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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 18, lines 8–11 · Receiver of many
18.8
The Orphic Hymns 18.8 · Receiver of many
Plouton has set his throne in the dark, far-off world below, where he rules all mortals through death.
· · ·
ὃς1
hòs
you who
ἐστήριξας2
estḗrixas
set firm
θρόνον3
thrónon
your throne
ὑπὸ4
hypò
down in
the
ζοφοειδέα5
zophoeidéa
murky
χῶρον6
chôron
place
τʼ7
t’
and
in
τηλεπόρον8
tēlepóron
far-off
, ἀκάμαντα9
akámanta
tireless
, λιπόπνοον10
lipópnoon
deathly stillbreathless
, ἄκριτον11
ákriton
endlessundistinguished
ᾅδην12
háidēn
Hades
, τʼ13
t’
and
κυάνεόν14
kyáneón
dark
Ἀχέρονθʼ15
Achéronth’
Acheron
, ὃς16
hòs
which
ἔχει17
échei
holds
ῥιζώματα18
rhizṓmata
the roots
γαίης19
gaíēs
of the earth
; ὃς20
hòs
you who
κρατέεις21
kratéeis
rule
θνητῶν22
thnētôn
mortals
χάριν23
chárin
through
θανάτου24
thanátou
death
, ὦ25
ô
O
πολυδέγμον26
polydégmon
receiver of many
; you who set firm your throne down in the murky place and in far-off, tireless, deathly still, endless Hades, and dark Acheron, which holds the roots of the earth; you who rule mortals through death, O receiver of many;
you who set firm your throne down in the murky place and in far-off, tireless, deathly still, endless Hades, and dark Acheron, which holds the roots of the earth; you who rule mortals through death, O receiver of many;
Interpretation
you who set your throne firm down in the murky place, in far-off, tireless, deathly still, endless Hades, and by dark Acheron, which holds the roots of the earth; you who rule over mortals through death, O receiver of many;
Polydegmōn, "receiver of many," is the name the Homeric Hymn to Demeter gives Hades when he rises out of the earth with his immortal horses to carry off Persephone. Everyone comes to him in the end and his house takes them all, which is how he "rules mortals through death." The place is described by what it lacks. It is far off, it never tires, no breath of wind stirs in it, and it is akritos, a word Homer uses for one common grave where the dead lie undistinguished. Acheron, one of the rivers of the underworld, reaches down to the roots of the earth.
18.12
The Orphic Hymns 18.12 · The gates of Hades at Eleusis
The story of Persephone: Plouton carried Demeter's daughter off from her meadow and brought her down into the earth at Eleusis.
· · ·
wise in counsel, you who once took as your bride the daughter of purifying Demeter, torn away from the meadow, and carried her across the sea with four-yoked horses down to the cave of Attica, in the district of Eleusis, where the gates of Hades are.