία —heart: esp. as the seat of feeling and passion, as rage or anger; of sorrow or joy; of love. 2. inclination, desire, purpose. 3. mind. II. cardiac orifice of the stomach. III. heart in wood, κ. θαλάσσης depths of the sea. V. Κ. Λέοντος, name of the star Regulus. (L&S p. 877, right column, edited for simplicity.)

Kýklou líxai - (Κύκλου Λήξαι, ΚΥΚΛΟΥ ΛΗΞΑΙ) Kýklou líxai is the end of the circle of rebirths, i.e. Ækthǽohsis (Ektheosis; Gr. Ἐκθέωσις) or deification; it is also called the final death because the soul is now Athánatos (Gr. Ἀθάνατος), deathless or immortal. Cf. Kýklos yænǽsæohs.

Kýklos yænǽsæohs - (cyclus geneseos; Gr. κύκλος γενέσεως, ΚΥΚΛΟΣ ΥΕΝΕΣΕΩΣ) Kýklos yænǽsæohs is the endless wheel of births; it is palingænæsía (palingenesía; Gr. παλιγγενεσία) or reincarnation. Cf. Kýklou líxai.

Mæristí Ousía - (Meristi Ousia; Gr. Μεριστή Οὐσία. Ety. from mærís [Gr. μερίς], "part, portion." L&S p. 1104, left column.) The Mæristí Ousía is the divisible kozmogonic substance: Earth or Yi.

Ousía - (Gr. οὐσίἁ, ΟΥΣΙΑ) Ousía is the ancient Greek word for substance, matter, material.

Lexicon entry for ousía: οὐσία, II. stable being, immutable reality. 2. substance, essence. 3. true nature of that which is a member of a kind. 4. the possession of such a nature, substantiality. 5. in the concrete, the primary real, the substratum underlying all change and process in nature. Etc. (L&S p. 1274, right column, edited for simplicity.)

Palingænæsía (Palingenesía; Gr. Παλιγγενεσία, ΠΑΛΙΓΓΕΝΕΣΊΑ) rebirth, the transmigration of the soul, reincarnation. Often in philosophy, the word mætæmpsýkhohsis (metempsychosis) is used, but Palingænæsía is the more ancient term (source:  Greek Philosophical Terms by F.E. Peters, 1967,  p. 151; not a direct quote).

Pærí pnévma - (peripneuma; Gr. περί πνεύμα, ΠΕΡΙ ΠΝΕΥΜΑ. That which is περί "around" the soul.) The pærí pnévma is the Aithir (Aether; Gr. Αἰθήρ) and all the khitóhns (garments) which surround the soul. Within the pærí pnévma are the archives of everything that has occurred to that soul.

Pnévma - (pneuma; Gr. πνεῦμα) Lexicon entry: πνεῦμα, ατος, τό, (πνέω) blast, wind; as an element, air. 2. metaph., θαλερωτέρῳ π. with more genial breeze or influence. II. breathed air, breath; π. ἀπέρρηξεν βίου the breath of life. 2. breathing, respiration, freq. in Hp. b. pl., of the air imagined as filling the veins. 3. flatulence, in pl. 4. breath of life; living being. 5. that which is breathed forth or exhaled, odour. 6. Gramm., breathing with which a vowel is pronounced. III. divine inspiration. IV. the spirit of God, π. θεοῦl. 2. spirit of man. V. spiritual or immaterial being, angel. VI. Rhet., sentence declaimed in one breath. (L&S p. 1424, left column, edited for simplicity.)

Psykhaios - (psychaios; Gr. ψυχαῖος, ΨΥΧΑΙΟΣ) Lexicon entry: ψῡχαῖος, α, ον, of the soul, σπινθήρ Orac. Chald. ap. Lyd.Mens.1.11; φύσεις Simp. in Ph.780.14. (L&S p. 2026, right column, within the entries beginning with ψυχάζω.)

Psykhí - (psyche; Gr. ψυχή, ΨΥΧΗ) Psykhí is life, the soul.

Lexicon entry: ψῡχ-ή, ἡ, life.; of life in animals. 2. metaph. of things dear as life. II. in Hom., departed spirit, ghost; in swoons it leaves the body; so in later writers (seldom in Trag.). III. the immaterial and immortal soul. IV. the conscious self or personality as centre of emotions, desires, and affections. 2. of various aspects of the self. 3. of the emotional self. 4. of the moral and intellectual self. 5. of animals. 6. of inanimate things. V. Philosophical uses: 1. In the early physicists, of the primary substance, the source of life and consciousness. 2. the spirit of the universe. 3. In Pl. the immaterial principle of movement and life; its presence is requisite for thought; the tripartite division of ψ.; of the scala naturae; in the Neo-Platonists characterized by discursive thinking; related to νοῦς as image to archetype; present in entirety in every part; animal and vegetable bodies possess. VI. butterfly or moth. VII. Psyche, in the allegory of Psyche and Eros, Apul.Metam. (See ancient speculations on the derivation, Pl.Cra.399d-400a, Arist.de An.405b29, Chrysipp.Stoic.2.222; Hom. usage gives little support to the derivation from ψύχω 'blow, breathe'; τὸν δὲ λίπε ψ. Il.5.696 means 'his spirit left his body', and so λειποψυχέω means 'swoon', not 'become breathless'; ἀπὸ δὲ ψ. ἐκάπυσσε Il.22.467 means 'she gasped out her spirit', viz. 'swooned'; the resemblance of ἄμπνυτο 'recovered consciousness' to ἀμπνέω 'recover breath' is deceptive, v. ἄμπνυτο, ἔμπνυτο: when concrete the Homeric ψ. is rather warm blood than breath, cf. Il.14.518, 16.505, where the ψ. escapes through a wound.) (L&S p. 2026, right column, within the entries beginning ψυχάζω, edited for simplicity.)

Psykhíïos - (psycheïos; Gr. ψυχήϊος, ΨΥΧΗΙΟΣ) Lexicon entry: ψῡχήϊος, η, ον, having a ψυχή, alive, living, Pythag. ap. Luc.Vit.Auct.6 (v.l. ἐμψ.) (L&S p. 2027, right column almost at the bottom, just after ψυχή.)

Psykhoeidís - (psychoeides; Gr. ψυχοειδής, ΨΥΧΟΕΙΔΗΣ. Adjective.) Lexicon entry: ψῡχοειδής, ές, of the nature of soul, spiritual. (L&S p. 2028, left column, within the entries beginning with ψυχοδαϊκτής.)

Psykhogonía - (psychogonia; Gr. ψυχογονία, ΨΥΧΟΓΟΝΙΑ) Lexicon entry: ψῡχογονία, ἡ, the generation of the soul, Plu.2.415e, al., Herm. in Phdr.p.128A. (in reference to Plato's Timaeus [ed. beginning at 34c]). (L&S p. 2028, left column)

Synækhís Ousía - (Syneches Ousia; Gr. Συνεχής Οὐσία) The Synækhís Ousía is the continuous kozmogonic substance: Water-Fire-Aithír.

Lexicon entry for synækhís: συνεχής, holding together: I. of Space, continuous. II. of Time, continuous, unintermitting. III. of persons, constant, persevering. (L&S p. 1714, left column, edited for simplicity.)

Thymós - (Gr. θυμός, ΘΥΜΟΣ) Lexicon entry: θῡμός, ὁ, soul, spirit, as the principle of life, feeling and thought, esp. of strong feeling and passion (rightly derived from θύω (B) by Pl.Cra. 419e ἀπὸ τῆς θύσεως καὶ ζέσεως τῆς ψυχῆς): I. in physical sense, breath, life. 2. spirit, strength. 3. πάτασσε δὲ θ. ἑκάστου each man's heart beat high. II. soul, as shown by the feelings and passions; and so, 1. desire or inclination, esp. desire for meat and drink, appetite. 2. mind, temper, will. 3. spirit, courage; personified, Passion, Emotion, opp. Λογισμός. 4. the seat of anger. 5. the heart, as the seat of the emotions, esp. joy or grief; of love. 6. mind, soul, as the seat of thought. (L&S p. 810, left column, edited for simplicity.)

Tritopátoræs - (Tritopatores; Gr. Τριτοπάτορες, ΤΡΙΤΟΠΑΤΟΡΕΣ. Plural of Τριτοπάτωρ. Τριτοπατέρες, a very similar word, means simply "ancestors.") The Tritopátoræs are wind or Aithír-daimonæs (daemons; Gr. δαίμονες), the great ancestors who carry the soul between lives and blow it into a new body.

Lexicon entry: Τριτοπάτωρ [ᾰ], ορος, ὁ, great-grandfather. II. Τριτοπάτορες, οἱ, divinities worshipped at Athens, to whom prayers were offered ὑπὲρ γενέσεως παίδων (v. Τριτογενής 11); wind-daemons acc. to Demon 2, cf. Orph.Fr.318: sg., Τριτοπάτωρ Πυρρακιδῶν prob. the mythical ancestor of the P., Durrbach Choix d' inscrr. de Délos No.7 (v/iv B. C.) (L&S p. 1823, right column, within the entries beginning with Τριτοπατέρες, edited for simplicity.)

NOTES: