Beiträge
Geist – Gehirn – Mythos
Galens Interpretation der mythischen Geburt der Athene. Vorgeschichte und Nachwirkung
Greek mythology developed ideas about the mythical birth of Athena from the head of Zeus in enigmatic allusions.
Hephaestus performed the obstetrics. This cryptic mythologem, an imaginative structure of strange shape, contains a message from
archaic Greece of unfathomable depth and furthermore has an extensive history of influence. After introductory remarks, the first
part (A) of this paper contains a collection of the most important written sources that convey basic elements of the birth myth of
Athena. Its allegorical interpretation was initially undertaken by Stoic philosophers. Therefore, the second part (B) first
reconstructs the integration and transformation of traditional myths into Stoic philosophy. Because the Stoics used basic aspects
of their psychology for this purpose, investigations into Stoic psychology and localisation theory follow in the third part (C).
Chrysippus used these constructions for an allegorical interpretation of the birth myth of Athena. Therefore, the fourth part (D)
analyses his exegesis of this mythologem, about which extensive information is available, and subsequently Galen’s criticism of
it. The famous philosophising physician moreover developed his own allegorical interpretation of the birth myth of Athena, drawing
on his wealth of knowledge about the anatomy and physiology of the brain. The analysis of some significant statements on the
‘cerebral birth of Athena’ then follows in the fifth and last part (E). Documents from late antique literature, from Byzantine
exegetes of Homer, comments from early medieval writers, the reflection of a modern brain anatomist and interpretations of this
myth from the 19th century are discussed. An outlook with information on interdisciplinary brain research concludes the study.
Article outline
- Einführung
- A.Literarische Quellen zum Geburtsmythos der Athene
- 1.Basale schriftliche Dokumente zum Geburtsmythos der Athene
- B.Die Integration und Transformation traditioneller griechischer Mythen in die stoische Philosophie
- 1.Zur philosophischen Theologie der Stoiker
- 2.Stoische Untersuchungen zur griechischen Mythologie
- 3.Stoische Kritik traditioneller Mythen
- 4.Allegorische Deutung homerischer und hesiodischer Gottheiten
- 5.Zeus und die übrigen Gottheiten
- 5.1Zenon
- 5.2Kleanthes
- 5.3Chrysipp
- 5.4Diogenes
- 5.5Cornutus
- C.Lokalisationstheorien der Stoiker und ihre Anwendung bei der allegorischen Mythendeutung
- 1.Elemente der philosophischen Psychologie der Stoiker
- 2.Allgemeine Angaben zu stoischen Theorien über das leitende Prinzip der Seele und dessen Lokalisation
- 3.Thesen führender Stoiker zur Lokalisation des Geistes und ihre Anwendung in der Mythenforschung
- D.Galen contra Chrysipp
- 1.Galens Schrift De placitis Hippocratis et Platonis
- 2.Galen überliefert und kritisiert Chrysipp
- 3.Galens Kritik an Chrysipps allegorischer Interpretationstechnik
- 4.Galen und die anatomischen Voraussetzungen zur Interpretation des Geburtsmythos der Athene: Die zerebrale Geburt der
Athene
- E.Nachwirkungen
- 1.Griechische Spätantike (Lukian)
- 2.Byzantinische Homer-Exegese
- 2.1Ioannes Tzetzes, Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem
- 2.2Scholium ad Iliadem M (Codex Palatinus 40)
- 2.3Eine Scholie zu Tzetzes Allegoriae Illiadis (Parisinus 2644)
- 3.Lateinische Spätantike und frühes Mittelalter
- 3.1Isidor von Sevilla / Rabanus Maurus
- 4.Frühneuzeitliche Anatomie des Gehirns
- 5.Mythenforschung, Philosophiegeschichte und Philosophie des 19. Jahrhunderts
- 5.1Mythenforschung (Friedrich Creuzer)
- 5.2Philosophiehistoriker (Eduard Zeller/Ludwig Stein)
- 5.3Philosophie (Ludwig Feuerbach)
- Ausblick
- Anmerkungen
Article language: German