“Sing of Artemis, Muse, the far-shooter’s sister,
The archer maiden, Apollo’s playmate.
She has her horses drink from the reed-growing Meles,
Then drives her chariot quickly through Smyrna
To vine-growing Klaros, where Silverbow Apollo
Is seated, waiting for the far-shooting Archer.
Greetings to you and all goddesses with my song.
I begin to sing you and with your strength.
Now that I have begun, I turn to a different hymn.”
“I am singing of glorious Artemis with her golden missile,
That reverent maiden, the deer-shooting archer,
The twin sister of Apollo, the god of the golden sword.
She delights in hunting through the shaded mountains
And the peaks shaped by winds, aiming her golden bow
And releasing deadly, sorrowful shots. The mountains
Tremble at her passing; the forests echo terribly
From the cries of the beasts. The earth itself bristles
Along with the fish-filled sea. But with her courageous heart
She takes every turn, bringing murder to the wild creatures.
But when the animal watcher, the archer, is pleased
And has lightened her mind, she packs up her bent bow
And returns to her dear brother’s great home,
Joining Phoebus Apollo in the rich realm of the Delphians,
To help guide the Muses and Graces in their beautiful dance.
That’s where she hangs up her back-curved bow and leaves
Her arrows, putting a gorgeous gown over her skin
And leading the chorus out to sing in immortal voices
A hymn for fine-ankled Leto, how she bore two children
By far the best of the immortals in wisdom and deeds.
Greetings, children of Zeus and fine-haired Leto.
I will keep you in my memory with another song too.”
Why are the Orphic Hymns important to understanding Ancient Greek Religion? These hymns offer us variations of the Pan-Hellenic tradition. We can see the way ancient Greeks formed a Pan-Hellenic identity over the expanse 8th century and beyond, because these variations are recorded. They are local traditions. I say local because they are not Pan-Hellenic and therefore must be important to a smaller group, a more localized group, of Greeks during their time.
Whereas the Pan-Hellenic tradition strives to create a cosmos (Versnel 2015) that is acceptable to all poleis in general while not entirely adhering to one specifically (See Nagy 1990), the Orphic hymns represent those ideas that were not acceptable to the poleis influence. I am still studying what the nature of this editing process was and hope to discover through this venture very early Greek religious thought. In the meantime, below are a few hymns which offer variations in the myth of Demeter, Persephone, Hades, and the establishment of the Mysteries at Eleusis. One might note that Zeus, or some idea of Zeus-esque justice, is found in all the hymns but is never the subject of the passage.
If any conclusion can be made concerning the appearance of the most Pan-Hellenic god in the localized variations of these myths it is that, to the author, Zeus’s role was not as important as those of the others. Some these hymns, such as Hymn 18, bring different questions to light: what does one want to summon Hades for? Who were the people honoring Hades and why?
To Pluton, 18
Oh Fearless One, who dwells in the house under the earth,
in Tartarian and deeply shaded dark fields,
Chthonian Zeus, Staff Bearer, take this holy sacrifice eagerly.
Pluto, you who holds under the earth the keys to everything
you who make mortal men rich with fruits of the years passing.
You who obtained the Earth, Queen of Everything, the dwelling of the gods, the mighty foundation of mortal men, as his third part.
You who set his throne under the darkly shaped earth, Far-Reaching,
Untiring, Breathless (dead), unpredictable Hades
and darkly veil Acheron, you who dwells at the roots of the earth.
You who rules mortals because of death, oh Eubulus Polydectes,
who made a wife of the child of sacred Demeter
and dragged her away from the meadow through the sea
under Atthis in a cave with four- horses
at the deme of Eleusis, where the gates of Hades are.
You alone shown as judge and made visible of work unseen,
Possessing, Almighty One, Most Hallowed, brilliantly honored,
august heavenly initiator be glad in your majesty.
Graciously I call you up to come and take pleasure in your initiates.
Hymn 29 is one inspired by the return of spring. It too offers variations on the representation of Persephone. Here she is the most important goddess of the Pantheon and highly honored in contrast to her father Zeus. She is the Εὐμενίδων γενέτειρα Mother of the Furies and should be feared, yet she is the φαεσφόρε the Light -Bringer and is hoped for by all mortal men. To the author she is the giver of life and bringer of death.
Hymn of Persephone, 29
Persephone, Daughter of Great Zeus, come! Blessed one,
Singly-Born Goddess, receive these things which are pleasing to you,
Wife of Much Honored Pluto, Wise One, Giver of Life,
you who dwells beyond the gates of Hades under the depths of the Earth,
Praxidike, With lovely braids, Holy Child of Demeter
Mother of the Furies, Our Lady Underground,
The daughter whom Zeus created in secret tryst
Mother of Loud Thundering many-formed Eubulus,
playmate of the seasons, Light-Bringer, Brilliant in form,
you are Holy, Almighty, the daughter who brings fruits to bursting,
you are bright, horned, only you are longed for by men,
Vernal One, who takes pleasure in meadowy breezes,
reveal the holy form with green shoots that you have yet to sprout,
Ravished after being given in autumnal marriage,
Persephone alone is life and death to much-toiling mortals,
you nourish (them) forever, and you kill (them) all.
Hear this, Great Goddess, and send again the fruits over the earth
causing them to flourish with peace and a soothing hand of heath
that one may live life richly shiny as with oil unto old age
then to your place go down, my Lady, and the place of powerful Pluto.
The third hymn offered here is Hymn 41 to the “Mother Besought by Prayers”. This hymn follows the Pan-Hellenic tradition by pointing to Eleusis as the epicenter of the myth and even describes the far wandering and grieving Demeter. It also deviates, however, when Demeter herself walks down into Hades taking as a guide a man to whom she gifted god-hood.
Orphic Hymn 41
The Mother Besought by Prayers, fragrant incense.
Queen besought by prayers, Goddess, Mother of Many names
from the undying gods and mortal humans,
When you began the great wandering seeking in grief,
you suddenly stopped the hunger and in the hollows of Eleusis
you walked into Hades toward illustrious Persephone
the holy child of Dysaulos taking as a guide,
a guide to the hallowed bed of holy Chthonian Zeus,
she who made Eubulus a god from his mortal condition.
But, Goddess, I beg you, Queen to whom many prayers are offered,
Graciously come near your holy servant.
Christopher Makauskas is a graduate student in the Classics Department at Brandeis University with a BA in History from the University of North Florida. His research focuses on ancient Greek religion, Pan-Hellenism, and the Archaic Period. He can be found on twitter @Chrmakau
“Some say that it was at Drakonos, some say on windy Ikaros
others allege it was Naxos where the divine Eiraphiotes was born,
or even that it was beside the deep-eddying river Alpheios
where Semele, impregnated by Zeus who delights in thunder, gave birth.
Lord, others say that you were born at Thebes
But they all lie: The father of men and gods gave birth to you
hiding you from white-armed Hera far from all men.
There is a place called Nusê, the highest mountain flowering with forest,
In far-flung Phoenicia, near the flowing Nile.
They dedicate many images of you in the temples:
Since there are three, at the triannual festivals forever
Men will sacrifice to you perfect Hecatombs.
At this, Kronos’ son will nodded his dark eyebrows;
The ambrosial hair of the god danced about
On his immortal head, and Olympos shook greatly.
[After he spoke, councilor Zeus ordered with a nod.]
Be kind to us, Eirophiotes, woman-maddener: we singers
Begin and end with you as we sing: it is not possible
To begin a sacred song without thinking of you.
So, hail, Dionysus, Lord Eiraphiotes, and your mother too
Semele, the one they also call Thyône.”
1 Drakonos; Ikaros; Naxos: In part, this selection of different place names echoes the mythical travels of Dionysus. Drakonos is considered to be a location on the island of
kos; Ikaros and Naxos are also islands in the Aegean. The Alpheios river is in the Peloponnese: it is one of the two rivers re-routed by Herakles and a common toponym in myth.
2 Eiraphiotes: This is a problematic and confusing epithet. Ancient commentators related it to the word rhaptô “to sew”, indicating that it had to do with the fact that Dionysus was sewn up in Zeus’ thigh. (This may also as well, even if only tangentially, associate him with the recitation of poetry through rhapsodes who “sew the song together. This is uncertain and speculative, but the end of the second fragment ties the deity together with singers). A modern interpretation of the epithet finds a Sanskrit root and identifies Dionysus thus as a “Bull-god”. He was known at times for shape-shifting and, in this particular hymn, he is granted hekatombs.
3 Dionysus’ birth: Zeus impregnated Semele, she was killed by a thunderbolt, and Dionysus gestated in Zeus’ thigh. Therefore, it is easy to say (1) that both Semele and Zeus “gave birth to him” and (2) that he was born in more than one place.
4 Thebes: The home of Semele, a daughter of Cadmos, and a city typically punished for rejecting Dionysus.
6 Nusê; near the flowing Nile: In early Greek mythology, the mountain is often combined with a form of Zeus’ name (Dios) as an etymology for the name Dionysus. The location of Dionysus in Egypt may merely be part of the traditional motif that has the autochthonous god born elsewhere (other times in Asia, India) only to return and reclaim his rightful place. But according to the Orphic Theogony, Dionysus is torn apart by the Titans. His body is sometimes said to have been put back together by Demeter or to be ground up and served in a drink to Semele who gave birth to him again. This ritual-murder/deification motif collocated with mention of Egypt, however, may echo the connection Herodotus makes between Dionysus and the Egyptian god Osiris who was also murdered and in some cases torn apart only to be resurrected as a god of the underworld and rebirth.
7 woman-maddener: gunaimanes, “the one who makes women go insane”, an epithet connected with the mythical traditions that have Dionysus upending social orders and his special association with Bacchantes (mad, feral women)
8 “we begin and end with you”: this is in part a formulaic ending in Hymnic language, but for Dionysus, who was associated with so many performance rituals, this may give him a bit broader of a sphere of influence (e.g. tragedy, choral performances) or may draw upon the language of poetic inspiration via Dionysian ecstasy.
9 Thyône: A name for his mother or nymph who nursed him.
Homeric Hymn, 26: To Bacchus
“I begin to sing of ivy-haired Dionysus, who roars powerfully,
the shining son of Zeus and glorious Semele,
the one the fair-tressed nymphs raised after they took him
to their chests From his lord father to raise him rightly
tn the folds of Nusê. He grew up according at his father’s will
tn a fragrant caves, one among the number of immortals.
But once the goddesses had raised up the much-sung god,
then he went to wondering through the forested valleys
covering himself with ivy and laurel. The nymphs followed him
and he led—the thunder of the procession gripped the endless woods.
Hail to you too. Dionysus rich with clusters of grapes.
Grant that we may come happy into another season
And return again at this time for many more years.”
Aristophanes, Knights 581-585 (5th Century BCE) Aristophanes echoes the defender motif and connects it with the glory of Athens as a martial and creative center (perhaps under influence of a more robust Panathenaia)
“O Pallas, protector of the city,
The most sacred city-
and defender of a land
that surpasses all others
in war and poetry.”
Homeric Hymn to Athena 1 (Allen 11) The shorter of the extant Homeric hymns focuses on Athena’s connection with war and heroes
“I begin to sing of Pallas Athena the dread
defender of cities, to whom the acts of war are a concern with Ares:
the cities sacked, the shrill sound, and the battles,
She rescues the host when it leaves and when it returns”
Aristophanes, Knights 581-585 (5th Century BCE) Aristophanes echoes the defender motif and connects it with the glory of Athens as a martial and creative center (perhaps under influence of a more robust Panathenaia)
“O Pallas, protector of the city,
The most sacred city-
and defender of a land
that surpasses all others
in war and poetry.”
Homeric Hymn to Athena 1 (Allen 11) The shorter of the extant Homeric hymns focuses on Athena’s connection with war and heroes
“I begin to sing of Pallas Athena the dread
defender of cities, to whom the acts of war are a concern with Ares:
the cities sacked, the shrill sound, and the battles,
She rescues the host when it leaves and when it returns”
Homeric Hymn to Athena, 2 (Allen, 28) The longer of the extant Homeric Hymns to Athena tells the story of her birth (but not her conception, perhaps reflecting the war-dances done in her honor
“I begin to sing the honored goddess, Pallas Athena,
The grey-eyed, very-clever one with a relentless heart,
A city-defending, revered and courageous maiden
Tritogeneia, whom counselor Zeus himself gave birth to
from his sacred head, already holding her weapons,
all gold and shining. Then awe took all the immortals
who looked on. And she rose from the immortal head
of aegis-bearing Zeus immediately in front of them
shaking her sharp spear. And great Olympos shook
terribly beneath the fury of the grey-eyed goddess
as the ground echoed frightfully around. Even the sea
was churned up with its dark waves and the brine seized
suddenly. The glorious son of Hyperion brought his
swift-footed steeds to rest for a long time until
the maiden Pallas Athena took the divine weapons
from her immortal shoulders. And counselor Zeus laughed.
Hail to you, then, child of aegis-bearing Zeus.
And I will also praise you with yet another song still.”
