Translated by Catherine Proppe, May 9, 2016
54. Σιληνοῦ Σατύρου Βακχῶν, θυμίαμα μάνναν.
To Silenos, Bacchian Satyr
Divine connection: manna
Κλῦθί μου, ὦ πολύσεμνε τροφεῦ, Βάκχοιο τιθηνέ,
I call the much-honored nurturer, Bacchos’[1] nurse,
Σιληνῶν ὄχ' ἄριστε, τετιμένε πᾶσι θεοῖσι
Silenos[2] most eminent, revered among all the Goddesses and Gods
καὶ θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσιν ἐπὶ τριετηρίσιν ὥραις,
And mortal humans upon the tri-ennial Seasons[3].
ἁγνοτελής, γεραρός, θιάσου νομίου τελετάρχα,
Elder of pure holy rites, the religious guild’s lawmaker, first to complete holy rites,
εὐαστής, φιλάγρυπνε σὺν εὐζώνοισι τιθήναις,
Crying “Euai!”[4], fond of the curves of well-girded nurses,
Ναΐσι καὶ Βάκχαις ἡγούμενε κισσοφόροισι·
Naiads’[5] and Bacchantes’[6] ivy-bearing central leader,
δεῦρ' ἐπὶ πάνθειον τελετὴν Σατύροις ἅμα πᾶσι
Come forth upon all deities’ holy rites, Satyr, one for all.
θηροτύποις, εὔασμα διδοὺς Βακχείου ἄνακτος,
Let beastly shouts of “Euai!” bring Bacchantes full circle,
σὺν Βάκχαις Λήναια τελεσφόρα σεμνὰ προπέμπων,
In concert with the Bacchian Lenaia[7], solemn rites carry on, send forth
ὄργια νυκτιφαῆ τελεταῖς ἁγίαις ἀναφαίνων,
Nightlit orgia[8] holy rites of consecration, bring to light,
εὐάζων, φιλόθυρσε, γαληνιόων θιάσοισιν.
Shouting, “Euai!” with love for the thyrsus, bestow calm upon the Bacchic revel.
[1] Bacchos is the immortal God of wine and its effects.
[2] Diodorus of Sicily (4.4.3) (trans. Oldfather) writes that Dionysos “was accompanied . . . by a personal attendant and caretaker, Seilenus, who was his adviser and instructor in the most excellent pursuits and contributed greatly to the high achievements and fame of Dionysus." http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Seilenos.html
Silenos is considered an elder “satyr.” Satyrs are depicted as men with horns and a tail who live a drinking, carousing life in the wilds.
Coins from circa 600 BCE feature a naked Satyr or Seilenos with the hooves, ears and tail of a horse who seizes a woman round the waist.
Jane Ellen Harrison in Prolegomena, p. 380 argues that Satyrs and Centaurs are depicted with the legs of a horse to indicate wild men who ride on horseback.
Note that atyranneutos (άτῠράννευτος) means arising above tyrants, free from tyrants, so that Saturos (Σάτῠρος) could be translated as “synchronized above tyranny,” descriptive of the lifestyle of one who lives in the wilds and mocks the establishment. Sillos (σίλλος) is a “satirical” poem or lampoon, mockery, something silly. Sillographeo (σιλλογρᾰφέω) is satirical poetry.
[3] The Horai are the immortal Goddesses of the seasons, the natural time for things to occur, the Hours. Triennial may refer to the three seasons: Spring, Summer, Winter; or to a triennial festival that occurs every third (every other) year.
[4] Literally essence (e) + pure (u) + arising (a) + divine power (i), a Bacchic cry of joy.
[5] Naiads are beautiful young Goddesses who preside over particular locations in nature.
[6] Bacchantes are female devotees of Bacchos.
[7] The Lenaia was an Athenian and Rhodian festival held in the month Lenaion (Gamelion/January) in honor of Dionysos at which there were dramatic contests.
A circe 450 BCE drinking cup depicts a procession and dance of maenads, also known as Lenai. The women hold the thyrsus and dance to the music of the double flute. (Staatliche Museen, Berlin; 2290).
Peter Swallow in “Reconstructing the Lenaia” writes that, “We may also be able to assign an additional ritual to the Lenaia, a ritual which, interestingly, seems to have been solely for women. The evidence for this is dependent on a series of vases indicating Dionysian worship; aptly named the Lenaian Vases. These vases are adorned with a myriad of different, if not dissimilar images variously portraying women dancing and making music, women drinking and pouring wine from a stamnos, women holding thyrsoi, and images of satyrs. There seems to be two distinct types: black-figure lekythoi from 490-80 [BCE], which show women in an ecstatic state, and red-figure stamnoi from 460-50 [BCE], focused on the pouring of wine; many of this type were found in Etruria (Hamilton 2003, 49). Other divisions have been made. However, the unifying feature of all of them (or at least those we can be sure fit into this group) is the inclusion of a pillar adorned with a mask of Dionysus, around which the portrayed ritual is focused.” http://www.theposthole.org/read/article/314
See an image of one of the Lenaian vases here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/69184488@N06/8270482470
[8] Orgia means secret rites, secret worship, mysteries, literally “entity (ὄ) + flow (ρ) + generative (γ) + divine power (ι) + arising (α).”
54. Σιληνοῦ Σατύρου Βακχῶν, θυμίαμα μάνναν.
To Silenos, Bacchian Satyr
Divine connection: manna
Κλῦθί μου, ὦ πολύσεμνε τροφεῦ, Βάκχοιο τιθηνέ,
I call the much-honored nurturer, Bacchos’[1] nurse,
Σιληνῶν ὄχ' ἄριστε, τετιμένε πᾶσι θεοῖσι
Silenos[2] most eminent, revered among all the Goddesses and Gods
καὶ θνητοῖσι βροτοῖσιν ἐπὶ τριετηρίσιν ὥραις,
And mortal humans upon the tri-ennial Seasons[3].
ἁγνοτελής, γεραρός, θιάσου νομίου τελετάρχα,
Elder of pure holy rites, the religious guild’s lawmaker, first to complete holy rites,
εὐαστής, φιλάγρυπνε σὺν εὐζώνοισι τιθήναις,
Crying “Euai!”[4], fond of the curves of well-girded nurses,
Ναΐσι καὶ Βάκχαις ἡγούμενε κισσοφόροισι·
Naiads’[5] and Bacchantes’[6] ivy-bearing central leader,
δεῦρ' ἐπὶ πάνθειον τελετὴν Σατύροις ἅμα πᾶσι
Come forth upon all deities’ holy rites, Satyr, one for all.
θηροτύποις, εὔασμα διδοὺς Βακχείου ἄνακτος,
Let beastly shouts of “Euai!” bring Bacchantes full circle,
σὺν Βάκχαις Λήναια τελεσφόρα σεμνὰ προπέμπων,
In concert with the Bacchian Lenaia[7], solemn rites carry on, send forth
ὄργια νυκτιφαῆ τελεταῖς ἁγίαις ἀναφαίνων,
Nightlit orgia[8] holy rites of consecration, bring to light,
εὐάζων, φιλόθυρσε, γαληνιόων θιάσοισιν.
Shouting, “Euai!” with love for the thyrsus, bestow calm upon the Bacchic revel.
[1] Bacchos is the immortal God of wine and its effects.
[2] Diodorus of Sicily (4.4.3) (trans. Oldfather) writes that Dionysos “was accompanied . . . by a personal attendant and caretaker, Seilenus, who was his adviser and instructor in the most excellent pursuits and contributed greatly to the high achievements and fame of Dionysus." http://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Seilenos.html
Silenos is considered an elder “satyr.” Satyrs are depicted as men with horns and a tail who live a drinking, carousing life in the wilds.
Coins from circa 600 BCE feature a naked Satyr or Seilenos with the hooves, ears and tail of a horse who seizes a woman round the waist.
Jane Ellen Harrison in Prolegomena, p. 380 argues that Satyrs and Centaurs are depicted with the legs of a horse to indicate wild men who ride on horseback.
Note that atyranneutos (άτῠράννευτος) means arising above tyrants, free from tyrants, so that Saturos (Σάτῠρος) could be translated as “synchronized above tyranny,” descriptive of the lifestyle of one who lives in the wilds and mocks the establishment. Sillos (σίλλος) is a “satirical” poem or lampoon, mockery, something silly. Sillographeo (σιλλογρᾰφέω) is satirical poetry.
[3] The Horai are the immortal Goddesses of the seasons, the natural time for things to occur, the Hours. Triennial may refer to the three seasons: Spring, Summer, Winter; or to a triennial festival that occurs every third (every other) year.
[4] Literally essence (e) + pure (u) + arising (a) + divine power (i), a Bacchic cry of joy.
[5] Naiads are beautiful young Goddesses who preside over particular locations in nature.
[6] Bacchantes are female devotees of Bacchos.
[7] The Lenaia was an Athenian and Rhodian festival held in the month Lenaion (Gamelion/January) in honor of Dionysos at which there were dramatic contests.
A circe 450 BCE drinking cup depicts a procession and dance of maenads, also known as Lenai. The women hold the thyrsus and dance to the music of the double flute. (Staatliche Museen, Berlin; 2290).
Peter Swallow in “Reconstructing the Lenaia” writes that, “We may also be able to assign an additional ritual to the Lenaia, a ritual which, interestingly, seems to have been solely for women. The evidence for this is dependent on a series of vases indicating Dionysian worship; aptly named the Lenaian Vases. These vases are adorned with a myriad of different, if not dissimilar images variously portraying women dancing and making music, women drinking and pouring wine from a stamnos, women holding thyrsoi, and images of satyrs. There seems to be two distinct types: black-figure lekythoi from 490-80 [BCE], which show women in an ecstatic state, and red-figure stamnoi from 460-50 [BCE], focused on the pouring of wine; many of this type were found in Etruria (Hamilton 2003, 49). Other divisions have been made. However, the unifying feature of all of them (or at least those we can be sure fit into this group) is the inclusion of a pillar adorned with a mask of Dionysus, around which the portrayed ritual is focused.” http://www.theposthole.org/read/article/314
See an image of one of the Lenaian vases here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/69184488@N06/8270482470
[8] Orgia means secret rites, secret worship, mysteries, literally “entity (ὄ) + flow (ρ) + generative (γ) + divine power (ι) + arising (α).”
RSS Feed