The Orphic Hymns

by Unknown

  4–5 hilltops / … mountains: One of Athene’s most important cult functions was her role as protector of the polis, and so she was often worshipped on fortifications built on top of hills and mountains used to defend the polis (see Burkert 1985, p. 140, for a list of historical sites). In this context, though, her association with mountains connects her to Dionysos as well as other figures such as the Kouretes (see OH 31.2, 5), Artemis (see OH 36i), and Kybele (see OH 27i).

  6 frenzy: The madness here is associated with that of battle (see, e.g., Odyssey 22.297–309). In some versions of Athene’s birth, the gods standing about Zeus recoil in terror as she leaps out in full panoply, roaring. Ares is connected with battle rage (see OH 65.6+7n), and Pan, too, is a source of panic on the battlefield and elsewhere (see OH 11i). But madness, as well as loud noise, are also typical characteristics of Dionysos (for noise, see OH 30.1n; cf. OH 30.4n). Athene is also said to cause madness in the wicked (line 9) and to be “frenzy-loving” (line 11), the latter epithet also being used of Pan (see OH 11.5, 21). Similar descriptions are used of other divinities, particularly Kybele, with whom the Korybantes/Kouretes are associated (see OH 27.13+n).

  8 slayer of Gorgo: The epithet is also applied to Athene at Euripides Ion 1478; earlier in the play, the story of Athene’s triumph over the giant Gorgo in the Gigantomachy is briefly mentioned (987–997); see also note to line 12. After slaying this monster, Athene strips him of his breastplate, which was adorned with snakes. This is the aegis, a common prop for Athene in both literature and iconography. It is sometimes related to Medousa, whom Perseus slew with the help of Hermes and Athene (Apollodoros 2.4.2). In Pindar fragment 70b.17–18, the hissing snakes of Athene’s aegis contribute to the gods’ celebration of Dionysian rites (see also OH 36.2n).

  8 blessed mother of the arts: The intelligence of Athene finds outlet not only in war but in skilled labor: for a list, see Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.8–15. Hesiod calls a carpenter the “servant of Athene” (Works and Days 430). She is credited with assisting in the building of the Trojan Horse (Odyssey 8.492–495) and Jason’s ship, the Argo (Apollonios of Rhodes Argonautika 1.18–20, 526–527, etc.). This goddess is sometimes worshipped under the title of Ergane (Worker), e.g., at Athens (Pausanias 1.24.3). The school of Anaxagoras rationalized Athene as skill (tekhnē) personified (see Betegh 2004, p. 286).

  9 you bring prudence to the virtuous: Athene was identified with prudence by the Stoics; see West 1983, pp. 242–243.

  10 male and female: Similarly in Proclus’ Hymn to Athene Polymetis 7.3. Athene’s close association with heroes, her virginity, and her many pursuits that were typically reserved for men all combined to give the goddess a particularly masculine bent (as she declares herself at Aeschylus Eumenides 736–738). Likewise, she can be portrayed as rejecting what was considered to be typically feminine behaviors; see Telestes PMG 805 (preserved in Athenaios 14.616f–617a), where it is denied that Athene had rejected playing the pipes because they disfigured her face (and where it is asserted that she gave them to Dionysos as a gift), and also Kallimakhos Bath of Pallas 13–32. In this collection, though, she is one among a number of divinities that are addressed as androgynous, including Artemis and Dionysos; see OH 9.4n.

  10 shrewd: The Greek word for “shrewd” is “mētis,” a play on the name of Athene’s mother; see introduction to this hymn. Note that in Orphism Metis is one of the names applied to Protogonos (see OH 6i).

  11 many shapes: Athene often takes disguises when dealing with mortals, particularly in the Odyssey; note especially Odysseus’ acknowledgment at 13.313. However, this, too, is a characteristic shared by many of the divinities in the collection.

  12 Phlegraian Giants: For the battle of the Gigantomachy, see Apollodoros 1.6.1–2 and Proclus Hymn to Athene Polymetis 7.4. In addition to Pallas (see note to line 1) and Gorgo (see note to line 8), Athene also kills the giant Enkelados by tossing the island Sicily on him, perhaps reminiscent of how her father defeats Typhon (see OH 23.5–7n).

  12 driver of horses: According to Pindar (Olympian Odes 13.63–82), Athene invented the bridle and gave it to Bellerophon so he could tame Pegasos, and in gratitude he established an altar to Athene Hippias (Athene the “horse-rider” or “knight”). There was also an altar to Athene Hippias at Olympia (Pausanias 5.15.6). Appropriately enough, she is Diomedes’ charioteer during his battle against Ares (Iliad 5.793–863).

  13 victorious Tritogeneia: The Greek word “nikēphore,” “victory-bringing,” anticipates the following hymn to Nike (Victory); it was also a cult title of Athene at Pergamon. The name Tritogeneia is obscure. It appears already in Homer as an epithet of the goddess (Iliad 4.515). Hesiod (Theogony 894–898) seems to interpret it as Athene being “born for three” (for herself, her mother, and her unborn brother). The name was also connected in antiquity with Lake Triton, said to be the location of her birth or where she was raised; both the one in Boiotia and the one in Libya were given this honor (see Aeschylus Eumenides 292–294, Pausanias 1.14.6 and 9.33.7).

  16 health: This is also one of the items Proclus requests of Athene at the close of his Hymn to Athene Polymetis 7.43–44. Athene was also worshipped as Health in Athens (see Plutarch Pericles 13.8 and OH 68i).

  33. To Nike

  Nike (Victory) is first attested at Hesiod Theogony 383–385, where she is said to be the daughter of Styx and Pallas and the sister of Zelos (Rivalry), Kratos (Power), and Bia (Force). She never really evolves beyond her origin as a personified abstraction and consequently plays no role in mythology or Orphic literature. At Athens, a temple to Athene Nike was dedicated near the south entrance of the acropolis. The great statue of Athene by Pheidias in the Parthenon portrayed Athene holding a winged Nike in her right hand (Pausanias 1.24.7). We find a similar motif in another statue by Pheidias, this one of Olympic Zeus at Olympia (Pausanias 5.11.1–10). Nike also had her own altar at Olympia (Pausanias 5.14.8). She was a popular cult figure and frequently represented in art; one of the most famous extant sculptures from the ancient world is the Nike of Samothrace (see further OH 38i). The position of the hymn in our collection, following the one to Athene, fits the pattern of inserting subordinate divinities immediately after the governing one. Much of the hymn seems to focus on Nike’s role in warfare (lines 3–7), which is certainly consistent with the martial motif found in the preceding hymn to Athene. Yet Nike could also be invoked in other agonistic contexts as well, and note that Nike is asked to appear for “works of renown,” just as the Stars are asked to visit in the context of a “race for works of renown” (see OH 7.13+12–13n and cf. OH 76.12+n). Thus the ritual act the initiates are performing appears to merge with the Homeric idea of winning glory in battle. This notion might have further significance beyond endowing the initiation with a certain prestige. Some of the Bacchic gold tablets suggest that the initiates felt that they would join the heroes of old in a pleasant afterlife or even become a hero themselves (see OH 87.12n and Graf/Johnston 2007, pp. 115–116); “works of renown” might be referring to a similar idea here.

  34. To Apollon

  Apollon is one of the chief divinities of the Greek pantheon. Leto, a daughter of the Titans Phoibe and Koios, is his mother and Zeus his father (Hesiod Theogony 404–408, 918–920). Artemis is his sister, sometimes born with him, sometimes born shortly before and assisting Leto in his birth on the island Delos (see OH 35.5n). Apollon is a god who presides over many spheres; listings of such are common in literature (e.g., Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.131–132, Plato Cratylus 405a, and Kallimakhos Hymn to Apollon 42–46). He is perhaps most famous for his role in divination, with Delphi being the most renowned of a plethora of oracles in his name. Both sickness and the healing of sickness fall under his jurisdiction, and Asklepios is often said to be his son (see OH 67i). Apollon is also the god of archery. This is sometimes joined with his ability to bring disease, as those whom he hits with his arrows suffer sickness and death (e.g., Iliad 1.43–52). Music, dance, and festivities are dear to him. He is the god
of the lyre, and the one who protects poets (Hesiod Theogony 94–95; Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollon). It is very possible that his connection with the bow facilitated one with this instrument (or vice versa); compare the vivid simile at Odyssey 21.404–411 and see also OH 67.2n. Orpheus himself is sometimes said to have been one of his sons (Apollodoros 1.3.2). In myth, he almost always appears as a young man, not quite an adult, who can be somewhat dour and aloof, especially in his relation to human beings (e.g., Iliad 21.461–467). Nevertheless, the god does have a sense of humor (as at Odyssey 8.333–343), and his worship often involves joyous and extravagant displays of music and pomp. Along with Hermes, he is idealized as a paragon of male beauty (see Kallimakhos Hymn to Apollon 36–38). Gold and light are often used to describe him and his implements (cf. the tongue-in-cheek treatment at Kallimakhos Hymn to Apollon 32–35). His identification with Sun perhaps begins in the late Archaic or early Classical period and is quite common in Hellenistic times and afterward, as well as in Orphic circles (see OH 8i). They were originally distinct entities, though, as can be seen in their different genealogies in Hesiod Theogony (371–374 vs. 918–920). Apollon was as popular in cult as he was in myth, and he was worshipped widely throughout the Greek-speaking world. Delphi and Delos were his two main cult centers, but he was also particularly important at Sparta and other Dorian cities. For more information, see Burkert 1985, pp. 143–149, and Larson 2007, pp. 86–100; relevant details are noted passim in the notes below. In Orphism, he sometimes brings to Delphi the remains of his half-brother Dionysos, torn apart by the Titans, and there revives him (see OH 46i for this story and Dionysian worship at Delphi). His role in Dionysos’ death and rebirth is probably the reason for the position of his hymn in the collection; see OH 32i. For his possible parentage of the Eumenides in Orphic mythology, see OH 70.2–3n.

  The structure of this hymn falls into two main divisions. The first part mentions the various traditional associations of the god in terms of cult centers, attributes, and epithets; it comes to an end in line 10, marked by a direct appeal to the god, an element that usually closes a hymn. The second part picks up on the solar aspects mentioned in the first and gives them a cosmic dimension, culminating in the expanded discourse of universal harmony (lines 16–25). This hymn particularly recalls the earlier ones to Sun (OH 8) and Pan (OH 11) and to a lesser extent Protogonos (OH 6). In some ways it functions in a similar manner to OH 15–18 in that it fully anthropomorphizes the fundamental abstract powers that constitute the universe (see OH 15i). The palpable two-fold division is curiously reminiscent of that in the longer Homeric Hymn to Apollon, which easily falls into a Delian (3.1–178) and a Delphic (3.179–546) section (and many scholars suppose that two originally separate hymns have been imperfectly merged into one). It just may be that our composer took a cue from the Homeric hymn, insofar as he understood it. There is a shorter Homeric Hymn to Apollon (no. 21) and another one dedicated to both him and the Muses (no. 25). The reader will find it fruitful to consult Kallimakhos’ Hymn to Apollon (no. 2), as well as Mesomedes’ and Proclus’ hymns to Sun. Apollon is also invoked with hymnic language in the magical papyri, sometimes with Daphne, one of his mythological lovers (found in the following spells: PGM 1.262–347; 2.1–64 and 64–184; 3.187–262; 6.1–47); compare also the invocations of Sun therein (for further references, see OH 8i).

  1 Paian: Paian seems originally to have been a completely separate divinity from Apollon, but he eventually becomes subsumed under this god. Nevertheless, Paian occasionally remains clearly distinguished, such as in the magical papyri (PGM 1.296–297). He gives his name to the “paian,” a particular type of song that has strong associations with healing (Iliad 1.472–474; and cf. Iliad 5.899–904, where the god Paieon heals Ares) and victory (Iliad 22.391–394). For an exhaustive overview of both god and song, see Rutherford 2001. The cry “Ië” often accompanies an invocation of Paian (see line 2); for a fanciful etymology, see Kallimakhos Hymn to Apollon 97–104. In our collection, the name Paian is also used of Sun (OH 8.12), Pan (OH 11.11), Dionysos (OH 52.11), and Apollon’s son Asklepios (OH 67.1); the alternate spelling Paion is used of Herakles (OH 12.10).

  1 slayer of Tityos: This was a giant who tried to rape Leto during her wanderings after she had given birth to Apollon and Artemis. He was shot dead by the baby Apollon (and sometimes by his twin sister Artemis as well) from the arms of his mother. For such a monstrous act, he was punished in a way similar to Prometheus, by having his ever-regenerating liver continually eaten by vultures in the underworld. For the story, see Odyssey 11.576–581 and Apollodoros 1.4.1–2. Artemis is also called “slayer of Tityos” in Kallimakhos Hymn to Artemis 110.

  1 Phoibos … Lykoreus: Phoibos (Bright One) is a common epithet of Apollon, found throughout the collection (OH O.7, OH 35.4, OH 67.6, OH 79.6). Lykoreus means “the one of Lykoreia,” which is the name of the summit of Mount Parnassos at Delphi or a village thereupon; see Strabo 9.3.3 and Pausanias 10.6.2–3. The collocation of Phoibos and Lykoreus is also found at Kallimakhos Hymn to Apollon 19 and Apollonios of Rhodes Argonautika 4.1490.

  2 dweller of Memphis: Apollon is routinely identified with the Egyptian Horus (Herodotos 2.156.5; Plutarch De Iside et Osiride 356a and 375f; PGM 4.455, 988–989, and 1985). Apollon/Horus does not seem to be particularly connected with Memphis, but perhaps our composer is positing a connection (or confusing him) with Hephaistos/Sun, who was (Herodotos 2.153.1, and see Vanderlip 1972, p. 29 n. 8).

  3 Titan: Technically speaking, Apollon is the grandson of a Titan, not a Titan himself; cf. OH 36.2. However, Sun is also invoked as Titan in OH 8.2, and most likely Apollon is being addressed here in his role as sun god. He is also called Titan at PGM 2.86.

  3 Pythian god: Pytho was another name used for Delphi or its environs. It is here that Apollon slew a dragon that resided there and that was, in some versions, guarding the oracle held by Earth (for this oracle, see OH 79.3–6n and 5n). This story is one of the many variations of a hero slaying a dragon (see Fontenrose 1959 and Watkins 1995). After the monster was killed, Apollon crowed over the corpse that it rot on the spot, and Sun obliged (note the close connection—and distinction—here of Apollon and Sun, perhaps significant in light of their later identification). This was said to be the origin of the name Python, coming from the Greek verb “puthō” (“I rot”); hence the appellation “slayer of Python” in line 4. See Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.300–374 for the canonical account. The story also served as the foundational myth for the Pythian Games, one of the great Panhellenic events of ancient times, second in prestige only to the Olympian Games. There were musical contests as well as athletic ones, and Sakadas, a three-time champion in the competition for instrumental music on the auloi, is credited with the creation of the Pythian nome, a piece that used music to symbolically describe Apollon’s victory over the serpent and that quickly became a standard piece in the aulete’s repertoire; for more details, see West 1992, pp. 212–214.

  4 Grynean, Sminthian: Gryneion was an Aeolic city near Kyme where a temple and an oracle to Apollon existed. “Sminthian” is a cult epithet, already found in Homer (Iliad 1.39). It is usually connected with a Greek word for mouse, and hence could also be translated as “Mouser.” This connects Apollon with agriculture, as mice are often a pestilence in the fields as well as the granary.

  6 you lead the Muses into dance: Apollon is traditionally the leader of the Muses, and together they entertain the gods (e.g., Iliad 1.601–604 and Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.186–206), providing a divine paradigm to be emulated in the human realm. See also OH 43i. The Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollon (no. 25) is probably a hymnic variation on Hesiod Theogony 94–97 and 104.

  7 Bacchos, Didymeus, Loxias: If “Bacchos” is the correct reading of “Bakkhie,” Apollon is being identified with his half-brother. Note that Dionysos is called Paian (OH 52.11) and that both gods are “wild” or “savage” (Apollon at line 5 and Dionysos at OH 30.3). For the Delphic connection between the two, see OH 46i.
Apollon is called “ivy-tressed” in the magical papyri (PGM 2.99). In Neoplatonic theology, both gods together with Sun form a triad (Orphic fragment 305(ii), 311(x), and 322(v); van der Berg 2001, pp. 63 and 170), and in Proclus’ hymn to Sun, both Paian/Apollon and Dionysos are his children (1.21–24). One could, however, read “Bakkhie” as “Bacchic” instead, and the evidence cited above could certainly also be used to support this interpretation. Perhaps also relevant is that the Egyptian god Osiris, who was identified with Dionysos, had a brother and a son named Horus, both of whom were identified with Apollon (Herodotos 2.156.5; Plutarch De Iside et Osiride 355e–356a). A couple of the manuscripts of the Orphic Hymns, though, have “Brankhie.” This would refer to Brankhos, who was a lover of Apollon, and became a seer at Didyma (Kallimakhos fragment 229, in Nisetich 2001, pp. 127–129), a town near Miletos that in historic times was famous for its temple to Apollon and oracle (Herodotos 1.42). Brankhos is also credited with delivering Miletos from a plague (Kallimakhos fragment 194.28–31, in Nisetich 2001, p. 105). The juxtaposition with “Didymeus” in our hymn perhaps speaks for reading “Brankhie.” Loxias is a common epithet of Apollon. It means “the oblique one,” referring to the riddling and enigmatic character for which Apollon’s oracles are (in)famous (cf. Herakleitos in Kirk, Raven, and Schofield 1983, no. 244; for a concrete example, see the famous misinterpretation by Kroisos at Herodotos 1.53 and 1.90–91).