⸻ · ⸻
The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 21, lines 4–7 · Send rain on mother earth
21.4
The Orphic Hymns 21.4 · Send rain on mother earth
The clouds crash as they race before the wind. The prayer asks them for rain on the fields.
· · ·
ἔχουσαι1
échousai
holding
a
φρικώδεʼ2
phrikṓde’
dread
πάταγον3
pátagon
crash
ἐν4
en
in
κόλπῳ5
kólpōi
the bosom
ἠέρος6
ēéros
of the air
, ἀντίσπαστοι7
antíspastoi
pulled againstdrawn the other way
πνεύμασιν8
pneúmasin
by the winds
, παταγεῦσαι9
patageûsai
crashing
ἐπιδρομάδην10
epidromádēn
as you rush on
, νῦν11
nŷn
now
λίτομαι12
lítomai
I pray
ὑμᾶς13
hymâs
you
, δροσοείμονες14
drosoeímones
dew-clad
, εὔπνοοι15
eúpnooi
airy
αὔραις16
aúrais
with breezes
, πέμπειν17
pémpein
to send
καρποτρόφους18
karpotróphous
crop-nourishing
ὄμβρους19
ómbrous
rains
ἐπὶ20
epì
onto
μητέρα21
mētéra
mother
γαῖαν22
gaîan
earth
. holding a dread crash in the bosom of the air, pulled against by the winds, crashing as you rush on, now I pray you, dew-clad, airy with breezes, to send crop-nourishing rains onto mother earth.
holding a dread crash in the bosom of the air, pulled against by the winds, crashing as you rush on, now I pray you, dew-clad, airy with breezes, to send crop-nourishing rains onto mother earth.
Interpretation
holding a dread crash in the bosom of the air, pulled against by the winds, crashing as you rush on: now I pray you, dew-clad, open to the breezes, send the crop-nourishing rains down onto mother earth.
The prayer for rain ends on "mother earth," and the phrase is meant. Rain was pictured as the sky's gift to the earth that makes her bear. In a fragment of Aeschylus' Danaids, Aphrodite says that the holy sky longs to pierce the earth; rain falls from the sky and makes her pregnant, and she bears pasture for the flocks and grain for men. The clouds of this hymn carry that rain, and they are "dew-clad," wrapped in moisture.
22.1
The Orphic Hymns 22.1 · Tethys, the bride of Ocean
The hymn to the Sea calls on Tethys, the wife of Ocean, who lies all around the earth.
· · ·
Of the Sea. Incense: frankincense powder. I call the bride of Ocean, grey-eyed Tethys, the dark-robed queen, swelling in waves, smoothly rolling, beaten by sweet-breathing breezes around the earth.