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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 14, lines 7–8 · Deceiver and savior
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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παμβασίλεια1
pambasíleia
queen of all
, Ῥέα2
Rhéa
Rhea
, πολεμόκλονος3
polemóklonos
raising the din of war
, ὀβριμόθυμε4
obrimóthyme
strong of spirit
, ψευδομένη5
pseudoménē
deceiver
, σώτειρα6
sṓteira
savior
, λυτηριάς7
lytēriás
deliverer
, ἀρχιγένεθλε8
archigénethle
first motherorigin of the race
, queen of all, Rhea, raising the din of war, strong of spirit, deceiver, savior, deliverer, first mother,
queen of all, Rhea, raising the din of war, strong of spirit, deceiver, savior, deliverer, first mother,
Interpretation
queen of all, Rhea, raiser of the din of war, strong of spirit, deceiver, savior, deliverer, first mother,
Two titles side by side tell the best-known story about Rhea. Kronos swallowed each of his children as soon as it was born, and when Zeus came, Rhea saved him by handing her husband a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, which he swallowed instead. So she is pseudomenē, the deceiver, and in the same breath sōteira, the savior. The "din of war" probably points to the same story: the armed Kouretes clashed their weapons around the hidden baby so that his father would not hear him cry.
14.9
The Orphic Hymns 14.9 · From you came earth and sky
Rhea is the mother of gods and men, and earth, sky, sea and winds all come from her.
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mother of gods and of mortal men; for from you come both the earth and the wide sky above, and the sea and the winds; fond of running, formed of air;