Dionysus, Shiva, Osiris

Abstract

The question of the relationship between Unity and multiplicity is one of the most central components of metaphysics. In a sense, it is a mystery and a paradox. As much as it may be so, an understanding that the One may “become” many and that the many may “reveal” the One is at the core of the metaphysical outlook. It must be admitted that the expressions of this understanding cannot but be, on some level, a challenge to the discursive faculty and to ordinary consciousness. The Christian Mystery of the Trinity is one of the most striking occurrences of this challenge, as it transcends the logic of exclusion by upholding both the unity and distinction of the Persons. In a sense, any divine manifestation constitutes a bridge between the world of above, that of the One, and the world of below, that of the many. In the general context of such theophanies some divine figures are endowed with a function that is particularly akin to the reconciliation of extremes. Such mediators present us with characteristics that tend to puzzle or disorient the analytical mind in search of human images of unambiguous divine integrity, as if these gods were taking it upon themselves to dress their celestial identity with the colorful mantle of terrestrial tribulations.