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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 37, lines 7–8 · Send away the ancient wrath
37.7
The Orphic Hymns 37.7 · Send away the ancient wrath
The prayer: turn away the anger of the dead ancestors from our homes.
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κικλήσκω1
kiklḗskō
I call on
ὑμᾶς2
hymâs
you
ἀποπέμπειν3
apopémpein
to send away
χαλεπὴν4
chalepḕn
harsh
μῆνιν5
mênin
wrath
, εἴ6
eí
if
τις7
tis
any
ἀπὸ8
apò
from
προγόνων9
progónōn
the ancestors
χθονίων10
chthoníōn
beneath the earth
πελάσθη11
pelásthē
has come near
οἴκοισι12
oíkoisi
our homes
. I call on you to send away harsh wrath, if any from the ancestors beneath the earth has come near our homes.
I call on you to send away harsh wrath, if any from the ancestors beneath the earth has come near our homes.
Interpretation
I call on you to send away harsh wrath, if any has come near our homes from the ancestors beneath the earth.
The anger to be sent away is mēnis, the word for deep and lasting anger, and it comes from "the ancestors beneath the earth." Plato describes the same fear in the Phaedrus: some families suffered terrible diseases and troubles "from ancient wraths," and found release through prayers, purifications and rites of initiation. This short hymn is a prayer of that kind, addressed to the oldest ancestors of all.
38.1
The Orphic Hymns 38.1 · Bronze-clashing Kouretes, breaths of life
The second hymn to the Kouretes, sung over frankincense, makes them powers of the whole world and life-giving winds.
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Of the Kouretes. Incense: frankincense. Bronze-clashing Kouretes, bearing the arms of Ares, of the sky, of the earth and of the sea, rich in blessings, life-giving breaths, glorious saviors of the world,