Didactic esotericism among the ancients

This paper argues that the use of secrecy in antiquity is a complex phenomenon that cannot be confined to a specific typology. The notion that 'Greek secrecy' was merely a strategy for achieving prestige is too simplistic, especially within the context of the religious and philosophical traditions of Pythagoreanism and Platonism. By contextualizing the use of secrecy and tracing its roots to the mystery religions, it becomes evident that secrecy often served as a pedagogical strategy intertwined with specific religious and philosophical practices and epistemologies that go beyond the rational vs. irrational binary. Secrecy, or the withholding of knowledge, was employed until the student was deemed ready to comprehend or recognize the next step, which the teacher, master or hierophant would then reveal. A common thread runs through the mystery religions, early Pythagoreanism, and Plato's philosophy, indicating that true knowledge or realization was an ineffable, internalized insight achievable only through special initiation practices or philosophical preparation. This knowledge was not purely rational or irrational. This supreme insight was considered secret not because it was forcibly withheld, but because it was inherently ineffable. This paper proposes the idea that the use of secrecy in antiquity, particularly Greek secrecy, was often a deliberate application of didactic esotericism. This type of didactic is crucial for understanding not only the didactic practices of early Greek religious and philosophical traditions, but also the fundamental distinction between esoteric – exoteric knowledge that still is at the root of much "esotericism". Finally, this paper suggests that future studies on both secrecy and esotericism should consider this original didactic context. By examining the pedagogical strategies of the ancients, one can by consequence archive better understanding of how secrecy functioned and continues to function as an educational tool, facilitating the transmission and preservation of so called esoteric knowledge.