ORPHIC FRAGMENT 44 - OTTO KERN

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SUMMARY: In this fragment, Orpheus states that calamint was once a great plant which bore fruit (but Demeter hated it and made it barren).

44. (214) Ἐτυμολογικὸν Γουδιανόν e. Sturz 395, 1.:

Μινθη, ἥν τινες ἡδύοσμον καλοῦσι· ἔστι [1] δὲ καλάμινθος, ἄγριον ἡδύοσμον, ὅπερ λυπουμένη ἡ Δημήτηρ ἰδοῦσα [ἰδοῦσα] [2] ἐμίσησε καὶ ἄκαρπον ἐποίησεν. Ὀρφεύς·

τὸ πρὶν ἐὸν μέγα δένδρον ἐπὶ χθονὶ, καὶ φερέκαρπον. [3]

"Mint, they call sweetly fragrant (ἡδύοσμος can be a synonym for “mint”); but calamint (καλάμινθος [4]), (they call) wild-smelling; and Dîmítîr (Δημήτηρ), seeing him in pain (from having eaten the herb?), hated it and made it barren. (As) Orphéfs (Ὀρφεύς) (says):

‘Formerly being a great plant [5] on the earth, and yielding fruit.’ ” (trans. by the author)

[1] ἔτι Sturzius; corr. Lobeck.

[2] secl. Lobeck.

[3] φέρε καρνόν Sturzius; corr. Lobeck.

[4] this word has been defined: calamint, mint, and catnip.

[5] Liddell & Scott: tree; Brill: tree or plant.

Lobeck II 833; Kaibel Herm. XXX 1895, 439; Malten Arch. Religionsw. XII 1909, 417 n. 3.


The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic Rhapsodic Theogony.

We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.

Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

Introduction to the Thæí (the Gods): The Nature of the Gods.

How do we know there are Gods? Experiencing Gods.

This logo is the principal symbol of this website. It is called the CESS logo, i.e. the Children of the Earth and the Starry Sky. The Pætilía (Petelia, Πετηλία) and other golden tablets having this phrase are the inspiration for the symbol. The image represents this idea: Earth (divisible substance) and the Sky (continuous substance) are the two kozmogonic substances. The twelve stars represent the Natural Laws, the dominions of the Olympian Gods. In front of these symbols is the seven-stringed kithára (cithara, κιθάρα), the the lyre of Apóllôn (Apollo, Ἀπόλλων). It (here) represents the bond between Gods and mortals and is representative that we are the children of Orphéfs (Orpheus, Ὀρφεύς).

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We know the various qualities and characteristics of the Gods based on metaphorical stories: Mythology.

Dictionary of terms related to ancient Greek mythology: Glossary of Hellenic Mythology.

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