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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 14, lines 4–6 · Mother of Zeus, at home in the mountains
14.4
The Orphic Hymns 14.4 · Mother of Zeus, at home in the mountains
Rhea is the mother of Zeus and the wife of Kronos. She loves the mountains and the wild cries of her worshippers.
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μῆτερ1
mêter
mother
Ζηνὸς2
Zēnòs
of Zeus
, the
Ὀλυμπίου3
Olympíou
Olympian
ἄνακτος4
ánaktos
lord
, αἰγιόχοιο5
aigióchoio
aegis-bearing
, πάντιμʼ6
pántim’
all-honored
, ἀγλαόμορφε7
aglaómorphe
beautiful in form
, μάκαιρα8
mákaira
blessed
σύλλεκτρε9
sýllektre
consortpartner of the bed
Κρόνου10
Krónou
of Kronos
, ἣ11
hḕ
you who
χαίρεις12
chaíreis
delight
οὔρεσιν13
oúresin
in the mountains
τʼ14
t’
and
in the
φρικτοῖς15
phriktoîs
dread
ὀλολύγμασι16
ololýgmasi
criesloud ritual shouts
θνητῶν17
thnētôn
of mortals
, mother of Zeus, the Olympian lord, aegis-bearing, all-honored, beautiful in form, blessed consort of Kronos, you who delight in the mountains and in the dread cries of mortals,
mother of Zeus, the Olympian lord, aegis-bearing, all-honored, beautiful in form, blessed consort of Kronos, you who delight in the mountains and in the dread cries of mortals,
Interpretation
mother of Zeus, the Olympian lord who bears the aegis; all-honored, beautiful in form, blessed consort of Kronos, you who delight in the mountains and in the dread cries of mortals,
The Mother of the Gods was a goddess of mountains, and she took names from them. Herodotus, describing the country around Sardis, speaks of the river Hermus flowing "from the holy mountain of Mother Dindymene" (1.80), the Mother of Mount Dindymon. The cries she delights in are ololygmata, the high, ringing shout that Greek women raised in worship; in the Odyssey the women of Nestor's house raise it at the moment the sacrificial victim is struck. Here the shouts belong to her wild rites in the hills, and phriktos says that they make the hearer shudder.
14.7
The Orphic Hymns 14.7 · Deceiver and savior
A string of titles for Rhea: queen of all, warlike, the deceiver who saved her son, the first mother.
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queen of all, Rhea, raising the din of war, strong of spirit, deceiver, savior, deliverer, first mother,