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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 84, lines 5–6 · House of the blessed gods
84.5
The Orphic Hymns 84.5 · House of the blessed gods
Hestia is called the house of the gods and the strong support of mortals, eternal and many-formed.
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οἶκε1
oîke
house
μακάρων2
makárōn
of the blessed
θεῶν3
theôn
gods
, κραταιόν4
krataión
strong
στήριγμα5
stḗrigma
supportprop
θνητῶν6
thnētôn
of mortals
, ἀιδίη7
aidíē
eternal
, πολύμορφε8
polýmorphe
many-formed
, ποθεινοτάτη9
potheinotátē
most longed for
, χλοόμορφε10
chloómorphe
green as grasslike grass
; house of the blessed gods, strong support of mortals, eternal, many-formed, most longed for, green as grass;
house of the blessed gods, strong support of mortals, eternal, many-formed, most longed for, green as grass;
Interpretation
house of the blessed gods, strong support of mortals, eternal, many-formed, most longed for, green as young grass;
Hestia is called the house of the gods itself. Plato puts the same picture into his great myth in the Phaedrus: when the gods drive out in procession across the heavens, "Hestia alone stays at home in the house of the gods." The last title, chloomorphos, "like green grass," is a strange one for a goddess of fire, and its meaning is uncertain; together with "evergreen" just before, it seems to picture a household that keeps on growing.
84.7
The Orphic Hymns 84.7 · Receive these offerings, smiling
The prayer: may Hestia smile, accept the offerings gladly, and breathe prosperity and health on the worshippers.
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Smiling, blessed one, receive these offerings gladly, breathing on us prosperity and gentle-handed health.