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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 3, lines 10–11 · Necessity rules all things
3.10
The Orphic Hymns 3.10 · Necessity rules all things
Night sends the daylight down below and then flees into Hades herself.
· · ·
ἣ1
hḕ
you who
ἐκπέμπεις2
ekpémpeis
send away
φάος3
pháos
the light
ὑπὸ4
hypò
down to
νέρτερα5
nértera
the world below
, καὶ6
kaì
and
πάλι7
páli
in turn
φεύγεις8
pheúgeis
flee
εἰς9
eis
into
Ἀίδην10
Aídēn
Hades
; γὰρ11
gàr
for
δεινὴ12
deinḕ
dread
ἀνάγκη13
anánkē
Necessity
κρατύνει14
kratýnei
rules
πάντα15
pánta
all things
. you who send away the light down to the world below, and in turn flee into Hades; for dread Necessity rules all things.
you who send away the light down to the world below, and in turn flee into Hades; for dread Necessity rules all things.
Interpretation
you who send the light away down to the world below, and in turn flee into Hades yourself; for dread Necessity rules all things.
Day and night chase each other forever. At dusk Night drives the light down under the earth, and at dawn she must go down there herself. Neither of them can stop: anankē, Necessity, rules them both. In Orphic and philosophical poems Necessity is a goddess in her own right, the power that holds the order of the world in place.
3.12
The Orphic Hymns 3.12 · Come kindly, drive away the fears of the night
The prayer: come kindly to those who pray, and send the night fears away.
· · ·
But now, O blessed Night, rich in blessings, longed for by all, gracious one, hearing the pleading voice of our words, may you come kindly, and drive away the fears that glimmer in the night.