Porphyry On The Homeric Cave Of The Nymphs

This monograph, exclusively dedicated to the analysis of Porphyry’s On the Cave of Nymphs, provides his philosophical thoughts on the material world, relationship between soul and body and the salvation of the soul through the doctrines of Plato and Plotinus.

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This treatise by the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry is an exegesis of a passage from Homer's Odyssey, which Porphyry interprets as an allegory about the cosmos and the soul.

The Neo-platonist philosopher Porphyry (234 - ca. 305 A.D.) wrote this work as a commentary on 11 verses of Homer's Odyssey, from book 13. In these verses, Homer describes the cave of the water-nymphs or Naiads on the island of Ithaca. Porphyry's work treats this as an allegory of the way in which the souls of men originate in each generation. He draws upon an eclectic mix of sources to illustrate his theme, including Plato, Zoroaster, Heraclitus, the bible and some references to Egyptian and Chaldaean oracles.