{"id":76,"date":"2026-07-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/?p=76"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:26:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:26:34","slug":"aphrodite-in-iliad-v-the-anagogy-of-aeneas-and-the-hymns-of-proclus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/2026\/07\/02\/aphrodite-in-iliad-v-the-anagogy-of-aeneas-and-the-hymns-of-proclus\/","title":{"rendered":"Aphrodite in Iliad V: The Anagogy of Aeneas and the Hymns of Proclus [Part 3]"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having discussed the symbolic exegesis of the characters of Aeneas, Aphrodite and Diomedes in Iliad <\/em>V, this post will now turn to exploring through Proclus\u2019 Hymns the theurgic significance of this passage in Homer from the perspective of the later Platonists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is worth establishing from the outset that while Proclus disagrees with Plotinus on certain philosophical issues (such as Plotinus\u2019 teaching of the undescended soul, criticized by Proclus in the Commentary on Plato\u2019s Alcibiades <\/em>227.2-9; cf. Martijn 2022 , 83-84), he fundamentally sees him as a legitimate interpreter of Plato. Proclus includes him among \u201cthe interpreters of the epopteia<\/em>\u201d (Taylor 1816) of Plato in Platonic Theology<\/em> I.1 and appears to allude to his exegesis of Symposium <\/em>(En.<\/em> III.5.2-4) in his \u201cHymn to Aphrodite\u201d. Furthermore, Proclus wrote a commentary on the Enneads<\/em> which is, unfortunately, only preserved in fragments in Michael Psellus (Martijn 2022, 74-75). For this reason, I think putting the two authors\u2019 works in dialogue through Iliad <\/em>V will be productive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Plotinian perspective on Iliad <\/em>V, an immediate question would be \u2018where is Eros\u2019? The relationship of Aphrodite and Eros (already established by Diotima in Symposium<\/em>) is crucial for Plotinian psychology, aesthetics and soteriology. Plotinus ties these three together succinctly when he writes that <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u03bf\u1f34\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03c7\u03c1\u1f74 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b4\u03af\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff7 \u1f45\u03bb\u1ff3 \u1f10\u03be \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b4\u03af\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u1f78\u03c2 \u1f45\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2, \u1f10\u03bd \u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70\u03c2 \u1f10\u03ba\u03b5\u03af\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f14\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b5\u1f34\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u1f74 \u03bc\u03ae\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1 \u1f14\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b4\u03af\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03ae, \u1f14\u03c1\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b4\u1f72 \u1f10\u03bd\u03ad\u03c1\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u1fc6\u03c2 \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u1fe6 \u1f40\u03c1\u03b9\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2.
 
\u201cIt is necessary to think even there to be many Aphrodites within the cosmos, becoming daimons in it alongside Eros, flowing from a universal Aphrodite, many in part depending on the universal one, each with their own Eros, so that Soul is mother of Eros, Aphrodite is Soul, and Eros is the activity of Soul striving towards good.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Plotinus thus understands there to be a \u2018universal Aphrodite\u2019, elsewhere identified as Aphrodite Pandemos, the daughter of Zeus and Dione, who is the Soul of the Cosmos, and that there are \u2018many Aphrodites within the cosmos, becoming daimons\u2019, referring to individual souls \u2018flowing from\u2019 the universal soul. Each theological register of Aphrodite has its own Eros, so exploring Iliad <\/em>V and identifying what kind of Eros is present in the text needs a kind of taxonomy of these Erotes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where Proclus\u2019 Hymn to Aphrodite becomes immensely helpful, because he gives exactly this taxonomy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u1f59\u03bc\u03bd\u03ad\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u1f74\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd \u1f08\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b7\u03c2
\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u1f74\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bb\u03ae\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f27\u03c2 \u1f04\u03c0\u03bf \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2
\u1f00\u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03cc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b5\u03b2\u03bb\u03ac\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u1f1c\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2.
\u1f6e\u03bd \u03bf\u1f31 \u03bc\u1f72\u03bd \u03bd\u03bf\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f40\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9 \u03b2\u03b5\u03bb\u03ad\u03bc\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2
\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03ac\u03c2, \u1f44\u03c6\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c0\u03cc\u03b8\u03c9\u03bd \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03b3\u03ce\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1 \u03ba\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03c1\u03b1 \u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9
\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f30\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1\u03bd\u03cc\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f30\u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c6\u03b5\u03b3\u03b3\u03ad\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03bb\u03ac\u03c2.
\u039f\u1f31 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u1fc7\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f00\u03bb\u03b5\u03be\u03b9\u03ba\u03ac\u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03af\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2
\u1f31\u03ad\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u1fc7\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03af\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03b1 \u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd \u1f00\u03ad\u03be\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd
\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2 \u1f35\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u1f66\u03c1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03c7\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b2\u03b9\u03cc\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf.
\u1f0c\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03b3\u03b1\u03bc\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u1f40\u03ac\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03ad\u03b1\u03c2 \u03bf\u1f34\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2
\u03b1\u1f30\u1f72\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u03bf\u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f45\u03c0\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b8\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c6\u03cd\u03c4\u03bb\u03b7\u03c2
\u1f00\u03b8\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03be\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9 \u03b4\u03c5\u03b7\u03c0\u03b1\u03b8\u03ad\u03c9\u03bd \u03b3\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u1ff6\u03bd\u00b7
\u03c0\u1fb6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b4\u2018 \u1f14\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1 \u03bc\u03ad\u03bc\u03b7\u03bb\u03b5\u03bd \u1f10\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03cc\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5 \u039a\u03c5\u03b8\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03af\u03b7\u03c2.

\u201cWe hymn the many-named series of Aphrogeneia
And the great royal source, from which all
Immortal winged Erotes have sprung up
Some shoot with noeric arrows at souls, in order that,
Having taken the upward-leading goads of desires,
These long after seeing the fiery courts of their mother.
Some, because of the evil-averting wishes and providential acts
Of the Father, wishing to increase the infinite universe with birth,
Arouses in the souls a yearning for the earthy existence.
Others again always supervise the multifarious
Courses of the wedding songs, so as to produce an
Immortal race of much-suffering men from mortal stock;
And all care for the works of the love-producing [er\u014dtotokou<\/em>] Kythereia.\u201d\n\n\n\n

This last verse, casting the Erotes as assistants in the cosmic activities of Aphrodite, echoes Plotinus\u2019 own discussion of Erotes and other daimons in III.5.6.24-35. Further connections between Proclus\u2019 Hymn and Plotinus\u2019 theology of Aphrodite can be seen in that both agree on their omnipresence (cf. Van den Berg 2001, 204 on Proclus In Rep. <\/em>I.141.21 and En<\/em>. III.5.4.13). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proclus\u2019 threefold distinction between Erotes taxonomizes them into (a) anagogic; (b) generative and (c) marital classes. The first category (a) of Erotes best describes the current activity of Aeneas in Iliad <\/em>V:297-442. These Erotes which \u201cshoot with noeric arrows at souls, in order that, having taken the upward-leading [anag\u014dgia<\/em>] goads of desires, these long after seeing the fiery courts of their mother\u201d best correspond to the Eros of En. <\/em>III.5.1.12-13, which are \u201cin [the] manner for the wise having been made at home with Beauty itself.\u201d Having been wounded, Aeneas has been taken up the \u201cupward-leading\u201d path, being carried by his mother from the battlefield. His unconsciousness symbolizes disconnection from the body corresponding to the \u201cnoeric arrow\u201d of this anagogic Eros. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Eros \u201clong[s] after seeing the fiery courts of [his] mother\u201d. In Iliad <\/em>V, we can say this longing which is fulfilled, sans <\/em>the Chaldean \u2018fiery courts\u2019 (Van den Berg 2001, 177, 199) \u2013 if we recall the non-separation of the individual soul from the Soul of the Cosmos and recall Plotinus\u2019 advice in interpreting myth that myths separate into distinct characters and figures what in essence are unified (cf. En. <\/em>III.5.9.23-30). \u201cThe goddess Aphrodite flung herself into her mother\u2019s lap. Dione hugged her, and held her arms around her darling daughter, and stroked her with her hand and said her name\u2026\u201d (Wilson 2023, 111; Iliad <\/em>V:370-372). This is to say the individual soul (Aeneas) ascends beyond his material body, being united with the World-Soul (Aphrodite; Proclus addresses Aphrodite as \u201cyou [who] envelop the great heaven all around, where, as they say, you are the divine soul of the everlasting cosmos\u201d in v.15-16), who then reaches her mother, which is a cause and source [\u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u1f74\u03bd, in Proclus\u2019 Hymn] beyond even the World-Soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proclus and Plotinus disagree on philosophical theological points about what and who this cause and source is (for Plotinus, it is Aphrodite Ourania and the hypostasis Soul, which Proclus rejects). Nevertheless, the anagogic motion of the soul is the same, and the symbolic linkages with Iliad <\/em>V remain for both authors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proclus\u2019 hymn enacts and engages these symbolic linkages in theurgy, when it turns to the petition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u03ba\u03ad\u03ba\u03bb\u03c5\u03b8\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03bc\u03bf\u03c7\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd \u1f10\u03bc\u1f74\u03bd \u03b2\u03b9\u03cc\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03b5\u03af\u03b7\u03bd
\u1f30\u03b8\u03cd\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c3\u03ad\u03bf, \u03c0\u03cc\u03c4\u03bd\u03b1, \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c4\u03ac\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9 \u03b2\u03b5\u03bb\u03ad\u03bc\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2

\u201c…listen, and may you steer the toilsome course of my life,
Mistress, with your most righteous arrows\u2026\u201d\n\n\n\n

Addressing the Goddess directly, Proclus asks that she may \u201csteer\u201d [ithunois<\/em>] \u2013 a word which can both refer to straightening the path of arrows (cf. Odyssey<\/em> 22:8), and the rule of the leader of the cosmos (cf. Zeus in Iliad<\/em> 17:632), but also refer to the steering of shifts (cf. Herodotus, Histories<\/em> I.194). In other hymns, (\u03b1\u1f33 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u1f70\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03b2\u03ad\u03bd\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bb\u03c9\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b2\u03b9\u03cc\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf,\u201cTo the Muses\u201d v.3) the word for \u201clife\u201d [biotoio<\/em>] is likened to the depths of the sea and souls crossing it are \u201cwandering\u201d [al\u014domenas<\/em>] (a Homeric epithet of Odysseus, cf. Van den Berg 2001, 211; Odyssey<\/em> 2:333; 5:336; 5:448; 7:239). The suggested image in this petition, of the Goddess Aphrodite intervening to \u201csteer the toilsome course of [the] life\u201d of a wandering soul immediately calls to mind the journey of Aeneas after the defeat at Troy:<\/p>\n\n\n\nArma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam, fato profugus, Laviniaque venit
litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
[…]
Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso,
quidve dolens, regina deum tot volvere casus
insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores,
impluerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?

\u201cI sing of arms and a man, who first from the shores of Troy came to Italy, that is, to the Lavinian coasts, driven by fate, that [man] much thrown around on land and at sea \u2026 Muse, remember to me the causes: what offended her divinity, what was she suffering, that the Queen of the Gods drove a man marked by piety to undertake such labors, to roll through such misfortune? Are there such angers in the minds of the heavenly ones?\u201d\n\n\n\n

There are clear parallels in vocabulary between Virgil\u2019s prologue and Proclus\u2019 petition and other parts of his hymn: \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03cd\u03bc\u03bf\u03c7\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd (\u201ctoilsome\u201d) and tot adire labores (\u201cto undertake such labors\u201d); \u1f30\u03b8\u03cd\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 (\u201csteer\u201d) and impluerit (\u201cdrove\u201d); \u03bc\u03b5\u03b3\u03ac\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bb\u03ae\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd (\u201cgreat royal\u201d, referring to Aphrodite as source of the Erotes) and regina deum (\u201cQueen of the Gods\u201d; referring to Juno). There\u2019s even a similar subject matter to the petition and the prologue, given there is a man (virum; \u1f10\u03bc\u1f74\u03bd referring to Proclus) and weapons (arma; \u03b2\u03b5\u03bb\u03ad\u03bc\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2). Through this analogizing, Proclus is stepping into the role of Aeneas, a \u201cman marked by piety\u201d and yet \u201cthrown around on land and at sea\u201d having traveled around the Mediterranean in his studies and forced \u201cto undertake such labors, to roll through such misfortune\u201d living through the latter days of Platonic education in Athens when traditional religion was being more rapidly repressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proclus\u2019 Hymn to Lycian Aphrodite gives a few more qualifications to both our understanding of the theurgic employment of symbola<\/em> from Iliad <\/em>V and the role of Aphrodite therein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, he says that \u201c[the Lycians] called this goddess Olympian, because of whose power \/ they often escaped the mortal-destroying poison of death, they kept their eye fixed on excellence [\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f11 \u0398\u03b5\u1f74\u03bd \u1f40\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd\u03b1\u03bd \u1f48\u03bb\u03cd\u03bc\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u1f26\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b9\u1f70 \u03ba\u03ac\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \/ \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03ba\u03b9 \u03bc\u1f72\u03bd \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b2\u03c1\u03bf\u03c4\u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03cc\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u1f14\u03ba\u03c6\u03c5\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd \u1f30\u03cc\u03bd, \/ \u1f10\u03c2 \u03b4\u2019 \u1f00\u03c1\u03b5\u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f14\u03c7\u03bf\u03bd \u1f44\u03bc\u03bc\u03b1] (Van den Berg 2001, 238-239). The description of Aphrodite as associated with Olympus because of her power to escape \u201cthe mortal-destroying poison of death\u201d certainly recalls Iliad <\/em>V, where the Goddess helps the wounded Aeneas to escape and ascends to Olympus. Furthermore, connecting this to keeping \u201ctheir eye fixed on excellence [aret\u0113<\/em>]\u201d certainly resonates with Aeneas\u2019 actions, as discussed in the previous post, which begin the anagogic episode. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through, perhaps most importantly, the petition to Aphrodite to \u201clift up my soul from ugliness back again to great beauty\u201d [\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u1f74\u03bd \u03b4\u2019\u1f02\u03c8 \u1f00\u03bd\u03ac\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd \u1f00\u03c0\u2019 \u03b1\u1f30\u03c3\u03c7\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u1f7a \u03ba\u03ac\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2] (Van den Berg 2001, 238-239) most clearly and beautifully activates the poetic, mythic symbol of the Goddess who dives \u201cdown among the gruesome corpses\u201d (Wilson 2023, 130; Iliad <\/em>V:885-887) to lift up and save her child in the soteriological context of theurgic recitation of hymns. This lifting up also aligns well with Proclus\u2019 own positioning in Platonic Theology <\/em>VI.22 of Aphrodite as \u201cthe first-effective cause of the amatory inspiration which pervades through wholes, and familiarizes to the beautiful the lives that are elevated by her\u201d (Taylor 1816, 364) within the \u2018anagogic triad\u2019 alongside Hermes and Apollo (who also appears in Iliad <\/em>V to defend Aeneas).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If, at this point, one may doubt that Proclus was reading Iliad <\/em>V and thinking about the verses of Homer as applicable in his own practice of writing and reciting hymns (which Marinus confirms; see Vita Procli<\/em> 17, 19), one would only need to look to the direct quote of Iliad <\/em>V in his \u201cCommon Hymn to the Gods\u201d (cf. Van den Berg 2001, 182-183). Compare the following verses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2026\u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b4\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f41\u03bc\u03af\u03c7\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd,
\u1f44\u03c6\u03c1\u03b1 <\/strong>\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u1f56 \u03b3\u03bd\u03bf\u03af\u03b7\u03bd<\/span> \u03b8\u03b5\u1f78\u03bd<\/strong> \u1f04\u03bc\u03b2\u03c1\u03bf\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u1f20\u03b4\u1f72 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1<\/strong>

\u201c… scattering the mist,
So that I know well and immortal god from man;\u201d\n\n\n\n\u1f00\u03c7\u03bb\u1f7a\u03bd \u03b4\u1fbd \u03b1\u1f56 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u1f00\u03c0\u1fbd \u1f40\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f15\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u1f23 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f76\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u1fc6\u03b5\u03bd,
\u1f44\u03c6\u03c1<\/strong>\u1fbd \u03b5\u1f56 \u03b3\u03b9\u03b3\u03bd\u03ce\u03c3\u03ba\u1fc3\u03c2<\/span> \u1f20\u03bc\u1f72\u03bd \u03b8\u03b5\u1f78\u03bd \u1f20\u03b4\u1f72 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1<\/strong>.

\u201cI have removed the mist that veiled your eyes,
So you can now distinguish gods from humans.\u201d\n\n\n\n

These are the words of Athena to Diomedes; Proclus\u2019 reference to them seems to identify himself with the Greek hero, which may pose an interpretative challenge for the present exegesis of the ascent of Aeneas and wounding of Aphrodite. Two data points mitigate against this, however. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, in his hymn to Lycian Aphrodite  \u2013 the local cultus of Aphrodite in the homeland of his parents (Van den Berg 2001, 239; \u201cTo Lycian Aphrodite\u201d v.13) \u2013 Proclus emphasizes his Lycian heritage. When Aeneas jumps from his chariot, it is to protect the body of Pandarus, son of Lycaon, a famed archer from the city of Zelea in Lycia (cf. the speech of Athena to Pandarus at Iliad <\/em>4:93-103; Aeneas addressing Pandarus, who \u201cno man in Troy or Lycia rivals\u201d in archery; Wilson 2023, 103, Iliad <\/em>V:171-178). While the significance of arrows and archery in Proclus\u2019 Hymns to Aphrodite are no doubt primarily influenced by the figure of the Erotes, he could not have been unaware of the famous Homeric archer from his own region. Secondly, in his Commentary on Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em>, Proclus describes the judgement of Paris, distinguishing the pursuit of sensible beauty from \u201can authentic eroticism, which has taken understanding and wisdom to be its guides, and can distinguish with aid of these between real and apparent beauty, does not belong less to Athena than Aphrodite\u201d (In Rep. <\/em>1.108.23-109, translated in Lankila 2009, 26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To summarize, given the symbolic exegesis of Iliad <\/em>V from a Plotinian perspective, it is clear to see resonances with various symbolic identifications in the two hymns which Proclus composed for Aphrodite. The former hymn taxonomizes Eros in a manner which makes clear the type of \u201cactivity of soul striving for the Good\u201d which Aeneas undertakes in the scene. This anagogic eros conditions the petitions of Proclus\u2019 hymns, which ask the Goddess to \u201csteer\u201d his life and \u201clift\u201d him up from \u201cugliness\u201d; both petitions echo both the circumstances in which Aphrodite dives into battle to save Aeneas and the labores <\/em>of Aeneas as extolled by Virgil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this, then, contextualizes the lines which Celsus and Origin quibble over and which van Kooten cites, Iliad <\/em>V:334-340: <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cDiomedes, son of valiant Tydeus, chased after [Aphrodite], pushed through the mass of warriors, and reached her, then leapt and hurled his sharp spear at the goddess \u2013 wounding her delicate soft wrist. The weapon pierced through the immortal fabric of her dress, which had been woven for her by the Graces, and cut her skin just underneath her palm. Her deathless blood poured out \u2013 not blood, but \u201cichor,\u201d the liquid that flows through the blessed gods.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Proclus\u2019 Hymns to Aphrodite heavily allude to Iliad <\/em>V, relating the theurgist to Aeneas and the soteriological ascent of theurgic practice to the anagogy of Aeneas. In Proclus\u2019s Commentary on Plato\u2019s Republic<\/em>, a theoretical account of obscene mythical symbolism is given which aptly explains the role of the wounding of Aphrodite in the perspective of a theurgic exegesis of the above-quoted lines:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cAuthors of myths imitate the transcendent power of the models by those things which are entirely opposite to the gods and are furthest removed from them: that which surpasses nature is represented by things contrary to nature that which is more divine than all reason, by the irrational; that which transcends in simplicity all fragmented beauty, by things that appear ugly and obscene. <\/strong>It seems likely, therefore, that they do all of this in order to make us recall the transcending superiority of the gods.\u201d\n\n\n\n

Radek Chlup gives a helpful summary of the consequences of this interpretation, saying that \u201c[t]he frequent monstrosity of mythology follows naturally from the fact that what the myths try to express is fundamentally different from how things function in this world. To draw our attention to the essential otherness of the divine, myths have recourse to various drastic or shameful images which often go well beyond anything humans would ever be capable of. In this way we are reminded that the story is not to be read literally, that the monstrous incidents serve to express the incomparable power of the gods, their transcendence.\u201d (Chlup 2012, 191).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chlup, Radek. (2012). Proclus: An Introduction<\/em>. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gerson, Lloyd P. (Ed.) (2018), The Enneads<\/em>. Boys-Stones, George; Dillon, John M.; Gerson, Lloyd P.; King, R.A.H.; Smith, Andrew; Wilberding, James (Trs.). (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greenough, J.B. (Tr.; Ed.) (1900), Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics Of Vergil<\/em>. (Boston. Ginn & Co.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henry, Paul and Schwyzer, Hans-Rudolf (Eds.) (1964), Plotini Opera<\/em>. (Oxford: Oxford University Press). Vol. I<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homer (1920), Homeri Opera in five volumes.<\/em> (Oxford, Oxford University Press).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lankila, Tuomo (2009), \u201cAphrodite in Proclus\u2019 Theology\u201d. Journal for Late Antique Religion and Culture<\/em>. 3:21-43<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martijn, Marije (2022), \u201cFrom Plotinus to Proclus\u201d in Gerson, Lloyd P. and Wilberding, James. (Eds.), The New Cambridge Companion to Plotinus<\/em>. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reeve, C.D.C. (Tr.; Ed.) (2012), A Plato Reader: Eight Essential Dialogues<\/em>. (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taylor, Thomas (Tr.) (1816), Proclus on the Theology of Plato<\/em>. (Kshetra Books). Reprinted 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van den Berg, R.M. (2001). Proclus\u2019 Hymns: Essays, Translation, Commentary<\/em>. Philosophia Antiqua 90. (Leiden: Brill).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilson, Emily (Tr.) (2023), The Iliad<\/em>. (New York: W.W. Norton).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having discussed the symbolic exegesis of the characters of Aeneas, Aphrodite and Diomedes in Iliad V, this post will now turn to exploring through Proclus\u2019 Hymns the theurgic significance of this passage in Homer from the perspective of the later Platonists.  It is worth establishing from the outset that while Proclus disagrees with Plotinus on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[35,5,32,41,33,8,3,37,12,38,14,34,40],"class_list":["post-76","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-aeneid","tag-aphrodite","tag-homer","tag-hymns","tag-iliad","tag-myth","tag-plotinus","tag-poetics","tag-polytheism","tag-proclus","tag-theology","tag-theurgy","tag-virgil"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":94,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76\/revisions\/94"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/guskraus.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}