In this post I will share the contents of these inscriptions and comment on their significance. I will subsequently discuss the importance of the Goddess Mnemosyne, the personification of Memory, who is featured as a major character in the tablets. Apparently, the Orphic tradition believed memory, or specifically the ability to remember certain key concepts, to be essential to one’s journey towards immortality.
Arrival in the Subterranean World
The four main tablets discussed in this chapter (those from Hipponion, Entella, Petelia, and Pharsalus) read very similarly. They start out describing what one sees as soon as he/she enters the realm of the dead. Interestingly, it appears that the initiate who is on his death bed should see these things before he dies, as something of a preview of what will happen, and that he should remember this vision and get it engraved in gold as a type of memory cue for when he actually dies.
Currier and Ives -- "Tree of Life", Public Domain Image
Upon arrival, the soul sees the great palace/mansion of Hades (god of the Underworld). I will quote directly from the English translation of the tablet from Petelia:
You will find, to the left of the mansion of Hades, a fountain, and next to it, a white cypress erect. You must not approach this fountain, not even a little! But on the other side, from the lake of Mnemosyne, you will find water flowing fresh.
And very nearby there are some guardians. Say: “I am the son of Earth and starry Heaven, but my race is heavenly: know this you too. I am dry with thirst and dying. Give me quickly then water from that which flows fresh from the lake of Mnemosyne”. And they will give you water to drink from the sacred fountain and afterwards you will reign with the other heroes.
This is the work of Mnemosyne. When a hero is on the point of dying, let him recall and get this graved on gold, lest the murk cover him and lead him down in dread (pp. 10-11, originally formatting altered here, emphasis mine).
The opening description is striking and strangely reminiscent of Lehi’s dream in 1 Nephi 8, in which he sees a large field, a great and spacious building, a river and fountain, and a great white tree. When Nephi is granted the same vision, he provides some further details:
16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of afilthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the briver of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of chell (1 Ne. 12:16–17)
And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the atree which my father had seen; and the bbeauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the cwhiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow (1 Ne. 11:8).
And it came to pass that I beheld that the arod of iron, which my father had seen, was the bword of God, which cled to the fountain of dliving waters, or to the etree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God (1 Ne. 11:25).
Although the descriptions are very brief in the Orphic tablets, and differ somewhat one from the other, it appears to be safe to say that they describe two fountains/rivers/lakes. One was to the left of the white tree while the other was to the right (called the “fountain of eternal flow” and sometimes described as being right next to the tree). Apparently, the arriving soul is warned not to drink from the one on the left, but is then encouraged to persuade the guardians to give them to drink from the one on the right. The spring on the left is likely to be identified with the Spring of Lethe (forgetfulness), and the one on the right is the Spring of Mnemosyne (memory). The soul should desire to drink of the flowing waters of memory, which leads to life1. In the Greek tradition, forgetfulness is linked to sin and death, whereas remembering is linked to life and immortality (this basic idea is also common in Book of Mormon thought).
Perhaps, as in 1 Nephi, the Orphic tradition conceived of a filthy river or fountain (in both the tablets and in 1 Nephi, the two words are used interchangeably), and also a fountain of clean or living (meaning flowing) water alongside the white cypress. Scholars have called the Orphic tree the “Tree of Life”2. The focus in the 1 Nephi vision is on the tree and partaking of its fruit. However, the focus in the tablets is on drinking from the living waters. Interestingly, the Nephi account makes eating from the tree and drinking from the waters equivalent (in Egyptian texts, the water often comes from the tree, sometimes by the had of a goddess located inside it). The tablets specify that drinking from the fountain of memory starts the soul on the “sacred way” that the other initiates have gone which leads to glory, immortality and the right to “reign with the other heroes.” On the other hand, the tablets agree in giving a stern warning not to drink from the first fountain. It is interesting to note that the oldest of the tablets found (from 400 BC) nearly dates to the time of Lehi.
There are many other interesting ideas in this introduction to the journey of the Afterlife. The presence of preliminary guardians (there are others who follow) who ask questions and demand a particular answer is noteworthy. These beings are mentioned in many traditions — for example, in the Genesis story of the Cherubim who guard the way to the Tree of Life. In the Orphic tablets, they are to be told that although the soul is a son/daughter of the Earth, he is also born of Heaven and is of the celestial race. The Entella tablet, although the last lines are hard to decipher, seems to say that the guardians, after receiving this response, will consult with the Goddess Persephone (queen of the dead), and then either give or require certain passwords. This encounter with these first guardians is not the end of the journey, but only the beginning.
The Essential Role of Memory
The tablets take care to mention that they are “the work of Mnemosyne.” As previously mentioned, the Goddess Mnemosyne is the personification of Memory. Mnemosyne was a daughter of Uranus, wife to Zeus, and mother of the Muses (the inspiration of the poets). The text of the tablets was the work of Mnemosyne because they were something to be remembered. This is one of the reasons the inscriptions are in verse — to facilitate its memorization (p. 15). The responsibility of the Muses was to help poets remember their poetry. The authors of Instructions to the Netherworld expand on the role of Memory:
The goddess takes care that the initiate recalls what he must do, and the instructions that have been revealed to him while alive (probably in the course of initiation), thus becoming the protectress of souls and the guide of his journey (p. 15).
One of the main purposes for seeking the waters of Memory, then, is for those who have been initiated into the mysteries while alive to be able to remember the details of those rituals when they die and have to use them practically in the Afterlife. The authors explain further:
What is hoped for from Mnemosyne is that she may make the initiates remember the ritual, probably that of initiation. At an elementary level, one has recourse to Mnemosyne in order to prevent an unexpected lapse of memory in a moment that is crucial for the initiate: that is, when he presents himself before the guardians and confronts their obligatory interrogation (p. 16).
Beyond this, the authors suggest that some Greek philosophers consider memory as “an instrument of salvation.” While tied by them to the concept of reincarnation, this concept is quite enlightening. The Greeks believed that if you drank from the river Lethe/Forgetfulness, you would forget your previous life and be forced to live another lifetime without progressing. However, if you could remember the lessons learned in your previous live(s) (i.e, because you drank from the fountain of Memory), you could move on to immortality and glory. Those who forget the mistakes of the past will not progress. With the memory of his previous faults, the soul can bring the cycle of destiny to a close and, by paying the price for his injustices, be liberated from the world and death (p. 17).
In Greek, the very concept of “truth” means, etymologically, the “absence of forgetting.” To remember therefore also means “to know” (p. 17). The authors note: “Whereas Forgetfulness is the water of death, because no one can approach the realm of shadows without having lost memory and consciousness, Memory, by contrast, is the fount of immortality, since he who conserves the memory of things in Hades transcends the mortal condition” (p. 17). The general path of the soul is to forget/lose consciousness/die — drinking from the waters of life cause one to take the higher path of memory/knowing/life. As Christ taught, “And this is alife beternal, that they might cknow (remember) thee the only true dGod, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast esent” (John 17:3). Perhaps this is why the Scriptures tell us so often to remember — 212 times in the Bible and about 120 times in the Book of Mormon.
While a whole post could be written on the subject of memory and its significance, I want to briefly mention a few items for those interested in this topic. My father, David R. Larsen, is the director of Advanced Memory Dynamics, an educational consulting company, and has extensive resources for those interested in learning how to preserve your brain and improve your memory. To learn more, I highly recommend visiting his website at www.4abettermemory.com.
David R. Larsen is also the author of a series of books developed to coincide with LDS Gospel Doctrine annual readings on how to remember scripture: How to Remember Everything in the Old Testament, New Testament, Boof of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Church History. You can go to http://www.cedarfort.com/kahuga/gallery.jsp and enter “How to Remember” in the search window on top for a short review of each volume. These books are full of practical insights for improving memory and also memorizing the scriptures. Also, you can buy any or all of them directly from the author for 20% off the list price. Just e-mail him at: ServgU@aol.com.
- In his 1982 BYU Studies article, “The Book of Mormon as an Ancient Book,” C. Wilfred Griggs analyzes these arguments in greater depth [↩]
- Griggs, p. 9 [↩]
12 Comments
David:
Excellent post! I really enjoy this topic and look forward to your continued posts.
I would like to discuss the idea of two rivers with you a little further.
Let me preface my questions by saying I understand that this imagery may be adapted in different visions a little differently. I think we need to be pliable in understanding the underlying truths, so I am trying not to be too ridged here, so please kick me back into line if I stray.
With the assumption that the Orphic Tablets share a common underlying escotolical truth with similar visions, such as Lehi and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life, Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 47 (temple and a river), John’s vision in the Revelation, Genesis 1, Moses 3, and so on, these are my observations.
I am not convinced it is “safe to say that they describe two fountains/rivers/lakes.” But, that is the conclusion most scholars come to. I would like to question that conclusion.
The problem I see is in labeling the “Waters of Life” as the “filthy water” and “depths of hell.” Since this is hard to do for most, we look for an alternative, more reasonable and consistent explanation. I submit that the harder explanation contains some important understanding, if we can but seize it.
These ascension visions are all set in a temple setting, and are directly connected with an explanation of creation, and I believe that is the key.
Creation consists of thee and finally four degrees, call them light, purity, water, knowledge, kingdoms, or Sefirot (Cel., Ter., Tel., & Outer Darkness).
Never in any of these visions does it say that there are two rivers or water sources. In fact, they seem consistent in not saying that. They all teach that the “water” (powers of creation) come from or from behind the Tree of Life (or Temple).
Ezekiel 47 clearly shows one water source that trickles from the temple (origination of creation or ein sof), and then expands into four levels, which I suggest correspond to the four degrees of existence. We don’t usually struggle with this because words like “filthy water” are not attached to this vision. But if Ezk 47 is the same type of vision as Lehi’s Tree of Life we can’t escape it.
I say that in the creation stories that the light being divided corresponds to the water expanding in Ezk 47, or the water become polluted in Nephi’s vision. That the Cabalists have it right when they describe existence and creation in four levels (the four rivers from coming out of Eden etc.)
The description by Nephi of the water being filth has to be understood in light of the larger imagery, it is also called the “Justice of God” which separates the wicked and the righteous, which we would normally not think of as filthy.
Nephi equates the Tree of Life with the fountain of living waters (1 Nephi 11:25). Cabalist see the Tree of Life as a symbol of degrees or levels of coarseness vs. refinement, or levels of Holiness. Because the tree has a lower level, it is not an insult to the entire tree.
I know almost nothing about the Orphic Tablets, but personally I will reserve judgment if they describe one or two rivers, just because it described the river at one point on the left, and further alone as being on the right, which may be symbolic in itself.
Anyway, that’s some of my observations. But I welcome any corrections.
If I may be so bold, here is a link of my thoughts on a related subject.
http://mormonmysticism.blogspot.com/2009/04/four-coners-of-earth.html
Littleield
David:
Reading your next post on this same topic got me thinking further, and I conclude I was initially too ridged in my thinking. Clearly the initiate does make a choice.
In Lehi and Nephi’s vision they chose what level of purity to drink of the river from.
If my understanding of Genesis is correct, we chose which of the four rivers to partake of.
In Ezk 47 we chose which level of the river to stand in, or partake of.
In the Orphic Tablet the initiate is choosing between something.
But I am still holding onto the idea that each comes from a single source. As opposed to the idea that each of the two trees (in the Eden story) has its own river.
Perhaps this is a distinction without a difference.
Littlefield
David,
Sorry its taken so long for me to respond to this. I really do appreciate you taking the time to really study these topics and share your comments here. I don’t disagree with you at all. In fact, in the Orphic tablets it is very unclear as to what exactly is being described. It is not at all clear in many of the tablets (I tried to post the clearest one here for my purposes) that there are two separate fountains of water. In many of them, it is only made clear that at one point the initiate should not drink from the water while later it is permitted. Sometimes it is quite clear that there is water on the left that should be avoided while the “living water” is on the right, but sometimes both the good and the bad water is on the right. The white tree is usually the marker indicating where the good water is, but it is not really explicit that there are two separate sources of water. I think you’ve hit on the key emphasis here — that there is a choice between filthy and clean, good and evil.
Thank you for pointing this out, David. When I wrote the post, I wasn’t really thinking of the big picture of the other visions (besides Lehi/Nephi’s) and how this theme plays out. I really like Ezek 47 and think we can make some comparisons to it with our Orphic tablets. In Ezek 47, wherever the living/flowing water goes, there is life. However, there are some “miry” places, some marshes, where there is apparently stagnant water and no life. I think this is basically what is being described in most of the Orphic inscriptions. There are some that describe those partaking of the filthy waters “of Lethe” as getting trapped in the mud. Their fate is, instead of being raised to the blessed and pure state, they get stuck wallowing in the mud, never remembering their true potential. I think Lehi’s dream shows the same type of situation — the wicked lose their way and get trapped in the filthy waters. Again, this doesn’t mean that there are two real fountains of water, but perhaps there is water (whether of the temple stream or not) that is sitting there more or less stagnant. What do you think?
David:
Let me play to a long shot here.
We have a shared imagery between several cultures with the tree of life, or a temple, and the waters that come from the location of that tree. So I accept some shared knowledge (of deeper things) between the writers of Gen., Nephi, Revelation, Moses, Ezk., and the Orphic Tablets. The overall idea of ascension is a shared theology, and I am sure we could match up a number of points between the references.
I have read several papers on the Book of Mormon, about the repetitions, that are almost almost ritualistic, of the direction to “Remember.” Most scholars see these Book of Mormon repetitions to remember as more of a literary style (giving structure etc.), but I wonder if the literary style has an underlying deeper teaching which may be related to the Orphic Tablets’ emphasis to “Remember.”
I thought I would mention this before I forget.
David
David:
Here is one paper along those lines:“O Man, Remember, and Perish Not” (Mosiah 4:30)
Good thoughts, David. I think you’re right on in attributing extra significance to the way “remember” is being used here. I really appreciate the link you provided to the Midgley article. He is right on and his ideas are very much along the lines that I think the Orphic tablets are trying to express with their talk of memory. The repetition of the word “remember” is much more than a stylistic phenomenon — it is almost a ritualistic keyword that has much to do with covenant making and keeping. In the Orphic tablets, memory has to do with choosing the right based on knowledge remembered from initiation rituals.
David:
This is great stuff! Keep it coming!
I am wondering if there is a chance of there being a reverse of the tree of life vision/ascension? Could it be that what we know of Lehi/Nephi’s vision is going from our telestial (earthly)state, to a terrestrial/garden state (Eden or paradiasical like state) and ultimately to a celestial state involves the partaking of pure water that purifies us and make us more refined to endure a higher state.Could it be that the somehow through this process of deification our blood is turned to spirit fluid thus making us immortal by participation in something that is symbolically represented by partaking of the waters of memory? Could our journey down to earth where we left a Celestial existance, perhaps passed through a garden/Terestrial/Edenic state and arrived in our temporal telestial/earthly world have involved the partaking of less and less pure or filthy water that changes us to the lower telestial world? Could our participation in the weekly sacrament be part of participating in this pure water reminding us as we now partake of water instead of wine that Christ’s veins now have spirit fluid running through them after he shed his blood and has been resurrected? Could we be partaking of the sacrament water each week symbolically rising us up to a more pure level and moving us forward in our progression. With the word remember such a part of the sacrament prayers, “I wonder if we are to remember our progression that was both downward and forward and remember our complete journey down to earth adn back up towards God as well as remember the atonement adn remember the needed information we learn in the temples.
Another idea along these same lines.
If we try to draw some parallels between Israelite temple imagery and the Orphic tablets, I think some things may clarify each other a bit.
In Temple Theology, page 85, Margaret Barker talks about the “bread of the Presence” (temple bread). She says that the Targums show that the bread was “azkarah” commonly thought to mean “remember” in Hebrew.
But Baker also says that “…this key word ‘remember’ (zkr) can also be translated ‘invoke’, which is a priestly, temple activity…”(pg. 38)
I think this slight dichotomy between “remember” and “invoke” in Israelite temple imagery can be reconciled by contemplating the question; does a modern day sacrament rite “remember” or “invoke” the Lord?
So I have to ask myself if the Orphic mysteries had a similar understanding?
BTW, I am of the opinion that our LDS sacrament rite could just as easily be done in the temple (similar to baptism) as in our church buildings. It appears to me this was sometimes the case.
Littlefield
I think you have some really great ideas here Stephanie. I really do believe there was a process of descending just as there is an ascension. There are some great ancient texts that talk about Christ coming down from heaven and becoming increasingly mortal as he descends the various heavens to Earth. Likewise, I like the theory that it was Adam’s partaking of the forbidden fruit that caused blood to flow in his veins instead of spirit/light. While partaking of something inappropriate/filthy causes us to fall, the partaking of that which is clean and pure causes us to ascend. Great thoughts! Thank you so much for sharing!
Very interesting, David! Interesting how the bread of the Presence is also related to the Mother Goddess and Wisdom imagery. Its amazing how many parallels there are between the Hebrew and the Greek/Orphic systems. On the issue of “remembering” or “invoking”, they are just so interrelated. Remembering the Lord invokes his Spirit we are told in the sacramental prayer. I think the Catholic liturgy really emphasizes this –when the tokens are blessed, the presence of Christ is, for them, most literally invoked.
I agree that our Sacrament is probably in its most proper context in the temple as well. Of course meetinghouses have been dedicated and are therefore appropriate locations, but the sacrament is really part of the same ritual system as that of the temple. Do you know of any other temple setting, besides Kirtland, where the sacrament has been performed?
David:
I came across an interesting reference in the Zohar regarding memory. Speaking about those who “see without seeing” and have their “ears blocked” it says:
“They are not inscribed in the Book of Memory, [and] are erased from the Book of Life…” (Zohar, Matt, Vol 1, pg 359)
And the Zohar is preoccupied with the “flow of emanations” describing how God’s power and grace flows from one kingdom down to another.
Littlefield
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