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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 44, lines 6–9 · Honored at the feasts of every third year
44.6
The Orphic Hymns 44.6 · Honored at the feasts of every third year
Persephone, queen of the dead, granted Semele honors among mortals. At the festival held every other year, the birth of Dionysus is celebrated with a sacred table and mysteries.
· · ·
τευξαμένη1
teuxaménē
having wonhaving made for herself
τιμὰς2
timàs
honors
παρʼ3
par’
from
ἀγαυῆς4
agauês
noble
Φερσεφονείης5
Phersephoneíēs
Persephone
ἐν6
en
among
θνητοῖσι7
thnētoîsi
mortal
βροτοῖσιν8
brotoîsin
men
ἀνὰ9
anà
at
τριετηρίδας10
trietērídas
the triennialof the third year
ὥρας11
hṓras
seasons
, ἡνίκα12
hēníka
when
τελῶσιν13
telôsin
they celebratethey perform
γονίμην14
gonímēn
the birth-giving
ὠδῖνα15
ōdîna
labor
σοῦ16
soû
of your
Βάκχου17
Bákchou
Bacchus
, τε18
te
and
εὐίερόν19
euíerón
the holy
τράπεζαν20
trápezan
table
ἰδὲ21
idè
and
θʼ22
th’
—
ἁγνά23
hagná
the pure
μυστήριά24
mystḗriá
mysteries
. having won honors from noble Persephone among mortal men at the triennial seasons, when they celebrate the birth-giving labor of your Bacchus, and the holy table and the pure mysteries.
having won honors from noble Persephone among mortal men at the triennial seasons, when they celebrate the birth-giving labor of your Bacchus, and the holy table and the pure mysteries.
Interpretation
having won honors from noble Persephone among mortal men at the festivals of every third year, when they celebrate the labor that brought your Bacchus to birth, and the holy table and the pure mysteries.
Semele died a mortal, but she did not stay among the dead. Pindar, in his second Olympian ode, says that she "lives among the Olympians" although she died by the roar of the thunderbolt, and here her honors come from Persephone, the queen of the dead. The festivals are trietērides, "of the third year", which by the Greek way of counting, with both ends included, means every other year. At them the worshippers "perform" (telōsin, from the same root as teletē, "rite") the god's birth, so the labor that brought Dionysus into the world became part of the mystery.
44.10
The Orphic Hymns 44.10 · Be gentle to the initiates
The closing prayer asks Semele, the mortal mother who became a goddess, to be gentle to the initiates.
· · ·
Now I beg you, goddess, daughter of Cadmus, queen, calling on you always to be gentle-minded to the initiates.