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

SUMMARY: According to this fragment, Oceanus is the cause of all motion.

116. σχόλιον Πρόκλου επὶ Τιμαίου Πλάτωνος 40 e (III 180, 8 Diehl):

(συλλήβδην οὖν ὃ μὲν ἐστι πάσης κινήσεως, <θείας> νοερᾶς ψυχικῆς φυσικῆς, πᾶσιν αἴτιος τοῖς δευτέροις, ἣ δὲ πάσης διακρίσεως τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ προϊόντων ὀχετῶν, ἑκάστῳ διδοῦσα τὴν οἰκείαν καθαρότητα τῆς ἐπιβαλλούσης αὐτῷ κατὰ φύσιν κινήσεως, δι’ ἣν ἕκαστον, κἂν ἐαυτὸ κινῇ κἂν ἄλλα, διαφερόντως κινεῖ.)

δηλοῦσι δὲ οἱ θεολόγοι τὸν Ὠκεανὸν ἁπάσης εἶναι κινήσεως χορηγόν, δέκα λέγοντες αὐτὸν ἐκπέμπειν ὀχετούς, ὧν ἐπὶ θάλατταν τοὺς ἐννέα χωρεῖν,

(διότι δὴ καὶ τῶν κινήσεων αἱ μὲν ἐννέα σωματικαί εἰσι, μία δὲ μόνη τῆς χωριστῆς τῶν σωμάτων οὐσίας, ὡς ἐν Νόμοις [X 894 CD] ἠκούσαμεν.)

(“In short, Ocean is the cause of all motion, intellectual, psychical and physical to all secondary natures; but Tethys is the cause of all the separation of the streams proceeding from Ocean, imparting to each a proper purity in the motion adapted to it by nature; through which each though it may move itself, or though it may move other things, yet moves in a transcendent manner.)

“But theologists manifest that Ocean is the supplier of all motion, when they say that he sends forth ten streams, nine of which proceed into the sea;

(“because it is necessary, that of motions nine should be corporeal, but that there should be one alone of the essence which is separate from bodies, as we are informed by Plato in the Laws [1].”)

[1] Plato in the 10^th book of the Laws [894 c-d] distinguishes the genus of motions into ten species, viz. circulation about an immovable centre, local transition, condensation, rarefaction, increase, decrease, generation, corruption, mutation or alteration produced in another by another, and a mutation produced from a thing itself, both in itself, and in another. This last is the motion of an essence separate from bodies, and is the motion of soul.

(translation and note by Thomas Taylor, 1820)

Holwerda 318.

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.

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