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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 36, lines 4–6 · Helper in labor, untouched by it
36.4
The Orphic Hymns 36.4 · Helper in labor, untouched by it
She helps women in labor though she has never given birth; she frees from care, hunts by day and roams by night.
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ἐπαρωγὲ1
eparōgè
helper
ὠδίνων2
ōdínōn
in labor pains
καὶ3
kaì
and
ἀμύητε4
amýēte
uninitiatednot admitted to the rites
ὠδίνων5
ōdínōn
in labor pains
, λυσίζωνε6
lysízōne
loosener of belts
, φίλοιστρε7
phíloistre
lover of frenzy
, κυνηγέτι8
kynēgéti
huntress
, λυσιμέριμνε9
lysimérimne
freeing from care
, εὔδρομος10
eúdromos
swift-running
, ἰοχέαιρα11
iochéaira
archerarrow-pourer
, φιλαγρότι12
philagróti
lover of the chase
, νυκτερόφοιτε13
nykteróphoite
roaming by night
, helper in labor pains and uninitiated in labor pains, loosener of belts, lover of frenzy, huntress, freeing from care, swift-running, archer, lover of the chase, roaming by night,
helper in labor pains and uninitiated in labor pains, loosener of belts, lover of frenzy, huntress, freeing from care, swift-running, archer, lover of the chase, roaming by night,
Interpretation
helper in the pains of labor and never initiated into them yourself, loosener of belts, lover of frenzy, huntress, freeing from care, swift-running, archer, lover of the chase, roaming by night,
One line holds the paradox of Artemis. She helps women in labor, yet she is amyētos, "uninitiated," in labor herself, a virgin who has never given birth. The word belongs to the mysteries: in Plato's Phaedo, whoever reaches Hades "uninitiated and unfulfilled" will lie in the mud. Childbirth is spoken of here as a kind of initiation, one that Artemis guards for other women but has never undergone.
36.7
The Orphic Hymns 36.7 · Of manly form, nurse of the young
More titles: deliverer, of manly form, upright, nurse of children, slayer of beasts.
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invoked, gracious, deliverer, of manly form, upright, giver of quick births, goddess, nurse of the children of mortals, immortal, of the earth, slayer of beasts, blessed,