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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 36, lines 7–9 · Of manly form, nurse of the young
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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κλῃσίη1
klēisíē
invoked
, εὐάντητε2
euántēte
gracious
, λυτηριάς3
lytēriás
deliverer
, ἀρσενόμορφε4
arsenómorphe
of manly form
, ὀρθίη5
orthíē
upright
, ὠκυλόχεια6
ōkylócheia
giver of quick births
, δαῖμον7
daîmon
goddessdaimon
κουροτρόφε8
kourotróphe
nurse of the children
βροτῶν9
brotôn
of mortals
, ἀμβροσίη10
ambrosíē
immortalambrosial
, χθονίη11
chthoníē
of the earth
, θηροκτόνος12
thēroktónos
slayer of beasts
, ὀλβιόμοιρε13
olbiómoire
blessed
, 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,
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,
Interpretation
invoked, gracious, deliverer, of manly form, upright, giver of quick births, goddess who nurses the children of mortals, immortal, of the earth, slayer of beasts, blessed,
Artemis stands at the edges of a woman's life. She is arsenomorphos, "of manly form," the huntress who lives like a man in the wild, and she is also the "nurse of the children" of mortals, who brings quick births. Orthiē, "upright," recalls Artemis Orthia, whose sanctuary at Sparta was the scene of a famous ordeal in which boys were whipped at her altar. Several of her festivals marked the passage of girls and boys into adult life.
36.10
The Orphic Hymns 36.10 · Lady of the mountain woods
She haunts the mountain forests with her hounds, a girl who never grows old.
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you who haunt the woods of the mountains, deer-shooter, revered, lady, queen of all, always being a lovely young shoot, of the woods, lady of the hounds, Kydonian, shimmering in form;