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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 72, lines 9–10 · Come kindly to my life
72.9
The Orphic Hymns 72.9 · Come kindly to my life
The prayer: may Fortune come in her kind mood, full of blessings.
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ἀλλά1
allá
But
θεά2
theá
goddess
, λίτομαί3
lítomaí
I pray
σε4
se
you
μολεῖν5
moleîn
to come
εὐμενέουσαν6
eumenéousan
kindly
βίῳ7
bíōi
to my life
, πλήθουσαν8
plḗthousan
full of
ὄλβοισι9
ólboisi
blessings
, ἐπʼ10
ep’
with
εὐόλβοις11
euólbois
rich
κτεάτεσσιν12
kteátessin
possessions
. But, goddess, I pray you to come kindly to my life, full of blessings, with rich possessions.
But, goddess, I pray you to come kindly to my life, full of blessings, with rich possessions.
Interpretation
But, goddess, I pray you, come kindly to my life, full of blessings, with rich possessions.
The prayer ends on the phrase of the second line, "rich possessions," and asks Fortune, who can go either way, to come in her kind mood. Olbos, "blessing," covers both happiness and wealth, and the Greeks liked to pull the two apart. In Herodotus, Solon tells the rich king Croesus that a very rich man is no more blessed, olbios, than one who has just enough for the day, unless tychē stays with him to the end.
73.1
The Orphic Hymns 73.1 · The Daimon, who is Zeus
A hymn to the Daimon, the power that deals out each person's lot, whom the hymn calls Zeus.
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Of the Daimon. Incense: frankincense. I call the Daimon to draw near, the dread leader, gentle Zeus, father of all, giver of life to mortals, great Zeus, wide-wandering, avenger, king of all,