The Orphic Hymns Read online

  3 children of black Night: A genealogy based on observation. Hesiod on the other hand says Dawn is the mother of the winds, the Morning Star, and—curiously—all the stars (see OH 78i). West suggests that Hesiod started with the Morning Star being a child of Dawn, which does conform to observation, and then brought all the other stars into this relation “by association” (West 1971, pp. 270–271). It is possible that Night is made their mother here because of the Stars’ chthonic nature (see line 9 and note), perhaps even to strengthen it. In Orphic cosmogony, the stars, as well as the other celestial bodies, are created by Protogonos (Orphic fragment 153, and see OH 6i) and then recreated by Zeus (see OH 15.3–5n). Note that the Fates are the daughters of Night, too (OH 59.1).

  8: This line, as well as the circular movement mentioned in line 4, refers to the place of the stars in the cosmos according to geocentric astronomical teachings; see OH 4.3n. The seven luminous orbits are the movements of the five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn), the sun, and the moon. They were conceived to be attached to spherical rings and to rotate in perfect circles around the spherical earth. The stars in this system usually were not thought to move but were understood to be affixed to the outmost, inert sphere (for Plato, though, they moved, albeit in the opposite direction from the rest of the celestial bodies; see OH 8.9n). The Homeric Hymn to Ares also alludes to the seven orbits and, at least in part, addresses the planet as well as the god. This information suggests that it is a late hymn that had been added to the Homeric collection (see OH 65i).

  9 in heaven and on earth: As with Night (OH 3.8+8–11n), their mother, and Sky (OH 4.5+n), so, too, are the Stars connected both to the celestial and earthly realms. Their chthonic nature might also be a result of their connection with the dead. Sometimes the soul is imagined as returning to the stars (see Cicero De respublica 6.18), and we have already noted the old folk belief that stars are born when people die (see the introduction to this hymn and further OH 15i and OH 59.3–4n).

  12–13: These lines give us clues as to the content of the ritual in which our collection was employed, but not enough specific details for any certain inferences. The “learned contests” might indicate a competition that was held among initiates or that served as part of the rite for those about to be initiated. That they are “learned” suggests they were intellectual and treated points of cultic lore. Perhaps they were in the form of a catechism. The Stars, like other addressees in the collection, are invited to join the festivities; however, what is unusual in this case is that it is not just their presence but their direct participation that is desired. The word “race,” like the Greek word it translates, “dromos,” may signify a competition or the mere act of motion. The word “dromos” appears in the second part of a compound in line 9, where it has the latter connotation (“puridromoi,” meaning “blazing trail”). It is often used to describe celestial motion, and here it is “noble” because it is part of the cosmic order, which has an ethical dimension (see OH 8.16n). Thus the stars’ natural course coheres with the movements of the ritual, and so the participants of the ritual might have felt that they themselves also became participants in the cosmic order. Another possible interpretation is that the context suggests an agonistic interpretation of “race” but it is difficult to see against whom the Stars would be racing. In Alkman’s Parthenion (PMGF 1) the group of young girls, whose performance of the poem is an act of worship in a state cult, at one point say they are “fighting” the star cluster of the Pleiades; one interpretation of these hotly-debated lines is that the girls, perhaps with (mock?) consternation, are worried that they will not finish their nightly ritual before the Pleiades set and dawn appears. Our participants were almost certainly engaged in a nightly ritual, too (see OH 3i), but there is nothing in our hymn to suggest that they are competing with the Stars; indeed, the Stars are invited to join the proceedings. Perhaps the Stars are summoned to help the initiates complete their rite before the arrival of dawn (see OH 78i). In this case, the “works of renown” would denote the ritual itself. The same phrase appears again of Nike, who is asked to come to the initiates “for works of renown” (OH 33.9+i), and Mise is also asked at the end of her hymn to attend the contests of the ritual (OH 42.11+n); see also OH 28.2n, OH 30i, OH 76.12+n, and OH 87.12n.

  8. To the Sun

  The veneration of the sun in ancient times involves complexities. The only major cult center was on the island Rhodes, but scholars suspect that this cult was not of great antiquity. Pindar celebrates the island with three myths, including Sun’s love of the island; they produced seven sons, the ancestors of the island’s inhabitants, and their grandchildren became the eponymous founders of the three main cities on the island (Olympian Odes 7.20–80). These cities combined to found the federal city Rhodes in 408 BC, which instituted a festival, the Halieia, that included athletic and musical contests. In 282 BC the inhabitants contracted the Colossus of Rhodes to be built, an enormous bronze statue of the personified sun and one of the so-called seven wonders of the ancient world. Rhodes, though, seems to be the main exception that proves the rule; references in Herodotos (1.131), Aristophanes (Peace 406–413), and Plato (Cratylus 397c) suggest that cultic worship of the sun and moon was considered to be a characteristic of non-Greek cultures. Nevertheless, the sun did figure prominently as an oath deity, as we see already in Homer (e.g., Iliad 3.103–104, invoked along with Earth and Zeus). And there is evidence of more humble devotion. Children would clap their hands and call for the sun to come out when a cloud obscured it (Aristophanes fragment 404). One might greet the sun and moon with a prayer or some other ritual action (e.g., Plato Laws 887d–e). Such an act is reported to have appeared in a lost play by Aeschylus, Bassarai or Bassarides (The Thracian Bacchantes). According to the summaries of this play we find in later sources, Orpheus, after his experience in the underworld, neglected his previous worship of his father, Dionysos, and instead began to venerate the sun, whom he called Apollon; he would climb Mount Pangaion (“pangaion” means “all-earth”) to offer a prayer to the rising sun; Dionysos in anger incited the Thracian Bacchantes at the end of one of their nocturnal revels to tear Orpheus apart limb-by-limb (see Orphic fragment 536). The equivalence of Apollon-Sun seems to have been first made by philosophers in the fifth century BC (Parmenides and Empedokles); a fragment of Sophokles also suggests this (see note to line 13 “Zeus”). In the ideal city-state depicted in the Laws, Plato makes the highest magistrates priests of both Apollon and Sun. The identification of these two divinities also occurs in the Orphic corpus (Orphic fragment 102, 323, 413). A vase from Olbia, which may have Orphic connections, contains this inscription: “Life Life Apollon Apollon Sun Sun Cosmos Cosmos Light Light” (Orphic fragment 537; see also Graf/Johnston 2007, p. 188). It is unclear when this equivalence was first attributed to Orpheus, but Aeschylus’ play suggests at least the earlier part of the fifth century. This raises the interesting question of whether the philosophers might have adopted the identification from an Orphic cult or vice versa. Also connected with the name Orpheus is a hymn to Sun (Orphic fragment 538–545) in which this divinity is equated with Zeus, Hades, Dionysos, Eubouleus, Phanes, and Antauges (see OH 6i, and note to line 9 below). The extensive identification speaks of Hellenistic provenance or later. Sun as a distinct being does not play a large role in mythology. Probably the most important and famous story is that of his son Phaethon, who asked for, and was given, leave to drive Sun’s chariot; but the lad was unable to maintain control the team and was killed by Zeus’ thunderbolt as the chariot careened to the earth, threatening a catastrophic conflagration (Ovid Metamorphoses 1.746–2.400). More relevant to our collection is his interaction with Demeter in identifying Hades as the abductor of Persephone; see note to line 1.

  As with Sky, Ether, and Moon, the mythology and the cultic aspects of Sun are absent from the hymn. It is Sun’s place in the cosmic order—including its ethical dimension—that is emphasized, and here the philosophical tradition has made its mark. M
any of the ideas can be traced back to the Pre-Socratics; see the notes passim. But above all it is the traditional imagery that dominates by its repetition: the all-seeing eye and the golden, life-nourishing light driven by the swift four-horse chariot. Compare this hymn with the Homeric Hymn to the Sun, as well as Mesomedes’ and Proclus’ hymns to Sun. He is also invoked in the magical papyri (see in particular PGM 1.297–327, 341–347; 3.187–262; 4.436–461, 930–1114, 1928–2005; 8.74–81). See also OH 34i.

  1 eternal eye that sees all: Sun, in his capacity as a celestial god, is often portrayed as perceiving all events that take place on earth. We list a few of the more famous examples. It is Sun who finds out about the affair between Ares and Aphrodite, Hephaistos’ wife, and who informs the lame god of this indignity (Odyssey 8.270–272 and 302). In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Sun, along with Hekate (probably in her capacity as moon-goddess), perceives Hades’ abduction of Persephone (2.24–27 and 62–90; see OH 9.3n and OH 41i). Finally, the fettered Prometheus calls to witness a host of natural phenomena and concludes by invoking the “all-seeing orb of the sun” at Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 88–92. The idea of Sun as witness is surely related to his role in oaths; see the introduction to this hymn and note to line 17. Other divinities described as all-seeing in the collection are Sky (OH 4.8), Moon (OH 9.7), Apollon (OH 34.8 and 11), Zeus (OH 59.13), Nemesis (OH 61.2 and 8), Dike (OH 62.1), and the Erinyes (OH 69.15, connected with Dike). The latter three also connect perspicuous vision with justice (see note to line 16 below). The sun is referred to as “the sublime eye of weightless fire” at OH 11.17.

  2 Hyperion: This is actually the name of Sun’s traditional father, one of the original twelve Titans. For Hesiod’s genealogy, see OH 9i.

  3 self-born, untiring: The idea that the sun reforms each day goes back to the philosopher Xenophanes (Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, no. 175) and perhaps Herakleitos (Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, no. 225; see also Kirk, Raven, and Schofield’s commentary on both fragments). It is also found in the magical papyri. The phoinix, a legendary bird that was supposed to recreate itself from the ashes of his father, was sometimes thought to radiate fire, and Herodotos (2.73) reports that it brings the corpse of his father to the temple of Sun in Heliopolis, Egypt. That the sun is born again anew every day is probably a reasonable, if fantastical, extension of the observation that fire alone of the elements is capable of self-generation (see Theophrastos On Fire 1). The sun is already called “untiring” in Homer (Iliad 18.239, 484). Compare the opening of Mimnermos fragment 12.1–3: “For Sun has obtained by lot a labor for all his days,/and there is never any respite/for his horses or himself.” The Greek words translated here as “self-born” and “untiring” are also used of Herakles in OH 12.9.

  7 endless whirl: The same motion is ascribed to Sky (see OH 4.4+n) and Zeus the Thunderbolt (OH 19.10); compare the motion of Protogonos, who is sometimes identified with the sun (see OH 6.5–7+n), and likewise Physis (OH 10.21–24n).

  9: The idea that heavenly bodies produce musical notes in their revolutions and that together they form a harmony goes back to the Pythagoreans, perhaps even Pythagoras himself. Their views are probably what Aristotle describes in De caelo 290b21–29. In book ten of the Republic, Plato describes a system where there rotate on the Spindle of Necessity eight whorls, on which the earth, sun, moon, planets, and stars move; also on each whorl sits a Siren who utters a pure note of a certain pitch, and they together produce a harmony; the three Fates sing along of the past, present, and future (616b–617d). See also OH 7.8n. A late source reports that some believed the seven notes on Orpheus’ lyre were tuned to the rotations of seven celestial bodies; for an account of how this developed and its probable Pythagorean origins, see West 1983, pp. 29–32, and OH 11i. Such an image could very well have influenced our hymn, even though Sun should be producing one of the notes, not playing the lyre that produces the whole harmony. The lyre is typically associated with Apollon; but since the sun is associated with this god (see the introduction to this hymn, and note to line 12 below), it would be natural to transfer this attribute to him, and, in fact, the hymn to Apollon gives a fuller description of the cosmic lyre (OH 34.16–23+n). The Stoic Kleanthes is reported to have called the sun “plektron” (literally, “instrument for striking,” a musical technical term for “pick,” whence English “plectrum” via Latin), whose rays strike the universe and produce a “course in tune” (Clement of Alexandria Stromateis 5.8.48.1); Thom 2005 suggests this idea had been taken over from the late fifth- or early fourth-century poet Skythinos of Teos (p. 78 n. 188). Insofar as Sun is equated with Zeus in this hymn (see line 13 and note), Sun’s prominence in producing the full harmony, not merely being part of it, is also understandable.

  10 as you nurture the seasons: The same idea recurs in connection with the Kouretes, albeit for a different reason; see OH 38.25.

  11 piping lord of the world: Sun has already been described as holding the lyre, and now we find that he is a piper as well. The whistling sound this instrument makes is consistent with the type of sound implied by the rushing chariot (line 6) and the “screaming whip” (line 19). The playing of pipes is usually associated with Pan, and there are points of contact between this god and Sun in the collection. Pan’s music is described as an accompaniment to the cosmic harmony (OH 11.6), and he is also called “light-bringing lord of the cosmos” (OH 11.11). Furthermore, Pan is a “companion of the Seasons” (OH 11.4), a “begetter of all” (OH 11.10), a “veritable Zeus with horns” (OH 11.12), and he brings “nourishment to mankind” (OH 11.20; cf. line 12 of this hymn). Apollon may be added to this pair, for he is called Pan in the context of his divine music that regulates the seasons (OH 34.24), and Pan, in turn, is called Paian (OH 11.11), as Sun in the next line. Thus, these three divinities are brought into relation with one another as beings who maintain the cosmic order.

  12 Paian: For this name/title of Apollon, see OH 34.1n; for Apollon’s identification with the sun, see the introduction to this hymn. There are a number of overlapping attributes between this hymn and the one to Apollon (OH 34).

  13 father of time: Moon is called “the mother of time”; see OH 9.5+n. Herakles is also called “father of time”; see OH 12.3+n.

  13 Zeus: There are a number of attributes that Zeus and Sun share that would suggest such a correspondence: both are sky gods, both are associated with fire and light, both are believed to see all things, both are concerned with justice, and both were invoked in oaths (often together). A late source cites the following fragment from Sophokles (fragment 752): “O Sun, may you take pity on me/you whom the wise [sophoi] call the begetter of the gods/and father of all.” The source introduces this quote with the following: “those who believe that the sun is Zeus say that Sophokles also calls the sun Zeus.” Since we do not know the original context, we cannot be sure whether Sophokles actually intended to make this connection. The idea that Zeus is the father of all things is a commonplace in Greek literature; in Orphic cosmogony, this is taken literally (see OH 15.3–5n). The sun’s role in producing life on earth could easily have suggested an identification with Zeus.

  16 a paragon of justice: Sun’s role in oaths naturally connects this divinity with justice. In a discussion of the etymology for “dikaion,” a word meaning “justice,” Sokrates says that he heard from many men that justice is the element that moves through (diaion) all things, which is the cause of generation, and that this is also why it is connected with the irregular root of Zeus (“dia”); upon further inquiry as to the nature of justice, one man claims it is the sun, since the sun governs all things, another man says it is the essence of heat that resides in fire, and yet another man holds, after Anaxagoras, that it is Mind (Plato Cratylus 412c–413d). Plato’s authorities might very well be the ones who are called “the wise” in Sophokles fragment 752 (see note to line 13 “Zeus”), and Kahn 1979, p. 156, conjectures that Plato’s source might be Herakleitos or his followers. The idea that the physical nature of the cosmos al
so consists of an ethical dimension—a type of universal that is the standard to which the human sphere ought to attain—is found in some of the early hymns (see also note to line 1, OH 7.12–13n and OH 10.14–16n) and is picked up again later on (see OH 64i).

  16 water-loving lord of the cosmos: Sun might be said to love the water due to the fact that it signals the end of his laborious journey for the day. In mythology, Sun is sometimes portrayed as riding a cup at night on Okeanos in his return east to rise again the next day. It is interesting to note that some of the Pre-Socratics (Anaximenes, Xenophanes, Herakleitos: see Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, nos. 148–149, 175–179, 225, and their comments) and Stoics believed that the sun was created or maintained by evaporation from bodies of water on the earth (see, e.g., Plutarch De stoicorum repugnantiis 1053a, De Iside et Osiride 367e).

  17 guard pledges: This alludes to Sun’s role as an oath god; see the introduction to this hymn and note to line 1.

  19 four-horse chariot: Sun is often conceived as a charioteer in Greco-Roman literature and art. Festus, a second-century AD writer, in a note discussing various horse sacrifices mentions one at Rhodes, where a four-horse chariot is driven into the sea; he tells us that this symbolized the course of the sun as it traveled around the world; see Burkert 1985, p. 175.

  9. To Selene

  Selene, whom we are calling Moon for consistency (see note to lines 1–2 below) had very little role in Greek cult, even less than that of Sun, who at least had a major cult center at Rhodes. Her importance in religion is due largely to her identification with Artemis and Hekate. In later times, she was adopted into pre-existing cults, along with other figures (e.g., Sun). Moon appears in magical texts, as well as a curse tablet from Megara, but even in these cases she is not quite divorced from the other goddesses who are identified with her. In our collection she is closely linked with the Stars and Sun, both of whose hymns precede this one, and the obscure figure Melinoe might well be a specific manifestation of Hekate as moon goddess (see OH 71i). Moon also does not have much of a presence in myth. She is perhaps best known for her love affair with Endymion; the story is first attested for Sappho (no text survives) and in modern times is most famously retold in Keat’s eponymous poem. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she is the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia and the sister of Sun and Dawn (371–374). In later times, she is sometimes said to be the daughter of Sun, this genealogy perhaps reflecting a belief that the moon reflected the light of the sun (already postulated by Anaxagoras; see Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, nos. 500, 502), the inferior status of the secondary light being expressed in genealogical terms. It is interesting to note that a number of words describing the light of the moon in this hymn (and in the magical papyri) are ones that more typically describe the sun’s light. Orphic fragment 155 explicitly calls the moon “another earth” (see note to lines 1–2); for the moon’s chthonic associations, see OH 59.3–4n. We also find Mousaios addressed as the offspring of Moon (Mousaios fragments 11t–14t); the same relationship was claimed by the Kretan shaman Epimenides (fragment 33) and the oracle-monger Alexander of Abonoteikhos, who slapped a human face on a snake and called it Asklepios (second century AD; Lucian devotes an entire essay, Alexander, or the False Seer to vilify the man). Some accounts hold that the Nemean Lion came from the moon.