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'''Aether''' (also spelled '''æther''', '''aither''', or '''ether'''; from {{ELSalt|Αἰθήρ}} ''Aither''  "the clear (blue) sky") was the original name given by the Greeks to the blue sky, illuminated by sunlight and starlight, in which they saw the transition to a higher, non-material '''etheric world'''. In the Orphic hymns, the Aither is the soul of the world and the primordial element of all life.<ref>Orphic Hymn 5</ref> Until the Archaic period, the Greeks were convinced that the soul ascends into the Aither after death and that only the dead body sinks down into the womb of [[Gaia]] (the personified [[Earth]]).<ref>Radcliffe Guest Edmonds: ''Myths of the underworld journey'', p. 211.</ref> For the nomadic Mongols and Turkic peoples of Central Asia, it is the supra-personal sky god Tengri who represents the "eternal blue sky" ([[w.Mongolian language|Mongol.]] ''Mönkh khökh Tengeri''), the upper world, the heavenly world. In it, the same power is revealed that was already called [[Tao]] on ancient Atlantis. In the Whitsun lecture held in Dornach on 4 June 1924, Rudolf Steiner described in detail how the ether is directly revealed through the blue of the sky {{GZ||236|238ff}}.
'''Aether''' (also spelled '''æther''', '''aither''', or '''ether'''; from {{ELSalt|Αἰθήρ}} ''Aither''  "the clear (blue) sky") was the original name given by the Greeks to the blue sky, illuminated by sunlight and starlight, in which they saw the transition to a higher, non-material '''etheric world'''. In the Orphic hymns, the Aither is the soul of the world and the primordial element of all life.<ref>Orphic Hymn 5</ref> Until the Archaic period, the Greeks were convinced that the soul ascends into the Aither after death and that only the dead body sinks down into the womb of [[Gaia]] (the personified [[Earth]]).<ref>Radcliffe Guest Edmonds: ''Myths of the underworld journey'', p. 211.</ref> For the nomadic Mongols and Turkic peoples of Central Asia, it is the supra-personal sky god Tengri who represents the "eternal blue sky" ([[w:Mongolian language|Mongol.]] ''Mönkh khökh Tengeri''), the upper world, the heavenly world. In it, the same power is revealed that was already called [[Tao]] on ancient Atlantis. In the Whitsun lecture held in Dornach on 4 June 1924, Rudolf Steiner described in detail how the ether is directly revealed through the blue of the sky {{GZ||236|238ff}}.


Later, [[Aristotle]] added the ether as the 5th element ('''quintessence''') to the [[four-element doctrine]]. It is not to be confused with the hypothetical ether of classical physics, which was finally discarded at the beginning of the 20th century and which had been postulated as a medium for the propagation of light from the late 17th century onwards.
Later, [[Aristotle]] added the ether as the 5th element ('''quintessence''') to the [[four-element doctrine]]. It is not to be confused with the hypothetical ether of classical physics, which was finally discarded at the beginning of the 20th century and which had been postulated as a medium for the propagation of light from the late 17th century onwards.

Revision as of 16:29, 3 March 2021

Aether (also spelled æther, aither, or ether; from Greek: Αἰθήρ Aither "the clear (blue) sky") was the original name given by the Greeks to the blue sky, illuminated by sunlight and starlight, in which they saw the transition to a higher, non-material etheric world. In the Orphic hymns, the Aither is the soul of the world and the primordial element of all life.[1] Until the Archaic period, the Greeks were convinced that the soul ascends into the Aither after death and that only the dead body sinks down into the womb of Gaia (the personified Earth).[2] For the nomadic Mongols and Turkic peoples of Central Asia, it is the supra-personal sky god Tengri who represents the "eternal blue sky" (Mongol. Mönkh khökh Tengeri), the upper world, the heavenly world. In it, the same power is revealed that was already called Tao on ancient Atlantis. In the Whitsun lecture held in Dornach on 4 June 1924, Rudolf Steiner described in detail how the ether is directly revealed through the blue of the sky (Lit.:GA 236, p. 238ff).

Later, Aristotle added the ether as the 5th element (quintessence) to the four-element doctrine. It is not to be confused with the hypothetical ether of classical physics, which was finally discarded at the beginning of the 20th century and which had been postulated as a medium for the propagation of light from the late 17th century onwards.

Literature
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

References

  1. ↑ Orphic Hymn 5
  2. ↑ Radcliffe Guest Edmonds: Myths of the underworld journey, p. 211.
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