Abstract

Fundamental tenets of Schelling’s philosophical concept of myth are examined. Mythology is considered as symbolical system, a material for art, theological process. Thus, Schelling’s contribution directly to the theory of myth is great. His career as a mythologist was exceptionally long and productive because the thinker was engaged in mythology throughout his life. So, one of his first works was straight on myth problems: “On myths, historical legends and protophilosophy of the ancient world” that consequently inspired him to develop in the so-called “positive philosophy” period his monumental “philosophy of mythology and revelation” that was elaborated by philosopher at least from 1820s to his death. It contains Schelling’s own mythological conception by which he wanted to restore myth to itself, and his most richly detailed and well-argued criticism and interpreting of other mythic theories: allegorical, natural, euhemerical, language and others. In it Schelling affirms the symbol as the mode of truth, according to him myth is the real moment of the Spirit; the gods are indeed what they represent. The problems of mythology were also systematically investigated and analyzed in Schelling’s “The Philosophy of art” and in a number of different philosophical works, such as, for example, treatise on “The Deities of Samothrace” etc. In general, this article uncovers, that Schelling was the first in historico-philosophical tradition of studying myth phenomena who claim to set up a “philosophy of mythology” as an equal alongside all other philosophic disciplines, such as philosophy of art, philosophy of nature, philosophy of religion etc. So, in general, mythology became crucial part of Schelling’s philosophical system. It is also underlined, that Schelling –pre-monotheist– believed that at the beginning of human history there’s monotheism, but not true revelation. He named its “relative” or “simultaneous” monotheism which contains potentials that can be fulfilled only in the course of time. Thus, author of this article demonstrates, that the question of “successive monotheism” and substantiation of the concept of “theogonic process”, whereby the histories or stories of the gods actually come to be in consciousness, became the main part in Schelling’s “Philosophy of mythology”.