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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 83, lines 6–8 · Boundary of the earth, beginning of the sky
83.6
The Orphic Hymns 83.6 · Boundary of the earth, beginning of the sky
The prayer: hear and come, Ocean, who marks the edge of the earth and the start of the heavens.
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κλῦθι1
klŷthi
Hear
, μάκαρ2
mákar
blessed one
, πολύολβε3
polýolbe
rich in blessings
, μέγιστον4
mégiston
greatest
ἅγνισμα5
hágnisma
purification
θεῶν6
theôn
of the gods
, φίλον7
phílon
dear
τέρμα8
térma
boundaryend, turning post
γαίης9
gaíēs
of the earth
, ἀρχὴ10
archḕ
beginning
πόλου11
pólou
of the skyof the vault of heaven
, ὑγροκέλευθε12
hygrokéleuthe
traveler on wet paths
, ἔλθοις13
élthois
may you come
εὐμενέων14
eumenéōn
kindly
, αἰεί15
aieí
always
κεχαρισμένος16
kecharisménos
welcome
μύσταις17
mýstais
to the initiates
. Hear, blessed one, rich in blessings, greatest purification of the gods, dear boundary of the earth, beginning of the sky, traveler on wet paths, may you come kindly, always welcome to the initiates.
Hear, blessed one, rich in blessings, greatest purification of the gods, dear boundary of the earth, beginning of the sky, traveler on wet paths, may you come kindly, always welcome to the initiates.
Interpretation
Hear, blessed one, rich in blessings, greatest purification of the gods, dear boundary of the earth, beginning of the sky, traveler on watery paths: come kindly, always welcome to the initiates.
Ocean is called the "greatest purification of the gods," hagnisma, the word for what washes away a stain. Water was the usual means of purification in Greek ritual, and seawater was thought especially strong; a line of Euripides says that "the sea washes away all the evils of men." Ocean is also the place where the world ends and the sky begins: the earth stops at his stream, and in Homer the sun and the stars rise out of Ocean and sink into it again.
84.1
The Orphic Hymns 84.1 · Hestia, keeper of the everlasting fire
The hymn to Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, sung over aromatic herbs. She holds the center of the house, where the fire never goes out.
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Of Hestia. Incense: aromatics. Hestia, queen, daughter of mighty Kronos, you who hold the center of the house of everlasting, greatest fire,