⸻ · ⸻
The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 55, lines 24–26 · Cyprus, your nurse
55.24
The Orphic Hymns 55.24 · Cyprus, your nurse
The last place is Cyprus, where girls and brides sing of Aphrodite and Adonis all year round.
· · ·
εἴτʼ1
eít’
or
ἐν2
en
in
Κύπρῳ3
Kýprōi
Cyprus
, ἄνασσα4
ánassa
queen
, σέο5
séo
your
τροφῷ6
trophôi
nurse
, ἔνθα7
éntha
where
καλαί8
kalaí
lovely
ἄδμηται9
ádmētai
unweduntamed
παρθένοι10
parthénoi
maidens
τʼ11
t’
and
νύμφαι12
nýmphai
brides
ὑμνοῦσιν13
hymnoûsin
sing ofhymn
σε14
se
you
ἀνὰ15
anà
through
πάντʼ16
pánt’
all
ἐνιαυτὸν17
eniautòn
the year
, σέ18
sé
you
μάκαιρα19
mákaira
blessed one
, καὶ20
kaì
and
ἁγνὸν21
hagnòn
holy
ἄμβροτον22
ámbroton
immortal
Ἄδωνιν23
Ádōnin
Adonis
. or in Cyprus, queen, your nurse, where lovely unwed maidens and brides sing of you through all the year, you, blessed one, and holy, immortal Adonis.
or in Cyprus, queen, your nurse, where lovely unwed maidens and brides sing of you through all the year, you, blessed one, and holy, immortal Adonis.
Interpretation
or in Cyprus, queen, your nurse, where lovely unwed maidens and brides sing of you all through the year, you, blessed one, and holy, immortal Adonis.
Cyprus is her "nurse" because in Hesiod the foam-born goddess stepped ashore there, which is also why she is Kypris and "Cyprus-born." Her singers are both unmarried girls and brides. The word for "unwed," admētos, means "untamed": Homer uses it for a heifer that has never borne the yoke, so the yoke language of the hymn reaches even here. Their song is for Aphrodite and for Adonis together, and the next hymn is his.
55.27
The Orphic Hymns 55.27 · I call you with holy words
The closing prayer asks Aphrodite to come to the altar in her lovely form.
· · ·
Come, blessed goddess, with your most lovely form; for I call you with a reverent soul and holy words.