Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

179331

Experiencing the divine in Plato

Gerd van Riel

pp. 3-13

Abstract

As is often the case with ancient thinkers, we are not well informed on Plato's thoughts about the direct experience of god, the gods, or of the divine in general. This is mainly due to the fact that ancient pagan religion did not focus too much on the interior experience of the divine, but placed an almost exclusive emphasis on the outer deeds of worship and cult. This does not amount to saying that there was no inner experience involved – as indeed there were personal contacts between humans and gods (through dreams, tokens, oracles etc.). Moreover, some cults, like the Eleusinian Mysteries, did require a certain spiritual engagement on the part of the religious person.

Publication details

Published in:

Sepsi Enik, Daróczi Anikó (2017) The immediacy of mystical experience in the European tradition. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 3-13

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-45069-8_1

Full citation:

van Riel Gerd (2017) „Experiencing the divine in Plato“, In: E. Sepsi & A. Daróczi (eds.), The immediacy of mystical experience in the European tradition, Dordrecht, Springer, 3–13.