by Unknown
2–3 Nysian … conceived in fire. / Nourished in the thigh: These lines reflect the traditional myth of Dionysos’ birth, for which see OH 30.2n and OH 44i. “Nourished in the thigh” alludes to that part of the story when Zeus, having saved the fetus after the immolation of Semele, sews him into his thigh to hide him from Hera; hence, he is the “secret offspring of Zeus” in line 5 (see also OH 48.3n and OH 50.3n). For Nysa, see OH 46.2–3n.
4 thyrsos-shaking Eubouleus: For the thyrsos, see OH 45.5n; for Eubouleus, see OH 30.6n.
5 nature three-fold: It is not entirely clear what is meant by this. At OH 30.2, Dionysos is called “two-natured, thrice-born” (and see note). The three natures indicated here might refer to those births in that he has three different “mothers”: Semele, Persephone, and the thigh of Zeus. On the other hand, since Dionysos was devoured by the Titans and thereby had contact with them, it is possible that his nature is threefold: human through Semele, Titanic through the Titans, and Olympian through Zeus (cf. the composite nature of human beings in Orphic anthropogonies, summarized and discussed in Graf/Johnston 2007, pp. 85–90). Another possibility is that Dionysos’ nature can be seen to embody the bestial, the human, and the divine. As with the contradictory references to Dionysos’ birth throughout the collection, the ambiguity might be intentional.
6: “Primeval” is the translation of “prōtogone,” which naturally recalls the Orphic entity known as Protogonos, who also shares with Dionysos the sobriquets Erikepaios, Eubouleus, and Bromios; see OH 6.4n+i. Through this identity, Dionysos can rightly be called both the “father and son of the gods.”
7 raw flesh: See the introduction to this hymn and OH 30.5+n.
7–8: Madness is a running motif throughout the collection, as many divinities are described as bringing it and/or being able to cure it, particularly those beings that are related to ecstatic cults, with the concomitant belief that the worshipper becomes possessed by the divinity in question (see OH 71.11n). Madness thus also finds expression in the wild abandon to song and dance in the revel; see OH 27.11n and OH 50.8. This is the state of ekstasis that results from enthousiasmos (see OH 30i), and something that is not limited to Dionysos alone (see OH 11i and OH 27i). Dionysos’ connection with madness was probably facilitated by his connection with wine and intoxication (see OH 50i). As often with the case of this god, the normal order in the world is subverted (cf. its use to great effect as a running motif in Euripides Bacchae) and leads to paradox; here, madness is transformed into lucidity (see also OH 54.11). For Dionysos as a dancing god, see OH 45.7+n.
10 annual feasts: This looks ahead to the title of the next hymn, where the triennial celebration is reciprocally mentioned in line 5.
11 Paian: This is normally a name for Apollon; see OH 34.1n; for Dionysos’ worship at Delphi, see OH 46i.
53. To the God of Annual Feasts
This is the last hymn to Dionysos in the collection, and it is closely related to the previous one (OH 52i). There, the emphasis is on maenadism. We find this theme here as well in lines 6–7, which serves as a bridge to the following hymn, but Dionysos is first and foremost presented as a god of vegetation, whose “awakening” in the spring heralds the return of plant-life after the winter; cf. the Thyiads at Delphi who wake Dionysos Liknites; see OH 46i. Plutarch reports a similar practice among the Phrygians and Paphlagonians, who believed a god was asleep in the winter, and he further says that the Phrygians awakened him in the summer by “Bacchizing” (De Iside et Osiride 378f). As our group of initiates might have been active in Phrygia, it is just possible that Plutarch is referring to the local rite that was made “Orphic” by the group (less likely the ritual itself). This is the only place in the collection where Dionysos is called “chthonic” (line 1), and his association with the underworld, where he “sleeps,” is indicated by the “sacred halls of Persephone” (line 3). The initiates invoke him with “fruity” terms (lines 8–10), and elsewhere in the collection he appears to be identified with the fruit itself (see OH 50.5+n). He is therefore much like Adonis and Persephone (see OH 56i and OH 41i, respectively), whose time split between the upper and lower worlds was interpreted as the cause of the seasons (and cf. line 7 of this hymn). In Orphic fragment 350, someone is foretelling Dionysos of his future worship in annual rites and his ability to free mortals from suffering and madness; see West 1983, pp, 99–100, for translation and brief discussion, and further OH 71.11n.
4 pure: For the importance of ritual purity, see OH 30.4n.
4–5 every third year. / … triennial revel: See OH 52i, which also refers to annual feasts in line 10.
6 he sings a hymn: For Dionysos as participant in his own worship, see OH 30i and OH 50i.
8 horned: For the horned god, see OH 30.3–4+n.
54. To Silenos Satyros and the Bacchae
This is the last hymn of the group whose overriding theme is Dionysian cult. It addresses the figure Silenos and mentions the other traditional members of the mythical Dionysian thiasos, the silens/satyrs and the Bacchae (or maenads); for the Bacchae, see OH 52i. The silens and satyrs were probably originally distinct, but very early merged into one group and their names are used interchangeably. The first mention of silens is on the François Vase (see Boardman 1991, pp. 33–34 and pl. 46), and satyrs are first mentioned by Hesiod (fragment 123, preserved at Strabo 10.3.19; see OH 51i). As line 7 of this hymn tells us, they are half-man, half-beast. Specifically, they are for the most part human, with equine tales and ears, snub noses, and a receding hairline; their bodies can be covered with hair, and early vase paintings sometimes give them hooves instead of feet. They are often shown ithyphallic. Sometimes they are found with hircine features. These are creatures of the wild, and they pursue quite a hedonistic lifestyle, spending their days laughing, drinking, dancing, making music, and chasing after nymphs (see, e.g., Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.262–263). While originally independent of Dionysos, they became part of his retinue at an early date. They were insanely popular on vase paintings; see, for example, Hedreen’s 1992 book-length study (which only treats the Archaic period!). In myth, they play no significant role outside of being in the company of Dionysos (e.g., the story of the return of Hephaistos; see OH 66i). We find them as the chorus of a peculiar kind of drama, the satyr play, which was introduced with (or shortly after) Attic tragedy. In Classical times, a tragic poet would stage three tragedies followed by a satyr play at the Greater Dionysia. These performances were light-hearted affairs, aptly called “tragedy at play” by Demetrius (On Style 169). Despite the fact that the only extant satyr play is Euripides’ Kyklops, on the basis of this and numerous fragments we have some idea of the nature of this genre. Lissarrague neatly sums it up thus: “The recipe is as follows: take one myth, add the satyrs, and observe the results” (1990, p. 236). The chorus in a satyr play is led by Papposilenos (Granddaddy Silenos!), who is distinguished from the rest by being costumed as an old satyr, covered with white hair (as depicted on the Pronomos vase, which shows the actors at a rehearsal; see Boardman 1989, pp. 167–168 and pl. 323); he is the leader of the thiasos here as well (see line 6). Silenos occasionally plays a role in myth as a distinct individual. His most famous “exploit” is being found drunk in the garden of Midas, king of Phrygia. The king returns the lost satyr to Dionysos, who grants him a boon that turns into the famous “golden touch” (Ovid Metamorphoses 1.85–145). Another satyr, Marsyas, either invents the reed instrument known as the auloi or picks them up after Athene discards them (see OH 32i). He then challenges Apollon to a music contest in Phrygia, loses, and is flayed alive by the god (see Ovid Metamorphses 11.146–193). In cult, too, the satyrs are completely dependent on their master, although Pausanias does mention a temple for Silenos at Elis and stresses it is completely independent from Dionysos (6.24.8). Male worshippers of Dionysian ecstatic rituals could apparently take the role of satyrs, as well as pans, as is attested by Plato (Laws 815c–d) and by early rituals involving masks (see Burkert 1985, pp. 103–104); see also OH 52i
. Satyrs and Silenos himself seem to be entirely ignored in Orphism, maybe because their light-hearted nature did not fit well with the serious cosmic and eschatological themes found in the mysteries (but see note to line 10 below). Their appearance in our collection is due to their traditional association with Dionysos. As they are followers of Dionysos, so, too, their hymn follows his. It is possible that our initiates dressed up as satyrs and Bacchae (perhaps just for this part of the ritual); see also OH 45i and OH 52i.
1 foster father: On some vase paintings, Silenos receives the infant Dionysos from Hermes (see, e.g., Boardman 1989, p. 225 and pl. 126), and it seems that his rearing of Dionysos was mentioned in satyr play (alluded to in Euripides Kyklops 1–8; cf. Horace Ars Poetica 239 and the euhemerized account in Diodorus Siculus 4.4.3–4). In this respect, Silenos is similar to the centaur Kheiron, another horse-human hybrid, who often raises heroes.
3 triennial feasts: See note to line 9 and OH 52i.
5 wakeful reveler: This refers to the all-night character of ecstatic Dionysian worship. If the ritual in which the Hymns were performed took place at night, as it seems likely (see OH 3i and OH 78i), then Silenos would be a model for our initiates, who might be getting a little sleepy at this point! See also OH 85.9–10n.
6 Naiads: For this particular type of nymph, see OH 51i.
9 Lenaian: OH 50 is addressed to Lysios Lenaios; see the introduction to that hymn.
10 revealing torch-lit rites: Silenos and the satyrs are sometimes portrayed as being among the first initiates in Dionysian mysteries (see, e.g., Euripides Bacchae 120–134). As in the opening address where Orpheus’ initiation of Mousaios would have been felt to be paradigmatic of all future initiations, so, too, Silenos and company function as the mythic paradigm of passing down esoteric knowledge to new initiates; see further OH 76.7n. Despite their wild and unrestrained temperament, these creatures sometimes do display a divine wisdom. In some versions of the Midas story, Silenos is intentionally captured by the king who wishes to know his secrets (see Herodotos 8.138.3, who locates the story in Macedonia, and Pausanias 1.4.5; compare also Vergil’s sixth eclogue). Alkibiades’ long praise of Sokrates ironically plays on the satyrs’ contradictory nature of surface chicanery and concealed knowledge (Plato Symposium 215a–222d), which fits well the context here of Silenos being a revealer of secret rites. The hybrid nature of these creatures in general, both physically and psychologically, makes them very suitable companions for their master Dionysos (see OH 30i).
11 finding calm in the revels: This paradoxical statement is very similar to what is expressed at OH 52.7–8 (and see note).
55. To Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, and sexual relations. For Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and Dione (Iliad 5.370–417), a goddess sometimes considered a Titan, sometimes a nymph (see OH O.19n); her name is a feminine variation of Zeus. Hesiod gives another account, in which she is born after Kronos castrates his father Sky and tosses the severed genitals into the sea. They undergo a sort of foamy chemical reaction out of which Aphrodite is born (Theogony 188–206). Hesiod’s story teems with etymological explanations. Aphrodite is so called because she was born from foam (Greek “aphros”). She bears the names Kythereia because she came to the island Kythera; and the name Kyprogenes because she first came out of the sea on Kypros and so was “born on Kypros.” She also took on the epithet “fond of genitals” because of their role in her birth. When she rises out of the sea, the Seasons are there to clothe her and deck her out with all sorts of finery, a scene memorably portrayed in Botticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus (compare also the sixth Homeric hymn). In Hesiod’s version, then, Aphrodite is thus a cosmic power that antedates Zeus and the other Olympian gods. Orphic mythology accepted the Hesiodic version, although in at least one variant it is Zelos (Envy) and Apate (Deception), not the Seasons, that welcome the goddess out of the sea (Orphic fragment 189; see also OH 3.2n). The Orphics, however, also maintained that she (or a second Aphrodite) was the daughter of Zeus but that Zeus created her by ejaculating into the sea (Orphic fragment 260).
Aphrodite was connected with both the carnal and spiritual sides of love, and accordingly literature portrays many sides of her. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (no. 5) opens with a grand description of her powers: even Zeus is under her sway, and only three goddesses—Artemis, Athene, and Hestia—are immune to her charms (5.1–44). When Hera seeks to seduce Zeus to distraction during the Trojan War, she borrows a magical piece of clothing from Aphrodite, a concrete manifestation of the love goddess’ abilities (Iliad 14.197–223). Aphrodite is raised to a cosmic principle of procreation, much like in our hymn, in Lucretius’ opening address to her (On the Nature of Things 1.1–49), and she is endowed with further philosophical embellishment in the Neoplatonist Proclus’ second hymn. Yet there is a comical side to this goddess as well. She is caught having an affair with Ares by her husband, Hephaistos, and the entangled lovers are displayed to the male gods, whereupon Apollon and Hermes engage in some playful banter (Odyssey 8.266–366). It should be kept in mind that the bard in the story who sings this tale does so to cheer up the sorrowing Odysseus. Apollonios of Rhodes shows her as a frustrated mother at wit’s end on how to handle her unruly child Eros (Argonautika 3.1–166). There is a nasty side to this divinity, too. Helen meekly acquiesces to Aphrodite’s demand to go to bed with Paris after the goddess ominously warns her not to disobey (Iliad 3.383–420). She unceasingly victimizes the mortal Psyche, first by asking Eros to make her fall in love with a monster; then, after Eros saves Psyche only to be betrayed by her, Aphrodite imposes a series of impossibly difficult tasks that eventually lead to Eros rescuing Psyche and a reconciliation with Aphrodite (Apuleius Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass 4.28–6.24). There is also something sinister lurking in Sappho’s depiction of the goddess, who can cause someone to fall in love even if they are unwilling (fragment 1.21–24). Love can be pleasant, wonderful, charming, exhilarating, frightening, and brutal—often all at the same time—and the stories of Aphrodite provide firm evidence that the Greeks were acutely aware of this complexity.
At Symposium 180d–181c, Plato sharply distinguishes two cult manifestations of the goddess, Aphrodite Ourania (Aphrodite the Heavenly or Born from Sky) and Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite of All the People). The former, for him, represents the spiritual side of love, while the latter the physical. However, in actual cult practice this distinction is not observed. Indeed, Aphrodite Pandemos is found worshipped as a deity promoting civic harmony, the power of love to soothe civil discord and bring opposing sides together (see note to line 9). Her daughter, Harmonia, may be seen as a reflection of this (see OH 65i). Not surprisingly, Aphrodite is also worshipped in connection with marriage, particularly the producing of children. She also protects sailors. For more on Aphrodite and her role in cult, see Burkert 1985, pp. 152–156, and Larson 2007, pp. 114–125. She is found connected with other male gods in both myth and cult, in particular Hermes, Ares, and Hephaistos; see OH 57.3–5n, OH 65i, OH 66i, respectively. The significance of these pairings seems largely to consist of a harmonious unison of opposites (male/female, life/death, war/peace, beauty/ugliness). We also find her connected with Dionysos in cult (Pausanias 7.25.9) and in our hymn (lines 2 and 7; compare “maddening” in line 13, and also see OH 56i). As a goddess of beauty, she often consorts with other beautiful goddesses, such as the Seasons and Graces (see OH 43i and OH 60i, respectively).
The placement of this hymn resumes the series of major Olympian gods that had been interrupted by a long digression on divinities associated with Dionysos, and the resumption is facilitated by Aphrodite’s connection to him (see further OH 69i). The hymns to Adonis (OH 56), Eros (OH 58), and the Graces (OH 60) are grouped with her for obvious reasons. Chthonic Hermes (OH 57) is said to be her son in his hymn, while the Fates (OH 59) also appear to have been conceived as connected with Aphrodite, perhaps as her daughters (see note to line 3 and OH 59i), thus forming a triplet with Chthonic
Hermes and Eros. OH 61–68 may also be considered part of the “Aphrodite” group; see OH 61i, OH 65i, and OH 68i.
1 heavenly, smiling Aphrodite, praised in many hymns: The first word of the hymn, “heavenly,” is one of the main cult titles of the goddess (Aphrodite Ourania). “Smiling” is a translation of the Greek “philommeidēs,” which literally means “fond of smiles.” The word, like the similar “philommēdēs” (“fond of genitals”), is a common epithet of the goddess, who is often portrayed as smiling. Aphrodite is indeed “praised in many hymns”: there are three Homeric hymns dedicated to her (nos. 5, 6, 10), two hymns by Proclus (nos. 2, 5), and literary pieces in the hymnic style, including Sappho fragments 1 and 2 and the opening of Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things. The reference to “many hymns” probably is first and foremost to the ubiquity of her worship through the identification with similar goddesses in other traditions and thus anticipates lines 17–19. This hymn, then, is imagined as following worthy precedents.
3 mother of Necessity: Necessity (Greek Anankē) is a divinity who plays a role in Orphic theogony. She mates with Time in the form of a winged serpent, and their children are Ether and Khaos (Orphic fragment 77, 110–113; see West 1983, pp. 70, 194–197, and 231 for more details). If “necessity” in the hymn to the Fates should be personified, then our poet would appear to have conceived them to be the daughters of Aphrodite (see OH 59.18n). Necessity is identified with Adrasteia in Orphism. As Adrasteia can sometimes be identified with Nemesis, the inevitability of Nemesis might also explain the position of OH 61–64 in the collection (see OH 61i). The idea of compulsion appears in the imagery of yoking (lines 4, 13, 14); compare also Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.33–43, Sappho fragment 1.21–24, and PGM 4.2934.
4–7: Aphrodite’s wide-ranging powers are expressed through their geographical extent over the sky, earth, and sea, a rhetorical strategy employed in describing the powers of other gods as well; of particular relevance here are the hymns to Rhea (OH 14.9–10) and the Mother of the Gods (OH 27.4–8); see further OH 10.14–16n. Eros is similarly described in his hymn, although his powers extend beneath the earth as well (OH 58.5–7). See also Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 5.2–6, Euripides Hippolytos 447–451, and Lucretius On the Nature of Things 1.1–27.