⸻ · ⸻
The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 22, lines 7–8 · Mother of Aphrodite and of the clouds
22.7
The Orphic Hymns 22.7 · Mother of Aphrodite and of the clouds
The sea is the mother of Aphrodite, of the dark clouds and of every spring on land.
· · ·
μῆτερ1
mêter
mother
μὲν2
mèn
—
Κύπριδος3
Kýpridos
of Aphroditeof the Cyprian
, μῆτερ4
mêter
mother
of
ἐρεβεννῶν5
erebennôn
dark
νεφέων6
nephéōn
clouds
καὶ7
kaì
and
πάσης8
pásēs
of every
πηγῆς9
pēgês
spring
νυμφῶν10
nymphôn
of the Nymphs
, βρυούσης11
bryoúsēs
teeming
νασμοῖσι12
nasmoîsi
with streams
; mother of Aphrodite, mother of dark clouds and of every spring of the Nymphs, teeming with streams;
mother of Aphrodite, mother of dark clouds and of every spring of the Nymphs, teeming with streams;
Interpretation
mother of Aphrodite, mother of the dark clouds and of every spring of the Nymphs, teeming with running water;
Aphrodite was born from the sea. In Hesiod's account she grows out of the white foam on the water and comes ashore at Cyprus, which is why she is Kypris, "the Cyprian," and so the sea is her mother. The rest of the passage is old natural knowledge as well as myth: the clouds rise from the sea, and the springs on land were thought to be fed by it. Homer says the same of Ocean, from whom "all rivers flow, and all the sea, and all springs and deep wells."
22.9
The Orphic Hymns 22.9 · Send a fair wind to the ships
The prayer to the Sea: help us, and send ships a fair wind.
· · ·
Hear me, O most revered one, and may you help us kindly, sending a fair wind to straight-running ships, blessed one.