The Orphic Hymns Read online

  from pain to come.

  But, O blessed one, I beg you,

  show me the behests of the gods,

  in all things bring me close

  to the path that is straight,

  do not through weird apparitions

  18

  show me evil signs.

  87. To Death

  incense—powdered frankincense

  Hear me, you who steer

  the path of all mortals

  and give sacred time to all

  from whom you are distant.

  Your sleep tears the soul

  3

  free from the body’s hold,

  whenever you undo

  nature’s powerful bonds,

  bringing the long slumber,

  the endless one, to the living.

  Common to all,

  6

  you are unjust to some,

  when you bring swift end to youthful life

  at its peak.

  In you alone is executed

  the verdict common to all,

  for to entreaties and to prayers

  9

  you alone are deaf.

  O blessed one,

  with pious vows, with sacrifices,

  I beg you, I pray to you,

  grant me long life,

  that old age might be

  12

  a noble prize among men.

  NOTES

  * * *

  Abbreviations

  OHx.y(-z)

  Orphic Hymns, hymn number x, line(s) y(-z). An n appended refers to the relevant note; an i appended refers to the introduction to the relevant hymn. References combined are indicated by a + sign. The opening address of Orpheus to Mousaios is indicated by the letter O.

  PGM

  Papyri graecae magicae (Betz 1986)

  PMG

  Poetae melici graeci (Page 1962)

  PMGF

  Poetarum melicorum graecorum fragmenta (Davies 1991)

  SVF x.y

  Stoicorum veterorum fragmenta (von Arnim 1903–1921), volume x, fragment y

  * * *

  Introduction

  1. Cf. Hesiod Works and Days 259 and Sophokles Oedipus at Kolonos 1382.

  2. See OH 34.16–23n.

  3. For details, see Betegh 2004 and Kouremenos/Parássoglou/Tsantsanoglou 2006.

  4. For details, see Graf/Johnston 2007.

  5. For a summary of these (and other) Orphic theogonies, see Betegh 2004, pp. 140–152, and, for a reconstructed diachronic evolution, see West 1983.

  6. See OH Oi.

  7. See Graf /Johnston 2007, pp. 70–80 and passim.

  8. For a detailed treatment of the genre, see Furley/Bremer 2001.

  9. Cf. Euripides Hippolytos 954, Aristophanes Frogs 1032, Plato Republic 364e, Plato Cratylus 402b, Plato Philebus 66c, and Aristotle De anima 410b.

  10. See OH 37i.

  11. See OH 30i.

  12. See also OH 87.3–4n.

  13. See OH 14.8–9n.

  14. For a convenient list, see Siddiqi 1990.

  15. Macdonell 1917, no. 8.

  16. Macdonell 1917, no. 9.

  17. Sergeant 2009, p. 37.

  18. For a very thorough treatment of the names of the bear in the Finnic lands, see Pentikäinen 2007, esp. pp. 94–117.

  Orpheus to Mousaios

  The opening poem of the collection portrays the fiction of Orpheus instructing Mousaios in a rite. A loose parallel may be adduced in the case of Hesiod, who tells us of his transformation from shepherd to poet in the beginning of the Theogony (1–114); note in particular how the Muses there are initially described singing a hymn to a list of divinities (11–21), similar to what we find in this poem. Inclusivity is a characteristic of Greek polytheism, and it can be dangerous to omit the wrong divinity. This is a recurring theme in myth (e.g., the Kalydonian Boar because Artemis was neglected, the infidelity of Helen and her sister Klytemnestra because Aphrodite was neglected, the apple in the Judgment of Paris because Strife was snubbed).

  For Orpheus, see the introduction to the translation. Mousaios was also a semi-legendary figure of questionable antiquity who was thought to be both a poet (his name means “of the Muse”) and a founder of religious rites. He was considered to be the father of Eumolpos, the eponymous ancestor of the Eumolpids, one of the two hereditary families entrusted to administrating the Eleusinian Mysteries (see OH 40i). Mousaios seems to have been originally independent of Orpheus but later was made his son and/or disciple. The address “friend” here suggests at least the latter. For more on Mousaios, see West 1983, pp. 39–44.

  There is a question whether this poem belongs with our collection or was added at some later date after the Hymns had been made part of a greater compilation of ancient hymns. It will become immediately apparent that the order of divinities in this poem does not, for the most part, match the order of the hymns to individual deities. Furthermore, some personalities, such as Hebe, are mentioned only in this poem, while others who have a hymn devoted to them in the collection, such as Hestia, do not appear here. West argues that this opening address to Mousaios was not part of the original collection but instead might have been the Thuēpolikon (Sacrifice or Mystic Rites) mentioned among the works of Orpheus in the Souda, a tenth-century AD Byzantine lexicon/encyclopedia (West 1968, pp. 288–289). However, the arguments against originality are certainly not insurmountable. For example, given how interconnected various hymns are (through language and motif), the opening may have been felt comprehensive enough despite the discrepancy between the divinities invoked in it and those that receive hymns in the rest of the collection. Another possibility is that the poem was an independent entity that our composer somewhat inartfully grafted onto his efforts. The opening and closing lines could easily have been altered from, and/or added to, the original. Indeed, the original might even have been the inspiration for creating a series of hymns dedicated to individual entities, and the collection could then be viewed as an (imperfect) expansion of it, adapted to the exigencies of the particular ritual in which it was performed.

  It should also be pointed out that the fiction presented here of the master Orpheus passing on wisdom to his disciple Mousaios would have had great significance for the initiates. Beyond the fancy that attributing the rite to the august figure Orpheus lends the whole affair an aura of prestige and legitimacy, in the performance of this poem it is not only Mousaios who is the beneficiary of Orpheus’ special knowledge but also the initiates themselves. The poem could represent the foundational act of the ritual and have been felt to provide the raison d’être for the cult’s existence. There might be an element of play-acting here, of taking on another role, something that is prevalent in Dionysian worship (see OH 30i). One wonders if it was not the group but a figure of authority (the “oxherd”?) who opened the ceremony by chanting these verses in the guise of Orpheus. We find the theme of foundation of rites appearing intermittently throughout the collection; see OH 76.7n. It is perhaps significant that many such instances involve groups, which might also be serving to break down the divide of mythic past and present reality.

  For the divinities mentioned in this poem who have their own hymn(s), the reader is referred to the appropriate introduction and notes for more information.

  3–5: The use of elements as an ordering technique found elsewhere in the collection (see OH 15i and OH 79i) seems to be used here as well, with Zeus representing air, Earth herself, the celestial bodies fire, and Poseidon water. The same grouping, albeit in a different order, appears in lines 32–33. See also note to line 38. For Zeus as the first god mentioned, see note to line 41.

  11: Aphrodite, the coy goddess, is coyly alluded here. Her position after Hephaistos might be due to the fact that she is sometimes his wife in mythology (see OH 66i).

  12: Hades is meant. He is often addressed by such circumlocutions since it was considered ill-omened to mention him by name (see also OH 18.3n and OH 69i).

  13 Hebe: Her name
means “youth.” She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. In traditional myth she was the cup-bearer of the gods, until Zeus abducted Ganymede and installed him in her place. Later she became the wife of the deified Herakles; see OH 12i.

  14 Justice and Piety: OH 63 is addressed to the personified Justice. For her relationship to Piety, see the introduction to that hymn.

  18 Year: Proclus cites some lines from a poem he attributes to Orpheus where in the version of Aphrodite’s birth from the castration of Kronos, it is Year that gives birth to her after she had been surrounded by foam; Proclus elsewhere states that “the theurgists” worshipped Year, as well as Time, Day, Night, and Month (Orphic fragment 189). Aelian reports that in Gadeira (modern day Cádiz), the inhabitants had an altar for Year and Month (Orphic fragment 19). See also OH 12.3n.

  19 Dione: In Homer, she is the mother of Aphrodite and consoles her after she is wounded by Diomedes (Iliad 5.370–417). She assists in the birth of Apollon (Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.93), which may explain her place after Leto here. For Hesiod, she is an Okeanid (Theogony 353) and one of the divinities praised by the Muses in song as they head out to Olympos from Helikon (Theogony 17). Apollodoros, in contrast to Hesiod, makes her a Titan (1.1.2) and the mother of Aphrodite (1.3.1; see also OH 55i). The Rhapsodies also made Dione a Titan (Orphic fragment 179; see also OH 4i).

  20–22: A number of similar divinities are clustered together here. While the Kouretes and Korybantes are separate entities, they often are confounded with one another, as at OH 38.20–21, where they are also identified as the gods of the Samothracian mystery cult and Zeus’ sons Kastor and Polydeukes, the Dioskouroi (see OH 27i and OH 38.20–21n). Here the Kabeiroi, called saviors and the sons of Zeus, apparently are being identified with the Dioskouroi. However, they usually are separate as well, the gods of a mystery cult at Lemnos and Thebes that was connected with blacksmiths (see Burkert 1985, pp. 281–282, OH 39i and OH 66i). Interestingly enough, the Kabeiroi seem to have been worshipped on Samothrace, too (Herodotos 2.51.2; but see Burkert 1985, p. 283), which might have influenced the composer of this hymn. The Dioskouroi, Kouretes, and Kabeiroi are all possible identities of the mysterious “Boy Lords” worshipped in a mystery cult at Amphissa (Pausanias 10.38.7). The Idaian gods are a reference to the Idaian Dactyls, for whom see OH 12i. They, too, had a connection with Samothrace (see Graf/Johnston 2007, p. 170), which further suggests that the Kabeiroi here are being associated with that island.

  24 Day: Hesiod makes Day the child of Night and Erebos (Theogony 124). See also note to line 18 and OH 3i.

  25 Faith: We find Faith personified first in Theognis, who says that only Hope remains among men, but Faith, Prudence, and the Graces have fled to Olympos (1135–1138). This is a pastiche of Hesiod’s tale of Pandora and the jar and the departure of Shame and Nemesis from the earth (Works and Days 90–99 and 197–201). Faith occasionally is worshipped in cult, most notably for our collection at Pergamon, where she shared an altar with Concord (see Nilsson 1961, p. 357).

  25 Thesmodoteira: The name means “she that gives laws.” Demeter was known as Thesmophoria (“she that bears laws”), and it is possible that this Thesmodoteira is either another identity of Demeter or a goddess who has been detached from Demeter and given a life of her own.

  28–29: According to Hesiod, Atlas is a Titan who supports the sky on his shoulders, both out of “harsh necessity” and because this burden had been imposed upon him by Zeus (Theogony 517–520). This idea was taken up in Orphic mythology and justified by Atlas’ participation in the murder of Dionysos (Orphic fragment 319). Homer, however, has him in the sea supporting both the earth and the sky (Odyssey 1.52–54), perhaps reminiscent of the Hittite Ullikummis. Aion (Eon, Eternity) is closely related to Time; Euripides makes Aion the son of Time, perhaps married to Fate (Herakleidai 900). He was a late-comer to cult; for an exhaustive review of the sources, see Nock 1934, pp. 83–98 (with discussion of this line on pp. 88–89), and Nilsson 1961, pp. 498–505. Time is an important figure in some Orphic cosmogonies. He is counted among the first entities in creation, and the one responsible for the birth of Protogonos (see OH 6i+6.1n).

  29 Styx: One of the rivers of the underworld; see OH 69.4n.

  30 Pronoia: See the introduction to the translation.

  32–33: The serial listing of the sky, earth, and sea—with some variations—is a recurring theme in the collection; see OH 10.14–16n.

  35 Adrasteia: See OH 61i.

  38 Thunder: Interestingly enough, we have a hymn for Zeus the Thunderbolt and one for Zeus of the Lightning, but not one for the third of the group, Zeus of the Thunder; conversely, only Thunder is mentioned here, not Lightning or Thunderbolt; see further OH 20i.

  38 four-pillared cosmos: The four pillars should probably be understood as the four elements; see note to lines 3–5.

  39: For Attis, see OH 27i. Men is a moon god of Asia Minor; see OH 9.4n.

  40 Ourania: We find this as an epithet to Aphrodite, and, since Adonis is immediately mentioned next (thus following the order of their hymns in our collection), it would seem likely that Ourania here refers to Aphrodite (see OH 55i+1n), despite the fact that this goddess has already been invoked at line 11 (albeit not by name). Ourania is also traditionally one of the names of the Muses, and she is mentioned at OH 76.9.

  41 Beginning and End: These appear to be nothing more than abstractions of philosophical terms. A papyrus fragment containing a commentary on a poem of Alkman that is no longer extant reveals a cosmogony that started from undifferentiated matter that was given form through Poros (Way) and Tekmor (End, Limit), which the commentator interprets as signifying the beginning and end of things (PMGF 5 fr. 2 col. iii; translation and discussion in Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, pp. 47–49). In all three extant versions of an Orphic hymn to Zeus, the god is described as being the first and last (see OH 15.3–5n), and in OH 15.7 he is called “the beginning and end of all” (and see note; however, the Greek word for “end” there is different than the one found here). It is perhaps no surprise, then, that Zeus begins the list of deities in this poem. He may even be understood as Beginning and End here, which would neatly close the long list of divinities in this poem by ring composition. Note, too, that the word “rite” (Greek “thuēpoliē”) appears in the first and last line.

  1. To Hekate

  Hekate is a murky goddess on the fringes of Greek religion, and it is very possible that she was originally a native goddess of the Karians, a people in Asia Minor. Her earliest mention is in Hesiod’s Theogony, a relatively long digression of such effusive praise that it is often referred to as a “hymn to Hekate” (411–452). Hesiod asserts that Zeus did not strip her of the honors she held before the defeat of the Titans, among whom she numbers. The poet then goes on to list the wide-ranging powers of the goddess and whom she can help or hinder as she pleases: kings, men speaking in assemblies, soldiers in battle, athletes at competitions, horsemen, sailors (along with Poseidon), and fishermen. Along with Hermes, she can bring fertility or sterility to flocks, and her role in nurturing youths closes out this astounding list of domains. Hesiod also stresses the fact that she is an only child. This picture of Hekate is unique in extant literature. Later on she was frequently identified with Artemis and Moon; see OH 9i and OH 36i. Hesiod perhaps is already moving in this direction, as he calls her a “nurturer of youths,” an epithet usually applied to Artemis (cf. OH 36.8). Moreover, in Hesiod’s genealogies, Hekate is first cousin to Artemis and Apollon, since their mothers, Asteria and Leto respectively, are sisters (Theogony 404–409). The connection with Moon is already suggested in another early poem, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. After Persephone had been snatched by Hades, Hekate approaches Demeter and informs her that she heard the screams of the abducted girl but did not see the perpetrator (2.51–61). This information is supplied by Sun (2.62–90). Hekate is described as “carrying a light in her hands” (2.52), and, as the female counterpart to Sun in their role as witnesses, seems to be imagined as the
moon goddess in these lines; see OH 2i and OH 9.3+n. Note, too, that the name of her mother in Hesiod’s genealogy, Asteria, means “starry.”

  Thus in early Greek literature Hekate had definite celestial connections. But her association in Hesiod with fertility hints at chthonic relations, as does her connection in the story of the abduction of Persephone. When mother and daughter are reunited in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hekate joins in their celebration and becomes Persephone’s “attendant and follower” (2.438–440). She is therefore connected with the world of the dead, and it is this attribute that comes to dominate her aspect in later times. In the magical papyri, she is also explicitly equated with Persephone, along with other entities such as the Fates (PGM 4.2714–2783 and 2785–2870). No longer is she a (potentially) beneficial deity that might deign to grant a person blessings; instead she has become a sinister and dangerous, sometimes demonic, creature of the night (compare lines 5–6 of this hymn). Madness (cf. OH 71i), suffering, and death are her gifts, and she is often described in bestial terms. Curse tablets, too, invoke this dread goddess for their efficacy.

  However, Hekate also received more formal worship in antiquity, both civic and private. She was a goddess of crossroads (see line 1), and such places could receive offerings and contain an image of the goddess. Sacrifices to her were notorious for their use of dog meat as offerings (cf. line 5). Hekate was involved in mystery cults, and of particular interest to this hymn is that Pausanias reports of mystery rites performed in honor of Hekate on Aigina, rites that Orpheus himself was said to have introduced (2.30.2). For more information on the worship of Hekate, see Larson 2007, pp. 165–167.