The Orphic Hymns Read online

  justice against her foes.

  An enemy of the unjust,

  9

  you are a gentle goddess to the just.

  O goddess, come evenhanded

  to thoughts that are noble,

  until that fated day

  descends on my life.

  63. To Justice

  incense—frankincense

  O paragon of justice to mortals,

  blessed and beloved one,

  you take equal pleasure

  in all men who are just.

  Honored by all and blissful,

  3

  O bold, O lofty Justice,

  you are pure of thought,

  you reward propriety,

  your own conscience is unbreakable

  for you break all

  who do not submit to your yoke,

  6

  but ...

  in their greed upset

  the balance of your mighty scales.

  Dauntless, charming,

  a lover of revel loved by all,

  you rejoice in peace, you strive

  9

  for a life that is stable.

  You loath unfairness,

  but fairness delights you;

  in you knowledge of virtue

  reaches its noble goal.

  Hear, O goddess,

  12

  rightly shatter wicked men,

  so that mortals who eat

  of the fruits of this earth

  and also all living creatures

  nursed in the bosom

  of Earth, the divine mother,

  15

  nursed in the bosom of sea-dwelling Zeus,

  may follow a path

  both balanced and noble.

  64. Hymn to Nomos

  Upon the holy lord

  of men and gods I call,

  heavenly Nomos, who arranges

  the stars and sets a fair limit

  between the earth and the waters of the sea;

  3

  it is his laws

  that ever preserve nature’s balance,

  obedient and steady.

  Journeying on the heavens,

  he brings the laws from above,

  with a roar he drives out

  6

  malicious envy.

  Nomos summons

  a good end to mortal life,

  he alone steers the course

  of everything that breathes,

  ever the steadfast companion

  9

  of righteous thought.

  Primeval and wise, in peace he shares

  the same house with all who abide by the law,

  bringing harsh vengeance

  upon the lawless.

  O blessed bringer of prosperity,

  12

  beloved of all and honored,

  with kindness of heart send forth

  memory of you, O mighty one.

  65. To Ares

  incense—frankincense

  Unbreakable, strong-spirited,

  mighty, powerful daimōn,

  delighting in arms, indomitable,

  man-slaying, wall-battering,

  lord Ares, yours is the din of arms.

  3

  Ever bespattered with blood,

  you find joy in killing

  in the fray of battle, O horrid one,

  your desire is for the rude clash

  of swords and spears.

  Stay the rage, stay the strife,

  6

  relax pain’s grip on my soul,

  yield to the wish of Kypris,

  yield to the revels of Lyaios,

  exchange the might of arms

  for the works of Deo,

  yearning for youth-nurturing peace,

  9

  bliss-bringing peace.

  66. To Hephaistos

  incense—powdered frankincense

  Hephaistos, powerful and strong-spirited,

  unwearying fire,

  shining in the gleam of flames,

  a god bringing light to mortals,

  mighty-handed,

  3

  eternal artisan,

  worker, part of the cosmos,

  blameless element,

  most sublime, all-eating,

  all-taming, all-haunting—

  ether, sun, stars,

  6

  moon, pure light:

  all these parts of Hephaistos

  are revealed to mortals.

  All homes, all cities,

  all nations are yours.

  O mighty giver of many blessings,

  9

  you dwell in human bodies.

  Hear me, lord, as I summon you

  to this holy libation,

  that you may always come

  gentle to joyful deeds,

  end the savage rage

  12

  of untiring fire

  as nature itself

  burns in our own bodies.

  67. To Asklepios

  incense—frankincense

  Asklepios, lord Paian,

  healer of all,

  you charm away the pains

  of men who suffer.

  Come, mighty and soothing,

  3

  bring health,

  put an end to sickness,

  then to the harsh fate of death.

  O blessed spirit of joyful growth,

  O helper, you ward off evil,

  honored and mighty son

  6

  of Phoibos Apollon.

  Enemy of disease,

  consort of Hygieia the blameless,

  come as savior, O blessed one,

  bring life to a good end.

  68. To Hygeia

  incense—frankincense

  Charming queen of all,

  lovely and blooming,

  blessed Hygeia, mother of all,

  bringer of bliss, hear me.

  Through you vanish

  3

  the illnesses that afflict man,

  through you every house

  blossoms to the fullness of joy.

  The arts thrive when the world

  desires you, O queen,

  loathed by Hades,

  6

  the destroyer of souls.

  Apart from you all is

  without profit for men:

  wealth, the sweet giver of abundance

  for those who feast, fails,

  and man never reaches

  9

  the many pains of old age.

  Goddess, come, ever-helpful

  to the initiates,

  keep away the evil distress

  of unbearable diseases.

  69. To the Erinyes

  incense—storax—powdered frankincense

  Hear, Tisiphone, Allekto,

  noble Megaira,

  revered goddesses

  whose Bacchic cries resound.

  Nocturnal and clandestine,

  3

  you live deep down

  in the dank cave

  by the sacred water of the Styx.

  Men’s unholy designs

  do incur your anger;

  rabid and arrogant, you howl

  6

  over Necessity’s dictates,

  clothed in animal skins,

  you cause the deep pains of retribution.

  O dreaded maidens of the thousand faces,

  your realm is in Hades,

  phantoms airy, invisible,

  9

  swift as thought you are.

  The speedy flames of the sun

  and the moon’s glow

  cannot arouse life’s delights

  without your aid,

  neither can the excellence of wisdom,

  12

  as well as the virtue and the joy

  in bold enterprise

  and in the sleekness of fair youth.

  Upon the races of all men

  that rem
ain countless,

  you gaze as the eye of Dike,

  15

  ever in charge of justice.

  O snake-haired and many-shaped

  goddesses of fate,

  change my thoughts of life

  into gentle and soft ones.

  70. To the Eumenides

  incense—aromatic herbs

  Hear me and be gracious,

  O renowned Eumenides,

  O pure daughters

  of the great Chthonic Zeus

  and of lovely Persephone,

  3

  fair-tressed maiden.

  Over the lives of impious mortals

  you keep a careful eye,

  in charge of Necessity,

  you punish the unjust.

  Black-skinned queens,

  6

  your awesome eyes flash forth

  flesh-eating

  darts of light.

  Everlasting, repugnant,

  frightful, sovereign,

  paralyzing the limbs with madness,

  9

  hideous, nocturnal, fateful,

  snake-haired, terrible

  maidens of the night,

  it is you I summon

  to bring me holiness of mind.

  71. To Melinoe

  incense—aromatic herbs

  I call upon Melinoe,

  saffron-cloaked nymph of the earth,

  whom revered Persephone bore

  by the mouth of the Kokytos river

  upon the sacred bed

  3

  of Kronian Zeus.

  In the guise of Plouton Zeus tricked

  Persephone and through wily plots bedded her;

  a two-bodied specter sprang forth

  from Persephone’s fury.

  This specter drives mortals to madness

  6

  with her airy apparitions

  as she appears in weird shapes

  and strange forms,

  now plain to the eye, now shadowy,

  now shining in the darkness—

  all this in unnerving attacks

  9

  in the gloom of night.

  O goddess, O queen

  of those below, I beseech you

  to banish the soul’s frenzy

  to the ends of the earth,

  show to the initiates

  12

  a kindly and holy face.

  72. To Tyche

  incense—frankincense

  I summon you here through prayer,

  Tyche, noble ruler,

  gentle goddess of the roads,

  for wealth and possessions,

  I summon you as Artemis the guide,

  3

  renowned and sprung from the loins

  of Eubouleus,

  your wish is irresistible.

  Funereal and delusive,

  you are the theme of men’s songs.

  In you lies the great variety

  6

  of men’s livelihood:

  to some you grant a wealth

  of blessings and possessions,

  to others you bring evil poverty

  if you harbor anger against them.

  O goddess, I beseech you,

  9

  come in kindness to my life,

  grant me happiness,

  grant me abundant wealth.

  73. To Daimon

  incense—frankincense

  I call upon Daimon,

  the grand and the dreaded leader,

  gentle Zeus, who gives birth to all,

  who gives livelihood to mortals.

  Great Zeus, wide roving,

  3

  avenger, king of all,

  giver of wealth when you enter the house

  in the abundance of your powers,

  you refresh the life of mortals

  worn out with toil,