On the Cave of the Nymphs in the Thirteenth Book of the Odyssey from the Greek of Porphyry

1917. In the thirteenth book of the Odyssey, Homer describes a mysterious cave near the city of Ithaca, which exhibits a number of unusual features including two openings, one used by mortals and the other by gods. In this commentary, Porphyry the Neoplatonist interprets the cave as an image of the cosmos. He explains that mortals descend into the cave of generation through the gate of desire, and that the other opening, the gate of the gods, alludes to the path of liberation, whereby the immortal part of the soul is once again set free. He explains how the looms of the Nymphs, the moist spirits of generation, allude to the weaving of the phenomenal world; he also reveals some significant information on planetary symbolism and the mysteries of the solar divinity Mithras, which were conducted in caves outfitted with astrological symbolism. On the Cave of the Nymphs is probably the finest piece of philosophic and allegorical interpretation surviving from the ancient world.