This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory, with the aid of the Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon.





Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, daughter of Earth (Gaia) and Sky (Ouranos), is also the inventor of language and words. Language and words enable people to vicariously share experiences over time and space. (Art also serves this function.)

From Theoi.com:

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 67. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) :
". . . they say that Mnemosyne discovered the uses of the power of reason, and that she gave a designation to every object about us by means of the names which we use to express whatever we would and to hold conversation one with another..." 

Memory is the power of the brain to connect the past with the present. 



Mna (μνᾶ) and mneia (μνεία) mean remembrance, literally "meta prevailing." Meta is the medium that connects the macro with the micro, as personified by the Muses, Goddesses of divine inspiration.


Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory, is the immortal mother of the Muses.

Mneesis (μνησῐς) means memory.

The prefix mnee- (μνη-) means "remembering." This prefix is common in words pertaining to courtship, having a loved one "in mind."

The prefix mneest- (μνηστ-) means "mindful of."

Mneestor (μνήστωρ) means means "mindful of," the basis for the word "minister."

The English word "mind" is derived from Greek words pertaining to memory and to having a thought "in mind."


Plato/Socrates describes a theory for how the mind is able to remember things.


From Theoi.com:



Plato, Theaetetus 191c (trans. Fowler) :
"Sokrates : Please assume, then, for the sake of argument, that there is in our souls a block of wax, in one case larger, in another smaller, in one case the wax is purer, in another more impure and harder, in some cases softer, and in some of proper quality . . . Let us, then, say that this is the gift of Mnemosyne (Memory), the mother of the Mousai (Muses), and that whenever we wish to remember anything we see or hear or think of in our own minds, we hold this wax under the perceptions and thoughts and imprint them upon it, just as we make impressions from seal rings; and whatever is imprinted we remember and know as long as its image lasts, but whatever is rubbed out or cannot be imprinted we forget and do not know."


The Hymn  to Mnemosyne could serve as instructions to the initiates to remember what they are about to learn and offers suggestions as to how to remember.

In this hymn, memory is contrasted with Lethe, forgetfulness, and instructions are given as to how to fix in the mind what is learned. Initiates are instructed to remember what they've learned upon waking.

From Theoi.com:

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 39. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[Part of the rituals at the oracle of Trophonios at Lebadeia in Boiotia :] [the supplicant] is taken by the priests, not at once to the oracle, but to fountains of water very near to each other. Here [s]he must drink water called the water of Lethe (Forgetfulness), that [s]he may forget all that [s]he has been thinking of hitherto, and afterwards [s]he drinks of another water, the water of Mnemosyne (Memory), which causes him/[her] to remember what [s]he sees after his/[her] descent . . . After his/[her] ascent from [the oracle of] Trophonios the inquirer is again taken in hand by the priests, who set him/[her] upon a chair called the chair of Mnemosyne (Memory), which stands not far from the shrine, and they ask of him/[her], when seated there, all [s]he has seen or learned. After gaining this information they then entrust him/[her] to his/[her] relatives."



77. Μνημοσύνης, - Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory 
θυμίαμα - incense
λίβανον. - of Lebanon, frankincense

Μνημοσύνην - Mnemosyne (Mnee-mo-su-neen) (this name contains 10 letters, which may be significant as this is the number of fingers on the hands, perhaps indicating a way of recalling what is learned); Mind (Μνη) + house, tower, slip for shipbuilding (μοσύν);
 remember/link/connect (Μ) + new (νη) + remember/link/connect (μ) + entity (ο) + together with/link with (σύν) + guide? driver? nine? (ην)
καλέω, - call
Ζηνὸς - Zenos' = Zeus'
σύλλεκτρον, - together (σύλ) + in bed, marriage bed (λεκτρον) = partner in bed
ἄνασσαν, - Queen

ἣ - shared-center 
Μούσας - Muse
τέκνωσ’ - children
ἱεράς, - holy
ὁσίας, - hallowed, sanctioned by divine law, divine law, holy
λιγυφώνους, - "clear-voiced, loud-voiced" = clear, sweet, shrill, loud (λιγυ) + sound, phonos (φώνους) (could be stage instructions to the musicians for accompaniment)

ἐκτὸς - outside, out of, removed from, 6th (6th is derived because you need a second hand to count to six?)
ἐοῦσα - substance, stable being, immutable reality, essence, true nature
κακῆς - evil, wicked
λήθης - Lethe, forgetting, forgetfulnes, place of forgetfulness in afterlife, River of forgetfulness (the foil to River of Memory/Mnemosyne) (if one drinks from the river of forgetfulness, one will forget all life experiences and be re-born, if one drinks from the river of Memory, one will go on to an afterlife paradise, asking permission by saying "I am a child of Earth and starry Sky." (See Ritual Texts for the Afterlife, Graf and Johnston)
βλαψίφρονος - harm, damage (βλαψί) + phronos, mind, comprehension, understanding, thought (φρονος) = mind-damaging
αἰεί, - eternal  (this is contrasting memory with forgetfulness)

πάντα - all
νόον - prevailing mind, mind, sense, intelligence
συνέχουσα - together (συν) + hold, contain, have (έχουσα) = keep together, keep from dispersing, hold together
βροτῶν - mortal
ψυχαῖσι - soul
σύνοικον, - together (σύν) + home (οικον) = "dwelling in the same house with" (this is saying that the intact mind and the soul share a home in mortals)

εὐδύνατον - essence pure (εὐ) + dynastic, powerful, strong, mighty, able, capable (δύνατον) = mighty, powerful 
κρατερὸν - strong, mighty, staunch, in control of, master of
θνητῶν - mortal
αὔξουσα - grow, increase in power, strengthen
λογισμόν, - reasoning power

ἡδυτάτη, - sweet, pleasant, welcome, pleasurable, taking pleasure in
φιλάγρυπνος - loving (φιλά) + hook, grip (γρυπνος) = "wakeful" More likely: memory loves something to "hook" an idea to, to get a grip on it
ὑπομνήσκουσά - underlying (ὑπο) + memory/mind (μνή) + darkness, obscurity (σκουσά) (this also describes fixing something in the obscurity of the mind)
τε - too then
πάντα, - all

ὧν - bring-forth prevailing; buy, purchase, exchange
ἂν - arising
ἕκαστος - each (opp. the whole body), all and each severally, each and every one
ἀεὶ - eternal
στέρνοις - heart, breast, chest, sternum (probably the derivative of the term "know by heart")
γνώμην - means of knowing, mark, token; organ by which one perceives of knows, intelligence, thought, judgment, knowledge 
κατάθηται, - pure -or- down (κατά) + sacred; in service (θηται)

οὔτι - indeed not? nobody? not yet?
παρεκβαίνουσ’, - "step aside from, deviate from, overstep, digress" = having to do with (παρ) + stepping out of or off from, depart from, leave (εκβαίνουσ)  (probably instructions not to go off the path)
ἐπεγείρουσα - awaken, rouse up, wake up = upon (ἐπ) + awakening (εγείρουσα)
φρένα - mind, as the seat of the mental faculties; heart, as the seat of passions; will, purpose, gut
πᾶσιν. - all

ἀλλά, - but
μάκαιρα - happy, blessed
θεά, - Goddess
μύσταις - mysterious, mystae, initiants
μνήμην - memory, as a power of the mind; remembrance; memorial, record
ἐπέγειρε - upon awakening

εὐιέρου - essence pure + holy
τελετῆς, - complete, fulfill, release, end, terminate
λήθην - forgetfulness
δ’ - of, from
ἀπὸ - inspiration, from
τῶν - to
δ’ - of, from
ἀπόπεμπε. - send off or away, dispatch, dismiss; escort = of, from (ἀπό) + the fifth, the number five, count on the five fingers, count by five (πεμπε)  (why is the number 5 associated with sending forth, is it "on the count of five?" will the initiates be awakened from an induced state to the count of five?)

Hera (Ήρα) is the immortal Goddess of Air. Hera is often depicted in literature as raging with jealousy over her husband Zeus’ amorous transgressions. Zeus is the God of lightning and rain, generally accompanied by winds and tempests. The prefix hero- (ήερο-) means in mid-air. 


Zeus, the God of the Spark-of-Fire, Spark-of-Life (Fertilizing Principle) is divinely wed to Hera (Air) because the Spark can not become Fire without Air, and the Spark-of-Life cannot become life without Air.


Hera's association with childbirth is in keeping with the first breath of life, the first inhalation of air.


Inexplicably, many (but not all) classics scholars choose not to acknowledge Hera as the Goddess of Air and choose to call her a Goddess of marriage, presumably because she is "married" to Zeus. In the Introduction to H.J. Rose's Handbook of Greek Mythology Rose describes Zeus as "celestial phenomena" and "Hera, the ancients suggested . . . was the air."

Empedocles in Physics (7(6).2-3) equates Hera (Ἢρη) with air, one of the four roots/elements. 

(Empedocles: The Extant Fragments, translated by M.R. Wright (Yale University, 1981) 23.)

In another Fragment regarding the four roots/elements, Empedocles equates fire with Zeus (Ζεύς), air with Hera (Ἥρη), earth with Aidoneus (Άιδωνεύς) (the poetic form of Aidees (Ἃΐδης), Hades), and water with Neestis (Νῆστίς), a Sicilian water-Goddess. (Emp. 6.3, 96.2, Alex. 323 K.-A. (= Emp.6.3).

τέσσαρα γάρ πάντων ῥιζωματα πρῶτον ἅκουε.

Ζεύς άργής Ἥρη τε φερέσβιος ήδ' Άιδωνεύς

Νῆστίς θ', ἥ δακρύοις τέγγει κρούνωμα βρότειον.

“And first the fourfold root of all things hear! –

White gleaming Zeus, life-bringing Here, Dis (sic),

And Nestis whose tears bedew mortality.”

(Empedocles. Poeta Philosophus 6.1, cited in The Framents of Empedocles, translated by William Ellery Leonard (Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 1908) 17.)

http://archive.org/stream/thefragmentsofem00empeuoft#page/17/mode/1up/search/root  


(Another argument (in the negative) that supports Hera as the Goddess of Air is, if not Hera, then who? Did the ancients neglect to pay homage to the God or Goddess of Air, one of the four root elements? Not likely.)

In the Orphic Hymn to Hera, Hera is compared with lapis lazuli, a stone associated with the sky.

"Lapis is the Latin word for "stone" and lazuli is the genitive form of the Medieval Latin lazulum, which is taken from the Arabian لازورد lāzaward, meaning "heaven" or "sky", since the sky is blue; therefore, it is the "stone of heaven" or "sky stone"."
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/lapis-lazuli#ixzz2g0dbIWD1

Temples to Hera were located in numerous cities. Homage to Hera is important because the devastating effects of storms and hurricanes as well as the beneficial effects of a fair wind for seagoing people are under the province of the Goddess of Air. (Similarly, temples to pay homage to Hephaistos, the God of Volcanoes, would be very important in a land of volcanoes. Homage to Zeus, the fertilizing principle, in an agricultural society and one desiring offspring . . . ) 


The magnificent remains of the Temple of Hera in Paestum (near Naples, Italy) still stand.
http://mattglen.com/olympics-2012-torch-relay/the-lighting-of-the-olympic-flame-greece-here-we-come/ 

Hera is described in the Hymn to Hera as having a deep blue vagina in the air—a description of the sky on a sunny day?

She is repeatedly called the Queen of All.

She is partnered in the marriage-bed with Zeus, nourishes  life, of rain and winds,  alone generating nothing and everything, blended with everything, ruler of all.

At the end of the hymn stage directions call for a sound of rushing wind and then (probably) the feel of rushing wind.


16. Ἥρης, - Hera
θυμίαμα - incense
ἀρώματα. - aromatic

Κυανέοις - dark in color, with dark blue depths, made of lapis lazuli, cyan
κόλποισιν - bosom, lap, vagina, womb, fold of garment, bosom-like hollow, form into a swelling fold, form into a fold
ἐνημένη, - "to be seated in" = in (ἐν) center/shared-center (η) might/force (μένη)
ἀερόμορφε, - air (ἀερό) + shape, form, morph (μορφε) = "air-formed" -or- in the shape of air (so, lapis lazuli made into air/the sky)

Ἥρη - Hera
παμβασίλεια, - all-Queen, pam-Basileia, Queen of all, all-powerful Queen, absolute monarchy
Διὸς - Dios/Zeus
σύλλεκτρε - partner of the bed, sharing a bed, together in bed = together (σύλ) + bed, marriage-bed (λεκτρε)
μάκαιρα, - happy, blessed

ψυχοτρόφους - soul-nurturing/feeding/nourishing = soul (ψυχο) + nourishing (τρόφους) = "sustaining life or soul"
αὔρας - breeze, exhalation
θνητοῖς - mortal
παρέχουσα - furnish, supply, present, offer, allow, grant; give oneself up, submit oneself, supply of oneself or from one's own means = having to do with (παρ) + have, hold, inhabit, possess, have charge of; bear, carry, bring (έχουσα) 
προσηνεῖς, - toward the wind, to the winds, stirred by the wind, filled by the wind; mild, soft, gentle, kind = before (προσ) + wind, air (ηνεῖς)

ὄμβρων - of rain
μὲν - strong
μήτηρ, - mother
ἀνέμων - gale, wind
τροφέ, - serve as a wet nurse, bring up, rear, feed, nourish, nurse
παντογένεθλε· - all (παντο) + giving birth, generative, of birthdays (γένεθλε) = all-generating, parent of all

χωρὶς - separately, apart, of a different nature, independently of, without the help of
γὰρ - generating
σέθεν - both
οὐδὲν - no one, not one, not even one, none whatever, naught, zero, nothing
ὅλως - whole, wholly, altogether, on the whole
ζωῆς - life, Zoe, living
φύσιν - origin, of Phusis, Natural, growth, nature as an originating power
ἔγνω· - essence (ἔ) + generative (γ) + prevailing (point) (ν) + brings-forth (ω) = egg hatches
κοινωνεῖς - have or do in common with, share, communicate, in common with, sympathize, join, partnership
γὰρ - generate
ἅπασι - all together, the whole, in all things
κεκραμένη - in a mixed manner, well-blended; of Cecrops (earth-born King of Athens)/the Acropolis/Athenian?, net?
ἠέρι - in the air, airy, in mid-air
σεμνῶι· - solemn, dignified, exalted, revered, august, holy

πάντων - all
γὰρ - generating
κρατέεις - ruler, power
μούνη - alone
πάντεσσί - all
τ' - too then
ἀνάσσεις - master, ruler, Queen

ἠερίοις - in the air, airy, in mid-air
ῥοίζοισι - whistling or whizzing sound, rushing sound (probably stage directions)
τινασσομένη - shake (τινασσο) + strong, mighty (μένη) 
κατὰ - toward, for, against, downwards, down from, downward motion; pure
χεῦμα. - that which is poured, stream, flow, fall

ἀλλά, - but
μάκαιρα - happy, blessed
θεά, - Goddess
πολυώνυμε, - many-named
παμβασίλεια, - all Queen

ἔλθοις - come
εὐμενέουσα - with goodwill, favor, kindly, graciously
καλῶι - call
γήθουσα - rejoicing, joyful, glad
προσώπωι. - in person; face, countenance  (probably stage direction for a wind to pass over the gathering, and/or perhaps for the actress portraying Hera to appear)

Pan, the God of All, was often depicted as chasing Nymphs, so it would be appropriate for the Hymn to Pan to follow the Hymn to the Nymphs.


The notion that Pan (All) inspires "panic" reflects the sense of being surrounded on all sides in battle.


Theoi.com inexplicably dismisses the notion that Pan is the God of the universe "to pan," however, this hymn points to Pan as the God with dominion over the universe/cosmos and the four elements.


Depictions of Pan are an amalgamation of attributes drawn from humans and animals. He is depicted as a goatherd and hunter in the wilds and as randy and dancing and playing music on his "Pan-pipe."



Pan is enthroned with the Seasons/Horai, loving/tending goats and filled with wine, making music, dancing and singing, creating fantastic illusions/images, the Goddess Echo echoing his songs.

Pan’s sphere spans from the heights of heaven to the depths of caves and throughout the surface of the earth and the depths of the ocean and the fires of the sky—synchronizing their transformations from one element to another along with Phusis to engender growth.

The hymn ends with instructions to pour a libation/drink offering and a request to send mad panic away to the end of the earth.


11. Πανός, - of Pan
θυμίαμα - incense
ποικίλα. - diverse, manifold, various

Πᾶνα - Pan
καλῶ - call
κρατερόν, - strong, stout, mighty
νόμιον, - roaming, of the pastures, nomadic; law, lawful
κόσμοιο - cosmos, ordered universe
τὸ - to
σύμπαν, - all-together, all at once, the whole together, on the whole, in general = together (σύμ) + all (παν)

οὐρανὸν - heavens, of the heavens
ἠδὲ - here, centered, and
θάλασσαν - of the sea
ἰδὲ - and
χθόνα - of the earth
παμβασίλειαν - all king, king of all = pam/all (παμ) + basilean/king/ruler/basis (βασίλειαν)

καὶ - and
πῦρ - (pure) fire, flame, (wheat)(tower/pyramid)
ἀθάνατον· - eternal
τάδε - here, on the stretch, stretch direction
γὰρ - generate
μέλη - care; honey
ἐστὶ - is/Hestia?  (conveys notion that elemental "fire" is present in altar fire)
τὰ - stretch
Πανός. - Pan

ἐλθέ, - come/go
μάκαρ, - happy, blessed
σκιρτητά, - leap, bound, spring
περίδρομε, - all around (περί) + course (δρομε) = "running around, encircling, surrounding" 
σύνθρονε - together (σύν) + throne, seat (θρονε) = "enthroned with," sharing a throne with
Ὥραις, - the Horais, Goddesses of the Seasons/Timing

αἰγομελές, - goat (αἰγο) + limbed, caring, tending, honey/sweet/bee, black, melodious (μελές) 
βακχευτά, - Bacchanal, one full of wine/Bacchic "frenzy"
φιλένθεε, - loving (φιλ) + divine inspiration, enthusiasm (ένθεε) = "filled with divine influence, religious, lover of inspiration"
ἀστροδίαιτε, - starry (ἀστρο) + directed way, regimen, diet, way of life (δίαιτε) = "living under the stars, in the open air"

ἁρμονίαν - harmonious, means of joining/fastening, with covenant, in agreement, framework, frame
κόσμοιο - cosmos, universal order
κρέκων - weave; strike a stringed instrument with the plectron (i.e. guitar pick)
φιλοπαίγμονι - loving (φιλο) + play/sport/games (παίγ) + alone, solo (μονι) μολπῆι, - dance or rhythmic music with song, song and dance (stage directions)

φαντασιῶν - phantasion, fantastic, vision, able to produce the appearance of something, produce images, form images of the mind 
ἐπαρωγέ, - helpful, aiding, efficacious
φόβων - phobia, terrify, alarm, frighten, seize with fear, panic
ἔκπαγλε - terrible, violent, vehement, enormous, exceedingly; marvellous, wondrous, amazing
βροτείων, - mortal, human

αἰγονόμοις - goat (αἰγο) + law, pasture, sphere of influence (νόμοις) = "goatherd" 
χαίρων - delight in, glad, joyful
ἀνὰ - arising
πίδακας - springs, fountains
ἠδέ - center, here
τε - too then
βούταις, - ox-herder

εὔσκοπε, - "keen-sighted, watchful, far-seeing" = essence pure (εὔ) + scope, sight, looking after, watching, guardian, protector, look-out, watcher (σκοπε) θηρητήρ, - hunter, pursuer, trapper of wild beasts
Ἠχοῦς - Echo, Goddess of Echo (often described as dwelling in caves and answering/echoing Pan's music)
φίλε, - love
σύγχορε - companion, partner, together with (σύγ) + chorus, dance (χορε) = "in harmony"
νυμφῶν, - with the Nymphs

παντοφυής, - all (παν) + up to or during that time, meanwhile, so that (τοφυής) = "all-producing"
γενέτωρ - genitor, parent
πάντων, - of all
πολυώνυμε - multi, many, poli - (πολυ) + named; sphere of command (ώνυμε) = "having many names"
δαῖμον, - power, force

κοσμοκράτωρ, - cosmos, ordered universe (κοσμο) + ruler (κράτωρ) = ruler of the universe
αὐξητά, - increased, growing, promoting growth
φαεσφόρε, light (φαεσ) + bringing, bearing (φόρε) 
κάρπιμε - fruitful, fruit-bearing
Παιάν, - Paian, savior, healer, physician

ἀντροχαρές, -cave (ἀντρο) + delighting (χαρές) = "cave-haunting, epith of Nymps and Pan"
βαρύμηνις, - heavy in wrath, exceeding wrathful" = weigh down, oppress, heavy (βαρύ) + power (μηνις) 
ἀληθὴς - truthful, honest, actually, in reality, true, unerring, true, real
Ζεὺς - Zeus
ὁ - entity
κεράστης. - horned  (equating Pan with a horned/(chthonic?) Zeus)

σοὶ - together
γὰρ - generating
ἀπειρέσιον - boundless, immense, limitless
γαίης - Earth's
πέδον - ground, surface
ἐστήρικται, - make fast, prop, fix, support, fixed or firmly set

εἴκει - give way, make way for, yield; like, image, semblance
δ' - of, from
ἀκαμάτου - above sense of toil/trouble/weariness, untiring, unresting, unwearied 
πόντου - sea, pontos
τὸ - to
βαθύρροον - deep (βαθύ) + flowing (ρροον)
ὕδωρ - water

Ὠκεανός - Okeanos, God of Ocean
τε - too then
πέριξ - all around, round about
ἐν - in, within
ὕδασι - waters of
γαῖαν - earth, Gaia
ἑλίσσων, - turn round or about, roll, wind round, whirl

ἀέριόν - aerial, in the air, high in the air
τε - too then
μέρισμα - part, portion, division, apportionment, allocation, assignment
τροφῆς, - nurture, rear, provide sustenance
ζωοῖσιν - of life, alive, living
ἔναυσμα, - "spark, glimmer, stimulus, kindling, that which gives life to" = in (ἔν) + get a light, light a fire; ripen; call upon, ring, roar (αυσμα) 

καὶ - and
κορυφῆς - top, peak, summit of a mountain, apex, tip, head, top
ἐφύπερθεν - above, atop, from above, upper = in, of (ἐφ) + upper, above (ύπερθεν) 
ἐλαφροτάτου - light in weight, light, nimble
πυρὸς - fire, flame
ὄμμα. - eye, eye of heaven, sight, sun, light, eye

βαίνει - walk, step, stand
γὰρ - generate, brings forth
τάδε - here, on the stretch, stretch to here
θεῖα - theia, divine, holy; aunt
πολύκριτα - "widely separate" = many, multi, poli (πολύ) + separated, picked out, chosen, able to discern, critical, choice, for judging (κριτα) (probably very discerning, very selective, very critical?)
σαῖσιν - synchronized arising divine-power
ἐφετμαῖς - command, behest; judge; demands; prayers, desires

ἀλλάσσεις - take one thing in exchange for another, take in exchange, buy, barter, take a new position, go to a place, alternate, move one's position, change, alterδὲ - of, from
φύσεις - Phusis, Nature/Physics, origin, growth, natural form
πάντων - all
ταῖς - too then, stretch/extend
σαῖσι - synchronizing arising divine-power
προνοίαις - Pronoia, Goddess of Forethought,  before (προ) + mind, thought (νοίαις) = "foresight, foreknowledge"

βόσκων - feed, tend, of herders, graze, nourish
ἀνθρώπων - humans
γενεὴν - genesis/born, race, family, by birth
κατ' - 
ἀπείρονα - boundless, immense, limitless
κόσμον. - cosmos, ordered universe

ἀλλά, - but
μάκαρ, - happy, blessed
βακχευτά, - Bacchanal, anyone full of Bacchic frenzy or of wine
φιλένθεε, - loving (φιλ) + enthusiasm, divine inspiration (ένθεε)
βαῖν' - step, walk, dance
ἐπὶ - upon
λοιβαῖς - pouring, drink-offering

εὐιέροις, - "fit for sacrifice" = essence pure (εὐ) + holy (ιέροις) 
ἀγαθὴν - pure, good
δ' - of, from
ὄπασον - make to follow, send with one, be with
βιότοιο - life, way of life, means of living
τελευτὴν - completion

Πανικὸν - of Pan, "panic?"
ἐκπέμπων - send out, send forth, dispatch, send away
οἶστρον - madness, gadfly sting that drives one mad, frenzy, insanity, mad passion
ἐπὶ - upon
τέρματα - term, ends of, bounds of, end
γαίης. - Earth

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to the Nymphs with the aid of the Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon.


The Nymphs are young, beautiful Goddesses who prevail over places in nature, especially fresh water sources, trees, and areas in the wilds/woods.


This hymn likely is intended to be accompanied by many beautiful young women dressed as Nymphs making their way/dancing from Ocean, through Earth/Gaia, tending Bacchos/wine and other fruits of the earth, through caves, in the air, in the forests, on the mountains, bringing delight to all, playful.


The hymn appears to end with instructions to pour a libation/offering of water to the Nymphs to foster growth at the appropriate time/season.


"The early Greeks saw in all the phenomena of ordinary nature some manifestation of the deity; springs, rivers, grottoes, trees, and mountains, all seemed to them fraught with life; and all were only the visible embodiments of so many divine agents." Theoi.com




51. Νυμφῶν, - of the Nymphs, Prevailing Goddesses (over a certain place)
θυμίαμα - incense
ἀρώματα. - aromatic

Νύμφαι, - Nymphs
θυγατέρες - daughters, grand-daughters (of)
μεγαλήτορος - "great-hearted" = great (μεγαλ) + heart (ήτορος)
Ὠκεανοῖο, - God of Ocean

ὑγροπόροις - liquid, wet, moist, fluid (ὑγρο) + poros, going through, means of passage (πόροις) 
γαίης - Gaia, Goddess of Earth
ὑπὸ - beneath
κεύθεσιν - concealed, hidden, covered
οἰκί' - home
ἔχουσαι, - have, hold, possess

κρυψίδρομοι, - "running secretly" = secret (κρυψί) + course (δρομοι) 
Βάκχοιο - Bacchos, filled with the spirit of Bacchos, God of Wine
τροφοί, - nurse, nourish
χθόνιαι, - earth
πολυγηθεῖς, - many, multi, poli (πολυ) + rejoice, cheerful, joy, delight (γηθεῖς) 

καρποτρόφοι, - fruit (καρπο) + nurturing, bringing, ripening, rearing (τρόφοι) λειμωνιάδες, - meadow (λειμω) + prevailing-over, residing (νιάδες) 
σκολιοδρόμοι, - "running on an indirect course, of nymphs of underground streams" = crooked, bent, oblique, winding, twisted, curling (σκολιο) + course (δρόμοι) 
ἁγναί, - pure

ἀντροχαρεῖς, - "cave-haunting, epithet of nymphs and Pan" = cave (ἀντρο) + rejoice, be glad, take pleasure in, delight in (χαρεῖς)
σπήλυγξι - cave, cavern, grotto
κεχαρμέναι, - core essence (κε) + joy, delight + strong, powerful (χαρμένα)
ἠερόφοιτοι, - "air-wandering" = air (ἠερό) + repeated going or coming -or- plant, fruit, offspring, generative (φοιτοι) 

πηγαῖαι, - all over (πη) + Earth, Gaia (γαῖαι) = "from a spring, belonging to a primal source"
δρομάδες, - coursing
δροσοείμονες, - dew (δροσο) + εί + one (μονες) = one-with-dew? "dew-clad?" ἴχνεσι - track, footstep, foot, route, foot-prints, track-of, trace-of, hunting-trail
κοῦφαι, - light, slight, empty, unsubstantial, airy, light, nimble

φαινόμεναι, - apparent, observed, seen, manifest, come to light, appear (φαινό) + strong, true, might, force (μεναι)
ἀφανεῖς, - "unseen, not apparent, secret" = arising above the apparent
αὐλωνιάδες, - glen, channel, trench, furrow, strait, pipe, conduit, groove (αὐλων) + directed/directing (ιάδες) 
πολυανθεῖς, - many/multi/poli (πολυ) + flower, blossom (ανθεῖς) = "blooming, rich in flowers; large population of people, multitude"

σὺν - together
Πανὶ - all
σκιρτῶσαι - spring, leap, bounding, metaphor: skittish, unruly (σκιρτῶσαι) 
ἀν' - arising
οὔρεα, - water flow, fluid
εὐάστειραι, - essence pure (εὐ) + stars, starry -or- charming, pretty, graceful (άστειραι) -or - steer; sterile (στειραι)  

πετρόρυτοι, - "flowing from a rock" + stone (πετρό) + route; flowing, fluid (ρυτοι) (rhyton is a drinking cup or horn running to a point where was a small hole through which the wine ran in a thin stream), funnel, designed to facilitate pouring; quarried
λιγυραί, - clear, lucid, fine, slender, clear, shrill
βομβήτριαι, - buzzing, humming, booming, deep-toned, rumble + (βομ) + beat, dance (βήτριαι) (could be orchestra directions)
οὐρεσίφοιτοι, - make water flow (οὐρε) + siphon, pump, tube (σίφοιτοι) 

ἀγρότεραι - country, agro (ἀγρό) + territory, land, living (τεραι) = "living in the wild" 
κοῦραι, - daughters, children, youth
κρουνίτιδες - spring, well-head, spout, nozzle, water-course, gush, discharge water (κρουνί) + τιδες 
ὑλονόμοι - "living in the wood = woods (ὑλο) + district, sphere of command, prevailing entity (νόμοι) 
τε, - too then

παρθένοι - "maiden, girl, unmarried male/female" = having to do with (παρ) + the sacred (θένοι) 
εὐώδεις, - "sweet-smelling, fragrant" = essence pure (εὐ) + odor, fragrance, smell, bouquet (ώδεις)λευχείμονες, - "clad in white" = white -or- couch/bed (λευχ) + dressed; -or- alone (είμονες) = sleeping alone?
εὔπνοοι - "breathing well or freely; open to the winds, good to breathe, sweet-smelling" = essence pure (εὔ) + breath, blow (πνοοι) 
αὔραις, - breeze, exhale, aura

αἰπολικαί, - high, steep, lofty (αἰπο) + winnow (λικαί) = "of or for goatherds, tending goats (presumably on the mountain)"
νόμιαι, - lawfulness, sphere of command
θηρσὶν - beasts of prey, wild beasts, hunting, chase, capture, wild animal
φίλαι, - loving
ἀγλαόκαρποι, - glory, glorious, beautiful (ἀγλαό) + fruit (καρποι) = "bearing beautiful or goodly fruit, giver of the fruits of the earth (of Demeter and Nymphs)"

κρυμοχαρεῖς, - icy cold, frost (κρυμο) + delight, rejoice, be glad (χαρεῖς) = "delighting in frost"
ἁπαλαί, - arising long ago, once upon a time, before, born long ago (ἁπαλαί) 
πολυθρέμμονες - many, multi, poli (πολυ) + nursling, creature, nourishment (θρέμ) + alone (μονες) = "feeding many, epithet of the Nile"
αὐξίτροφοί - "promoting growth" = increase, growth (αὐξί) + nursing, tending, feed, rear (τροφοί) 
τε, - too then

κοῦραι - daughter, youth
ἁμαδρυάδες, - "Nymphs whose lives were dependent upon the trees to which they were attached" = at once, at the same time, together (ἁμα) + Dryads (δρυάδες) 
φιλοπαίγμονες, - loving (φιλο) + play, sport, game (παίγ) + alone (μονες)
ὑγροκέλευθοι, - water (ὑγρο) + road, path, way of going (κέλευθοι) = "having wet paths, leaving a moist trail"

Νύσιαι, - turning point, "Nusa-name of several mountains sacred to Dionysos"
μανικαί, - manic, inspired
παιωνίδες, - healing, medicine; song of victory (παιων) + ίδες, 
εἰαροτερπεῖς, - spring, spring-time (εἰαρο) + delight, gladden, cheer, have full enjoyment of (τερπεῖς) = "joying in spring"

σὺν - together
Βάκχωι - Bacchos/wine
Δηοῖ - Demeter/bread
τε - too then
χάριν - grace, the Graces
θνητοῖσι - mortal
φέρουσαι· - lead to a place, point to or refer to a thing, carry, bring forth, produce, cause, bear, carry

ἔλθετ' - come
ἐπ' - upon
εὐφήμοις - "uttering sounds of good omen, fair-sounding" = essence pure (εὐ) + "oracular utterance," prophetic saying (φήμοις) 
ἱεροῖς - holy
κεχαρηότι - core essence (κε) + rejoice, take pleasure (χαρηότι) 
θυμῶι - spirit, mind, heart, passion, soul as the principle of life, feeling, and thought

νᾶμα - homage, reverence; anything flowing, running water, stream, spring
χέουσαι - stream down, fall, let drop, pour out, let flow
ὑγεινὸν - water (probably instructions to pour a water libation to the Nymphs)
ἀεξιτρόφοισιν - cause to grow or flourish, nourishing, increase, grow (ἀεξι) + foster, nurture, feed, nourish, sustain (τρόφοισιν) 
ἐν - in 
ὥραις. - Horai, season, at the right time, in the right season

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to Dike/Justice, with the help of the Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon.


Visually, the scene appears to open with the all-seeing eye of Justice above an enthroned Zeus and merry dancing/singing. A depiction of the Boule/Senate passing judgment may be part of the scene, as well as the Goddess of Truth, Aletheia. Dike/Justice would likely be above all looking down upon it.




62. Δίκης, - Dike, Goddess of Justice
θυμίαμα - incense
λίβανον. - of Lebanon, frankincense

Ὄμμα - Eye of
Δίκης - Dike, Justice
μέλπω - celebrate with song and dance, sing, sing of
πανδερκέος, - all (παν) + seeing, see clearly, see, not merely of sight, but of sharp sight, "sleeping with the eyes open" (δερκέος) = all-seeing ἀγλαομόρφου, - glorious (ἀγλαο) + shape, form, morph (μόρφου) = "of beauteous form" (This is probably stage directions for the scene to open with song, dance, and a huge, all-seeing eye of Justice, perhaps like the one on the top of the pyramid on the dollar bill.) 

ἣ - center
καὶ - and 
Ζηνὸς - Zenos, another name for Zeus, God of lightning/rain/fertility/spark of life
ἄνακτος - restore, rebuild; lord, ruler; drawn from a spring = ?arising (ἄνα) + murder? township?(κτος)
ἐπὶ - upom
θρόνον - throne
ἱερὸν - holy
ἵζει - seat, sit, sit down, make to sit (Probably stage directions for Zeus to sit on a holy throne.)

οὐρανόθεν - heavenly, from heaven
καθορῶσα - cathartic, pure (καθ) + sight (ορῶσα) = look down upon, keen-sighted, see clearly 
βίον - life
θνητῶν - mortal
πολυφύλων, - many, multi poli (πολυ) + tribes, nation, race (φύλων) (pure vision look down upon mortal nations)

τοῖς - such as
ἀδίκοις - wrongdoing, unjust, = arousing (ἀ) + justice (δίκοις) 
τιμωρὸς - avenging, helping to avenge, retribution
ἐπιβρίθουσα - upon, epi- (ἐπι) + weight (βρίθουσα) = fall heavy uponδικαία, - Dike, Goddess of Justice (avenge injustices)

ἐξ - out, out of, outside (of) = essence detached-from
ἰσότητος - equality, proportion, fair = equal (ἰσό) + stretch (τητος) 
ἀληθείαι - truth, reality (opposite "appearance"), Aletheia, Goddess of Truth
συνάγουσ’ - bring together, gather together = together (συν) + carry, bear, bring, draw on, bring on, lead on, lead, guide (άγουσ)
ἀνόμοια· - arising above (ἀ) + law, custom (νόμοια) = "unlike, dissimilar, different" (bring truth and law to inequality)

πάντα - all
γάρ, - for, because, generate
ὅσσα - voice, sound, prophecy, warning; the two eyes, see in spirit or with the mind's eye, presage, have foreboding of
κακαῖς - trouble, ill, evil, core-arising-to-core, unfurled bud/seed/bulb
γνώμαις - means of knowing, thought, judgment, opinion
θνητοῖσιν - mortal
ὀχεῖται - hold fast, bear, support (bring vision/foresight to mortal knowledge)

δύσκριτα, - hard to determine/discern/interpret = dis (δύσ) + means for judging, standard, judgment, interpret (κριτα) 
βουλομένοις - will, intention, purpose; Senate (βουλο) + might, force, strength, fierceness (μένοις) 
τὸ - too then
πλέον - more, greater number, higher degree
βουλαῖς - Senate; will, intention, purpose
ἀδίκοισι, - arising above, arising, arousing (ἀ) + Justice (δίκοισι) (help when decisions are hard to make)

μούνη - alone, mono
ἐπεμβαίνουσα = "stand upon, step/tread upon" = upon (ἐπ) + in (εμ) + step, stand, walk (βαίνουσα) = enter
δίκην - Justice, Dike
ἀδίκοις - arising above/arising/arousing Justice, Dike
ἐπεγείρεις· - "awaken, arouse up, wake up" = upon (ἐπ) + awaken, arouse, wake (εγείρεις)

ἐχθρὰ - hatred, enmity, hostile
τῶν - thence
ἀδίκων, - arising above/arising/arousing Justice, Dike
εὔφρων - "cheerful, merry, kindly, gracious, of sound mind, reasonable" = essence pure (εὔ) + mind, thoughts, opinion, comprehend (φρων) 
δὲ - of, from
σύνεσσι - "uniting, union; intelligence, wit, sagacity; decision, decree, come together; branch of art or science" = together (σύν) + essence (εσσι) 
δικαίοις. - Justice, Dike

ἀλλά, - but
θεά, - Goddess
μόλ’ - meta entity loosen; lead/leaden; song, sing
ἐπὶ - upon
γνώμαις - knowledge, intelligence, thought, judgment
ἐσθλαῖσι - good, brave, stout, faithful, fortunate, lucky, goodness
δικαία, - Justice, Dike

ὡς - bring-forth
ἂν - arising
ἀεὶ - eternal
βιοτῆς - life
τὸ - too then
πεπρωμένον - mild, mellow, ripe, cooked by the sun, gentle, cooked (πεπ) + flow (ρω) + strong, might (μένον) 
ἦμαρ - day, by day, daily
ἐπέλθοι. - upon (ἐπ) + come (έλθοι) 

THERE ARE NO WORDS 
by Catherine Proppe

There are no words to comfort us

There are no words to say

There are no words of comfort now

It seems words get in the way.


There are no words for eye contact.

There are no words for hugs.

There are no words for a low, true voice

That says “me you” for “love.” 


We can’t believe what we know is true,

And that’s the strangest part.

It’s hard to believe what we have to do.

We don’t know where to start.


A heart at rest is a heart at peace

And that’s a thing of grace.

A thumping heart is a loving one.

With that we’ll fill this space


With smiles and tears and hugs

And memories we share,

With tasks to do and fun stuff, too,

And people for whom to care.


Day by day, with each other’s love,

Somehow we’ll find a way.

Strengthened by the love we share,

We’ll take it day by day.


EDWARD JAMES PROPPE 1921-2013

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to Herakles with the aid of the Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon.


Herakles is reported to be the son of Zeus and Alkmene. Alkmene means stout, brave, might, strength, prowess, courage (άλκ-) + moon (mene) = courageous moon/mene.

According to several sources, Hera (the Goddess of Air) sent two snakes to kill the infant Herakles because she was angry that Zeus fathered him. Herakles strangled the snakes with his bare hands, and so was named for Hera. (This may be a metaphor for a child overcoming croup/asthma.)


It is important to note, however, that in the Orphica, Herakles is equated with Chronos/Time as cited in Damascius' Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles by Sara Ahbel-Rappe p, 416 (Oxford University Press, The American Academy of Religion, 2010): 


(Citing Damascius and Orphica): "But as for the third principle after the two (water and matter), it arose from these, I mean from water and earth, and it is a serpent with the heads of a lion and a bull grown upon it, and in the middle the countenance of a [G]od, and it has wings on its shoulders, and the same [G]od is called Ageless Time (Chronos), and Heracles."
http://www.amazon.com/Damascius-Solutions-Concerning-Principles-Translation/dp/0195150295 


This hymn seems to be more consistent with the notion of Herakles as Time, rather than with the hero Herakles.


Herakles (Time) is called strong, great, mighty, powerful, eternally changing form, everlasting, kind, wise, wild, all-ruling.

Herakles (Time) is compared to an archer and a prophet.

Herakles (Time) is said to devour all and to create all, to be all helping.

Herakles (Time) is said to without fail bring an end to human life.

The Hymn requests unending Peace on Earth, bringing forth from Dawn to Night, to preserve lives, and drive out/dispatch evil/painful death.


12. Ἡρακλέος, - Herakles = Hera/Air (Ἡρα) + good report, fame, celebrate, call (κλέος)
θυμίαμα - incense
λίβανον. - of Lebanon, frankincense

Ἥρακλες - Herakles
ὀμβριμόθυμε, - rainy spirit/passion or strong spirit/passion = (ὀμβριμό) + (θυμε)
μεγασθενές, - mega, great (μεγα) + strong, strength (σθενές)
ἄλκιμε - courageous, brave, mighty
Τιτάν, - Titan  (Titaino (τῑταίνω) means stretch, stretch out. According to Hesiod, the immortal Titans (Τῑτᾶνες) reside in Tartaros, the cosmic inverse of heaven, where the Olympic deities reside, perfectly counterbalancing one another. Tetanos (τετᾰνός) means stretched.)    

καρτερόχειρ, - strong, powerful, staunch, mighty (καρτε) + flowing (ρό) + hand (χειρ) = "strong-handed"
ἀδάμαστε, - arising above (ἀ) + dominance, taming (δάμαστε) = "unsubdued"
βρύων - full to bursting, teem with, full of
ἄθλοισι - athleticism, competition, contest for a prize
κραταιοῖς, - strong, mighty, powerful

αἰολόμορφε, - "of changeful form" = eternally (αἰο) + loosening (λό) + shape, form, morph (μορφε) (quick-moving, nimble = αἰολό) 
χρόνου - time, Chronos 
πάτερ, - father
ἀίδιέ - everlasting, eternal
τε - too then
ἐύφρων, - cheerful, merry, kindly, gracious = essence pure/good (ἐύ) + mind/spirit/heart/understanding, wisdom, prudence (φρων)


ἄρρητ', - arising flow-of (ἄρ) + rhetoric, speech (ρητ') 
ἀγριόθυμε, - wild/savage/organic/agricultural/living in the fields (ἀγριό) + spirit, passion (θυμε) 
πολύλλιτε, - poli, many, multi (πολύ) + simple, poor, plain; suppliant, supplicatory (λιτε) 
παντοδυνάστα, - all (παντο) + dynastic, powerful; lord/master/ruler (δυνάστα) 

παγκρατὲς - all (παγ) + strong/mighty/powerful (κρατὲς)
ἦτορ - heart
ἔχων, - have, hold, possess; bear, carry, bring
κάρτος - strong, powerful, staunch, mighty
μέγα, - mega, great
τοξότα, - archer, armed with the bow
μάντι, - diviner, seer, prophet, medium, often translated as "oracle"

παμφάγε, - all (παμ) + devourer, glutton (φάγε) = devouring all
παγγενέτωρ, - all (παγ) + genitor, creator, parent (γενέτωρ)
πανυπέρτατε, - all (παν) + uppermost, highest (υπέρτατε) = "highest of all, supreme"
πᾶσιν - all, all things
ἀρωγέ, - aiding, succouring, helping

ὃς - entity
θνητοῖς - mortal
κατέπαυσας - "put an end to, stop" = cause, catalyst, begin (κατέ) + pause, stop (παυσας) 
ἀνήμερα - "wild, savage" = arising (ἀ) + true, infallible, truth, without fail (νήμερα) = arising (ἀ) + prevailing central (νή) + destiny, lot (μερα) (the mortality of humans is their central destiny)
φῦλα - race, tribe, a body of united people, an organized community
διώξας, - two (διώ) + detached from, separated (ξας) (perhaps saying that endless time and humans part way because of mortality)
εἰρήνην - Peace, Eirene, Goddess of Peace
ποθέων - long for, yearn after, desire
κουροτρόφον, -"rearer, nurse of children" = child (κουρο) + that which nourishes, sustains, extends the life of, feeder, rearer (τρόφον) 
ἀγλαότιμον, - gloriously, splendidly (ἀγλαό) + honored, revered (τιμον)

αὐτοφυής, - alone, independent, self (αὐτο) + growth, stature, nature, genus (φυής) = "natural, self-grown, spontaneous; bearing, producing of itself"
ἀκάμας, - untiring, unresting, Akamas is a hero of the Acamantid tribe in Attica, - arising above (ἀ) + bending (κάμας), unbending
γαίης - earth's, Gaia's
βλάστημα - offspring, shoot, blossom, growth
φέριστον, - bearing, carrying (φέρ) + anything upright, straight (ιστον) 

πρωτογόνοις - Protogonos, epithet of Phanes, = before (πρωτο) + child, offspring, that which is begotten (γόνοις) = first-born, brought forth first
στράψας - turn, twist, rotate
βολίσιν, - missile, javelin; anything cast or thrown
μεγαλώνυμε - mega, megalo- (μεγαλώ) + named (νυμε) = with a great name 
Παιών, - Savior, Healer, honored with songs of victory; Paieon, the Physician of the Olympic Gods and Goddesses

ὃς - entity
περὶ - all around, peri-
κρατὶ - strong, mighty
φορεῖς - hold, bear, be pregnant with
ἠῶ - center brings-forth; dawn, morning, Eos, the Goddess of Dawn
καὶ - and 
νύκτα - Night, the Goddess of Night
μέλαιναν, - black, dark

δώδεκ' - 12 = two (δώ) + ten (δεκ) 
ἀπ' - inspire
ἀντολιῶν - eastern, arising, Anatolia (Modern Turkey)
ἄχρι - to the uttermost, until, as far as, so long as
δυσμῶν - west, setting, sunset
ἆθλα - conflict, struggle, competition
διέρπων, - spread

ἀθάνατοις, - immortal
πολύπειρος, - many, multi, poli (πολύ) + pierced (πειρος) = "much-experienced"
ἀπείριτος, -arising above (ἀ) + piercing (πείριτος) = "boundless, immense, infinite"
ἀστυφέλικτος· - town, city, Athens (ἀστυ) + cork, float like a cork (φέλικτος) = "unshaken, undisturbed" - or- arising above (ἀ) + harshness, severity, cruelty (στυφέλικτος)

ἐλθέ, - come, go
μάκαρ, - happy, blessed
νούσων - tend toward, mind, thought, purpose, design, intelligence, incline toward
θελκτήρια - charm, spell, enchant, soothe, charming
πάντα - all
κομίζων, - take care of, provide for, preserve, bring, tend (κομί) + life (ζων)

ἐξέλασον - drive out, expel
δὲ - of, from
κακὰς - evil, wicked, bad, ill, "core arising to core=stunted growth"
ἄτας - bewilderment, blindness, disillusion, mischief, bane, ruin, doom, Ate, Goddess of Mischief, author of rash actions
κλάδον - branch/shoot of a tree, young branch
ἐν - in
χερὶ - hand, by hand, at the hand of
πάλλων, - sway, swing, shake, brandish

πτηνοῖς - flying, winged
τ' - stretch/extend
ἰοβόλοις - shooting arrows = arrow; poison; violet/purple (ἰο) + hurling, shooting (βόλοις) 
κῆρας - heart; death, doom, Kar, Goddess of Death
χαλεπὰς - hard to bear, painful, grievous, dangerous, difficult
ἀπόπεμπε. - banish, exorcise, avert by sacrifice, get rid of, send off, dispatch, dismiss, send away

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to the Goddess of childbirth.


This hymn speaks to the travail, duress, anguish of childbirth and asks the Goddess to ease the pain and minimize the suffering.


What is striking to me about this hymn is that it is a religious hymn about the pain of childbirth! It seems quite unique.


I am not aware of any monotheistic religious texts that call on divine assistance in childbirth/labor: the process by which every person comes into the world. 


Genesis 3:16 witnesses the monotheistic God condemning women to greater suffering in childbirth: "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing," says the Father God (who remains a single bachelor throughout eternity as far as I can tell).


Other monotheistic scripture (mostly tangentially) pertaining to childbirth can be found here.


Other deities mentioned in this hymn are Phanes (first principle of life), Eileithyia (Pregnancy/Childbirth), Ananke (Necessity), Artemis (Independence), and Psyche (Soul).


Is it possible that this hymn actually accompanied a live birth on the stage? I suppose anything is possible. Eleusia (Έλευσία) is another name for Eileithyia, the Goddess of Childbirth. 


2.  Προθυραίας, - Prothyraia
θυμίαμα - incense
στύρακα. - storax, styrax

Κλῦθί - hear, listen, give ear to
μοι, - this
ὦ - bring forth
πολύσεμνε - many, multi, poli (πολύ) + solemn, revered, august, holy (σεμνε) = "exceedingly venerable"
θεά, - Goddess
πολυώνυμε - many (πολυ) + name (ώνυμε) = having many names, of great name
δαῖμον, - power, force

ὠδίνων - to be in travail of childbirth, be in travail or anguish, throes of childbirth
ἐπαρωγέ, - help, aid
λεχῶν - woman in childbed, one who has just given birth
ἡδεῖα - pleasant, with pleasure, welcome, well-pleased, glad
πρόσοψι, - "appearance, aspect, presence" = before (πρό) + sight; -or- after a long time, at length (οψι) 
θηλειῶν - female, women
σώτειρα - soteira, savior, deliverer
μόνη, - alone
φιλόπαις, - loving (φιλό) + children (παις) 
ἀγανόφρον, - gentle, mild, kind, easy (ἀγανό) + mind, have understanding, think, counsel, be wise, feel by experience, know full well (φρον)

ὠκυλόχεια, - "giving a quick birth"= quick, swift (ὠκυ) + child-birth (λόχεια) (Note: lochia is the medical term for the vaginal discharge of blood and mucus after a birth, which can last up to 6 weeks) 
παροῦσα - presence, arrival = having to do with (παρ) + substance, essence, immutable reality, existence, stable being (opp.genesis), Pythagorean name for 1 (οῦσα)
νέαις - young, new, fresh
θνητῶν, - mortal
Προθυραία, - Prothyraia, front door/opening, front doorway, space in front of a door/opening = before (Προ) + doorway, opening, entrance (θυραία) = gate-keeper?

κλειδοῦχ', - "holding the keys" = key (κλειδ) + entity pure foundation (οῦχ) 
εὐάντητε, - "accessible, gracious, taking trouble easily" = essence pure, good (εὐ) + against, antagonist (άντητε)
φιλοτρόφε, - loving (φιλο) + feed, rear, nourish, nurse (τρόφε) = "fond of feeding, keeping"
πᾶσι - all
προσηνής, - "soft, gentle, soothing, gentle, kind" = before (προσ)  + bridle, reins, guide by reins, drive, guide (ηνής) 

ἣ - center
κατέχεις - pour; cause to flow; pour out
οἴκους - house, home, room, chamber
πάντων - all
θαλίαις - abundance, good cheer, bloom, young shoot
τε - too then
γέγηθας, - generative essence (γέ) + rejoice, joy, delight; out or from the earth (γηθας)

λυσίζων', - loosen, release, liberate (λυσί) + life (ζων) = release life
ἀφανής, - arising (ἀ) + appearance, Phanes (a divinity in the Orphic system representing the first principle of life), become visible, torch (φανής)
ἔργοισι - work
δὲ - of, from
φαίνῃ - come to light, appear, show by bearing, uncover, bring to light, cause to appear
ἅπασι, - all, the whole, altogether, every one

συμπάσχεις - "have the same thing happen to one, to be affected in common with, fellow-feeling, sympathy" = together (συμ) + have something done to one, suffer, to be acted upon by outward forces (πάσχεις) 
ὠδῖσι - throes of childbirth, birth, that which is borne amid throes, fruit of travail, child
καὶ - and
εὐτοκίηισι - "aiding in childbirth, bringing forth easily" = essence pure (εὐ) + childbirth, delivery, for breeding (τοκίηισι) 
γέγηθας, - generative essence (γέ) + rejoice, joy, delight; out or from the earth (γηθας)

Εἰλείθυια, - Eileithyia , Goddess of childbirth and labor pains, parturition = intestinal obstruction; enfold, enwrap; "shut in, press, roll up tight" (Εἰλεί) + inspired woman, to be inspired by a deity (θυια)
λύουσα - loosen, release, liberate, unbind
πόνους - hard work, suffering, pain, toil, labor, trouble, distress
δειναῖς - danger, suffering, horror, fearful, terrible, powerful, marvelously strong
ἐν - in
ἀνάγκαις· - necessity, laws of nature, compulsion, duress, bodily pain, anguish, Ananke

μούνην - one, individual
γὰρ - generate
σὲ - together
καλοῦσι - call, summon
λεχοὶ - woman in childbed, woman giving birth
ψυχῆς - soul, Psyche
ἀνάπαυμα· - repose, rest, give rest

ἐν - in 
γὰρ - generate
σοὶ - together
τοκετῶν - childbirth, delivery, parturition
λυσιπήμονές - "ending sorrow or pain" = loose, release, deliver from (λυσι) + suffer hurt or harm, injured, misery, calamity (πήμονές) 
εἰσιν - into, to
ἀνῖαι, - grief, sorrow, distress, trouble, pain

Ἄρτεμις - Artemis, Goddess of Independence from Society
Εἰλείθυια, - Eileithyia
καὶ, - and
ἡ - center
σεμνή, - solemn
Προθυραία. - Prothyraia

κλῦθι, - call
μάκαιρα, - happy, blessed
δίδου - give freely, give, offer = two (δί) + give (δου) ( a prayer for twins?) 
δὲ - of, from
γονὰς - offspring, children, fruit; act of generation
ἐπαρωγὸς - helper, aider, advocate
ἐοῦσα - is, being

καὶ - and
σῴζ', - save from death, keep alive, preserve life, keep safe
ὥσπερ - so long as, even as
ἔφυς - keep
αἰεὶ - eternal
σώτειρα - soteira, savior, deliverer
προπάντων. - of all, before all, for all

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to Pluto, the immortal God of the afterlife.


Pluto enters from beneath a dark place beneath the stage, holding a scepter in his right hand, the king of the third realm, enthroned.

Other visuals include the dark blue netherworld river, the place of Demeter’s daughter, four-horse chariot.

This is a solemn hymn, meant to inspire reverence. It is one of the few hymns that is not accompanied by incense, probably because Pluto dwells below, while the smoke of incense flows upward.





18. Εἰς - enter, come on stage; one
Πλούτωνα. - Plouton/Pluto

Ὠ - bring forth
τὸν - stretch/extend, tension, tone
ὑποχθόνιον - from beneath (ὑπο) + the surface of the earth (χθόνιον)
ναίων - dwell, abide, inhabit
δόμον, - domicile, domain
ὀμβριμόθυμε, - mighty (ὀμβριμό) + spirit, soul (θυμε)

Ταρτάριον - of Tartaros (farthest/deepest place beneath surface of the earth)
λειμῶνα - meadow, flowery surface, grassy place
βαθύσκιον - deep (βαθύ) + shaded, shadows (σκιον) 
ἠδὲ - here now, here come
λιπαυγῆ, - deserted by light, dark, sunless = poor, deprived of (λιπ) + light, sunrise (αυγῆ) 

Ζεῦ - Zeus
χθόνιε, - beneath the earth
σκηπτοῦχε, - bearing a staff, baton, or sceptre as a badge of honor = scepter (σκηπτο) + ῦχε
τάδ' - on the stretch; here
ἱερὰ - holy
δέξο - on the right, welcoming, hospitable, offer the right hand in greeting
προθύμως, - before (προ) + soul, spirit (θύμως) = bearing good will, wishing well, ready, willing, eager
Πλούτων, - Plouton
ὃς - entity
κατέχεις - hold fast, gain possession of, control
γαίης - earth, gaia
κληῖδας - bar, bolt, lock, key
ἁπάσης, - above all, quite all, the whole, altogether, in all things

πλουτοδοτῶν - wealth (πλουτο) + giver (δοτῶν)
γενεὴν - genitor, parent, creator
βροτέην - of mortal
καρποῖς - fruit
ἐνιαυτῶν· - yearly, annually

ὃς - entity
τριτάτης - in the third place
μοίρης - fate
ἔλαχες - shortest, smallest, least
χθόνα - earth
παμβασίλειαν, - all (παμ) + king (βασίλειαν)

ἕδρανον - seat, abode, dwelling, rest, idleness; stay/support of an anchor
ἀθανάτων, - immortal
θνητῶν - mortal
στήριγμα - support, foundation, fixed, standing still, fixedness; support, prop, stay
κραταιόν· - strong, mighty

ὃς - entity
θρόνον - throned
ἐστήριξας - make fast, prop, fix, support, ground, firmly set, stationary (ἐστήρι) + foreign (ξας) 
ὑπὸ - beneath
ζοφοειδέα - nether darkness, gloom (ζοφο) + having form (ειδέα) 
χῶρον - a definite space, piece of ground, place

τηλέπορον - far-traveling, far-reaching = far (τηλέ) + means of passage, passageway (πορον)
τ', - stretch/extend; to?
ἀκάμαντα, - "untiring, unweary" - arising archway?
λιπόπνοον, -"with failing breath, dying; without wind, deadly still" + poor, lacking (λιπό) + breath, wind (πνοον)
ἄκριτον - arising above (ἄ) + chosen, separated, picked out, choice (κριτον) = "undecided, indistinguishable"
Ἅιδην - afterlife, netherworld

κυάνεόν - dark, dark-blue, (of the chamber of Persephone); lapis lazuli
τ' - stretch/extend, to
Ἀχέρονθ', - Acheron, river in the afterlife
ὃς - entity
ἔχει - held firm, have, hold, possess
ῥιζώματα - root, element, stem
γαίης· - of Earth/Gaia

ὃς - entity
κρατέεις - strong, powerful; rule, hold sway
θνητῶν - mortal
θανάτου - death
χάριν, - grace
ὦ - bring-forth
πολυδέγμων - much, multi, poli (πολυ) + directed-trajectory essence generative meams (δέγμων) = "containing or receiving much"

Εὔβουλ', - good counselor 
ἁγνοπόλου - "making pure" = pure (ἁγνο) + many, multiple (πόλου) 
Δημήτερος - Demeter
ὅς - entity
ποτε - when, at some time; fly; flow/river (lots of meanings): unified entity stretch/extend
παῖδα - child

νυμφεύσας - "bridal, marriage" + nymph (prevailing Goddess) (νυμφε) + (ύσας) 
λειμῶνος - meadow, grassy place, flowery place; metaphor: vaginal area
ἀποσπαδίην - "torn off or away from;" = rid oneself of, shake off; run away, flee (ἀποσ) + garden, grove -or-leap, spring, stamp with the feet (παδίην) 
διὰ - throughout
πόντου - sea, open sea, water

τετρώροις - yoked four together
ἵπποισιν - horses
ὑπ' - beneath
Ἀτθίδος - Attica
ἤγαγες - center generative
ἄντρον - cave

δήμου - demo, people, district
Ἐλευσῖνος, - Eleusis
τόθι - there, in that place
περ - per, surrounding
πύλαι - gates
εἴσ' -within
Ἀίδαο. - Hades, afterlife, netherworld

μοῦνος - alone, mono
ἔφυς - have, bear; on
ἀφανῶν - arising, arising above (ἀ) + make visible, appear (φανῶν) 
ἔργων - work
φανερῶν - make visible, appear (φαν) + love, sexual passion (ερῶν) -or-have strength, be in good health, fare-well (ρῶν)
τε - too then
βραβευτής, - judge, umpire, arbitrator, 

ἔνθεε, - enthusiastic, divinity-within, divinely-inspired
παντοκράτωρ, - all (παντο) + ruler (κράτωρ) = ruler over all
ἱερώτατε, - holy, manifesting divine power
ἀγλαότιμε, - glorious, splendid (ἀγλαό) + honored (τιμε) = "splendidly honored"

σεμνοῖς - solemn
μυστιπόλοις - "solemnizing mysteries, performing a mystic rite" = mystery, mystic; initiate (μυστι) + many, multi, poli- (πόλοις)
χαίρων - glad, joyful, rejoicing
ὁσίοις - sanctioned by divine law, holy, hallowed; devout, religious; sinless, pure
τε - too then
σεβασμοῖς· - sebastian, majestic, august, reverend, venerable

ἵλαον - gracious, kindly; blameless, atoned for
ἀγκαλέω - call again and again, invoke again and again, summon, call on
σε - together 
μολεῖν - come; transplant; heavy, leaden (made of lead)
κεχαρηότα - rejoicing
μύσταις. - mystae, initiates, mysteries

This is a first-pass attempt to translate the Orphic Hymn to the Morai/Fates, three Goddesses (Lachesis, Klotho, Atropos) who confer the beginning/foundation, middle/coming together, and completion/turning point. (It's admittedly a bit of a muddled translation here.)

Children of Night, clothed in purple robes, in the heavens, the water, and the caves, from the very beginning of time concerned with Justice and Law, higher than the top of Olympos, giving all, all-seeing . . .


The Hymn requests kindness/gentleness and good counsel.

For some reason, the Hymn appears to end by introducing Orpheus, or perhaps it introduces music that is Orphic and therefore so enchanting that it will gain the favor of the Fates.

The three Goddesses are invoked, given great homage, offered drink offerings, and entertained with music.



59. Μοιρῶν, -  the Fates/Morai


θυμίαμα - incense
ἀρώματα. - aromatic

Μοῖραι - Morai
ἀπειρέσιοι, - arising above (ἀ) + pierce through, run through (πειρέ) + deities (σιοι) = "boundless, immense, profound, vast"
Νυκτὸς - Night's
φίλα - love, beloved
τέκνα - children, offspring, creation
μελαίνης, - black, dark

κλῦτέ - famous, renowned, glorious, noble, splendid
μου - muse/medium?
εὐχομένου, - "pray for, long for, wish for" = thing prayed for, object of prayer (εὐχο) + might, force (μένου)
πολυώνυμοι, - many, multi, poli (πολυώ) + name (νυμοι) = having many names, worshipped under many names
αἵτ' - ask, petition, request, beg
ἐπὶ - upon
λίμνης - pool of standing water, marsh, lake ?Limnae?

οὐρανίας, - heavenly
ἵνα - force, strength (of a swell or current at sea)
λευκὸν - white
ὕδωρ - water
νυχίας - night, dark as night
ὑπὸ - beneath, upward
θέρμης - heat, thermo

ῥήγνυται - break or burst forth, break asunder, rend, shatter, make ragged
ἐν - in
σκιερῶι - shade
λιπαρῶι - earnest begging/praying, supplication; persist, persevere, hold out; rich, bright, oily, shiny, fatty, greasy; fat, rich, fruitful
μυχῶι - innermost part, farthest corner, deepest depth
εὐλίθου - essence pure (εὐ) + stone, touchstone, magnet, marble, stones cut from a quarry (λίθου) 
ἄντρου, - cave

ναίουσαι - dwell, abide
πεπότησθε - ripe, mellow, cooked, mild, gentle (πεπό) + her (τησ) + divine (θε) βροτῶν - mortal, human 
ἐπ' - upon
ἀπείρονα - "boundless, endless, profound, vast" = arising above (ἀ) + pierce, run through, cleave (πείρονα) 
γαῖαν· - earth

ἔνθεν - thence, thereupon, then after, and then
ἐπὶ - upon
βρότεον - mortal, human 
δόκιμον - proven, tested, reliable, dependable
γένος - parent, genus, origin, source
ἐλπίδι - expectation, hopes, look for, expect
κοῦφον - light, nimble, insubstantial, airy; empty

στείχετε - walk, march in line or order, go, come, towards, march to war
πορφυρέηισι - purple-colored, purple dye obtained from the fish Murex trunculus and Purpura haemastoma (πορφυρ) + έηισι - also- give, bring, offer, destined to (πορ) + mix, mix something dry w/ something wet, knead, mixture (φυρ) + έηισι
καλυψάμεναι - covering, Calypso (Goddess of Island of Ogygia), cover, hide, conceal (καλυψά) + might, force (μεναι)
ὀθόνηισι - fine linen  (clothed/concealed in purple robes of fine linen?)

μορσίμωι - appointed by fate, destined
ἐν - in
πεδίωι, - with, among; bound by fetters; flat, level, plain, on the ground, earth
ὅθι - where; strange, foreign; whence; echoes "fine linen"
πάγγεον - all (πάγ) + of the earth (γεον) = "holding the whole earth"
ἅρμα - chariot, war-chariot; armaments, arsenal; a mountain district in Attica where omens from lightning were watched for; that which one takes: food; union, love
διώκει - pursue, chase, cause to run, set in quick motion, prosecute

δόξα - expectation; opinion, judgment, reputation
δίκης - Justice, Dike, Goddess of Justice
παρὰ - para, having-to-do-with
τέρμα - term, end, completion, boundary, goal
καὶ - and 
ἐλπίδος - hopes, expectation
ἠδὲ - and, both/and; at this time, forthwith
μεριμνῶν - care for, be anxious about, meditate upon, anxiety, care; pursuit, ambition, object of care

καὶ - and 
νόμου - law, sphere of command, Nomos, God of Law
ὠγυγίου - primeval, from earliest ages, primal; gigantic; legendary island of the Mediterranean Ogyges (the abode of Calypso); (Ogygos was first King of  Grecian Thebes, survived the Ogygian (epithet of Thebes) deluge/great flood) = brings forth/egg (ὠ) + generative pure (γυ) + generative divine-power + (γίου)
καὶ - and
ἀπείρονος - "boundless, endless, profound, vast" = arising above (ἀ) + pierce, run through, cleave (πείρον) 
εὐνόμου - essence pure (εὐ) + law, sphere of command (νόμου) = law-abiding, have good laws, be well-ordered, loyalty to divine law
ἀρχῆς· - origin, arch-, first place/power, sovereign, first principle/element, from the beginning, from the first (arising outflow-of foundation center)

Μοῖρα - Fate, Moira
γὰρ - for, because, generating
ἐν - in 
βιότωι - life, means of living, sustenance
καθορᾶι - able to see, keen-sighted, look down, have within view, see distinctly = pure (καθ) + sighted (ορᾶι) 
μόνη, - abiding, tarrying, staying, permanent, one-centered
οὐδέ - but not, not, and not, not even, in no way
τις - payment by way of return or recompense (good and bad), retribution, vengeance, punishment
ἄλλος - another, also

ἀθανάτων, - immortal = arising above (ἀ) + death, mortality (θανάτων)
οἳ - such as? omen from the flight of birds? entity divinely-powered
ἔχουσι - make secure, have, hold, possess   (?to go from?)
κάρη - head (of people or animals); peak, top
νιφόεντος - snowy, snowclad
Ὀλύμπου, - Olympos

καὶ - and
Διὸς - noble, divine; generally of Zeus
ὄμμα - eye, eye of the Gods and Goddesses
τέλειον· - complete, perfected, reach completion, entire, fully formed, fulfill, accomplish
ἐπεί - upon
γ' - generative
ὅσα - so far as, so much as
γίγνεται - born, come into being, generate, produce, become
ἡμῖν, - gentle, kind, favorable

Μοῖρά - Fate
τε - too then
καὶ - and 
Διὸς - noble, divine; generally of Zeus
οἶδε - swell, become swollen
νόος - mind, intellect, intelligence
διὰ - through
παντὸς - all 
ἅπαντα. - arising above all

ἀλλά - but
μοι - part, lot, portion
εὐκταῖαι, - "for prayer; invoked in prayer, prayed for; votive offerings, vows, prayers" = essence pure (εὐ) + procure for oneself, get, acquire, possess (κταῖαι)
μαλακόφρονες, - soft (μαλακό) + have understanding, be wise, prudent, have a mind/think, comprehend (φρονες)
ἠπιόθυμοι, - gentle, kind (ἠπιό) + soul, spirit (θυμοι) = "gentle of mood"

Ἄτροπε - Atropos (Goddess who inscribes fate and cuts thread of life, depicted with a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, or a cutting instrument; according to Hesiod the eldest and highest ranking, Plato associates Atropos with the future, the "things that are to be") = arising (Ἄ) + way of life, custom, direction, way, keel of a ship; the signs of the zodiac in which the solstices and equinoxes are located (tropics); turn, turning, change, solstice, turning-point; way, mode, manner, style (τροπε)

καὶ - and 
Λάχεσι, - Lachesis (Goddess who points with a staff to the horoscope on the globe, indicating horoscope/fate at nativity, at onset); gives allotted portion, lot, destiny, appointed office, "loosen arising foundation"
Κλωθώ, - spinner, Klotho (Goddess who Clothes one in destiny, spins threads of fate) twist by spinning, make cloth, clothe, spin threads of fate, make cloth (These names suggest that Lachesis is the lot at the onset/the dispenser of lots/"things that were" (the raw wool), Klotho is how various lots come together throughout life/"things that are" (makes string, twists raw wool together), and Atropos is the Goddess of direction/"things that are to be" (perhaps the weaver? generally called the one who cuts the string/ends life) (Plato Republic 617c) 
μόλετ', - lead weight, lead; only just; taint, pollute; cut off and transplant suckers of plant (μόλ) + ετ'
εὐπατέρειαι, "daughter of a noble sire" + essence pure (εὐ) + father (πατέρειαι)

ἀέριοι, - aerial, in the air, like air
ἀφανεῖς, - arising above (ἀ) + light (φανεῖς) = "unseen" 
ἀμετάτροποι, - arising above (ἀ) + among, all (μετά) + turning points, direction (τροποι)
αἰὲν - eternal
ἀτειρεῖς, - "stubborn" + arising above (ἀ) + sign, wonder, marvel, portent, terror; distress, oppress, weaken (τειρεῖς)

παντοδότειραι, - all (παντο) + giver (δότειραι), giver of all
ἀφαιρέτιδες, - "one that takes away, take away from"  --- (arising above (a) + grey, dark (φαι) + flow direction/tides (ρέτιδες)
θνητοῖσιν - mortal
ἀνάγκη· - necessity, what is necessary, compelled to do, bodily pain/anguish (of childbirth), Ananke (Goddess of what is necessary, who existed at the beginning with Time and constricted the primordial egg of solid matter until it split into its constituent parts (earth, heaven, sea) and brought about the creation of the ordered universe)

Μοῖραι, - Fate, Moirai
ἀκούσατ' - listen, hear, acoustic
ἐμῶν - in, within, by means of (ἐμ) + bring forth (ῶν)
ὁσίων - hallowed, divinely sanctioned, permitted by divine law
λοιβῶν - libation, drink-offering, pouring
τε - too then
καὶ - and 
εὐχῶν, - essence pure (εὐ) + metal-casting, metal-work, molten wrought, smelter (χῶν)

ἐρχόμεναι - start, set out; come; go
μύσταις - mystae, initiates, mystery
λυσιπήμονες - loose, release (λυσι) + misery, calamity (πήμονες) 
εὔφρονι - "cheerful, merry; kindly, gracious" = essence pure (εὔ) + mind, spirit, sensible, thoughtful, have a mind, be disposed, think (φρονι)
βουλῆι. - counsel, advice; will, determination; deliberation, consideration; Council, Senate

[Μοιράων - Moirae, Fate
τέλος - complete, bring to completion, fulfill,
ἔλλαβ’ - Hellenic 
ἀοιδή, - song, music, singer
ἣν - here now
ὕφαν' - create, weave, contrive, plan, compose, write
Ὀρφεύς] - Orpheus