Some Remarks on Paradigms in the Recent Studies in Orphism
Some Remarks on Paradigms in the Recent Studies in Orphism

Summary/Abstract: The goal of the article is a comparative analysis of the main paradigms in studies in Orphism. One of these paradigms recognizes the historicity of Orphism as certain and concentrates on establishing the contents of Orphic myths. The main representative of this trend is Alberto Bernabé (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). The second trend, whose main representative is Radcliffe Guest Edmonds III (Bryn Mawr College), questions the historicity of Orphism. Edmonds considers Orphism (or, as he calls it, “Orphism”) an invention of nineteenth-century European scholarship. Therefore, he concentrates on analyzing available testimonies, traditionally considered Orphic, as independent expressions of different tendencies in the religious life of ancient Greece. In addition to comparing the two paradigms, the author also investigates the possibility of reconciling them.

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