The Orphic Hymns
Page 8
From beneath the earth you appear,
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gentle to all,
O holy and youth-nurturing lover
of children and of fair offspring.
You yoke your chariot
to bridled dragons,
round your throne
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you whirl and howl in ecstasy.
You are an only daughter, but you have many children
and many powers over mortals;
the variety of flowers reflect
your myriad faces and your sacred blossoms.
Come, O blessed and pure one,
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come with the fruits of summer,
bring peace,
bring the welcome rule of law,
bring riches, too, and prosperity,
and bring health that governs all.
41. To Mother Antaia
incense—aromatic herbs
Queen Antaia,
goddess and many-named mother
of immortal gods
and of mortal men,
weary from searching,
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weary from wandering far and wide,
you once ended your fast
in the valley of Eleusis,
you came to Hades
for noble Persephone.
Your guide was
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the innocent child of Dysaules,
who brought the news
of pure Chthonic Zeus’ holy union;
you bore divine Euboulos
by yielding to human need.
O goddess, O queen to whom many pray,
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I beseech you
to come graciously
to your pious initiate.
42. To Mise
incense—storax
I call upon law-giving Dionysos,
who carried the fennel stalk,
unforgettable and many-named
seed of Eubouleus,
I call upon the sacred and holy,
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upon the ineffable queen Mise,
whose twofold nature is male and female.
Redeeming Iacchos, lord, I summon you,
whether you delight in Eleusis
in your fragrant temple,
or with Mother you partake
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of mystic rites in Phrygia,
or you rejoice in Kypros
with fair-wreathed Kythereia,
or yet you exult in fields
wheat-bearing and hallowed
along Egypt’s river
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with your divine mother,
the revered and black-robed Isis,
as your train of nurses tends to your needs.
Lady, kindheartedly come
to the noble contests of our initiation.
43. To the Seasons
incense—aromatic herbs
Seasons, daughters of Themis,
daughters of Lord Zeus,
Eunomia and Dike
and thrice-blessed Eirene,
pure spirits of spring,
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of blossoming meadows,
you are found in every color, in all scents
wafted by the breezes.
Ever-blooming, revolving, and sweet-faced,
O Seasons,
you cloak yourselves with the dew
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of luxuriant flowers.
At play you are companions
of holy Persephone, when the Fates
and the Graces in circling dances
come forth to the light,
pleasing Zeus
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and their mother, giver of fruits.
Come to the new initiates
and their holy and reverent rites,
bring perfect seasons
for the growth of goodly fruit.
44. To Semele
incense—storax
I call upon the daughter of Kadmos,
queen of all,
fair Semele of the lovely tresses,
of the full bosom,
mother of thyrsos-bearing,
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joyous Dionysos.
She was driven to great pain
by the blazing thunderbolt,
which, through the counsels of Kronian Zeus,
the immortal god, burned her.
Noble Persephone
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granted her honors
among mortal men,
honors given every third year.
For all mortal men reenact your travail
for your son Bacchos:
the sacred ritual of the table,
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the ritual of the holy mysteries.
45. Hymn to Dionysos Bassareus and Triennial
Come blessed Dionysos,
bull-faced god conceived in fire,
Bassareus and Bacchos,
many-named master of all.
You delight in bloody swords,
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you delight in the holy Maenads,
as you howl throughout Olympos,
all-roaring and frenzied Bacchos.
Armed with the thyrsos, wrathful in the extreme,
you are honored
by all gods and all men
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who dwell upon the earth.
Come, blessed and leaping god,
bring abundant joy to all.
46. To Liknites
incense—powdered frankincense
I summon to these prayers
Dionysos Liknites,
born at Nysa, blossoming,
beloved and kindly Bacchos,
nursling of the Nymphs
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and of fair-wreathed Aphrodite.
The forests once felt your feet
quiver in the dance
as frenzy drove you and the graceful Nymphs
on and on.
The counsels of Zeus brought you
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to noble Persephone,
who reared you to be loved
by the deathless gods.
Kindheartedly come, O blessed one,
accept the gift of this sacrifice.
47. To Perikionios
incense—aromatic herbs
I call upon Bacchos Perikionios,
giver of wine;
he enveloped
all of Kadmos’ house,
with his might he harnessed,
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he calmed the heaving earth,
when the blazing thunderbolt,
when the raging gale
stirred all the land,
as everyone’s bonds sprang loose.
Blessed reveler,
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come with joyful heart.
48. To Sabazios
incense—aromatic herbs
Hear me, father Sabazios,
son of Kronos, illustrious god,
you sewed into your thigh
Bacchic Dionysos,
the roaring Eiraphiotes,
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that he might come whole
to noble Tmolos
by the side of fair-cheeked Hipta.
O blessed ruler of Phrygia,
supreme king of all,
come kindheartedly to the aid
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of the initiates.
49. To Hipta
incense—storax
I call upon Hipta, nurse of Bacchos,
maiden possessed,
in mystic rites she takes part,
she exults in the worship of pure Sabos
and in the dances
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of roaring Iacchos.
O queen and chthonic mother,
hear my prayer,
whether you are on Ida,
Phrygia’s sacred mountain,
or you take your pleasure on Tmolos,
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fair seat of the Lydians,
come to these rites
with joy on your holy face
.
50. To Lysios Lenaios
Hear, O blessed son of Zeus and of two mothers,
Bacchos of the vintage,
unforgettable seed,
many-named and redeeming daimōn,
holy offspring of the gods,
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reveling Bacchos, born of secrecy,
plump giver of many joys,
of fruits which grow well.
Mighty and many-shaped god,
you burst forth from the earth to reach the wine press,
to become a healer for men’s pain,
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O sacred blossom!
A sorrow-hating joy to mortals,
O lovely-haired …,
a redeemer and a reveler you are,
your thyrsos drives to frenzy,
you are kind-hearted to all
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gods and mortals who see your light.
I call upon you now,
come, O sweet bringer of fruit.
51. To the Nymphs
incense—aromatic herbs
O Nymphs, daughters
of great-hearted Okeanos,
you dwell inside
the earth’s damp caves;
you are as secret as your paths, O joyous,
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O chthonic nurses of Bacchos.
You nurture fruits, you haunt meadows,
O sprightly and pure
travelers of the winding roads,
who delight in caves and grottos.
Swift, light-footed, and clothed in dew,
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you frequent springs,
visible and invisible,
in ravines and among flowers
you shout and frisk with Pan
upon mountainsides,
gliding down on rocks,
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you hum with clear voice.
O mountain-haunting maidens of the fields,
of gushing springs and of woodlands,
sweet-smelling virgins,
clothed in white, fresh as the breeze,
herds of goats, pastures, splendid fruit,
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you protect; wild animals love you.
Though you are tender, cold delights you;
you feed many, you help them grow,
Hamadryad maidens,
playful, water-loving.
Spring is your joy, O Nysian and frenzied,
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O healing ones,
in the company of Bacchos and Deo,
you bring grace to mortals.
Come to this blessed sacrifice
with joyful heart,
pour streams of pure rain
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during the grain-giving seasons.
52. To the God of Triennial Feasts
incense—aromatic herbs
I call upon you, blessed, many-named,
frenzied Bacchos,
bull-horned, Nysian, Lysios,
Lenaios, conceived in fire.
Nourished in the thigh, Liknites,
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you lead torch-lit processions,
you lead them in the night, O filleted,
O thyrsos-shaking Eubouleus.
Your nature three-fold, your rites ineffable,
O secret offspring of Zeus,
primeval, Erikepaios,
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father and son of the gods,
you take raw flesh, and sceptered you lead us
into the madness of revel and dance,
into the frenzy of triennial feasts
that bestow calm on us.
You burst forth from the earth in a blaze ...,
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O son of two mothers,
horned and clad in fawn skin, you roam the mountains,
O lord worshipped in annual feasts.
Paian of the golden spear,
nursling, decked with grapes,
Bassaros, exulting in ivy,
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followed by many maidens ...,
joyous and all-abounding, come,
O blessed one, to the initiates.