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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 75, lines 6–8 · Seen in the storm
75.6
The Orphic Hymns 75.6 · Seen in the storm
Why he is called: in a storm at sea, Palaemon appears to the sailors and saves them from the waves.
· · ·
γὰρ1
gàr
For
ἀεὶ2
aeì
always
, χειμῶνος3
cheimônos
when a storm
φαινομένου4
phainoménou
appears
, you
μοῦνος5
moûnos
alone
ἀναφαίνῃ6
anaphaínēi
appear
ἐναργὴς7
enargḕs
in plain sightin bodily form
to
ποντοπλάνοις8
pontoplánois
sea-wandering
νηυσὶν9
nēusìn
ships
σωτὴρ10
sōtḕr
as savior
θνητοῖς11
thnētoîs
to mortals
, ῥυόμενος12
rhyómenos
warding off
the
χαλεπὴν13
chalepḕn
harsh
μῆνιν14
mênin
wrath
κατὰ15
katà
over
the
οἶδμα16
oîdma
swell
πόντιον17
póntion
of the sea
. For always, when a storm appears, you alone appear in plain sight to sea-wandering ships as savior to mortals, warding off the harsh wrath over the swell of the sea.
For always, when a storm appears, you alone appear in plain sight to sea-wandering ships as savior to mortals, warding off the harsh wrath over the swell of the sea.
Interpretation
For whenever a storm appears, you alone appear in plain sight to the sea-wandering ships, as savior to mortals, warding off the harsh wrath of the swelling sea.
Enargēs is the word Homer uses when a god appears openly, in his own shape. "The gods are hard to face when they appear plainly," the Iliad says, and in the Odyssey "the gods do not appear plainly to everyone." Palaemon does: in the storm he shows himself to the sailors. The "harsh wrath" he wards off is mēnis, the word for the anger of a god, the word with which the Iliad begins.
76.1
The Orphic Hymns 76.1 · Daughters of Memory and Zeus
The hymn to the Muses opens with the story of their birth to Memory and Zeus.
· · ·
Of the Muses. Incense: frankincense. Daughters of Mnemosyne and of loud-thundering Zeus, Pierian Muses, of great name, of splendid fame, most longed for by mortals whom you visit, of many forms,