Die Griechischen Götter

English summary: Lucius Annaeus Cornutus, who hailed from Leptis Magna in Libya, was a Stoic philosopher living in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Nero. Of his works (writings on rhetoric and philosophy; commentaries on works of the poet Virgil) only the Epidrome ton kata ten Helleniken theologian paradedomenon ('Outline of what has been handed down about the Greek Science of the Divine') has been preserved and is here presented together with a German translation for the first...
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English summary: Lucius Annaeus Cornutus, who hailed from Leptis Magna in Libya, was a Stoic philosopher living in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Nero. Of his works (writings on rhetoric and philosophy; commentaries on works of the poet Virgil) only the Epidrome ton kata ten Helleniken theologian paradedomenon ('Outline of what has been handed down about the Greek Science of the Divine') has been preserved and is here presented together with a German translation for the first time. This treatise represents a unique (and at the same time rather peculiar) compendium of Stoic allegorical interpretation of the Greek gods. It provides etymological and allegorical analyses of names, epithets and attributes of each Greek deity, extending from Uranus to Hades and referring to various aspects of their myths, rites and imagery in a remarkable attempt to interpret classic ancient polytheism by means of a sophisticated philosophy. German description: Lucius Annaeus Cornutus stammte aus Leptis Magna in Libyen und lebte zur Zeit Kaiser Neros als stoischer Philosoph in Rom. Von seinen Werken (Schriften zur Rhetorik und Philosophie; Kommentar zum Dichter Vergil) ist vollstandig nur die hier erstmals in deutscher Ubersetzung vorgelegte Epidrome ton kata ten Helleniken theologian paradedomenon ('Uberblick uber das in der griechischen Gotterlehre Uberlieferte') erhalten. Dieses Werk stellt ein ebenso einzig- wie eigenartiges Handbuch der stoischen allegorischen Gotterdeutung dar, das fur jede griechische Gottheit, von Uranos bis Hades, eine etymologische und allegorische Deutung ihrer Namen, Epitheta und Attribute sowie einiger Aspekte der mit ihnen verbundenen Mythen, Riten und bildlichen Darstellungen liefert. Damit bildet es einen bemerkenswerten Versuch, den klassischen antiken Polytheismus mit Hilfe einer entwickelten Philosophie zu deuten. Unter Mitarbeit von: Fabio Berdozzo, George Boys-Stones, Hans-Josef Klauck, Ilaria Ramelli und Alexey Zadorojnjy