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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 26, lines 10–11 · Increase the fruits
26.10
The Orphic Hymns 26.10 · Increase the fruits
The prayer: let the crops grow, in good seasons.
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ἀλλά1
allá
But
μάκαιρα2
mákaira
blessed
θεά3
theá
goddess
, αὔξοις4
aúxois
may you increase
the
πολυγηθεῖς5
polygētheîs
gladdeningmuch-cheering
καρποὺς6
karpoùs
fruits
, ἔχουσα7
échousa
withhaving
εὐμενὲς8
eumenès
a kindly
ἦτορ9
êtor
heart
, σὺν10
sỳn
together
ἐν11
en
in
εὐόλβοισιν12
euólboisin
prosperous
ὥραις13
hṓrais
seasons
. But, blessed goddess, may you increase the gladdening fruits, with a kindly heart, together in prosperous seasons.
But, blessed goddess, may you increase the gladdening fruits, with a kindly heart, together in prosperous seasons.
Interpretation
But, blessed goddess, may you make the gladdening fruits increase, with a kindly heart, in seasons rich in blessings.
The request is what a farming household needed most: crops that grow, and seasons that bring them on time. Polygēthēs, "bringing much joy," is the word the Iliad uses for the Seasons as they come round, and Hesiod gives it to Dionysus, the god of wine. Here it belongs to the fruits of the earth themselves.
27.1
The Orphic Hymns 27.1 · Mother of the gods, come to our prayers
The hymn to the Mother of the Gods, the great goddess of Phrygia whom the Greeks called Rhea. She is asked to come in her chariot drawn by lions.
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Of the Mother of the Gods. Incense: various. Mother of the immortal gods, honored by the gods, nurse of all, may you come here, goddess who fulfills, lady, at the prayers to you, having yoked the swift-running chariot of bull-slaying lions,