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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 29, lines 3–6 · Queen of those below the earth
29.3
The Orphic Hymns 29.3 · Queen of those below the earth
She is the wife of Plouton, the keeper of the gates of Hades and queen of the dead, and the mother of the Eumenides, the Furies.
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πολύτιμε1
polýtime
much-honored
δάμαρ2
dámar
wife
Πλούτωνος3
Ploútōnos
of Plouton
, κεδνή4
kednḗ
faithful
, βιοδῶτι5
biodôti
giver of life
, ἣ6
hḕ
you who
κατέχεις7
katécheis
hold
πύλας8
pýlas
the gates
Ἀίδαο9
Aídao
of Hades
ὑπὸ10
hypò
beneath
κεύθεα11
keúthea
the depthshiding places
γαίης12
gaíēs
of the earth
, Πραξιδίκη13
Praxidíkē
Praxidikeshe who exacts justice
, ἐρασιπλόκαμος14
erasiplókamos
lovely-hairedwith locks to be loved
, ἁγνόν15
hagnón
the holy
θάλος16
thálos
shoot
Δηοῦς17
Dēoûs
of Deo
, γενέτειρα18
genéteira
mother
Εὐμενίδων19
Eumenídōn
of the Eumenidesthe Kindly Ones
, βασίλεια20
basíleia
queen
καταχθονίων21
katachthoníōn
of those below the earth
, much-honored wife of Plouton, faithful, giver of life, you who hold the gates of Hades beneath the depths of the earth, Praxidike, lovely-haired, the holy shoot of Deo, mother of the Eumenides, queen of those below the earth,
much-honored wife of Plouton, faithful, giver of life, you who hold the gates of Hades beneath the depths of the earth, Praxidike, lovely-haired, the holy shoot of Deo, mother of the Eumenides, queen of those below the earth,
Interpretation
much-honored wife of Plouton, faithful, giver of life, you who keep the gates of Hades beneath the depths of the earth, Praxidike, lovely-haired, holy offspring of Deo, mother of the Eumenides, queen of those below the earth,
Her husband is called Plouton, the name people used, Plato says, because they were afraid to say "Hades." It sounds like ploutos, wealth, and in the Cratylus Socrates explains it from the wealth that comes up out of the earth. The queen of the dead is also biodōtis, "giver of life." Deo is another name of her mother Demeter. Praxidikē, "she who exacts justice," was the name of a goddess of retribution, and the hymn gives it to Persephone along with the Eumenides, the "Kindly Ones," the polite name for the Furies; Hymn 70 names her as their mother.
29.7
The Orphic Hymns 29.7 · Born in an unspeakable union
Her secret birth from Zeus, and her son Eubouleus, a name of Dionysus.
· · ·
whom Zeus fathered as his daughter in an unspeakable begetting, mother of loud-roaring, many-shaped Eubouleus,