ADDEY Unknowable Names in Theurgic Ritual
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8/18/2019 ADDEY Unknowable Names in Theurgic Ritual
1/16
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
ASSUMING
THE
MANTTE
OF
THE
GODS:
.UNKNOWABLE
NAMES'
AND INVOCATIONS
IN
LATE
ANTIQUE
THEURGIC
RITUAL
Cnvsr¡,r
Aor¡v
I
am the
hearing
that
is attainable
to everything;
I am
the
speech
that cannot be grasped.
Thunder Perfect Mindl
The
use
of
'unknowable'or
so
called'meaningless'names
and strings of
vowels
(voces
magicae) is well
attested
within
ritual invocations
found
in religious,
magical, and theurgic late
antique texts. For
example,
many
such
names
and
vowel-strings
are
found
in
the magical handbooks dis-
covered in Egypt and now
known
under the name
of the
Greek
Magi-
cal Papyri.2 The
vowel-strings are a written record
of
a
sound
sequence,
while
the
names
are strange
words which do not
have
any
obvious mean-
ing.
These names
were
often referred
to as onomatabarbara,'non-Greek
names/wordsl
Both were spoken
or
uttered
within
ritual
contexts,
as
well as being inscribed upon
cult statues
and
other
ritual paraphernalia.3
1
Robinson GSZZ)
ZZ.I
wish
to
thank
all
speakers
and
participants
at the Eighth
Biennial Conference on Orality and Literacy in the Ancient
World: Orality, Literacy
and
Religion,
held
at the University of Nijimegen, z-6
luly
2oo8, at
which this
paper
was
originally presented,
for
their
valuable feedback
and discussion. I also wish
to thank
the organizers of the conference, André Lardinois,
fosine
Blok
and Marc van
der
Poel,
for their warm
and
generous hospitality
and for
providing
such pleasant
and congenial
surroundings for the conference. I
wish
to
express my warmest thanks and gratitude
to
my supervisor,
Gillian Clark
for reading
and commenting on drafts of this
chapter.
I
also
wish
to thank all
participants
at the seminar
on'famblichos:
His
Sources and Influence,'
held at the Irish Institute
of
Hellenic
Studies, Athens, at which a
draft of this
paper
was
presented.
2 Cf
.
for
example,
PGM
lY.glo;
96o-965
Xlll.76z-772;
XIII.88o-886;
ed. Preisen-
danz
(t928-t93r).
All
quotations
from the PGM are from this edition,
unless otherwise
stated.
3
Forexample,theEphesiagrammata,aparficularsetofmysticlettersorunknowable
names,
were allegedly incised
on
the
famous
cult
statue of
Artemis
of Ephesus and were
often used in
apotropaic
rituals,
both verbally and as parts
of
inscribed texts.
A
story
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.UNKNOWABLE
NAMES'IN
LATE ANTIQUE
THEURGIC
RITUAL
28I
the
third century
cr.8
However,
it must
be noted
that,
as
a Neoplaton-
ist philosopher, Iamblichus
was
situated
within
a
very
specific
tradition
of
philosophical
thought
and
so is
clearly not
immediately
representative
of
a
wider,
popular
view
of late
antique
ritual
in
a
more general
sense.
I
will use
lamblichus'
discussion
in
order to explore
the
subtle interplay
between language
and
oral performance
which is reflected
in the
use
of
'unknowable'
names
within
theurgy.
I
will also
briefly
discuss
some
par-
allels with
the
use
of
'unknowabld
names
within
some
wider
ritual
con-
texts
(chiefly
attested
within
the
PGM)
within
the religious
and
cultural
milieu
of late antiquitF.e
The'UnknowableNames':
Secret Names
of the
Gods
The
use
of
'unknowable
names'within
the ritual practices
oflate
antiquity
has
often been overlooked
by scholars; those
scholars
who
have
examined
them have generally
treated such ritual
uses
of language
not
only as
nonsensical,
but as compulsive, mechanical
and
egotistic in
that
it
is
generally viewed
as
presuming
to summon, and
sometimes
even to
compel by force,
divine
presence
into
the human
world.rO
I
will
argue
that the
use
of the
names
was
not always
considered
coercive,
and
was
not'a
misguided
attempt to define the undefinablel
Within
a
theurgic
context, Iamblichus'broadly
Platonic explanation
of this ritual language
delineates
the
names
as
verbal
forms
of
communication
with the
divine,
given
by the
gods.
Porphyry
had raised the
obvious objection
to this:
these strings
of
sound
are
meaningless
(cíor¡po).
They
are
not
language,
because
they do
not signifr,
they
are
literally
aséma;
they do
not
name
anything
and
they
8
Cf. Shaw
(rg9)
47-z4z
on
Iamblichus'
development of theurgic
Platonism. The
later Neoplatonist philosopher
Proclus
(c.4ro-c.485
cr) was the other major proponent
of theurgy
within
the
Neoplatonic tradition
whose
writings are extant. His
work is not
discussed in this chapter
due
to
space limitations.
e
ThischapterseekstodeveloptheresearchofCoxMiller(rq86)+8r-lo5.Acaveat
must
be mentioned here: I
do
not
wish to suggest that Iamblichus
would
necessarily have
approved
of or endorsed the
practices
attested within the PGM.
In fact, within
the De
mysteriís,Iamblichus frequently condemns the
use
of antagonistic magical
practices
by
the
goés,
the
magician:
see,
for
example, MysL
3,4 Q3t.4-t3z.z).
r0
Nock
(ry29)
1.176-194, who
describes the magical
practitioner
using
the spells in
the
Greek
Magical
Papyri as
'bften
as a
lien
on
a
god
rather
than as a means
of approach
to
him'
(r9o);
Festugiére(ry++)
283-3o9; Behm
(1964)
722-723;
Dilon
(rq8t)
2o4;2r4i
(zoo7)
4o.
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282 CRYSTAL
ADDEY
do
not communicate.ll Iamblichus
replies
that they are
not'meaninglessl
but unknowable
to human beings, although they can become
known by
certain humans who
have the
potential
to receive
their explanations
from
the
gods.l2
He
continues, setting
forth
his
view
of the'names':
...
roi5
péwor,
üeoig
ndvro
oqpcvtlxá éotlv oú
xotd
Qqtóv
tgóruov,
oóó'oíóg éorr,v
é 6Lo róv
povtaolóv nog'dvrlqóno6
or¡pcvtlxóg
re xal
prlvutr,xóg,
&1.),' iiror,
voegóg
[zorc
tóv
r]eiov
cúróv
d,vr]póner,ov
voúv]
il
xcrl áqr}éproE xai,
xqewróvog
xcri á,nl"ouotÉgo4
[xai]
xotcr voúv toiE
rleoig ouvr¡vor¡révog'
dqotqeiv
pév
oüv
1gi¡
ruáocrE
énlvoiag xai,
l,oyr,xaE
ór.eEó6oug
á,¡ó róv üeíov óvo¡"rtittrw,
á,qa,r,geiv Eé
xai.
tdE
oupcpuo¡révog
r{E
grovflg
ngóE ta év
rfr
qúoer
nqcy¡.tcto
quor.t+aE
ánerxctoicg.
. ..
but
to
the
gods they are all significant,
not
according
to an efable mode,
nor in
such
as
way that
is significant and
indicative
to
the
imaginations
of human
beings,
but
united
to
the
gods
either intellectually
or
rather
ineffably, and
in
a
manner superior and
more simple than
in
accordance
with intellect. It
is
essential, therefore,
to
remove all considerations oflogic
from
the
names
ofthe
gods, and to set
aside the natural
representations
of
the spoken
word
to the physical things
that
exist in nature.l3
Here
we
see that within a
theurgic
context the
'unknowable
names'were
considered to
be
the
secret
names
of the
gods.
That
is,
they do name the
gods
but
not in
the way that ordinary
words
name
things.
This accords
with the fact that where
scholars
have been able to decipher
extant
ono-
matabarbarain
ancient
texts,
they
seem
to
be
names of
divinities in
Near
Eastern or Egyptian
languages.la
Iamblichus'explanation draws on
Pla-
tonic
philosophy:
the Neoplatonists
posited
a hierarchical,
metaphysical
structure of the
cosmos,
with the
gods
placed
near the summit of this
hierarchy and
successive
levels of
reality
consisting
of Intellect
(voúg)
and
Soul.rs
Each ontological level
of
reality is inherent
in
the
preced-
ing levels because it is caused by them.16
The'unknowable'
names
oper-
ate
on a high level of this hierarchical schema-they
are
united
with
the
gods
in
the
divine
realm
and
are
superior to
all
human knowledge.
How-
ever, rather than being irrational
they
were thought by Iamblichus to be
rr
Iambl. IWst.
z.+
(254.1-n).
12
Iambl. Myst.7.4(25+.tz-zls.t); r.rS
(+8.+-8).
Cf. Shaw(r.995) r8o.
13
Iambl. Ivtyst.
Z.+
QSS.I-Z).
ra
Cf.
Graf(r99r)
r9u
Shaw
(rqgs)
r8z; Struck
(zoo4)
zo6-2o7,
t5
Cf.
Dillon
(1985)
zro;
Struck
(zoo4)
2o7-2o9.
16
For
the clearest elucidation of this
principle in
Neoplatonic metaphysics see Procl.
Elements
of
Theology,
Proposition r8;
Proposition
7, ed.
Dodds
(rgf¡).
Cf.
also
Iambl.
lvlyst.
3.zo
(
r+8.+-S);
5.zo
(zz7.r
3
*
zz8.z).
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.UNKNOWABLE
NAMES'IN
LATE
ANTIQUE
THEURGIC
RITUAL
283
supra-
rational,
placed above
the
rational;
transcending
logic
rather
than
lacking
it. Iamblichus
explains
this
supra-rational
basis
for'unknowabld
names:
"Ooneg
Eé
éotr.
voegóg
xcrl
Seiog
tilg
rgeictg épolótr¡rog..
ou¡pohxóg
1*go*i4q,
roúrov
ú¡orgerÉov
év
roig
óvópcrolv.
Kci
6rl
x&v
ciyvtrlotoE
tlU¡n
,i"¿qxn,
aútó
toútó
éotlv
oú¡oÚ
tó
oe¡rvótatov'
xgeírtov
1óg
éotr.v
fi
óote
6nqelorlor,
eiE
yvÓolv.
Thus,
the symbolic
character
of
divine
similitude,
which
is
intellectual
and
divine,
has
to
be assumed
in the
names.
And
indeed
if it
is unknowable
to
us,
this
very
fact
is
its
most sacred
aspect:
for it
is too
excellent
to
be
divided
into
knowledge. [mY italics]17
Thus,
Iamblichus
argues
that
the
names
do
signify
and
communicate,
but
in a way
that
is
appropriate
for
the
gods.
supra-rational
vision
was
thought
to
represent
complete
vision
of
reality,
on
the
ontological
level
(hyfostasis)
of
Intellect
(voÚg),
before
it
is divided
into
logical
statemenis.ls
This
divine
language
is non-discursive,
paradoxical
and
enigmatic;
it cannot
be
reduced
to
logical
propositions
or statements.
ThJ
paradoxical
character
of
the
names
has been
shown
by
Patricia
Cox
ivtiller, who
has suggested
that the
voces
magicae
were
intended to
transcend
not
only
writing
but
speech
itself'le
In
the
statement
above,
Iamblichus
maintains
that
the
divine
names
have
a symbolic
character.
The
word
symbolon,
which
is the
origin
of
orr,
-oá"r'
term
'symboll
was
used
by
Neoplatonist
philosophers
in
a
very
different
way
than
the
modern
term,
which
has connotations
of
metaphor
and
superficial
likeness.2O
For
the
Neoplatonists,
symbola
ate
.urr"d
by
and
linked
ontologically
with
the
divine
realm:
according
to
them,
thlre
are chains
of
qualities
and
properties
which
extend
from
the
gods
through
each
ontological
grade
of
reality
right
down
into
the
phyical
worldl
Symbola
are
the
visible
imprints
of
such
chains
as
they
ur"
""pr.rr"d
in
ihe
manifested
cosmos.
So,
specific
hgrb¡,
stones
and
plants,
for
example,
were
thought
to
be
symbola
of
specific
deities,
linked
17
lambl.
Iúst'
l.+
@ss.l
-n)'
18
In
other'woiar,
r,rprá-."tional
vision
is
vision
on
the
level
(hypostasis)
of
No¡¿s
(lnteliect).
Struck
(zoo4f
zo8,
describes
Nor¡s:
"The
divine
mind
[voúg]
thinks
without
need
for limits
or
categories
or
sequential strings
of
logic.
It
remains
perfectly still;
it
thinks
and
knows
evir¡hing
all at
oncel'
For a
similar
view
of
ritual
language
as
."."piiri"g;"tterances
filled
witf,
power'
rathe-r-than
discursive
language
which
uses
logic
and
argum"entation,cf.
Corpus
Hérmeticum
XVI'z;
ed'
Scott
(1993)'
re
Cox
Miller
(rq86)
+go.
20
Cf.
Struck
(zoo4)
zo4.
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284 CRYSTAL
ADDEY
to their divine
cause
and thus
used
within
ritual to invoke the divinity
through sympathetic
similarity
(
ou
¡rnórler,a).
"
The'unknowable
names'
were also
considered
tobe
symbola
which
manifest divinity in
the physi-
cal cosmos:
we hear from
other Neoplatonists
that theywere
either
writ-
ten
down
(r)éor,E)
or
uttered
(Éxcpóvr¡or.g)
within
theurgic
ritual.22 These
words had to be correctly
pronounced within the
ritual:
some
evidence
seems
to indicate that the correct
manner
of uttering them
was
a
pro-
fessional
secret
which
was
orally
transmitted.23
Thus,
it
seems
that the
'names'
were located
within
an oral
tradition.24
However, we
know
of
these'names'because
theywere written
down,
in
Greekletters,
within the
Greek
Magical
Papyri.It
may well
have been
considered
safe
to write the
names down,
because
to someone
without
the requisite
level
of under-
standing and
ritual purity,
they
would
seem
meaningless
(cor¡pcr)
and
the
correct methods of pronunciation
and utterance
would
remain
obscure
and
unknown.
Debating
Categories
of Language:
Natural, Conventional
or Divine?
Iamblichus
denies that the
'unknowable'
names
are
either
natural, in
the
sense
of
representing
physical
or
natural objects,
or
conventional,
in
the
sense
of being
invented
by man
and
agreed
upon
among
human
participants of
society.25
Porphyry
had asked Iamblichus,
'But
a
listener
looks to the
meaning,
so surely
all that
matters is that the conception
remains the
same,
whatever the
kind of
words used'
(Al.l.
é &xoÚolv
2r
Cf. Shaw(r995)
úz-zz8;
Struck(zoo4)
2ro-2r3.
22
Procl.InTi.2.247.25;
ed.
Diehl
(r9o3-r9oó);
Porph. apud
Atgast
De civ.
D.
ro.rr;
ed. Greene
(196o);
cf.
Dodds
(
r95r) z9z-293;3o5n.74;lato-voitz(zooz)
59;
Struck
(zoo4)
zz5-226.
23
Mari:llts,Life
of
Proclus, z8; ed. Saffrey and
Segonds
(zoot);
Suida
s.v.
Xal.6otxoiE
énLr¡6eú¡rcor,; ed.
Adler
(r93r).
Cf.
Psellus, Eplsf.
r87, in Dodds
(r95r)
3o5
n.
75,
where
we
learn
that certain
formulae
are
inoperative
ei
¡rq
trE
tcrútcr
Égei
únorfré?tkp
{
ylóoo¡
il
érépoE óE r] réXvr¡
brsróttercr.
2a
It is
noticeable that Iamblichus does
not record the'unknowable names'
(onomata
barbara) themselves in
writing anyr,vhere
within
the De mysteriis, despite
his lengthy
discussion of
their
meaning, significance and operation wiüin
ritual
contexts. To the
best of my knowledge, no other Neoplatonist
records the
'unknowable
names'
in writing
either, even
during sustained discussions of
their
operation and functions. Cf. Shaw
(1995)
r83.
25
The
debate as
to whether words
(and
language
in general) were natural or conven-
tional originated
in
Plato's
Cratylus and
was
developed by Stoic
philosophers, who
influ-
enced the later
Neoplatonic
approach.
Cf.
Dillon
Q98)
zo7-2o8.
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.UNKNowABLE
NAMES,
IN
LATE
ANTIQUE THEURGIC
RITUAL
285
...
fiQóE
rc
oq¡rcr,vópevo
ógogf,,
óore
oúrógxr¡g rl
oútq
¡révouoo
éwolcl,
xciv é¡rorovoüv
únog1¡
roüvo¡ro).26
This implies
several ideas
about
language: words
are
established by convention and
are
therefore
translatable; different
words
can
preserve
the
same
meaning irrespective
of the
language
that
they are
spoken
in.27
Iamblichus replies
that words
are
not merely
established
by
convention
but
are idiomatic:28
oú6é
ydg
núwog ri¡v
crúri¡v
8laoófel
8rávorov
perSeq¡rr¡veuó¡reva
to,
óvópata, d1.1,' éoorlvcr xsü'
Ézootov érlvog i6r,ó¡.lota,
d8úvata eiE dl.l.o
éüvog Ela
qt,tvqs
or¡¡roíveorgcn'
é¡erto
x&v
ei
oióv re
aúta
peüeqpr¡veú-
er.v, &irtra
m¡v
ye
búvcrplv oúzétr,
qutrame
r, d¡v
crútrjv'
é1er.6d xai
tc
pág-
paqa
óvó¡rcrta
rotrtri¡v
¡rév
épqaorv
ruo),}.i¡v
6é
ouwopíav,
&ppr.po)'.ícg
re é}"ówovoE
¡leréo14xe
xcri
nor.xr,l.íaE
xal roú
ruIr¡üouE tóv
l,éEeolv'
6r.a
¡rúvra
Ei¡ oóv
tc,itcr
ouvc,g¡ró[et
roiE xgeíttootv.
For the
names
do
not exactly
preserve
the same
meaning
when
they
are translated;
rather, there are
certain idioms
in
every
nation
that
are
impossible to express in the
language
of
another. Moreover,
even if one
were to translate
them, this would
not
preserve
their same
power. For
the
barbarian
names possess weightiness and
great
precision, participating
in
less ambiguity,
variability
and
multiplicity of
expression.
For
all
these
reasons,
then, they
are
adapted
to
the
superior
beings.2e
According to lamblichus,
the idiomatic
nature of
language is
based
on
its relationship
to
'real
beingl
The
languages
of some
peoples
are
better
formulated
so as to express and
describe
truth.
This
explains
Iamblichus'
claim that the
barbarian
names
are
more accurate and
precise in their
expression
of
reality.30
If
they
were translated,
'this
would
not preserve
26
Iambl. NUst.Z.SQ57.rz).Struck(zoo4)zo6notesthatthispointseemstorelyon
the
vision
oflanguage
that Aristotle
articulates
in
the De interpretatíone,
which
posits
that words are
conventional
signs ofaffections
ofthe soul, which
are impressions on the
soul
made by things out
in the world. Languages
differ
from one race to another, but
the
affections
themselves
are
the
same,
just
as the
reality that produces them
is
the
same
for
all races.
27
lambl.
AtIyst.
z.s Q57.r-z).
Porphyry's
view
here matches his argument
in
the
De
Abstinentia,where
he views language as
an agreed
set
ofrepresentative
noises
(based
on
convention),
arguing that we
might
even
understand
animals if we could
learn and trans-
late their language
Abst.,3.L5.2i
j.j.3-5i
ed.
Patillon and Segonds
(tgtZ-tgg).
Cf.
Clark
(tggg)
ttg-tz6;
Clarke,
Dillon and
Hershbell
(zooi
zgg, n.
389;
Struck
(
zoo4) zo6.
28
Iambl. IrÍyst.
z.s
Qsz.l-6).
2e
lambl.
Iúst.
z.s @s2.8-t+).
30
For
similar
claims of the accuracyand
precision
of the'unknowable
names' and the
ritual
language of the Egyptians and Chaldaeans
and for injunctions against translating
the
names
into other
languages, cf. Corpus
Hermeticum XVI.rb-z; Chaldaean Oracles
fr. r5o; ed.
Majercik
(r98g);
Dillon
(rg85)
zol;
2toi
2rr-212i Shaw
(1995)
r8o-r8r;
Struck
(zoo¿)
eo6.
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CRYSTAL
ADDEY
their
same
power'
(rr]v
ye
EÚva¡.u,v
oúxftr,
pufuútrer,
ri¡v
crltr]v).3l
The
power
of
th"
names
lies
in their
distinctive
images,
sounds
and
in the
shape
ofthe
letters
or characters.
Iamblichus
has
just
endorsed
the
wisdom
of sacred
peoples,
such
as
the
Egyptians and
the
Assyrians, and
the
suitability
of
their
dialect
for
ritual-invocations.32
Iamblichus'
position
concurs
with
what
we
know
of
the
use
of
writing
in Egyptian
ieligious
practices.
As
Fran6urter
has
noted,
hieroglyphic
writing
represented
cultic,
priestly
speech¿nd
activ-
ities
since
its
Language
was
discontinuous
with
popularly
spoken
Egyp-
tian:
this
must
háve
endowed
hieroglyphic
script
with
a sacred
and
rit-
ualistic
qualrry
Furthermore,
the
pictographic
nature
of
hieroglyphic
writing
made'it
distinct
from
the
Greek
alphabet
of
phonetic
charac-
ters,
alihough
phonetic
writing
with
hieroglyphs
developed
from
the
pic-
tographic
iáages.3,
Consequentl¡
as
Frankfurter maintains, the hiero-
gfipfrt.
charac-ter
signified
the
word,
or
an entire
idea
or cosmic
fotce'34
il"r"for"
hieroglyphic
script
represented
the
ideal
medium
for
sympa-
theia,
since
each
hieroglyphic
character
conveyed
numerous'
concrete
meanings
which
were
all
expressions
of
a
cosmic
force.
That
is
to say'
hieroglfohic
writing
must
have
seemed
to
Neoplatonist
philosophers
to
be
a
more
accurate
reflection
of
higher
grades
of
reality.
The
earlier
Neo-
platonist
philosopher
Plotinus
states:
Aoxoúou
6é
por,
xcri.
oi
Aiyururic¡v
oocpoí
. .
.
neqi
óv
éBoÚl,ovro
6r,tr
ooqí,-
og
6rrxnúno,,,
¡rq
tÚnor,g
yqap¡r,órov
ómfio6eÚouot
l'óyoug
xai'
ngotúoetE
pr¡Oé
¡rr¡ro,
pévotg,p
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.UNKNowABLE
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287
The wise men of
Egypt
... when
they wished to signify something
wisel¡
did
not
use the
forms of letters
which follow
the order of words and
propo-
sitions and
imitate
sounds and the
enunciations
of
philosophical
state-
ments,
but
by drawing
images
and inscribing in their temples
one
particu-
lar image of each
particular
thing, they
manifested
the
non-discursiveness
of the
intelligible world,
that
is,
that
every image is a kind
of
knowledge
and
wisdom
and
is
a
subject of
statements,
all
together in one, and
not
discourse or deliberation.3s
Hieroglyphs are
non-discursive
images,
reflecting
the
unity
of the
intelli-
gible
world: they
are
supra-rational
and show wisdom before
it
is
divided
into
discursive
thought.
Having
discussed
the metaphysics
ofthe
cosmos,
including
the
order
of the gods and
the
role
of
theurgy, Iamblichus
states:
'Yqr¡yr¡ocro
6É xal tcrútqv
rr¡v é6óv
'ESpiS'
flgprjveuoe 6é
Bítug
nqo-
qrjtqE A¡rporvr
pcror,l.ei
év dóútorg
eógóv
ávayeyqappévr¡v 3v [egoy].u-
grxoig
yqáp¡,raol
xata
)ór,v
tt¡v
év Ai.¡úntrp' tó te toú üeoú
óvopa
ncrqé-
óolze tó 6{xov 6t'6},ou
toú
xóopou'
Hermes also has
set out this
path;
and
the prophet
Bitys has
given an
interpretation of
it
to
King
Ammon, having
discovered
it inscribed
in
hieroglyphic characters
in
a sanctuary
in Sais in Egypt.
He has handed
down
the name of god,
which
extends
throughout
the
whole
cosmos
. .
.
36
The
idea
that
the name of
god
can
extend
throughout
the entire cosmos
is
only
possible when the name
is recorded
in
non-discursive
language
which
captures
the
supra-rational,
cosmic
force of the deity.
Ritual
Inv
o
cations:
Compulsiv
e, Mechanical
Commands
or Pious
Displays
of
Divine Power?
As noted
above, scholars have
generally treated
the'unknowable
names'
and
similar
ritual
uses
of
language as
compulsive,
mechanical and coer-
cive,
aiming
to summon,
and sometimes
to compel
by
force,
divine
pres-
ence
into
the human
world.37
t1r'e Greek
Magical Papyri rituals contain-
ing unknowable
names
are
often
accompanied
by
addresses to
gods to
tome ''guard ''save 'and
sometimes
include words such as
now now
quick quick '
Such
methods of
invocation could be
seen
as
pleas
or
requests.
However, they
have been
interpreted by
scholars
as
imperative
commands,
demonstrating
an
element
of
mechanical
compulsion.3s
This
3s
Plotinus, E¿n.5.8.6.r-9, ed. and
trs. Armstrong
(1984).
36
Iambl. Myst.8.5
Q67.tr-2683).
37
Cf. above
n.
9.
38
Struck
(zoo
4)
ztz-2r3.
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CRYSTAL ADDEY
apparent
compulsion
is
often
assessed
negatively
by scholars.
Patricia
Cox
Miller has
offered
a re-assessment
of this compulsion
as
an expres-
sion
of iconoclastic
piety
and as
a
positive
form
of
the compulsive,
soul-
transforming,
enchanting
nature
of
language, originating
in
the archaic
shamanistic
tradition of
ancient
Greece
where words were
thought
to
charm,
enchant
and
persuade.3e
Iamblichus' explanation
of the
operation
of the
names
within
theurgic
ritual
suggests that
they were r¡of
considered
coercive,
at
least within
a
theurgic
context.
Indeed
Porphyry
had raised
just
this
issue with
Iambli-
chus,
who
responds:
oú
pi¡v
étr
ye
6í6opev ó
oÜ rugooéqqr,rf
ag
óE
épol"oyoÚptvov'
órl Er,'
f¡pÓv
éIxópevog
á,vdyxcrq
tctig
r{E
x},t¡oerog
taúta
é¡lte}''ei.
...
we do
not
accept
what you
toss
in
as
though
agreed
upon,
that
'it
is
through being
drawn down
to
us
by the
necessities
of
our invocation
that
the superior
being
accomplishes
these
things.'4o
In a
highly
Platonic
fashion, Iamblichus
refutes
this
claim
by appeal-
ing to the Neoplatonic
hierarchical
scheme
of
the
cosmos.
He
maintains
that
names and
rites do not work
through
compulsion,
since the
gods
are
superior to
necessity.al
Gods
are eternal
and
immortal, and
so can-
not
be
'moved'
or changed
from
one
state
to another.a2
Thus,
it would
be impossible
for
humans
to
comPel
the
gods. Rather,
he
claims,
the
invocations
and
names
ascend
to the
gods
through
assimilation.a3
Since
Iamblichus endorses
theurgy as
the
primary means
of spiritual,
divine
ascent, it seems
sensible
to begin
with
his explanation
of
theurgic
ritual:
3e
Cox
Miller
(rqS6)
+86-+q5,
states:'Running
through all
of these traditions
that
connect the word with
the charm
is an emphasis
on the
power or
forcefulness
of words.
Compulsion,
from their
perspective,
was
built
into the nature of
language
. .
.
from
the
perspective
ofthe
therapeutic, soul-transforming
word
that
we
have
just
discussed, the
compulsive
nature ofmagical nonsense
words
is not arrogant but
pious.
Such
language
is
both
the medium and the
message of stark reality.
It recognises
precisely the
diüne
power
ofwords,
and it uses language
in
accordance
with
languaged own
qualities.
Speaking
to the
gods
in
the
gods'
own
language,
the
alphabetical words
of the magical
papyri
expose the
inner forcefulness of human language
. .
.'
Qs+-+g).
This ancient tradition
connecting the word and the charm
as enchanting,
soul-transforming and
persuasive has
been named by the scholar
Lain Entralgo
(r97o)
as
the
'therapy
ofthe
wordi
ao
Iambl. Ir4yst.3.t8
(t+5.+-6).
ar
Iambl. ItÍyst.3.t8
(r+s.6-8;
r45.ro-r3);
z.tt
(g6.tl-gZ.ü.
a2
lambl.
tufyst. t.tt
$7t3-ú);
r.n
(4o.t5-4r.3);
r.r4
QS.+-6);
r.r5
(48.2-ro).
a3
Cf.
Iambl.
AÍyst.,
t.rr
(¡8.8-ro);
ttz
(4t.t3-42.4i 42.7-8); r.r3
(+¡.6-9);
r.r5
Qztt-+8.).
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NAMES'IN
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THEURGIC
RITUAL
289
. . . tó
pév
óg ncrg'
dvügóntov
ngoooyó¡^levov,
6nep
6t¡
tr¡gei
xci
rttn
ttrt-
régav
rólw
óg
é1er.
gúoeog
év
tQ ¡qvrí,
ró
6é
xgotuvópevov
toiE üeiolE
ouvür¡paor,
xqi
dvol petéoqov 6t'
qótóv
roig xgeirroot
ouvcntó¡.tevov,
negr,ayópevóv
re éppel,óE éni
rr¡v éxeivo¡v
6r,oxóopt¡or,v, 6 ói¡
0úvctcn
ei-
xórory
xai
tó
tóv üeóv
o1fl¡rcr neglrirleoüct.
Kctc
ri¡v toLaútr¡v oúv
6lo-
goqnv eixóto4 xai
óE xqeírrovog
xcl,ei
toE á¡ó toú ncwó-E 6uvcrpeq,
xcrüóoov
éoriv
é
xatróv
d,vügrrlnog,
xcti
inwarrct
oútc1E
aóülg,
éner.Et¡
negfóIirercí
nog
6r,cr tóv &rogqritttrv
ou¡rBól'olv tó
iegau,xóv
tóv
rleóv
rgóo1r¡¡"rc.
... on
the
one hand,
it is performed
by
men, and as such observes
our
natural
rank
in
the
universe;
but
on the
other,
it
controls
divine symbols,
and
in
virtue
of
them is
raised
up
to
union
with
the
higher
powers'
and
directs
itself harmoniously
in accordance
with
their dispensation,
which
enables
it
quite properly
to assume
the
mantle
of
ihe gods.
It is
in virtue of
this distinction,
then,
that
the art both
naturally
invokes
the
powers
from
the
universe
as superiors,
inasmuch
as the
invoker
is
a
man,
and
yet on the other
hand
gives
them
orders, since
it
invests
itsell by
ürtue of
the ineffable
symbols,
with
the hieratic
role of the
gods.aa
Thus, ritual
acts
have
an
inherent
doublenessi
according
to
Iamblichus:
from
one
perspective,
they
are
performed
by humans.
Yet,
according
to
Iamblichus,
all
humans
have
a
divine
element
in
their
soul'as
Theurgic
ritual, by using'unknowable,
ineffable
symbola'
such
as the unknowable
names, activates
this
divine
element
of
the
human soul
allowing
the soul
to
'assume
the
mantle of
the gods'
(ró
tóv
rleóv o1fr¡"lo
negwirleorlcrr,).
The
ritual utterance
operates
as
a
powerful
speech-act:
enabling
the
human
to
assume
a
divine
role
by
ascending,
through
similarity,
to
the
divine.a6
Expression
and existence
are united
in such
a
conception:
word is
action.aT
Yet this
process
is
only
possible
because
of the
gods'
providential
and
beneficent
nature:
they
constantly
shed
their
divine
light
on
those
who
attain
insight
into
them.as
Iamblichus
specifies
that
the
human
soul
contains'images
of
the
gods':
aa
lambl.
IvIyst.4.z
(r84.2-ro).
as
Iambl. IvUst.
t.tz
(+r.g-r¡);
tts
(46.9-tz;47.6-gi
48.24).
a6
Shaw(1995)186-188;struck(zoo+)zrr,describestheverbalsymbolinlamblichus
as
follows:
'Like
the password of the
mysteries,
it
verifies
a
mortalt
fitness
to inhabit
a
higher
plane
ofreality
and
to receive the
divinel
17
Austin's
notions
of
performative utterances
and
'speech-acts'
seem
particularly
relevant
here. Cf.
Austin
Gg6z) 4-n.
as
Iambl.
IuIyst.
t.tz
(+r.:-s);
cf. also
r.rz
(4o.r4-4t".2;42.s-z);
r.r4
(44.8-rr);
r.r5
Qg.z-).
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290 CRYSTAL
ADDEY
Kcri ém
&rlgócv rr¡v
pluotlxr1v
xal
&nóqqr¡rov eixóvcr
tóv
üeóv év
tfr
r¡ru1ff ór,crgul,urro¡rev,
xcl u¡v
Uuxrlv
6r,' aútóv
á,vó1opev
énl
toÜg
üeoúE,
xcl &va1üe[oav xata ró óuvotóv
toig
üeolg ouvúnto¡.lev.
And,
moreover, we
preserve
in
their
entirety the mystical and
hidden
images of the
gods
in our soul; and
we raise
our
soul up
through
these
towards the
gods and,
as
far
as
is possible,
when
it
has
been elevated,
we
experience union
with
the
gods.ae
It
seems then, that
the
'unknowable
names' are a
manifestation
of the
'hidden
images
of
the gods
in our
soul'
(&nógqr¡tov
eixóvc
tóv
üeóv
üv t{
{u1ff).
A
text
in
the Greek
Magical Papyri
uses
almost
identical
terminology,
referring to the
names
as'images
of
god'
(eíóol"c
üeóv);s0
the
same
text
invokes
a deity as
he
'whose
is the
hidden
and unspeak-
able
name
...
lwhich]
cannot be uttered
by
human
mouth'
(oé
éottv
tó
xqunróv
óvopc
xai
clggr¡tov
(Év
&vlrlqónou
otó¡rctr.
l.cl.r¡r9frvcrr,
oú 6úvatar)).s1
Rather
than
human ordering
divine, the'unknowable
names'
used
in ritual involve
a
process
whereby
the divine
communi-
cates with the
divine.52 Subject and
object
are dissolved
to
some
extent
in
Iamblichus'explanation.
However,
the
diüne still
maintains
its
transcen-
dence and
its causal superiority: in
Iamblichean metaphysics,
the
gods
are both
transcendent and immanent
simultaneously.53
This paradoxi-
cal conception of
the divine
is
reflected
in
the
paradoxical nature of the
'names'themselves. This
ascent
is
conceptualized
as
enabling the
human
to
participate
in
divine
power,
as
Iamblichus
states:
ae
Iambl. I@st.
t.+ Q55.t 3-256.2).
s0
PGM XIII.88o-886; Monas or the Eighth
Book of
Moses,trs.Morton Smith in Dieter
Betz
(1986).
st
PGMXlll.T6z-772, trs. Morton Smith in
Dieter
Betz
(1986).
52
lambl.
IvIyst. r.r5
Ql.l-ü
'So
then,
it
is
neither
through
faculties
nor through
organs that the gods receive into themselves our
prayers,
but
rather
üey embrace
within
themselves
the realizations of
the
words of good men, and
in particular
of
those
which, by virtue of the
sacred
liturg¡
are
established within the gods and united to
them;
for
in
that
case
the divine is literally united
with
itself,
and
it is
not
in the way
of one person addressing another that it participates in the thought expressed by the
prayers.'Cf.
E.C. Clarke,
J.M.
Dillon and
J.P.
Hershbell
(zoo¡),
Sg,
n.
86:
'These
would
presumably include the various kinds
of
yoces
magicae recognized in
theurgic
ritual. This
is in
accord with the view that Iamblichus
expresses
elsewhere that theurgic formulae
have a
special
power
deriving from the fact that
they
are
in
some way
divine
language,
immediately comprehensible
to
gods,
though
not to
us.
It is therefore
as
if the
diüne
in
us
is
communicating directly with the
divine
in the universel
s3
For Iamblichus'
view of the immanence and
presence
of the
gods
throughout the
cosmos,
including
the
physical
world:
cf.
lambL
lvtyst.
t8
(27.7-29.7);
r.9 (29.r3-3o.2);
Struck
(zoo¿)
zeo.
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NAMES, IN LATE
ANTIQUE
THEURGIC
RITUAL
2gT
Al,l"' oüE'
cri nqooxl.r¡oer.E
ór,o
nóüoug
ouvúrurouot
toiS
rleoiS toÜg ieqé-
og' órd
6é
{E
üeicrg
gr,},íog
tfrE ouveloúor¡5
rc,
ncrwo
zor,vorvícv nogÉ-
1ouor,
r{E
ó6r.a},úrou oupn}.oxflg'
oril
óE
toÜvopcr,
óE
^¡e
o{irol
6ólcrr.,
aó¡órlev
é¡,lcpaive6
tóv
voúv
tóv
rleóv
ngooxl"í.vouocr,
toíg
&v8'pónotE,
&l.l.cr xat'arltó
tó
&l.r¡rldE
óg
Boúl.etot
d,vs8r,6óoxer"v,
d¡v
pópr¡v
tóv
d,vrlgónorv
énltt¡óeícrv
áneqyo[ó¡revc,r
nqóg tó
¡.teré1eLv
tóv üeóv,
xal
&vó1ouoct.
aóti¡v
ngóg toÜg
üeoÜg
nal 6la
nenloúE é¡rpel"oúg
ouvogpó-
(ouocr.'Orlev
6t¡
xal
óvó¡rata
üeóv
leqongenfi
xal
tül,la
rleio
ouvüÍ¡-
¡-la,tcr
&,vcrytoya
óvtq,
nqóg toÜg
üeoÜg ouvúnretv
oútag 6úvatol.
But not even
in the
case ofthe
invocations
is
it through the experiencing
of
passion
that they
link
üe
priests
[i.e.
theurgists]
to the
godq
it
is rather
in
virtue
of
the divine
love
which
holds together
all things that
they
proüde
a union
of
indissoluble
involvement-not
...
inclining
the
mind
of
the
gods to
humans, but
rather,
as
the
truth
of things
itself desires
to
teach
us,
áisposing
the
human
mind
to
participation
in the
gods,
leading it up
to the
gods and
bringing
it into accord
with
themthrotghharmonious
persuasion-
Ánd
it is for this
reason,
indeed,
that
the
sacred
names of
the gods and
other
types
of divine
symbol
that
have
the
capacity
of
raising
us
up to
the
gods
are
enabled
to
link
us
to them
[my
italics].s4
Thus,
the
correct
usage
of the
'unknowable
names'
in the
appropriate
context
was
considered by Iamblichus to
be
a
pious
and
divine
display
of
ritual
power and
creativity.
Several
scholars
have
questioned
the
coercion
apparently
involved
in
ritual invocations.
Fritz Graf
has
argued
that
one
of the
functions
of
the
names
is to
act
as
another
name of
the deity
invoked,
thus
forming
an
important
part of the
invocation,
'By
using
it
the
magician
makes certain
that
the
god
would
listen,
since
he
embraced
the
widest
possible
sphere
of the
godt activities
and
characteristics-a
strategywell
known
from
religious
prayerl5s
Thus,
the
names serve
as an
ample
display
of
knowledge.56
lamblichus'
explanation
takes
this
idea
to
its extremity:
the
secret
names
are a
display
of
knowledge and insight
sa
Iambl.
trIyst.
t.tz
(+z.s-z;8-t).
ss
Graf
(rggr)
r.9r.
ItshouldnotedthatGraf
doesnotdenytheelementofcoercionin
magical
ritual
completel¡
but argues
that
it is not
omnipresent
in a
manner that
would
justifr
taking
it as
the
defining
difference
between
magic and
rel_igio¡r
(arguing.
against
ihe
Fiareriañ
dichotomy
betwéen
magic
and religion,
still
an
implicitly
powerful theory
among
Classicists).
He also shows
that the
idea
of
a
coercive
spellis
often used
as
a
'last
resoriby
magicians,
in circumstances
where
the
invoked divinity
does
not arrive
quickly
enough,'when the praxis after
several
repetitions brings
no
result and when
the
deity
appea-rs
threatening
and dangerous.
He
also
argues that
coercion
is
most
frequently used
agáinst
daemons
and
angels
rather than
gods
(r94-r95).
-
56
Graf
(r99r)
r9z.
Inthis
respect, Graf
likens
the magician
to the
initiate
of a
mystery
cult,
since
both claimed
a special
relationship
with
their
respective
gods, based
on
revealedknowledge.
Cf.
also
Johnston
(zoo4)
r44.
-
8/18/2019 ADDEY Unknowable Names in Theurgic Ritual
14/16
292
CRYSTAL
ADDEY
which
serve
to bring the theurgist
into
sympathetic
alignment
with
the
power of the
god
invoked,
thus enabling
them to actively
participate in
that divine
power.
Such a
process represented the
divinization
of the
human being.
Conclusion
In conclusion,
Iamblichus' discussion
of
the unknowable
names de-
scribes
them as the
secret, hidden
names
of the
gods. Rather
than being
meaningless,"the
names do signify
and
communicate,
but in a
way
that
is appropriate
for
the
gods,
which
is why
they
cannot
be
translated.
These names were thought
to
transcend
speech,
discourse
and logic:
their
non-discursive
nature
was
said
to
evoke
the
paradoxical
nature
of
the
gods. Iamblichus
argues
that they
are
not
coercive:
by intoning
the
names
correctly
in the appropriate time,
place
and
context, the
theurgist
connects
and activates these
symbola of
the gods with
the
hidden
images
of the
gods in their soul.
This
comprises
a
powerful
speech-act
which
allows
the
theurgist
to
participate in divine
power.
The
oral
component
of
the
names
is important, since
methods of
intonation and utterance
were
transmitted secretly through
an
oral
tradition. This
may have
contributed
to the'names'being
recorded
in writing
since an
indiüdual without
the
requisite level of
understanding
and
purity
would
regard
these
words
as
'meaninglessi
not knowing the correct
methods of
intonation
and the
appropriate
contexts in which to use
them.
Thus, the
'unknowable
names'
reflect
a
subtle interplay between
language and oral
performance
in
the
theurgic
ritual
praxis of late antiquity.
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