THE INFLUENCE OF ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY ON THE FORMATION OF EARLY RELIGIOUS IDEAS: CONCEPTUAL BORROWINGS AND TRANSFORMATIONS

The article offers a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms, channels, and results of the influence of ancient philosophy (6th century BC – 6th century AD) on the formation of religious ideas in the late Hellenistic and early Byzantine periods. In contrast to the traditional approach, which views philosophy and religion as antagonistic spheres, the author substantiates the thesis on the structural dependence of early religious dogmatics on philosophical conceptual systems. Three chronological stages are distinguished: (1) the pre-philosophical mythological stage (Homeric epic, Orphism); (2) classical philosophical criticism of traditional religion (Plato, Aristotle, Epicureans); (3) the syncretic stage of Hellenism and late antiquity, during which there is an active borrowing of philosophical categories by early religious movements (Hellenistic Judaism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Hermeticism). Based on the analysis of the texts of Philo of Alexandria, Plotinus, Origen, Augustine and Proclus, it is shown that the key transferred concepts were: Plato's theory of eidos, Aristotle's entelechy, Stoic logos, Neoplatonic emanation and theurgy. It is concluded that ancient philosophy ensured the transition from mythological to theological thinking, creating a conceptual apparatus, without which the emergence of developed religious doctrines would have been impossible.