⸻ · ⸻
The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 58, lines 5–8 · You alone hold the helm
58.5
The Orphic Hymns 58.5 · You alone hold the helm
The keys of Eros open the sky, the sea, the earth and Tartarus, and he alone steers them all.
· · ·
of the
οὐρανίου1
ouraníou
heavenly
αἰθέρος2
aithéros
aetherupper air
, πόντου3
póntou
of the sea
, χθονός4
chthonós
of the earth
, ἠδʼ5
ēd’
and
ὅσα6
hósa
all the
πνεύματα7
pneúmata
breaths
παντογένεθλα8
pantogénethla
of every kind
that
χλοόκαρπος9
chloókarpos
green-fruited
Ῥέα10
Rhéa
Rhea
βόσκει11
bóskei
feeds
θνητοῖς12
thnētoîs
for mortals
, ἠδʼ13
ēd’
and
ὅσα14
hósa
all that
εὐρὺς15
eurỳs
wide
Τάρταρος16
Tártaros
Tartarus
ἔχει17
échei
holds
, θʼ18
th’
and
the
ἁλίδουπος19
halídoupos
resoundingsea-resounding
πόντος20
póntos
sea
; γὰρ21
gàr
for
you
μοῦνος22
moûnos
alone
κρατύνεις23
kratýneis
hold
οἴηκα24
oíēka
the helmtiller
πάντων25
pántōn
of all
τούτων26
toútōn
these
. of the heavenly aether, of the sea, of the earth, and all the breaths of every kind that green-fruited Rhea feeds for mortals, and all that wide Tartarus holds, and the resounding sea; for you alone hold the helm of all these.
of the heavenly aether, of the sea, of the earth, and all the breaths of every kind that green-fruited Rhea feeds for mortals, and all that wide Tartarus holds, and the resounding sea; for you alone hold the helm of all these.
Interpretation
of the heavenly aether, of the sea, of the earth, and of all the breaths of every kind that green-fruited Rhea feeds for mortals, and all that wide Tartarus and the resounding sea hold; for you alone hold the helm of all these.
The keys open everything there is: the bright upper air, the sea, the earth with all the living breath that Rhea feeds, and Tartarus below. Then the picture changes to a ship. The oiax is the tiller, the handle of the steering oar, and Eros alone holds it for the whole world. Hymn 64 uses almost the same line for Law, "for he alone holds the tiller of living things," so the book gives the steering of the world to Love in one hymn and to Law in another.
58.9
The Orphic Hymns 58.9 · Send base impulses away
The prayer: come to the initiates with pure minds, and drive away the wrong kind of desire.
· · ·
But, blessed one, with pure minds join the initiates, and send away from them base and strange impulses.