The Orphic Hymns Read online

  into the minds of mortals,

  you delight in gushing springs,

  surrounded by goatherds and oxherds,

  you dance with the nymphs,

  9

  you sharp-eyed hunter, lover of Echo.

  Present in all growth, begetter of all,

  many-named divinity,

  light-bringing lord of the cosmos,

  fructifying Paian,

  cave-loving and wrathful,

  12

  veritable Zeus with horns,

  the earth’s endless plain

  is supported by you,

  and the deep-flowing water

  of the weariless sea yields to you.

  Okeanos who girds the earth

  15

  with his eddying stream gives way to you,

  and so does the air we breathe,

  the air that kindles all life,

  and above us the sublime eye

  of weightless fire;

  at your behest

  18

  all these are kept wide apart.

  Your providence alters

  the natures of all,

  on the boundless earth you offer

  nourishment to mankind.

  Come, frenzy-loving, spirit-possessed,

  21

  come to these sacred libations,

  come and bring my life

  to a good end.

  Send your madness, O Pan,

  to the ends of the earth.

  12. To Herakles

  incense—frankincense

  Herakles, stout-hearted and mighty,

  powerful Titan,

  strong-handed, indomitable,

  doer of valiant deeds,

  shape-shifter,

  3

  O gentle and endless father of time,

  ineffable, lord of all,

  many pray to you,

  all-conquering and mighty

  archer and seer,

  omnivorous begetter of all,

  6

  peak of all, helper to all,

  for the sake of men

  you subdued and tamed savage races.

  Peace was your desire;

  she brings dazzling honors and nurtures youths.

  Self-grown, weariless,

  9

  bravest child of the earth,

  O illustrious Paion,

  your primordial scales gleam.

  Round your head

  dawn and dark night cling,

  and your twelve deeds of valor

  12

  stretch from east to west.

  Immortal, world-wise,

  boundless and irrepressible,

  come, O blessed one,

  bringing all charms against disease,

  with club in hand

  15

  drive evil bane away,

  with your poisonous darts

  do ward off cruel death.

  13. To Kronos

  incense—storax

  Everlasting father

  of blessed gods and men,

  resourceful, pure and mighty,

  O powerful Titan,

  you consume all things

  3

  and replenish them, too.

  Unbreakable is the hold you have

  on the boundless cosmos,

  O Kronos, begetter of time,

  Kronos of the shifting stories,

  child of Earth,

  6

  child of starry Sky.

  In you there is birth and decline,

  O revered and prudent lord of Rhea,

  you are the progenitor,

  you dwell in every part of the world.

  I am a suppliant, hear my voice,

  9

  O wily and brave one,

  and to a good life

  bring a blameless end.

  14. To Rhea

  incense—aromatic herbs

  Mighty Rhea,

  daughter of many-faced Protogonos,

  your sacred chariot is drawn

  by bull-slayers,

  you dance to the sound of drums and cymbals,

  3

  O frenzy-loving maiden,

  O mother of Zeus,

  aegis-bearing lord of Olympos.

  Illustrious and honored,

  Kronos’ blessed consort,

  you delight in the mountains

  6

  and in the horrid shrieks of mortals.

  Strong-spirited Rhea, queen of queens,

  lover of the battle din,

  liar, savior, redeemer,

  first by birth, mother of gods

  and of mortals,

  9

  from you come the earth,

  and the wide sky above,

  and the sea and the winds.

  Ethereal and restless, come,

  O blessed goddess,

  O gentle-minded savior,

  12

  come, bring peace and wealth

  and abundance of possessions,

  and do send death and the filth of pollution

  to the ends of the earth.

  15. To Zeus

  incense—storax

  Much-honored Zeus, great god,

  indestructible Zeus,

  we lay before you in prayer

  redeeming testimony.

  O king, you have brought to light

  3

  divine works—

  earth, goddess and mother,

  the hills swept by the shrill winds,

  the sea and the host of the stars,

  marshaled by the sky.

  Kronian Zeus, strong-spirited god,

  6

  the thunderbolt is your scepter,

  father of all,

  beginning and end of all,

  earth-shaker, increaser

  and purifier, all-shaker,

  god of thunder and lightning,

  9

  Zeus the sower.

  Hear me, god of many faces,

  grant me unblemished health,

  please grant me divine peace and riches,

  please grant me glory without blame.

  16. To Hera

  incense—aromatic herbs

  You lodge yourself in dark hollows,

  and your form is airy,

  O Hera, blessed queen of all,

  consort of Zeus.

  The soft breezes you send to mortals

  3

  nourish the soul,

  O mother of rains, mother of the winds,

  you give birth to all.

  Life does not exist without you,

  growth does not exist without you.

  You are in everything,

  6

  even in the air we venerate,

  you are queen,

  and you are mistress.

  You toss and turn

  when the rushing wind tosses and turns.

  O blessed goddess,

  9

  many-named queen of all,

  may you come with kindness

  on your joyous face.

  17. To Poseidon

  incense—myrrh

  Hearken, dark-maned Poseidon,

  holder of the earth,

  horse god, you hold

  the bronze trident in your hand,

  you dwell in the foundations

  3

  of the full-bosomed sea.

  Shaker of the earth,

  deep-roaring ruler of the waters,

  the waves are your blossoms, O gracious one,

  as you urge horses and chariots on,

  rushing on the sea,

  6

  splashing through the rippling brine.

  The unfathomable sea

  fell to your lot, the third portion.

  Waves and their wild dwellers please you,

  O spirit of the deep.

  May you save the foundations of the earth

  9

  and ships moving at full tilt,

  bringing pea
ce, health,

  and blameless prosperity.

  18. To Plouton

  You dwell below the earth,

  O strong-spirited one,

  a meadow in Tartaros,

  thick-shaded and dark.

  Sceptered Chthonic Zeus,

  3

  please accept this sacrifice,

  O Plouton, holder of the keys

  to the whole earth.

  To mankind you give

  the wealth of the year’s fruits,

  yours is the third portion,

  6

  earth, queen of all,

  seat of the gods,

  mighty lap of mortals.

  Your throne rests

  on a dark realm,

  the realm of distant, of untiring,

  9

  of windless, and of impassive Hades;

  it does rest on gloomy Acheron,

  the river who girds the roots of the earth.

  All-receiver, master of death,

  master of mortals, host of many,

  Euboulos, you once took as your bride

  12

  pure Demeter’s daughter:

  you tore her away from the meadow,

  and through the sea

  you carried her to an Attic cave

  upon your steeds—

  it was the district of Eleusis,

  15

  where the gates to Hades are.

  You alone were born to judge

  deeds obscure and conspicuous.

  Holiest and illustrious ruler of all,

  frenzied god,

  you delight in the respect

  18

  and in the reverence of your worshippers.

  I summon you, come with favor,

  come with joy to the initiates.

  19. To Zeus the Thunderbolt

  incense—storax

  Father Zeus, sublime is the course

  of the blazing cosmos you drive on,

  ethereal and lofty

  the flash of your lightning

  as you shake the seat of the gods

  3

  with a god’s thunderbolts.

  The fire of your lightning

  emblazons the rain clouds,

  you bring storms and hurricanes,

  you bring mighty gales,

  you hurl roaring thunder,

  6

  a shower of arrows.

  Horrific might and strength

  sets all aflame,

  dreadful missile

  makes hearts pound and hair bristle.

  Holy and invincible,

  9

  it comes with a sudden crash,

  an endless spiral of noise,

  omnivorous in its drive,

  unbreakable and threatening,

  ineluctable, too, the gale’s

  sharp and smoke-filled shafts

  12

  swoop down

  with a flash dreaded

  by land and sea.

  Wild beasts cringe

  when they hear the noise,

  faces reflect the brilliance

  15

  of thunder roaring

  in the celestial hollows.

  You tear the robe

  that cloaks heaven,

  you hurl the fiery thunderbolt.

  O blessed one …

  18

  the anger of the sea waves,

  the anger of the mountain peaks—

  we all know your power.

  Enjoy this libation and give all things

  pleasing to the heart:

  a life of prosperity,

  21

  queenly health,

  divine peace that nurtures youths,

  crowned with honors,

  a life ever blooming

  with cheerful thoughts.

  20. To Astrapaios Zeus

  incense—powdered frankincense