ORPHIC FRAGMENT 15 - OTTO KERN
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SUMMARY: Oceanus who, when he married his sister Tethys, was the first to marry.
15. (32) Κρατύλος Πλάτωνος 402 b (cf. σχόλιον Πρόκλου επὶ Τιμαίου Πλάτωνος III 176, 10 Diehl):
ὥσπερ αὖ Ὅμηρος
‘Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσίν' φησιν ‘καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν’ (Ἰλιὰς Ὁμήρου 14.201; v. Θεαίτητος Πλάτωνος 152 e).
οἶμαι δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος (Θεογονία Ἡσιόδου 337). λέγει δέ που καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ὅτι“
Ὠκεανὸς πρῶτος καλλίρροος ἦρξε γάμοιο,
ὅς ῥα κασιγνήτην ὁμομήτορα Τηθὺν ὄπυιεν.
“Compare the line in which Homer, and, as I believe, Hesiod also, tells of
‘Ocean, the origin of Gods, and mother Tethys.’
And again, Orpheus says, that
‘The fair river of Ocean was the first to marry,
and he espoused his sister Tethys, who was his mother’s daughter.’
(trans. Benjamin Jowett, 1892)
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.
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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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