The Orphic Hymns

by Unknown

  2 beginning of all, end of all: Zeus is also so addressed in the Hymns; see OH 15.7+n.

  3 lord of the universe, moving about the earth like a sphere: This suggests a geocentric view of the universe, as, for example, Ptolemy maintained (see OH 34.16–23n), as opposed to the heliocentric hypothesis of Aristarkhos of Samos (third century BC), which might have been known to our composer. “Moving about the earth” is also found at Kleanthes Hymn to Zeus 7, in the same exact position of the hexameter line, used of the universe (kosmos) that dutifully obeys Zeus’ rule. Diogenes Laertius reports that Pythagoras was the first to call the sky “universe” (8.48). Night in the previous hymn also moves in circular fashion (see OH 3.9+8–11n). See further OH 7.8+n, OH 27.9n, and OH 40.15+n.

  4 home of the blessed gods: Sky is “the firm seat of all the blessed gods” already in Hesiod (Theogony 128); compare also OH 5.1+n. Hestia, too, is called the same thing (OH 84.5).

  4 your motion is a roaring whirl: Sun is similarly described; see OH 8.7+n. The word translated as “roaring” is “rhombos,” which more properly designates either the bull-roarer or kettle-drums, both of which were used in ecstatic and mystery cults, particularly ones tied to Dionysos and the various Eastern mother goddesses; see OH 27.11n and OH 31.2, where the Kouretes are literally called “rhombosters” (“rhombētai”). It is quite possible that in the performative context of our hymns such an instrument would have been used and perhaps even supplemented the singing of lines such as this one that indicate either the instrument itself or the sound it makes. The rhombos is also one of the toys that the Titans used to lure the child Dionysos to his death (Orphic fragment 306 and 578).

  5 celestial and terrestrial guard: Sky participates in both parts of the cosmos (see note to line 3); so, too, does Night (see OH 3.8+8–11n). Sky, insofar as he is identified with the sky, naturally becomes viewed as a being who sees all that passes under him, just like Sun and Zeus (see line 8 and OH 8.1n). Orpheus is said to have called Sky both the “watcher and guardian of all things” (Orphic fragment 151), and his name was at times thought to derive from the Greek word “ouros,” meaning “watcher”; Plato Cratylus 396b–c gives an alternate etymology from a phrase in Greek meaning “I look at the things above.”

  6 Physis’ invincible drive: The invincible drive is Necessity; see OH 55.3n. For the personified Physis, see OH 10i.

  7 shimmering, variform: There is a play on words in the Greek (“panaiole,” “aiolomorphe”). The reference here is probably to the changing nature of the sky due to meteorological phenomena; cf. OH 3.8–11n.

  8 all-seeing: A number of celestial divinities possess this attribute; see OH 8.1n.

  5. To Ether

  The upper atmosphere tended in antiquity to be divided into two levels: the lower, misty air that we breathe and the higher, and hence purer, stratum of ether. This conception is already found in Homer; at Iliad 14.286–288, Sleep climbs up the largest fir tree on Mount Ida, which is said to “reach the ether through the air.” Ether is usually considered to be composed of fire or to be fire itself. Hesiod tells us (Theogony 124–125) that Ether and Day were born from Erebos and Night (it is interesting to note that two dark entities produce two bright ones, as light follows day in Genesis). Ether is one of the primordial beings in Orphic cosmogony (Orphic fragment 78 and 111). Along with Khaos and Erebos, he was born from the serpentine Time. The cosmic egg out of which Protogonos hatched is said to be either made out of, or placed in, Ether by Time (see OH 6i+1n), and thus Ether is considered his father (Orphic fragment 124–125). This probably explains why the hymn to Protogonos immediately follows, intervening between this hymn and those to the other celestial entities: the Stars, Sun, and Moon. However, as with Sky, Ether is presented less as an anthropomorphic deity and more as a cosmic principle in the form of the highest and purest expression of fire. Both deities are connected, with Sky presented as an embodiment of physical space and Ether as physical substance constitutive of that space. This may have facilitated Sky’s placement in the collection; see OH 4i.

  1 Zeus’ lofty dwelling: Zeus is often imagined as inhabiting the ether (e.g., Iliad 4.166, Hesiod Works and Days 18, and Orphic fragment 852). It is an appropriate location for a sky god, and, as ether is connected with fire, for a god who wields the fiery lightning bolt; see OH 19i. Note that Hestia is called “home of the blessed gods” (OH 84.5), and she, too, is strongly connected with fire. Sky, who is closely associated with the ether, is also the “home of the blessed gods” (see OH 4.4+n).

  2: The stars, sun, and moon all are located in the upper air, and so Ether may rightly be said to “claim a share.” But since Ether is a bright, primordial being that appears before the others in cosmological speculation, he might be thought to “claim a share” in the sense that he was the first to perform the functions of the younger beings; children abrogating their parents’ prerogatives is a recurring theme in mythological thought. Note that the Stoics held that the sun, stars, and even the moon were formed from the ether (see, e.g., Long and Sedley 1987, fragment 47D and Plutarch De facie quae in orbe lunae apparet 928c–d, where this view is rejected). Even more pertinent here is that all celestial phenomena—ether, sun, stars, moon—are said to be “parts of Hephaistos” at OH 66.6–7, who is conceived as a quasi-personified form of the element fire. The order “stars—sun—moon” in this line mirrors the order of their respective hymns and is probably intentional.

  3 life’s spark for every creature: For the soul as composed out of the element fire, see OH 66.9+n.

  4 best cosmic element: Empedokles’ theory of the four elements (or, as he called them, “roots”) that constitute the physical world was accepted—with some variations and elaborations—throughout antiquity. They are earth, water, air, and fire; these manifest themselves in larger physical bodies, i.e., the earth proper, sea, lower air, and ether, whose fiery and luminous qualities are mentioned in the surrounding lines of this hymn; see also OH 11.2–3+n and 13–17. For the use of the four elements as a structural motif in the collection, see OH 15i. That Ether (i.e., fire) is the “best” of the four may be a reflection of Pythagorean and/or Stoic doctrine, which regarded fire as the element at the head of the creation of the universe and into which all physical bodies eventually disintegrate. Hephaistos qua fire is called the “blameless element/most sublime” (OH 66.4–5+n).

  6 temperate and clear: Ether is here being treated as a weather phenomenon, not as a cosmic force, almost loosely being identified with the sky. We find a similar conception at the end of the hymn to Boreas, the north wind, where there is also a request for fair weather and mention is made of Ether and the sun’s rays (OH 80.5–6+n). Sun is called “the clear” (OH 8.14) with the same connotation of favorable weather, and the Kouretes are asked to bring “clear weather” in their second hymn (OH 38.24–25).

  6. To Protogonos

  Protogonos (First-born, Primeval) is the name/epithet of one of the most important figures in Orphic cosmological speculation. This being has many appellations: Phanes (Bright One), Metis (Counsel, Resourcefulness, Wisdom), Eubouleus (He of Good Counsel), Antauges (The One Reflecting Light), Eros, among others. He shares with Dionysos the names Eubouleus, Erikepaios, and Bromios and is indeed identified at times with Dionysos himself (see OH 52.6+n) as well as Zeus. For convenience and consistency, we shall refer to this god as Protogonos. In the cosmogonies found in the Rhapsodies and in Hieronymos’ account, Protogonos is born from an egg that Time has a role in creating (see note to line 1) and is a teratomorphic creature. He is portrayed with golden wings, and he seems to have been described in the Rhapsodies as having four (pairs of) eyes, four heads (ram, bull, lion, serpent; cf. Euripides Bacchae 1017–1019 and OH 50.5n), and four (pairs of) horns, while in Hieronymos’ cosmogony he has bulls’ heads growing from his sides and a serpent’s head that nonetheless resembles all kinds of beastly shapes (Orphic fragment 80 and 129–136). Protogonos is the first “king” of the universe (Orphic fragment 165–167; cf. 86), who late
r passes this title on to his daughter/lover Night (see OH 3i). We find Protogonos described as creating the various attributes of the (material) universe and the gods themselves (Orphic fragment 144–164; see also line 3 and note); it is no accident that the following hymns in our collection are addressed to the Stars, Sun, Moon, and Physis. Moreover, Ether plays a role in the birth of this god (see OH 5i), and the placement of the hymn to Ether before this one is probably a reflection of this genealogy. Protogonos is the first name in one of the Bacchic gold tablets (no. 4). This tablet is very strange: it is in the form of a prayer addressed to a number of divinities (including Phanes, who is listed some distance apart from Protogonos) with nonsensical groups of letters sprinkled throughout. A relief from Modena (second century AD) depicts a figure that appears to have some connection with Protogonos (see West 1983, pp. 253–255).

  1 two-natured: This probably refers to Protogonos’ androgyny. The same word is used of Dionysos (OH 30.2), Mise (OH 42.4), and Eros (OH 58.4); Mise is also explicitly called both male and female. See also OH 9.4n.

  1 ether-tossed: In the Rhapsodies, Time places the egg from which Protogonos is born in Ether (Orphic fragment 114); in Hieronymos’ version, Time fashions the egg out of its children Ether, Khaos, and Erebos (Orphic fragment 78–79).

  2: In the theogony attributed to Hieronymos, the bottom half of the egg becomes Earth, the upper part Sky, and betwixt them is the “two-bodied” Phanes; see Orphic fragment 80 and compare the two egg halves on the relief from Modena. The separation of the sky and the earth is a very old motif found in Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Hittite cosmologies. The chorus of birds in Aristophanes’ Birds give an account of the creation of the world which includes an egg out of which golden-winged Eros is hatched (685–704). Eros, traditionally represented as winged (as in OH 58.2), is another name for Protogonos, as mentioned in the introduction to this hymn. Similarly, an invocation to Eros in the magical papyri lists a number of attributes that suggest an affinity with this Orphic divinity: golden-winged, first-born, invisible, and yet light-producing (PGM 4.1748–1810). It is not clear, however, if Aristophanes is drawing from an Orphic source. Protogonos’ birth from the egg is not attested until later, so this could have been influenced by Aristophanes or perhaps it comes from a common third source (which need not originally have been Orphic). We should also keep in mind that Aristophanes is more interested in eliciting a chuckle rather than dutifully reporting actual cult practice and that what he presents is being filtered through the fun-house mirror of comedy. It is reflecting something, but what that “something” might be is difficult to determine without sufficient comparanda.

  3 begetter of blessed gods and mortal men: An attribute he shares with Zeus, who in the Rhapsodies is said to have swallowed Protogonos under the direction of Night and from this act reenacted the creation originally performed by Protogonos (see OH 15.3–5n). Okeanos is also similarly addressed in the collection (OH 83.2), and Pan, who is sometimes identified with Protogonos, is the “begetter of all” (OH 11.10). Also in the Rhapsodies, Protogonos is said to carry “the famous seed of the gods” (Orphic fragment 140), and this is probably what “of the many seeds” (line 10) is intended (in part) to indicate (note, too, that Physis is a “giver of wealth of seeds”; see OH 10.19). Protogonos is strictly speaking not the first being in the various Orphic theogonies, but he is “first-born” in the sense of being the first to come into existence by a kind of procreation (via the egg) and/or the first god to procreate in the narrow sense of sexual intercourse (albeit with him/her/itself). This ambiguity is underlined by the direct juxtaposition of “begetter” and “seed” in the Greek text as well as by the different connotations of “seed” in the Greek language that this hymn exploits. The “seed unforgettable” in line 4, as the singular implies, refers to Protogonos himself (see also OH 50.2+n), while the “many seeds” in line 10 represents his cosmic generative powers. A similar oxymoron is found in line 5, “ineffable, hidden, brilliant scion” (see also note to line 8). Dionysos/Erikepaios is addressed as “father and son of the gods” in OH 52.6.

  3 bellows like a bull: As mentioned in the introduction to this hymn, the head(s) of a bull are part of the physical makeup of this composite being; cf. Orphic fragment 130: “discharging bulls’ bellows and those of a fierce lion.” This animal is particularly connected with Dionysos, who can take the form of a bull or otherwise shares the features of a bull; see OH 30.3–4n.

  4 Erikepaios: This non-Greek name also appears in OH 52.6 as an alternate name to Dionysos; note, too, that the word translated there as “primeval” could also be understood as the proper name Protogonos (and see note to line 3 “begetter of blessed gods and mortal men” above). The late author Malalas says that the name means “giver of life” (Orphic fragment 97). An alternate version of the name, Irikepaios, appears in a fragmentary papyrus from the middle of the third century BC (the Gurôb Papyrus), where it is invoked along with Eubouleus, Pallas, and perhaps Protogonos and Demeter and where it might be another name for Dionysos; see the translation in Graf/Johnston 2007, pp. 188–189. The line “attended by many rites” has been taken by scholars as evidence for the widespread appearance of this god in actual Orphic practice. An altar from the second century AD at Hierokaisareia in Lydia was dedicated by a hierophant to “Dionysos Erikepaios.”

  5–7 in whirring motion... you whirled about throughout this world: The verb that appears in this hymn as “whirled” (“dinētheis”) is found in an interesting fragment preserved by Macrobius where the name Dionysos is fancifully derived from it (Orphic fragment 540). In this fragment, Time reveals to the gods a being known by the names Eros, Phanes, Dionysos, Eubouleus, and Antauges (also mentioned in line 9 of our hymn). For Eubouleus, see OH 41.8n. As for the “whirring motion” of line 5, a similar description of movement is found for Sun and others in the Hymns; see OH 8.7n.

  8: Another oxymoron (see note to line 3). Despite being invisible to the naked eye (cf. line 5), Protogonos is the source of light and thus seems to take on a function similar to Sun. Macrobius explicitly says that Orpheus called Phanes “Sun” (Orphic fragment 540). Although he has wings, he is also imagined to drive a chariot, much like Sun (Orphic fragment 172–173), while Sun is occasionally described as winged in poetry (see West 1983, p. 215). The name Phanes in antiquity was connected with light, as here, or sometimes with the verb “phainō,” which in its active sense means to “show, reveal” (Protogonos brings light to the universe for the first time; thus the hidden, unrevealed being in turn “reveals” it) and its passive sense to “appear” (Protogonos is “first-born,” being the first living thing to appear; cf. Orphic fragment 126).

  9 Priapos: A curious reference. Priapos is connected with Dionysos in cult. According to Athenaios, the people of Lampsakos even considered Priapos to be another name for Dionysos (1.30b–c); however, Pausanias reports that they considered him to be the son of Dionysos and Aphrodite (9.31.2). Inasmuch as Eros, a son of Aphrodite in myth, is sometimes identified with Protogonos, this might have facilitated an identification between Priapos and Protogonos, if Pausanias is correct. Then, too, Priapos is a god with definite fertility connections, particularly sexual, and is usually portrayed as ithyphallic (e.g., Boardman 1975, pl. 335.1). Such an association also overlaps with Protogonos as a creator; see the note to line 3. Furthermore, Priapos is a rustic entity, who protects flocks and gardens, and is sometimes found in Dionysos’ retinue. Thus in his functions, he bears a close affinity to Pan, another divinity that is sometimes equated with Protogonos, and this is another possible avenue by which Priapos could have been eventually connected with Protogonos; see also OH 11.10–12n.

  10 many counsels: The Greek word “polumēti” puns on Metis, yet another name for Protogonos (see the introduction to this hymn).

  7. To the Stars

  The stars did not receive cult honors in Greek religion, although some mystery cults, notably Mithraism, did call on the stars as divine beings as our hymn doe
s. Constellations were identified with various objects and personages already in Homer, and they were employed to mark weather phenomena for agricultural and nautical endeavors; see Hesiod’s Works and Days and, for a more self-consciously literary treatment, Aratos’ Phainomena. In later antiquity the importance of the stars extended to astrology, particularly in connection with the destiny of individuals; cf. the similar role of Tyche (OH 72i). Heroes such as Herakles could be considered to have been turned into stars upon their death. In classical times, there was popular belief that all people became a star after their death (see Aristophanes Peace 832–841). This belief lived on, but another conception, opposite to this one, developed in later antiquity. Each star corresponded to a living person—a case of natural sympathy akin to the connection between Hamadryads and their trees (see OH 51.14+n)—and a shooting star implied that someone on earth had died (see Pliny the Elder Natural History 2.6). This belief was doubtlessly connected with the idea of the stars as responsible for individual destiny. The one constant in these various views is the conviction that celestial phenomena are somehow connected with terrestrial affairs. Our hymn shares this view but also treats the stars as minor divinities aloof from the humans whose fate they map out in their nightly wanderings.

  This hymn forms with the following two to Sun and Moon a triplet of ones dedicated to celestial phenomena. They probably owe their position in the collection to their early appearance in ancient cosmogonies; see further OH 6i.

  2 holy daimones: Mythological figures are often connected with constellations, usually as a result of transformation; for example, see the story of Callisto and Arcas in Ovid Metamorphoses 2.401–507. Important gods were assigned to the planets, but lesser ones to the stars. For example, the seven stars of the Pleiades were identified with the seven daughters of Atlas, one of whom, Maia, was the mother of Hermes. The association of specific deities with specific celestial bodies easily slides into a vague notion that the stars are simply generic minor divinities, as is the case in our hymn.