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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 52, lines 4–6 · Father of the gods, and son
52.4
The Orphic Hymns 52.4 · Father of the gods, and son
Dionysus takes the titles of the first god of the Orphic creation story, Protogonos, the First-born (Hymn 6). He is the father of the gods and their son.
· · ·
νυκτέριʼ1
nyktéri’
of the night
, Εὐβουλεῦ2
Eubouleû
Eubouleushe of good counsel
, μιτρηφόρε3
mitrēphóre
wearing the headband
, θυρσοτινάκτα4
thyrsotinákta
shaker of the thyrsus
, ἄρρητον5
árrēton
secretnot to be spoken
ὄργιον6
órgion
rite
, τριφυές7
triphyés
threefold
, κρύφιον8
krýphion
hidden
ἔρνος9
érnos
offspringshoot
Διὸς10
Diòs
of Zeus
, πρωτογόνʼ11
prōtogón’
First-born
, ἠρικεπαῖε12
ērikepaîe
Erikepaios
, πάτερ13
páter
father
θεῶν14
theôn
of the gods
ἠδὲ15
ēdè
and
υἱέ16
hyié
son
καὶ17
kaì
too
, of the night, Eubouleus, wearing the headband, shaker of the thyrsus, secret rite, threefold, hidden offspring of Zeus, First-born, Erikepaios, father of the gods and son too,
of the night, Eubouleus, wearing the headband, shaker of the thyrsus, secret rite, threefold, hidden offspring of Zeus, First-born, Erikepaios, father of the gods and son too,
Interpretation
god of the night, Eubouleus, wearing the headband, shaker of the thyrsus, secret rite, threefold, hidden offspring of Zeus, First-born, Erikepaios, father of the gods and their son too,
In these lines Dionysus takes over the titles of the first god of the Orphic creation story. Hymn 6, to Protogonos, the First-born, calls him "two-natured", arrētos and kryphios, "secret" and "hidden", and Erikepaios, a name the dictionary describes as that of a two-sexed Orphic god. Here Dionysus is the First-born and Erikepaios, a "secret rite", "threefold", "hidden offspring of Zeus". So he can be called "father of the gods and son too": the hymn makes the first of the gods and the son of Zeus one and the same.
52.7
The Orphic Hymns 52.7 · Leader of the revels
The god of raw flesh and of the dance leads the revels at his feasts every other year, among the nurses who raised him.
· · ·
eater of raw flesh, scepter-bearer, mad for the dance, leader of revels, celebrating the holy triennial feasts among your nurses, bursting from the earth, blazing with fire, Epaphios, twice-born youth,