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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 79, lines 1–2 · Themis, child of Heaven and Earth
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Hymn 79 · Themis
ΘΕΜΙΔΟΣ, θυμίαμα λίβανον
Of Themis · incense: frankincense
79.1
The Orphic Hymns 79.1 · Themis, child of Heaven and Earth
The hymn to Themis, sung over frankincense. Themis is the goddess of what is right and established, and the hymn begins with her parents, Heaven and Earth.
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ΘΕΜΙΔΟΣ1
Thémidos
Of ThemisRight
. θυμίαμα2
thymíama
Incense
λίβανον3
líbanon
frankincense
. καλέω4
kaléō
I call
ἁγνὴν5
hagnḕn
the pure
Οὐρανόπαιδʼ6
Ouranópaid’
child of Heaven
, Θέμιν7
Thémin
Themis
, εὐπατέρειαν8
eupatéreian
daughter of a noble father
, τὸ9
tò
the
νέον10
néon
young
βλάστημα11
blástēma
offshoot
Γαίης12
Gaíēs
of Earth
, καλυκώπιδα13
kalykṓpida
rosy-facedwith a face like a bud
κούρην14
koúrēn
maiden
, Of Themis. Incense: frankincense. I call the pure child of Heaven, Themis, daughter of a noble father, the young offshoot of Earth, rosy-faced maiden,
Of Themis. Incense: frankincense. I call the pure child of Heaven, Themis, daughter of a noble father, the young offshoot of Earth, rosy-faced maiden,
Interpretation
Of Themis. Incense: frankincense. I call the pure child of Heaven, Themis, daughter of a noble father, the young offshoot of Earth, a rosy-faced maiden,
Themis is a Titan, in Hesiod a daughter of Heaven (Ouranos) and Earth (Gaia), which is why the first two lines name both parents. Her name is an ordinary Greek word: themis is what is laid down by custom, what is right, and "it is not themis" was the everyday way of saying that the gods forbid a thing. Yet the hymn pictures her as a girl, kalykōpis, "with a face like a flower in bud," the word the Homeric Hymn to Demeter uses for Persephone on the day she was carried off.
79.3
The Orphic Hymns 79.3 · The first oracle at Delphi
Before Apollo, Themis held the oracle at Delphi and was the first to prophesy there.
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who first showed mortals the holy oracle, giving oracles to the gods in the Delphic hollow, on the Pythian ground, when she reigned at Pytho;