The Orphic Hymns

by Unknown

  70. To the Eumenides

  The Eumenides, the “kindly-disposed ones,” are a group of female divinities similar to, and usually identified with, the Erinyes. In Athens, they were called the August Goddesses (Semnai Theai). In Oedipus at Kolonos 461–492, Sophokles gives a literary description of a rite of atonement to the Eumenides, and their worship has a significant role in this play. For more information about the Eumenides, and their relation to the Erinyes, see the introduction and notes to the previous hymn. They are usually considered beneficial goddesses, as their name would suggest. Unlike the Erinyes, they are not invoked in spells or curses. In our hymn, however, they are given a more Stygian and infernal character that is usually reserved for the Erinyes. The Eumenides were in fact originally fertility goddesses with definite chthonic associations. This can be seen in Aeschylus Eumenides 903–967, where the transformed Erinyes promise first and foremost bountiful production. The Orphic tradition seems to have recognized their primeval function as well, for in Orphic fragment 293, they are called “flower-producers.” See also the note to lines 2–3. The Derveni papyrus enigmatically equates the Eumenides with souls.

  2–3: Chthonic Zeus is another name for Hades; see OH 18.3+n. Persephone is also called the mother of the Erinyes at OH 29.6. The parentage given in the Hymns differs from the one found in the mainstream tradition (see OH 69i). However, two fragments ascribed to Orpheus (Orphic fragment 292–293) also present Hades and Persephone as the parents of “the Eumenides under the earth.” This chthonic connection is not exclusively Orphic; for example, the Athenian Semnai Theai dwelt in a cave beneath the earth (cf. Aeschylus Eumenides 1004ff.; also OH 69.3–4 and 8). Orpheus is also supposed to have written that Demeter prophesied to her daughter that she would “mount the blooming bed of Apollon/and give birth to splendid children, their faces burning with fire” (Orphic fragment 284). These children are the Eumenides, who are also described as “bright-faced” in Orphic fragment 293. It would seem, then, that the Orphic tradition had two different fathers for the Eumenides. However, the name Apollon was often connected with the verb “apollumi,” “I destroy,” and it is possible that Apollon here is used as an oracular periphrasis for Hades, “the destroyer” (just as he is called “Chthonic Zeus” in our hymn); another possibility is that the different fathers represent two alternate versions that were considered Orphic in antiquity. These two interpretations are discussed by West 1983, pp. 95–98, 243–244.

  4–5: The Erinyes also watch over human beings “as the eye of Dike, ever in charge of justice” (OH 69.15), and they “howl over Necessity’s dictates” (OH 69.6). Both groups are described by the adjective “timōroi” (translated “retribution” at OH 69.7 and “punish” here), which is used in the same metrical position. These goddesses, then, are described as having more or less the same function. One interesting difference, though, is that the Eumenides are said to be concerned with “impious mortals,” whereas the Erinyes, like the Fates, watch over all mortals, just and unjust alike.

  6 black-skinned queens: The color black is often associated with the underworld and its denizens. The Eumenides are also “nocturnal” (line 9) and “of the night” (line 10, and see note to line 10). The word translated as “black-skinned” is also used of Sky (OH 4.7, there translated “dark blue”), and Aphrodite is called on to join the company of the “dark-faced nymphs” (OH 55.22). The Eumenides are similarly called “sable-skinned” at Euripides Orestes 321.

  6–7 your awesome eyes … / … darts of light: Compare the description of the Eumenides mentioned in Orphic fragment 284 and 293, cited in the note to lines 2–3. In a hymn to Moon found in the magical papyri, she is called “flesh devourer” (PGM 4.2866) in a context where she is equated with the Erinyes and others (see OH 69.16n “many-shaped”), and there are a number of close verbal correspondences between this passage and our hymn (see further note to line 10). Moon is also said to be seen eating human flesh in other parts of the same spell book. A curse spell calls on “the flesh-devouring gods,” among others, for its fulfillment.

  8 frightful: The same word recurs at line 10, where it is rendered “terrible.” It is a noun in ancient Greek, and its adjectival form is used once of the monster Ekhidna (Orphic fragment 81.2) and once of Ares (Oracula Sibyllina 13.78). These are the only appearances of the word and its cognates in ancient Greek. A closely related adjective is used of the Erinyes at OH 69.8 (“dreaded maidens”).

  9 paralyzing the limbs with madness: Insanity is typical of how the Erinyes lay low their victims, as they themselves mention in their binding spell over Orestes at Aeschylus Eumenides 329–330 and 342–343. It is again notable that the Eumenides are attributed with a negative function normally associated with the Erinyes. Deliverance from madness or frenzy appears elsewhere in the Hymns: see OH 71.11n.

  10 snake-haired, terrible maidens of the night: The Erinyes are also described as “snake-haired” (OH 69.16; same metrical position), and there are only two other appearances of this word in ancient Greek. It is again used of the Eumenides by the first-century AD philosopher Annaeus Cornutus, and it is one of the many epithets lavished upon Moon in her hymn in the magical papyri (PGM 4.2863). This hymn bears many striking verbal similarities to ours: in addition to this word, both goddesses are dark (line 6 ~ 4.2863), eat flesh (see note to lines 6–7), inflict madness (line 8 ~ 4.2868; see also OH 71i), and are “nocturnal” (line 9 ~ 4.2855). The Eumenides’ connection with the night is established in this line as well, and the word translated here as “of the night” is the same one translated as “nocturnal” in the hymn to the Erinyes in the same metrical position (OH 69.3); for other close similarities between these two hymns, see the notes to lines 4–5 and 8.

  71. To Melinoe

  Melinoe is an obscure figure. This hymn is the sole literary testimony of her existence, and the only other appearance of her name is found inscribed on a magical device, which was presumably used for divination (see Morand 2001, pp. 185–88). On this device, the name appears with others (including Persephone) in an invocation to Hekate. An affinity of Melinoe to Hekate is found in the Hymns. Both are “saffron-cloaked” (line 1 ~ OH 1.2), called “nymph” (line 1 ~ OH 1.8), and are invoked to come in good spirits. They also are active at night (line 9 ~ OH 1.5). Hekate is elsewhere associated with driving mortals mad (see note to line 11 and OH 1i). However, the two are not quite the same in the collection, as they do not share the same father. Melinoe is represented more as an infernal, psychic force—a spectral embodiment of Persephone’s anger that irrationally lashes out at mortals—and hence the need to appease her. Hekate, too, was commonly believed to be capable of inflicting insanity by means of such spooks. Melinoe’s ability to cause madness or insanity here is reminiscent of the Eumenides’ similar capability described in the previous hymn. There are other explicit connections between the two, which explains why the hymn to Melinoe follows that of the Eumenides (see OH 69i). It is particularly significant that they are born from Persephone, especially since she is not the traditional mother of the Eumenides. Melinoe is asked to “show to the initiates a kindly … face” (line 12), and the word for “kindly” (“eumenes”) is the root from which the name Eumenides is derived. Moreover, the name Melinoe might provide a further clue. One possible meaning of this word is “gentle-minded,” which would be quite analogous to the euphemistic name Eumenides (see OH 70i). However, the name may also be derived from a Greek word meaning “yellow” and thus be a euphemism for Hekate in her role as a moon goddess (see Ricciardelli 2000, p. 495). Moon is described as “amber-colored” (OH 9.6), and both goddesses receive the same offering (aromatic herbs). Madness was also associated with the moon in antiquity, as can be seen in the etymology of the English word “lunatic,” which is derived from Latin “luna” (“moon”); see also OH 1i and OH 70.10n. Nevertheless, given the lack of evidence, we should probably not pedantically press for a meaning. The name Melinoe could very well have had both connotations, the color and the mood, for the ini
tiates, however her name was generally understood. In any event, Melinoe should be considered to belong to the cluster of goddesses that include Hekate, Moon, Artemis, and Persephone, here assimilated to a degree (by genealogy and function) to the Erinyes/Eumenides pair.

  1 saffron-cloaked: The epithet occurs in the same metrical position in Hekate’s hymn as well as in Hesiod’s description of Enyo (one of the Graiai) and the Okeanid Telesto (Theogony 273 and 358, respectively). Homer uses it of Dawn, and Alkman of the Muses (PMGF 46). “Saffron-cloaked” here might just be a decorative epithet, or it could be a play on the color implied by Melinoe’s name (see the introduction to this hymn). If Melinoe is another name for Hekate in her capacity as moon goddess, then the choice of the word might be a conscious play on Homeric usage, connecting diurnal and nocturnal light.

  1 nymph: This does not designate Melinoe as a member of a group of lesser divinities, but rather a young woman of marriageable age; see OH 51i. The singular is also used of Hekate (OH 1.8) and Tethys (OH 22.1; here it means “bride”).

  2–3: Very similar phrasing is found in the hymn to Adonis (OH 56.9), who is also born from Persephone.

  2 Kokytos: A river in the underworld; its name means “wailing.” It is mentioned once more in the collection as the location of the dwelling of Chthonic Hermes (OH 57.1), just as the Styx marks the home of the Erinyes (OH 69.4) and Acheron is the throne of Hades (OH 18.10). According to Orphic fragment 340, the souls of those who committed injustices in their lives come to Tartaros by way of Kokytos (see OH 18.2n).

  3 Kronion: A common epithet of Zeus, meaning “son of Kronos.”

  4–5: The story is obscure, and interpretation is made more difficult by the fact that the original Greek is problematic, perhaps corrupt. The “wily plots” are necessary since Persephone is probably already the bride of Hades. Most likely they indicate that Zeus had disguised himself, as he often does in his amorous pursuits. In Orphic mythology, he took the form of a snake when he fathered Dionysos by Persephone. Since Dionysos has the same parentage in the Hymns (OH 30.6–7), it is possible that this act was understood by the initiates to have also produced Melinoe; see OH 29i. The snake, as symbol of chthonic powers, would be an appropriate form to produce such an infernal creature, and both Dionysos and Melinoe are connected with madness. Compare Odyssey 11.633–635, where Odysseus is afraid that Persephone might send a ghost or a monster after him during his stay in the land of the dead.

  8–9 shining in darkness— / … gloom of night: Melinoe’s activity at night belies her chthonic nature. Line 8 has been interpreted to allude to different phases of the moon (Ricciardelli 2000, p. 498). Compared with the rest of the hymn, though, it seems more likely that the various stages of visibility are more naturally understood as a concrete extension of how Melinoe vexes mortals. Shining (or gleaming) in darkness is found also in the hymn to Night, describing both her (OH 3.7) and the fears she is asked to disperse (OH 3.14).

  10 O queen of those below: Almost the same exact phrase is used of Melinoe’s mother, Persephone, in OH 29.6 (“queen of the netherworld”).

  11: A very similar request is made of Pan (OH 11.23+7n). For the madness caused by Pan (“panic”), see OH 11i. It is typical that a divinity has the power to cure what lies in its power to cause. Dionysos is able to remove madness as well as bring it (see OH 53i). Rituals to cure madness are attested for the Korybantes, Kybele, and, possibly, Hekate; see Dodds 1951, pp. 75–80 (particularly pp. 77–78.). Rhea is often identified with Kybele, and so it is not surprising to find that she, like Melinoe, has a connection to madness in the Hymns (see OH 14.3+n), although she is invoked at the end of her hymn to banish “death and the filth of pollution,” not madness. The Korybantes were connected with Rhea-Kybele, and it might be the case that their rituals to alleviate madness were not distinct from but rather part of Kybele’s. Their namesake Korybas bears some affinity to Melinoe in this regard; he is summoned to avert fantasies (the Greek word is related to that of “apparitions” in line 6) from the soul (OH 39.4 and 10), as well as fear (OH 39.3) and anger (OH 39.9). The collection’s concern with madness is probably to be understood in light of the overall strategy in summoning divinities. Encountering the divine is always a risky endeavor; one can never be certain how one stands in the eyes of such beings. Contact with the more-than-human carries with it the danger of losing one’s speech, one’s senses, even one’s sanity. This concern is reflected throughout the collection in that many of the hymns either explicitly ask that madness be driven away or implicitly do so by requesting the divinity addressed to come with a peaceful disposition; see OH 30i and OH 69i and further Graf/Johnston 2007, pp. 146–148, 155–156. Comparable is the petition at the end of the hymn to Dream that requests “do not through weird apparitions show me evil signs” (see OH 86.18+n); note that the shapes of Melinoe are also described as “weird” (line 7).

  72. To Tyche

  Tyche, which is the Greek word for “fortune” or “chance,” is the personification of a concept that became very prominent in Hellenistic and especially in Roman times. She is not found in Homer but Hesiod counts her among the Okeanids (Theogony 360). Similarly, we find a Tyche among the nymphs who were picking flowers with Persephone before she was abducted by Hades (Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.420; see also Orphic fragment 387, from a similarly themed poem attributed to Orpheus). It is not clear whether they were conceived as individual personifications of the concept tychē or if the name is merely a “speaking name.” We do find Tyche personified outside of epic. Alkman calls her the daughter of Forethought and sister of Eunomia and Persuasion (PMGF 64). Pindar addresses her as “Tyche the Savior” at Olympian Odes 12.2 and elsewhere numbers her among the Fates as their mightiest member (fragment 41, preserved by Pausanias 7.26.8; see also below). The tragedians of the fifth century occasionally mention a personified Tyche. In Euripides’ Kyklops, Odysseus utters a short prayer to Hephaistos and Sleep for help in blinding the Kyklops, and at the end of the prayer he claims that if the gods fail to heed his request, it will be necessary to regard “tychē” as a “divinity” and one more powerful than the gods (606–607). The concept, even in its personified aspect, has been tenacious and one that still survives in Greece.

  Tyche as an actual goddess instead of a mere personification of an abstract idea does not seem to occur until the fourth century BC, when what we might call a folk religious attitude emerges, as is evidenced by the picture gleaned from the orators and the poets of New Comedy. Tyche becomes a sort of “Lady Luck,” who may bring unexpected fortune (or disaster) to enterprises. A parallel development is the concept of a personal Tyche that attends an individual from birth and is “responsible” for that person’s fortunes in life. This is a concept akin to the Fates “weaving” each person’s destiny; see OH 59.15n, and compare the stars’ role in personal destiny (OH 7i). Pindar, as mentioned above, included Tyche among the Fates and the plural Tychai are personified and mentioned alongside the Fates in the magical papyri. Mesomedes identified both Tyche and Fate with Nemesis in his hymn to that goddess (see OH 61i). For a brief summary of this transformation of Tyche in the fourth century, see Mikalson 1998, pp. 62–63. In terms of cult, there is no evidence of any before the fourth century BC, unless Pausanias’ description of a statue of Tyche in Smyrna carved by Boupalos, who was active in the sixth century BC, was used as a cult figure (4.30.6). According to Pausanias, this was the first depiction of Tyche with a heavenly sphere above her head and of her holding in one hand the horn of Amaltheia (later known as the cornucopia, or “horn of plenty”), the wonder-goat who suckled the infant Zeus (see also Pausanias 7.26.8). The horn is common in the iconography of Tyche in later times. Pausanias also mentions a statue of Tyche holding the infant Wealth in her hands in her sanctuary at Thebes from the early fourth century (9.16.1–2). Tyche became particularly associated with the protection and foundation of cities, and it is interesting to note that already Pindar, according to Pausanias, is said to have called her “pherepolis�
� (“she who supports the city”; Pausanias 4.30.6 = Pindar fragment 39).

  An anonymous poetic fragment in hymnic style addressed to Tyche is preserved by Stobaeus (1.6.13 = PMG 1019). This fragment emphasizes the blessings she may bring, and notable is the light imagery that, as often in Greek poetry, is symbolic of deliverance from ills (compare the Pindar Olympian Odes 12). In our hymn, Tyche is just as capable of granting wealth as poverty. Furthermore, as is appropriate for this collection, she takes on a more chthonic coloring than elsewhere (except, perhaps, in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and the related lost Orphic work). She has been ostensibly integrated into the Dionysian-Orphic scheme. For the position of this hymn and the next in the collection, see OH 69i.

  2 goddess of the roads: Hekate is normally associated with roads, particularly intersections (see OH 1.1). It seems that Tyche is here being assimilated to Hekate (see OH 36.2), and it is perhaps not a coincidence that this hymn follows after the one to Melinoe, who also has similar associations (see OH 71i). In Hesiod’s Theogony, Hekate is similarly represented as being capable of granting numerous kinds of blessings to those she favors but also of withholding such gifts when she so chooses (see OH 1i, and compare with lines 6–8 in this hymn). The identification with “Artemis the guide” in the following line reinforces this supposition, as Artemis is but another aspect of Hekate (see OH 36i). We also find mention of Moon in this connection, and it is interesting to note that Tyche is invoked as another name for Moon in the magical papyri—in fact, right after the name “Selene” (PGM 4.2665). Tyche is not one of the divinities mentioned in Orpheus’ address to Mousaios, which perhaps speaks for her identification with Hekate-Artemis-Moon in the collection.

  4 Eubouleus: In our hymns, this is another name for Dionysos, Zeus, and Adonis. In Orphic cosmogony, it is also another name of Protogonos (see OH 6i). Here it seems to be used of Zeus, who is the father of Artemis. See OH 41.8n.