HellenicGods.org - ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 208

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 208

OTTO KERN

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For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.

SUMMARY: This testimony, from Andromenides as quoted in Philodemus, mentions an Orphic priest having a drum.

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 208

(From a letter sent to me by Christian Jensen) Andromænídîs (Ἀνδρομενίδης) as quoted in Περὶ ποιημάτων Φιλοδήμου fr. 41 Hausr. (N. Jahrb. Suppl. XVII 1889, 257):

ὀ>λίγον λόγον οὗτος Ὀρφεοτελεστοῦ τυμπάνωι καὶ παιδαγωγοῦ καλαμίδι προσθείς, ὅτι ^[1]δεῖ τὰ ψευδορήμονα^[2] μὴ ξενόσ<τ>ομα μόνον εγλέγειν^[3] αλλὰ κάλλιστα· κάλλιστα δ’ είναι τὰ τὰς συλλαβὰς <ἔ>χοντα πολλοῖς γράμμασιν ἐ<σ>παθημέν<ας, ὧν σχο>λῆι δράξασθαι <τ>ὸ σ<τ>ό<μα> καὶ ῥίπτ<ει>ν . . .

For the sake of clarity:

ὀλίγον λόγον οὗτος Ὀρφεοτελεστοῦ τυμπάνωι καὶ παιδαγωγοῦ καλαμίδι προσθείς, ὅτι ^[1]δεῖ τὰ ψευδορήμονα^[2] μὴ ξενόστομα μόνον εγλέγειν^[3] αλλὰ κάλλιστα· κάλλιστα δ’ είναι τὰ τὰς συλλαβὰς ἔχοντα πολλοῖς γράμμασιν ἐσπαθημένας, ὧν σχολῆι δράξασθαι τὸ στόμα καὶ ῥίπτειν . . .

“This (person has) little reason to have added, with the drum of the Orphic priest and the pen of the pedagogue, that ‘*it is necessary to choose not only invented, strange sounding words, but rather to choose those which are most beautiful; and the most beautiful are those having syllables of many letters, and of those, the mouth lays hold of them with leisure and winnows them out.’ ”

(trans. by the author)

TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:

[1] Richard Janko’s text (Philodemus: On Poems Book 1, Oxford, 2000, pp. 400-401) has a quotation mark at this point; it does not appear in Kern, but I adapted it because it seems to make sense in the passage.

[2] I assume from ψευδορρήμων but our word has only one ρ.

[3] ἐκλέγειν? ... “to choose.”

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.

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).

PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this website, you will find fascinating stories about our Gods. These narratives are known as mythology, the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally. A literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.

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.

SPELLING: HellenicGods.org uses the Reuchlinian method of pronouncing ancient Greek, the system preferred by scholars from Greece itself. An approach was developed to enable the student to easily approximate the Greek words. Consequently, the way we spell words is unique, as this method of transliteration is exclusive to this website. For more information, visit these three pages:

Pronunciation of Ancient Greek

Transliteration of Ancient Greek

Pronouncing the Names of the Gods in Hellenismos

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