The Orphic Hymns Read online

  Upon you alone pregnant women call,

  O comforter of souls,

  and in you alone there is

  12

  relief from pains of labor.

  Artemis, Eileithyia,

  reverend Prothyraia,

  hear, O blessed one,

  help me and grant offspring;

  save me, savior of all,

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  for it is in your nature to do so.

  3. To Night

  incense—firebrands

  I shall sing of Night,

  mother of gods and men;

  we call Night Kypris,

  she gave birth to all.

  Hear, O blessed goddess,

  3

  jet-black and starlit,

  for you delight in the quiet

  and slumber-filled serenity.

  Cheerful and delightful, lover

  of the nightlong revel, mother of dreams,

  you free us from cares,

  6

  you offer us welcome respite from toil.

  Giver of sleep, beloved of all,

  you gleam in the darkness as you drive your steeds.

  Ever incomplete, terrestrial,

  and then again celestial,

  you circle around in pursuit

  9

  of sprightly phantoms,

  you force light into the nether world,

  and then again you flee

  into Hades, for dreadful Necessity

  governs all things.

  But now, O blessed one—beatific,

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  desired by all—I call on you

  to grant a kind ear

  to my voice of supplication,

  and to come, benevolent,

  to disperse fears that glisten in the night.

  4. To Sky

  incense—frankincense

  Sky, father of all,

  eternal cosmic element,

  primeval beginning of all,

  end of all,

  lord of the universe,

  3

  moving about the earth like a sphere.

  You are home of the blessed gods,

  your motion is a roaring whirl,

  you envelop all,

  celestial and terrestrial guard.

  Physis’ invincible drive

  6

  lies in your breast.

  Dark-blue, indomitable,

  shimmering, variform,

  all-seeing father of Kronos,

  blessed and most sublime divinity,

  hearken, bring a life of holiness

  9

  to the new initiates.

  5. To Ether

  incense—crocus

  Yours are Zeus’ lofty dwelling,

  endless power, too;

  of the stars, of the sun,

  and of the moon you claim a share.

  O tamer of all, O fire-breather,

  3

  O life’s spark for every creature,

  sublime Ether,

  best cosmic element,

  radiant, luminous,

  starlit offspring,

  I call upon you and I beseech you

  6

  to be temperate and clear.

  6. To Protogonos

  incense—myrrh

  Upon two-natured Protogonos,

  great and ether-tossed, I call;

  born of the egg,

  delighting in his golden wings,

  the begetter of blessed gods and mortal men;

  3

  he bellows like a bull.

  Erikepaios, seed unforgettable,

  attended by many rites,

  ineffable, hidden, brilliant scion,

  forever in whirring motion,

  you scattered the dark mist,

  6

  the mist that lay before your eyes.

  Flapping your wings, you whirled about

  throughout this world,

  you brought pure light.

  For this I call you Phanes,

  yes, I call you Lord Priapos,

  9

  I call you bright-eyed Antauges.

  O blessed one of the many counsels

  and of the many seeds, come joyfully

  to the celebrants of this holy rite,

  of this very intricate rite.

  7. To the Stars

  incense—aromatic herbs

  I call forth the sacred light

  of the heavenly Stars,

  with devotional prayers

  I summon the holy daimones.

  Heavenly Stars,

  3

  dear children of black Night,

  round your thrones you move in circles,

  you spin in circular ways,

  O brilliant and fiery

  begetters of all,

  you do reveal fate,

  6

  everyone’s fate,

  you determine the divine path

  for mortals.

  Wandering in midair, you gaze

  upon the seven luminous orbits.

  In heaven and on earth, ever indestructible

  9

  on your blazing trail,

  you shine upon the darkness

  of the cloak night wears.

  Coruscating and gleaming,

  kingly and nocturnal,

  visit the learned contests

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  of this sacred rite,

  finish a noble race

  for works of renown.

  8. To the Sun

  incense—pounded frankincense

  Hear me, O blessed one,

  eternal eye that sees all,

  Titan radiant as gold,

  Hyperion, celestial light,

  self-born, untiring,

  3

  sweet sight to living creatures.

  On the right you beget dawn,

  on the left you beget night,

  you temper the seasons

  as you ride your dancing horses,

  you rush, you rush very swiftly,

  6

  O fiery and bright-faced charioteer,

  you press on your course

  in endless whirl.

  Harsh to the impious,

  you teach good to the pious

  as you hold the golden lyre,

  9

  the harmony of cosmic motion,

  as you command noble deeds,

  as you nurture the seasons.

  Piping lord of the world,

  fiery circle of motion,

  life-bringing, coruscating,

  12

  life-giving, fruit-bearing, Paian,

  eternal and pure father of time,

  O immortal Zeus,

  you are the clear, you are the brilliant,

  you are the all-encompassing cosmic eye,

  both when you set and when you shine

  15

  your lovely and radiant light.

  A paragon of justice,

  O water-loving lord of the cosmos,

  you guard pledges and ever the highest,

  you do help all.

  Eye of justice and light of life,

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  O charioteer,

  your screaming whip

  drives the four-horse chariot on.

  Hear my words and show

  life’s sweetness to the initiates.

  9. To Selene

  incense—aromatic herbs

  Hear me, O divine queen,

  O light-bringing and splendid Selene,

  O bull-horned Moon,

  crossing the air as you race with night.

  Nocturnal, torch-bearing,

  3

  maiden of beautiful stars, O Moon,

  waxing and waning,

  feminine and masculine,

  luminous, lover of horses,

  mother of time, bearer of fruit,

  amber-colored, moody,

  6

  shining in the night,

  all-seeing and vigilant
,

  surrounded by beautiful stars,

  you delight in the quiet

  and in the richness of the night,

  you grant fulfillment and favor

  9

  as, like a jewel, you shine in the night.

  Long-cloaked marshal of the stars,

  wise maiden whose motion is circular,

  come, O blessed and gentle lady,

  lady of the stars, through your own light

  shine and save, O maiden,

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  your new initiates.

  10. To Physis

  incense—aromatic herbs

  O Physis,

  resourceful mother of all,

  industrious and rich divinity,

  oldest of all, queen,

  all-taming and indomitable,

  3

  O lustrous ruler,

  ever-honored mistress of all,

  highest goddess,

  imperishable, first-born,

  fabled glorifier of men,

  nocturnal, radiant with constellations,

  6

  light-bringing, irrepressible,

  you move swiftly,

  your steps are noiseless,

  O pure marshal of the gods,

  O end that has no end.

  All partake of you,

  9

  you alone partake of no one.

  Self-fathered, hence fatherless,

  virtue itself, joyous, great,

  you are accessible, O nurse of flowers,

  you lovingly mingle and twine,

  you lead and rule,

  12

  you bring life and nourishment to all.

  Self-sufficient,

  many-named persuasion of the Graces,

  Dike herself, queen of heaven,

  queen of the earth and of the sea,

  bitter to the vulgar,

  15

  sweet to those who obey you,

  wise in all, giver of all,

  nurturing queen of all,

  abundant nourishment is yours

  as you dissolve whatever ripens,

  father and mother of all,

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  nurturer and nurse,

  giver of swift birth, O blessed one,

  giver of wealth of seeds

  and of the fever of seasons.

  A rich and mighty divinity,

  you give shape and form to all things.

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  Eternal, setting all in motion,

  skilled and discreet,

  you are ever turning the swift stream

  into an unceasing eddy,

  flowing in all things,

  circular and ever changing form,

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  fair-throned and precious,

  you alone accomplish your designs,

  mighty mistress of booming thunder,

  you rule over those who hold the scepter,

  O loud-roaring divinity,

  fearless, all-taming,

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  destined fate, fire-breathing,

  you are life everlasting,

  you are immortal providence.

  You are all things to all,

  because you alone do.

  You are the all,

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  you alone do,

  you bring peace and health,

  you bring growth to all.

  11. To Pan

  incense—et varia

  I call upon Pan, the pastoral god,

  I call upon the universe,

  upon the sky, the sea, and the land,

  queen of all,

  I also call upon immortal fire;

  3

  all these are Pan’s realm.

  Come, O blessed and frolicsome one,

  O restless companion of the Seasons!

  Goat-limbed, reveling,

  lover of frenzy, star-haunting,

  weaver of playful song,

  6

  song of cosmic harmony,

  you induce fantasies of dread