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The Orphic Hymns

the Orphic tradition · Hymn 55, lines 1–3 · Heavenly, laughter-loving, sea-born
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Hymn 55 · To Aphrodite

ΕΙΣ ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ To Aphrodite
55.1
The Orphic Hymns 55.1 · Heavenly, laughter-loving, sea-born
The hymn to Aphrodite has no incense note. It opens with a long run of her titles, ending with the strangest: mother of Necessity.
· · ·
ΕΙΣ1
eis
To
ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗΝ2
Aphrodítēn
Aphrodite
.
Οὐρανίη3
Ouraníē
Heavenly oneOurania
,
πολύυμνε4
polýymne
much-hymned
,
φιλομμειδὴς5
philommeidḕs
laughter-loving
Ἀφροδίτη6
Aphrodítē
Aphrodite
,
ποντογενές7
pontogenés
sea-born
,
θεά8
theá
goddess
 
and
γενέτειρα9
genéteira
mothershe who gives birth
,
φιλοπάννυχε10
philopánnyche
lover of night-long revels
,
σεμνή11
semnḗ
revered
,
νυκτερίη12
nykteríē
of the night
,
ζεύκτειρα13
zeúkteira
who yokes together
,
δολοπλόκε14
doloplóke
weaver of wiles
,
μῆτερ15
mêter
mother
ἀνάγκης16
anánkēs
of Necessity
;
To Aphrodite. Heavenly one, much-hymned, laughter-loving Aphrodite, sea-born, goddess and mother, lover of night-long revels, revered, of the night, who yokes together, weaver of wiles, mother of Necessity;
To Aphrodite. Heavenly one, much-hymned, laughter-loving Aphrodite, sea-born, goddess and mother, lover of night-long revels, revered, of the night, who yokes together, weaver of wiles, mother of Necessity;
Interpretation
To Aphrodite. Heavenly one, much-hymned, laughter-loving Aphrodite, sea-born, goddess and mother, lover of night-long revels, revered, goddess of the night, who yokes together, weaver of wiles, mother of Necessity;
Many of these titles are old. Philommeidēs, "laughter-loving," is the word Homer and Hesiod use for her, and doloplokos, "weaver of wiles," stands in the opening lines of Sappho's famous prayer to Aphrodite. Ourania, "Heavenly," was one of her chief cult titles, and in Plato's Symposium it names the nobler of her two forms. The most surprising title comes last: she is the mother of Anankē, Necessity, the power that in the hymn to Night (3) rules all things.
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus, about 1485. Tempera on canvas. Venus, the Roman name for Aphrodite, comes ashore on a scallop shell, blown by the winds, as a goddess of the seasons hurries to wrap her in a cloak.Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Inv. 1890 no. 878 · public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
55.4
The Orphic Hymns 55.4 · All things are from you
Aphrodite as the power behind everything that is born, wherever it lives.
· · ·
For all things are from you, and you yoked the world and you rule the three portions, and you give birth to all things, all that is in the sky and on the fruitful earth and in the depths of the sea, holy companion of Bacchus,
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