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Identifying An Archetype: The Hipponion Tablet And Regional Variations In The Orphic Gold Lamellae, Shellie A. Smith
Identifying An Archetype: The Hipponion Tablet And Regional Variations In The Orphic Gold Lamellae, Shellie A. Smith
Proceedings from the Document Academy
Over the past century and a half, about 40 Orphic gold lamellae have been discovered throughout the Mediterranean. These tablets were buried with initiates of the Orphic Mysteries, and served as indicators of the deceased’s elevated status in both this life and the afterlife. Many of the lamellae contained instructions for the deceased, guiding them to the blessed area of the Underworld that was promised to them by becoming initiates of the Orphic tradition.
Orphism as a cult had no set structure; rather, the practices seemed to have varied from region to region. The cult did not worship in a …