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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 15, lines 6–9 · Beginning and end of all things
15.6
The Orphic Hymns 15.6 · Beginning and end of all things
A long list of the titles of Zeus: father of all, the beginning and the end, the shaker and the purifier, the god of thunder and lightning.
· · ·
Ζεῦ1
Zeû
Zeus
Κρόνιε2
Krónie
son of Kronos
, σκηπτοῦχε3
skēptoûche
sceptered
, καταιβάτα4
kataibáta
you who come downdescender
, ὀβριμόθυμε5
obrimóthyme
strong of spirit
, παντογένεθλʼ6
pantogénethl’
father of allall-generating
, ἀρχὴ7
archḕ
beginning
πάντων8
pántōn
of all things
τε9
te
and
τελευτή10
teleutḗ
end
πάντων11
pántōn
of all things
, σεισίχθων12
seisíchthōn
earth-shaker
, αὐξητά13
auxētá
giver of increaseincreaser
, καθάρσιε14
kathársie
purifier
, παντοτινάκτα15
pantotinákta
shaker of all
, god
ἀστράπιε16
astrápie
of the lightning
, βρονταῖε17
brontaîe
of the thunder
, κεραύνιε18
keraúnie
of the thunderbolt
, Ζεῦ19
Zeû
Zeus
the
φυτάλιε20
phytálie
nourisherwho makes things grow
; Zeus, son of Kronos, sceptered, you who come down, strong of spirit, father of all, beginning of all things and end of all things, earth-shaker, giver of increase, purifier, shaker of all, god of the lightning, of the thunder, of the thunderbolt, Zeus the nourisher;
Zeus, son of Kronos, sceptered, you who come down, strong of spirit, father of all, beginning of all things and end of all things, earth-shaker, giver of increase, purifier, shaker of all, god of the lightning, of the thunder, of the thunderbolt, Zeus the nourisher;
Interpretation
Zeus, son of Kronos, sceptered, you who come down in the lightning, strong of spirit, father of all, beginning of all things and end of all things; earth-shaker, giver of increase, purifier, shaker of all, god of the lightning, of the thunder, of the thunderbolt, Zeus the nourisher;
A list like this says that one god does many things, and the treatise On the Cosmos, handed down under Aristotle's name, says it outright: god is one, but he is named after everything he brings about. It then runs through the same titles, of the lightning, of the thunder, of the thunderbolt, the purifier, and quotes Orphic verses: "Zeus was born first, Zeus is last." Plato in the Laws cites an "old saying" that the god holds the beginning, the end and the middle of all that is. The half-line "beginning of all and end of all" is also given to Ouranos, the sky, in Hymn 4.
15.10
The Orphic Hymns 15.10 · Grant health, peace and wealth
The prayer to Zeus of many shapes ends with the request these hymns usually make.
· · ·
Hear me, you of changing form, and grant perfect health, and Peace the goddess, and the blameless glory of wealth.