Digesting Ancient Wisdom. Early Stoics, Orphic-like Cosmogonies, and the 'Principle of Accommodation'

A neglected aspect of the Orphic-Stoic dialogue seems to be that of cosmogonical issues per se (e.g. on a general Orphic level rather than in the specific shape that we know via the Derveni papyrus), which I shall endeavour to illuminate in this article.Furthermore, the question as to how much Stoic cosmology was inspired by its precursors not only pertains to the philosophical sphere but also (and decisively) to the literary and linguistic domain. Arguably, this topic cannot be fully explored without taking closely into account the relevant evidence about the Stoics as literary exegetes, since those ancient texts are thought to have informed or inspired their cosmology and, ultimately, the constitution of the world as it is depicted in linguistic terms. In addition, I submit that the ‘accommodation principle’ invoked in a hostile passage by Philodemus could been seen to open a pathway to approach Stoic literary engagement and to illuminate their final aim of reconciling Stoic doctrines with the most authoritative thinkers of the past, by stressing similarities and omitting direct polemics. In this frame, the words of wisdom hidden in Orphic poetry could easily appeal to Stoic ears, as ancient and religiously-oriented. As Orphic texts used to be labelled ‘late’ when found to be influenced by Stoicism, there is the possibility that the kinship between these two strands of thought may have functioned reciprocally. It seems that Orphism and Stoicism exchanged thoughts and rationales on more than one occasion, especially (but not exclusively) with regard to cosmogony, one of the best-known terrains of Orphic speculation.