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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 14, lines 12–14 · Send pollution to the ends of the earth
14.12
The Orphic Hymns 14.12 · Send pollution to the ends of the earth
The prayer: come with peace and plenty, and carry every impurity and every doom far away.
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ἐλθέ1
elthé
Come
, μάκαιρα2
mákaira
blessed
θεά3
theá
goddess
, σωτήριος4
sōtḗrios
bringing safety
with
εὔφρονι5
eúphroni
kindly
βουλῇ6
boulêi
counsel
, κατάγουσα7
katágousa
bringing down
εἰρήνην8
eirḗnēn
peace
σὺν9
sỳn
with
εὐόλβοις10
euólbois
rich
κτεάτεσσι11
kteátessi
possessions
, πέμπουσʼ12
pémpous’
sending
λύματα13
lýmata
defilementsdirt washed off
καὶ14
kaì
and
κῆρας15
kêras
spirits of doom
ἐπὶ16
epì
to
τέρματα17
térmata
the ends
γαίης18
gaíēs
of the earth
. Come, blessed goddess, bringing safety with kindly counsel, bringing down peace with rich possessions, sending defilements and spirits of doom to the ends of the earth.
Come, blessed goddess, bringing safety with kindly counsel, bringing down peace with rich possessions, sending defilements and spirits of doom to the ends of the earth.
Interpretation
come, blessed goddess, bringing safety with kindly counsel; bring peace down to us with rich possessions, and send defilement and the spirits of doom away to the ends of the earth.
Lymata are the dirt and the water a person washed off in a rite of purification. In the first book of the Iliad, after the plague, the Greeks purify themselves and throw their lymata into the sea. The kēres are spirits of doom and violent death; Hesiod counts them among the children of Night. Rhea the deliverer is asked to send both kinds of evil away to the ends of the earth.
15.1
The Orphic Hymns 15.1 · A testimony and a prayer
The singers address Zeus twice by name and say what they are offering him: a testimony and a prayer.
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Of Zeus. Incense: storax. Much-honored Zeus, undying Zeus, we offer to you this testimony of release, and a prayer.