ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 197

OTTO KERN

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THRACIAE (Of Thrace; v. nr. 30 ss.)

SUMMARY: In the first quotation from this testimony, the Souda says that Orpheus was either Arcadian or from Bisaltia in Thrace; the second quotation, from Eustathius, the Christian archbishop of Thessalonica and commentator on Homer, calls Orpheus Ciconian.

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 197

Souda: Orphéfs Kikonaios (Ὀρφεὺς Κικοναῖος):

ἢ Ἀρκάς <ἢ ?> ἐκ Βισαλτίας τῆς Φραικικῆς, ἐποποιός. γέγονε δὲ καὶ οὗτος πρὸ Ὁμήρου, δύο γενεαῖς πρεσβύτερος τῶν Τρωικῶν. ἔγραψε δὲ μυθοποιίαν, ἐπιγράμματα, ὕμνους.

“... or Arcadian or from Visaltía (Βισαλτία) of Thrace, an epic poet. But also, this man lived before Ómiros (Ὅμηρος), two generations older than the Trojan War. And he wrote fables, epigrams, and hymns.”

(trans. by the author)

v. Παρεκβολαὶ εἰς τὴν Ὁμήρου Ἰλιάδα Εὐσταθίου Θεσσαλονίκης B 597 p. 299, 5:

καὶ ὅτι Θρᾶικες ἦσαν οἱ ἐπιμεληθέντες τῆς ἀρχαίας μουσικῆς Ὀρφεὺς Μουσαῖος καὶ Θάμυρις· καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῆι ἀκτῆι τῆι περὶ τὸν Ἄθων Θάμυρις ὁ Θρᾶιξ ἐβασίλευσε, τῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων γενόμενος, ὧν καὶ ὁ Κίκων Ὀρφεύς, ὃς Ὀρφεύς τὰ πρῶτα μὲν ἀγυρτεύων διέζη, εἶτα καὶ μειζόνων ἀξιῶν ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὄχλον καὶ δύναμιν περιποιούμενος διεφθάρη ἐξ ἐπισυστάσεως, ἀνὴρ γόης ἀπὸ μουσικῆς τε καὶ μαντικῆς καὶ τῶν περὶ τὰς τελετὰς ὀργιασμῶν.

“And (it is said) that Orphéfs (Ὀρφεὺς), Mousaios (Μουσαῖος), and Thámyris were the Thracians who promoted the cultivation of ancient music; and that on the headland around Mount Áthôs (Ἄθως), Thámyris the Thracian reigned, having engaged in the same pursuits as those that Kikonian Orphéfs also pursued; Orphéfs first lived by begging, and then, considering himself worthy of greater things, and acquiring a great following and influence, was killed from a rebellion; a magician by means of music and prophecy and the rites of initiation into Mysteries.”

(trans. by the author)

Γεωγραφικὰ Στράβωνος VII 35 (numbered in Kern 330) fr. 18 nr. 40:

ἔστι δ᾽ ὁ Ἄθως ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ μαστοειδές, ὥστε τοὺς ἐν ταῖς κορυφαῖς ἤδη ἀνίσχοντος ἡλίου κάμνειν ἀροῦντας, ἡνίκα ἀλεκτοροφωνίας ἀρχὴ παρὰ τοῖς τὴν ἀκτὴν οἰκοῦσίν ἐστιν. ἐν δὲ τῆι ἀκτῆι ταύτηι Θάμυρις ὁ Θρᾶιξ ἐβασίλευσε, τῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων γεγονὼς ὧν καὶ Ὀρφεύς.

“Mount Athos is pap-shaped, and so lofty that the husbandmen on the summit are already weary of their labour, the sun having long since risen to them, when to the inhabitants of the shore it is the beginning of cockcrowing. Thamyris, the Thracian, was king of this coast, and followed the same practices as Orpheus.”

(trans. H.C. Hamilton and W. Falconer, 1903)

The story of the birth of the Gods: Orphic 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.