Translated by Catherine Proppe, April 7, 2014
This is a hopeful hymn, acknowledging the cold winter wind and how it clears the way for Spring blooms.
80. Βορέου, θυμίαμα λίβανον.
Boreas[1]
Divine connection/incense: libanon (frankincense)
Χειμερίοις αὔραισι δονῶν βαθὺν ἠέρα κόσμου,
Winter’s cold winds agitate profoundly Hera’s[2] cosmos,
κρυμοπαγὴς Βορέα, χιονώδεος ἔλθ’ ἀπὸ Θράικης
Ice-cold frost covers Earth, Boreas’ snow descends from Thrace[3]
λῦέ τε παννέφελον στάσιν ἠέρος ὑγροκελεύθου
Releasing, too, all Nepheles’[4] steadfast aerial hydro-journey,
ῥιπίζων ἰκμάσιν νοτεραῖς ὀμβρηγενὲς ὕδωρ,
Fanning moist, damp, rain-born water,
αἴθρια πάντα τιθείς, θαλερόμματον αἰθέρα τεύχων
Clearing in every direction, setting blooming ethereal creations
ἀκτίνες ὣς λάμπουσιν ἐπὶ χθονὸς ἠελίοιο.
Shining forth from the lamp of earth’s Helios[5].
[1] Boreas is the immortal God of the cold North Wind. Just as depth to the base is conveyed by bathu- (βαθὺ-), so the deepest temperature of flowing air is conveyed by Borea (Βορέα), literally “base entity outflow.”
[2] Hera is the immortal Goddess of the Air. (Empedocles, Physics (7(6).2-3) and Poeta Philosophus (6.1).)
[3] Thrace is north of Greece.
[4] Nephele are the immortal Goddesses of the Clouds.
[5] Helios is the immortal God of the Sun.
RSS Feed