ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 96

OTTO KERN

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

SUMMARY: This testimony, from Diodorus of Sicily, says that Orpheus took his mystic rites from Egypt and that the Egyptian rite of Osiris is the same as that of Dionysus, the name alone being changed.

ORPHIC CRITICAL TESTIMONY 96.

Βιβλιοθήκη ἱστορικὴ Διοδώρου Σικελιώτου I 96, 4-6 ἐξ Ἑκαταῖου τοῦ Μιλήσιου (~Εὑαγγελικὴ προπαρασκευὴ Εὐσεβίου X 8, 4. 5; I 555 Dind.):

4. Ὀρφέα μὲν γὰρ τῶν μυστικῶν τελετῶν τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πλάνην ὀργιαζόμενα, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου μυθοποιίαν παρ’ Αἰγυπτίων ἀπενέγκασθαι. 5. τὴν μὲν γὰρ Ὀσίριδος τελετὴν τῆι (καὶ τὴν D) Διονύσου τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι, τὴν δὲ τῆς Ἴσιδος τῆι τῆς Δήμητρος ὁμοιοτάτην ὑπάρχειν, τῶν ὀνομάτων μόνων ἐνηλλαγμένων· τὰς δὲ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐν Ἅιδου τιμωρίας καὶ τοὺς τῶν εὐσεβῶν λειμῶνας καὶ τὰς παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς εἰδωλοποιίας ἀναπεπλασμένας παρεισαγαγεῖν μιμησάμενον τὰ γινόμενα τὰ περὶ τὰς ταφὰς τὰς κατ᾽ Αἴγυπτον. 6. τὸν μὲν γὰρ ψυχοπομπὸν Ἑρμῆν, κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν νόμιμον παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίοις ἀναγαγόντα τὸ τοῦ Ἄπιδος σῶμα μέχρι τινὸς παραδιδόναι τῶι περικειμένωι τὴν τοῦ Κερβέρου προτομήν. τοῦ δ᾽ Ὀρφέως τοῦτο καταδείξαντος παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι τὸν Ὅμηρον (Od. ω1) ἀκολούθως τούτωι θεῖναι κατὰ τὴν ποίησιν·

Ἑρμῆς δὲ ψυχὰς Κυλλήνιος ἐξεκαλεῖτο

ἀνδρῶν ἡρό ων (μνηστήρων in Homer)· ἔχε δὲ ῥάβδον μετὰ χερσίν.

“4. Orpheus, for instance, brought from Egypt most of his mystic ceremonies, the orgiastic rites that accompanied his wanderings, and his fabulous account of his experiences in Hades. 5. For the rite of Osiris is the same as that of Dionysus and that of Isis very similar to that of Demeter, the names alone having been interchanged; and the punishments in Hades of the unrighteous, the Fields of the Righteous, and the fantastic conceptions, current among the many, which are figments of the imagination — all these were introduced by Orpheus in imitation of the Egyptian funeral customs. 6. Hermes, for instance, the Conductor of Souls, according to the ancient Egyptian custom, brings up the body of the Apis to a certain point and then gives it over to one who wears the mask of Cerberus. And after Orpheus had introduced this notion among the Greeks, Homer​ followed it (Ὀδύσσεια Ὁμήρου 24.1) when he wrote:

‘Cyllenian Hermes then did summon forth

The suitors’s souls, holding his wand in hand.’ ”

(trans. Charles Henry Oldfather, 1933 but Public Domain)

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.