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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 87, lines 1–2 · Hear me, you who steer the lives of mortals
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Hymn 87 · Death
ΘΑΝΑΤΟΥ, θυμίαμα μάνναν
Of Death · incense: frankincense powder
87.1
The Orphic Hymns 87.1 · Hear me, you who steer the lives of mortals
The last hymn of the collection, to Death, sung over frankincense powder. Death holds the helm of every mortal life and grants each its time.
· · ·
ΘΑΝΑΤΟΥ1
Thanátou
Of DeathThanatos
. θυμίαμα2
thymíama
Incense
μάνναν3
mánnan
frankincense powder
. Κλῦθί4
Klŷthí
Hear
μευ5
meu
me
, ὃς6
hòs
you who
κρατύνεις7
kratýneis
hold
οἴηκα8
oíēka
the helmtiller
πάντων9
pántōn
of all
θνητῶν10
thnētôn
mortals
, διδοὺς11
didoùs
giving
ἁγνόν12
hagnón
holy
χρόνον13
chrónon
time
πᾶσι14
pâsi
to all
ὅσων15
hósōn
from whom
ὑπάρχεις16
hypárcheis
you are
πόρρωθεν17
pórrōthen
far off
; Of Death. Incense: frankincense powder. Hear me, you who hold the helm of all mortals, giving holy time to all from whom you are far off;
Of Death. Incense: frankincense powder. Hear me, you who hold the helm of all mortals, giving holy time to all from whom you are far off;
Interpretation
Of Death. Incense: frankincense powder. Hear me, you who hold the helm of all mortals, giving a holy span of time to all from whom you are still far off;
The collection ends with Death. He is pictured as a helmsman holding the oiax, the tiller of a ship, so that every life is a voyage he steers, and as long as he keeps his distance each person has a holy span of time. In Hesiod, Death is a son of Night with a heart of iron, hated even by the immortal gods, and the Greeks gave him almost no worship. A hymn addressed to him is a rare thing.
87.3
The Orphic Hymns 87.3 · The long, eternal sleep
The sleep of Death loosens the bonds that hold soul and body together, and brings the living the long sleep that does not end.
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For your sleep breaks the soul and the body's hold, whenever you loosen the fast-held bonds of nature, bringing the long, eternal sleep to the living,