Connects the magical practice of theurgy to the time of Homer
- Explores the many theurgic themes and events in the Odyssey and the
Iliad
- Analyzes the writings of Neoplatonists Porphyry and Proclus, showing
how both describe the technical ritual praxis of theurgy in Homeric
terms
- Examines the methods of telestikē, a form of theurgic statue
animation and technique to divinize the soul, and how theurgy is akin to
shamanic soul flight
First defined by the second century Chaldean Oracles, theurgy is an
ancient magic practice whereby practitioners divinized the soul and
achieved mystical union with a deity, the Demiurge, or the One.
In this detailed study, P. D. Newman pushes the roots of theurgy all the
way back before the time of Homer. He shows how the Chaldean Oracles
were not only written in Homeric Greek but also in dactylic hexameter,
the same meter as the epics of Homer. Linking the Greek shamanic
practices of the late Archaic period with the theurgic rites of late
antiquity, the author explains how both anabasis, soul ascent, and
katabasis, soul descent, can be considered varieties of shamanic soul
flight and how these practices existed in ancient Greek culture prior to
the influx of shamanic influence from Thrace and the Hyperborean North.
The author explores the many theurgic themes and symbolic events in the
Odyssey and the Iliad, including the famous journey of Odysseus to
Hades and the incident of the funeral pyre of Patroclus. He presents a
close analysis of On the Cave of the Nymphs, Porphyry's commentary on
Homer's Odyssey, as well as a detailed look at Proclus's symbolic
reading of Homer's Iliad, showing how both of these Neoplatonists
describe the philosophical theory and the technical ritual praxis of
theurgy. Using the Chaldean Oracles as a case study, Newman examines
in detail the methods of telestikē, a form of theurgic statue
animation, linking this practice to ancient Egyptian and Greek
traditions as well as theurgic techniques to divinize the soul.
Revealing how the theurgic arts are far older than the second century,
Newman's study not only examines the philosophical theory of theurgy but
also the actual ritual practices of the theurgists, as described in
their own words.
