The Orphic Hymns

by Unknown

  18–20: The repetitions augment the sense of religious fervor and insistence as the hymn closes with a mighty crescendo. The theme running throughout the hymn, that Demeter is a goddess who brings benefits that contribute to the well-being of both the individual and society, is neatly summarized in these lines. The word “riches” is a translation of the Greek “ploutos,” which alludes to her son Ploutos (see note to line 16 above). Peace and rule of law might be intended as personifications of two of the Seasons, Eirene and Eunomia respectively (see OH 43i), and perhaps health should be personified as well (Hygeia), the addressee of OH 68; see also OH 15.10–11n.

  41. To Mother Antaia

  Mother Antaia is here another name for Demeter. The mythological complex surrounding the abduction of Persephone, absent in the previous hymn, is the focus of this one. Indeed, one of the remarkable features about the hymn is that more than half of it is narrative, a departure from the usual aggregation of epithets, names, and description.

  The Homeric Hymn to Demeter contains the most famous version of the myth. Demeter fasts in grief after her daughter’s disappearance, although she does not know yet that Hades has abducted her. Hekate comes to assist her, and they find out from Sun what has happened. Depressed, Demeter wanders the world disguised as an old woman (cf. also OH 74i). She eventually reaches Eleusis and becomes a nurse to Demophoön, the newly born son of the king of Eleusis. The baby becomes a kind of surrogate child for the goddess. The mother one night sees the nurse putting her son in the fire and cries out, not knowing that Demeter had intended to make him immortal. In anger Demeter leaves but not before ordering that a temple be built in her honor and promising to introduce rites in Eleusis later. For now, she keeps apart from the gods and causes a great famine with the intent to wipe out the human race and thus deprive the gods of the sacrifices they so very much crave. Hades is willing to let Persephone return, but she has already tasted of the pomegranate seeds he had given to her. Therefore she cannot remain permanently in the land of the living. For the one part of the year she must remain in the underworld with her husband; during this time Demeter grieves over her daughter and nothing grows. However, during the other two parts of the year, she is reunited with her daughter, and in her joy life flourishes anew. Thus the myth explains the origins of the seasons, which the ancient Greeks generally numbered three (see OH 29i). At the end of the poem, Demeter returns to the plains of Rharion outside of Eleusis. She restores the crops and teaches her mysteries, as she had promised, to the princes of Eleusis. There are a number of allusions to this story that are sequentially spread over a number of hymns in the collection; see OH 43i. For a similar story involving Kybele, see OH 27i. The abduction of Persephone and the wanderings of Demeter were the subject of at least one poem attributed to Orpheus (collected under Orphic fragment 379–402; see Richardson 1974, pp. 77–86, for a discussion of the versions of Orpheus, Mousaios, and Eumolpos). Relevant details are in the notes passim.

  1 Antaia: The word is properly an adjective with the base meaning of “opposite” and further specialized senses of “hostile” and “besought with prayers.” As an adjective it is used of Kybele in Apollonios of Rhodes Argonautika 1.1141. Later grammarians say that it was also used as a proper name for Rhea and Hekate. It is therefore not surprising to see Demeter called by this name. Both the negative and positive connotations of the word are probably intended in this hymn. The goddess was once hostile to men; now they shower her with prayers, as this hymn does.

  1–2 mother/of immortal gods and of mortal men: Similarly described are Rhea (OH 14.8–9), Earth (OH 26.1), and Kybele (OH 27.7); see also OH 10.1+n.

  4: In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.192–211, after the disguised Demeter agrees to be a nurse for Demophoön, she comes to Eleusis. She stands brooding in the palace until an old woman, Iambe, offers her a stool covered with a white fleece. Demeter sits but says nothing until Iambe tells her jokes that make her laugh. She refuses wine from the queen but asks instead that they make for her a drink made of water, barley-meal, and pennyroyal. It is with this that she breaks her fast. The drink, known as the kukeon, was also imbibed by initiates at the Eleusinian Mysteries. In the Orphic version(s), Iambe does not appear, but instead we find a woman named Baubo, a native Eleusinian, who gets the mourning mother to laugh by exposing her pudenda and who then offers her the kukeon that Demeter had earlier refused (Clement of Alexandria Protrepticus 2.20.3–21.1; Orphic fragment 394–395).

  5–7: In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, it is not the goddess but rather Hermes who goes into the underworld to fetch Persephone. Dysaules is the husband to Baubo (see the note to line 4 above). Pausanias reports that the Phliasians claim that he was the brother to Keleos (king of Eleusis in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter), that he came to them after being expelled by an Athenian, and that he taught them the mysteries (2.14.2). Pausanias is skeptical of the story, remarking that Dysaules is not mentioned among the group instructed by Demeter in her Homeric hymn and citing lines 2.474–476, but he admits that Dysaules might have arrived due to some other reason (2.14.3). In the Orphic version, Dysaules’ sons Triptolemos and Eubouleus inform Demeter of the abduction of Persephone, and she teaches them the knowledge of agriculture as a reward (Pausanias 1.14.3). Clement of Alexandria tells us that Triptolemos was a cowherd and Eubouleus a swineherd and that the swine of Eubouleus fell into the earth during the abduction of Persephone (Protrepticus 2.20.2 and 2.17.1; see Orphic fragment 390–391). The latter is adduced to explain the custom in the Thesmophoria, a festival in honor of Demeter and Persephone, of women throwing pigs in a pit and later taking back the rotting corpse (see Larson 2007, p. 70), which would seem to be symbolic of Persephone’s (and Demeter’s?) journey. It is likely that Eubouleus is the one to whom the “innocent child of Dysaules” refers in this hymn. At Eleusis, there was a god named Eubouleus who was considered to have brought Persephone back up from the underworld, much like Hermes does in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.

  8: A problematic line. As it stands, Euboulos might be a vague reference to Ploutos, the son of Demeter and Iasion (see OH 40.16n), or to the Kretan grandfather of the goddess Diktynna (another name of Artemis; see note to OH 36.3n), whom Diodorus Siculus calls the son of Demeter (5.76.3). Elsewhere in the collection, Hades is called Euboulos (OH 18.12). The name might be an alternate form of Eubouleus, but it cannot refer to the one mentioned in the previous line. Eubouleus is also used of gods: Hades, Zeus, Dionysos, and Protogonos (see OH 6i). None would fit the context, however. This led Theiler to suggest changing the Greek verb “bore” to “made”: the sense then would be that Demeter changed Eubouleus (who had helped her find and retrieve Persephone) into a god, and thus he was no longer bound by human needs. This would fit in neatly with the story of Demophoön in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and with the fact that there was a god Eubouleus at Eleusis (see note to lines 5–7 above). Note, too, that on some Bacchic gold tablets it is claimed that the initiate will become a god (nos. 3, 5, 9; see OH 87.12n). A third possibility is that something has fallen out between lines 7 and 8. The “you” might then be someone else, such as Persephone.

  42. To Mise

  Mise is an obscure goddess who appears to be connected with Demeter and Eleusis. She is mentioned in a poem by Herodas, in which a character sees a girl at a “Descent of Mise,” a cultic context that suggests a journey to the underworld (Mimiamb 1.56). In the lexicon of Hesykhios, she is connected with Meter and said to be invoked in oaths (entry M 1442). The name might appear in an account attributed to Asklepiades of Tragilos (fourth century BC) by Harpocration (see Orphic fragment 391), who says that the Eleusinian pair Dysaules and Baubo had two daughters, Protonoe and Nisa, the latter name possibly a corruption of “Misa,” which would be another form of “Mise.” Two inscriptions have been discovered bearing the name. One was found in the precinct of Demeter in Pergamon, the other on an altar dedicated by a priestess to “Mise Kore” near Pergamon. For a review of the evidence and interpretation, see Ricciardelli 2
000, pp. 398–400 and Morand 2001, pp. 169–174. In this hymn, Mise is identified with Dionysos and seems to be a reflection of the female side of the god who elsewhere appears androgynous (see note to line 4). Whether they are considered distinct or the same is difficult to determine. The Eleusinian connection is strong in the beginning portion of the hymn: the epithet “law-giving” in line 1 is also a cultic title of Demeter and Persephone, Iacchos was the name of a god chanted by the sacred procession to Eleusis (see note to line 4), and Eleusis is the first place mentioned in the list found in lines 5–10. The three goddesses mentioned in lines 6–10 are all connected with a young boy who dies and is reborn: Meter and Attis (see OH 27i), Aphrodite and Adonis (see OH 56i), and Isis and Osiris, who already in the Classical period was identified with Dionysos (Herodotos 2.144; see also Diodorus Siculus 1.13.5 and 1.22.7–23.8 and Plutarch De Iside et Osiride 364e ff.). For the identification of Isis with Aphrodite, Meter, Demeter, and other goddesses, see OH 55.15–28n.

  1 fennel stalk: A reference to the thyrsos; see OH 45.5n.

  2 unforgettable and many-named seed: See also OH 50.2+n.

  4 Iacchos: Participants in the Eleusinian Mysteries would walk from Athens to Eleusis at night by torchlight with song, dance, and bawdy banter; see OH 40.11n. The god invoked was Iacchos, who seems to be a personification of the cry “iakkhe!” This god was identified with Dionysos; see Sophokles Antigone 1146–1152. The chorus of initiates calls on Iacchos in their procession in Aristophanes Frogs 340–353 and 372–416, and a ghost procession is supposed to have materialized during the Persian Wars as a sign of the eventual disaster of the Persian campaign (Herodotos 8.65). The name Iacchos appears in the Eleusinian myth in which Baubo exposes her genitals to the mourning Demeter (Orphic fragment 395 and see OH 41.4n), where there probably was a pun on “iakkhos” (“female genitalia”) and Iacchos, who sometimes is regarded as the child of Demeter; see Graf 1974, pp. 194–199. Iacchos also played a role in the Lenaia, an Athenian festival (see OH 50i). For the androgyny of Dionysos, see OH 30.2n; for a list of androgynous deities in the Hymns, see OH 9.4n.

  6 mystic rites in Phrygia: Compare OH 49.2–3 where Hipta, a nurse of Dionysos, is said to take part in the mysteries of Sabos and the dances of Iacchos.

  9–10 your divine mother, / … black-robed Isis: The epithet “black-robed” is used of the goddess in the third hymn to Isis by Isidoros (3.34); see Vanderlip 1972, p. 62. For Isis as the mother of Dionysos, see Plutarch De Iside et Osiride 365e–f.

  10 train of nurses: A reference to the Nymphs who took the infant Dionysos after the death of Semele; see OH 46.2–3n.

  11 contests: The Stars, too, are asked to come to the “learned contests of this sacred rite”; see OH 7.12+12–13n.

  43. To the Seasons

  The Seasons (Greek Horai), as their name suggests, are the personifications of the seasons. This hymn adopts the Hesiodic genealogy (Theogony 901–903) that makes them the daughters of Zeus and Themis (“established custom” or “law”), and, like their mother, they represent an aspect of the cosmic order (see further OH 79i). For Homer, these divinities are in charge of access to Olympos (Iliad 5.748–751) and in one scene take care of the horses of Hera and Athene when they return (Iliad 8.432–435). The Orphic Rhapsodies follow Hesiod with respect to the birth and names of the Seasons (Orphic fragment 252). Their names mean “law-abiding” (“eunomia”), “justice” (“dike”), and “peace” (“eirene”). Dike has her own hymn (OH 62), Eunomia is the mother of the Graces (OH 60.2), and both Eunomia and Eirene are summoned, though not personified, at the end of the hymn to Eleusinian Demeter (OH 40.19; but see OH 40.18–20n). According to Pausanias (9.35.2), however, at Athens there were only two Seasons worshipped, whose names were Karpo (Fruit) and Thallo (Blossom). The Seasons do not merely embody the seasons but also come to represent youthful feminine beauty as well. They clothe Aphrodite when she emerges from the sea and adorn her with numerous ornaments (Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 6.5–18), and they crown the newly-fashioned Pandora with a garland of spring flowers (Hesiod Works and Days 74–75). This connection with spring and flowers is emphasized in this hymn, which fits the context of fertility introduced with Eleusinian Demeter (OH 40).

  The Seasons are also linked with the myth of Persephone’s abduction and return in our collection. The entire story is scattered over several hymns, but nevertheless the chronological order is maintained; in performing the hymns, the initiates recreate the myth piecemeal. The abduction portion appears in two earlier hymns: the one to Plouton, where there is brief narration (OH 18.12–15), and the one to Persephone (OH 29.14). The next part, Demeter’s search and recovery of her daughter, again with short narration, is told in the hymn to Mother Antaia (OH 41.3–7). Now in this hymn, the cycle is completed. Every year, Persephone’s reappearance in the land of the living heralds the beginning of spring, the season of growth. It is not surprising, then, to see the personifications of spring dancing with her in celebration of the return of life (see also OH 29.9–13); note in particular the “circling dances” and “come forth to the light” in line 8 and that their dancing pleases “Zeus and their mother, giver of fruits” in line 9. “Their mother” refers to Themis, who rejoices that the cosmic order, manifested in the cycle of seasons, is maintained. The idea of renewal is also important to Dionysos, the focus of the previous hymn, both because he is a fertility god himself and also because he was reborn, just like his mother Persephone (albeit metaphorically). In this context, the invocation at the end of the hymn that the goddesses appear to the new initiates has special point. They, too, are being “born again” into a new life (see OH 30i). It also segues into the theme of birth, which had appeared in the earlier hymns of the collection and which will dominate OH 44–55 (see OH 44i).

  The Fates, too, join the festivities. They do so not only because they are the (half-)sisters of the Seasons (see OH 59i) but also because they have a natural interest in the cosmic order as well. The seasons recur as they are fated to do so. We find the Seasons and Fates linked in cultic contexts. In the precinct of Zeus at Athens, Pausanias saw an unfinished statue of the god with both groups above his head (1.40.4). On the altar at Amyklai they were depicted next to Demeter, Persephone, and Plouton, along with Aphrodite, Athene, and Artemis (Pausanias 3.19.4).

  The Graces naturally take part in the dance as well. They are very similar to the Seasons in that they, too, are a plurality of three young women who are paradigmatic of feminine beauty and charm (see OH 60i). They join the Seasons in adorning Pandora (Hesiod Works and Days 73–74). In perhaps one of the most beautiful scenes from ancient Greek literature, both groups dance in a circle with Hebe, Harmonia, and Aphrodite. In their midst Artemis sings. Ares and Hermes play along with them. And all of this is in tune with the glorious music of Apollon as he expertly plays the lyre (Homeric Hymn to Apollon 3.186–206). Our composer has skillfully captured the essence of this joie de vivre and grafted it to a genuine religious awe before the uncanny powers of fertility. It is a fitting coda to the block of four hymns with Eleusinian themes.

  44. To Semele

  Semele is one of the daughters of Kadmos, the founder of Thebes. Zeus falls in love with her, and they begin to have an affair. Eventually Semele, sometimes at the instigation of a disguised and jealous Hera, secures an oath from Zeus and then demands that he appear to her as he does to his wife. Thus constrained, Zeus reluctantly complies; he reveals himself to the mortal woman in his full stature as god of thunder and lightning. The resulting fireworks burn Semele to a crisp. Zeus notices that she was pregnant, and he decides to save the unborn child. He sews it up in his thigh, and, once it reaches full maturity, Zeus gives “birth” to his son, Dionysos; see Euripides Bacchae 1–42, Apollodoros 3.4.3, Ovid Metamorphoses 3.257–313, Orphic fragment 328, and OH 48.3+n and OH 50.3+n. Sometimes Dionysos is given to Semele’s sister, Ino, to nurse, and she in turn is further pursued by Hera (see OH 74i); in other versions, baby Dionysos is given to his half-brother Hermes, who han
ds the child off to the Nymphs in the East to rear (see OH 51i), sometimes with Silenos (see OH 54.1+n). For the nurse Hipta, see OH 49i. Semele is already mentioned as the mother of Dionysos by Homer (Iliad 14.325), by Hesiod (Theogony 940–942), and in the three Homeric hymns to Dionysos (1.21, 7.1, 26.2). An alternate name for her is Thyone (Homeric Hymn to Dionysos 1.21, Sappho fragment 17, Apollodoros 3.5.3). The Orphics offered a different version, namely that Dionysos, sometimes called Zagreus, was the son of Zeus and Persephone (see OH 29i), but some accounts attempt to retain the traditional genealogy; for a reconstruction of how and why this was done, see Graf/Johnston 2007, pp. 74–80. In one of these versions, after Dionysos is killed by the Titans, Athene saves his heart and brings it to Zeus; he promptly cuts it up, makes a little soup out of it, and feeds it to Semele, who then is impregnated and gives birth to Dionysos; see Orphic fragment 314–316 and 327, Proclus Hymn to Athene Polymetis 7.7–15 (translation and commentary in van den Berg 2001, pp. 277 and 287–293), West 1983, pp. 162–163, and Graf/Johnston 2007, p. 78. In our collection, both Semele and Persephone are called the mother of Dionysos, but in one case it is implied that Persephone received Dionysos to rear after he was born (presumably by Semele; see OH 46.6–7+n, and cf. OH 30.2+n).

  This hymn begins a series (through OH 54) whose focus is on Dionysos; in particular, these hymns are linked by the motif of (re)birth, a theme that is prevalent at the beginning of the collection (see OH 2i). A number of them refer to ritual contexts and, insofar as the hymns are performative acts (see OH 30i), probably reflect something of the actual activities of our cult during this particular rite, though details are vague; see lines 6–9 and note.