The connections between conceptions of metempsychosis in the philosophical traditions of ancient Greece and India

Abstract

Metempsychosis is a philosophical and religious tradition that spans multiple cultures. The fundamental belief is that the soul goes through cycles of death and rebirth, reincarnating in different bodies and forms. The traditions that emerged in the regions of ancient Greece and India share many similarities in their texts and discourses. The key literature associated with metempsychosis in ancient Greece derives from the early Greek philosophers of the 6th century BCE such as Pherecydes, Pythagoras and the authors of Orphic poetry. In ancient India however, there is no singular teacher of the doctrinal beliefs regarding metempsychosis, rather scattered pieces of evidence referencing the belief in and or practice of metempsychosis can be found in the Vedic texts of Hinduism and Pali texts of Buddhism. Specific references are also made in some of the twelve principal Upanishads, which date from c. 600 to 300 BCE. In the Buddhist tradition references to ideas associated with metempsychosis can be found in the Pali Canon which teach the discourses of Buddha, who lived during the 6th or 5th centuries BCE. The confluence of these ideas and how they were transmitted are, to a great extent, shrouded in mystery. Although there may not be a direct correlation between the Indian and Greek understandings of metempsychosis, there are definite similarities and points of contact between these traditions. Importantly, there are also indications of borrowings from Eastern traditions such as Persian Zoroastrianism that exist on both the Greek and Indian sides. This suggests the possibility of a direct connection and sharing of ideas. The Persian Empire during this period may have been the middle ground in which both the Indians in the East and the Greeks in West were able to share and transfer knowledge. This was the period where philosophical and metaphysical ideas were fostered, and the Persian Empire may have been a conduit through which these ideas were shared and transferred.