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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 34, lines 24–27 · Lord Pan, holder of the seal
34.24
The Orphic Hymns 34.24 · Lord Pan, holder of the seal
Because he holds the whole world, mortals also call him Pan. The hymn ends with a prayer to save the initiates.
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ἔνθεν1
énthen
Hence
βροτοὶ2
brotoì
mortals
κλῄζουσιν3
klḗizousin
call
σε4
se
you
ἐπωνυμίην5
epōnymíēn
by namesurname
ἄνακτα6
ánakta
lord
Πᾶνα7
Pâna
Pan
, δικέρωτʼ8
dikérōt’
the two-horned
θεὸν9
theòn
god
, ἱέντα10
hiénta
sending forth
συρίγμαθʼ11
syrígmath’
the whistlingpiping
ἀνέμων12
anémōn
of the winds
; οὕνεκα13
hoúneka
because
ἔχεις14
écheis
you hold
τυπῶτιν15
typôtin
the stampingmoulding
σφρηγῖδα16
sphrēgîda
seal
παντὸς17
pantòs
of the whole
κόσμου18
kósmou
world
. κλῦθι19
klŷthi
Hear
μάκαρ20
mákar
blessed one
, our
ἱκετηρίδι21
hiketērídi
pleadingsuppliant
φωνῇ22
phōnêi
voice
, σώζων23
sṓzōn
saving
μύστας24
mýstas
the initiates
. Hence mortals call you by name lord Pan, the two-horned god, sending forth the whistling of the winds; because you hold the stamping seal of the whole world. Hear, blessed one, our pleading voice, saving the initiates.
Hence mortals call you by name lord Pan, the two-horned god, sending forth the whistling of the winds; because you hold the stamping seal of the whole world. Hear, blessed one, our pleading voice, saving the initiates.
Interpretation
For this mortals call you by the name of lord Pan, the two-horned god who sends forth the whistling of the winds, because you hold the seal that stamps the whole world. Hear, blessed one, our pleading voice, and save the initiates.
The surprise at the end is that Apollo is also Pan, the goat-horned god of the countryside who plays the shepherd's pipe. The reason is a pun. Pan sounds like pan, "all," and Apollo holds the seal of the "whole" world, pantos kosmou, the seal that stamps its shape on everything. The Greeks often played on Pan's name this way: the Homeric Hymn to Pan says the gods called him Pan because he delighted all of them, and the Orphic hymn to Pan (11) calls him "the whole of the cosmos." The last line names the worshippers outright: they are mystai, initiates.
35.1
The Orphic Hymns 35.1 · Dark-robed Leto, mother of twins
The hymn to Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, sung over myrrh.
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Of Leto. Incense: myrrh. Dark-robed Leto, goddess, mother of twins, revered, daughter of Koios, great-hearted, much-entreated queen,