Who and What is Orphicaeum?
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In this, I will answer the following questions:
Who is the author?
What is Orphicaeum?
What if I just want to read what you write here?
Getting Started
Who is the author?
My name is Tiberius Caelius Quadratus. To quote Kallímakhos of HellenicGods.org, “I am no-one special.” I went through a rough period in my life, and during it, I asked myself the same thing many times; “Why am I here? What is this all for?”
During this time, I was rekindling my childhood love of Greek Mythology and my high-school infatuation with Philosophy. Now, as an adult, I am able to engage with the texts on a deeper level, and it is easier for me to more fully grasp the things being presented in them. (That’s not to say that I completely understand everything; no one ever can.)
Maybe this was the perfect storm. Whatever happened, I found purpose in it. I found myself constantly and consistently drawn to one specific thing: Orphism. Since then, I have been unable to step away and study anything else. One of the first things anyone will learn about Orphism is that scholarship is murky and nebulous; some scholars have very clear ideas of what it was, others have very clear ideas of what it never was, but no two scholars agree on the whole thing.
I do not come as a scholar. I found Orphism only after seeking to learn about worshipping the Gods of ancient Greece. I don’t have anything to note of my education beyond a high-school diploma. One thing that I find to be frequently neglected by scholarship is a believer’s perspective; for whatever reason, they are sometimes quick to raise and dismiss ‘unanswered questions’ that, from my point of view as someone who believes these Gods to be real, are not really unanswered.
What is Orphicaeum?
A few months ago, I began to write on some of these issues, and I began to publish those writings here under the banner of Orphicaeum. However, it was never my goal to be a (or the) sole authority. It is my hope that Orphicaeum grows as a living tradition, and that it will be governed by its membership. Orphicaeum is and was always meant to be a religious group or organization, and the musings published here are intended for that group.
As a group, Orphicaeum is a reconstructionist religious organization, dedicated to the revival, preservation, and cultivation of Orphism. ‘Reconstructionism’ is a method of dealing with ancient religions: In the case of Orphicaeum, it means that teachings should be derived from primary sources (i.e. ancient texts) when that is possible, from scholarly/historical secondary sources when needed, and from innovation based on the first two only when necessary.
In addition to the writings here, Orphicaeum has a Discord server and a website. At the time of writing this, the group is small, and nothing is set in stone. Every new member will have a big impact on the group. The best way to get involved would be to introduce yourself in the Discord server.
What if I just want to read what you write here?
While it is my intention that the writings here benefit members of the group, I will leave them here. However, also in order to benefit the group, everything published going forward will be paywalled. A paying subscription here is the same thing as a paid membership to Orphicaeum on another platform, and every paid member is entitled to all the benefits no matter how they have paid.
If, for whatever reason, you wish only to read what is published here, the best way to do that would be to become a paying subscriber here and ignore everything else.
I encourage everyone, before deciding to pay, to read what is already available here to read for free. Also, please feel welcome to join the Discord server even if it is just to ask questions.
Getting Started
If you’d like to begin, here are some things you can read for free:
On Orphic Self-Initiation; An examination of a specific epitaph, whether or not it is Orphic, and what it being Orphic could mean for a modern Orphic.
On Long, Snow-clad Olympus; A search for specific epithets of Olympus using Column 12 of the Derveni Papyrus as a hermeneutical lens.
On the Many Names of Orphic God, Pt. I; A study of the Derveni Papyrus and what it can tell us about the Orphic perspective on divinity.
After these three, you should have a pretty good idea whether subscribing will be worth it. If you’re still on the fence, the paywall in the following article shows up fairly late:
On the Soul and its Σῶμα / Σῆμα; A survey of ancient texts relating to Orphic beliefs regarding the soul and the afterlife, and the ‘Orphic Life’ that practitioners lead as a result.
If you like what you’ve read, you are welcome to join the Discord server and become a member of Orphicaeum here:
If you’d like a more hands-off approach to being a member, or would prefer only to read and not to be directly involved, you can subscribe or upgrade here:
