The Orphic Hymns

by Unknown

  3 the illustrious Titan: A reference to Sun, son of the Titan Hyperion; see OH 8.2+n and OH 34.3+n.

  4–5: Compare Theogony 744–761, where Hesiod tells us of the house of Night and Day located in the underworld; see OH 3i. The one greets the other on the threshold after discharging her daily obligation, and the house is always occupied by one and not the other.

  6–10: Dawn and her light sending men and beasts off to work is a literary trope, first attested in Hesiod Works and Days 578–581: “The dawn claims the third portion of a day’s work, / the dawn gives a headstart for journeys and jobs, / the dawn’s arrival sends many men on their way/and puts the yoke on the necks of many oxen.” Alkman might have expressed similar sentiments in the poem from which the fragment cited in the following note derives. Ovid Amores 1.13 is a witty “anti-hymn” to Dawn, in which Dawn is criticized for causing men and beasts to work. The speaker in Ovid’s poem harangues the goddess for, among other things, her spurring the traveler to resume his journey, for the various activities her light heralds (agricultural, domestic, military, judicial, and scholastic), and especially for her ending of the sweet nocturnal trysts of lovers. Sappho fragment 104 is largely corrupt in the second line but also seems to view the coming of Dawn in a negative light: “Evening, you who bring all that light-giving Dawn disperses, / †you bring the lamb, you bring the kid, you bring away to its† mother the child.”

  11–12: The comprehensive listing of creatures of the sky, sea, and earth to denote the powers of a divinity is also a literary device. For this, compare the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.2–6, particularly 3–5, where this goddess “subdues the races of mortal men as well as/the birds that swoop from the sky and all the beasts/that are nurtured in their multitudes on both land and sea,” and the one to Earth, Mother of All (30.34) whose “beauty nurtures all creatures that walk upon the land, / and all that move in the deep of fly in the air.” In a similar vein, the Titans are the ancestors of “the brood of the sea and of the land, then the brood of the birds” at OH 37.5. It is a variation on the technique of listing domains to indicate the wide-spread power of a divinity; see OH 10.14–16n. Alkman PMGF 89.3–5 gives a splendid picture of quietude in a mountain landscape; the whole world sleeps, including “all creeping things the black earth nourishes/and beasts bred in the mountains and the race of bees/and the creatures in the depths of the deep blue sea; / there sleep the tribes of long-winged birds.” It is possible that the original poem contrasted this restfulness with the hustle and bustle of human activity (another literary trope) that the light of dawn awakens (see previous note). It has also been suggested that this fragment might be referring to religious silence and so have been originally performed at a nocturnal ritual. If this is true, it is certainly possible that the light of dawn, which would signal the end of the proceedings, was mentioned elsewhere in the original, thus corresponding to our hymn’s possible function, and was perhaps related to the ritual during which the first fragment of Alkman was performed (see the introduction to this hymn).

  14 more sacred light: The light here probably has multiple layers of meaning. In the first instance, as mentioned in the introduction to this hymn, it could refer to the light of the coming dawn that would signal the end of the nocturnal ritual context in which these hymns were originally performed. The qualification “more” perhaps refers to the torches that would still have been in use for illumination and possibly in ritual acts. “Light” here might also have soteriological connotations.

  79. To Themis

  The name Themis means “established custom or law.” She belongs to that class of deities who are personified abstractions. In myth, she is usually one of the original Titans, a daughter of Earth and Sky (Hesiod Theogony 135), as in our hymn; sometimes she is identified with Earth herself (Aeschylus Prometheus Bound 209–210). Hesiod makes her the second wife of Zeus (after Metis) and says that she bore to him the Seasons as well as the Fates (Theogony 901–906). Orphic theogony seems to have agreed with this progeny (Orphic fragment 252–253). In the Hymns, Themis and Zeus are again the parents of the Seasons (OH 43.1), but Night is the mother of the Fates (OH 59.1). It should also be noted that there might have been two sets of Fates in Orphic teaching (Orphic fragment 176), which would perhaps correspond to the duality found in Hesiod, who makes the Fates daughters of Night earlier in the Theogony (217–222; see OH 59i). Themis’ children reflect her function as an embodiment of the established cosmic order, and this explains the possible identification of Themis with Necessity in Orphism (Orphic fragment 250). We also find Themis associated with prophecy and oracles, particularly as Apollon’s predecessor at Delphi; see note to lines 3–6. Pindar makes it Themis who warns Zeus (and Poseidon) about the danger in pursuing Thetis, who was destined to give birth to a son who would overthrow his father (Isthmian Odes 8.31–45a). This story is taken up by Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound, where he also has Themis tell Prometheus (here her son) that the coming war between the Titans and gods would be won by trickery (201–218). In the lost epic Kypria, Themis and Zeus plot the Trojan War in order to reduce the population of the earth (fragment 1); see also OH 61i. Themis might have been involved in this plan as a daughter of Earth, and it should be noted that Pindar has Themis counsel that Thetis be married off to Peleus—a subject treated in the Kypria and that eventually leads to the Trojan War. Despite Themis’ connections with Delphi, however, it seems that she played no role in cult there. Indeed, there is scant evidence for her worship in the ancient world. At Rhamnous in Attika, she was worshipped in conjunction with Nemesis (see OH 61i). Pausanias also reports a temple to Themis near the acropolis at Athens (1.22). For more on her cult, see Larson 2007, p. 179.

  This hymn starts a group that seems to recall the ordering according to elements found in OH 15–29 (see OH 15i). Themis, as daughter of Earth, would represent the element earth; the next hymns to the winds, air; the one to Okeanos, water; and the one to Hestia, fire. This would make for a ring composition that would signal that the ritual was coming to a close. Perhaps reinforcing this notion is that the sequence at OH 15–29, repeated twice, starts each time with fire and ends with earth, while here it begins with earth and ends with fire. Given the association between earth and night (chthonic) and light and day (celestial), this might also reflect the coming day that heralded the end of the ritual.

  3–6: Apollon is associated with the Delphic oracle, but there are a number of instances where he is the last of a line of divinities connected with this institution and Themis often appears in this group. Aeschylus says that the Delphic oracle originally belonged to Earth, who then gave it to her daughter Themis, who in turn passed it to the Titaness Phoibe, and finally Apollon received it as a birthday gift (Eumenides 1–8). Similarly, Pausanias relates that Earth and Poseidon shared the oracle then Earth passed her share on to her daughter Themis, who then ceded it to Apollon as a gift, and finally Apollon bartered for Poseidon’s share (10.5.6). This peaceful relationship between Themis and Apollon might also have its origins in the goddess’ having provided the infant Apollon with nectar and ambrosia at his birth (Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.124–125). The transference of the oracle is not always so civilized, however. Euripides tells a version in which the oracle originally belonged to Earth, who wished her daughter Themis to possess it, but had it taken from her after Apollon slew the dragon Python; Earth then took vengeance on the young usurper, who appealed to his father, Zeus (Iphigeneia in Tauris 1234–1283). See also OH 86i. In the Homeric Hymn to Apollon (no. 3), it is the god himself who establishes the oracle.

  4–6 as prophetess … the art of giving laws: Both of these phrases are translations of Greek words that pun on the name Themis (“themisteuousa” and “themistosunas,” respectively).

  4 Delphic hideaway: A reference to the chamber where the Pythia was supposed to have inhaled the vapors that brought her to a state of ecstasy. Modern doubt as to the veracity of the ancient tradition has been challenged; see Spiller, Hale, and de Boer 2002, along
with their bibliography.

  5 Pythian… Python: A similar close mention of location and figure is found at OH 34.3–4. For the story of Apollon slaying the dragon Python, see OH 34.3n. There are a number of variants of this myth, and sometimes the dragon is made into a human brigand (see Fontenrose 1959, pp. 13–27). The reference here to Python as king suggests he is conceived as human as well.

  7–10: Just as Themis is represented as the first to institute oracles, so here she is represented as the inventor of Bacchic rites (cf. OH 76.7+n), particularly maenadism (see OH 52i). Other goddesses are also integrated into Dionysian rites (see OH 1.3n). This also further links Dionysian worship and Delphi; see OH 46i.

  80–82. To Boreas, To Zephyros, To Notos

  The winds in the ancient world, like other natural phenomena, were objects of worship and veneration. Tied to the seasons and often associated with specific meteorological conditions, they were important for agricultural and nautical activities. Already in bronze-age Knossos there was a “priestess of the winds.” The winds could be viewed as an aggregate—winds in general, bad winds, etc.—or distinguished by the direction from which they originated and thus individualized and personified. The two notions can be found in the same author. Homer speaks of the winds feasting in the home of Zephyros, the west wind (Iliad 23.198–201), but also has the winds controlled by the mortal Aiolos (see OH 23.5–7n). Hesiod says that three winds, Boreas (north), Notos (south), and Zephyros (west), were born from Astraios and Dawn (Theogony 378–382), along with the stars (see OH 78i); the other, “evil” winds arose from Zeus’ defeat of Typhon, who seems to have originally been a wind daimōn (Theogony 869–880; see further OH 15i). A similar dichotomy is found in actual worship. Pausanias tells of an altar for the winds at Titane, where one night out of the year sacrifice is made; of interest to us is that Pausanias also reports that mystery rites were performed over four pits (one for each wind?) and that spells supposedly from Medeia were incanted (2.12.1). Akhilleus prays to Boreas and Zephyros to keep Patroklos’ pyre burning all night long; he performs libations, and at dawn the winds return to Thrace (Iliad 23.194–230). The summoning of favorable winds and the banning of unfavorable ones is often accomplished by magic, and Herodotos reports that the Persian Magi used spells to quell stormy winds (7.191; cf. 7.189, where the Athenians call on Boreas to blow against the Persians). The individual winds also received worship (e.g., for Boreas, see Pausanias 8.36.6; for Zephyros, see Pausanias 1.37.2). They, too, are called on to provide or hold back their force. The request for Boreas, Zephyros, and Notos to be beneficial in their respective hymns here is a reflex of this old tradition.

  There are other personified winds from other directions. Homer knows of the personified east wind, Euros (Odyssey 5.295), for whom there survives a fragment of a paian composed at Sparta by an anonymous poet (PMG 858, where he is addressed as “savior” at the end, an epithet that frequently occurs in the Hymns). At Methana, to stay the Lips, a southwest wind, from ruining vine blossoms, a white rooster was cut in half; each half was carried by a man, who would run around the vines in opposite directions, and, when they returned to the starting place, the pieces were buried (Pausanias 2.34.2–3). However, aside from the mention of all the winds in the opening address to Mousaios (OH O.37), only Boreas, Zephyros, and Notos merit attention from our author. Note, however, that the second hymn addressed to the Kouretes (OH 38), where they are identified as both the Samothracian gods and Dioskouroi, portrays them as winds in general. This seems to reflect Hesiod’s influence. For the position of these three hymns in this collection, see the OH 79i and 83i. They were probably intentionally arranged in alphabetical order (Greek “zeta” precedes “nu”).

  80. To Boreas

  Boreas is the north wind, traditionally associated with cold and winter. He is a blustery sort and is represented as powerful and violent. Vivid descriptions of his frosty might may be found in Hesiod Works and Days 504–558 and Ibykos PMGF 286.8–13 (see also note to line 2). In myth, he is perhaps most famous for his abduction of the Athenian princess Oreithyia; their children, Kalais and Zetes, participated in Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece (see Apollonios of Rhodes Argonautika 1.211ff. and Ovid Metamorphoses 6.675–721). It is in this role as “son-in-law” that the Athenians called on him to harass the Persian fleet during the battle of Artemision, and for his help they later built him an altar by the river Ilissos (Herodotos 7.189, and compare 7.178 and 7.191; see also Plato Phaedrus 229c). The sons of Boreas had winged feet that conferred on them the power of flight; see also OH 81.6. Pausanias claims that he read in a poem (now lost to us) that Mousaios was given the ability to fly by Boreas; the poem seems to have been attributed to Mousaios himself, a claim Pausanias disputes (1.22.7).

  2 come from snowy Thrace: Boreas is imagined as originating from Thrace, and thus is Orpheus’ countryman. The Greeks in general considered the Thracians a wild and uncouth people, and the personified Boreas often takes on the same rude characteristics. In Aesop’s eighteenth fable, Boreas and Sun try to determine who is more powerful by seeing who can force a man to take off his cloak. Boreas huffs and puffs with all his might, which only makes the man wrap himself tighter; Sun merely turns up the heat which forces the man to disrobe. The moral of the story is that persuasion is better than force. Ovid seems to be playfully alluding to this tale by having his Boreas first ask nicely for the hand of Oreithyia and resorting to violence only when he is rebuked. It is interesting that Homer at times considers Zephyros a similarly wild wind from Thrace as well (Iliad 9.4–7).

  3–4: Compare Lucian True History 2.14, where on the Isle of the Blest the clouds draw up moisture from rivers of myrrh and then gently release that moisture on the symposiasts after being squeezed by the winds. For clouds as the carriers of rain, see OH 82.4.

  5–6: Since Boreas can bring rough weather, he can perforce bring fair weather (cf. OH 38.14–25). The breaking up of the storm clouds leads to the appearance of the sun. These lines perhaps indicate the coming dawn and the imminent end of the ritual during which the Hymns were performed (see OH 78i). See also OH 5.6+n.

  81. To Zephyros

  Zephyros, originally any westerly wind, came to be thought of as the west wind proper. He is regarded as a warm, gentle breeze (see, e.g., Hesiod Works and Days 594). Homer sometimes represents him as a storm wind from Thrace (see OH 80.2n), but Zephyros also appears as the pleasant wind sent by Okeanos to refresh the dead heroes in the Elysian Fields (Odyssey 4.561–569). Akhilleus’ horses are Zephyros’ sons by way of the harpy Podarge (Iliad 16.148–151); this is not as strange as a union as it may appear, since the Harpies (Snatchers) were originally storm daimones. Their sister is Iris, and she also had relations with Zephyros, begetting none other than Eros (Alkaios fragment 327). Note that Orphic fragment 360 gives another genealogy for Eros, saying that this god was produced by Time and all the winds; see further OH 58.5–7n. Some versions of the myth of Apollon and Hyakinthos portray Zephyros as a rival to Apollon for the lad. In this case, the discus that kills Hyakinthos is blown off course by the wind as opposed to accidentally hitting him (Pausanias 3.19.5). A later epigram attributed to Bacchylides describes the dedication of a temple to Zephyros by one Eudemos of Rhodes in thanks for the god’s assistance in winnowing (AP 6.53); the altar to Zephyros in Attika, found near a shrine to Demeter and Persephone on the way to Eleusis, may also have had agricultural significance (Pausanias 1.37.2).

  3–4 loved by harbors / … gentle passage: In the Odyssey, Aiolos ties up all the winds except the west wind in a magic bag so that Odysseus may have safe passage home. The premature release of the winds blows the ship back to the island of Aiolos (10.19–55; see also OH 23.5–7n). Zephyros, however, is not the only wind associated with aiding ships; see OH 82i.

  6 O light-winged ones: Winds are conventionally represented as winged; compare OH 82.2 and the winged feet of Boreas’ sons (see OH 80i). The wings are indicative of the winds’ speed.

  82. To Notos

>   Notos is the south wind and as such opposite to Boreas; compare Bacchylides 13.124–132, an extended metaphor where Boreas rages throughout the night until dawn while during the day Notos safely guides the ship to dry land (cf. OH 81.3–4).

  4: The Clouds’ hymn has the same last line as this one (OH 21.7). Both hymns are followed by ones addressed to water deities, namely, Tethys (OH 22) and Okeanos (OH 83). It is a natural placement, since rain was thought to come from the moisture drawn up by the clouds from bodies of water; Herodotos explicitly says this about Notos (2.25.2). For philosophical speculation on such metereological phenomena, see OH 21i and OH 22.7n. The Clouds are “filled with water” (OH 21.3) and wear “dewy cloaks” (OH 21.6), and Tethys is said to be the “mother of dark [= rain] clouds” (OH 22.7).

  83. To Okeanos

  Okeanos was conceived in myth as a fresh-water river flowing counterclockwise (i.e., from west to east; see Mimnermos fragment 12 and Stesikhoros PMGF S17) around the land masses of the world. His wife is Tethys (OH 22.1), and their daughters are the Okeanids (OH 51.1+n). There are different accounts of his place in the divine hierarchy. Hesiod considers him to be one of the original Titans, a son of Sky and Earth (Theogony 133). Homer, on the other hand, has Sleep call Okeanos the “begetter of all” (Iliad 14.246); it is unclear whether Homer thought him to be the oldest god or the first god to initiate procreation; see also OH 3i. This hymn reflects Homeric belief. We find similar variations in different Orphic theogonies, with Okeanos being counted in the generation of Titans (Orphic fragment 179) and either among an earlier generation or as the progenitor of all (Orphic fragment 21–22; cf. West 1983, pp. 117–121; 183–190). Okeanos might have been rationalized as the sea in the theogony sung by Orpheus in Apollonios of Rhodes Argonautika 1.495–512; his daughter Eurynome is paired with Ophion, and they are called the first rulers of Olympos. Water divinities as the first existing beings are found in Sumerian (Nammu), Babylonian (Apsu and Tiamat), and Egyptian (Nun, the Ogdoad) traditions, among others. It seems quite likely that such stories influenced the Greeks. It is also notable that Thales, the earliest Pre-Socratic philosopher and one who came from Asia Minor, theorized that water was the first principle, and already in antiquity he was thought to have been influenced by the ancient tradition; see Aristotle Metaphysics 983b27–984a3, who also mentions that the earliest theologians (including Orpheus?) thought Okeanos and Tethys were the “parents of begetting.” In our collection Proteus, another sea god, is endowed with demiurgic powers; see OH 25.2–3+i. Okeanos played no role in cult. For the placement of this hymn, see OH 79i. An explanation for why Okeanos would have been chosen to represent water in this group of hymns as opposed to some other water deity might be his connection with death (see note to line 3 and OH 87i). Just as this hymn follows those addressed to the winds, so too does the hymn to Sea (OH 22) follow the one to the airy Clouds (see also OH 82.4n). The author of the Derveni papyrus equates Zeus, Okeanos, and air, but this is introduced as an interpretation that goes against what the “multitude” believe (see Betegh 2004, pp. 193–200), and nothing in our hymn suggests any awareness of this doctrine.