" And what is purification bu the separation of the soul from the body...., the habit of the soul gathering and collecting herself on every side...? And what is that which is termed death, but this very separation of the soul from the body? .... And the true philosophers, and they alone, are ever seeking to release the soul... then, Simmias, as the true philosophers are ever studying death, to them of all men, death is the least terrible.. And I conceive that the founders of the mysteries had a real meaning, and were not mere triflers when they intimated in a figure long ago that he who passes unsanctioned and uninitiated into the world below will lie in a slough, but he who arrives there after initiation and purification will dwell with the gods."
This is a passage from Aristophanes' Clouds, where a rule of silence is imposed on the neophytes. Dr. Wind, seems to have a large back ground in ancient texts and says ," Aristophanes treats poetry as a mystic rite from which the profane are excluded, much as Socrates treats philosophy." This is interesting because the ancient Greeks used to believe that anything, good or bad, that was created by an artist or the average Joe, was not just created by their own methods but helped along by a muse or daemon. And this shows that these two well know ancient saw creativity and "smarts" in much of the same ways.
Good start
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