Enroll Now For Polytheism in Greek Philosophy, Part 2!

Polytheism in Greek Philosophy-II

Enrollment is now open for the second part of my three-part course, Polytheism in Greek Philosophy. It’s not necessary to have taken the previous course to participate. The meetings are Saturdays at 8 PM IST, 10:30 AM EST, 3:30 PM CET. All sessions are recorded and available to enrollees for one year; the course can be taken fully asynchronously. I hope that you will consider joining us!

Interview on The Re/al/ign Now Available Free

https://rhyd.substack.com/p/the-realign-episode-14

My conversation with Rhyd Wildermuth on his podcast The Re/al/ign (episode 14) is now available free for everyone to stream. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did recording it, and I hope that you will look into Rhyd’s other projects as well, as he has long been one of the most insightful and important thinkers in the polytheist revival.

Interview on The Re/al/ign

https://open.substack.com/pub/rhyd/p/the-realign-episode-14

I was interviewed by Rhyd Wildermuth recently for his podcast, The Re/al/ign. Right now, the recording is only for Rhyd’s subscribers, though you can watch a preview at the link above. It will be available to everyone on Feb. 18th, at which point I’ll post about it again here, but in the meantime, I hope that you’ll consider a subscription to Rhyd’s Substack, From the Forests of Arduinna; you can get one month for just $7. I also urge you to check out his latest book, Here Be Monsters: How to Fight Capitalism Instead of Each Other [Amazon affiliate link]. (For those who prefer to shop from independent booksellers, here’s a link on Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/17266/9781914420467 [Bookshop.org affiliate link].)

Lorna Smithers reviews THE WAY OF THE GODS

Review – The Way of the Gods by Edward Butler

I’m greatly honored that Lorna Smithers, whose work I have long admired, decided to review my book The Way of the Gods: Polytheism(s) Around the World (NB: affiliate link). Please follow her blog, and if you like what you see there, do consider supporting her on Patreon.

New Book: The Way of Being

In the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, I taught a double-length course for INDICA Courses called “Introduction to Western Civilization”. It was very challenging, and forced me to develop a much more integrated understanding of so-called “Western” thought from ancient Greece to the present day. The lectures I wrote for that course became this book, which is now available in paperback from Amazon (https://amzn.to/45ibB2P: affiliate link) and as an ebook for the Kindle (https://amzn.to/45CmzA1: affiliate link), the Kobo (https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-way-of-being-1) and from the Google Play ebook store (https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Edward_P_Butler_The_Way_of_Being?id=slfQEAAAQBAJ). The paperback is also available in India directly from the Notion Press site: https://notionpress.com/read/the-way-of-being. A sizable sample of the book is also available from any of the linked platforms.

By the way, my new course for INDICA, “Polytheism in Greek Philosophy, Part I“, begins on Saturday, so there’s still time to enroll! You can participate live, or asynchronously, whatever is convenient for you. I’d love to see you there!

Interview on The Indic Explorer

I recently sat down with Vineet of The Indic Explorer for a wide-ranging conversation about polytheism ancient and modern, continuous and revived. This is part one, and this is part two. Please remember to ‘like’ and subscribe to The Indic Explorer to show your support.

New Book: The City of the Gods

Last year I had the pleasure and the honor of teaching a course on Plato’s Republic with my longtime friend and colleague Vishwa Adluri. Called “Transcivilizational Dialogues: Plato’s Republic and Vyasa’s Mahabharata,” it was designed to highlight parallels between these works. My new book, The City of the Gods: A Platonic Polytheist’s Thoughts on the Republic, consists of the lectures that I wrote for the course; as such, it cannot replicate the experience that the course provided, but it does provide a rather detailed, book by book commentary on the Republic from my perspective as a systematic modern Platonist and polytheist. The City of the Gods is available in paperback from Amazon (affiliate link), and in ebook editions on the Kindle (affiliate link), Kobo, and Google Play platforms. In India, the paperback edition is available directly from Notion Press.

Enrollment open for upcoming course, “Polytheism in Greek Philosophy – I”

https://indica.courses/enroll/cohort/polytheism-in-greek-philosophy-i/

Enrollment is now open for my new course, the first in a series on Polytheism in Greek Philosophy. Here is the description for the series:

Our series on Polytheism in Greek Philosophy challenges the common perception of philosophy as a march of ‘reason’ distancing itself from religion and spirituality, particularly from polytheism.

Contrary to this view, it’s worth noting that the acknowledged founders of Western philosophical tradition—the ancient Greek philosophers—were polytheists. They worshipped numerous Gods of their Hellenic heritage, not as a simple nod to popular sentiment, or as a transition to a more ‘enlightened’ monotheism or atheism. Their writings clearly reflect this belief, while any contrary argument necessitates attributing to them views they did not hold. These philosophers endeavoured to grasp the essence of communion with the divine, the blessedness of the Gods, and how humans could partake in it. They sought to illuminate the myths and rituals of their tradition with the light of their knowledge about the nature of Gods and the role of worship, beyond the tangible things we pray for—essentially striving to understand what it means to be with the Gods.

Our series on Polytheism in Greek Philosophy invites you on a journey through myths, instilling an appreciation for their wisdom, and the works of philosophers, helping to grasp key concepts they used to conceptualize the nature of the Gods, such as unity and multiplicity, immortality, beauty, and cosmic order.

The course features studies of poets who drew inspiration from the Muses, tragedians who paid homage to Dionysos, and thinkers who saw theoretical speculation as the highest form of devotion. It spans thinkers from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Late Antique periods, including the Platonists who confronted Christian hegemony and formulated a theological framework unparalleled in its sophistication. The course aims to initiate you into Hellenic polytheist philosophy and theology, offering a deep dive into the sacred myths themselves.

And here is the description of the first unit:

The primary aim of our first module, Polytheism in Greek Philosophy – I, is to facilitate an understanding of the inherent logic within Hellenic myths. These myths serve as the foundational bedrock for the evolution of Hellenic metaphysics, explaining how Gods are individually revered, how the pantheon is structured, and how the multitude of Gods is envisioned by poets. It also explores the intrinsic diversity within the corpus of myths.

The course endeavors to elucidate the nature of the relationship between the Gods and the cosmos, highlighting how cosmic order is birthed from the order that the Gods themselves establish. We’ll examine the dynamic between Gods and mortals, encompassing both heroic figures and ordinary devotees.

This module essentially serves as an introduction to the theological interpretation of myths, equipping learners to decode myths for their teachings about the nature of the Gods and existence at large. This requires the cultivation of sensitivity towards symbolism and the development of skills to interpret these texts in a manner that respects the inspirational role of the Muses, both in the inception of these myths and in their ongoing exegesis. Importantly, the ability to interpret symbols, once mastered, can be extended to the sacred myths of other traditions as well.

I hope that you will consider joining us. The course is fully online and every session is recorded, making it easy to participate asynchronously if the live sessions are not convenient for you.

“Polytheism: The Inevitable Choice for a Sustainable Future,” invited lecture at Amrita University, Jan. 4, 2023

I was honored to be invited to give a talk on this topic at Amrita University in January. Here is the text of the lecture:

Polytheism: The Inevitable Choice for a Sustainable Future

I wish to thank Sivanandan D. S. for his invitation and interest in my work, and the faculty and students of Amrita University for their gracious hospitality.

New Short-Term Research Fellowships from CGPIT

My Center for Global Polytheist and Indigenous Traditions at Indic Academy is offering a new round of research fellowships:

Indic Academy’s Center for Global Polytheist and Indigenous Traditions, which seeks to foster mutual understanding and alliance among all polytheist and indigenous traditions worldwide and aid in their maintenance, interpretation, renewal and promotion, invites applications for two research fellowships of 40,000 INR per month for 3 months to undertake research on the present state of indigenous polytheist traditions other than those of India and European/Western revivalist polytheisms. Such traditions include, but are not limited to, African Traditional Religions (ATRs); African Diaspora traditions such as Vodoun; Daoism and Chinese “folk religion”; Vietnamese Đạo Mẫu; SE Asian Satsana Phi; Mongolian Tengrism; Japanese Shinto; Korean Mugyo; Indigenous or “folk religions” of Oceania; Australian Aboriginal religions; and the Indigenous religions of the Americas. These can include New Religious Movements (NRMs) rooted in traditional beliefs, and syncretic traditions incorporating Buddhist and even limited Christian or Muslim elements, as long as they involve the explicit veneration of Gods and spirits clearly distinct from the major tradition and related to prior Indigenous traditions. The research is to evaluate the current state of practice and prospects for revival of Indigenous religious traditions, emphasizing the contemporary situation, rather than the historical background. The work is to take the form of a dossier on the tradition in question with relevant demographic information and practical recommendations for the tradition’s advancement, and which would ideally form the basis for a graduate-level research program.

The idea of these fellowships is to incentivize work on surviving, continuous polytheist traditions from a perspective of understanding their challenges and prospects. It’s about planning for their renaissance, instead of merely cataloging their past. The exclusions applying to Hinduism and Indic traditions, on the one hand, and Western revivalist polytheisms, on the other, are a matter of focus, as these are already intensively studied. (To be clear, Indian students are highly encouraged—indeed, they are largely anticipated—but the projects they work on are to be outside the Indic sphere or the Western revivalist category.) Large traditions like Daoism and Shinto are of course intensively studied as well, and hence applications for fellowships to study them will be evaluated strictly, based upon the applicant’s grasp of the kind of engaged scholarship we are trying to foster. We are not seeking to merely feed the academic pipeline of disposable “research”, but to develop a pool of scholar-advocates on behalf of these traditions.

Please apply here.