31. Ὕπνος Κουρήτων Ι.
To the Kouretes, Warrior Dancers
​Translated by Catherine Proppe, November 18, 2015
 
Σκιρτηταὶ Κουρῆτες, ἐνόπλια βήματα θέντες,
Leaping Kouretes[1], armed marchers, thence
 
ποσσίκροτοι, ῥομβηταί, ὀρέστεροι, εὐαστῆρες,
Stomping, whirling, mountain-dwelling, celestial
 
κρουσιλύραι, παράρυθμοι, ἐπεμβάται ἴχνεσι κούφοι,
Lyre-striking in rhythm, marching a nimble trail,
 
ὁπλοφόροι, φύλακες, κοσμήτορες, ἀγλαόφημοι,
Armor-bearing watchguards, glorious cosmic leaders
 
μητρὸς ὀρειομανοῦς συνοπάονες, ὀργιοφάνται·
Mountain Mother’s[2] mantic army, secret rites’ illuminators,
 
ἔλθοιτ' εὐμενέοντες ἐπ' εὐφήμοισι λόγοισι,
Come, benevolent ones, upon famed words well-spoken,
 
βουκόλωι εὐάντητοι ἀεὶ κεχαρηότι θυμῶι.
Bull-tenders most gracious, eternally cheerful spirits.
 

[1] Kouretes are young warrior dancers who make loud, rhythmic music with their armaments.
 
The Kouretes are credited with making a loud racket to conceal the cries of the Goddesses Leto and Rhea in their travail of parturition as well as concealing the cries of their offspring Artemis, Apollo, and Zeus to protect them from those who would do them harm.
 
Strabo, in Geography 14.1.20 (trans. Jones), describes how the Kouretes concealed Leto’s childbirth:
“…and then the city Ephesus. On the same coast, slightly above the sea, is also Ortygia, which is a magnificent grove of all kinds of trees, of the cypress most of all. It is traversed by the Cenchrius River, where Leto is said to have bathed herself after her travail. For here is the mythical scene of the birth (of Artemis and Apollo), and of the nurse Ortygia, and of the holy place where the birth took place, and of the olive tree near by, where the [G]oddess (Leto) is said first to have taken a rest after she was relieved from her travail. Above the grove lies Mt. Solmissus, where, it is said, the Curetes stationed themselves, and with the din of their arms frightened Hera out of her wits when she was jealously spying on Leto, and when they helped Leto to conceal from Hera the birth of her children.”
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D14%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D20
 
Diodorus of Sicily, in Library of History 5.65.1-4 (trans. Oldfather), describes how the Kouretes first developed the means of domesticating livestock, beekeeping, hunting, living in civilized communities, and armor-making; they also protected Rhea in childbirth by making a loud ruckus with their war dance, and nurtured Zeus after his birth:
 
“…according to accounts we have, there were nine Curetes. Some writers of myths relate that these [G]ods were born of the earth, but according to others, they were descended from the Idaean Dactyli. The home they made in mountainous places which were thickly wooded and full of ravines, and which, in a word, provided a natural shelter and coverage, since it had not yet been discovered how to build houses. 2 And since these Curetes excelled in wisdom they discovered many things which are of use to men [and women] generally; so, for instance, they were the first to gather sheep into flocks, to domesticate the several other kinds of animals which men [sic] fatten, and to discover the making of honey. 3 In the same manner they introduced the art of shooting with the bow and the ways of hunting animals, and they showed mankind how to live and associate together in a common life, and they were the originators of concord and, so to speak, of orderly behaviour. 4 The Curetes also invented swords and helmets and the war-dance, by means of which they raised a great alarum and deceived Cronus. And we are told that, when Rhea, the mother of Zeus, entrusted him to them unbeknown to Cronus his father, they took him under their care and saw to his nurture…” http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html
 
Thaletas (Fragment 10 from Scholiast on Pindar, trans. Campbell) and Pliny the Elder, Natural History 7.204 (trans. Rackham) also state that the Kouretes invented and taught dancing in armor.
 
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1.4-5 (trans. Aldrich) and Statius, Thebaid 4.782 (trans. Mozley) also describe how the dancing Kouretes made a loud racket with their armaments to conceal the birth of Zeus.
 

[2] The Mountain Mother is Rhea-Kybele, the immortal Mother of the Goddesses and Gods.

Translated by Catherine Proppe
November 17, 2015
 
This bizarre hymn to the armed warrior dancers alludes to fantastic, horrifying, and changeful apparitions, perhaps a nod to anticipated horrors on the battlefield and the reputation of the Korybantes as “wizards.”
 
39. Κορύβαντος, θυμίαμα λίβανον.
 
Hymn to Korybantos, Armed Warrior Dancers 
Divine connection: libanon (frankincense)
 
 
Κικλήσκω χθονὸς ἀενάου βασιλῆα μέγιστον,
I call foundational Earth’s[1] everlasting Basilea[2] majestic,
 
 
Κύρβαντ' ὀλβιόμοιρον, Ἀρήιον, ἀπροσόρατον,
Power-stepping, whole life fated, Ares’ warriors[3], impervious to the grave,
 
 
νυκτερινὸν Κουρῆτα, φόβων ἀποπαύστορα δεινῶν,
Night-loving Kouretes[4], terrifying, paralyzing, powerful,
 
 
φαντασιῶν ἐπαρωγόν, ἐρημοπλάνον Κορύβαντα,
Phantasmic companion in battle, lone-roaming Korybantes[5]
 
 
αἰολόμορφον ἄνακτα, θεὸν διφυῆ, πολύμορφον,
Eternally changing form, forever reviving, divinely dual-natured[6], with many forms,
 
 
φοίνιον, αἱμαχθέντα κασιγνήτων ὑπὸ δισσῶν,
Crimson bloodied siblings subdivided under
 
 
Δηοῦς ὃς γνώμαισιν ἐνήλλαξας δέμας ἁγνόν,
Deos[7], who with wisdom exchanges embodiment purified,
 
 
θηρότυπον θέμενος μορφὴν δνοφεροῖο δράκοντος·
So that beastly creatures lawfully morph into dark-born serpents[8].
 
 
κλῦθι, μάκαρ, φωνῶν, χαλεπὴν δ' ἀποπέμπεο μῆνιν,
I call on blest, loud, savages to dispatch wrath,
 
 
παύων φαντασίας, ψυχῆς ἐκπλήκτου ἀνάγκας.
Pause fantastic illusions of the Soul[9] terrified by Necessity[10].
 
 

[1] Chthonos (χθονὸς) is the foundational aspect of Earth, personified as the immortal Goddess Chthon (Χθών), literally “foundation (Χ) + divine (θ) + load-bearing (ονὸς).”

[2] Basilea (βασιλῆα) means “ruler” and contains the root word “basis”. Note the feminine ending –a.

[3] Areion (Ἀρήιον) means of the immortal God of war, Ares, that is, warriors.

[4] Kouretes are youthful (κουριος) armed warrior dancers. Note the feminine form ending in -a: koureta (Κουρῆτα).
 
According to Strabo’s Geography 10.3.20-22, “Some…believe that the Curetes were the same as the Corybantes and were ministers of Hecatê. …it is probable that the Curetes and the Corybantes were the same, being those who had been accepted as…‘youths,’ for the war‑dance in connection with the holy rites of the Mother of the [Goddesses and G]ods…and all have assumed that they were wizards and attendants of the Mother of the [Goddesses and G]ods, and that they lived in Phrygia about Ida.” http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/10C*.html
 
Nonnus, in  Dionysiaca 3. 61-75 ff  (trans. Rouse), describes the dances of the Corybants: 
"Already the bird of morning was cutting the air with loud cries; already the helmeted bands of desert-haunting Corybants were beating on their shields in the Cnossian dance, and leaping with rhythmic steps, and the oxhides thudded under the blows of the iron as they whirled them about in rivalry, while the double pipe made music, and quickened the dancers with its rollicking tune in time to the bounding steps. Aye, and the trees whispered, the rocks boomed, the forests held jubilee with their intelligent movings and shakings, and the Dryads did sing. Packs of bears joined the dance, skipping and wheeling face to face; lions with a roar from emulous throats mimicked the triumphant cry of the priests of the Cabeiroi, sane in their madness; the revelling pipes rang out a tune in honor of Hecate…”
 

[5] Korybantes are Phrygian (modern Turkey) devotees of Kybele/Rhea, the immortal Mother of the Goddesses and Gods. The name means: youth (Κορύ) + stepping/marching/dancing/placing (βαντα). Note the feminine form ending in -a.

[6] Of two (δι) + natures (φυῆ) may mean androgynous (devotees of Kybele/Rhea were known to self-castrate as a sign of devotion to the Mother Goddess,  they may be considered both male and female in nature); or, of two races, i.e. Greek and Phrygian.

[7] Deos (Δηοῦς) is the immortal Goddess Demeter.

[8] The word dragon (δράκοντος) is usually translated as “serpent” or “snake.”

[9] Psyche (ψυχῆς) is the immortal Goddess of the soul.

[10] Ananke (ἀνάγκας) is the immortal Goddess of that which is, often painfully, necessary.

Translated by Catherine Proppe  November 16, 2015

19. Κεραυνοῦ Διός, θυμίαμα στύρακα
 
To the God of Thunderbolts Divine
Divine medium: styrax
 
Ζεῦ πάτερ, ὑψίδρομον πυραυγέα κόσμον ἐλαύνων,
Father Zeus[1], coursing above, driving fiery bright light of the cosmos,
 
στράπτων αἰθερίου στεροπῆς πανυπέρτατον αἴγλην,
Flash of ether, dazzling light, above all radiant
 
παμμακάρων ἕδρανον θείαις βρονταῖσι τινάσσων,
All-blessed throne, divine thunderclaps brandishing,
 
νάμασι παννεφέλοις στεροπὴν φλεγέθουσαν ἀναίθων·
Streaming from all clouds, flashing lightning, scorching, blazing
 
λαίλαπας, ὄμβρους, πρηστῆρας κρατερούς τε κεραυνούς,
Mighty storm-flashing tornado, fierce thunderbolt,
 
βάλλων ἐς ροθίους φλογερούς, βεφέεσσι καλύπτων
Hurling, roaring, inflamed tunnel veiled,
 
παμφλέκτους, κρατερούς, φρικώδεας, ὀμβριμοθύμους,
Burning all, fierce spine-tingling soul of torrential rain,
 
πτηνὸν ὅπλον δεινόν, κλονοκάρδιον, ὀρθοέθειρον,
Winged armaments terrifying, heart-stirring, hair-raising,
 
αἰφνίδιον, βρονταῖον, ἀνίκητον βέλος ἁγνόν
Unforeseeable thundering decisive bolts pure,
 
ῥοίζου ἀπειρεσίου δινεύμασι παμφάγον ὁρμῆι,
Whizzing, rushing, piercing, whirling, all-devouring onslaught,
 
ἄρρηκτον, βαρύθυμον, ἀμαιμάκετον πρηστῆρος
Rending, impassioned, violent raging fiery whirl,
 
οὐράνιον βέλος ὀξὺ καταιβάτου αἰθαλόεντος,
Ouranian[2] bolts dazzling descent burnt to ashes
 
ὃν καὶ γαῖα πέφρικε θάλασσά τε παμφανόωντα,
And Gaia[3] bristles, Thalassa,[4] too, all-radiant,
 
καὶ θῆρες πτήσσουσιν, ὅταν κτύπος οὖας ἐσέλθηι·
And wild beasts crouch in abject fear when they hear the mind-numbing crash
 
μαρμαίρει δὲ πρόσωπ' αὐγαῖς, σμαραγεῖ δὲ κεραυνὸς
Flashing the face of dawn, roaring thunderbolts,
 
αἰθέρος ἐν γυάλοισι· διαρρήξας δὲ χιτῶνα
The aithereal vault’s undergarment[5] torn-asunder,
 
οὐράνιον προκάλυμμα βάλλεις ἀργῆτα κεραυνόν.
Heaven’s veil hurls bright glancing thunder
 
ἀλλά, μάκαρ, θυμὸν κύμασι πόντου
But yet, blest soul of pregnant swollen seas,
 
ἠδ' ὀρέων κορυφαῖσι· τὸ σὸν κράτος ἴσμεν ἅπαντες.
And, too, mountain summits, with equal power over all,
 
ἀλλὰ χαρεὶς λοιβαῖσι δίδου φρεσὶν αἴσιμα πάντα
Yet rejoice in these libations[6], offered with mind to the decree of fate,
 
ζωήν τ' ὀλβιόθυμον, ὁμοῦ θ' ὑγίειαν ἄνασσαν,
To all life extend whole life spirit, with dear Queen Hygieia,[7]
 
εἰρήνην τε θεόν, κουροτρόφον, ἀγλαότιμον,
Divine Eirene[8], child-nurturing, gloriously honored,
 
καὶ βίον εὐθύμοισιν ἀεὶ θάλλοντα λογισμοῖς.
And let mortal life’s pure spirit eternally bloom—with reason.
 


[1] Zeus is the immortal God of lightning storms and the spark of fire/spark of life.

[2] Ouranos is the immortal God of the heavens.

[3] Gaia is the immortal Goddess of generative earth.

[4] Thalassa is the immortal Goddess of the sea.

[5] A chiton is a robe or tunic worn next to the skin, a foundation garment.

[6] A libation is a poured drink offering.

[7] Hygieia is the immortal Goddess of health.

[8] Eirene is the immortal Goddess of peace.

49. Ἵππας, θυμίαμα στύρακα.
To Ippa
Divine connection: styrax
 
Ἵππαν κικλήσκω, Βάκχου τροφόν, εὐάδα κούρην,
Ippa[1] I call, nurse of Bacchos[2], benevolent Daughter,
 
μυστιπόλον τελεταῖσιν ἀγαλλομένην Σάβου ἁγνοῦ
Axis of the completion of mysteries, glorious power of pure Sabos[3],
 
νυκτερίοις τε χοροῖσιν ἐριβρεμέταο Ἰάκχου.
When nightly choruses roar the cry, “Iacchos!”[4]
 
κλῦθί μου εὐχομένου, χθονία μήτηρ, βασίλεια,
I call to me, I profess my prayer, Mother Earth, Basileia[5],
 
εἴτε σύ γ' ἐν Φρυγίηι κατέχεις Ἴδης ὄρος ἁγνὸν
Whether you are in Phygia prevailing over Mount Ida pure,
 
ἢ Τμῶλος τέρπει σε, καλὸν Λυδοῖσι θόασμα·
Or in Tmolos[6] delighting in the beautiful Lydian oasis,
 
ἔρχεο πρὸς τελετὰς ἱερῶι γήθουσα προσώπωι.
Come before these holy rites, with Ge’s[7] countenance divine.
 
 
[1] The immortal Goddess Ippa “is the soul of the universe.” She took into her care the infant Dionysos and conveyed him to Mount Ida and to the Great Mother of the Goddesses and Gods. (Proclus, Commentary on the Timaeus of Plato, trans. Thomas Taylor https://ia800306.us.archive.org/29/items/ProcluscommentaryOnTheTimaeusOfPlato/33700322-Proclus-Commentary-on-the-Timaeus-of-Plato-all-five-books.pdf
 
The name Ippa literally translates as, “divine power (Ἵ) + united (π) + united (π) + transcendant (α).”
 
“In favour of regarding the Minoan Mother as a universal deity is the fact that in Crete she occupied virtually the same position as her counterparts in western Asia. She was [sic: is] the source of all vegetation and the mistress of all the earth produced, the [G]oddess of nature in all its aspects, ‘the star of the sea’, the lady of the nether regions, and later acquired martial qualities, in all of which aspects she was comparable to her later manifestations. Her consort assumed the role of the youthful male [G]od as her satellite, personifying the transitory seasonal sequence of vegetation like Adonis, Attis, Tammuz or Baal.” (E.O. James, The Ancient Gods: The History and Diffusion of Religion in the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean, G.P. Putnam, New York, 1960, p. 105)

[2] Bacchos is the immortal God of wine and its effects.

[3] Sabos is another name for Bacchos/Dionysos, the immortal God of wine and its effects.

[4] Iacchos is the torchbearer for the Eleusinian Mysteries, considered the equivalent of Bacchos/Dionysos.
 
"On entering the city (Athens)…Hard by is a temple of Demeter, with images of the [G]oddess herself and of her daughter, and of Iacchus holding a torch.” (Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 2. 4 , trans. Jones)
 
"…they give the name ‘Iacchus’ not only to Dionysus but also to the leader-in-chief of the mysteries, who is the genius of Demeter.” (Strabo, Geography 10. 3. 10, trans. Jones)
 
"The Athenians celebrate a festival each and every year in honor of the Mother and Kore (the Daughter), and any of the Athenians or other Hellenes who want to are initiated. The sound you hear is the Iakhos hymn they sing at this festival.” (Herodotus, Histories 8. 65. 4, trans. Purvis; ed. Strassler)
 
[5] Basileia means basis of rule, Queen.

[6] Mount Tmolos, south of Sardis and just west of ancient Philadelphia, was the site of a major temple of the immortal Mother of the Goddesses and Gods (Herodotus Book V).

[7] Ge is the immortal Goddess of generative earth.
 
 
 

79. Θέμιδος, θυμίαμα λίβανον.
To Themis, Goddess of Divine Law
Divine connection: libanon (frankincense)
 
Οὐρανόπαιδ’ ἁγνὴν καλέω Θέμιν εὐπατέρειαν,
Ouranos’[1] pure child I call, Themis[2], well-sired,
 
Γαίης τὸ βλάστημα, νέην καλυκώπιδα κούρην,
Gaia’s[3] tender offspring, blossoming daughter
 
ἣ πρώτη κατέδειξε βροτοῖς μαντήιον ἁγνὸν
First to make known to mortals pure divine messages
 
Δελφικῶι ἐν κευθμῶνι θεμιστεύουσα θεοῖσι
Concealed within Delphi[4], declaring divine law and right
 
Πυθίωι ἐν δαπέδωι, ὅθι Πύθων ἐμβασίλευεν·
From the depth of the earth where Python[5] is enthroned
 
ἣ καὶ Φοῖβον ἄνακτα θεμιστοσύνας ἐδίδαξε·
And Phoibe[6], in turn, great Themis instructed
 
πάντιμ’, ἀγλαόμορφε, σεβάσμιε, νυκτιπόλευτε·
Honored by all, gloriously formed, majestic, presiding in the night.
 
πρώτη γὰρ τελετὰς ἁγίας θνητοῖς ἀνέφηνας,
First to give holy rites to mortals for all to see
 
βακχιακὰς ἀνὰ νύκτας ἐπευάζουσα ἄνακτα·
In Bacchic[7] arising night-time inquiries of life, O Queen,
 
ἐκ σέο γὰρ τιμαὶ μακάρων μυστήριά θ’ ἁγνά.
From thou come forth honored blessed divine mysteries pure.
 
ἀλλά, μάκαιρ’, ἔλθοις κεχαρημένη εὔφρονι βουλῆι
So then, happily, come, rejoice in wise Councils
 
εὐιέρους ἐπὶ μυστιπόλους τελετὰς σέο, κούρη.
Most holy, upon solemn mystic initiations, thou, Daughter.
 

[1] Ouranos is the immortal God of the sky.

[2] Themis is the immortal Goddess of divine law who inspires divine revelation.

[3] Gaia is the immortal Goddess of earth.

[4] Delphi is the location of one of the most famous locations of proclamations made by priestesses of divine revelation.

[5] Python is the legendary serpent of “earth’s navel” believed to be located at Delphi.

[6] Phoibe is the third Goddess to channel divine revelations at Delphi. The Priestess of Pythian Apollo:
  “First, in this prayer of mine, I give the place of highest honor among the [Goddesses and G]ods to the first prophet, Earth [Gaia]; and after her to Themis, for she was the second to take this oracular seat of her mother, as legend tells. And in the third allotment, with Themis' consent and not by force, another Titan, child of Earth, Phoebe, took her seat here. She gave it as a birthday gift to Phoebus [Apollo], who has his name from Phoebe.” Aeschylus, Eumenides 1 ff (trans. Weir Smyth)(C 450 BCE) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0006

[7] Bacchos is the immortal God of the inspiration of wine.